Of Men and Mary Read online

  Of Men and Mary is superb. The six life testimonies contained within it are miraculous, heroic, and truly inspiring. They illustrate the reality of divine grace of Jesus through Mary and the triumph of the human will for good over evil, light over darkness.Of Men and Mary is an injection of hope in a historical time when it is so essential to spiritually thrive.

  Fr. Gary Thomas

  Pastor, exorcist, and subject of the book and movie, “The Rite.”

  I was deeply moved by this beautiful book. There is an anointing upon it: the Spirit of God radiates through its words. As I read the stories therein, I felt myself touched by grace, by a desire for deeper conversion, and I kept thinking about the words from the Book of Revelation: "They defeated him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony" (Rev. 12:11). Being someone whose life was changed because of a book—Medjugorje: The Message—as a senior in college, I know how important and powerful a spiritually impactful book can be. This book, I feel, has that same ability to transform lives, to free people from darkness. Of Men and Mary is raw, vulnerable, deeply edifying, and inspiring. It is the kind of book you will want to give out to people, especially those in need of hope. I plan to share this tremendous work with many through the years.

  Br. Daniel Maria Klimek, T.O.R.

  Assistant Professor, Theology Department

  Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio

  St. Ephrem the Syrian, a priest and poet from the 4th century, taught that the Virgin Mary is a "ship of treasures" for all who take refuge in her. Of Men and Mary presents the awe-inspiring stories of six men whose lives were changed—and manhood healed—when they entrusted their lives to Mary, the ship of treasures. This book is anointed!"

  Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC

  Author of No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy and

  Marian Gems: Daily Wisdom on Our Lady

  I love this book! It contains clear and touching examples of how heaven is closer to us than we are to ourselves, of how Mary is the Good Mother who keeps all of us in her heart. To read Of Men and Mary is to step into the graces of Medjugorje, a place that brought heaven very close to me. There I felt so much joy and so loved by God that I would often cry. There I could smell and feel holiness. During my first pilgrimage, I noticed I could stare directly at the sun for the entire week and for as long as I liked. Mary is in Medjugorje, I have no doubt. I saw, I felt, I know, and no one can ever take that away from me. Through these stories, the same Mary who reached out to me is ready to come close to you and fill you with love. “If you knew how much I love you,” she says in Medjugorje, “you would cry for joy.”

  Fr. Bernardin Mugabo

  Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church, Carmichael, California

  Of Men and Mary is a fantastic treasure trove of the life experiences of six men who bravely bare their souls and secrets. Their courage and trust in Mary while traveling unknown, winding roads is astounding and profoundly moving. This life-changing book made me laugh and cry from the start. I recommend it to all men, as it will deepen their faith and devotion to Christ and His mother. I also recommend it to all women, as these men will touch their hearts with the unique challenges they face. Women will want the men in their lives to read it—fathers, husbands, and sons—but it will help anyone wanting a deeper connection with Jesus and the Blessed Mother. Reading it reminded me of the miracles I experienced in Medjugorje and the active role Mary has played in my life. This memorable book has given me a spiritual "shot in the arm" and a resurgence of love for Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and the messages of Medjugorje. A must-read for all!

  Gretchen Harris

  Catholic Recording Artist

  As our world darkens, the love of God, made manifest in the details of these six testimonies, astonishes us! We need to be astonished! God really does love us, and Our Lady’s presence in Medjugorje and in these men’s lives is an expression of His great love in our troubled times. I thank each witness who has shared with us the story of his rescue, and God bless Christine Watkins for expressing them so artfully. Indeed, Our Lady thanks you, as well: “You, who live in the love of God and have experienced His gifts, witness them with your words and life that they may be for the joy and encouragement to others.” This book is a great work of mercy—may many of God’s children find hope and encouragement through its true stories!

  Denis Nolan

  MaryTV.tv

  When we open our hearts to the power of Medjugorje, we see that there is a need for change, a need for peace. Christine Watkins' book proves that peace is possible in the world because it is possible in our own personal lives. Our Lady says, "Dear children, may today be the day when you place God at the first place in your lives, may today be the day when you start loving!" It is only through love and prayer that we find the filler for that gap, that aching hole and emptiness in our lives, especially in today's world. This book is a treasure. It perfectly relays Our Lady's messages in Medjugorje without preaching. May all those who read it be blessed and changed by the testimonies within its covers.

  Sr. Emmanuel Maillard

  Author of nine books, including

  Scandalous Mercy: When God Goes Beyond Boundaries

  Of Men and Mary is most uplifting and inspirational. Like St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was always on the verge of holy tears because of his sensitivity to God’s blessings, I found myself in tears, reading how God, the “Hound of Heaven,” pursued these souls, never giving up on them. This book is filled with exactly what the world so desperately needs: extraordinary hope. I found myself craving more. . . perhaps a sequel?

  June Klins

  Author of I Have Come to Tell the World That God Exists

  Editor of The Spirit of Medjugorje monthly newsletter

  Watch the book trailer for

  Of Men and Mary by going to www.queenofpeacemedia.com/men

  and see the faces of the men whose

  stories grace this book:

  a convicted murder

  a lamb who lost everything

  a man caught in illicit sexual relationships

  a football player tackled by the Blessed Mother

  a married man whose marriage was as good as dead

  and a man who literally died and came back to life

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  "Find your way Home."

  Go to: www.QueenofPeaceMedia.com.

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  FIND YOUR WAY HOME

  For Christine Watkins’ weekly inspirational videos called “Find Your Way Home,” see the Queen of Peace Media YouTube channel at bit.ly/2HDl65U and click “Subscribe,” or go to www.queenofpeacemedia.com/home.

  Christine Watkins (www.ChristineWatkins.com) is an inspirational Catholic speaker and author. Her books include the Catholic best-seller, Full of Grace: Miraculous Stories of Healing and Conversion through Mary’s Intercession; Mary’s Mantle Consecration: A Spiritual Retreat for Heaven’s Help; Transfigured: Patricia Sandoval’s Escape from Drugs, Homelessness, and the Back Doors of Planned Parenthood—available in English and Spanish; and The Warning: Testimonies and Prophecies of the Illumination of Conscience. For details, see the end of this book.

  Formerly an anti-Christian atheist living a life of sin, Watkins began a life of service to the Catholic Church after a miraculous healing from Jesus through Mary, which saved her from death. Her story can be found
in the book, Full of Grace. Before her conversion, Watkins danced professionally with the San Francisco Ballet Company. Today, she has twenty years of experience as a keynote speaker, retreat leader, spiritual director, and counselor—with ten years working as a hospice grief counselor and another ten as a post-abortion healing director. Christine Watkins lives in Sacramento, California with her husband and two sons.

  OF MEN AND MARY

  How Six Men Won the Greatest

  Battle of Their Lives

  Christine Watkins

  ©2018 Queen of Peace Media

  All rights reserved.

  www.queenofpeacemedia.com

  Sacramento, California

  No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means—written, electronic, recording, photocopying or otherwise—without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Unless otherwise indicated, the Scripture texts used in this work are taken from The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) ©2011 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC.

  Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the authors and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within. Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

  First E-Book Original Edition (2018) by ebookpioneers.com.

  Books may be purchased in quantity by contacting the publisher directly at [email protected].

  ISBN-13: 978-1-947701-05-2

  ISBN-10: 1-947701-05-3

  CONTENTS

  FOREWORD BY FATHER BOB GARON

  INTRODUCTION

  HOW THIS BOOK CAME ABOUT

  1) TACKLED BY THE BLESSED MOTHER

  FATHER MICHAEL LIGHTNER

  2) THE MAN WHO DIED BEFORE HE LIVED

  FATHER RICK WENDELL

  3) A MURDERER CHANGES HIS ETERNAL LIFE SENTENCE

  JIM JENNINGS

  4) AFTER OUR LADY’S HEART

  FATHER PAUL CAPORALI

  5) LOST BELONGINGS

  CHRIS WATKINS

  6) MARITAL HELL TO MARIAN BLISS

  DEACON DAVID LEATHERBY

  A NOTE TO THE READER

  APPENDIX:

  A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE MEDJUGORJE APPARITIONS

  THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S STANCE ON MEDJUGORJE

  THE MEDJUGORJE TESTAMENT OF FR. RENÉ LAURENTIN

  MESSAGES AND PILGRIMAGES

  OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  FOREWORD

  I am not a convert but what is considered a “revert” to the faith: someone who grew up Catholic but strayed from Catholicism, only to discover years later that his home was in the Church he’d left fourteen years before.

  When I came back to the Church after my “Prodigal Son” wanderings through stand-up comedy, girlfriends, unfulfilling jobs, and a stint with a rock band, I became reacquainted with the Rosary. Initially, I didn’t want to make this prayer a part of my life because I found it needlessly repetitious and solidly boring, but then I knew no prayer devotion other than this. (In my preteen years, my Austrian grandmother had me saying all fifteen decades.) Although it was a real struggle to begin again, the Rosary gave me a better understanding of Mary in her role as not only the mother of Jesus, but especially as my mother. I also imagined my role as a son of Mary. Without knowing why, this made sense to me.

  I recall speaking to my dad one evening, a short time after my return to the Church, asking him questions about Our Lady in Holy Scripture. He began to explain the importance of Mary’s Fiat to God and her role in Jesus’ first miracle. He then asked me if I had heard of a place that started with an “M.” I asked, “Where’s that?”

  He replied, “It’s in old Yugoslavia.” My only understanding of old Yugoslavia was that a bitter war was happening on their soil, and it didn’t look like it was going to end soon. My father then asked, “Did you know that Our Lady is appearing there?” I stopped and stared at him as if this were impossible, and still, I wanted nothing more than to learn about this supposed apparition. He gave me the book, Medjugorje: The Message by Wayne Weible. I took it home, thinking, “I have no idea if this is real, but I am willing to give it a read.”

  I am not a quick reader. It takes me at least a couple of weeks to get through a book. Of course, there are mitigating factors: I tend to make too many commitments. However, when I pored over this account of the apparitions at Medjugorje, I was engrossed until the early hours of the morning. Every chapter was so fascinating that I couldn’t imagine reading about anything else. Two days before, I had never heard about this tiny village half way around the world in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and now I desired to be there.

  As soon as I left work the day after completing the first book, I bought the second one, Medjugorje: The Mission. I wanted to talk to the visionaries, to anyone involved. If I met a former Medjugorje pilgrim, I had to soak up every word of their account of this faraway, middle-of-nowhere place. I needed to listen to priests who had traveled there on pilgrimage. If there was a Medjugorje conference, I had to go to it.

  But above all, I had to live the primary messages that Our Lady was giving us through the six visionaries who were seeing Mary face-to-face: attend Holy Mass; pray the Rosary; go to Confession; read the Bible; and fast twice a week. The last of these five, fasting, was, and still is, challenging to me; but as I understand it, if it were easy, where is the sacrifice?

  Within three months after I began living Mary’s requests, I saw a difference in how I perceived my life. I no longer desired to go out on Fridays and Saturdays. I was no longer watching TV, as if that were my only option. I was making choices that were life- and faith-affirming. Living the messages of Medjugorje led me right to Jesus and into the priesthood. I answered the call in the spring of 1995 and entered the seminary in the fall of 1996. In 2005, I was ordained for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.

  I am fascinated by accounts of individuals who made an honest discovery about Jesus and His Church, and who like myself, made “the journey home.” I also know firsthand how a book can change one’s life. Of Men and Mary has this great potential. Author and speaker, Christine Watkins, has inspired many with her first book, Full of Grace: Miraculous Stories of Healing and Conversion through Mary’s Intercession. Of Men and Mary will no doubt do the same. Amazing are the challenges encountered by Fr. Rick Wendell and Fr. Michael Lightner. Incredible are the stories of the Leatherby family and the complicated life of Chris Watkins. Shocking are the sudden turns in the journeys of Fr. Paul Caporali and Jim Jennings. Even when all of the problematic circumstances surrounding each individual seem insurmountable, God makes a way for the soul to find its way back to Jesus through His Blessed Mother. Every one of these accounts is well written and brings to life the truth of the archangel Gabriel’s message to Mary: “Nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). It is my hope that through Of Men and Mary, you will allow yourself or someone close to you to make this same beautiful discovery.

  Fr. Bob Garon

  Pastor of St. Didacus Church

  Los Angeles, California

  INTRODUCTION

  Turn these pages, and you will find yourself surprisingly inspired by a murderer locked up in prison, a drug-using football player who dreamed of the pros, and a selfish, womanizing dare-devil who died and met God—and lived again. You will root for a husband and father whose marriage was a battleground, a man pulled by lust and illicit attractions, searching desperately to belong, and an innocent lamb who lost, in a single moment, everyone he cared about most. And you will rejoice that their sins and their pasts were no obstacle for heaven. These men became living beacons of hope, walking proof of human triumph over spiritual darkness.

  In the heat of the fiercest of spiritual battles, when all seemed lost and t
hese men were left with nothing to stand on but stormy seas, they were given a lifeboat, a new path in life—one that they never dreamed of, not for an instant. They were pulled in a different direction that, at first, they didn’t want, and then at last, they loved. In the boat of safety, they sailed with sure victory into breathtaking, unknown vistas. Some became priests—one, a deacon, and two have since reached their eternal shore.

  We are privy to their private guilt, masked pain, secret hopes and loves—things they normally do not share, but perhaps with one human being. Yet, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, they have openly revealed to us what most men never do, their souls. We have the privilege of experiencing the exciting, exotic, and even intoxicating strength and vulnerability that exist within their hearts.

  While Of Men and Mary may be about six males, it is for everyone, because it is also a book about a woman. That woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the boat of safety for all of us, the surest and safest passage to the heart of her Son. She is our victory and sweet reassurance that God’s plan is infinitely better than our own; and she is our challenge to follow her Son, no matter the cost, no matter how fierce the battle. Read the stories of these brave men, and you will inevitably come away with a desire to climb in the boat with them and sail safely home.

  HOW THIS BOOK CAME ABOUT

  Before I became acquainted with any of the six men in Of Men and Mary, they had the courage to share their stories publicly—in intimate and amazing detail. Because of their unusual openness and vulnerability, even the darkest parts of their lives had become light for a confused and darkening world:

  Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. (Eph 5:11-14a)

  When I first heard these men’s life stories, in person or through a screen, I thought with jaw ajar, “This is far too good for the world not to know.” Propelled to move past my fear of annoying them, I asked if they might allow me to craft their stories in writing. They graciously agreed and the result has far surpassed even my most hopeful expectations. Chris Watkins—who by chance or providence has my name—artfully penned his own story, and I wrote the others from interviews and recordings.