Just a quick
note because I am literally writing this while flying somewhere over
Houston: there will be 7 Sundays this fall when I won't be in the parish due to
my travels with the Miami Dolphins. Yes, I celebrate Mass for them but
with a much shorter homily. So when the Dolphins are on the road, I'll
jot down some reflections as we fly home:
Even though I was
thrilled to be with the team for the season opener, my heart last night was in
Miami as the Lady of Charity Mass was celebrated on the 400th anniversary of
her being found not far from where my father was born and raised in Cuba.
Now over my first three road trips, I've gotten into the habit of
visiting the nearest Catholic church to pray for the team and the good people
who I leave behind. As I was walking out of Annunciation Church in
downtown Houston, I gasped as I saw an image of Our Lady of Charity on the back
wall of the church. Even though I was far, she still found me. I
explained to the team later that night that there were 17,000 people back home
paying homage to that image of our Lady. The reason why we gather every
year is because as Catholics and as Cubans, we are a people of hope. Mary
is the model of hope, and we send up our sighs to her that she may protect us
as she protected the three young men who found her image 400 years ago.
Last week, I was
talking to my godson and he was nervous about the Dolphins game today. I
was assuring him that we'd be ok, and he said to me, "I'm afraid to even
hope." I immediately replied, "Never be afraid to hope." Whether in football or in life or in faith,
hope is what keeps us close to the Almighty and to the things that really
matter in life. Hope is what prompted the friends of the deaf mute in
today's gospel to bring him before the Lord. Hope is what makes us open
our eyes with each sunrise and embrace each day as a gift from God and seize
the opportunity to do his will. It is that hope that keeps bringing so
many good people every year before the image of La Caridad to pray for their
homeland and their families. We've done it for 51 years because even
though our homeland is shrouded by darkness, we have never given up the hope
that one day we will return to a free land where we can freely proclaim the
Good News of our Lord and embrace those we left behind. Our Lord
and Our Lady never abandon us even when we are afraid of what surrounds us and
what lies ahead. That is why we must never be afraid to hope.
