Doctors told his mother she should have an abortion. Doctors gave him a 2% chance of survival. Doctors said his life would be filled with so much pain, it wouldn’t be worth living.
His father abandoned their family, leaving them homeless. His father told him he wasn’t good enough to be his son. He turned his back on God and instead turned to to a life of promiscuity, drugs and partying.
The above mentioned is the story of Father Frankie Cicero and you won’t believe what happens next.
He becomes a priest. He reconciles with his father. He scores nearly 14 million likes on TikTok. He finds complete joy.
If you follow Fr. Frankie on social media, you will quickly fall in love with his playful spirit. He brings such a high energy into his faith. He dances, he pokes fun at himself, he does anything he can think of to spark joy in Jesus. Among my favorites are his 20-second devotionals in which he delivers a strong punch of faith so quick even us social media junkies have the attention span to tune in.
Today on Halo Fr. Frankie shared the story of his surrender to Jesus. I think it is one of our society’s worst misconceptions that in surrendering your life to Jesus you must sacrifice your happiness. Initially when we think of giving up things such as wealth, fame, indulgences, we associate that with a decreased quality of life. When in reality, those who surrender themselves to God’s plan end up being the most joyful. I use the word “joy” over “happiness” because I feel like sometimes happiness can be faked with superficial achievements, whereas pure joy can never be forged. When you see someone joyful, you know it. They have an aura of contentment in their lives. They are at peace. And it is not due to anything in this world that can be bought.
In one of Fr. Frankie’s homilies, he discusses a research study he found in which people who read scripture 4 times a week, experienced 9 tangible benefits in their lives. These benefits included a significant decrease in loneliness, anger, bitterness, and alcoholism. So, if you don’t want to surrender yourself to Jesus because you feel you are too selfish, that’s really the number one reason to do it! Be selfish but be selfish for Jesus. If you don’t want to follow Jesus for any other reason, then do it for the benefit of vastly improving your own life. For I have never heard of anyone, that truly surrendered to Jesus, and lived without joy.
Doctors were quick to prophesize the limitations of Fr. Frankie’s quality of life, but they grossly underestimated the power of God’s plan. Will you?