November 7, 2022 
Join us on Sun., Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. at St. Augustine Church as we host a book discussion centering on “Now Do You Believe? Living the Gospel in Everyday Life,” featuring the book’s author and parishioner, M. Regina Cram.
Regina’s stories are about living the gospel in everyday life. No stained-glass saints are found on the pages of this book. There’s the story of a man who smuggled 600 children out of Czechoslovakia as the Nazi machine ramped up and the one about a sport that brutally killed so many athletes that President Teddy Roosevelt had to step in. Sometimes hilarious, often poignant, Regina Cram paints true stories of folks trying to live everyday holiness in everyday life.
Fellow parishioner Margaret LaCroix will facilitate the discussion. Refreshments will be served. Copies of the book may be purchased on Amazon or borrowed from the main office of the church. Those attending are asked to RSVP using the form below. The snow date is Jan. 29.
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
“The year was 1947, and Eleanor was dying. She was just 23 years old, married, and the mother of a 1-year-old daughter. The day came when her doctor had to inform Eleanor that her advanced case of tuberculosis had been deemed hopeless. She weighed 87 pounds and ran a constant fever. Death was imminent.
Throughout her ordeal, Eleanor asked only one thing of her doctor, J. A. MacDougal. “If I’m still alive, I would like your promise that I can go home for Christmas.”
Dr. MacDougal knew it was a dangerous idea. The lower lobe of her right lung had a growing tubercular cavity, and her type of TB could be spread by coughing. But the doctor agreed because he did not believe she would live until Christmas.
Amazingly, Eleanor was still alive on Christmas Eve, although just barely. She had already received the last rites. But she was insistent about going home over Christmas.
Dr. MacDougal was full of doubts, but he kept his promise. He instructed Eleanor not to hold her child and to wear a surgical mask near anyone except her husband. He was immune as a result of a childhood case of TB.
Late Christmas Day, Eleanor returned to the hospital and continued to decline. “No one could have watched her struggle without being deeply moved,” Dr. MacDougal later described. Every day she grew a little sicker. And yet, to the staff’s amazement, she continued to live.”
