A Miracle for Mother Angelica?
The Passing of a True Saint...
Mother Mary Angelica...how many grandmothers can a man lose before his heart breaks completely? The loss of Mother Angelica on Easter of 2016 may be the one. Though she was never my grandmother by blood, she was certainly bonded to me as one in spirit...as she was with so many millions of people all over the globe.
Since 1984, Mother Angelica was more than a friend to me. When she first called to let me know she was having trouble with her transmitters and then put me on the phone with then 'Brother Joseph (her electronic technician),' Mother and I determined between the two of us that we had a certain connection and though our halos may not have always been perfectly straight, we knew we would be good for each other! ...and straightening halos was what she was all about...hers and mine! To her...everything was a “fixer upper!” including me!
Her transmitters were a disaster when I first saw them. Burned circuit boards...broken wires...klystron tubes that looked like they hadn't been tuned in years. At the time, I worked for the Manufacturer of those transmitters (serial numbers 1003 and 1004, as I recall...that meant they were numbers 3 and 4 ever manufactured by this company! Quite old!)! How I got to this point is a very long story, but let's just say it was not without the workings of the Lord! ...I'm very sure of that!
During that first call that came from what seemed to be a little old lady who said, “I seem to be having some trouble with my transmitters. Is there someone there that can help me out?” I said, “Possibly...is there someone there that's technical that I can discuss your problems with?” She said, “Here...” ...and a man got on the line and introduced himself as Brother Joseph. He described the problems which were extensive and then Brother Joseph informed me that they would soon be going 24 hours...that they had been transmitting about 4 hours a day with seeming little success as the transmitters kept failing. I recommended that it might be best if I had a look at the transmitters! After acquiring a purchase order and doing the required paperwork for the company, I flew down to Birmingham and drove over to Irondale and their facility to see what I could do. It hadn't dawned on me until after I had arrived that I had been contracted through my company to service the transmitters of a Catholic Broadcasting organization!!! (After all...EWTN could have meant anything! I didn't ask them to elaborate on the initials.)
After several hours of pouring over the transmitter innards in the company of Brother Joseph (now Father Joseph), this nun walks in and asks, “What's the matter with my transmitters?!?” At first, she seemed quite stern as she stood in the doorway, but having been raised by nuns in Catholic schools all my life, this was not at all intimidating (though I'm sure it was meant to be). Mother was quite serious and businesslike! I'm sure that intimidation was a tactic she had learned quite effectively at some point in her life. ...but as I said...I knew nuns! I was not intimidated! She had called because she was at a disadvantage and I was supposed to be the solution. I said, “Sister...your control panels are shot! ...and the circuitboards are obsolete! I've patched them up as best I can, and they work now, but I can't guarantee how long they'll last! I recommend you replace the control panels at the very least!”
Meanwhile, Brother Joseph kept poking me saying, “Call her 'Mother'...not Sister!” “Mother then walked past me (somewhat imperiously to let me know I was on HER TURF) into the little transmitter building and looked at the transmitters and said, “Oh Jesus!!! I bet that will be expensive!!!” I said, “Well Sister...(another poke from Brother Joseph)...if I know my company, they'll nail you about $5000 per control panel!” She turned white and looked at me with some shock and possibly a little fear in her eyes! “Oh Jesus that's a lot of money!!!” she said. She then looked at me with this very slightly disgusted look (and a tilt of her head) and said, “...and I suppose I'll have to come up with another $5000 to get you down here to install them for me!” I instantly felt guilty (as I rightfully should...having been raised by nuns), but knowing now what she was trying to elicit, I said, “Tell you what, Sister (and still another poke)...I mean Mother. (...a slight smile crossed her lips) I was raised by nuns and have a soft spot for them. If you come up with the money for the equipment and can get me down here on a weekend and put me up and feed me, I'll install them on my time at no cost to you other than my expenses! I don't have a lot of money and can't afford to pay my way down here myself.”
I knew she was hoping for that type of response!!! LOL I could see it in her eyes that she had me pegged from the first moment she saw me and by the way I called her “Sister.” ...and more importantly...she knew that I knew that she knew! Ha! “She smiled a big grin and said, “God Bless you!” ...and drew a little cross on my forehead!
Thus was my first meeting with Mother Mary Angelica ...and for over 30 years now I have done my best to help her with her technical needs as far as broadcast transmission is concerned! I haven't lost a mere business associate and customer, but one of my best friends ever, and possibly the grandmother that loved me best!
(...more to come? Maybe!)
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About the Author
I’m just a guy born to poor parents (mother Catholic, father agnostic) that both died before their time and the second of 5 children. I’m the last practicing Catholic of my family. I was lucky enough to be schooled by the Sisters of Providence (K-8) and to be able to work my way through a Catholic High School. This, I found, was a detriment to qualify for an IL State Grant for college, as the grant is given on the basis of need. People in “need” don’t go to private high schools, I found out! (...regardless of the fact that I had to work two part time jobs to pay for school and my father had a brain tumor and my mother became an alcoholic as a result of his tumor). I managed to work my way through a junior college (night school) to get an associates degree in electronic technology. The two year degree only took 8 years to procure. My personality is somewhat dominant though patient. I love playing Santa Claus at Christmas and I love Comic Books, audio books (sci-fi), Drawing (comic book style), and Drones! …and though I’m rarely inspired by the homilies, I do love going to Mass! I don’t believe in either Creationism or Evolution but in Intelligent design (God’s really, really, smart)! I believe in a multi-dimensional universe that was designed and created by God as a self managing environment (think God of Laws vs. Free Will)! …and I’m rabidly Pro Life! …and I’m Pro Constitution! I view it as a non-living document in a traditional manner (words have meaning)!
I’m self employed as a Satellite Broadcast Transmitter Technician. By the Grace of God, I am one of (if not) the best transmitter technician(s) on the planet! I have spent over 30 years assisting Mother Angelica and EWTN with their broadcast transmissions on a volunteer basis (for the most part) in addition to my regular work. I love to teach and have spent several years as a catechist at my parish until they decided that teaching “Christianity” was more important than teaching “Catholicism.” I tend to be very conservative in both Religion and Politics. I rarely mince words! I enjoy when Jehovahs’ Witnesses or Mormons come knocking at my door! When we’re done, they have enjoyed it less than I and it thrills me to plant a seed of doubt in their minds (and souls), primarily in the basis of their belief system! While they are trying to convert me to protestantism, I am trying to convert them to Catholicism using their own bible and religious documents!!! Not many folks keep at least half a dozen bibles on their phone including a complete and current Catechism of the Catholic Church! I’m almost never what they are expecting! My wife calls me a “zealot!” …an
