If we hadn’t seen enough Christmas lights this season — on houses, trees, bushes, and department stores — this past Sunday, we were absolutely festooned with them. The reading from Isaiah announced in the very first line: “Your light has come!” And it kept on coming. “Nations shall walk by your light,” the prophet continues, and the Scriptures go on to speak of “shining radiance,” “light,” and, in Matthew’s memorable gospel, the star that guided the magi to Bethlehem. We are positively blinded by illumination.

I am the most blessed priest in the world! Ordained in 1971, I served in parishes in the diocese and as chaplain at the Pratt Institute for more than 20 years. During those years, I spent summers in Paris as the English-speaking priest at the Notre Dame Cathedral. I did that until COVID-19 and the fire.

In my mid-20s, I realized I should live alone for a while. It was a different time then, and getting my own apartment just off the Grand Concourse — 10 blocks north of Yankee Stadium — wasn’t going to cost much more than the apartment I shared a short walk from the stadium.

I wish to express my deep appreciation to all who have served this country. You are not just a group but a unique collective bound by shared experiences and an unparalleled spirit of service and sacrifice.

Before I converted, God gave me a mission, which soon became the idea for my nonprofit, The Solution to Hunger, Inc. I could see how all the components began to fit together to create something innovative and new that could truly become the solution to world hunger. I felt like God spoke to me then. The problem was I didn’t know how to make the vision come to life. So, I got to work on what I could do.