'That was a good stop' I think to myself a lot these days. I owe this mentality to a special priest I used to know, Father Bob Scott. Father Bob each year would give one unique homily called 'The Good Stop Homily'. Now I still can't make up my mind on if it was Father Bob, his storytelling ability, the props or the message itself that made me truly super excited to attend mass on these 'Good Stop' days, but let's be honest it was probably all of the above.

Now I've grown up my whole life going to Catholic church alongside my family. We've attended the same church since I was 7 years old, the University Catholic Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout my time at the UCC I was lucky enough to hear Father Bob's 'Good Stop' homily a handful of times. He has spoken this homily all over the country at countless college catholic ministries for over 30 years until he passed away in 2012. Father Bob and his 'Good Stop' message were you could say famous throughout catholic college ministries.

Father Bob's message was that everything you do, everyone you meet, every place you eat or thing you experience is a good stop. Now yes he says there are some bad stops in life, but it is finding the good in this bad stop that can eventually make it a good stop. Father Bob teaches this lesson by telling the story of the first 'Good Stop' homily at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and it's many stops at campuses across the country. The students at the University of Tennessee prior to Father Bob's departure to his next campus church gave him a shirt that said 'University of Tennessee, A Good Stop' and the rest as you say is history.

I have been thinking about Father Bob's message of the 'good stop' a lot lately as I am getting ready to go back to school. I have been extremely fortunate to have had many good stops throughout my life. They range from delicious restaurants I have eaten at, locations I have traveled to, places I have gone to school, but most important the people I have met at these stops or experience these stops with me. The 'Good Stop' doesn't just have to be a physical place, but more so the activities, the people and the memories associated with that stop. The stops you make in life make life worth living. But yes the journey between these 'good stops' is always important too.

Father Bob in his homily of the 'Good Stop' ends with reminding people that church is a GOOD stop that helps us see, value and truly appreciate all the other good stops in our life. I'd have to agree. On weeks I make it to church all the other 'stops' I make each day that week are just that much better.

I want to end this by saying that no matter what religion you are, who or what you believe in we can all agree that the lesson Father Bob taught in this homily transcends religion to just be an all around quality life lesson. Good stops are all around us. It's finding the good in those stops that are sometimes the tricky part. So make some good stops today, this week, this month, this year and every year of your life. A good stop and the journey to get to that stop, make life what it is. You could even say life is just one giant good stop... think about that.

Good Stop by Fr. Bob Scott, CSP from Brandon Kraft on Vimeo.

This is a video of Father Bob's Good Stop homily. It is 100% worth watching, one for the message he sends and two for the way Father Bob tells stories. He is a fantastic story teller and has some fun props along the way.