Listen to this inspiring talk by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen about the importance of adoration.
Last Monday while I was in the adoration chapel, a former client of mine, Mary Grace Schneider, arrived for one of her weekly holy hours. I noticed that there was something different about her, but it didn’t register in my brain until she asked me to pray for her. That’s when I realized what was different. She had walked into the chapel without a brace or other walking device, something she had not been able to do for several years.
Six years ago, while I was doing a holy hour in the adoration chapel, a young local businessman that I knew stopped by the chapel to say a prayer. When he saw me, he brought up an incident involving the pastor in his parish. He said that the incident upset him so much that he was going to circulate a complaint petition around to his fellow parishioners to sign, and then send the signed petition to the Bishop of Peoria. After I asked him some questions about the incident, I told him, “You’re not going to circulate a petition against the priest!”
About 10 years ago, I saw a young priest I knew at an out-of-town graduation party. I asked him how everything was going and he answered, “Terrible!” When I asked why, he said, “The people in my parish hate me.” I started laughing. I thought he was kidding. He was a good and holy priest, had a good sense of humor, and liked to joke around.
Every Christmas season, I sit down with my family and watch the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. The movie is available on DVD and is regarded as one of the top 100 movies of all times.
During the summer of 2010, I met with Brenda, a sales representative for a large company, to talk about leasing some office equipment. During our conversation, I told her I had 3 daughters who were working for my law firm. She asked me if I had any other children. I told her that my wife and I have 7 children – 1 boy and 6 girls. She responded by telling me that she had a son who was 10-years-old and a daughter who was 6-years-old. She went on to say that she would love to have more children, but her husband “would never allow it.”
When I was growing up, my oldest brother, Jerry, was everything a mother and father would want in a son: intelligent, gentle, and respectful. I never saw him argue with my mom or dad. Never. Not even once.
It happened on a Friday evening in April of 1977, when I was 19-years-old. I was home from college for the weekend and after dinner, my mom brought out a cake she had baked for my youngest brother, Tony. There were 2 candles on the cake and it was time to sing Happy Birthday to the baby of the family. As usual, the candles were lit and the lights were turned off. Tony sat in mom’s lap while we sang to him. After Tony blew out the candles, someone turned on the lights to the dining room. It was then that we noticed mom was wiping away tears from her eyes.
The first time I ever heard the phrase “Academic Freedom” was when I was 22 years old. It happened in 1979, when I was a student at St. Louis University School of Law. I had no idea when I started law school that I was going to get a real “education” on how a Catholic university operated.
Last Monday I received a telephone call from a retired nun who reads my articles every week. I’ve known this particular nun for over 20 years. Even though she’s “retired,” she works harder than most people who are half her age. She’s a very holy and humble woman who cares greatly about the Catholic Church and the current state of humanity.
When I graduated from a Catholic grade school in 1971, I was determined to never look back. I got off to a bad start in first grade and every year after that got worse. I was more than ready to move on. I looked forward to starting high school with a blank slate and an entire new group of teachers who had never heard of me.