Marian Helper Spring 2014

he would tender his fears, frustrations, and struggles to God, trusting He has a plan. Entrusting their son Matthew, the eldest of their four children, collapsed in the Johnstons’ dining room on July 1, 2001. While emergency personnel labored to save his life, the Johnstons sought to save his soul. Ann Marie fled to the front yard, knelt down, and prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. The Johnstons then contacted a priest who offered a Mass for Matthew within an hour of him losing consciousness. They made sure he received the Anointing of the Sick before he died at the hospital hours later. They were comforted that he had received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion the day prior. They also trusted God was giving them a sign simply by the location where Matthew collapsed. Their son — who loved to laugh, enjoyed sports, was a good student, gentle and kind — collapsed in front of the family’s cherished statue of St. Joseph. “We’re not superstitious,” says Gerald. “We don’t believe that if you col- lapse in front of a statue of St. Joseph, you are assured a place in heaven. But perhaps it was God’s way of giving us some reassurance that everything would be OK.” ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’ As Gerald and Ann Marie reeled from the death of Matthew, Faith broke down before them and confided about a series of sexual attacks she had endured in 2000 while she worked part-time in the parish rectory. They walked every step of the way with their daughter through a grueling trial that lead to the conviction and imprisonment of the Rev. Kelvin Iguabita in 2003. Faith was not alone in feeling betrayed by a Church she had held in high regard. Gerald and Ann Marie, too, felt they were being tested nearly to the breaking point. Yet, look- ing back, the Johnstons equate these struggles to the episode related in the Gospel of St. John (see 6:66-71) when many of Jesus’ disciples began to abandon Him. “Jesus said to His apostles, ‘Are you going to leave Me, too?’ and St. Peter said, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’ That’s where we’re at,” says Gerald. “As much as our faith has been tested, and as much as we’re confused and hurt and at times angry about some things that have happened, what’s the alternative?” They can’t walk away. Saint Joseph wouldn’t have walked away. Faith, now 28, went public with her identity following the trial in 2003. She was then cho- sen as one of five victims of clergy sexual abuse to have a personal meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Washington, D.C., in 2008. That meeting played a major role in her healing process. She is now married, has two children, and has never left the Church. A saint, too, faces uncertainties Married 37 years, Gerald and Ann Marie continue to draw their strength from the Sacraments. They teach religious education. Every month, they have a Mass offered for the inten- tion of Fr. Kelvin’s repentance and conversion. And every eve- ning before going to bed, Ann Marie kisses a statue of Our Lady, a Divine Mercy image, and their beloved statue of St. Joseph. “There is an awful lot that we will never understand in this life,” Gerald says, “but we have to have the faith that, as St. Paul said, ‘God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God’” (Rom 8:28). He adds, “Remember: St. Joseph, too, had his doubts.” Indeed, when Joseph learned Mary was pregnant, he resolved to divorce her quietly. But when an angel explained that Mary had conceived the Child through the Holy Spirit and that this Child would save His people from their sins (see Mt 1:18-25), Joseph was quick to take her as his wife. “Saint Joseph was going to walk away,” Gerald says. “Yes,” says Ann Marie, “but he didn’t.” So, bring your intentions to faithful St. Joseph during the novena before his feast day at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. (Visit marian.org/mh/b21 for details.) He can help us through the hard times because he is a saint who struggled like us with uncertainties. 18 M arian H elper • S pring 2014 •  www.marian.org “Saint Joseph was helping us through the grief of dealing with Matthew’s death and then the ordeal of a criminal trial,” Ann Marie Johnston says. “At the time, we didn’t really know what was going on around us.” S t . J oseph Continued from page 15 MH Back to index