Man Wins Lottery, Replaces Vandalized Baby Jesus

CBS ^ | Jennifer Jordan

[NYer]

(CBS) LARCHMONT Jerry Lopez believes it was the man upstairs who guided him to a New Rochelle deli on Friday to play his lucky numbers.

"God work in mystery way, because I can't explain it." Lopez said.

Moments after purchasing a Win 4 New York Lottery ticket, Lopez headed Saints John and Paul Church in Larchmont, where he has been caretaker for 26 years.

It was there where he made a disturbing discovery.

Vandals had destroyed the church nativity scene. Four sheep were stolen. The baby Jesus was missing his head, hands and toes.

"I found the baby like that," Lopez said. " I say, 'Oh my God.' I start thinking, where I can get another baby, immediately."

But as fate would have it, Lopez hit the jackpot. That same ticket he purchased on the way to work was now worth $5,000. He used $1,500 of his good fortune to purchase a brand new baby Jesus.

"It is not a shock that he felt that he would think of the parish and of the children, particularly, to see an image so sacred to them destroyed," Father Brian McWeeney said.

The new nativity scene will be dedicated on Friday, a happy ending to a holiday crime that which remains unsolved.

[NYer]

Video at above link.

[NYer]

Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[Fiddlstix]

Well done.
I like good news stories.
J

[atomicpossum]

Good guy.

[kipita]

This reminds me of my grandfather, a beautiful person living a beautiful life....

[visualops]

Wow, good news. May God continue to bless this man.

[WatchYourself]

Nice...

[T.Smith]

I know I'm bad, but the only thing I took away from this story was a laugh that the Father's name is McWeeney.

[OldSmaj]

He used $1,500 of his good fortune to purchase a brand new baby Jesus.

May the Good Lord bless him for his good actions, but I pray He also gifts him with enough wisdom in the future to not get taken on another baby Jesus for $1500.00.

Walmart has 'em for much less, I would think.

Or perhaps there is more to the story, such as, maybe, the baby was $29.95 and the rest went into the poor box.

I hope so.

[Revelation 911]

May the Good Lord bless him for his good actions,

for gambling?

1 Timothy 6:10 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

idolatry being one of them

it strikes me oddly a caretaker of 26 years would lack the holiness and fullness of the spirit as to avoid squandering what is the Lords to begin with

flamesuit on

[FormerACLUmember]

The Big Guy will remember this humble dude when the time comes.

[A.A. Cunningham]

When Wal-Mart starts carrying hand carved or resin life sized statuary and is willing to sell the individual pieces that match the Nativity set one already has, you be sure to let Mr. Lopez know.

[1rudeboy]

bttt

[samiam1972]

Good news Bump!

[Xenalyte]

"God work in mystery way, because I can't explain it." Lopez said.

The estimable Mr. Lopez must be a public school graduate.

[Xenalyte]

He used $1,500 of his good fortune to purchase a brand new baby Jesus.

What was Jesus made of that he cost $1500? I've never even met an entire Nativity scene that cost that much.

[Safetgiver]

Where is gambling forbidden in the Bible?

[joesnuffy]

God..God the Son...once told his disciples to go catch a fish they did and inside the fish's mouth found the money they needed for the tax collector...

Granted they did not get any extra to spend on luxury items for themselves..

Maybe God did guide him to purchase a lottery ticket and get the money for the plastic baby Jesus figure...?

If he has a gambling addiction or this 'win' causes him to throw money away he should be feeding his family with...well thats another issue altogether..

Was the man's act good? bad?...

Other than God himself...Who knows eh?

[Wolfie]

He used $1,500 of his good fortune to purchase a brand new baby Jesus.

Not just any old baby Jesus, but Action Baby Jesus, with Kung-Fu Grip (Disciples Not Included).

[Xenalyte]

Dang. For $1500, Action Baby Jesus had better be a Transformer too!