I was born and raised in a little town called Odem, where the train stops highway traffic at least three times a day. I have two older sisters, LeeAnn and Rosie, and one younger brother Brian. I have been married to my lovely wife, Jennifer, for the last 25 years. Together we have five beautiful and talented children Mariah, Timothy, Hillary, Aiden, and Petey. For 22 years now, I am employed by the Department of Defense as a Federal Firefighter. I am currently stationed at N.A.S. Kingsville.
I was brought up in a single-parent home, and my mother was the backbone of my family. She was both mom and dad. She ruled with a loving heart and a heavy hand. I deservedly felt that heavy hand, along with a belt, shoe, and paddle at times, but her love for me was much greater than the disciplinary side of her.
My mother was the first, as most mothers are, to bring me up in the Church. I was a typical kid – not wanting to wake up for Mass, hoping that she would just go herself and leave me behind. But little did I know she would wake up extra early and make it seem like she was running late, drag me out of bed, and take my little brother and me to church. To my amazement, we always arrived on time. My mother laid the foundation of my faith even though I did not realize it at the time.
I came to a point in my life when I wanted to know more about our Catholic faith. It’s funny how we can get stuck in our faith and just go through the motions. You go to church; you make the sign of the cross; it turns into a kind of like ritualistic behavior.
But why do we do all those things we do in Mass from hearing the Liturgy, standing for the Gospel, kneeling for the Consecration. I can go on and on.
All those things are there to facilitate an encounter with Christ, our Lord, at the altar. Sometimes we as a Church can forget that. The longest journey we as Catholics will ever have to take is from our minds to our hearts. It’s not enough to know about God; we have to fall in love with him. It can be a difficult journey for some.
When we fall in love with Him, and we have that encounter that introduces us to Him, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we look at the same faith we have had since we were little with a different set of eyes.
That is what happened to me when I attended a Cursillo retreat. That retreat broke down walls I had built that prevented me from falling in love with God. The retreat allowed me to develop my prayer life, which led me to adoration and wanting more. I suddenly felt myself being drawn to the Church, drawn to worship in front of our Lord – to the point that I just wanted to be in His presence.
It was through prayer that Jesus called me to the diaconate. I would ask and pray, “God, why me?” to “Are you sure you want me to become a deacon?” If you ever want to make Jesus laugh, just tell him your plans. Jesus has formed me from the beginning.
He put people in my life who would lead me to where I am today—beginning with my mother dragging me to Mass. To my altar server coordinators, all my religious education teachers, the many priests that have come through our parish, my parish community, and especially my wife. Behind every good man is a good woman keeping him going in the right direction.
God does all the work. All we have to do is say yes to Him. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. Ch16 v25).