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zengrifter · #1 July 27th, 2006, 02:18 AM

The Reverend Joseph Fahey

(Filed: 26/01/2002 | Telegraph.UK)

THE Reverend Joseph Fahey, who has died aged 65, played blackjack "for the greater glory of God", donating his winnings to the Jesuit order.

Fahey was considered a mathematical prodigy and played the blackjack tables from Atlantic City to Las Vegas. Among the sequins, gilt and glitz, he struck an incongruous figure in his shabby blue suit, but he always managed to beat the odds. Blackjack - his chosen game - offers the best odds of any in a casino, but is nonetheless one of the highest earners for casino owners. Fahey, unlike most customers, exploited its possibilities to the full.

Ever true to his vow of poverty, Fahey donated tens of thousands of dollars to Jesuit missions and, as president of Boston College High School from 1988 to 1998, boosted the school's endowment by 500 per cent, financing an athletics centre, library and computer laboratory.

Fahey's view that God and Mammon were perfectly compatible was not one shared by the casinos, which eventually blacklisted him. Card-counting, although not illegal and well beyond the capacity of most casino customers, significantly alters the odds in the punter's favour.

But despite the casinos' hostility, Fahey refused to be beaten and at the end of each term, he would give his students a lesson on card counting and how to beat the odds at blackjack. The class was always well attended. As one of his colleagues observed, Fahey understood and affirmed "the Catholic mission of Loyola with its Jesuit emphasis on academic rigour and the integration of learning".

Joseph Fahey was born in 1936. After studying economics at Boston College, he received a doctorate in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a thesis on how a local income tax or sales tax would affect Boston's economy. He studied divinity at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and was ordained priest in 1968.

Fahey taught economics at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1968, becoming dean of academics from 1971 to 1981. Fahey also taught at Boston College, serving as academic vice-president and dean of faculties.

He was president of Boston College High School from 1988 to 1998 and became a member of the boards of trustees of the Catholic Schools Foundation.

Fahey was a trustee of several Jesuit institutions, including the Loyola University of Chicago, and served on the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

At the time of his death, Fahey was provincial assistant for finance of the New England Province for the Jesuit order.

Mikeaber · #2 July 27th, 2006, 07:44 AM

Do I hear an Amen!

zengrifter · #3 July 27th, 2006, 03:52 PM

Amen Brother Mike! zg

ScottH · #4 July 27th, 2006, 04:18 PM

This reminds me of the article about Scientology, where there were people giving away all of their money to the church...

zengrifter · #5 July 27th, 2006, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottH

This reminds me of the article about Scientology, where there were people giving away all of their money to the church...

Christian churches only require 10% of your gross. zg

ScottH · #6 July 27th, 2006, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zengrifter

Christian churches only require 10% of your gross. zg

Yeah. I don't think it's a requirement, but it's recommended.

zengrifter · #7 July 27th, 2006, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottH

Yeah. I don't think it's a requirement, but it's recommended.

10% TITHE is a requirement. zg

Mikeaber · #8 July 27th, 2006, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zengrifter

10% TITHE is a requirement. zg

That's "Old Testament" ZG. "New Testament" teachings emphasize "giving freely" rather than a specific amount. It boils down to "living under the Law" rather than "under Grace." I know all the words, but somehow, they have never completely sunk in.