There's No Need to Fear
Do you remember watching the old Underdog cartoons? It was actually one of my favorites. Here was this poor little beagle that works as a shoe shiner and has a crush on Sweet Polly Purebred who obviously pays no attention to him whatsoever. What chance does this guy, or pup, have when he’s short, weak, and has a dead-end job? Well, there’s no need to fear, Underdog is here. Just like that, he would run into a phone booth, take an Underdog Super Energy Pill and, BAM!, the booth would explode and he would take off flying. I love the intro to the cartoon: “Look in the sky. It’s a plane! It’s a bird! It’s a frog! A frog? Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog, It’s just little old me, Underdog.”
In my opinion the allure of the show as a kid (and, I admit, even as an adult) was exactly the fact that he was an underdog. While those around him were bigger, meaner, stronger, and more intelligent, the power he had inside was unleashed and he was able to overcome and do the good. Just think about it, as a little kid in the midst of having to deal with bullies, school work, and girls with cooties, Underdog was someone to look up to, someone who inspired hope.
This is also the reason why yesterday’s Super Bowl was such a hit. After so many years of the Saints being the laughingstock of the National Football League, the underdog team from an underdog city in an underdog state in the underdog south has triumphed. These guys have gone from the ‘Aints to the Super Bowl champion Saints and now everybody is looking into the sky and asking: “who dat?”
Better still, how about Drew Brees? The perfect underdog quarterback for this underdog team from an underdog city in an underdog state in the underdog south: who dat? This is a guy that measures 5’ 11’’ and was turned down by the University of Texas because they believed that he would never be able to play college football. Purdue gave him a shot and he was eventually named Academic All-American Player of the Year as a senior. Brees was later questionable as a starting quarterback in the NFL. He was selected in the second round by the Sand Diego Chargers in the 2001 NFL draft. The Chargers originally had the first pick in that draft, but traded it to the Atlanta Falcons who used their pick on Michael Vick (and we know how that went). Now Brees is a Super Bowl champion and MVP: that’s who dat is.
You know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of the scene in the first book of Samuel when God sends the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to visit the house of Jesse because one of Jesse’s sons was to be anointed king of Israel. Jesse had several sons, so which one was Samuel to anoint? He figures that it would be the oldest because he was the strongest, the most intelligent, and the best looking of all the sons and Samuel figured these are the qualities you need to rule a nation.
So standing with the oldest of Jesse’s sons, ready to pour the oil of anointing over his head, the Lord warns the prophet: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (16:7). Bam! Take that Samuel. On to the scene comes David… who dat? Well, the youngest, weakest, and least experienced of Jesse’s children: a shepherd for God’s sake. The Lord said to Samuel: “there, rise and anoint him; he is the one” (16:12).
So congratulations to all you Saints fans who through thick and thin have been faithful for so many years to your team. The long awaited time is here and the struggles have made the victory that much sweeter. Last night’s win was one for the little guys, the underdogs and has helped to ignite a spark of hope for us weary Dolphin fans. A hope that maybe one day in the not too distant future our lowly Dolphins (who dat?) will be anointed with the chrism of victory and proclaimed the unlikely kings of the football world.
God bless,
Fr. Willie ‘87
Monday, February 08, 2010 5:36:00 PM
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Will You Accept A Collect Call From...
On Wednesday Belen began offering a texting service to our students as a way of supplying them with important information or announcements. The idea was presented to us by Andres Novoa ‘10 vice-president of the Student Council and son of alumnus Alex Novoa ‘83. Students can log on to the Belen website and there will be a prompt that asks them if they want to sign up for the service. By supplying their name, cell number, and carrier they will be able to receive texts sent out by the Dean of Students that will inform and remind them of upcoming events.
For example, let’s say that there is a school-wide mass tomorrow and the students have to come in their gala uniform. A text will go out in the afternoon that will remind them of that. This way we avoid having a parent pull into Belen the next morning and notice all the kids in gala uniform and their son wearing his PE shorts and shirt because on Fridays physical education is his first class. It helps avoid the awkward and possibly violent conversation with a young teenage boy who, that early in the morning, doesn’t even remember what street he lives on. It helps to keep the young man from rushing the lost and found and sifting through jackets some poor little sixth graders lost at the beginning of the year and then trying to fit into one. Then, he spends the whole time at mass hiding his blue pants so that no disciplinarian, teacher, or administrator will see him.
It’s funny, but I am of the opinion that in this great age of information we are less, or at least more poorly, informed. I think we have grown to rely so much on instant access to information that we feel we do not have to retain it; we have grown unaccustomed to making the effort. When I was growing up, since we did not have cell phones or the internet, we had to remember everything and be on top of it if we wanted to survive. We had to be sure to say what we needed to say when the person was with us or fork out a quarter to use a pay phone and hope the other person was at home or in the office.
Remember having to make collect calls? This seems archaic now, but there were actually days when you could find a payphone on every corner and ask the operator to make the call because you had no money. Of course the success of the call depended on the person you were calling accepting the charges. My mother and I had a system that when I needed to get picked up from school after practice or a meeting I would call collect. When the operator asked my mom if she would accept the call she would say “no.” I may not have spoken to my mother, but she knew she needed to pick me up.
But who needs those cheap tricks nowadays? Cell phones are cheaper than quarters for a payphone anyway. If the technology is there, let’s use it for the good of our boys and the peace of mind of transporter parents.
God bless,
Fr. Willie ‘87
Friday, February 05, 2010 5:10:19 PM
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Right On The Dotted Line
Only in America do they have a whole day dedicated to signing letters of intent for a collegiate sport. My grandfather is a collegiate athlete. He played soccer and ran track at the University of Havana, but I don’t think they had a signing day. Actually, I think the way it happened was that he was coming out of one of his classes and they asked him if he wanted to play. He said yes, they gave him a jersey, and he played. He didn’t sign a thing, not even a waiver in case he got clobbered on the field.
But that was then and this is now. In case you were not aware, yesterday was National Signing Day for those high school students who are going to play college football and Belen had seven seniors sign letters of intent. If I am not mistaken, which I am many times but not this time, it is the largest number of seniors signing at one time. We held the ceremony in the administrative building’s meeting room where sitting at a table were seniors Eddy Franca (Trinity College), Chris Esteban (Wagner College), Reggie Colas (Wagner College), Nigel Dondo (Wagner College), Sergio Fernandez-Soto (Lehigh University), Pablo Alvarez (University of Virginia), and Vicente Fernandez (University of Chicago).
We are very proud of our seven seniors because they have proven themselves on the field and in the classroom. These are young men that have been raised at Belen. Young men that have worked hard since middle school to get to where they are. We have seen them grow from tiny sixth graders to whopping seniors; no artificial colors or flavors. They didn’t slip in at the last minute, they didn’t follow a coach here, and they didn’t come in the side door. They were never given a break, they were never cut any slack, and no exceptions were ever made. They are pure bred, 100%, garden-fresh, no preservatives, organic Belen.
Just as we like ‘em.
God bless,
Fr. Willie ‘87
Thursday, February 04, 2010 8:58:11 PM
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The Dragon Slayer
If there is one individual that I remember seeing on television in the 80s all the time it was Lech Walesa. It seemed that every time I turned on the TV to watch anything, an image of the guy would show up. I must admit that because of my young age the only mustached individual I was interested in seeing on television was Captain Kangaroo. I was a faithful disciple of Bob Keeshan and would watch him every Saturday morning. I was amazed at how this old man with a dorky suit and even dorkier haircut was able to drag me out of bed every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. just to say “Good Morning Captain!”
I credit the Captain with introducing me to a side of Bill Cosby I only knew from Fat Albert. Mr. Cosby featured a segment called Picture Pages. He use to draw with a pen that had a cutout of a bee on it and it made noises when he used it. I remember asking my mother to look for one so that I could take it to school, but I also remember asking her a couple of days after she bought it for me to bury it in the backyard because I got beat up by some school bullies for using it.
But back to Walesa… there is no doubt that the 80s were tumultuous in the history of Eastern Europe and in large part it was due to feisty little guys like him. After so many years of Soviet domination, this husky electrician turned rabble rouser and political leader, slowly made his way into newspapers and magazines. Before he knew it he was labeled a hero and held high on the shoulders of the free world.
I remember how we use to pray for him and his Solidarity movement at mass on Sundays because Pope John Paul II was a fan and a victory for Solidarity was a victory for the Church. Remember, when Our Lady of Fatima revealed the importance of praying for the downfall of the “red dragon,” it was clear in everyone’s mind that she was specifically referring to the Soviet Union. So on the scene appears Walesa, the dragon slayer. He was simple, he was bold, he was courageous, and he squared off against communism. For Cuban exiles in Miami that is the tripartite recipe for heroic leadership. Put him up with there with the likes of Reagan and Thatcher.
Now fast forward to February 2, 2010. The former president of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize winner was invited by Miami Dade College to speak at Miami’s historic Freedom Tower on the topic of human rights and the future of Cuba. One of our alumni involved in the organization of this luncheon extended an invitation to Belen and so we, of course, jumped on it. Led by Social Studies Department Chairperson Mr. Patrick Collins and Fr. Michael Chesney, S.J. (of Polish descent mind you), eight of our students dressed in gala uniform headed downtown to take part in the event. And while the place was a bit crowded, as the Holy Spirit would have it, after the luncheon, when the kids headed off to the bay to take a look at another historic landmark, they ran into President Walesa who posed for a few pictures.
Not bad for a little school that has done its share of standing up to dragons. Do widzenia (that’s goodbye in Polish by the way).
God bless,
Fr. Willie ‘87
Wednesday, February 03, 2010 7:12:00 PM
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OLLA
Last night I celebrated the Lourdes Ring Ceremony Mass at Epiphany. For several years, actually since I was ordained in 2000, I have been celebrating some of the masses held throughout the year for the girls over at Lourdes Academy. Let me tell you, it’s an awesome pleasure. After spending the whole day with these boys here at Belen and having to look at their ugly mugs, it’s a blessing to gaze upon the lovely faces of the girls from Lourdes.
Lourdes Academy and I go way back. Fondly do I remember the days back in the 80s when Sr. Peter Mary, IHM would have to chase me off the Lourdes campus. I remember how dependent the success of any dance at Belen was on the presence of the Bobcats and how we had to get Expose to sing in our central patio in order to be sure they were there. I remember that going to the movies, horseback riding, the beach, and parties were a lot more exciting if there were girls from Lourdes going with us.
But the biggest tie with the school is that Lourdes shares with Belen the same mission: to raise and educate Catholics. I know that what motivates my sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the desire to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the young women of Miami. How can I not celebrate their masses?
The ring ceremony was beautiful. It was good to put some faces to the names I hear the boys speaking to secretly on their cell phones or BBMing on their Blackberries. The gospel they chose for the mass was from St. Matthew, “you are the salt of the earth” (5:13). To prove a point I pulled out a piece of beef jerky I happen to have in my pocket. I told them that three qualities of beef jerky are that it doesn’t go bad (the expiration date on the bag was 2037), it tastes great, and makes you thirsty.
Those three qualities are directly linked to the presence of salt in the jerky (27% sodium!). The salt keeps it from going bad, makes it tasty, and causes the thirst after you eat it. Just like the salt in jerky they, as disciples of Christ, are called to keep the world from going bad by being good, they are called to add spice to a world that is made bland by sin, and their contact with the world should make the world thirst for Christ. I don’t know if Jesus was thinking about jerky, but if he were around today I assure you he would agree.
Congratulations to the Lourdes class of 2011! Wear those rings with pride and let them remind you and the world of the values you have learned at OLLA. The values that make you the salt of the earth.
God bless,
Fr. Willie ‘87
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 4:31:00 PM
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