I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies" in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" . We, (the Plymouth Brethren), disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now" Facebook page. St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol - 'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Even prior to his heroic death, Father Mychal Judge, “the Saint of 9/11”, was widely seen by many New Yorkers as a living saint for his deep spirituality and his extraordinary work not only with firefighters -- but with the homeless, recovering alcoholics, people with AIDS, immigrants, gays and lesbians, and others rejected by society.
ReplyDeleteThis often annoyed the Roman church hierarchy. But like his spiritual father St. Francis of Assisi, Mychal reported directly to a Higher Authority, as evidenced by several miraculous healings through him.
Here’s the last Homily he gave, on Sept. 10, 2001, at a Mass for firefighters. This is really how me all should approach life --
from http://SaintMychalJudge.blogspot.com
“You do what God has called you to do.
You go out and do the job.
No matter how big the call, no matter how small,
you have no idea of what God is calling you to, but
God needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us.
God needs us to keep supporting each other,
to be kind to each other, to love each other.
“We love this job, we all do. What a blessing it is !
It’s a difficult, difficult job, but God calls you to do it,
and indeed, He gives you a love for it
so that a difficult job will be well done.
“Isn’t God wonderful ?!
Isn’t He good to you, to each one of you, and to me ?
Turn to God each day --
put your faith, your trust, your hope and your life in His hands.
He’ll take care of you and you’ll have a good life.
And this firehouse will be a great blessing
to this neighborhood and to this city.
Amen.”