Positive Messages

POSITIVE MESSAGES APP  Tom Riles, who grew up in the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock and is a former parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel there, is releasing an app that sends out positive messages to people’s mobile phones.

POMPTON PLAINS  For 25 years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket.

On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming quotes in blue and black and red ink to inspire him throughout his day.

That’s because 25 years ago, Tom Riles had a bad attitude.

After being rejected for a job scraping gum off the sidewalks with a power washer in his then-hometown in New Jersey because of his attitude, Riles realized something needed to change.

“My attitude was way out of whack,” he told CNA. “And then somebody gave me a book called ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ by Norman Vincent Peale.”

Peale, a Christian, encouraged readers to write down inspirational quotes to reference throughout the day in order to change their thinking and ultimately their lives.

Since following that advice, Riles, now a 67 year-old grandfather of 10 has never been the same.

“I trained myself to use these positive affirmations to bring me into God’s presence throughout the day, and when we’re in his presence, we experience peace and joy,” he said.

That’s why Riles wants to turn the idea of his index cards into an app that people throughout the world can use.

Four years ago, Riles started using his smartphone to schedule alerts with affirmations throughout the day. When Riles told this to his friend from church, app developer Aaron Horvath, he suggested they create an app.

The pair launched a Kickstarter campaign last month to raise $30,000 to build a free mobile app that will send out positive messages and affirmations, at a frequency that the user selects.

The name for the app is OnPath, because of how the quotes can bring a person back into the presence of God and keep them on the right path throughout the day, Riles said.

For himself, Riles said his cards help remind him of God both during ordinary, daily life and before big events, like when he was taking a test to become a captain of a fishing boat on the Jersey Shore. His daughter used them before she took her boards test to become a nurse.

Riles was born in Newark, and when he was 6, his parents bought land and built a house in the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock across the street from a farm. Riles made his First Holy Communion at Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock. Soon after, the Diocese acquired the farm land across the street from Riles’ house and Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) Parish was established there.

Riles remembers his first job as a teenager. Every evening, he had to turn on the switch to light the cross that was outside the parish’s chapel, the farm’s former garage, which the parish’s founding pastor, the late Father Daniel Vecchiollo, had converted into worship space.

Riles eventually purchased his childhood home from his parents, and he and his wife, Andrea, raised four children and became active parishioners of OLGC, where he said he has fond memories of being involved in parish life. “I served as the OLGC youth minister for a few years when our children were growing up under the compassionate, loving leadership of Father Pat Scott and Sister Rosemary McSorley,” he said.

Years later, Riles and his family moved to Point Pleasant before eventually packing up and driving cross country to Ladera Beach, Calif. to be closer to their son, who was working in Hollywood.

Fifteen years ago, Riles was diagnosed with a serious blood disorder, but he was able to recall the presence of God even in the midst of a life-altering diagnosis.

“I got down on my knees at that moment and I said Lord Jesus, I want to thank you for bringing me to this point in my life. I don’t even know what’s going on yet, but through your mercy and your love, you will bring good out of this to others.”

Ever since, Riles made it his mission to organize blood drives and inspire others to donate blood.

“Fifteen years and through the grace and mercy of God, I am still alive and God is inspiring me through these affirmations and Scripture passages to speak to other people who are inspired to donate blood to save other people’s lives.”

The process of building the app has just begun, Riles said.

He still needs backers to reach the necessary funding of $30,000, as well as additional quotes and, of course, prayers so that all goes according to God’s will.

“I’m asking people to send me some quotes that have been meaningful to them, that have given them peace and joy and have drawn them closer to Christ over the years.”

Some of Riles’ favorites are:

“I believe I am always divinely guided, I believe I will always take the right turn in the road, and I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.”

He also loves Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Riles said he’s been very humbled to be involved in the process of creating an app at his age. “My kids think it’s a hoot. When I’m on the computer it’s like watching four-hour paint dry.”

But every time he’s tempted to think “Why me?” he changes his thought pattern to “Why not me, by the grace of God?” he said.

“By the grace of God, this app will be getting on the phones of people all over the world so that when they get these affirmations, it will become a tool for bringing peace, joy and abundant blessings that come from being drawn into God’s presence.”

Information: onpathapp.com.