Miracle Tailor by Mary Pitstick

     In 1935, when my brother and two sisters and I were young children, we  went to a parsish run by Dominican priests in Somerset, Ohio.  Our pastor, Father Robert Kircher, loved to gather the children together for solemn church processions to celebrate special feast days.  

Cleaning House by Margaret Williams

     There came a time in my life when I was going through a spiritual renewal and examining how I could grow closer to God.  I decided to purify my house by getting rid of anything I considered to be evil.  We have a big house with thirteen rooms, six of them bedrooms for our eleven children.  That covers a lot of space.

The Strength to Trust Again, by Madonna Silvernagel

     Madonna (Richter) Silvernagel had suffered a parent’s worse fear, not once, but twice—the death of two beloved baby daughters.  She could not have known that she herself would die young, but her legacy lives on in a powerful way. Her daughters, now married with families of their own, give thanks that their mother did not give into fear or the judgment of others.  This story is sad in many ways, yet, it imparts courage and joy to all who are open to life. Here is Madonna's story in her own words.

The Other Terry

     Terry Schiavo was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state but her parents fought from 1998 to 2005 to keep her alive. Michael Schiavo, her husband, had gotten on with a new life with another woman and children. He won in court to have her feeding tube removed so Terry died from starvation on March 31, 2005.

     There is another Terry; this one a young man, also diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state after a car accident in 1984. For nineteen years, many people wondered why his parents did not just get on with their lives. But two years before the other Terry died, he surprised everyone. Here is his mother’s story, as told to me by Angilee Wallis.