Thursday, November 24, 2016

100 Thanks 2016

100 Thanks 2016

 So much to be thankful for this year that I don’t think 100 was enough.  The Lord has been good to us, and because of his goodness we should always have a grateful heart.  As always, here are the 100 things I am thankful for this year:
  1. My Lord
  2. My Lord calling me to the priesthood
  3. My Lord allowing me to joyfully serve for almost 15 years as a priest
  4. My Immaculate family
  5. Being pastor to such a remarkable parish
  6. My mother who prays for me
  7. My father who continues to teach me
  8. My sister who continues to allow me to spoil her
  9. My brother who looks down on me from above and I know prays for his big brother
  10. My brother in law simply because he loves my sister
  11. My oldest nephew who has his father’s looks but his uncle’s wit ;)
  12. My middle nephew who I think is smarter than I am
  13. My youngest nephew who I KNOW is smarter than I am
  14. Everyone who prays for me
  15. All my many, many, many, many, many cousins
  16. My best friend
  17. All my friends
  18. My Friday night crew
  19. My brother priests
  20. Pope Francis and his call for mercy, mercy, and more mercy
  21. My school
  22. My students
  23. The health of a precious little girl called Zoey who continues to shine with God’s love and joy
  24. Having to say “hello” 50 times when I walk down the hallway when I hear “Hi Father Manny” said 50 times from my students who walk by me
  25. Friday religion classes
  26. 8th grade Thanksgiving lists
  27. Reading the 8th grade Thanksgiving list at Mass the day before Thanksgiving
  28. Pre-school playgrounds
  29. Teachers and their enduring patience
  30. Secretaries
  31. Business Managers
  32. Carnival Committees
  33. Carnival Committee meetings during Carnival
  34. Seeing my carline become a massive tailgate party during Carnival
  35. Super Bowl tailgates
  36. Fourth of July fireworks tailgates
  37. America: the ever evolving dream and great project
  38. Democracy with all its beauties and warts
  39. Our military and first responders who protect us
  40. Having spent five season as the Team Priest of the Miami Dolphins
  41. New York
  42. Yankee Stadium
  43. Broadway
  44. Former students on a Broadway Stage
  45. Former students performing in the Macy’s Parade (two years in a row!)
  46. Former students who live in New York and make time to have dinner with me
  47. Former students who make me travel for their weddings (I complain and then have a great time)
  48. Former students who are old enough now to offer me advice and wisdom
  49. The Florida Keys
  50. Kountry Kitchen breakfasts
  51. Florida Keys Sunsets
  52. Florida Keys Fishing
  53. Captiva
  54. Captiva fishing from the beach
  55. Rome Sweet Home
  56. Walking through the Holy Doors of all four Papal Basilicas this Holy Year
  57. Tablaos in Barcelona
  58. Pata Negra
  59. That Chapel in Montserrat
  60. Baths in Lourdes
  61. Walks in Nice
  62. The color of the water in Monaco
  63. San Damiano
  64. The peace of Assisi
  65. Beholding the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano
  66. The view of the Adriatic Sea from Monte Sant’Angelo
  67. Facebook Live from Europe
  68. The unexpected long walk from the Vatican to St. John Lateran
  69. The voice of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square during the Angelus
  70. Lunch in the Borgo Pio
  71. Gelato in the Piazza Novona
  72. The pain of the Scala Santa
  73. Actually sleeping on a Transatlantic flight
  74. The anticipation to walk in the Lord’s footsteps in the Holy Land next summer
  75. The Canonization of Mother Teresa
  76. Dancing partners
  77. That my sister still doesn’t let me lead
  78. Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah
  79. My music director playing Rhapsody in Blue…in its entirety…on the piano…from memory
  80. Newborn babies
  81. Baptizing those newborn babies
  82. Watching those babies grow up to receive First Communion from my hands
  83. Watching those babies grow up to be Confirmed
  84. Waiting for the day when I get to witness the marriage of a child I baptized
  85. Or witness them become a priest or religious…now that would be something
  86. The intersection of Island and Mariner
  87. The friends that I call family that I don’t see often enough but still hold close to my heart
  88. Second moms on an island somewhere not too far away who I haven’t seen enough this year
  89. That they still pray for me
  90. That their children still seek my counsel
  91. Spending those last few hours with a dying child of God who is moments away from eternity
  92. Commending their souls to the Father
  93. Rescuing a soul from the depths of sin through the Sacrament of Confession
  94. Being rescued myself by God’s infinite mercy
  95. That God still loves us in spite of our sinfulness
  96. That perfect moment of silence after receiving Communion at Mass
  97. That after almost 15 years of being a priest, I still get nervous before each Mass
  98. That the Spirit is always with me to guide me, inspire me, and embrace me
  99. That Mother Mary looks over me
  100. That I am undeservedly a priest of Jesus Christ who gets to bring Him to you and you to Him


Happy Thanksgiving!


Posted by at