Perseverance
The year was 1886. On July 13th of that year, in a dirt-floor stone hovel in County Roscommon, Ireland, a child was born into abject poverty. The midwife, seeing the sickliness of the child, declared that his chances of surviving the night were hopeless. The child’s grandfather, hearing this, took the child under his heavy coat, held him close to his chest, and rocked him in front of the fire all night long — holding him, rocking him, loving him. The boy survived that first trial and many more battles with illness in the years that followed. The child was baptized Edward Joseph Flanagan.
By the time he was a teenager, his parents decided to emigrate to the United States. They came seeking new life, new hope, and a future for their children.
In 1906, Edward entered Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York, to study for the priesthood. Because of his insistence on caring for the forgotten who languished in the tuberculosis wards of what was known as Hell’s Kitchen, Edward once again fell gravely ill and was released from his studies in the Archdiocese of New York.
Yet, he refused to give up. Determined to be a priest somewhere, he made his way to Nebraska, where his brother Patrick had already been ordained. With a lot of perseverance — and perhaps some brotherly persuasion — Edward was allowed to continue his studies and was finally ordained for the Archdiocese of Omaha.
One night, while overseeing a home for homeless transient men, a young boy came to him, distraught and broken by the suffering he had endured in his short life. Father Flanagan cared for the child, and in that encounter, his true calling was revealed.
The next day, Father went to juvenile court and found homeless boys, aged from twelve to fifteen, before a judge on various charges. The priest convinced the judge to release the boys into his care, assuring him that he could help them. He told the judge that every boy, no matter how troubled, was, at heart, good — each created in the image and likeness of Christ. His task, he said, was to reveal the Christ within each one of them by displaying the Christ within himself.
And so, in 1917, Father Edward Joseph Flanagan — an Irish immigrant and a priest whose life had been declared hopeless more than once — made history. Through perseverance, faith, and hope in Christ, Father Flanagan founded what would become known as Boys Town.
The perseverance and hope displayed by Father Flanagan are the very qualities that the Lord calls us to embrace today. In the Gospels, Jesus speaks of wars, famines, and dreadful events — signs that the world as we know it will one day come to an end. At first blush one might conjure up an image of hopelessness, but Jesus goes on to remind us that His Kingdom will endure, and those who persevere in faith will be saved. In our own lives, we encounter moments when the world we know seems to end and then we move to another one: a marriage begins, a child is born, a loved one dies, a divorce is finalized, a dream collapses. Through it all, Jesus calls us to hope, to persevere in faith, and to trust in His promise. Or as He puts it so simply in Luke 21:19, “By your perseverance, you will save your lives.”
Father Flanagan persevered — and as a result, thousands of lives were saved. Father Flanagan’s life reminds us that faith is not proven in ease but in endurance. When everything seems dark, when the world seems to fall apart around us, that is the moment when Christ whispers: “Do not be afraid; I am with you always.” So, hold fast. Keep praying. Keep serving. Keep loving — even when it costs you; because every act of perseverance, no matter how small, opens a door for grace to enter and, in the end, it is not our strength that saves us, but the steadfast love of God who never lets go.
”By your perseverance,” says the Lord, “you will save your lives.”
May we, like Father Flanagan, endure in faith until the day we see Christ face to face.
Deacon Brendan Brides , a native of Ireland, was educated by the Presentation Brothers in Cork City, Ireland. Deacon Brendan emigrated to the United States in 1986. Shortly thereafter, he met his wife, Gail. They married in the early nineties and have resided in Sandwich ever since. They have a son, Patrick, who grew up attending religious education and serving as an altar server for many years at Christ The King Parish. Patrick now serves in the United States Navy. Deacon Brendan worked for many years as a building contractor on Cape Cod where he oversaw the construction of many fine houses in his career. In 2013 he decided to accept a position as building commissioner for a local municipality. He continues in that position today.
After his ordination by Bishop Coleman to the permanent diaconate in 2013, Brendan was transferred to Saint Johns in Pocasset. He spent six and a half years there serving the people of Bourne. He and his wife Gail returned to Christ the King in 2021 and although they sincerely miss the great people of Saint Johns, they are very happy to be back at their home parish of Christ the King. Besides being active at Christ the King, Deacon Brendan is currently a mentor for gentleman that is going through the permanent deacon program and he is also actively involved in assessing the latest class of applicants to the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Fall River.
