Benedict J. Groeschel - Travelers Along the Way: The Men and Women Who Shaped My Life

travelers along the way

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture passages have been taken from the Revised Standard Version , Catholic edition. Copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA . Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover and book design by Mark Sullivan

Cover photo courtesy of Eternal Word Television Network

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Groeschel, Benedict J.

Travelers along the way : the men and women who shaped my life / Benedict J. Groeschel.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 978-0-86716-984-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Groeschel, Benedict J. 2. Groeschel, Benedict J.Friends and associates. 3. Catholic ChurchUnited StatesClergyBiography. I. Title.

BX4705.G62293A3 2010

282.092dc22

[B]

2010034394

ISBN 978-0-86716-984-3

Copyright 2010, Benedict J. Groeschel. All rights reserved.

Published by Servant Books, an imprint of St. Anthony Messenger Press.

W. Liberty St .

Cincinnati , OH 45202

www.AmericanCatholic.org

www.ServantBooks.org

Printed in the United States of America .

Printed on acid-free paper.

10 11 12 13 14 5 4 3 2 1

To all the many travelers I have encountered

along the road,

both living and deceased.

Introduction: The Journey Through Life ix

Chapter One: Sr. Teresa Maria

Chapter Two: Mr. Graff

Chapter Three: Br. Ferdinando

Chapter Four: Fr. Solanus Casey

Chapter Five: Fr. Innocent Ferstler

Chapter Six: Rev. Dr. Linn Creighton

Chapter Seven: Mother Teresa

Chapter Eight: Gary

Chapter Nine: Ruby Davis

Chapter Ten: Bishop James Edward Walsh

Chapter Eleven: Sr. Mary Joseph

Chapter Twelve: Fr. Eugene Hamilton

Chapter Thirteen: A Trio of Glimpses

Chapter Fourteen: Cardinal Terence Cooke

Chapter Fifteen: Mother Mary Aloysius McBride

Chapter Sixteen: Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward

Chapter Seventeen: Karen Killilea

Chapter Eighteen: Fr. Bob Stanion

Chapter Nineteen: Mother Angelica

Chapter Twenty: Liberal and Conservative Together in Faith: Fr. George Barry Ford and Fr. John Hardon, s.j.

Twenty-One: Fr. Isidore Kennedy

Chapter Twenty-Two: Judge William P. Clark

Chapter Twenty-Three: Art and Mary Wiser

Chapter Twenty-Four: Cardinal John OConnor

Chapter Twenty-Five: Dr. Alice von Hildebrand

Chapter Twenty-Six: Fr. Michael Scanlan

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Cardinal Avery Dulles

Conclusion: The Eternal Traveler

Further Reading

Notes

The Journey Through Life

For the believer life is a journey, a road laid out for us by the providence of God and guided by the divine law and the teaching of Christ. Human life can be considered the intersection of our personal thoughts and deeds with the mysterious workings of Divine Providence. Together these two elements form our existence.

Our lives move from small, seemingly insignificant occasions, which we quickly forget, all the way up to events that burn themselves deeply into our memories. Sometimes we confront troubles and even catastrophesthings that alter us forever and seem to put an end to all that has come before for us. Yet somehow or other we go oneven when that seems impossible. We slowly incorporate even difficulties and catastrophes into the whole that we call our lives, permitting them to play their part in forming us into the people we are constantly becoming.

Of course, as a person grows older, particularly when the end of life is apparently not very far off, the past takes on special significance. One is drawn at such a time to recollection, to revisiting people who are long gone. One tries over and over again to make sense of what has happened during ones life. It goes without saying that those who have faith and trust will have much to use as their guide when looking back, when recalling the people and events that have shaped their lives. find it impossible to understand a person who simply moves from one event to another without any kind of purpose, goal, or light to guide their human existence. Our lives and the lives of others have great meaning; they are not random meanderings. Providence and faith lead us on.

As we make our lifes journey, we meet others who are doing the samefellow travelers.

We first encounter them when we are very small children, for it is then that we become aware of others as real people: our parents and siblings and other family members affect us in ways that are incalculable. They remain forever a part of us, even if they fail us. We cannot ever dissolve the connection to them completely. Later we meet others who become profound influences in our lives. With them we may develop relationships of love or hurt or dislike. Public figures whom we might not have actually met can still have a great impact on us, affecting us deeply for good or for ill.

This book is about such people, the ones whom I have encountered along my lifes way.

I must make it very clear that in no way am I trying to include all those who have been significant in my life. That would be an impossible task, and I suspect no one would read such a book, even those who are part of my lifes journey. This book is instead comprised of a series of vignettes of some of those whom I have known who have changed my life, sometimes greatly, sometimes in little ways

The significance of others on ones life often can never be fully expressed but only suggested. Human relationships are mysterious; sometimes the most important things about them are impossible to convey with mere words. So I have decided to make this book a series of glimpses. I want to take a looka glance reallyat the lives of interesting and often colorful people who have shaped my life by their ideas or their behavior. I hope and I expect that these people will have something to teach my readers as well.

I Am You

Some years ago a very fine Jesuit from Fordham University, Fr. Joseph Fitzpatrick, s.j. , who worked all his life with the Latino people of New York City as a sociologist, was greatly delighted when he was elected Puerto Rican of the Year. At a gathering toward the end of his career, which was held to honor him, he said, I am you. You have made me who I am. It was not an entirely accurate statement, but it was a startling one. Indeed, a good number of the people in the room that day had been very significant in his life, and he realizedhumbly and gratefullythat they had been instrumental in helping him become the person that he was. This is something for all of us to think about. We are in so many respects the people we have met and known along the way. Sometimes this is a blessing and sometimes ... perhaps not. We ought to intend always to do the best we can with the many influences that come into our lives so that we can receive from others those things that will enable us to make the best of the short journey that we call earthly life.

This book includes a number of people who have been very significant in different ways. Some are famous. Some are known for their holiness, like Mother Teresa and Cardinal Cooke. Others come from very different backgrounds, from a devout Presbyterian minister to an old Jewish man who ran a dry-cleaning business. Some are people that you have probably never heard of. Others have names that are known to all. Some of them are people with secure places in history. Others will be quickly forgotten by all but their friends and relatives.

I will try to give you snapshots of some of my fellow travelers, the ones who have made a great difference in my life. I do this because I hope to draw you into thinking and meditating on what others have done for you, on how your life has been enriched and deepened by those you have met along the way. It is my hope that this book will help you recognize the blessings that others have brought into your life. Perhaps it will help some of you to better understand and even forgive the human faults and failings of those who have hurt you. I hope that we will all become more grateful for and sensitive to what we have gained from the fellow travelers we have met along lifes way.