It’s
been a while since I posted something in this space, but how could I not post
my annual list of 100 things for which I am thankful? The Christian heart must always be a grateful
heart. Giving thanks is what we should
be doing, in good times and bad times, because ultimately we are giving thanks
to a God who not only sent His only Son into the world, but His Son suffered
and died for us to give us the gift of eternal life. Last night I tweeted that I am always in awe
of people who even with a broken heart muster the strength to give thanks. Yes, the cynic would look at the current
state of the world and ask what could we possibly give thanks for? Well, I found 100 things and reasons and I
could probably write many more because this Thanksgiving, throughout the ups
and downs that has been 2017, my heart is full of gratitude, and here are just
100 reasons why:
1. The
underserved gift of my priesthood which is an adventure that even 15 years in
continues to surprise and leave me in awe.
2. My
big, beautiful, crazy, at times maddening, but wouldn’t change them for the
world family and all the crazy cousins that come with it.
3. My
mother’s prayers who have helped me through those dark nights of the soul.
4. My
father’s wisdom and strength that are the rock that we all lean on.
5. My
sister’s persistence and heroism in raising a family, moving them this past
year, putting my nephews in two different school, and still have time to love
my brother in law unconditionally through ten years of marriage.
6. My
oldest nephew who made me cry in a baseball game when I found out he had made
the honor roll at Belen.
7. My
second nephew who likes to explain things in great detail to me and for that
top button on that shirt that he refuses to unbutton. Yup, just like his uncle: don’t mess with my
routine.
8. My
third and youngest nephew who is the coolest cat in any room and whose laugh
and smile lights up that room and all those who are blessed to be in his
presence.
9. My
dearest friends who have grown up with me, know me, counsel me, correct me, and
allow me to be part of their extraordinary lives.
10. The
crosses that I carry (ok, I must confess that I “borrowed” this from one of my
8th grader’s lists because it was so inspiring. The crosses we bear become less burdensome
the moment we embrace them as our Lord embraced his.)
11. The Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass because I get to be at the center of when heaven is
wedded to earth in this divine exchange that I pray unceasingly that my people
would comprehend.
12. For the
people that comprehend and indeed are in awe of the magnitude of the Divine
Mysteries we celebrate.
13. The faith
of the people of God who lift up my faith daily.
14. The
prayers of the people of God who carry me through the rough days.
15. The
generosity of the people of God who always respond to those in need sometimes
without even being asked.
16. The
maternal protection of the Virgin Mary because as my confessor always reminds
me: “You don’t think you’d be made pastor of a church named for Our Lady and
she’s just going to abandon you!”
17. The
abiding presence of the Holy Spirit who constantly pinch hits for me when I
can’t get up to bat.
18. Being able
to go to confession (at least) once a month to cleanse my heart.
19. Being able
to hear my peoples’ confessions and unshackle them from the slavery of sin.
20. Spending
those last precious minutes with a soul who is about to depart from this world
and preparing them for eternal life.
21. Being able
to witness so many young couples embrace and truly comprehend the Sacrament of
Matrimony (they far outweigh those who do not get comprehend).
22. Having
those same couples bring their newborn children to me so that I can baptize
them with the waters of everlasting life.
23. That rush
of adrenaline (and the Holy Spirit) that fills me in those few seconds right
before I start preaching a homily.
24. Standing
in front of a classroom to just teach.
25. The lists
just like this one that my 8th graders have been writing and I’ve
been reading for the last 14 years.
26. Those days
that I look at my calendar and see “no meetings” where I can just go out and be
a priest and not an administrator.
27. Sitting in
a preschool classroom and allowing myself to be swept up into a world of pure
imagination.
28. Seeing the
relief on students’ faces when I walk into a classroom because I just
momentarily saved them from taking a test.
29. The
sacrifices that so many parents make to provide their children with a Catholic
education.
30. Sitting
with my CCD confirmation students to just talk about “stuff.”
31. My annual
retreat where the best part is turning off my phone for five days so I can only
listen to God.
32. Being able
to celebrate the great mysteries of the Holy Triduum without worrying about the
details because I have the greatest group of MCs this side of the Vatican.
33. Being able
to welcome new Catholics into this great family during every Easter Vigil.
34. The grand
silence of Good Friday that draws us deeper into the mystery of our redemption.
35. The
washing of the feet on Holy Thursday that reminds me each and every year that
this is why I became a priest.
36. Being able
to celebrate Mass this year at the birthplace of Christ in Bethlehem.
37. Finally
taking my mother to the Holy Land.
38. Sailing on
the Sea of Galilee with my father and wishing we were both in St. Peter’s boat
going fishing.
39. Going up
to Jerusalem and finally setting foot in the holy city like so many pilgrims
before me (my Lord included).
40. Spending
time standing in complete silence in a corner of the Upper Room letting myself
be overwhelmed by everything that happened in that sacred space: the Last
Supper, the washing of the feet, Jesus’ first appearance to his disciples, the
coming of the Holy Spirit. How could I
not be overwhelmed?
41. Literally
carrying a cross on the Via Dolorosa.
Not as heavy as our Lord’s but still heart wrenching if even for a
minute to feel a fraction of the pain that he felt.
42. Walking into
the Holy Sepulcher and finding it…empty!
43. Once again
sitting in front of St. Peter’s Basilica and just gazing up at the majesty of
this glorious church.
44. Walking
through the medieval streets of Assisi with a gelato in hand and feeling total
peace.
45. Feeling
even greater peace going down the hill to San Damiano and hearing those
beautiful winds coming from the valley below still saying after 8 centuries:
“Francis, rebuild my church.”
46. Once again
getting to personally see and hear from the Successor of St. Peter, Pope
Francis.
47. Walking
the streets of Rome as if I was a citizen of the Eternal City.
48. Driving
through the hills and mountains of Umbria and feeling at home.
49. That bumpy
but satisfying feeling when your plane finally touches down in Miami after a 10
hour transatlantic flight.
50. Spending
five memorable days on a Disney Cruise with my sister, my cousins and my nieces
and nephews.
51. Rediscovering
after 16 years that when you enter a Disney ship or resort, you basically
become a kid again.
52. Flying the
Millennium Falcon with my oldest nephew and spending quality time just the two of
us. Me and my brother’s boy!
53. The
bordering on gluttony food extravaganza that awaits you on any cruise. (I may have been in a food coma at some
point.)
54. Miraculous
bag limit yellow tail catches in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with good
friends.
55. Jumping
into the turquoise waters of the Atlantic after a hot morning of fishing.
56. Having
breakfast in way too small diners in the Florida Keys.
57. Discovering
a little place called Mangrove Mike’s and more importantly discovering that
they serve something called the “Breakfast Tater Tot Tower” (tater tots loaded
high and topped with two eggs-any style-and your choice of having it smothered
with cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon).
58. Also
discovering another place that serves French Toast made of croissants. (we’ve
reached the food and funny portion of the list, folks).
59. The smell
and taste of fresh caught yellow tail fried to perfection.
60. Sitting
down with good friends to eat and realizing that we don’t need phones, TV, or
movies to entertain us when a good conversation is always much more fun and
enriching.
61. “Another
Day of Sun” with “Someone in the Crowd” that leads to “A Lovely Night” in a “City
of Stars” (that movie was robbed!)
62. The
heroism of the Jesuit Missionaries in Japan as told by a legendary director in
a movie simply called “Silence”
63. Shibboleth
64. Watching a
West Wing Thanksgiving episode the night before Thanksgiving and still carrying
hope for America.
65. Turnover
Chain Turnover Chain Turnover Chain Turnover Chain Turnover Chain Turnover
Chain Turnover Chain Turnover Chain Turnover Chain Turnover Chain
66. The
unexpected, unbelievable, undeniable return of THE U!
67. Sitting in
Hard Rock Stadium during the Notre Dame game and actually feeling, if only for
a fleeting second, as if I was back in the Orange Bowl for another magical
night game.
68. Sitting in
the right field bleachers on a brisk October night in Yankee Stadium to witness
a thrilling comeback by the Yankees in the American League Championship Series
69. All Rise!
Watching Aaron Judge hit a gargantuan home run to start that Yankee rally that
simultaneously caused everyone in the right field bleachers to throw their
beers up in the air in jubilation (hey, I got a cool Yankee hoodie out of
this!)
70. Taking my
father to the Major League All Star Game.
While it wasn’t the great game I experienced in the Bronx, we can now
say that we attended the Mid Summer Classic that we watch on TV every year.
71. Derek
Sanderson Jeter…I think. Look, it can’t get any worse than it’s been the last
15 years…can it? (He continues to be my favorite baseball player of the last 25
years. I just pray that he’s just as
good as an owner, but not off to the greatest of starts.)
72. Electricity,
hot water, WiFi, DirectTv: because when you go through a hurricane, and we were
so blessed it didn’t hit us head on, you learn to appreciate the simplicity of
turning on a light switch and a light actually turning on.
73. Quiet
nights during the aftermath of the hurricane when you had nothing to distract
you from counting your blessings.
74. The sweat
of so many people that helped clean up our parish grounds to get our church
ready for Mass the Sunday after the hurricane.
75. That nice
cold glass of lemonade in the middle of a hot late summer afternoon between
cutting down trees or blowing leaves out of the parking lot.
76. Chainsaws
that really work and men (and nuns) who know how to really use them.
77. Karaoke
nights where I don’t know whether I’m singing well or if people are just lying
to me to not hurt my feelings.
78. Spaghetti
dinners with my parishioners because it’s a family dinner with basically my
entire parish family.
79. The joy of
a perfect weather carnival weekend.
80. The work
put in by so many good people over so many long hours to make it the perfect
carnival weekend.
81. Seeing so
many former students come to the carnival to tell me they miss being home at
Immaculate.
82. Taking an
endless parade of selfies with all those former students.
83. Just
Dance. Simply. Just Dance. (My First, My Last, My Everything)
84. Cinnamon
dipped beignets from the Powdered Doughnut accompanied by Bacon wrapped Fried
Oreos
85. Speaking
of doughnuts, how can I forget to mention the Maple Glazed Bacon Donut from the
Salty Donut (thank you UberEats).
86. Sitting in
a freezing dunk tank watching the joy of little children and not so little
children taking turns in dunking their pastor.
87. Hosting a
retreat earlier this year and hosting a Mass once a month for families of
children with special needs and discovering what I already knew: they are truly
part of God’s perfect design.
88. Helping
autistic children receive the sacraments against all odds because I know deep
in my heart that they comprehend God better than I ever will.
89. Carrying
on a group chat over several years and not being bothered when somebody texts
at a late hour because they’re in a different time zone.
90. Going back
to the place I once called home and being received with the same love that a son
receives when he returns.y
91. The truth,
and sometimes truth that hurts but I need to hear, from my former students from
back in the day that have my trust to speak and tell me what’s really on their
minds.
92. That no
matter how far these kids travel in life or how many lofty goals they achieve,
they still check in on me and love me unconditionally.
93. That they
still move me to tears when I see them achieve their lofty goals.
94. That I’m
now witnessing their marriages and baptizing their children.
95. Outrunning
thunderstorms in a really fast boat on Biscayne Bay with friends that are more
like family.
96. “I have
learned that being with those I love is enough.”
97. “Failure
waits for those who stay with the same success of yesterday”
98. “Rejoice
with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
99. “It is
easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass!”
100. “And
whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
