Customer Reviews

Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero

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In looking through the over some forty different books on a display in a local bookstore memorializing the Heroes of September 11th, I was struck by the fact that each human story is, in and of itself, precious and so worthy of being passed on. All who lost their lives on September 11th, and those who participated in the aftermath of that tragic day, in whatever role they served, brought forth their very best selves to share with others in need. There is a powerful eloquence resounding through the words and photographs that serve as reminder and memorial of these tremendous people and that terrible day.

Mychal Judge was the 68-year-old fire department chaplain who died of a heart attack while ministering to the injured and dying at the World Trade Center. There is the now famous picture of Judge being brought out of the rubble by five firemen that is incredibly powerful to view.

In a time when there is a great deal of cynicism and appropriate doubt about the leadership of the Catholic Church, Mychal Judge's life serves as the testament to the fact that there are indeed still priests who have not forgotten the true meaning of ministry, who continue to struggle to live a life that is Christ like, yet who remain all too truly human and authentic. Ironically, these men are often the same people who have the courage not to intimidated by the Church's petty hierarchical power games, rules and censures.

Judge was not a perfect person by any means. A Franciscan from his young adulthood, Mychal Judge was outspoken and unconventional. He was known to be difficult to live with in community at times. He spoke back to the reprimands of the Archdiocese of New York and went about his business of being present to others - often the poorest, dirtiest, most undesirable human beings around him. He was an acknowledged alcoholic who was devoted to Alcoholics Anonymous, to his own 23-year sobriety, and to assisting other alcoholics on a path toward recovery. He was also a gay man who acknowledged his sexual identity, while at the same time, giving authentic witness to his call to the priesthood. He was eccentric, bawdy and comical. At the same time, he was selfless when it came to being present to those in need. He never failed to rush to the most tragic or hopeless situation he was called to - whether it was to men dying of AIDS, to the lonely elderly women to whom he somehow gave laughetr and cheer, to the homeless around Penn Station in the church where he lived, or to his final ministry, to the firefighters and their families, of the New York City Fire Department.

As a result of his own very challenged life, Judge was able to be a tremendously authentic presence to other persons in pain. He embodied the idea that those wounded in life are often the best people to serve in healing roles as they can reach places in others that they themselves have been and give comfort and often peace.

Author, Michael Ford, covers Judge beautifully and I found myself marking my copy of this book with simply beautiful vignettes of Mychal Judge in action so that I can return to them again and reread them. Ford, previously published an excellent posthumous biography of priest and noted author, Henri Nouwen, entitled The Wounded Prophet, which also dealt with another remarkable human being who embodied the notion of wounded healer.

While never having met Mychal Judge, Ford has certainly done a fine job of meeting people who did know the man first hand and recording their stories of his life. He has synthesized all of this into a very well written, coherent tale of a rough and tumble New Yorker who literally gave his life to the people of New York City. A remarkable book. A fast and inspiring read. Highly recommended!


Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota USA

As a disheartened Catholic living in NJ with an excellent view of the NY skyline, I watched in horror as the World Trade Center towers came crashing down on 9/11/01. My faith, which I had already been questioning, was tested even further. As the days passed, we all began to hear the tragic and heroic stories to emerge from Ground Zero. One of the first was that of Fr. Mychal Judge. I was moved by his death and attended a mass in his honor at St. Joseph's in East Rutherford, NJ. It was an overflow crowd and we had to listen to the service from the street. It was very moving and the words of those who knew & loved Fr. Mychal touched me. After that I realized that I should not be touched by his death, but I should learn about his life. This was an amazing gift that God gave to me. I began reading about him, anything I could get my hands on. After a time of such turmoil in our country, and to me in my own backyard, it was as if the grace of this incredible man was walking me through my own grief and helping restore my own faith in God, the Church and our world.

I was very anxious to read this book, and I must say, I was not disappointed. I think it did a good job of showing us who Mychael Judge was, both as a Franciscan Priest and as a very human man. It showed his frailties, his struggles and the heroic and inspirational way in which he handled these matters. It showed a man of true love and acceptance, one who encouraged a Church of inclusion, not exclusion. One who strived to make the Church a better place, who did not allow the faults of the Church to taint his love for God or Jesus Christ. Through stories told by friends, fellow Franciscans and those who knew him well, you get a better picture of the man Mychal was. And, after his death, the man that he was led me back to the Church and allowed me to have a place for God in my heart again. I like to think that this is something that would have made Fr. Mychal very happy. So that is my own personal tribute to him.

The beginning of the book details the tragic day of 9/11/01. The author did an excellent job of making that terrible day seem real and gives us some understanding of what those on the scene were experiencing. Throughout the story, I also felt that I was there when Mychal was offering his own blanket to a homeless man, or when he was massaging the feet of AIDS patients when no one would dare touch them. It gave an excellent portrait of what he learned, what he did and how he became the true Hero he was to so many.

I strongly recommend reading this book. You will learn about a wonderful man and it will restore your own faith in God and the people in His world.

Some people might be put-off because this book deals honestly with a priest who struggled with his sexuality and with church teachings AND lived a life in service to God and neighbor. However, this book looks honestly and authentically at the life of Fr. Mychal Judge. Clearly the love of God shone through this man, and clearly the teachings of the Catholic hierarchy are not always the teachings of the Church, the People of God. I thought perhaps this book might be a little hokey (the subtitle makes Fr. Judge sound like a Marvel Comic superhero), but the book was truly authentic (albeit a tiny bit hokey at some very few points). Michael Ford's book will give you some honest insight into the complex yet simple life of Fr. Mychal Judge. I found it inspiring.

Quite an interesting book - I loved it!!!! He had to have been a joyful person to be around - no wonder everyone loved him. What a loss !!!!

Have you ever faced addiction or have a secret you could never tell?
This priests story will give you courage to face both & come out a winner.

In an age that there is great suspect, and hostility towards priests, this book restores one faith in the many saints in our midst, who never gain newspaper headlines. I read the book before watching the CD about Father Judge, and it is a wondeful, easy read.

I had it on my wish list for a long time, as I had heard it would be published soon. When I finished the book, and CD, I sent them both on to a friend, who will pass it on to someone else.

Father Judge was a true hero, loved his ministry, struggled as a human and shined as a light. It is painful still to re-visit 9/11, but this is the conclusion of a live well led and lived. Well written, introducing us into his life and his friends.

I met Father Judge once and it was a very moving experience. Everything said about him in Ford's book as far as I'm concerned it just the way he was. He made a fantastic figure in his flowing robe but he was never pretentious. He loved people and his every action showed it. He is a man that will not be easily forgotten and the book will help towards that end.

I genuinely wanted to like this book, and was sorely disappointed. ... A case in point: Fr. Mychal spent a number of years at St. Joseph's parish in East Rutherford, NJ. The author's treatment of this critical, mid- career period in Judge's life (and the context in which this reviewer first came to know Mike Judge) is given short shrift. Ford relies entirely on an article in the Bergen (NJ) Record from the mid 70's and on some annecdotes from Fr. Michael Duffy ofm in his funeral homily for Judge. There is no indication that Ford spoke with any of the other Friars who shared ministry with Judge, or with any parishoners. Rather, Ford seems to be in a great rush to tell stories of Mike Judge, recovering alcoholic and (celibate)... man.
Much of the book is riddled with cliches and trite bromides. The end result is a book, which while informative at times, fails to capture and communicate the story of a flawed, yet truly holy man. Mike Judge deserves a better crafted biography.

Michael Ford has written a book hurriedly with a distinctively personal point of view that does not do justice to Mychal Judge. It is obvious that Mr. Ford's intent was to get the book to market and further along a media frenzied with the opportunity to "out" Father Judge after his death. We are left with snippets of a life that must have been overwhelmingly dedicated to others. There seems to be so much to investigate and develop that is left untouched in Mr. Ford's rendition. I hope that the next volume is truly "authentic" rather than an open ended quest for furthering an author's personal quest.

As much as I enjoyed reading about the good work of Father Judge and about his life's struggles, this book seems to deliberately mislead or confuse readers about Catholic teaching. The author fails to explain correct Catholic teaching about such issues as General Absolution, Canon Law, and Homosexuality or same sex attraction. For this reason it is a disservice to Father Judge's memory, the Franciscans and to readers.