One of my favorite stories is a small one: "Everybody's here!" In the chapter, "In Journeying Often," Archbishop Sheen discusses the missions:
"Serving the missions makes one sick at heart if anyone is left out of the ark of salvation. A blind boy at Lourdes was cured during the Way of the Cross as his father asked God to restore his son’s sight. The first words of the boy as he saw his father and others were: 'Everybody’s here!' That will be the missionary’s cry at Judgment when he sees his flock and is overwhelmed by the goodness of God. Everybody is here who wanted to be here.”
That story in turn reminded me of the apocryphal quote attributed, I thought (until I tried to look it up on the Internet, where all truth resides--kidding), to Flannery O'Connor that the Catholic Church means, "Here comes everybody." I couldn't find if she actually said that phrase, but Catholic writer Amy Welborn started a good discussion (with no answers) here.
"Serving the missions makes one sick at heart if anyone is left out of the ark of salvation. A blind boy at Lourdes was cured during the Way of the Cross as his father asked God to restore his son’s sight. The first words of the boy as he saw his father and others were: 'Everybody’s here!' That will be the missionary’s cry at Judgment when he sees his flock and is overwhelmed by the goodness of God. Everybody is here who wanted to be here.”
That story in turn reminded me of the apocryphal quote attributed, I thought (until I tried to look it up on the Internet, where all truth resides--kidding), to Flannery O'Connor that the Catholic Church means, "Here comes everybody." I couldn't find if she actually said that phrase, but Catholic writer Amy Welborn started a good discussion (with no answers) here.
Treasure in Clay is full of numerous stories about Sheen’s life and times. What are some of your favorites?
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