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!
