To the Band of Brothers: BYM Edition
Good afternoon!
Yes, afternoon. I know mornings are the usual time to possibly get an email from me, but it was a busy one and I couldn’t get to writing until now. I’m taking advantage of the fact the kids are spread out throughout the countryside picking and shoveling to let the creative juices flow.
Yesterday was a great day. There was a lot of work we got done. What helped is we got this aqueduct thing down to a science. The days of labor have opened our eyes to the most efficient and effective way to spread the kids out and get more done. Today is the last day of work and, God-willing, the completion of the project. Soon the water will be flowing.
Mass last night was powerful. I asked the kids a few days ago to think about why God called them on this trip. There are 200 guys in their class, why them? How did they end up as the select few? I am sure there are a bunch of reasons why, but even in the midst of those, they were the ones. Why?
The sharing to a large extent was answering that question. The answers came to them with each conversation with their friends or campesino. It came with every experience of working in the sun alongside a Dominican… we in our protective boots and they in their sandals. It is all about seeing all things new through the eyes of Jesus. It’s not good enough to say I am here because my mother signed me up. I am here because Jesus has called me to this place, at this time, for this purpose.
For the last couple of days, God has brought our brother Anthony Parodi ‘23 to my prayer and mind. It was finally last night when at Mass I specifically mentioned him to the guys. I told him that for some reason, God had asked me to include him in prayer. I realized after Mass why.
See, I had told the kids we had space for only 60 students. For this reason, there’s a waiting list of over 30 kids still sitting on my desk in Miami. Then, at the last minute, one of the guys got sick and couldn’t make it. There was no time to replace him. I mentioned it must have been that God wanted only 59. Then, after Mass, one of the guys said, “Father, God definitely wanted 60 on this trip… Anthony Parodi is the 60th man.”
Enough said.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.