47 Years

 Today, I am ordained a Paulist priest for 47 years.  Miracle!  When I left San Francisco in 1972 to join the Paulists religious order on the East Coast, several of my friends said that I would be back in a few weeks or at best a few months.  I was seen as a bad fit for this change.  I liked girls and I liked to party.  And I was selfish and self-centered.  I was also afraid, but did not know it at that transitional time in my life.  In summary, I had very little to offer God or the Catholic Church or the  Paulists,  but here I am 47 years later.  Though my faults and shortcomings opened the door to many mistakes and dissipation, I miraculously helped a lot of people.  Often, when I thought I was being helpful, I was actually being selfish.  Yet many times I was being helpful, unbeknownst to me.  I would show up, and God would do what God does with me.  So if you think yourself a mess, don't give up.  God, as I come to realize, is one of miracles.  Sober living.