100 Thanks 2023

 100 Thanks 2023

1. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.”

2. “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.”

3. The Eucharist

4. Frequent Confession

5. God’s abundant and generous mercy

6. God’s divine patience 

7. The gift of the priesthood

8. My brother priests

9. Confessors

10. Holy wisdom from others (and praying that I may dispense some too)

11. Last call in the rectory chapel before I retire for the night

12. Prayers from Carmelite Sisters who love their priests

13. My mom’s daily rosary and her Holy Hours

14. My dad’s (almost) daily therapy by the shoreline at sunrise with a fishing rod

15. My sister’s daily heroism managing her house full of boys

16. My oldest nephew’s last year of high school and his almost perfect report card

17. My middle nephew putting on the same football uniform his uncle wore

18. My youngest nephew becoming more obsessed with football than I am and taking losses harder than I do

19. My brother in law’s patience and peaceful presence

20. All my many cousins who keep me quite busy (seriously, I can open up a small parish to serve the needs of just my extended family with all their baptisms and weddings)

21. Happy Hours with the cousins 

22. That one random cousin who is always missing that prevents us from taking a good family picture

23. Thanksgiving dinner at my parent’s house where turkey is a side dish

24. Dad’s mashed potatoes (and there are many people who are thankful for those)

25. My sister’s stuffing (she really makes it for me!)

26. Anis del Mono

27. Pies! (not pumpkin though)

28. That unexpected whole cooked turkey the priests get every year 

29. Noche Buena (been far too long since we roasted an entire pig)

30. The Children’s Christmas Vigil Mass and how packed it gets

31. How I somehow make it through Midnight Mass

32. Christmas morning Solemn Mass with the Sisters at the convent

33. Full church on a Sunday morning/evening

34. Casual New Year’s Eve get togethers looking at the Biltmore fireworks at Midnight

35. Karaoke nights and that unexpected person who surprises you with their musical chops

36. 4th of July on the golf course

37. Any time I have time to actually be on a golf course

38. The 6th hole on the Red Course (not to be confused with the 6th hole on Granada, ugh)

39. The 12th hole at Deering Bay

40. My first birdie ever this year, and how long that putt was too!

41. My dedicated and hardworking parish staff

42. The heroism and selflessness of the teachers at my school and all teachers for that matter

43. For my 8th graders’ Thanksgiving lists

44. “My challenges because it reminds me a small part of Jesus’ suffering.” (written by an 8th grader)

45. For those kids who appreciate good music and movies that are well before their time

46. For that one kid who wrote down “The 1949 Classic `Who’s on First?’ Skit” 

47. For musical theater especially the shows put on by my school kids! 

48. For the times my sister and I can actually attend the theater

49. Seeing Wicked for the second time and screaming “Again! Again!” after Defying Gravity brings the first act to a heart-stopping close! (“It’s meeeeeeeeee!”)

50. For my big screen TV and the short turnaround film have from movies theaters to digital that allow me to skip the movie theater experience (which I used to cherish) and avoid the now 25 minutes of trailers that I’ve already seen

51. For The Greatest Show on Surf: Starring a Cheetah and a Penguin!

52. For our head football coach who is unapologetically himself

53. That its Thanksgiving and we’re in first place and talking deep playoff runs and not draft

54. For the slow but steady progress of the University of Miami football team

55. For the magical run of Canes Hoops to the Final Four. Still don’t believe we made it that far and dared to dream of being on “One Shining Moment”

56. That we’ve become a basketball school?

57. The simple purity of a baseball game at Mark Light Stadium

58. The Marlins surprisingly great year with a, albeit brief, postseason stint

59. Jimmy being Jimmy and willing us to the NBA Finals #Heatin5

60. Attending my first NBA Finals game (and wishing there were more actual diehard fans in the arena than corporate shells)

61. The generous soul who took me to that NBA Finals game and the WBC Finals

62. Seeing Ohtani pitch to Trout in person (an electrifying baseball moment)

63. Messi coming to Miami (well, Fort Lauderdale) and winning a trophy for Inter

64. Caring about soccer during a year without a World Cup

65. Remembering how great a deep Stanley Cup Playoff run is

66. The Florida Panthers and one Matthew Tkachuk 

67. Our collective dominance against every Boston team this past year

68. Visiting Fenway Park for the first time (and seeing Yankees-Red Sox in person for the first time too!)

69. Lobster Rolls in New England

70. My newfound love for mechanical action organs

71. Architects and lawyers and project managers that allow me to be a priest

72. A “Chief of Staff” who takes stuff off my desk so I can be a priest

73. Monday mornings at 9am

74. Festivus Dinners

75. Stare downs and slam dunks during the children’s collection

76. PreK Thanksgiving celebrations and the big plates that accompany them

77. The “Mr. Turkey” song and its brilliance

78. Old Cuban sayings and idioms

79. Friends who have pools in their backyards or basically any friends who live by the water 

80. Memorial Day Weekend Pool Parties

81. Movie Nights where I educate the youth on what cinema truly is!

82. Our yearly viewing of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

83. “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”

84. Speaking of surprises: the joyous surprise of when my kids (who aren’t kids anymore) tell me they’re having kids of their own

85. When I get to baptize those babies

86. An abundance of Catechumens this year

87. The Gloria at the Easter Vigil

88. The Little Way

89. Visiting Lisieux for the first time (and Paris and Normandy and Mont-Saint-Michel and San Sebastian and Madrid and Avila) plus ten more travel thanks:

    a. Beholding the Cathedral of Notre Dame for the first time and knowing a majestic church is being heroically rebuilt

    b. Getting to celebrate Mass by the tomb of the parents of St. Therese and visiting her convent

    c. Carrying her relics which were the same ones that had just visited the Pope and were in my parish 24 years ago

    d. The overwhelming emotion of standing on the sacred beaches of Normandy 

    e. Being awestruck by the splendor of Mont-Saint-Michel and celebrating Mass in an 8th century church there

    f. The purifying visit to Lourdes (and discovering an incredible Italian restaurant there)

    g. The gem that is San Sebastián and its bay and pinchos 

    h. El Hotel Londres in San Sebastián and that corner “office” with a view of one of the most perfect sunsets in the world (on the water framed by two mountains)

    i. Finally visiting Madrid and eating several lunches and dinners every day

        i. Cooking my own meat at El Buey

        ii. Tintos de verano 

    j. Unexpected surprises in Avila walking in the footsteps of a mystic and the private guided tour away from tourists with new friends 

90. Offering the Divine Sacrifice of the Mass in some glorious old churches in Europe

91. Seeing the joy of some my parishioners as they experienced Europe for the first time 

92. Sunsets and late-night fishing in the Keys

93. New York City at Christmas and the Radio City Musical Hall Christmas Spectacular 

94. Trips to Washington, DC to stand up for life and minister to the largest gathering of young Catholics in the United States

95. Hearing confessions during the March for Life

96. Taking my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew this last year

97. Conversations with people who have rung bells who are wiser than I am

98. The joy the Class of 2023 brought me and the joy my students still give me 

99. The undeserved honor of having people see Jesus in me especially on tough days when even this poor priest struggles to see Him

100. Being the Pastor of the Church of the Little Flower and St. Theresa Catholic School on this Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

100 Thanks 2022

100 Thanks 2022

 

1.     My family

2.     Talking about the spiritual and the divine with my mom

3.     Fishing and golfing with my dad

4.     Broadway shows with my sister

5.     Any conversation with my nephews

6.     Quiet drinks with my brother-in-law

7.     Old Fashioned’s prepared right (Wow, this list took a boozy turn rather quickly!)

8.     Sitting on a terrace overlooking Florida Bay in the Keys

9.     Going maskless on planes

10.  Fried Oysters in the Big Easy

11.  8^th grade Thanksgiving lists (allow me to share a few…)

12.  “Sunsets, when someone passes in my life I tend to look at the sky and appreciate the heavens above. The sunsets are all different colors and the unique thing about them is that they are never the same. When someone dies, you have that hole in your heart and sunsets make me feel better like there’s a sense of joy and they made it to heaven and they paint the skies for us.” –written by a 13 year old student

13.  “The Carmelite Sisters, everyone thinks nuns are weird and scary but those are the people who don’t know them. Those who know the sisters really know that they are one of the best people in our lives. These special women have impacted my life. Every day they strive [to help] me to grow closer to God and to always do His will. They are living saints sent down to teach me, and all young kids that our faith is important.” –written by same 13-year-old 

14.  “The fact I don’t pay taxes (yet)” –written by a 14-year-old, but this priest unfortunately has to be pay taxes

15.  “Grateful for the Eucharist, because the Eucharist reminds us of Thanksgiving and how we need to be thankful for everything we have” – written by a 14 year old who has a better understanding of the Eucharist than most adults

16.  “Praying and then God answering your prayers.” –written by a 13-year-old who gets prayer

17.  Reading the 8^th grade list to my students on the day they leave for Thanksgiving break

18.  That one kid whose list was so deep this year that made my list look like the work of a 1^st grader (no offense to 1^stgraders)

19.  11:15am on Thursdays

20.  Real estate lawyers

21.  “Executing” a contract 

22.  Closing days

23.  Dedication days

24.  Dairy Queen ice cream runs with Carmelite nuns to celebrate little victories

25.  The wisdom of Venerable Mother Luisita (seriously check out her biography “Unleashing Hope” which is an excellent read)

26.  Golf carts

27.  Having an imperfect golf game that makes me foolishly keep playing such a frustrating sport

28.  That I’m even playing a sport!

29.  That I get to play with my best friend (even though in less than a year he went from novice to soundly beating me every time which does not sit well with me)

30.  The “August National” of Colombia (the 6 iron was definitely not working that day)

31.  Masters Sunday

32.  Early morning World Cup matches

33.  Cafeteria Chocolate Chip Cookies with sea salt

34.  Unexpected phone calls from New York

35.  Spiritual direction over the phone/Facetime/Zoom (and sometimes in person) that goes to a late hour

36.  Karaoke in Comber Hall 

37.  Movie nights in Comber Hall

38.  Duffy’s on a Monday night (burgers are half off…This Thanksgiving list is brought to you by Duffy’s Tavern: “Where the Elite Meet to Eat”)

39.  Hearing the Marines sing the Marine Hymn at the top of their lungs on the Marine Corp Birthday

40.  Teachers! And their Happy Hours especially on the last day of school

41.  Reliable WiFi and Internet

42.  FPL trucks (especially when you’ve been without power for 18 hours)

43.  Podcast microphones

44.  9am on Monday mornings

45.  When we have to start a podcast over again because one of us can’t stop laughing about something ridiculous the other said.

46.  Meeting that one person who listens to the podcast (I’m kidding, there’s more than one, but it’s amazing what this medium does for spreading the gospel)

47.  Satisfied

48.  Friday nights in backyards by a pool in a place I used to call home

49.  When you get to the section of the list that will be exclusively movie/TV quotes or song lyrics with each one encapsulating various amounts of gratitude

50.  “Early each day to the steps of St. Paul’s…”

51.  “On that glorious morn, when we’re finally reborn, and we’re all of us human again!”

52.  “Never tell me the odds.”

53.  “Well over three and half centuries ago, strengthened by faith and bound by a common desire for liberty, a small band of pilgrims sought out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their own beliefs - and solve crimes!”

54.  “Boy, I love meeting people’s moms. It’s like reading an instruction manual as to why they’re nuts.”

55.  “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”

56.  “Pero está…está es para Cuba.”

57.  “Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’”

58.  “To love another person is to see the face of God!”

59.  “Get used to different.”

60.  “In fourth grade, I stole my Uncle Max's toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play.”

61.  My childhood best friend (and I miss our Saturday morning walks around the lake of my first parish while her kids went to CCD…while we’re at it, I miss our morning rides to school with Bon Jovi playing in the background, but our talks weren’t as good back then.”

62.  ßThis is the number of home runs Aaron Judge hit this season

63.  Tua! (I mean I expected a change but not like this)

64.  The Dolphins having a winning record and leading the division while I write this list

65.  A cheetah and a penguin walk into a stadium (more like sprint into a stadium)

66.  Even in adversity, I am still thankful for the University of Miami football program and that a Cuban kid from Miami realized a lifelong dream and became our head coach

67.  Instant replay that clearly shows that Max Strus was inbounds in Game 7

68.  Jimmy Butler in the playoffs

69.  The United States Men’s National Soccer Team in the World Cup

70.  I Believe That We Will Win (well, maybe not the whole thing, but out of the group stage)

71.  Tiger Woods walking, which is far more important than him playing golf, but I am thankful that I can watch him do that too

72.  Winning the Presidents Trophy (hey I would’ve preferred Lord Stanley’s Cup but that pesky team in Tampa Bay has our number, and the Panthers had a season for the ages)

73.  Watching my first MLS game in person

74.  Watching a courageous girl sing the national anthem before said MLS game

75.  We have an unspoken understanding

76.  Second moms who I miss

77.  When no one complains about anything after Mass

78.  Dreaming about centennials

79.  Staring at the church from my porch during golden hour

80.  The view from the backyard of the Sisters’ new convent

81.  That section of the list where I go to saint quotes and bible verses

82.  “We should rest entirely in His hands, understanding that His eyes are always upon us, that He will see to it that we lack nothing and grant us anything that we need, if it is for our own good.” --Venerable Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament

83.  “Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you-for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart… don’t listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love…”  ― St. Therese of the Child Jesus

84.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” John 14:1

85.  Love consumes you, but it is beautiful to die consumed precisely as a candle that goes out only after it reaches its goal. Whatever you do will have sense only if you see it in terms of eternal life. – Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo

86.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7)

87.  “Never give up prayer, and should you find dryness and difficulty, persevere in it for this very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and love is not tried by ease and satisfaction.” –St. John of the Cross

88.  “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” —G.K. Chesterton (well, not a saint, but a sublime spiritual writer)

89.  “The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.” – St. Gianna Beretta Molla

90.  "The best way to show your gratitude to God and to people is to accept everything with joy.” — St. Teresa of Calcutta

91.  “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:1

92.  Meeting quiet saints in my ministry every single day

93.  Reconnecting with 23 years’ worth of former students who have formed me into the priest that I am today.  Just a text, a hello, and, if I’m lucky, a phone call, makes my day!

94.  Redemptive suffering: because it brings us so very close to Our Lord and the weight of our sins he carried on the cross

95.  Memories of my brother: because even after 8 years, I still carry him in my heart, and he awaits me on the other side of eternity.

96.  The undeserved love that I get from the people of God for being a priest.  If only they understood that I receive so much more from them than they can possibly get from this unworthy servant.

97.  That after 20 years of priesthood, I still get nervous and am wowed by every single Mass.  As St. John Vianney said, “If we truly understood the Mass, we would die of joy.”

98.  The love and support I feel every day from our Blessed Mother Mary and from St. Joseph who moves mountains that seem insurmountable (seriously, pray more to St. Joseph for his intercession.  Our Lord does not deny his mother nor his earthly father who raised him.)

99.  Quiet moments in our private chapel before our Eucharistic Lord (and the endless struggle to spend more time before that tabernacle).

100.        Cherishing every single Thanksgiving Day because we gather to give thanks to our God who never ceases to surprise us with his mercy, his love, his blessings, and his overwhelming generosity.  So for all these things, only three simple words suffice on this Thanksgiving Day: thank you, Lord!

 

100 Thanks 2021

100 Thanks 2021

1.     The gift of my priesthood

2.     The gift of being able to offer the Divine Sacrifice of the Mass

3.     The gift of being able to absolve sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and liberate the children of God from their sins

4.     The gift of being absolved of my sins when I, as a penitent, go to Confession

5.     The grace of feeling God’s mercy and forgiveness

6.     Long confession lines

7.     Spending those last precious moments with a soul that is getting ready to depart this world and return to the house of the Father

8.     Welcoming a new soul into the Body of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism

9.     Witnessing the union of two souls in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

10.  When those two souls come back every year on their anniversary to renew their marriage vows

11.  When the church fills up with people at a Healing Mass longing to receive the Anointing of the Sick

12.  When the church fills up with people for any reason!

(I usually am so focused on Thanksgiving that I rarely give thanks for Christmas blessings, so…)

13.  The silence and stillness that comes with Advent

14.  When I sit in my chapel on the vigil of the First Sunday of Advent and let that silence help me enter into the Advent season

15.  After sitting in that silence, listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s rendition of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

16.  The “O Antiphons”

17.  The almost four hours I spent hearing confession during last year’s Advent penance service

18.  The yearly blessing of the outdoor Nativity Scene

19.  The dozens and dozens of cars that stop along Anastasia Avenue every day to take in and take pictures of our Nativity Scene

20.  The wonder in the eyes of children when they behold the Nativity

21.  The prayers of our Blessed Mother and her most chaste spouse, St. Joseph 

22.  The Christmas Eve Children’s Vigil Mass and all the lost sheep who come home that evening

23.  The Children’s Choir singing during that Mass

24.  The peace that comes with Midnight Mass

25.  The Gloria sung at Midnight Mass

26.  The Gloria sung at the Easter Vigil 

27.  The blessed exhaustion that sets in after Christmas 

28.  The blessed exhaustion that sets in after the Holy Triduum

29.  The Holy Thursday Altar of Repose

30.  Being able to deliver a “children’s homily” last Sunday for the first time in 20 months

31.  Learning so much from the insights of children; God’s little ones

32.  St. Therese’s Little Way

33.  “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  “A saint!”

34.  Seeing smiles again: a window to the Divine!

35.  The prayers of the Carmelite Sisters

36.  Psalm 62

37.  St. Teresa of Avila’s Serenity Prayer: “Nada te turbe, nada te espante…”

38.  Having a youth group again and a young adult group too

39.  Holy Water

40.  Perpetual Adoration

41.  Anyone kneeling in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

42.  That rare occasion when this restless heart is satisfied with a homily

43.  Reminders from the Holy Spirit that come in the form of parishioners who thank me for a powerful homily when I think it was “meh”

44.  When my heart rate at the end of homily is the equivalent or more than the heart rate of my best friend running a marathon

45.  Good sacred music at Mass

46.  That post-Communion Meditation Song

47.  The silence after the post-Communion Meditation Song

48.  The children singing Therese’s “Canticle of Love” on her Feast Day

49.  “Diggin’ deeper, getting more” into the Scriptures and saying things I couldn’t say during a Sunday homily on, of all things, a podcast!

50.  Finely produced bumper music 

51.  Thanksgiving lists from 8^th graders and Kindergarteners 

52.  “Peel Greens” (say if fast five times and you’ll know what a five-year-old is trying to say)

53.  The depth of this year’s 8^th grade lists

54.  The early adolescent silliness in most of the lists

55.  For yearbooks that help add a name to a face (there’s over 80 of them!)

56.  Getting up in front of a classroom full of children again and not windows on a computer screen

57.  Having sports on our school fields again and hearing parents cheering a goal, even if they’re from another school

58.  Staging a musical two years in the making with students and alumni 

59.  Strolling by rehearsals on a Friday afternoon (and subtly teaching a Beast to dance)

60.  Watching teachers pull off the impossible

61.  For the heroism, patience, and joy of our teachers

62.  And the heroism of everyone on the front lines

63.  For delivery drivers and truckers

64.  For the Marines who let me crash their birthday party every year 

65.  All the men and women in the Armed Forces

66.  Out of the blue texts, or better yet, phone calls from former students

67.  A cancer bell being rung

68.  A powerful shower that isn’t “low-flow”

69.  Empty inboxes

70.  Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

71.  Cafeteria cookies and the people who make them

72.  Ice spheres vs. ice chips 

73.  Godchildren

74.  An incredible staff

75.  “Do you have a best friend?” “Yes” “Is he smarter than you?” “Yes”

76.  Shibboleth

77.  Ted Lasso

78.  “You know what the happiest animal in the world is? It’s a goldfish. It’s got a 10 second memory. Be a goldfish.”

79.  Applying that quote to the spiritual life especially when it comes to sins we’ve committed and people we’ve wronged or have wronged us

80.  Roy Kent’s “never settle in love speech” that is NSFTL (not suitable for this list), but I want to scream it to everyone who has ever settled in love 

81.  Baseball in the corn fields of Iowa

82.  ARM ministry

83.  Stimulus Mondays

84.  “Uber rides” and the conversations that stem from them

85.  Giant inflatable water slides that go into the deep end of the pool

86.  The becoming too rare Friday nights when the Backyard Crew is back in session (and the personal triumphs of said crew this year)

87.  Tall white bell towers

88.  The thought of New York City and Rome

89.  Refuge on a not-too-distant island where the door is always open

90.  The Pitching Wedge (also an effective prop during the Cleansing of the Temple homily)

91.  That elusive birdie

92.  That 12-foot putt that I drained last week on the last hole

93.  That elusive redfish

94.  Sunsets in the Keys

95.  The sun rising behind my church

96.  Karaoke nights in Comber Hall

97.  Paciencia y fe

98.  My godmother and her immaculate timing when it comes to knowing that I need her

99.  My childhood best friend who still gets in my face to tell me truths I need to hear

100.                 Memories of my brother

101.                 My 16-year-old nephew finally playing football like his father

102.                 My 13-year-old nephew about to go to Columbus like his uncle (the other uncle)

103.                 My 9-year-old nephew teaching me lessons I never knew I needed

104.                 My father still teaching me after 46 years (thankfully) and passing on his wisdom

105.                 My sister still passionate in ways that I could only dream of

106.                 My brother-in-law being the St. Joseph of his family

107.                 My mother praying the rosary for me daily

108.                 My godson in Cuba, whom I had never met, finally making it to the United States to live in freedom, but just as important, that I was finally able to embrace him (Patria y Vida!)

109.                 My cousins and that we’re doing Thanksgiving right this year 

110.                 That it took me longer than usual to write this list this year, but it allowed me to spend pretty much a whole day reflecting on all the things that I am so very grateful for this Thanksgiving. 

Happy Thanksgiving!