10 Year Priesthood and Food Network!!!
I can’t believe it, but I’ll celebrate my 10th year of priesthood this Friday, June 5th. It’s incredibly cliché, but nonetheless true when I say, “Ten years has gone by so quickly!” Granted, there were those particular days when I wondered if the day would ever end. You know that feeling, especially when a priest gives a really long homily! Ugh! Sigh!
Me in Orvieto. I’d rather kiss a pig than listen to a boring homily!
Some days, however, have gone by so quickly I retire at the end of the day slightly embarrassed about just how little I got accomplished. It’s no excuse, but it’s true: there just wasn’t enough time! And although I am determined to do better the next day, it seems like time keeps its own schedule – which doesn’t always correspond to mine!
Timing is everything! That’s true for telling jokes, making a big sale, and cooking the perfect meal. Good timing is necessary for successful living.
Fr. Leo teaching seminarians Carbonara – egg and pancetta pasta which requires perfect timing for real authentic results.
Don’t worry, I won’t offer you time-tested advice. After only 10 years of priesthood, I can’t offer the sage-like-advice of some aged and grey-headed Confucious character, simply because I’m not that old – yet!
But after 10 years I have learned something about time. I’ve learned that while it’s generally better for us to slow things down in life (by slowing down ourselves), it’s usually not a good idea to try and speed things up for ourselves. Speeding up time oftentimes leads to children becoming mommies and daddies too soon; getting wrinkles more quickly; speeding equals expensive traffic tickets; and, in some cases, moving too quickly can lead young couples to become young widows or widowers.
For me and the Grace Before Meals movement I can see the obvious parallels between life, cooking, and taking time. Try to cook chicken quickly. We can take it out of the oven too quickly and risk eating it raw, or we can try to speed things up by turning up the heat and dry it out. Life and life’s lessons are like that – they take time.
Our modern world’s craving for immediate and instant success leads to early failures. Overnight success oftentimes winds up as a tragic story on a front-page tabloid and entertainment show. Long-lasting satisfaction doesn’t – shouldn’t – can’t happen overnight.
Let me admit something: after 10 years of struggling through the priesthood’s demanding schedule, patience is still not my strong suit. That’s probably why I’m not a baker. I prefer high heat and quick fire dishes! But I definitely value the virtue of patience and I pray for it everyday. After all, “Good things come to those who wait.”
Perhaps it’s providential that it’s taken 10 years of priesthood and many years of working on Grace Before Meals before we were considered to take this movement to an even bigger audience. It’s taken this long for me to realize the Grace Before Meals movement can’t be a huge success in a microwaveable minute. In order for this movement to grow, it requires patience, perseverance, and God’s timing!
But now I think the time is right: Food Network will be coming to do some filming next week!
What a gift God has given to me to commemorate 10 years of priesthood and the production team’s many years of long and hard work! After years of working on this project, I began to wonder if anyone ever noticed, or if this Web site is making a difference for your faith, your family, and mealtime fun? At times, I’ve wondered if taking time to produce the Webisodes are worth it? Does anyone even watch these things?
It’s taken me some time to finally realize people are watching. People are paying attention. People do think this message about family meals is important.
A young fan in South Carolina.
And who is watching? Who seems to care? Well, someone at Food Network thinks this idea is good enough for them!
No, I won’t have my own Food Network Show. And no, I won’t be a judge on Iron Chef either – which is what I hoped for when they called! After all, I’d at least be honest!
Instead, Food Network will be conducting a two-day shoot about Grace Before Meals for one of their upcoming specials. They want to highlight my Fusion Fajitas – a big hit with my family and the seminarians!
Deacons Joe Upton and John Reutemann who taste-tested my recipe.
This week, please take time and say a prayer for me – and all of those priests celebrating anniversaries this year. Please say a prayer that we continue to persevere, knowing that the good things in life do not happen instantly, but only through patience. In fact, prayers help us remember that Eternal Life can’t be found here on an earth that won’t last forever. But glimpses of heaven can be detected if we are patient enough to pray through our struggles and see things in a more loving and Godly way.
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Some of my classmates at the Nalty Tree Farm in Jan 09
Finally, please pray for me next week (June 8th and 9th) as I film with Food Network. Pray I don’t say anything stupid, or more importantly, that I don’t cut my finger trying to chop onions too quickly! And if you want to be part of the action, come to the Mass that will be taped by Food Network on Monday, June 8, at Mount St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Chapel. If we take time for Mass – even if it sometimes feels like a really long Mass – we receive the Food that lasts forever!
Fusion Fajita
The recipe that Food Network wants to highlight is my take on a traditional Mexican Dish – Fajitas! Since I’m Filipino and only part Spanish, but also heavily influenced by all of my travels, I had to throw in an internationally infused flavor to the traditional dish. I have a special marinade to wake up the hangar steak, which is generally a tough piece of meat that can easily dry out if overcooked.
Unfortunately, I probably can’t give you the recipe until after the Food Network filming. For now, you can simply watch another version of my more traditional fajitas that I made with my brother and sister-in-law in their home last year.
So, click here for the video and recipe.
Celebrating 10 years of Feeding the Flock!
If you remember, I was in Lincoln, NE last week for that Diocese’s ordinations. Before I officially departed from the great state of Omaha, I had a chance to visit some seminarians going through spiritual exercises at Creighton University. Their chapel and the expert guidance of their staff will lead them to a deeper confidence in God’s Call.
I also visited my classmate, Fr. Ryan Lewis (the priest on right), who celebrates his 10th year priesthood on the same day as my anniversary – June 5, 1999. Together with Fr. Taphorn (the priest on left) and a few seminarians, we celebrated the joy of our brotherhood and our priesthood.
If you’re ever in Omaha, be sure to stop by Spezia Restaurant for some Oma-wowed Style Italian food and tender steaks!
Let us Pray:
Most gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank You for our faithful priests and bishops, whose spiritual fatherhood and example of fidelity, self-sacrifice, and devotion is so vital to the faith of Your people.
May our spiritual fathers be guided by the examples of Saints Peter and Paul, all the Apostles and their saintly successors. Give them valiant faith in the face of confusion and conflict; hope in time of trouble and sorrow; and steadfast love for You, for their families, and for all Your people throughout the world. May the light of Your Truth shine through their lives and their good works.
Assist all spiritual fathers, that through Your Grace they may steadily grow in holiness and in knowledge and understanding of Your Truth. May they generously impart this knowledge to those who rely on them.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
This prayer is from the Women for Faith & Family Web site.
St. Jean Marie Vianney – Patron Saint for all Diocesan Priests.
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