100 Thanks (2012)

As I have done every year since 2004, here are the 100 things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Day:

1.     The gift of faith

2.     The gift of my priesthood

3.     The gift of being a pastor

4.     My mother’s love

5.     My father’s health

6.     My sister’s strength

7.     My brother’s heroism

8.     My brother in law’s patience

9.     My nephews’ smiles

10.  My godmother’s unshakeable faith

11.  My best friend’s wisdom that keeps me grounded

12.  My many godchildren

13.  My “nieces”

14.  My family’s functional dysfunctionality

15.  My many, many, many cousins

16.  Those who call me their cousin, nephew, or friend

17.  Los Fenicios

18.  My new parishioners’ love of their Church

19.  Those who were once and will always be my parishioners

20.  The many wonderful students, teachers, and staff I left behind at Mary Help and St. Gregory

21.  The faith and patience of my Hispanic communities in Broward

22.  All “my kids”

23.  Being the team priest for our Miami Dolphins

24.  Chartered Flights (Seriously? How can I possibly fly commercial again?)

25.  The unappreciated blessing of flipping a switch and having lights come on

26.  Drinkable water

27.  Checking a box and casting a vote

28.  The men and women of our military who are far from home so that we can be home safely living in freedom and peace

29.  The families of those men and women who sacrifice so much for love of country

30.  Sunsets in Captiva

31.  Hooking and catching a 40 inch snook

32.  A Texas cattle drive

33.  An Arizona desert sunrise

34.  The invincibility of Manhattan

35.  The power and serenity of Niagara Falls

36.  Any day in the Keys

37.  Any day on Key Biscayne

38.  Chumpe Tours

39.  Hastily and lovingly planned barbeques in backyards on the Key

40.  Rushed dinners in the Village with people from Connecticut

41.  Former students that leave Manhattan and go into Jersey just to visit me

42.  Unexpected phone calls from former students

43.  Saturday night Mass and dinners or lunches at diners with my Parkland gang

44.  The lost sheep that come home

45.  The constant prayers of the people of God

46.  The necessary intercession and protection of our Blessed Mother

47.  My overworked guardian angel

48.  The life, example, and blessed death of my beloved Bishop Roman

49.  The friendship of my brother priests

50.  The example of humility and holiness of religious sisters

51.  The 305

52.  Cars that cut me off

53.  Bad English grammar on signs and billboards

54.  Pastelitos across the street from my church

55.  Neighbors talking to one another (and screaming)

56.  Parish festivals

57.  Cuban food made by Cuban grandmothers

58.  Driving past downtown Miami at night

59.  Spanglish and not realizing that you’ve switched between two languages a dozen times during the course of a conversation

60.  My rosary

61.  My Dolphin rosary

62.  Running out of the tunnel with the Dolphins

63.  Special Teams

64.  Bringing the presence of Christ to the sidelines and hopefully beyond

65.  Being yelled at by Jets and Bills fans

66.  A Heat Championship

67.  Opening Day in a new ballpark with my father

68.  Major League Baseball (not minor league baseball trying to pass off as the real thing)

69.  The perseverance of the coaches and players at the University of Miami

70.  Baptizing children

71.  Absolving sinners

72.  Receiving absolution and forgiveness myself

73.  Witnessing two souls become one in marriage

74.  Commending a dying soul to the Father

75.  Rejoicing in the healing of someone that I anointed

76.  The unexplainable gift of being able to celebrate the Eucharist

77.  That moment of silence after Communion

78.  When your godson tells you definitively that he wants to be a priest

79.  When the godson I baptized stands up and reads at Mass

80.  Lunch with my students

81.  Tater tots and giant chocolate chip cookies

82.  Getting shout outs from my students on Twitter

83.  Little children screaming “Fader Manny, Fader Manny”

84.  LifeNights on Wednesday

85.  YA and Core leaders meetings

86.  Youth Mass on Sundays

87.  The rush of preaching a homily

88.  Bringing the joy of Christ into a room

89.  400 years of La Virgen de la Caridad

90.   The undeserved honor of being called “Father”

91.  Good liturgical music

92.  Angelic voices

93.  Trumpets at Christmas and Easter!

94.  Deep Fried Turkey

95.  Dad’s Mashed Potatoes

96.  Mom’s Tres Leches

97.  Ten years of joyful priesthood

98.  Celebrating Thanksgiving Mass with my parish community

99.  Knowing that I’m only an 8 minute drive away from Thanksgiving dinner

100.        Being home with my family to give thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

About the Mayan Calendar...

“You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right forever.” (Psalm 16:11)

Twenty years ago, after finishing a summer of mission work, I visited the pyramids of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan peninsula.  They are remarkable structures built by the Mayans who were a very advanced civilzation.  These days the Mayans are part of everyday conversation because of their calendar.   I remember when I preached on today’s readings three years ago that I did a little research about this fascination with the Mayan calendar:  “Apparently the Mayan calendar runs out during the winter solstice on December 21, 2012. The Mayan calendar runs for exactly 5,126 years, and wouldn't you know it, it runs out [next month].  This date is also significant because it will be the first time in 26,000 years that the Earth and the Sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way.”  Fun, right?  So I guess I don’t have to do any of my Christmas shopping because we won’t make it past December 21^st.  People keep making jokes about how all the terrible things happening in the world point to this calendar expiring and the coming apocalypse.  I guess they didn’t read today’s gospel in its entirety.

I am always amused by people that are obsessed, yes, obsessed with the end of the world.  They look for clues in the Scriptures, especially in the beginning of today’s gospel, to point to things that are happening in the world that are perhaps, maybe, possibly alluded to in the Bible.  (Let me clarify once and for all that the results of the recent election were not foretold in the Scriptures.)  So instead of scaring you this weekend with images of a darkened sun and falling stars, let me offer some words of hope:  only the Father knows the day or the hour and the Son assures us that he will be with us right to the very end.

So why worry?  If we are living the Christian ideal that Christ spelled out for us two weeks ago, love God and neighbor, then we shouldn’t worry about the end times.  We should delight in mighty hand of God, as the psalm says, instead of fearing it.   We spend so much time worrying about things that we cannot control in the future when we should be focused on the present and following Christ and his commandments in the here and now.  This morning I was reading a passage written by St. Augustine who said:  “Let us not resist the first coming, so that we may not dread the second.”  There you have it:  if we’re doing what the Lord wants us to do, why worry?  We are a people of hope and of joy.  If we are in the good graces of our God, why should we fear?

Who Would've Imagined?

“Praise the Lord, my soul!” (Psalm 146:1b)

In the spring of 1984, right here in this beautiful church of the Divine Providence, I received for the first time the greatest gift that Christ left us: the gift of the Eucharist. My first memories of my faith were forged right here in this parish where my parents tirelessly worked as parishioners from 1980-1986. I remember the beautiful Masses, the Good Friday processions, the first “Griterias,” and the fun of the annual festivals. It is here where I received catechesis in CCD, where I discovered the beauty of the Mass when I made my First Communion, and where the beginnings of a priestly vocation journey began.  My childhood friends, who are still my friends today, were raised here with me, and we would run out to the lake after every Mass to toss rocks into the water.  We would get in trouble for being too noisy during Mass or for rolling down the very tiny hills that made up the parish grounds, but it is here that I as a little boy discovered the precious gift of my faith. Who would’ve imagined that Providence would bring that little boy back to this parish so close to his heart to serve you as your pastor?  I have come home!

What an honor the Archbishop has bestowed on this unworthy servant.  As soon as he told me the news, I feel to my knees asking God to give me His strength as I put my total trust in him.  This is exactly what the widows in today’s readings did despite their poverty.  They gave everything they had to God and God greatly blessed them.  As Christians, we must constantly commend ourselves to God despite our unworthiness, our sins, and our failings, and trust that he will provide for us.  We must have the faith of these widows to throw ourselves into the unknown knowing that our Lord will provide for us.   

I have come simply to serve. I only bring with me the Word of God on my lips and the joy of Christ in my heart. It is this Word and this joy that Christ gives us that we, as Christians, are called to share. And these are my memories of Divine Providence Parish: a community full of joy and filled with the love of God. The Archbishop has truly honored me with this precious gift of allowing me to serve you at the altar of Our Lord. As I commend my new ministry to the Lord, I also commend myself to all of you. I ask you to pray for me and for all priests so that we may be faithful and holy servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. With the help of God and the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Divine Providence, together we will continue the beautiful mission of this parish of sharing the Good News with the whole world. Who would’ve imagined that a little boy who used to sit among you and look up at this beautiful Risen Christ would one day serve this community as its pastor?  What a joy to be back home! What a joy to be able to serve this holy people at the altar of Our Lord!

Goodnight Saint Gregory

“You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

Two weeks ago, Archbishop Wenski called me to give me the joyful news that he was naming me the pastor of Our Lady of Divine Providence Parish in Miami.  I am honored by this appointment, however it means that I have to say goodbye to my parish family here at St. Gregory that I have grown to love over the last year and half.  This appointment becomes effective on Monday, November 5^th.  Every priest makes the promise of obedience to his bishop at both his diaconate and priestly ordinations, and I’m sure you can ask any priest and he will tell you what I have come to discover: that it is always difficult to leave a parish because of the bonds you form with the holy people of God. 

Tonight I am filled with mixed emotions.  I am excited to take on the challenge of my first pastorate, but I am conscience of all the work that I had yet to do here that I must now leave behind.  We have such a vibrant parish here at St. Gregory.   I am going to miss dancing around with the ladies at the Life After Fifty nights, leading prayer for our newly formed Knights of Columbus Council, giving out the vocations prayer baskets, having fun with our teenagers on LifeNights, visiting our classrooms during school and CCD, being part of huge bear hugs during Emmaus retreats, barging into the Thursday night Spanish Scripture studies for a good laugh, celebrating School Masses, giving classes to a captive audience of Catechumens, standing up with our Respect Life group, listening to our divine 10:30am and 6pm choirs, having lunch every day with our school kids, and watching our new Spanish Mass take off and blossom into one of the largest Masses of the weekend with one of the largest choirs and an abundance of ministers in just one short year.  None of this was my doing, but the work of God through all of you.  To be honest, what I am going to miss most of all is preaching and celebrating the Eucharist with you, for it is at the table of the Lord where our Church comes to life.  You were always so complimentary about my homilies.  Those precious few minutes that I had every Sunday were so important to me because I wanted to share with you the passion that I have for the Gospel and the joy that Christ has placed in my heart which I was ordained to share.

In today’s readings, Jesus sums up the whole law in one simple word:  love.  Love of God and love of neighbor is what I have tried to instill in you with my preaching.  Make no mistake, priests may come and go, but no matter what man stands behind that altar, it is all of you that make St. Gregory great.  This is your parish.  These are your deeds.  It is your love of God and neighbor that you share with the world that helps make this parish one of a kind.

As I take my leave from you now, I ask you for only one thing:  your prayers.  I need your prayers as I become a pastor for the first time.  Your faith has always inspired me, and your devotion to prayer, particularly the rosary and Eucharistic Adoration, has led me to spend even more time at the feet of the Master.  I take all of you with me in my heart and encourage you to continue doing the good work that makes St. Gregory so great.  Please take care of Father Hoyer and Father Naughton and my successor, and after 16 all too brief months witnessing this holy outpouring love before me, I leave you with the same words that Jesus told the Scribe in today’s gospel:  You are not far from the kingdom of God.