‘Brother, Where Is Your Coat?’
GUEST COLUMN
When I about five years old in 1930, my Dad’s cousin, Brother Aloysius Gilmartin, would come down on the train to Altoona, Pennsylvania, from St. Francis College in Loretto to visit us. He would get off the train and walk half a block to Westfall’s Men’s Store where Dad worked. Dad would usually bring him home for lunch. He enjoyed our big family so much. And we all loved Br. Aloysius too; he was such a gentle and humble man.
One day it was bitter cold, about zero degrees, when he came to Dad’s store. Dad was shocked to see that he was not wearing an overcoat.
“Brother, where is your coat? It’s freezing out!” my Dad exclaimed.
“Oh, Frank, I don’t have one,” he replied. The monks of the Order of Francis take a vow of poverty and do not personally own anything, even their clothes.
You May Also Enjoy
Two tribes in remote areas of the Central African Republic demonstrate sexual ethics that dovetail well with Church teaching and do not include homosexual acts and masturbation.
We need to re-think children — whose they are, why they exist, and whether anything else we can possibly choose is more important.
The Hermeneutic of Deletion... The Mystery of God's "Blood Lust"... The Pilgrim Church & Pluralism... Understanding Francis... Why I Weep... Astounding Faith... More Top Tens... The Revival of Religion & Manners... How Do I Love Thee?