Msgr. Fred Easton is not exactly the first person who’d jump to mind when one thinks about miracles. Trained as a canon lawyer, the judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is by nature of his profession rational and methodical. He also came face-to-face a few years ago with the miracle of Phil McCord.
Ah, spring. A warming sun melts the winter freeze, while the proverbial April showers give way to May's commencement speaker "scandal" at the local Catholic college, splashed across the morning news.
I met Mike while working as an engineer for an aerospace company. Mike was a test pilot just out of the Air Force. He swept me off my feet—literally—by taking me on flights. After one flight we lunched from a picnic basket he had packed. At the bottom of the basket was a small white box. I reached in, and Mike dropped to one knee.
From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist
By Edward Foley (Liturgical Press, 2008)
Warning: If you read this book you may never look at a chalice the same way again. Instead, you may see, in addition to a sacred vessel, a theological statement about the Eucharist as it was understood at a particular moment in history.
If the pastor had not stepped down, the embezzlement might have continued indefinitely. But when Father Brian Lisowski, pastor of St. Bede the Venerable, a large parish on Chicago’s Southwest Side, resigned in 2004, the Sunday Mass collection suddenly ballooned by more than $2,500 a week. A police investigation indicated Lisowski had stolen about $1.1 million during his five-year tenure. “No one suspected a thing,” says Father William Stenzel, who replaced Lisowski as pastor at St. Bede’s.
If the pastor had not stepped down, the embezzlement might have continued indefinitely. But when Father Brian Lisowski, pastor of St. Bede the Venerable, a large parish on Chicago’s Southwest Side, resigned in 2004, the Sunday Mass collection suddenly ballooned by more than $2,500 a week. A police investigation indicated Lisowski had stolen about $1.1 million during his five-year tenure. “No one suspected a thing,” says Father William Stenzel, who replaced Lisowski as pastor at St. Bede’s.
We were nervous walking into the new parish for the first time. My husband and I settled our three children into a pew near the rear for a quick escape if we needed. We brought a backpack of small toys and favorite books. Most of our concern stemmed from our then-6-year-old daughter, Rachel, who is severely autistic. Would she behave? Would she have a meltdown? Would the other parishioners accept our family, or would we see icy stares, hear the under-the-breath comments, be subjected to the unsolicited advice we had experienced elsewhere?
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