Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero

Quite an interesting book - I loved it!!!! He had to have been a joyful person to be around - no wonder everyone loved him. What a loss !!!!

Have you ever faced addiction or have a secret you could never tell? This priests story will give you courage to face both & come out a winner.

In an age that there is great suspect, and hostility towards priests, this book restores one faith in the many saints in our midst, who never gain newspaper headlines. I read the book before watching the CD about Father Judge, and it is a wondeful, easy read. I had it on my wish list for a long time, as I had heard it would be published soon. When I finished the book, and CD, I sent them both on to a friend, who will pass it on to someone else. Father Judge was a true hero, loved his ministry, struggled as a human and shined as a light. It is painful still to re-visit 9/11, but this is the conclusion of a live well led and lived. Well written, introducing us into his life and his friends.

Some people might be put-off because this book deals honestly with a priest who struggled with his sexuality and with church teachings AND lived a life in service to God and neighbor. However, this book looks honestly and authentically at the life of Fr. Mychal Judge. Clearly the love of God shone through this man, and clearly the teachings of the Catholic hierarchy are not always the teachings of the Church, the People of God. I thought perhaps this book might be a little hokey (the subtitle makes Fr. Judge sound like a Marvel Comic superhero), but the book was truly authentic (albeit a tiny bit hokey at some very few points). Michael Ford's book will give you some honest insight into the complex yet simple life of Fr. Mychal Judge. I found it inspiring.

In looking through the over some forty different books on a display in a local bookstore memorializing the Heroes of September 11th, I was struck by the fact that each human story is, in and of itself, precious and so worthy of being passed on. All who lost their lives on September 11th, and those who participated in the aftermath of that tragic day, in whatever role they served, brought forth their very best selves to share with others in need. There is a powerful eloquence resounding through the words and photographs that serve as reminder and memorial of these tremendous people and that terrible day. Mychal Judge was the 68-year-old fire department chaplain who died of a heart attack while ministering to the injured and dying at the World Trade Center. There is the now famous picture of Judge being brought out of the rubble by five firemen that is incredibly powerful to view. In a time when there is a great deal of cynicism and appropriate doubt about the leadership of the Catholic Church, Mychal Judge's life serves as the testament to the fact that there are indeed still priests who have not forgotten the true meaning of ministry, who continue to struggle to live a life that is Christ like, yet who remain all too truly human and authentic. Ironically, these men are often the same people who have the courage not to intimidated by the Church's petty hierarchical power games, rules and censures. Judge was not a perfect person by any means. A Franciscan from his young adulthood, Mychal Judge was outspoken and unconventional. He was known to be difficult to live with in community at times. He spoke back to the reprimands of the Archdiocese of New York and went about his business of being present to others - often the poorest, dirtiest, most undesirable human beings around him. He was an acknowledged alcoholic who was devoted to Alcoholics Anonymous, to his own 23-year sobriety, and to assisting other alcoholics on a path toward recovery. He was also a gay man who acknowledged his sexual identity, while at the same time, giving authentic witness to his call to the priesthood. He was eccentric, bawdy and comical. At the same time, he was selfless when it came to being present to those in need. He never failed to rush to the most tragic or hopeless situation he was called to - whether it was to men dying of AIDS, to the lonely elderly women to whom he somehow gave laughetr and cheer, to the homeless around Penn Station in the church where he lived, or to his final ministry, to the firefighters and their families, of the New York City Fire Department. As a result of his own very challenged life, Judge was able to be a tremendously authentic presence to other persons in pain. He embodied the idea that those wounded in life are often the best people to serve in healing roles as they can reach places in others that they themselves have been and give comfort and often peace. Author, Michael Ford, covers Judge beautifully and I found myself marking