Journey Home - Former Congregationalist - Marcus Grodi with Chuck and Jo Ann Wilson - 06-13-2011

good evening and welcome to the journey home my name is Marcus Grodi your host for this program each week I have this great privilege of introducing to men and women who were drawn home to the Catholic Church by the work of the Spirit in their and their minds and in their hearts and in their lives and what we have tonight is a unique couple because Jo Ann Wilson lifelong Catholic and her husband Chuck was a former congregation listened to a certain extent you can't get much farther apart within the Christian traditions of congregational ISM in the Catholic Church so we're gonna hear their story Chuck Marcus Joanne it is great have you come over it's good to have you here because I know in Columbus a lot of trickly Catholics know you both in your activities in the work of the church here in Columbus Ohio but they may not know your story and where you've come from and that actually you came from such divergent directions and in the struggle when you bring two rivers together when they first come together there's a little bit of ripples right maybe that big ripples right okay so that's a bit of your faith so where should we begin with your background Joanne or with your maybe Jax okay Marcus I grew up in a wonderful family in New England we moved quite a bit we're Congregationalist but when we moved it was depending upon whether we're gonna be in a Presbyterian Church or congregational and we ended up back in New England a little side note I came from a family on the house side which I'm the 13th generation of really Protestants and some Freemasons all from New England studying in Sudbury Mass Worcester Mass Providence Rhode Island and so and my father's side was Salem Mass so I'm the fourth generation born in Salem Mass and I didn't realize it at that time but this was a Protestant family and so when I was baptized into the Congregational Church in the late 50s it was almost like and I don't want to minimize this but it was almost like joining the club I was in and we called it the white church and but thank God for my parents one of they stayed together they're wonderful parents and a brother and sister and my father's side went to the Episcopal side and my mother stayed with the Congregational so my sister went to the Episcopal with dad and I would go to the congregational with my brother and my mother what was important was not necessarily the faith we did not talk about religion or politics so at that point it wasn't like when I came home from a Sunday school we would talk about things we didn't what was important was probably my family and I had a father who was very successful was achievement and achievement was based on who you knew what you have and what you do so that's what I was good for whether it was in sports whether it wasn't anything it was excelling from the achievement standpoint what religion was not I was in the club but it was not something that drove me every day the prayer in the family we did that now--all Amy's at night and we did pray about that was the extent of it prayed over meals once in a while and ended up my journey took me through college and ROTC never went to church in college never attended and thank God that I survived college because I thought who you knew what you have and what you do you got to be in the right paternity the social fraternity and the fraternity that probably was more Protestant so the reality of God really not part of the equation of your thinking no no and with ROTC became a lieutenant and the army had orders to go to San Antonio and the next day they would change to go to Atlanta Georgia third army quarters so I found myself in Atlanta third out me headquarters still not going to church I played tennis in college so every day was tennis golf and working for the colonel and through that I got invited with a mutual friend going to Vietnam to to go to his going-away party and through that I met an airline stewardess named Joanne and that's how we met well my story couldn't be more different more opposite I grew up in a German Austrian family mostly from the Black Forest on both sides a tremendous loving family close-knit my world was primarily my two sets of aunts and uncles grandparents loving parents brothers sister we were faith was absolutely at the center of our family I can't remember ever missing mass ever in my entire life where it wasn't really a pretty severe illness that's how I grew up and also I had an aunt who was like a Terry Schiavo for over 30 years she was in that state but it brought the family together everyone everyone cooperated she stayed at home with my grandparents and it was that dignity of life that was that embracing the cross and it was now looking back one of the gifts we had in our family so that's how I grew up and I joined the airlines went to all Catholic schools Vatican two came in my eighth grade after my sophomore year of Catholic college I sort of on a whim went for an interview with the airlines and found myself being accepted flown down the Miami and flight school and I was on my way to something that I just love very much and so it was in that environment that was really separated from my family and my roots that I met this handsome second lieutenant and but I always practice my faith I can still remember my first communion like it was yesterday and knowing that I was receiving our Lord so that was my background it's interesting to hear both your sides because in both cases the culture of your families was directly connected to the religious environment either fully or not fully and it was very much the culture that is interesting when you think about all of us that are listening looking back on our own childhoods where was the our faith was a part of our culture or was it separate from and your culture had accepted it fitted it in but it wasn't the central part of it at all was it it was there you was your dad a practicing Episcopalian yes he was and I think when we returned to New England we moved about six or seven times and finally my mother said I'm going back to New England and we ended back in Rhode Island and they had a wonderful Episcopal Church there and dad got very involved he'd go to the 7 o'clock first service and he was very known around st. John's Episcopal Church and as I said my mother was known around the Congregational Church and we belong to the Rowan Country Club and so it was just a real family fraternity of Protestants but I did play football there captain the team and had a lot of Catholics on the team a lot of Italians Portuguese and but I mean I got along well with him but I never thought about becoming Catholic or no one ever taught shared debates with me about the Catholic but I wasn't interested so the two of you need you know butter Catholicism any person you know wonderful thing is know what I did know was she was blonde she was an airline stewardess and I fell in love with her and I was about four years older than Gillian she was 22 she started to fly at 19 and so through that we really she enjoyed life and I enjoyed life so we enjoyed the parties we enjoyed going out we enjoyed people and through that I did visit her parents one time before asking them six months later that I had permission to marry Julian and what was interesting I went down in the work bench with her father and he never mentioned to me gee you're Protestant and she's got the cow is this going to work he just was thrilled and so they were very generous to me very kind to me and not once did they say to you confront me at all because I was pretty strong and I'm not sure how that would have settled but they were just loving and I got your family I think Joanne can share that story a little bit they were happy for me but they were concerned they were happy for me but they were concerned I was the baby so they were happy that the baby of the family was going to get married at 26 but concerned a little bit but again I thought Joanne's couldn't become Protestant it's just a matter of time just a matter of time and my friends I mean their Protestant I mean Joanne was going to be comprised well I was never gonna become prized and you know we did talk about having a mass being married in the church was the only way I told him I would be married as if we had the blessing of my church and I never I believe you know faith is a something that you have to come through in your heart so I never really checking all the madame ultimatum I really just would answer his questions that he had why do you want to have a mass it would be easier if we didn't and you know and but he we had a good communication early on I mean I fell in love with the guy and you know was willing to be his bride after six months and I said to my mother one time years later because now we had four children mother how did you ever you and Daddy approve of me being engaged after six months of knowing even though he was this nice guy and my mother said well honey it was never about you I have been praying since you were born that if you were called to married God would bring you the right man in your life and it's him that I'm trusting and that was really something I have remembered now for 40 years that moment because mother and my parents had been praying for me all my life I took it for granted that they were praying for me but marrying Chuck we had a wonderful wedding but then we moved to Amherst so I was without a job no car we sold our car with the only afford one no money very little money we were living in this student housing that was like a box I've had this lovely apartment with my roommates it was probably the most difficult time in my entire life and I now looking back but the real problem wasn't all that it was really the anti-catholic attitude I encountered that I was totally I was blindsided I had no idea it was I don't know that I can even have words that it was kind of like a club you come in but you don't know the rules and no one tells you the rules but you just know whatever you do it's not the right thing and I didn't even understand that underlying the anti-catholic I knew if they were at anti-catholic but I never understood where this was coming from I thought there must be something really wrong with me but my parents never criticized they never even criticized what was happening to me the they just prayed now just to clarify when you went back in a hammer step that meant was you were going into the compound of your family and friends you were entering into an environment that had never been welcome to Catholics previously and I didn't realize that what I realized is how I grew up and it was good and I just want to Joanne to be it would be part of something that I enjoyed I enjoyed coming home I enjoyed the lifestyle I enjoyed my friends I did not realize and I was blinded how much this was hurting Joanna and I was not there to support Joanne I was there to support my family I said you and this is your problem this isn't my family's problem so the first year was was not an easy year and her mother would call once a while and say Joe Oh Joanne anything new to would say no well chuck is starting to look at other job opportunities I was running a business up in amorous going to full-time school I had already one degree in industrial engineering and so he's looking at maybe in Columbus Ohio well actually I think it was her mother's groceries every day come back to leave New England which allowed me to leave those roots that I grew up on and allowed us to come together you know I think there's one more thing to share that I think is so important for people to hear is in the midst of probably my lowest point a letter arrives in the mail from a purse dated for four years asked me to Miriam and I had to really make a decision at some point was it going to be tracker this other person and it was just a letter saying how are you doing you know just inquiring jazz you know just a little crack in the door and I remember reading that letter and standing there and having a decision to make did I write back did I call did I just say hello and and those vowels that sacrament understanding what marriage really is that faithfulness even in thought was something that gave me the grace to tear up the letter to put it in the trash and say you know I need you forever thank God and we're located in Columbus Ohio and within the first five years we were blessed with two children we had two miscarriages but growing up my life was not about the life issue so I didn't really grieve the miscarriages like Joann I was not there with her I was in the reserve one time in Washington DC and the intelligent reserves and Joann had a miscarriage and I said well okay what's life goes on mm-hmm and so you know my Ida hardened heart towards those but my heart was really focuses how am I going to be successful and so I think the first five years life was better because we are in Columbus we were establishing ourselves but really it was that establishment around who you know what you do what you have so Joanne I said you ought to join the Junior League you want to be in the childhood League I went in the rotary I wouldn't know it was the governor of the Civic Association because this was good for our business I was in a construction business and all this time you're going to mass not daily mass I never did not go to Sunday but no I was not going to daily Mass and that didn't occur until PI 25 years ago but you're still continuing your are you going to church at all in the beginning now in the beginning no but after we had our oldest son Jonathan I started to go once in a while but it was just to go nothing nothing else you told me you saw a guy on the golf course in the church what's good for your bit sometimes going to church is good for that and if it is then you'll be there and your finest and maybe even an usher I know guys that that's their faith it's just because it's good for their business and I cooperated fully with the you know who you know where you been I put myself in that social world two feet and my biggest problem was babysitters so I could attend all these functions I was an at-home mom but I was also very much we were partnering in the community of building Columbus at that time really in the construction industry so I was I was right there with him when we landed in Columbus we had the next-door neighbor behind us Woody Hayes coach Hayes the Ohio State Buckeyes our second house with governor Rhodes so I said where else can we go to be around Columbus was a growing town and boy you could enter in and come out from the outside and still be welcome and we were very welcome in that city and I went to work for our company that I eventually became president but it was a very Protestant country company and actually a lot of Freemasons were in that company and so I mean I was at home and after five years I had a wake-up call and that wake-up call was I had an intestinal problem we just arrived back from the Greenbrier fifth wedding anniversary and I ended up in the hospital for 30 days had a major operation some intestines taken out and through that time I had a roommate there in the hospital that asked me one question did I have a personal relationship with Jesus first time in my life and I'm 32 at that point that someone asked me that question and the second thing that happened was I never answered that question I never thought about that question I never really thought about a personal relationship I was Protestant don't you understand I'm Protestant and at that time in the hospital I started to realize that maybe I needed to start changing some of my behavior and Joanne was visiting me everyday we had two young children and me for 30 days and not knowing if her husband's gonna live through this or not and so I think that wake-up call prepared me that started to maybe nudge me a little bit towards the church I wasn't ready I wasn't thinking about it but thank God for that roommate and he was a wonderful Protestant roommate that he was able to every night we would discuss religion and first time I ever discuss religion outside of the family setting so in that environment was a merely just getting intellectual data about religion is there anything going on down here in the heart I think both and I think we did really did read a little scripture and my first time I was given a Bible in 1954 from the First Presbyterian Church in Dayton what good stayed on the Shelf was the first time that outside of the church that I'd started to read from Scripture and so through that two years later is when I came into the church 1978 but I came in because of a situation that Joann was expecting Chad who was very healthy today and married but expecting Chad and who was a look like a problem pregnancy pregnancy in crisis my brother had given them information about the church and there was no your brother's given me more books to read and you know and but he could take all he said I I in my prayer life I just feel like you really need to pray for this pregnancy that it might really have a problem whoa it was going great so I hung up the phone I said you know my brother is a single man like how what does he know about a pregnancy and the next day I started spotting the next day there was symptoms of a possible problem and Chuck said I think I'm gonna go talk to the priest and how those two were connected was something that guy only did in his heart and I I was really surprised that talking to the priest would also mean I'm interested and knowing more about this faith tradition and possibly coming into the Catholic Church I think I was next because part of my background was your problem solver and I had to figure this one out I didn't want to go through losing this baby and I didn't want you in to go through it so when I visited I didn't visit with him with the intention of coming into the church I visited with him with the intention of saying is there other things I can do because I've always done things for myself that could help Joanna and the baby and we prayed a little bit he gave me some instructions I met with him again and he said I think you're ready to come into the church I said I think I am and that was it I mean I was so oblivious to the teaching of the church but it seemed like the right thing to do and the utilitarian terian entrance into the church essentially yeah and in fact no real comparison between what congregations believes and what Catholics believe now but we didn't go through we went through some of it and I said well it sounds ok you know but I knew I wasn't going to have a change markets changed I could remain myself you know if I belong in one club I can belong into another you know and so there I was you know first confession first communion confirmed all in one time the baptism was accepted that congregational baptism was accepted right and and I was in and and jad was born and that started the journey but I mean it's not like I was conforming to the church no the church was going to conform to me we had to dinner after that was a weeknight service that father brought you in with it you know wonderful it was just you who came in we had to dinner and he kept saying I feel different I mean something really has happened there yes something fabulous has happened you are just you know had a waterfall of grace Wow I don't know Joann but I feel different he was different and as we fast forward to 1983 at that point I was president of a company well-established in the community jo-ann was well established and Joey and asked me whether I'd be interested going on a Marriage Encounter weekend no what about do I'm gonna pause right here died because I want to save this until after the break great why don't we do that because what we're at this point in your journey you're Catholic yeah it's almost like you've become a nominal Catholic I'm in that Club you become a nominal Catholic you were a Catholic it became that I'm well you join to become a well phenomenal car gage let's do a nominal Catholic didn't hurt your business any so there you are you've arrived and you're not changing any you got okay she's noticing a few things differently though whether you notice it or not all right let's pause there and we'll come back in a minute find out what happens at Marriage Encounter welcome back to the journey home our guest for this evening are Chuck and Joanne Wilson Chuck's a former Congregationalist Joanne's a lifelong cradle Catholic and we've just left the stage where you've made this momentous transition from a nominal congregation as to a nominal Catholic but but I think it's loud to understand especially the men who have been caught up in the career and the success and the Dale Carnegie and all that stuff can understand those kind of transitions even ask them the question this could be good for my business going to hurt my business analyzing it to understand and but Marriage Encounter your that's left you off and what gets me did you want to go to Marriage Encounter where you dragged there kicking and screaming this was Joanne booked it for months ago so she said would you be interested I said yeah but not right now so she said how about this one in March of 1983 and I think we are October of 82 I said that sounds good put it on the calendar and when that they arrived it was one of the worst days in the office we had lost a couple major projects and I mean I was pretty intense that day probably with the people I don't think a lot of people are happy with me and I got home and and was ready packed we had a babysitter we have four children and I said let's go to Cincinnati I don't have to go to this marriage encounter I just go so what we go into Cincinnati was just like a weekend away go away yeah I got a hotel room this is where we're going and we talked and we settled on actually going to a restaurant to have a drink in Columbus to talk about it we were packed to go on the weekend and through that we decided if we didn't like it we felt uncomfortable we could leave well also was next to Columbus country so I had golf along floor oh yeah jogging I was looking at this is our dark and we arrived and we walked in on a Friday and that weekend we stayed thank God and that weekend was really peeling back the mask my mask that I thought I needed to be that successful person to who God wanted me to be and we argued we cried we finally Saturday night we came together and that was the first time in my whole life that I really felt like Jesus was present and I felt like Joe Ian and I were united in faith we are now Catholic and we had the triangle and truly I love Joe and at that point but now I really loved her there was something that happened that weekend with a change of heart and truly I kept peeling that mask back and one of my concerns was is Joanne gonna love me now I mean she's seeing the vulnerable Chuck you know the person who could cry the person who could be emotional the person who is maybe doesn't have all the answers and I'll let her answer that question he had never cried ever never now we call it the gifts of Tears and it was such a powerful weekend and the only bad thing is I think we were so dehydrated from crying so much and but it was life-changing of course you don't know is this temporary or is this a new path I'm you know going down but we didn't care because we were in that moment and the moment was so beautiful and the Lord was was the moment and we both knew that in a new way in a deeper way and we were asked to continue to become part of the team so we made a deeper weekend up in Tarrytown New York for the audience that isn't familiar with Marriage Encounter it's couples have been through Marriage Encounter and it lead each weekend right give specific talks that they prepare that is right into the schedule of the weekend there are three couples and a priest on the weekend and when I say it was each it's very private I mean it's not like Joanne and I would share in our story with everybody we're back in the room sharing the story way to hear a talk and go back to the room so when we left we were asked would we consider becoming part of the team which meant make it deeper weekend and we consented and shortly afterwards we went up to Tarrytown and old convent with the nuns up there praying for us there were a couple from all over the United States and I realized it wasn't just this past weekend something truly had changed and Joanne and I actually I kept thinking how much more can we go how much deeper can we go because the love that was just outpouring and also changing our priorities that Joanne now could be the mother at home and there was no on my end wanting her to feel like she needed to be out and I wanted to come home on Friday nights and I wanted to become more of a father to our family and not just be married to this business so it was life changing and we wanted to help others experience this and in wanting to help others they didn't always wear out and that we started noticing the social invitations started to you know I think we couldn't not talk about it and so I think for many of our social friends we were a little over the top and we wanted to share about what had happened to us and and and the new faith the new family the new marriage and it wasn't always welcomed and that we couldn't not talk about it because it was it was like a volcano you just couldn't stop it it was consumed it was exciting it was it was real and I was wondering if you've experienced the intimacy with Jesus at this point the change of grace you and your character had you also started to appreciate some of the actual teachings of the church the meaning of being not at that point what I really started to appreciate is the merit is the gift of Joanne and the gift of our marriage and also the gift of Jesus but that came four years later when we made a chrissteele weekend come Christo and someone had asked me for a couple years I said wait a minute I've already made a marriage encounter but thank God we went on that and Columbus has come come Christo which is nondenominational so you have a Catholic priest but you also have a Protestant minister there but when I saw that weekend was I then had that personal relationship with Jesus on that weekend where it wasn't with Joanne it was just with Chuck and with these men and I also learned because you sit around at a table how to group with other men how to start sharing your faith with other men and I came out of that on another high and then Joanne fouled and I think one of the gifts that Joanne received was she was there with some Protestant sisters and all of a sudden maybe a little bit of my family you know we had to both examine maybe some of our problem was us too so it was good and then from there our children were starting to probably look at us saying what is happening we bought a dish a big one they get EWTN and Joanne shortly afterwards said I would like in this is 1988 we just made this weekend I'd like to go to magically now I never prayed a rosary now the Blessed Mother was outside you know right yeah there was no way I needed the Blessed Mother I could go directly to Jesus so but it was her 40th and and I said fine you can go and she went with her sister and uncle not uncle and I stayed home with the four children and so Joanne went and and she left me a book wayne waggle and I've read the book and I understood a little bit more now when I told my parents Joanne was going to a communist country blessed mother is appearing over there there are messages every day race is coming I mean this was all too much for my parents and I don't blame them because we talked about it their congregational and so through that it ended up that the night she was arriving I come home from the office and I had to to the children up I'm it's a long story about showing it to the children were still up one was in bed and the other one was up at Saint Agatha and all of a sudden I felt this presence coming over me and I'm an engineer I mean I know something is changing and something appeared to me on our shelf that we had a lot of armor a Mattel our Mattel metal there to be very gold finally after a while I took two of the children and by hand came up and I said what color is this I said gold mine fell to my knees and I had this internal hug that I wept that I knew instantly that was mary friend of ours and it was cold and what was happening was my heart and I knew that was from the Blessed Mother and when I picked up to weigh in that night at the airport she said well you won't believe what I've experienced and I said well you won't believe what I just experienced we came home now the neighbors knew weird - Jesus now the next day my son is running around talking about the sailboat changing the goal and truly that was was life-changing and then a year later we ended up taking the whole family in August 15th of 1989 to meju gory and what's interesting is we got up in June one morning and said this is the day we get the message or we don't go we buy the car because I had the money saved and I went to my group Cristo and there was a wonderful first community man there and he said hey I got something for you and I said well 6:45 I know we started seven now I wrote this out for you I said you wrote it to me and it was a Roman state about being called and predestined and I said did Joann call you he said no I said because this morning we prayed for a sign are we going to meju gory and here my brother in Christ who was a Protestant delivered the side and I called Julian and I said we're going and I said put Ginny's high seven I'm not sure it's communist whether we should take her to answer I'm not going unless they all go so I think we could talk about Maggiore that could be another show but I the bottom line was that we all experience that God is real and that the Blessed Mother is real and if our Lord wants to make the Sun Dance he can do it if he wants to turn a rosary the color of gold it can happen and so for me it brought a lot of scriptures when they talk about the you know the Seas partying and there's like no problem you know but why did I need to see this why did we need to see this I think as our faith was lacking that you know we needed something dramatic to get our attention and to get our attention really even as a family because in that second trip it was a gathering of youth from around the world and we took him there because our parish was sort of affluent and kind of dead as far as what they offered you that was more pizza and we wanted them to see the universal Church and then we never it was it for me it was like a whole new trip even though it was only a year later but that's when we I think became you really United in our Catholic faith as a family and then we took them to Rome after that we went across the Adriatic and and so it was a continuation it wasn't just magical area it was really experiencing the fullness of our faith and that was a another life changing as a family changing of that and I think that was huge has to image and all of a sudden now I really felt called to be more of the spiritual father of the family I really felt like we needed to really put God first in the family one of the things we started was Sunday night family rosary and I realized two things the hardest thing for the parents and for us was to get our children the mass and the second thing was to pray the rosary but I also realized after they went the mass and after we prayed the rosary we had peace in the family and it really United us so I could see the difference and I could see the difference where I didn't come home to pick up the newspaper I didn't come home to have this cot I came home to be the father and also tough love to be there to support Julian and raising our children in this community after meju gory and after all of this we got a whisper from a priest and he is the one that took us to magical ratings him could we take your family through a life in the spirit I said the whole family family I said well father you know I'm the convert I made a marriage encounter I've been on a crucio I've now been a magical ring I want me to do a life and what I said you know we'll do it and he came over and prayed and that night the Feast of the Holy Family was the night he prayed on us as a family and our youngest son was really acting up like this is nothing dad you know he's all boy and who goes first we all point Chad you go first and Chad received the gift of Tears everyone received a gift and I knew something was different but it was ten years old and the reason we needed this weekend and I realized it is Joann and I now could look back and on our deeper weekend we believed we were really prayed over in a special way where we received additional gifts of the Holy Spirit but now the whole family received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and through that we ended up getting another nudge and that's when our son was a junior and would you look at Franciscan University well in Columbus it's about an hour and a half two hours away and it's called the valley because the valley of the Ohio River and I had a number of people working for me that left the valley so I'm thinking why my son into the valley and he'd been accepted another day and other schools and that nudge was there always said was would you consider it he didn't say it five times he said it once and we went over one night and that night I could feel the presence of Holy Spirit like I've never felt it before and I knew something special was happening on that campus and it was almost another little magical experience of being in the Dining Commons and don't forget I'm a type-a person we were there I believe at 9:00 at night we had the visit to Cain the next day but something special happened and our son chose to go to Franciscan and now his father Jonathan Wilson and our daughter who was second online Emily I asked father Michael how do I get Emily there he said briber no but anyway Emily ended up going and now she's married to John Gemma dad who she met there and they have they're expecting number six and then Chad goes there meets Chrissie Quinn the first day and now they have two children and that Jenny went there and met Matt Slater and now they have four children and that University and we ended up buying a house there and part of my formation Marcus was really entering into that University and Joanne and I commented that University was welcoming to the parents it wasn't like okay the children are here now you have to leave it was like we want you to come and those summer conferences sitting there so that's what those are really all about the summer conferences is for families bring in the parents and I would sit there defending the faith of the men's conference and I was just absorbing this and everyone it was like something new and one other that really helped me on my journey was in 1983 we went to the World Youth Day in Denver and actually we had a garage sale and so 93 goes in landings rate when the Holy Father and we had a tough time in business we Baja you know at that point and so our cast was limited for children in college and things like that and we had a garage sale and we raised enough money at that garage sale where we said we're going he closed the garage yes and got in the car got the car and he took Jenny and the other three went one with the diocese and two with the Franciscan we followed the Franciscan friars with Franciscan University on their buses but when we got there I experienced the Holy Father and just being in his presence I knew this was Peter I knew what this was all about I got it and up until that point I got part of it but I'd say that was the closure for me and being out there and our whole family experienced it so when I realized for us and our journey was not only that I need the conversion to allow the family to convert but that ended with Joann and I and then it was the family's time to come together Franciscan allowed them to have their own faith now this was their faith and it was real and then that trip out there United us to the Holy Father United us to the fullness of the church the Eucharist was still mystery and Johanna had a personal their first night in Denver on Thursday night now I get angry how'd your person ever get stolen come on now and I'm thinking we're out here you know and so the next day we're going to father krischell was speaking to the students at Franciscan University we run away and Joanne asked me the question did you cancel the credit cards I'm saying out here on a pilgrimage we don't have to we better cancel you have no cell phone so I'm not happy with her I drop her off I Drive back I call everybody had no to cancel everything I Drive back she's up front I'm in the back and I'm like this is a pilgrimage but what happened was father Michelle stopped in front of me with the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament I looked at it and I just wept I knew that was Jesus I had never experienced that moment and obviously there was a powerful moment and I obviously interference was was there working but that was a special moment so the Holy Father the Eucharist and I'd say when we left Denver it really was a time where our business was about to be sold and I knew God was calling me in other areas Wow gee it's fun to look back our 40th anniversary is fast approaching and to reflect back and to see God's hand is something that this invitation has helped us to do and I recommend all couples so often you're looking forward we took the family out to dinner and we're looking forward to a little trip but to look back on our marriage and to see our faith journey this is wonderful it brings it all back alive again and it just makes my heart so thankful to the Lord and we're nothing special we're just normal regular people but for some reason God gave us the grace to say yes to some of these invitations and and it's made us continue to want to say yes and even today of what we're involved the New Evangelization just makes our heart burn even the word just gets me excited for the whole world and I think from that point I got involved with men's ministry and one of the reasons is I realized look what happened I had that opportunity for conversion and I wanted to offer that opportunity to as many men possible and a group of us went to Franciscan some of them started a conference in Columbus I got involved about eight years ago to be the director of the the Catholic men's ministry in Columbus and this past year we had almost 2000 what was interesting was four years ago and Joanne's on the board the women had a conference the week before our conference and now they're on their fourth and you see the women that can be changed that we can you see the men they might not make a Marriage Encounter weekend they might not make a Chrissy a weekend they might not go to medical but at least they can experience being with 1,500 or 2,000 sisters or brothers and Christ experienced the talks like you would give and other wonderful speakers would give but it was the moment of the 53 priests arriving for confession that's what I saw men changed I haven't been there for 25 years and so forth and then the mass with the bishop the source and summit so that's been a gift and from that Joe ants on the board a saint gave a radio I mean our journey and our children it's interesting are following that journey they want to be holy parents so the gift that I didn't have growing up and it wasn't that I had bad parents I had wonderful parents but the gift of faith has freed our children to really now I believe experienced the benefits of it and the house is built on a lot stronger foundation than it was when we got married you know maybe just the rest of the story with healing and Chuck's family is that his mother ended up developing cancer just at the same time we were expecting our fourth child I knew in my heart that I would probably be having a girl and my decision was she always wanted a granddaughter named after her and hadn't had it up to that point so my decision was to name my daughter after her grandmother even though there was a lot of pain involved even in that name but to see that little girl that beautiful daughter and the last words his mother said was let the baptism begin or continue she died on that weekend that was to be the baptism we had to you know make it the following weekend but it was so powerful I could have never constructed something like that and it was so healing and since she's passed away I've if the healings continued and I think now thank God Joann was willing to stand firm in her faith and thank God for that opportunity for conversion to happen and that's an invitation the Lord has for all couples today marriage is the foundation it's the domestic church and we need those weekends I believe those weekends of renewal and I'm so thankful that we've experienced some of that renewal and I would just invite all of your listeners reach out to these weekends reach out to the church reach out to the fullness of the church because really what I've uncovered here is the church makes sense its teachings make sense I was thinking about having you give a word of recommendation to any couples that are watching that maybe they have a hard time even talking about it themselves or moving on it'd be great if you can fit in a weekend but sometimes it's not easy to do how do you break through the pride or ignorance or fear into an intimate relationship from your experience what might I say to them well I would say the one thing is even though I went into a blinded trust and what the Catholic Church has to offer and the thing that makes sense to me about the Catholic Church because I as you know came from the car beside the support of marriage I mean really they understand marriage they understand it from the Genesis all the way through what marriage is about they understand the life issue what life meaning every life and it's what I have to understand and men have to understand is not about the life issue but how are we respecting our wives today how are we honoring our wives today and I think the church really helps you to really become that person the church wants you to be and I would say EWTN Catholic radio turn it on leave it on because I know even today when I turn on Catholic radio or we have EWTN at home I just know I learned something every every day from it Joanne any thoughts we attended you're deep in Scripture this and it was so wonderful now we're sharing you don't have to drive from where we are to have a hotel room just come just come even if you can come for one day just begin but I had a lot of people praying for me I think it really begins in prayer and now really it's our job to pray for our children our grandchildren it's not like we have it all together we're on this journey a wonderful witness to all of us on what God can do individually as well as a couple of course I know your son the priest and so there's the carrying on of the gift of grace that he has given to both of you and that you've shared with us on the program so thank you both Chuck thank you so much pleasure thank you Marcus thank you very much I hope this has been an encouragement to you out there watching a lot of us think we're fine with our faith and there are ways we might be blind to the ways in which we're not fine it may be the thing standing in the way is our self and so what we need to do is to pray for one another and to look at the models and ask God for the grace to be willing to be open to change because it doesn't always begin with that person it begins here god bless you you

Channel: EWTN

Views: 9,846

Rating: 4.927928 out of 5

Keywords: EWTN, Global, Catholic, Television, Network:, Journey, Home, Marcus, Grodi, Chuck Wilson, Jo Ann Wilson, Former, Congregationalist, Life-Long, JHT01318

Id: vLYHlnCBnQg

Length: 55min 56sec (3356 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 16 2011