Editor's Note
No Greater Love
“No one has greater love than this, that one lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
These words of Jesus in John’s Gospel were easy to remember as I spoke with Col. Mike Thomas and his family, the subjects of this month’s cover story. At one point I asked Mike to name someone he considered a hero. He was momentarily overcome with emotion. After a moment he answered, “I guess I’d just say ‘the American soldier.’” Recently returned from deployment in Iraq, Mike has seen, firsthand, men and women laying down their lives – and sometimes losing them – so that others can be safe.
Reflecting on their sacrifices, though, I wondered how often I’ve seen ordinary people, in less dramatic fashion, laying down their lives for their loved ones: workers for their families, parents for their children, grown children for their parents. Priests, vowed religious, teachers, lay ministers. Perhaps a good question for prayer is this: “For whom am I laying down my life?”
It’s easy to see this love in the many pro-life efforts in our Diocese, some of which you can read about on p. ??, and especially in the selfless love of women who choose life for their unborn children despite the most difficult circumstances. I learned of an amazing example of this kind of love, and what God can do with it, while interviewing Kathryn Sharpe, one of two women from our Diocese who are entering religious life this year. (Their story is on p. ??.)
Kathryn, 33, was adopted as a baby. Recently, after deciding to enter the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, she researched her adoption records and initiated contact with her birth mother. It was a happy reunion, but Kathryn learned some stunning information. She had been conceived when her mother was 16 as a result of rape. “Only God,” she marveled, “could turn this tragedy into a contemplative nun.” Only God, and a teenager who was willing to lay down her life for another.
Thank you for all the positive feedback on our last issue, which initiated our coverage of the Year for Priests. This coverage will continue, and by year’s end I guarantee you will know your priests better. You can write me at 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 or reece@raldioc.org.