-Good day to you all, and welcome to the last chat among bloggers of this year.
Being December, the last month of the year, is a time to reflect on what has been and plan what will come. And then it is the months that bring us Christmas that, whether celebrated religiously or in a more pagan way, are still a special time of year, bringing us all together and, ideally, all a bit nicer.
For all these reasons, I wanted the guest of this month to be a special one, and so it is my pleasure to introduce you to Gerry Palermo from .…..https://deacongerrypalermo.blog/
As usual, now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the chat.
O- Good day, Gerry, and thank you for joining me today. I know you are forbidden by your family to say too much about your private life, so just introduce yourself with what you can reveal.
G- Yes, my family doesn’t allow me to discuss them at all. Anyway, not much to say, I’m the average guy with family and friends. Recently, a grandpa. Now that is cool. Literally, this is all they allow me to reveal.
O- I have been following your blog for a while now, and I can say, you are not so average to me. To start with, in fact, you are a deacon, which is also why I wanted you to close the round of interviews. No more appropriate guest for the season. So, now, the question comes naturally: What brought you to become a deacon?
G- You really have the space for THAT answer? LOL.
A Nun specifically asked me not to be ordained. She felt, in our work together, that I
could do more good as a layman dedicated to Social Justice than as a deacon in the
Church. The priest who paid for my ordination told me afterwards he regretted ordaining
me as I was a disappointment to him. God had other plans. It taught me early that
vocation is God’s work, not people’s expectations. On the other hand, the priest who first encouraged me and remains a friend to this day told me recently, I am the reason
he has hope in his own ordination.
I have happily disappointed so many and pleased so few! I have so many good stories
pre- and post-call to the diaconate.
Here is what I want you to know, and it’s a bit of a goosebump moment. On April 12, 1963, a local newspaper, Newsday, republished the encyclical Pacem in Terris. I remember reading the encyclical in its entirety, moved to tears and praying. I was five and a half.
Pretty sure I glossed over some words (ha!), but the sheer weightiness of love in pain
came through loud and clear as the times we lived then.
Peace on Earth, men of good will – my personal credo.
O- What a story! And how come you started blogging?
G- I was at a deacon seminar, and the deacon presenting urged us to consider having an
online presence as a matter of ministry outreach. I took him up on it, April 23, 2017, as it was the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. Slow start, but eventually just
about daily now. Over 2,200 posts and about 200 short stories, teaching programs,
prayers, podcasts, etc., on spiritual topics.
O- How do you find the WordPress community?
I am deeply moved by the genius of the bloggers in the WordPress community. I follow
89 of the blogs. They are from a variety of different cultural, political, and religious
traditions. The marvellous creativity of expression, character of traditions, and the novelty of ideas shared within the WP community are uplifting for me. Quoting Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our
people need it sorely on these accounts”. Bloggers help me travel the world!
O- That’s nice!!! But you are quite active on other socials too, like IG and Threads. What’s your opinion and relationship with socials?
G- Yes, very much active. I use IG for photo essays, Snapchat for quick photo sharing,
and Threads for general and political awareness of what people are talking about and saying regarding their lives and things that matter to them. I left Twitter (X) due to the toxicity (too reactive and invoked reactivity in me). Facebook seems to be required by family and friends, so I joined long ago, quit for a while, then rejoined lately after people calmed down and stopped ranting. Here, too, I enjoy following family, friends, and familiar strangers in the shared diary of their lives. I bless them all and always pray for those seeking prayer. https://www.threads.com/@gerard.palermo
O- Wow, that’s far more than I thought. You are like a frizzy teenager. Fair play to you for keeping up with all those platforms.
Now, something more personal, but do not worry, not involving your family.
What is faith to you?
G- If I may, I am going to not use specific catholic definitions, which, while wonderful, are not personal, per se. Faith is a shared space of trust. The Divine Love trusts me to ‘become’ using the gifts he gave me as a reflection of our relationship and His Divine Nature becoming in me. I, in turn, trust the Divine Love to aid me on this journey of love. I am 100% certain that the Divine Love is moved to help me be his image and act just like him. I like him and want to be like him.
O- Faith and modern life, to your eye, what can you tell us?
G- I think we complicate things too much. I sure could answer with good habit tips and bad habit-breaking tips. In the end, though, it really is about deciding to serve the human
family as family in whatever way suits your personality, skills, and resources.
O- If I say Christmas, what is the first thing you think of? What does this time of the year
represent for you as a man and as a deacon?
G- I had a wonderful childhood. Overall, I have the very fondest memories about
growing up. All holidays were made special by Mom and Dad. Christmas to me is family, sharing, gifts, food, and Church (yes, church was the foundation stone, but not #1 in my thoughts – sorry, I was just a kid). As a man, HOPE. Christmas is about hope for humankind. As a deacon, LOVE. Can anyone actually look at a newborn baby and not
be moved with love? As a citizen, CHARITY. I link citizen and charity as the social -shareable far and wide – dimensions of hope and love. Charity is evidence of hope.
Charity is evidence of love.
O- Let’s go for something a bit more trivial now:
Tea or coffee?
G- Coffee.
O- Red wine, white wine, or beer?
G- Stout. Then red wine.
O- Sweet or savoury?
G- Sweet tooth wins!
O- I knew you were my kind of person!
Now, three things you are grateful for, every day.
G- So many things boiled down to three. Relationships, family, and friends are #1.
Health is #2. And #3 ministry(truth be told, #3 is #1, but that is a socially unacceptable response).
I am never more alive than when doing good. I wish I were more #3.
O- That’s very honest of you and interesting. Any special message for the new year or to end the old year more gracefully?
G- I say, end the year with Gratitude and Restitution. Pick a gift you’ve received and offer thanks. Pick a wrong you’ve done, make it right.
Begin the New Year in Awe. You are an awesome reflection of the Divine Person. The
entirety of the world, galaxy, and distant stars is your garden, play in it with awe. I am
in Awe of the things the Lord has done in the Cosmos and even down to the very breath
we take.
For your readers:
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord be kind to you and grant you peace. So be it! Amen!
O- That was lovely, Gerry. Thank you so much and for this beautiful chat. May your Christmas be filled with joy and love, and so much so the year ahead.
Well, this is it, as I said in the beginning, it was the last chat of the year, and I am sure you agree with me that it couldn’t be more special.
Thank you all for sharing some of your precious time with my guests and I. I hope to see you all back in the new year for more chats.
Love,Ortensia
