Between the Hearts by Fr. Craig Giera

A few weeks ago, I introduced to you the priests from Divine Child. This week I would like to welcome Deacon Tom Leonard.  Many of you already know him as he has been around Sacred Heart and St. Kateri for some years. Yet, here is a simple bio for those of you who are not familiar with him.  Deacon Tom Leonard describes his greatest accomplishment as marrying his wife Christine 52 years ago. They have five children and ten grandchildren.  He was ordained to the Diaconate on October 3rd, 2015, at the age of 65.  He obtained a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI in 1973, a Master of Sacred Theology Degree from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 1997, and a Master of Philosophy from Holy Apostles Seminary in 2004.  Deacon Tom taught theology as a second career at the University of Detroit and Catholic Central High School for a total of twelve years.  He retired from the FBI in 2004 as a Special Agent after 35 years of service. 

I have been blessed by the help of Deacon Tom as he has been a constant support these last few months.  I deeply respect this man and hold him in high regard.  Fun fact about him, he knows Jiu-Jitsu and was actually trained by the same guy who worked with Chuck Norris!  We haven’t talked music so I’m not sure of his favorite band.  Just to clarify as well, Fr. Bob McCabe is the huge Beatles fan, I like them of course, but my favorite band is Radiohead.  They are not as big when it comes to pop culture, but they have a catalog of music that stands the test of time.  For me, they will always remind me of art school as everyone was blasting their albums in the art studio.  I can almost smell the paint and turpentine every time I listen to them.    

I’m reading a fascinating book called “Christ in Dachau.”  It is the story of Fr. John Lenz and his time he spent in the concentration camps.  This actually is not my first read of priests in this situation.  These books made me realize that Catholics, especially priests, were targeted by the Nazis.  In fact, priests usually went to the hardest labor camps and did the worst work to make their lives miserable.  However, the heroic faith of these priests is something to admire.  How they could bring hope to others even in these extreme situations and not lose faith themselves.  The most famous priest we know from the concentration camps in St. Maximilian Kolby.  He volunteered to go to the starvation chamber in place of a young man with a family. 

It is people like this that inspire me to be a better disciple of Christ, to bring hope to where there is none, to be what Christ was to people who had nowhere else to turn.  We sometimes think this happened only in the past, but in reality, there are many Catholics persecuted today.  I have a friend that had to wake up in the middle of the night in the dead of winter to have Mass in a field so he and his family wouldn’t go to jail.  Christians are still persecuted throughout the world.  Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters as we have the gift of being able to practice our faith without threat of jail or even death.  Jesus says, “Fear not, for I have overcome the world.”  Christ is victorious, we are victorious in Him! 

In Christ,

Fr. Craig