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Michael Blissenbach's avatar

What a powerful story! More stories like these, please! A great reminder that God works in mysterious ways, especially lay Catholics working at secular companies and in secular fields, that you can make more of an impact on the people around you than you might think, and that you might learn things from them that draw you closer to Christ too.

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Bridget's avatar

yes! We have to have the humility to be open to receiving something from the people that we think we are "giving" to - not with the expectation that this will happen, because that would make the relationship transactional instead of a gift of oneself, but rather because a gift of self (which is, also, a gift to Christ in the other) *is* sometimes freely reciprocated if the door is open to it. If they desire to reciprocate, it seems to me that regardless of what they have (and even more so if they seem to have very little), God will provide them also with something more that he wants to give through them, and so we must never put someone in a box and think they have nothing to give (anything good that either party has to give, comes from God.)

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Michael Blissenbach's avatar

Also, as an addendum, This is a good example of what I subscribe to The Pillar for. I skip over all the Church scandal stuff and read these stories instead. I already know there’s a lot of bad stuff in the world, these stories remind me that there is hope.

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Joe McCarthy's avatar

I don’t skip over the scandal stuff… but this is a nice break and story to give you hope.

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Bridget's avatar

This is a great article. There are many good parts but this is my favorite part: "But God's ways are not ours. I saw in prayer that God was saying to me “Look, I let you do things your way for many years. Now it's time to do them my way." What happens is that God's way is how it hurts the most. But when you do what God wants, an inexplicable peace enters you."

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KA Byrnes's avatar

What a great mix of faith, history, and cooking! I'm happy to be educated about Catholicism in another country. And, as someone who loves the cooking shows, the little details about Father's dishes were very enjoyable.

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Edgar Beltrán's avatar

I can ask for the recipes if you wish!

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Michael Blissenbach's avatar

That would be great if we could get one of them!

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KA Byrnes's avatar

Hahaha! Oh, that's a wonderful offer. My joy in cooking shows lies in imagination, not culinary skills. But thank you so much. I assure you, just be reading your description, I could feel the breeze from Lake Maracaibo.

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Edgar Beltrán's avatar

Update from Fr. Marcos: I'm working on a cookbook, so don't worry!

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Rosemary Mary's avatar

Thank you for sharing this beautiful story! The pots and pans and the smell of the sea ! Wow! God is planting seeds while no one is looking and how lovely to see such fruit in his humble servant Fr. Marcos Garcia. His trust in God shines and I’m inspired how his courage and humility (and good home cooking) help breathe new life into a weary world that will always need God’s love and mercy.

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John Reardon's avatar

What can I say but Awesome n God bless😎

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Josee's avatar

What a great story. thank you Pillar and thank you Father!

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Karen's avatar

Thank you! My favorite line, “It is difficult and much more difficult if you do not trust that you are a messenger.”

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KP's avatar

This made me smile. What a beautiful priest. The Dominicans are doing something right at the moment…

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