J.M.J.
Nicholas Gilroy. Our
Lady and the Guardian. By Father Stephen and Deacon George. Bloomington,
Indiana: Archway Publishing, 2017. Paperback, 112 pages. $11.99.
Veteran teachers and members of the Regina
Literary Guild, Father Stephen and Deacon George offer a delightful story about
a very young man who enters Saint Peter’s High School Seminary.
Nicholas Gilroy seeks God’s wise will. He
believes that the Lord desires that he become a priest. Therefore, with
confidence in Him and His Holy Mother, the fourteen-year-old leaves his loving
family to embrace the life of a seminarian.
Along the way, as one would expect,
Nicholas meets various persons and challenges, but also many joys! With
uncommon trust in Jesus, he perseveres and completes his freshman year in the
Seminary.
The reader will note the lasting
friendships that develop between Nicholas and the other seminarians, the paternal
encouragement of the Rector, the discipline established by the Vice Rector, the
demanding classes that broaden the horizons of these prospective priests, the fun
that the seminarians have together, including on the football field, and the
generous spirit displayed by them in providing food and lodging for some of the
poor and in traveling to the inner city to assist grade school students after-school.
It is within the context of the after-school
program that Nicholas learns about violence in society. Although he is scarred
by the incomprehensible attack on human life that he witnessed, he remains
grateful for the privilege to tutor a minority student, cherishing it as a
golden opportunity to share Jesus Christ.
The account of Nicholas repeatedly returns
to the beautiful Chapel of Saint Peter’s High School Seminary. It is there that
he and his brother seminarians receive the divine grace necessary to walk the
path of discernment that, for some men, leads to the Altar of God. His love for
the Most Blessed Sacrament—whether in Mass or during Eucharistic Adoration—and
his veneration of Our Blessed Lady are palpable.
This volume would make an excellent gift
for junior high school and high school boys who wonder what the Holy Spirit
wants of them. It is readable, inspiring and informative. Catholic schools and
parish religious education programs would do well to make this work available
to parents, students and instructors.
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