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Paul Murphy, Soldier of Jesus Excerpted from the booklet Paul Murphy, Soldier of Jesus by Bridget LeBeau, as related to her by Very Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Maria Duran, MJ and others who knew him. Paul Murphy was the kind of person who was always able to see the good side of everything. He was always making jokes to lighten each and every situation. Once, during the month of July, Paul and Father Duran were in Avila, Spain, with a group of Miles Jesu members. They were coming back from a worldwide Cursillo convention in Rome. The group had been praying for two hours at the Monastery of the Incarnation in which St. Teresa had lived. The monastery is always cold, and as they were leaving, Paul said, “I know what St. Teresa died from.” With a smile, Father Duran asked what he meant. Paul replied, “She froze to death.” Paul could put aside discomfort without complaining by calling upon his positive and ever present sense of humor, which only added to his already profound respect for all things holy. Paul loved to make people laugh. He used to say, “When people ask me where i was born, i tell them: ‘In Chicago, because i wanted to be close to my mother at that special time!’” With his ever-ready wit, Paul used to tell people in Spain that his name was “Pablo Patata.” (Murphy means “potato” in Gaelic.)Paul, at 6'2", was tall and handsome. He went to Phoenix, Arizona, to make a Cursillo. The year was 1965, and it was right before the Cursillo began that Paul and Father Duran first met. Right away, Father Duran knew that there was something different, something special, about Paul, and that God wanted something special from him. He also had a very deep awareness that Paul would be a special gift to the Institute at that time. |