What an amazing story.
Meet Deacon Frank Bice, from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, a former seminarian who suffered a debilitating football injury in college but has turned it into an opportunity to minister to people around the world, via the web.
Newsday profiles him (subscription required), and notes:
“I’m really incredibly lucky,” said Bice, 51. “I really had a pretty good attitude” after the accident. “I really didn’t want to waste time hoping that this didn’t happen or wishing that this didn’t happen. My feeling was, let’s try to stay positive, and make the most of it.” The YouTube commentaries, called “Daily Hope,” touch on everything from Mike Tyson and his trainer Cus D’Amato, to Miami Heat star LeBron James, to the Peace Corps‘ first director, Sargent Shriver, to Bice’s days at Yale Divinity School. The videos are attracting hundreds of viewers, including a Middlebury College lacrosse star who says they help his game. “He’s someone I really look up to,” said John Duvnjak, a former All-American at Manhasset High School. “He’s always been an inspirational person.” At St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Manhasset, where Bice is a deacon, the Rev. Vincent Richie said Bice “is a wonderful preacher.” The YouTube commentaries are “wonderful little pieces.” In one recent segment about James, Bice said, “This man has an amazing gift. It’s as if he was born to be a basketball star. In the gospel today, Jesus says don’t let anything stop you from letting your light shine before everyone. That way you can glorify your heavenly father.” But James could have failed to let his light shine, Bice said. He had a tough childhood. “But he didn’t let that stop him from recognizing and living out his gift.”
Check out his daily video meditations at his blog. And watch this wonderful profile below. God bless you, Deacon Bice. You rock, dude. Ad multos annos!
And today we celebrate...