Astrid Nicosia was a parishioner when I was the Vicar at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Chicopee, MA. (1980-1984). She, born in Norway, was a delightful, sweet, gracious and deeply intuitive woman. Her husband Dominic Nicosia was born in Sicily. He was a bit gruff. But he had a nice and wry sense of humour. The Lord alone knows how and when a Norwegian woman would marry a Sicilian man! My beloved mother met Astrid on one of Mum’s visits from the U.K. to the U.S.A. These two fabulous women “hit it off” immediately. Michael and Cindy Tourville also attended St. Christopher’s. They were then a young and fairly newlywed couple, with two young sons. As it happens, they lived right next door to Dominic and Astrid. Twenty eight years later, Michael Tourville has written an affectionate and moving account of his (and Cindy’s), mysterious and grace-filled encounters with Astrid. It’s a fabulous tale, one that gives me Goosebumps as I remember the ...
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.”