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Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man's family was a handsome young man who had aspiration of joining the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even one as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards that bordered on the worst section of town.
Walking home from work one evening, this young man was attacked by five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of giving up his money, the young fellow resisted. However they bested him easily and proceeded to beat him to a pulp. They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to find him lying in the road, they assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon. On the way to the morgue, a policeman heard him gasp for air and they immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital.
When he was placed on a gurney a nurse remarked to her horror that this young man no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all his teeth were gone, and his jaw almost completely torn from his skull. Although his life was spared, he spent over a year in the hospital, but his face was disgusting to look at. He was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired.
When the young man began to look for work again, he was turned down by every one just on account of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested to him that he join the circus as "The Man Who Had No Face," and He did this for a while. He was still rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He had thoughts of suicide. This went on for five years.
One day, he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering the church, he encountered a priest who had seen him sobbing while kneeling in a pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him to such a degree that he said he would do everything possible for him that could be done to restore his dignity and life, if the young man promised to be the best Catholic he could be and trust in God's mercy to free him from this torturous life.
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The young man went to Mass and Communion everyday, and after thanking God for saving his life, asked God only to give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best man he could ever be in God's eyes. The priest, through his personal contacts was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. There would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the young man, whose outlook now on life was filled with good humor and love. The surgery was a miraculous success. All the best dental work was also done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be. He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, and many children, and success in an industry that would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career if not for the goodness of God and the love of people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly. This young man was and is Mel Gibson.
His life was the inspiration for his production of The Man Without A Face. He is to be admired by all of us as a God-fearing man, a political conservative, and an example to all as a true man of courage. And to think I admired him before I knew any of this! He is quite a man.
-Paul Harvey
As I read this true story, I thought about my life and the lives of my family, friends and parishioners, and I came to this conclusion: All of us grow in our spiritual lives through PAIN. Pain and suffering teaches us WISDOM--what life is really all about. Our pain can make us people of mature character. The only road to maturity is the road of pain, which touches everyone's life. There are days we all feel like yelling, "HELP."
Do you believe that God answers our calls for help? Oh, the stories I could tell you about hundreds of parishioners who have endured more pain than most people experience in a lifetime. God is at work in our lives. I see it everyday as your pastor. Trust God with your life, your pain, your loss, your disappointments, your failure.
Fr. Bill
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