Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 lege and studied at the Gregorian University. Cardinal O'Malley ordained him to the priesthood at Holy Cross Cathedral on May 21, 2005. He returned to Rome to complete his licentiate in sacred theology degree. He left Rome in July 2006 with a licentiate in sacred theology and began his first parish assignment as a parochial vicar at St. Mary’s in Foxboro. Father Jay later served as Administrator in Amesbury, Pastor in Whitman, Pastor in Dorchester and – most recently – six years as Parochial Vicar at St. Agatha’s in Milton before beginning his new assignment as the Pastor of the Saugus Catholic Collaborative on June 1. His hobbies include reading, traveling, fishing, computers, gaming, cooking and “a good cigar!” He’s a Boston sports fan. He is also an avid animal lover and was gifted Thea, a five-year-old brown Boston terrier, for his birthday and sobriety anniversary. It was on Feb. 23, 2015 – one day before his 38th birthday – that Father Jay began a 100day program at Guest House in Detroit, an addiction treatment center for Catholic clergy. He received Thea a year later as a birthday present and to celebrate a year of sobriety. Upon successful completion of his program at Guest House, he took a break from the pressures of being a pastor by accepting an assistant priest position (parochial vicar) at St. Agatha’s Parish in Milton before accepting the challenges A.B.C. CIGAR 170 REVERE ST., REVERE (781) 289-4959 Same Location * Same Service for over 49 Years! CIGAR GIFT PACKS UNDER $50 Chris Dan Steve Cigar Accessories ---------GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE Summer Is Here & So Are We! Buy 2 Cigars marked with a Green Label, Get the Third Green Label Cigar FREE! ~ SPECIAL OF THE MONTH ~ 25 Count Humidor - Glass Top - Hydrometer + Bundle of our Best Selling Cigars & Torch Lighter - Only $99.95 * Travel Humidors * Desk Top Humidors * Many Types of Lighters * Ash Trays * Juuls * Cigar Accessories * Vapes * Glass Pipes * Rewards Program * CBD Infused Products DEEP DISCOUNTS ON ALL MAJOR BRANDS! GREAT SELECTION! GREAT PRICES! STORE HOURS: Mon. - Wed.: 8 AM - 7 PM / Thurs., Fri. - Sat.: 8 AM - 8 PM Sunday & Holidays: 8 AM-6 PM of being a church pastor again. He has a twin brother, Justin, a special needs person who lives in Plymouth. Highlights of this week’s interview follow: Q: Please tell me how you got involved in the priesthood. A: I didn’t grow up Catholic. I grew up Greek Orthodox. It really began when I went on a pilgrimage to Canada with a very good friend of mine. We went up to – it was a pilgrimage to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and St. Joseph’s in Montreal. As I went on that, I started thinking about faith and belief in God, and that got the wheels turning about – there’s something about the Catholic Church – and I ended up coming into the church in 1996. And when I came into the church, I started seeing the appeal of becoming a priest and thought that was something I could do, and loved it. Obviously, the greatest challenge was not being able to have a wife and children. It’s a big sacrifice. Q: Now later you developed a drinking problem. Did you drink before becoming involved in the priesthood? A: I did. We always have that point when younger people start to drink. I would say – somebody else might say it was a huge problem – it didn’t become a huge problem, probably, until later. I would say – when I got to Rome is when I learned to drink alcoholically. But it’s in my blood; there’s no question, and as the disease does … Q: You have some people in your family … A: There is some family background, so that’s definitely a component to it. And it’s so progressive – a progressive disease – and then it got to a point where … I hadn’t gotten pulled over, yet; or harmed myself, yet; or harmed anybody else, yet. But my day-to-day work was suffering greatly. Q: So, you were well into your church career when the alcoholism manifested itself? A: Very much so. It really kind of came to a head in Dorchester, but certainly it affected all of my assignments. Q: Did you volunteer to get help, or was there an intervention that got you to seek help? A: There was an intervention. The Archdiocese of Boston is phenomenal with the way that they reach out to their priests who are alcoholic. So, a couple of priests from the Diocese came in and asked me some questions, and I was generally forthright. And then they basically said that there is an opportunity to go and get a kind of a health check at this Guest House, which I was aware of. As a priest, I was aware of Guest House, because that’s the place priests go if they have problems, so in February of 2015, while still pastor in Dorchester, I went to Guest House in Detroit to get sober. Q: In your case, was it hard stuff? What was it? A: Mostly hard. Gin was my drink of choice. At the worst point, I would be drinking a 1.7 liter bottle of gin every two or three days, so it was obviously a problem. And my health was horrific. My blood pressure was triple-triple. I could feel it. And when they asked, I knew deep down inside that something’s wrong. Q: How high was the triple-triple? A: When I got to Guest House, they did this whole thing – and I was months away from a stroke. I couldn’t tell you the numbers, but I do remember sitting in a chair like this with my feet up and just resting, and my heartbeat was so strong, you could see my legs move. I could always feel it. And with that, I had high anxiety, which I still struggle with, too. But the alcoholism and active drinking just exacerbated that and really had a disastrous effect on my health. Q: Were you ever intoxicated at services? A: No, I never was – yet. I didn’t get to the point of that, so I mostly, during the work days, was drinking in the afternoon and evening. Q: And you never got in trouble with the law? A: Not yet. I haven’t yet. Q: You said, “not yet.” Never? A: No, I never had issues with that. In recovery, we always say “yet.” Again, I think it was certainly a blessing from God that the guys from the Diocese came and helped. And there was another priest, Father Tom McDonald, who was my parochial vicar in Dorchester. He really saw the way I was acting; he had seen the bottles going down, so I believe he had called the Diocese, and that’s when they, kind of, came, so he really was integral. And I was forever grateful for brothers and sisters who can help you. Q: How many years would you say you had the problem? A: I would say I probably started drinking at about 16 or 17. And it just escalated little by little, all the way to my late 30s. It was a long, slow progression. Q: And you’ve been six years sober now? A: Yes. Six and a half. I’ve become an active, grateful member of AA [Alcoholic Anonymous]. I love being public about it and sharing [my experience]. Q: You probably get some static from being public about it. A: Almost never. I do get the occasional “Oh, is it really approASKS | SEE PAGE 5
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