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Those Who Knew Paul
This year I had the delight and surprise of getting to know three men from Miles Jesu who were students in one of my courses at the Angelicum in Rome. It had been almost 30 years since I last connected with Miles Jesu's members, and this new encounter brought back fond memories of that earlier time at St. John's University (Jamaica, New York) when the Miles Jesu brothers enrolled in my course were Paul and Don Murphy. When i first met the Murphy brothers in September 1975 as they registered in the Catechetical Institute at St. John's, i could not have imagined that the younger Paul (who was my age) had only five months to live.
Almost at once I noted a profound paradox in Paul's character. He was an extraordinary man precisely because his manner was always so pleasantly "ordinary". Utterly free of competitiveness, of the need to "prove" himself which so often preoccupies university students, Paul just quietly applied himself to his theology studies while also relating affably with everyone in the Institute.
Paul's exemplary comportment, which would have been noteworthy even under "normal" circumstances, was all the more noteworthy in view of the advanced brain tumor that was causing him indescribable pain even as it was eating away at his young life. As the semester progressed, Paul's worsening condition prevented him from attending most classes; at this distance I cannot remember whether he managed to complete any courses before returning home to Arizona when the term ended shortly before Christmas. What I do vividly remember is that during his months at St. John's, Paul gave it everything he had, while at the same time he serenely and gracefully accepted God's will for him. Apparently he never doubted or underestimated God's love for him, even though the divine love was manifesting itself in such a mysterious and painful way in his ebbing life.
As I remember Don telling me at the time, the concern shared by Paul and his loved ones was that eventually the brain tumor would propel him, compulsively and involuntarily, into various kinds of degrading behavior (irascible, intemperate, etc). God's love for Paul spared Paul this further humiliation; instead, Paul slid into a coma and died peacefully. It was Don who phoned me on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and told me, "Well, Paul's heavenly Mother has called him home."
It was my honor to represent St. John's at Paul's funeral. If I still needed any confirmation of Paul's remarkable sanctity, I saw and heard compelling witness to it on the part of throngs of people who attended the burial Mass. I heard Father Alphonsus Maria Duran, Miles Jesu's founder who was Paul's spiritual director and confessor for nine years, testify in his eulogy that Paul had in all likelihood never sinned mortally through out his life. And I heard the presiding celebrant of the Mass, Bishop Edward McCarthy of Phoenix, declare with deep emotion: "We didn't listen to (Paul's) sermons, but we witnessed them in the life that he led." I gladly say Amen to that!
Paul is surely at peace in the life beyond, along with his brother Don who has joined him there. Father Duran, their mentor, still labors mightily in the vineyard here on earth. Outstanding young men continue to join up with Miles Jesu, and I am among the many who are enriched by association with them. From his place of peace, may Paul convey Our Lord's peace to us all.
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