I was delighted and humbled to see one of my pieces tagged at Busted Halo as part of their “Best of 2007.”

The piece in question grew out of the homily I delivered at my Mass of Thanksgiving, on May 20th, 2007. I sent it along to BH’s editor Bill McGarvey and said, “You think you can use this?” He said “Sure,” and offered some suggestions.

This essay, “Laughing In The Upper Room” is the result. It got a lot of attention and links at the time, from places like Whispers in the Loggia and Catholic Online, and I ended up hearing from people in New Delhi, Rome and New Zealand. (For me, it was a bewildering introduction to the power and impact of the web — and one of the triggers that made me decide to start this very blog.) Last fall, the piece also found its way into print, when it was picked up by the magazine Deacon Digest.

I remain amazed and awed by what God — and the good people at BH — can do.

Thanks, BH. Thanks, God. And Happy New Year!