In our family growing up, we had a rule: never say that something was the “last” time. Coming about not because of our fear of closure or bringing something to an end but because we had an uncanny ability to run into trouble when we declared something the “last.” For an example, I remember sledding all day once when I was about 10. We must have went down this hill 50 times without incident. But when my dad said, “Okay, this is the last time and then we’re going home,” somehow we forgot how to sled: we went too fast, lost control, flipped over, and banged our heads together. Such was the case for about a dozen things until we banned the word. Never say that it’s the “last” one.
Yeah… about that.
You’ll notice in this week’s video that I forgot our family rule. Not only did I use the word “last,” but I dramatically set it up as the focus of the video from the start. This was going to be the theme that I would run with throughout the vlog, trying to tie the events into a reflection of the trip.
Now, nothing went tragically wrong. I’ll say that. But mistakes were made, and I found myself truly limping to the finish line with this one. Tuesday afternoon came and I realized that I hadn’t filmed anything but the opening 1-2 minutes. What was I going to do with the video? Ugh. The curse of the last one. Even after I filmed on Tuesday to put something together, I realized that I did not once say where I was on this trip. Sorry St. Mary’s of Pompton Lakes. My bad.
Anyway, the mission itself went well and I really enjoyed being with the people of the parish. I hope that the video is fun to watch nonetheless, and that it might serve as a cautionary tail: never declare something the “last”!
Luckily for us, this is not the “last” video of the tour as I’m putting together some fun things from the weekend and plan on wrapping everything up with another video next week. Enjoy!
Breaking In The Habit 
Brother, your ministry is remarkable! Your blogs and vlogs are so in touch with the world in which we live. We need more brothers and priests like you!
Sorry I missed you in New Jersey las week. I live a half hour away. We were packing to leave for vacation in Gettysburg that day. I believe this is near your home turf. One of your fellow Friars is a good acquaintance of mine.
How can I get an autographed copy of your book?