Let me add a little bit of prior history. My ancestors came from Munich and Alsace Lorraine in Germany to this country three generations back on my father's side and about six generations back on my mother's side. When the Lutheran church became the state church of Germany, many Catholics joined the state church. I think this happened because of the state benefits given to members. So my ancestors left behind their greatest treasure, the Catholic Church, the only church founded by God Himself. Fortunately for us, my maternal grandmother somehow realized that the fullness of the Eucharist was to be found in the Roman Catholic Church. So she began living the Catholic faith at home. She had the daily family rosary, went to daily Mass, while taking instructions in the faith. She was baptized with her then six children.

I have the utmost respect for Fr. John Post. I loved the novitiate at Shadowbrook, and things couldn't have been any better for me. I became shoe beadle, repairing all kinds of footwear. I was also one of the house barbers, and have been cutting my own hair for years ever since. One of the things that I enjoyed doing at Shadowbrook was to take care of the bees. There were five beehives on Rosary Lane, which we had to pollinate our apple orchard. I increased the size of these hives, and they produced about 150 pounds of honey each, totaling 700 to 750 pounds each year. This kept the house supplied with enough honey to have it at table several times a week.

There was a wonderful black minister at the Tewksbury Psychiatric Hospital named O. G. Phillips, who took me under his wing when he heard what had happened earlier. He said to me, "I want you to supervise my three programs." He put me in charge of his three hospital cluster. He tutored me about them and took me with him on his rounds. O. G. Phillips fits my definition of a pastor. As a matter of fact, he could be called a pastor's pastor, which is my definition of a true bishop, one who can really pastor and nurture his pastors. If a bishop is not first a pastor, then in my book, he's only an administrator. What a great year I had with O. G.!

I remembered that was the time when I was assigned to the retreat house in Faulkner, Maryland, and my life began to change. I realized that Our Lady had brought me to a deeper spiritual life over the past three years. As a novice on August 15, 1953, I had made the DeMontfort consecration of my life to Mary, entrusted everything to her. Our Lady was blessing and guiding my life. She can do with me what she wants for the greater glory of God. So I grabbed everything I could to read about Medjugorje. Then, right after the Christmas holidays, I began incorporating her messages with the Spiritual Exercises in my weekend retreats with men and women, because they were the same as the Gospels, said in a motherly way. That's when things began to happen! Retreatants' lives began to change in many ways.