The devil is on a rampage in south Louisiana, and our priests need your prayers.
First, it was the murder of Fr. Otis Young and Ruth Prats on November 28, 2022 in Covington.
Then, Fr. Jimmy Jeanfreau was killed in freak woodworking accident on November 29 in Marrero.
On May 23, 2023, Fr. Ryan Halford was shot multiple times by his brother in Ponchatoula.
On July 13, Fr. Stephen Ugwu was attacked by a man wielding a machete in Melville.
Thankfully, Fr. Ryan and Fr. Stephen both survived.
But only two days ago, on August 2, Fr. Mark Beard was killed in an automobile accident near Amite.
From Christendom to Apostolic Mission
"God Writes Straight With Crooked Lines"
God writes straight with crooked lines.
The killing of priests is about as crooked a line as you can get. Perhaps the devil isn't brave enough to attack women religious. When you ask them, all of these men, the living and the dead, much prefer to bear this violence, themselves.
If this violence is as crooked as it gets, I'm looking forward to seeing what fruit is borne from these terrors. Here's another great quote: "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church"
That one's from Tertullian:
"This Time, It's Personal"
I'm not sure if this quote comes from Jaws: The Revenge or Rambo III -- definitely not a Saint this time.
Some of these priests were my friends. Fr. Ryan Hallford and Fr. Mark Beard, especially. Again, Fr. Ryan survived multiple gun shot wounds. Fr. Beard did not survive his car accident.
Fr. Ryan Hallford
Fr. Ryan survived three -- three -- point blank gunshots wounds. His recovery has seemed almost effortless. One of the shots broke through his pelvic bone. The other two passed through flesh and avoided organs.
I have hung out with Fr. Ryan since the attack and during his recuperation. I guess you could say I've interviewed him about his attack and recovery, but it was really just two friends talking. He is doing amazingly well. His survival was nothing short of a miracle.
You can listen to the sheriff's office full account of the shooting here:
Fr. Ryan's speedy recovery will probably be attributed to his youth. Father is still in his thirties. And also his athleticism. Father is a long-time wrestler and, for several years now, has competed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments.
Through jiu-jitsu, Fr. Ryan has trained his body to function during asphyxiation, to continue wrestling while suffocating. He also trained his brain to manage rushes of adrenaline.
Because of these physical adaptations, not to mention his faith, Fr. Ryan stayed calm throughout the attack and aftermath. He had the presence of mind to keep praying, to say his Act of Contrition, and put himself in the hand of God, even while his blood was draining from his body and soaking his sister's small car.
When it came time to call an ambulance, Fr. Ryan looked down at his phone. He realized it had been destroyed by one of the bullets. He laughed and said, "not gonna need that anymore" and tossed it aside.
Because they couldn't call an ambulance, Fr. Ryan's sister actually drove him to the hospital. Poor darling, she had also been shot. A couple of her fingers were hanging by a thread as she drove her dying brother to the hospital.
We can already see how God is writing and righting this crooked situation to the good. For one, even though Fr. Ryan's brother, Casey, will be in prison for a long, long time, Casey can now get the mental help and restraint he has long-needed.
Casey Hallford's struggles have long been a heavy burden on Fr. Ryan. Not long before this, Father even stepped away from active ministry to help his family. While a younger man, Fr. Ryan was even named legal guardian of some of his siblings.
Fr. Ryan's heroism has long been hidden in the private struggles of his family, but now, I hope, Fr. Ryan can emerge from under this dark cloud.
Fr. Ryan has an amazing array of talents and abilities that have been temporarily shuttered by his family's struggles. He single-handedly organized our diocese's disaster response efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida, which obliterated a dozen or so cities. He also started the Frassati House, an innovative approach to community-building for young families named after Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Fr. Ryan is a master of logistics. I hope, after he has fully recovered, he can now return to active ministry. Please keep him and his family in your prayers!
Fr. Otis Young's Scapular Miracle
Fr. Otis' death also included a miracle.
Warning: Fr. Otis' death wasn't just tragic, it was horrifying. He was bludgeoned to death, then, hopefully following his death, set on fire by his murdered in an attempt to hide evidence.
But, even in the midst of this horror, there was a miracle.
Fr. Otis Young entire body was burned beyond recognition. Only one item survived untouched, unscathed. It was the same item that guarantees our own escape from the flames of Hell. Fr. Otis' scapular.
And not just the metal parts of Fr. Otis' scapular survived! The cloth was untouched, too. The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was singed, but not burned.
I have already written another article about Fr. Otis' Miracle of the Scapular here, if you would like to read the whole story:
Fr. Mark Beard
In you, Lord, is our hope:And we shall never hope in vain.
3 Comments
All night last night, I tossed and turned praying for Fr. Ryan. He wasn’t in my thoughts at all, then he was. I do not know him well. We spoke in college on the phone once, but never again since then. Immediately when I woke up this morning I did a search to try to see how he is doing. I saw your article. I agree wholeheartedly that our priest are under attack. We also lost a sweet priest to suicide. Fr Ryan must be very dear to Mary. Our Lady has him wrapped in her mantle. She usually wakes me to pray for the sweet sons she has wrapped up. I will continue to pray for him, and the spiritual warfare that is rampant in our family and religious vocations. Keep fighting the good fight. Glory be to God!
ReplyDeleteYou may want to delete my comment. I understand if you do. I had just discovered Fr.Mark's homily for the first time on July 30th and was so moved by it that I wanted to never miss another. I did a Google search to learn more about him and was caught off balance by seeing him referred to in the past tense. "Fr.Mark Beard was...".My first thoughts were that I was reading the posts wrong. When I saw the news report my gut feeling was that it wasn't an accident and that the devil was somehow behind it. Several of my friends, even non Catholics, expressed the same. Your post echoed ours. I hope there is an investigation of the accident to put to rest these assumptions or to bring to justice those responsible. I believe Fr. Mark is a saint and perhaps a martyr for boldly speaking the truth.
ReplyDeleteIs there an investigation being conducted on Father Beard's accident, did he have a heart attack? What caused his car to go off the road? This is such a significant loss to all trying to stay the course
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