Father's Day Homily 2019

The following homily was delivered on Father's Day 2019 (June 17, 2019) by Alfred J, Garrotto, owner of this blogsite, and his daughter, Cristina Garrotto, at Christ the King Church, Pleasant Hill, CA.  

Click the link below to view the video:

YouCut_20190616_140154167.mp4

The Following is the text of the homily in print.

Father’s Day Homily

Part I

Dad

Good (morn/aft/eve) . . .
(Introduce Cristina, who is sharing this Father’s Day homily.)

We’d like to share with you a very personal family story. How our family came together . . . and something about our lives together over the past 30 years. 

Every family needs an origin story—ours is best told in a bedtime story I used to tell the girls when they were little:

God commissioned two angels . . . each was to deliver a little girl to the Garrotto Family in Martinez . . . . On the way they made a wrong turn!

. . . . . One ended up in El Salvador . . . the other in Honduras

. . . . .Esther and I had to travel thousands of miles to find those lost children.

Cristina

Dad talked about “lost” angels. I want to share my story of finding my angels.

I was almost 4 when I first saw my parents. My first impressions were:
•  my “knight in shining armor” . . . most beautiful woman I’d ever seen—still today.

Some years later, I wrote a poem about my experience:

“Never shall I forget . . .”     

It began….. Never shall I forget
the day that changed my life forever,
the day that made me so excited
and so scared
at the same time.

Part II

Dad

6 years ago, our family hit a very rough spot in our history. . . Cristina made a choice that resulted in her leaving home . . . . and living on the streets . . . practically right in our own neighborhood.

This led to a lot of self-questioning on my part . . . sense of failure as a father/parent . . . I needed to let her go . . . I had to find that fine line between helping her . . . . and enabling her to remain in her addiction (which would have made her situation even worse).

We never stopped loving her . . . never stopped wishing her well . . . never stopped praying for her . . .

We committed ourselves to providing a safe port—if she ever decided to change her life . . . and come home to us.

During that whole time, our parish community joined with us in praying for Cristina . . . .

Every week, people asked about her and supported us with their love and promises of prayer . . . .

Some of you may be here today . . . . for which we will be eternally grateful.

Cristina

When I chose to leave my family. I felt broken and didn’t know how to fix myself. I made many poor choices. I lost my identity. At the same time I lost my family, my career as a Social Worker . . . all that used to be important to me.

Shame and guilt had built up so much that I couldn’t come back home. I didn’t care about the damage I caused my family.

I did to my parents what I feared most myself—I abandoned them.

I reached a point—my rock bottom—where the pain was unbearable.

I remember one specific day, just 15 months ago….

 • when 3 random strangers said, “You look like you need a hug.” Each one hugged me and I felt some sort of connection to their spirit.

•  The very next day . . . I called my mom who told me about her prayer the day before . . . “Jesus, find someone to put your arms around her today and guide her back home.”

At the point when I surrendered, I received the gift of desperation. This is when I reached out to my Higher Power.

I found peace . . . which led me back to my family . . . that peace gave me courage to be a daughter, reconcile with my sister (who is now my best friend), and—best of all—being a mother to my son again.

Part III

Dad

Over the past year our family has experienced the miracle of reunion . . . . This has been a time of healing for our family . . .
laughter has returned to our home . . . . . We rejoice over finding again the one we had almost lost.

We didn’t get the old Cristina back . . . . she was a whole new person
. . . . the Cristina we had not seen for many, many years.

Cristina

This journey has inspired me to be a beacon of hope to others in recovery and in my social work career, assisting the underserved homeless population.

I feel truly grateful for the love of my family . . . and never having to walk alone again. I’ve made my recovery my life, and I will never go back.

Conclusion

Dad

Dads (and moms, brothers, sisters), is someone in your family “off the rails” -- TODAY?

Today we heard St. Paul writing to Christians in Rome:

“trials produce patience, /  from patience comes merit; /
 merit is the source of hope, /  and hope does not disappoint us, /
the Holy Spirit has been given to us, /
pouring into our hearts the love of God.

So, never give up hoping . . . Don’t stop praying . . .

Be the Christ for your son, daughter, or loved one . . .
Be a safe harbor in the storm . . . when they find their way back.

Make your own the prayer that Esther prayed . . . .

“Jesus, find someone to put YOUR arms around my loved one today . . . . and guide them back home.” Amen!

Book Reviews: Walls of Lucca -- Above the Walls

The Walls of Lucca

A multigenerational romantic saga in the tradition Alessandro Manzoni’s 1827 Italian classic, “I Promessi Sposi” (The Betrothed). Physioc weaves his beautifully drawn characters through the destruction WWI to post-war rebuilding, heading toward impending disaster again as Benito Mussolini rises to power and WWII threatens to blacken the skies and hearts of Europe again. Along the way, the story treats the reader to lessons on Tuscan cuisine, the joy of vineyard life, and the wine-making process. The author adds more than a dash of humor to his narrative style, along with a spirituality that is both earthy and heavenly. Above all, “The Walls of Lucca” is about family, with all its human messiness and undying love. Family is the common link that speaks to readers of all ethnicities and citizenship. The sequel, “Above the Walls,” picks up where the first book ends. It deserves its own review. Combined, the two volumes provide a worthy companion—not rival—to Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables.”

Above the Walls

This sequel to The Walls of Lucca continues from the preamble to WWII to its devastating end. The plot revolves around three intertwined Tuscan families caught up in personal and global horrors of wartime Italy. Together, they strive to hold the middle ground of sanity and faith amid events that are both insane and antithetical to even the most basic spiritual and ethical values. Reading this book eighty years after the end of the war puts us at a disadvantage. For some readers, many of the close calls and narrow escapes of various family members strain plausibility. Had we lived in the conflicted Italy of the 1940s, we might not be so critical. This is a great read, offering tons of suspense and native wisdom, supported by a deep sense of spirituality amid the unimaginable evil surrounding one of the darkest periods of human history.

When Steve Physioc isn't writing, his other job is radio/TV commentator for the MLB Kansas City Royals.

Reviewed by Alfred J. Garrotto
Author and Manuscript Editor