Don called The Patrick Madrid Show with a question about watching Mass on television. At 92 years old and living with disabilities that make attending Mass difficult, he wanted reassurance that watching from home was still worthwhile.
Patrick explained that someone legitimately unable to attend Mass is not sinning by missing it and encouraged Don to continue watching. “You’re doing a good thing,” Patrick told him. “It’s a meritorious, good thing to be able to watch Mass online or on TV.”
But the conversation soon became something unexpected: a journey through history.
Don remembered sitting with his family around a battery-powered radio on their Wisconsin farm, lit by oil lamps, when they heard President Franklin D. Roosevelt address the nation after Pearl Harbor. He remembered ration cards, scarce coffee, gold stars in neighborhood windows, and the joy when World War II finally ended.
Patrick realized he was speaking with someone carrying memories that fewer and fewer people can share firsthand.
That prompted a regret from Patrick’s own life. As a young man in the Knights of Columbus, he knew numerous World War II veterans but rarely stopped to hear their stories.
“I was sitting with these historians who could have shared so much with me if I just sat there and listened to them and asked them questions,” Patrick recalled. “And I can’t go back to that.”
Cyrus offered the lesson for younger listeners: “Go talk to your grandparents.”
Their memories are part of your story, too.
Don ended his call by asking listeners to pray for his wife, Emily, who died after nearly 71 years of marriage. Patrick offered his condolences and prayers for her soul.
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