In Boston, A Priest Shows What He is Made for

A few years ago, I was struck by the homily of a visiting priest at my New Jersey parish, a man named Father John Wykes, O.M.V. who talked with us about his order and his mission and the severe priest shortage in the Philippines. Today, I encountered him again, in a Wall Street Journal article that made me reflect on a man I do not know, laboring largely in obscurity, for the good of our souls.

In Which The Man Drinking Green Tea Asks For Our Prayers

This afternoon my parents and I, tired from a visit to the Norton Museum of Art, stopped by the Starbucks in Boynton Beach. It's a favorite haunt of my mom and dad, who retired to this corner of Florida many years ago. We settled into three comfy chairs in the back of the cafe.

A man in his thirties, dressed in a black shirt, black pants and black shoes, settled into the fourth of the four chairs. He was small and looked a bit nervous, a bit out of his element. He put down his computer case and went to the counter to pick up his green tea. Who could imagine that 30 minutes later, we would know much about this man and that he would ask us to pray for him?