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“Not all heroes wear capes.” I’m sure that you’ve heard that saying before.
Well, it’s true, and you don’t have to go to your local hospital, fire, or police station to find them. All you have to do is look as far as your local Catholic school.
Take a look at the teachers, principals, secretaries, aides, administrative assistants, custodians, cooks, and counselors.
In Catholic schools, the heroes are everywhere. |
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In his general audience on January 28, 2015, Pope Francis stated, “In modern societies, we are experiencing a crisis of fatherhood.
“In the past, it was common to perceive fathers as authoritarian and sometimes repressive; but, today we sense father’s uncertainty and confusion about his role. Without father figures, young people often feel ‘orphaned’, left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.”
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Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May.
On Memorial Day we honor military personnel who died while serving our country, particularly those who died in battle or from wounds sustained in battle.
On Veterans Day, we honor those who served honorably in military service during wartime or peacetime.
Many of us are watching the Winter Olympics these days, and we’re inspired by the years of dedication and hard work it takes for athletes to compete on the world stage. Those who win medals often return home to their respective countries as heroes.
While we can applaud these athletes for their accomplishments, the recent story of an eight-year-old boy from upstate New York captured my attention as a real hero.
Tyler Doohan was visiting his grandfather in his mobile home in Penfield, N.Y., on January 20 because his school was off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Reportedly, Tyler woke up at about 4:45 a.m. when the blanket covering his sleeping four-year-old cousin caught fire, according to Chris Ebmeyer, chief of the volunteer fire company in Penfield.
Tyler then woke up six of his relatives and helped them escape from the enflamed mobile home. He then ran back into the home where his 57-year-old grandfather was sleeping. His grandfather used a wheelchair and crutches after having a leg amputated due to complications of diabetes. The firefighters found Tyler’s body just a few feet from his grandfather’s. The boy’s uncle was also found dead in another part of the trailer.
Tyler saved the lives of six people. “They all would have died if he hadn’t woken up,” said Ebmeyer. All six survivors suffered minor injuries, including Tyler’s grandmother, two children, two other women, and a man.
I can’t image many other eight-year-olds having the courage to do what Tyler did. It was truly an act of caring and heroism.
Remember how you always looked up to the “older” ones?
When you were four, they were the six-year-olds; they went to school. But when you got to school yourself, it was the eighth graders who were the big shots, and to them it was the high school kids, who looked up to the college kids, etc.
