The Sheen Center & The National
Review Center
present
The Streamed Event
CONVICTED BY MERCY
The Story of FRANK SIMMONDS
An Interview with his widow RITA
SIMMONDS
Hosted by KATHRYN LOPEZ
https://www.sheencenter.org
July 22, 2020 3 p.m.
A true tale that
overpowers any novel, the life of Frank Simmonds is a powerful
amazement and inspiration. Having sunk into the gutter, addicted to crack, he
experienced what most would call a miracle. A real miracle. Told from his own
lips. No exaggeration, embellishment, self-pity, finger-pointing, no blaming.
The naked truth in all its ugliness and glory.
Born on Long Island in
1955 to parents from the Virgin Islands, Frank was the youngest of five children
in a loving, happy home. Above all he adored his mother. When she was diagnosed
with cancer, Frank, strong in the Catholic Faith he was raised in, prayed
endlessly for God to save her. When she died, a bitter Frank turned his back on
God. Age 17, he lost all belief and started his downhill slide.
One
night on a dark street, he decided to rob the next person who walked past. A
pedestrian came into view. But wait. The man was dressed all in black, with a
white sort of collar. A priest! Frank debated with himself. Had he really sunk
so low that he would jump a priest? He decided against it. The priest passed,
then turned. He told Frank that God would not crawl down in that gutter with
him, but if Frank asked, God would lift him up.
Frank’s not buying it.
He decides to kill himself. Walking toward the train tracks, Frank defies God to
stop him. And God does! Suddenly Frank is filled with a feeling of hope. He
dials a help-line number and goes into drug treatment. The rest of his life was
one of giving, sharing, and helping. His story is kept alive in the book
CONVICTED BY MERCY, written by his widow, Rita. A life-long poet, her
latest work is “He Called: Selected Poems”.
Perhaps the most
powerful part of this livestream is the video clip of Frank telling his own
story. Sadly, he has left this world, but his power remains with us.
-Karen D’Onofrio-