No Greater Love

Karin M. Burke

Description

Father John Patrick Wessel was a dynamic young Roman Catholic parish priest and a charismatic spiritual teacher and leader of youth. Born in 1939 in Mount Holly, New Jersey, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1965 in the Diocese of Trenton. His first assignment was Blessed Sacrament Church, Trenton, until his transfer in September 1971 to St. Joseph´s Church, Toms River. In December 1971, Father Wessel was shot by a distraught young man whom, with priestly concern, he was attempting to assist. He was proposed for canonization shortly after his death. This book recounts the dramatic events leading up to Father Wessel´s shooting and death, while celebrating his exemplary and joyous life. It is wonderful, inspirational reading for those of all faiths.


This book contains a Foreword by Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R., well-known Catholic writer, speaker and television communicator, and co-founder, with Father Benedict Groeschel, of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and an Introduction by Rev. Msgr. Joseph C. Shenrock, P.A., a close friend of Father John Wessel´s family and former Archivist of the Diocese of Trenton. father john p. wessel


Pilgrims to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France may find this book at "The Book Shop - Lourdes," 13, rue du Bourg, 65100 Lourdes, France, tel/fax: [phone], the largest English-language Catholic bookstore in France. Say hello to owners Nicole and Barry Griffin.

Sujets

• Religious
• Lettres et linguistique
• Biography
• Wessel
• Greater
• True
• Story
• Autobiography
• Love

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 16 mai 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669862383
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

NO GREATER LOVE: THE TRUE STORY OF FATHER JOHN P. WESSEL
 
 

A Biography of Father John P. Wessel
Karin M. Burke
with
Foreword by Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
Introduction by Monsignor Joseph C. Shenrock, P.A.
Copyright © 2007 by Karin M. Burke.
(Based on Unpublished Work © 1996 Karin M. Burke)
 
Cover: Portrait of Father John P. Wessel, 1972 , by well-known Trenton, New Jersey artist Peggy Peplow Gummere. (Used with permission of the Wessel family)
 
Library of Congress Control Number:2004098512
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-4134-7506-7

Softcover
978-1-4134-7482-4

eBook
978-1-6698-6238-3
 
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Rev. date: 01/10/2023
 
 
 
 
Xlibris 844-714-8691 www.Xlibris.com
572475
CONTENTS
Foreword by Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
Introduction by Rev. Msgr. Joseph C. Shenrock, P.A.
Introduction by Karin M. Burke
Chapte r 1: One Friday in December
Chapte r 2: A Child is Born
Chapte r 3: Boyhood Years
Chapte r 4: On Chippewa Trail
Chapte r 5: School Days
Chapte r 6: I Call You Friends
Chapte r 7: Filled with Wisdom and Grace
Chapte r 8: Vocation
Chapte r 9: St. Charles, Catonsville: The Early Years
Chapte r 10: Trial by Fire
Chapte r 11: Mourning
Chapte r 12: The Pilgrims
Chapte r 13: St. Charles, Catonsville: The Later Years
Chapte r 14: Last of the Mohicans
Chapte r 15: St. Mary’s, Paca Street
Chapte r 16: St. Mary’s, Roland Park
Chapte r 17: Ordination
Chapte r 18: Blessed Sacrament, Trenton
Chapte r 19: The Man and The Priest
Chapte r 20: Missionary to the Young
Chapte r 21: Search for Christian Maturity
Chapte r 22: Lessons and Teachings
Chapte r 23: An “All Church” Priest
Chapte r 24: Zealous for Justice
Chapte r 25: The Eucharist, Project and Parable
Chapte r 26: A New Assignment
Chapte r 27: St. Joseph, Toms River
Chapte r 28: The Last Search
Chapte r 29: Father John, Our Friend
Chapte r 30: The Closing Circle
Chapte r 31: The Vietnam Veteran
Chapte r 32: Mission of Mercy
Chapte r 33: No Greater Love
Chapte r 34: Tributes Far and Wide
Chapte r 35: Aftermath
Chapte r 36: A Cause Begins
Acknowledgments And Message To Readers
Endnotes
Dedication
 
To the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
 
To my Mother and Father
 
with my eternal love and gratitude
 
*     *     *
 
To all our priests, and especially to Monsignor Joseph C. Shenrock for his friendship and support
 
To all mothers and fathers of priests, and especially to
Mrs. Kathleen Hogan Wessel for her gracious example and strong faith
 
To our Holy Fathers, Pope John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI
 
 
 
+
JMJF
FOREWORD
by Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
F ather John Patrick Wessel was ordained a “priest forever” on May 22, 1965. That was right during the time of the Second Vatican Council, which held its final session in the Fall of that year. The Council was convoked by Pope John XXIII, who prayed it would bring about a “New Pentecost” for the Catholic Church, with a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and on each of her members. As we know from Catholic theology, the Ordination of a priest involves a generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit, transforming the man who receives the Gift of God into an “alter Christus,” or “another Christ.” As a result, when he carries out his priestly office, he will speak and act “in persona Christi,” or “in the person of Christ.”
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was a noted participant at the Second Vatican Council. He deeply loved the Priesthood! He saw the importance of priestly holiness in the mission of the Church. So important was it that he remarked shortly after the Council, “If there is any key to the reform of the Church and the salvation of the world, it lies in the renewal of the Priesthood.” How prophetic he was!
He also spoke in terms of a “Sanctified Priesthood” as a fruit of the Council. Priests can and will be holy if they submit themselves to the light of truth and the fire of love being poured forth within them by the Holy Spirit they received on the day of their Ordination. In St. Paul’s words to his young disciple Timothy, “I remind you to stir into flame the Gift of God bestowed when my hands were laid on you. The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving and wise.” (2 Tim. 1:6-7).
Fr. John Wessel was, without doubt, an outstanding example of the “Sanctified Priesthood!” Though he was a priest for only six years (1965-1971), he gathered a great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God. He touched countless lives as a dedicated parish priest through his inspiring sermons in the pulpit, and his ministry of mercy in the confessional or at the bedside of the sick, and as an excellent teacher of Sacred Scripture and Religion. But it was, above all, the youth through the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) that he loved most and ministered to so well! They, in turn, flocked to his Masses, retreats and service projects. He was a humble and holy priest, faithful to the Magisterium of the Church. At a time when many priests and religious were leaving their consecrated vocations, he wanted to be a good priestly example, especially for the sake of his youth. As he once wrote while a seminarian, “The eyes of the world are on a priest!”
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, in speaking of Jesus, would always stress that He was both Priest and Victim. Pagan priests and even the priests of the Old Testament, he would say, always offered a victim separate from themselves. But Jesus offered Himself, thus making Himself, the Victim offered as well as the Priest offerer. Archbishop Sheen said that every Catholic Priest then must, like Jesus, be both a priest and a victim. Like Jesus, Fr. Wessel was both a priest and a victim. As a priest, he ministered the Sacraments and offered spiritual help to the people. As a victim, he offered himself daily in the fulfillment of his priestly responsibilities. He could say like St. Paul, whom he admired so much as a tireless worker-priest, his life was being poured forth as a libation. (Cf. 2 Tim. 4:6). For the overwhelming majority of priests, being a “victim” with Jesus means the “white martyrdom” of daily giving in service to the people of God. But to Fr. John Patrick Wessel, God also gave the crown of “red martyrdom” so that he became a victim of that supreme love which Jesus described as “laying down your life for your friends!” (Cf. Jn 15:13).
No doubt, as Fr. Wessel offered what would be his last Mass on the morning of Friday, December 17, 1971, when he said the words of consecration over the bread, “This is My Body which will be given up for you,” he had no idea that by that night, he would join Jesus in offering up his own body and the life it held. Nor did he realize as he consecrated the chalice filled with wine that morning with the words, “This is my Blood . . . It will be shed for you and for all,” that he would shed his own blood. He was attempting to help a young distraught Vietnam War veteran who in his confusion and distress, shot the young priest who had come to offer him counsel and comfort. Jesus the Eternal Priest-Victim had offered Himself as priest-victim for souls. Fr. John Patrick Wessel united himself fully to Jesus when he offered himself with a victimal love like that of Jesus!
 
Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
Mercy Sunday, 2004
INTRODUCTION
by Rev. Msgr. Joseph C. Shenrock, P.A.
I t is with great joy and pleasure that I write this introduction to the new book on Father John P. Wessel. I have known the Wessel family for over 50 years. My first assignment as a newly ordained priest was at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Holly, New Jersey, where I met the Wessel family. Through the years I have built a close friendship with them.
John Wessel was in the eighth grade when I arrived in Mount Holly and he was preparing to enter St. Charles College to begin his studies for the priesthood. In an age when the priesthood is being damaged by the press, it is a wonder to remember a good and saintly priest, who gave his life in the service of the Church.
I hope and pray that readers of this book will realize that there are many good and dedicated priests in the world like Father John Wessel.
 
Rev. Msgr. Joseph C. Shenrock, P.A.
 
 
 
 
In using the word “saint” or other similar terms, and in describing reports of favors apparently received from Divine Providence, the author in no way intends to anticipate the judgment of the Holy See whose decision is respectfully awaited. In all matters, the author wishes to conform completely to the decree of Pope Urban VIII “Coelestis Jerusalem” of July 5, 1634 and all other ecclesiastical legislation pertinent to this subject.
*     *     *
Although the quotations in this text are faithful to the actual statements and manner of expression of the persons who are quoted, in some instances the quotations have been edited slightly to correct grammatical errors.
 
The Author
INTRODUCTION
 
“