Dowling Catholic students know of Father Flood: the super cool priest who can do backflips, gives incredibly enthusiastic homilies, and is always quick to ask “what’s up?” in the hallway. But does every Dowling Catholic student KNOW Father Flood? How about the fact that he is quadrilingual; that is, he can speak 4 languages? Or that he was once the 8th fastest speed walker in the country? Our school chaplain is truly remarkable, and we are blessed to have him as a mentor and confidant in the Dowling Catholic community.
Father Reed Flood, a 2013 Dowling Catholic graduate, admits that if someone would have told him in high school that he would become a priest, he would have responded with “yeah right, dude.” Yet, here we are. Father Flood was very involved over the course of his time as a student at Dowling Catholic. He played football (and won the State Championship his sophomore year), was a wrestler, ran track, participated in the school musicals, and was involved in a variety of clubs. In fact, Father Flood humbly told me that he was even the Homecoming King.
According to Father Flood, Dowling Catholic has changed a lot since he attended. Most notably was the addition of a chapel in 2015, which contributed to the efforts of the Dowling Catholic community to incorporate faith into the daily lives of their students. Father Flood felt as if “faith used to just be an aspect of one’s high school experience, and it had to be seeked out.” Whereas now, “faith seeks you out.” I think most would agree with me that much of that credit should be given to Father Flood himself.
So, where did Father’s faith journey begin? Well, he surely didn’t think he would become a priest during his time in high school, and he even had his doubts while in seminary. Father Flood was one of six men in his graduating class that joined the seminary. It was actually his school chaplain that reached out to him saying, “I think you would make a really great priest.” He joined the University of St. Thomas seminary thinking he would only be in it for three months. However, he quickly realized it was something he could, and deeply wanted to dedicate his life to.
Over the summer, Father Flood went on a pilgrimage with his “bro” Nathan Beacom. It was a journey of over 300 miles—the latter half made barefoot—that began in Switzerland and ended in Rome. Along the way, they slept in convent houses to recover from the day’s exhaustion in 100 degree heat almost every day. Father Food shared with me that he celebrated his 30th birthday while on the pilgrimage, and the nuns in the convent baked him a cake and sang “Happy Birthday” to him in broken English.
Father went on this pilgrimage for three reasons. Firstly, for the renewal of his priesthood. It was actually in Rome where he learned that he would be serving God in the Dowling Catholic community as the school chaplain, so it was definitely a full circle-moment to be back in this sacred place. Secondly, he embarked on his journey to pray for Dowling Catholic; he passionately told me “Dowling Catholic will be the death of me.” Thirdly, his pilgrimage was dedicated to the discernment of vocations. He believes that it is on pilgrimages that we can “tap into sacramental journeys that reflect the meaning of our existence.”
Now, for the lingering question that has never, to my knowledge, been answered: how did Father Flood learn to perform a backflip? He admits that, as a junior in high school, he so desperately wanted to learn to do it that he went to his little sister’s cheerleading gym and learned it in a mere three days.
Father Flood is more than just our school priest, he is a mentor, a role model, and a symbol of God’s love for each and every Dowling Catholic student. He outwardly expresses his desire to bring the Dowling Catholic community together through his hellos in the hallways and backflips on the sidelines or on the stage. I see his love for my peers and me in his simple go-to expression: “Man, I just love you guys.” If that doesn’t perfectly describe Father Flood, I don’t know what does.
