Faith is truly a gift. Throughout my life I have come to appreciate this gift; it was through my great-grandmother “Nana Bell” where I came to understand the gift of faith that has been passed down from generation to generation. She did not have a degree, did not graduate from high school, she was poor and lived in public housing; however, her wealth came from her reliance on God.

I learned through the example of my great-grandmother that Holy Mass was the most important thing in life and therefore I would walk with her to St. Anthony Catholic Church during the heat of the summer months and the cold of winter. My great-grandmother’s love and devotion to our blessed Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, was an inspiration to me as a young boy. I learned of our Lady’s maternal protection of her son Jesus; something I foster in my own life and try to teach others.