![](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/R_TUjJKqFTI\/AAAAAAAACOE\/YwHnwNRlh9Y\/s320\/_MG_3889.jpg\")
<\/a> As he sat in his wheelchair reflecting on the accident that left him a quadriplegic, Deacon Frank Bice expressed no regrets. <\/p>\n\u201cIf I could change things, I don\u2019t know if I would,\u201d Deacon Bice said, as he explained how a broken neck sustained during a Siena College football game left him paralyzed 28 years ago. Though his life is far different than he imagined, \u201ceverything I ever prayed for has come true.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all I ended up marrying Liz, the girl I had fallen in love with the first day of school at St. Mary\u2019s in Manhasset in the fourth grade,\u201d he said. They went to different high schools and didn\u2019t see each other until after the accident. They married years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became ordained as a deacon, and I love my ministry. I also have a great job as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch. I got to go back to my high school in Connecticut and coach football,\u201d Deacon Bice said. \u201cI also always wanted to go to an Ivy League college, and now I have a master\u2019s degree in religion from Yale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key for him, he explained as a panelist at a program on the spirituality of physical challenges at St. Ignatius Retreat House here March 30, is his faith and his gratitude. \u201cI made a lot of mistakes before,\u201d he notes, and describes himself as \u201cnot the best Catholic.\u201d <\/p>\n
After the accident, long periods of inactivity gave him time for reflection. \u201cSo one night, I made a promise to Jesus that I would live life with a positive attitude and I would say yes to whatever he asked me to do.\u201d Jesus would give him the strength to do so.<\/p>\n
Later, at a rehabilitation center, a priest from his home parish visited him and repeatedly whispered the prayer, \u201cThank you Jesus,\u201d in his ear. \u201cI started praying it myself. \u2018Thank you Jesus,\u2019 and I began to feel gratitude for all that I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deacon Bice was part of a panel that included New York City Police Officer Steven McDonald, Msgr. Thomas Hartman, and journalist and television producer Richard M. Cohen. Cohen signed copies of his book, \u201cStrong at the Broken Places.\u201d<\/p>\n
About 50 people came for the panel, including several people in wheelchairs and walkers and one blind woman led by a guide dog. Some of the audience members shared their stories and chatted with the speakers during break. A Mass followed in the chapel.<\/p>\n
Steven McDonald is a police detective and Malverne resident who was shot on duty in Central Park on July 12, 1986. Since that day, he said, he has seen \u201cthat the world is more than I ever would have expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have traveled around the world, witnessing to my faith. I\u2019ve gone to Israel. I\u2019ve gone to Northern Ireland. I\u2019ve gone all over the United States,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cI\u2019ve witnessed to Jesus at religious and public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalls going to the hospital after the shooting. A priest, a fire chaplain, was the first to greet him and prayed over him. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he was shot, \u201cI could have led a better life. I could have gone to church more.\u201d <\/p>\n
His mother and his wife, Patti Ann, he said \u201cwere there praying for me, crying for me.\u201d He also recalled the visits of Cardinal John O\u2019Connor, archbishop of New York, and Mayor Ed Koch, who, though not a Catholic, joined in the prayers.<\/p>\n
The most striking fruit of the prayers, he said, was that \u201cI was able to forgive the boy who did the shooting. I never thought I would.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Continue reading at the link<\/a>. It’s inspiring. <\/p>\nPhoto: by Peter Accardi, Long Island Catholic<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is a story to give hope and uplift to anyone who has ever faced problems in life that seemed insurmountable: testimony by people from all walks of life who are living with physical challenges. One of those people: a deacon who was ordained after he was left a quadrapalegic. The story, from Long Island…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deacons","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n
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