New York, NY

On September 27th, I left Danbury and drove to Greenwich, Connecticut, where arrangements had been made for me to leave my car when I went to New York City. Once I got to Greenwich, Brother Ed was kind enough to pick me up to save me the hassle of driving and finding parking in Manhattan. After arriving at the Brothers’ apartment, I went to Confession with one of the other guys who was visiting the Brothers. After Confession, we stepped outside before Mass was about to start. While we were standing there, I saw a homeless man down on one knee, crying in front of the statue in front of the church. He stayed there for about 10 minutes. Paralyzed with indecision, I stood there and watched, unsure if I should offer assistance or just let him be. Eventually, he stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes, gathered his belongings, and headed down the street in my direction. Knowing I would regret it if I didn’t, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself. He told me that his name was Mike. I asked Mike if I could pray with him and he replied, “I need all the prayers I can get” (please keep Mike in your prayers). Assuring him that he wasn’t the only one who needed extra prayers, I started to pray. Just as I started, two strangers came up and joined in! So there we were, four strangers who stopped to pray on the street in one of the busiest cities in the world! After we got back from Mass, we joined the Brothers for dinner. Later that night, some of the guys took me to see Times Square!

The next day, after walking through Washington Square Park, I got to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Pope Francis had said Mass several days earlier. At the front of the church was the relic of St. Maria Goretti, the youngest canonized saint in the Catholic Church! After Mass, we grabbed lunch and decided to forego the subway ride back to the apartment and take the scenic route on foot instead.

On Tuesday, Brother Ed took me to the De La Salle School in Freeport to spend some time with the kids there. After a tour, I got to play foursquare with the students at recess. Following our time at the school, we went to Jones Beach to watch the ocean waves roll in. Once the rain started to fall, we made our way to Queens to meet some of the friends of the Brothers for dinner.

On Wednesday, I decided to venture out on my own. After getting directions from Brother Ed, I took the subway by myself to pay my respects at the 9/11 memorial. After spending some time there, I walked down Wall Street and got some financial advice: “don’t spend any more money on the subway” said me, to myself. After receiving sage financial guidance, I decided to take the free Staten Island ferry so I could see the Statue of Liberty. After the ferry got back, I decided to heed my own advice and not spend any more money on the subway. I set out on my five mile walk back to the apartment… and quickly changed my mind. Right before my phone ran out of battery, I was able to check MapQuest to see which subway I was supposed to take back. After checking MapQuest, I hopped on the subway and waited five stops to get off, just like I was instructed to. When I got off the subway and up onto the streets, the buildings didn’t look as tall as I had remembered them being. I walked a little bit and then asked someone where I was. SURPRISE! I was in Brooklyn. Not Manhattan… Brooklyn. So with no GPS available on my phone, and no idea how to get back, I started asking around. Back underground, trying to find the right subway to take, I asked three different subway conductors and got three different answers as to which subway was going to get me where I needed to go. After a crowded subway ride and a mile long walk, I made it back to the apartment!

Later that night, I met some people from a Catholic young adult group who were planning to give clean socks to the homeless, sit and talk with them, and then invite them for pizza. The guy that I met on the streets was named Mickey (please pray for Mickey). I told him that I didn’t have much to offer except a clean pair of socks, but he said that was exactly what he needed! He could not have been more grateful for them. After sitting and talking for about 15 minutes, I said goodbye to Mickey and set out to make some new friends. Before the night was over, our group was able to talk with a handful of people in need and provide them with some fresh slices of pizza.

On October 1st, I went with Brother Ed to a job fair at La Salle University in Philadelphia to help represent the Christian Brothers. After an afternoon at the job fair, we met up with some of the “Contacts”. Contacts are young men who are considering becoming Brothers. At dinner, the menu had 100 options, but only one acceptable one: the Philly cheesesteak. After good food and good company, we visited a few more Contacts, then headed back to New York for the night.

On Friday, we met another Contact for brunch and then headed back to Greenwich, Connecticut, to pick up my car. From there, I drove to Lincroft, New Jersey, to stay with another community of Brothers. Thankfully, Hurricane Joaquin took a right turn and headed out to sea rather than coming straight up the coast. After an ominous forecast, the sun is shining again and I am safe and dry!

Thank you to Brother Ed and the rest of the Brothers for hosting me. Thank you to everyone who helped to show me around the city. Thank you to the young adult group for the good work that you do every month. Thank you to U.S. hurricane forecasters for being wrong. And thank you to all of you who continue to support me and pray for me!