Alicia Colon's column today in the New York Sun is about miracles. Tiny miracles and a priest. The tiny miracles are Amilia Taylor, "born four months ago at 22 weeks gestation, weighing only 10 ounces. She is believed to be the only baby born at less than 23 weeks to have survived." And another tiny baby Alicia held that had escaped abortion:
Last Saturday, I held a baby that looked very much like tiny Amilia. She was just as much a miracle — she had escaped being aborted thanks to Father Benedict Groeschel. The world-renowned Catholic priest was the guest speaker at a fund-raiser for Good Counsel Homes, which he cofounded with Chris Bell in 1985 to help single pregnant women choose life for their babies and themselves. The group's five residences have provided shelter for more than 3,500 women and children.
Father Groeschel is a living miracle himself:
In 2004, Father Groeschel was hit by a car and gravely wounded in Orlando, Fla. He miraculously survived, but none of us at the luncheon knew how close he had come to dying. Looking somewhat frail but with a strong voice, he said: "The night of the accident, I had no blood pressure, heartbeat, or pulse for about 20 minutes. The doctors were understandably going to give up, but the priest with me, Father Lynch, begged them to go on and after a while, they found a heart beat and kept me going. A few days later, I almost died of toxins that spilled into my system. Then two weeks later, I suffered heart failure while I was on a respirator."
Then he laughed and continued: "The doctors said I wouldn't live and I lived. They said I wouldn't think, and I think. They said I wouldn't speak, and I speak, They said I wouldn't walk, and I walk. They said I wouldn't dance, but I never could anyway, so that was all right." His survival is truly a miracle.
If you've never seen Father Groeschel on EWTN, you are missing a real treat. He's a wonderful priest who tells it like it is with conviction and humor. His work is truly a blessing. And so is Alicia's story.
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