Bishop Fulton Sheen was born in 1895 and baptized as Peter John Sheen. He soon became known as Fulton, which was his mother’s maiden name. Interestingly, he was serving Mass with Bishop John Spalding at the age of 8. In preparation for Holy Communion, he dropped the wine cruet, and it shattered into many pieces. Bishop Spalding told him not to be afraid and made two incredible predictions about Fulton: He would study at Leuven in Belgium, and that “one day, you will be just as I am.” He was ordained in September 1919 and later pursued advanced studies in Leuven, Belgium.
Here are a few of Bishop Sheen’s thoughtful quotes:
- “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather, it is ‘timing’…it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles, and in the right way.”
- Broken things are precious. We eat broken bread because we share in the depth of our Lord and His broken life. Broken flowers give perfume. Broken incense is used in Adoration. A broken ship saved Paul and many of his passengers on their way to Rome. Sometimes, the only way the good Lord can get into people’s hearts is to break them.
- Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.
