A Journey To Passion

Years ago, a hardworking man moved his family from New York State to Australia in order to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man’s family was a handsome young son who had aspirations of becoming a trapeze artist or an actor. While waiting for a job at the circus to come along, this young man bided his time working at the local shipyards which happened to be in the worst section of town. While walking home from work one evening, the lad was attacked by five thugs who intended to rob him. Instead of just giving up his money, he resisted. However, the thugs got the better of him and proceeded to beat him severely. When they were finished beating him brutally with clubs and kicking him with their boots, they left him for dead. When the police happened to find him lying in the road, they also assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon. On the way to the morgue, a policeman heard the young man gasp for air and quickly took him to the emergency room. When he was placed on a gurney, a nurse remarked to her horror, that this young man no longer had a face. You can only imagine the condition of his entire body plus he was left with none of his teeth. He spent over a year in the hospital, and when he finally left, his body had healed but his face was horrifying to look at. When the young man started to look for work again, everyone turned him down because of his appearance. One potential employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man With No Face. He did this for a while. Everyone still rejected him, and no one wanted to be seen in his company. This went on for five years and in all that time he was having thoughts of suicide. One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. After seeing the young man kneeling and sobbing in a pew, a priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The priest was so impressed with him that he said he would do everything possible to help him restore his dignity and life. The condition was that the young man would promise to be the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God’s mercy to free him from his torturous life. The young man went to Mass and communion every day, and after thanking God for saving his life, asked that God would give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes. The priest was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. There would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest’s best friend. The doctor, too, was so impressed by the young man, whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced the worst, was filled with good humor and love. The surgery was a miraculous success. He also had the best dental work done. The young man became everything he promised God he would be. He also was blessed with a wonderful wife and many children. He achieved great success in an industry, which would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career if not for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him. This he continues to acknowledge publicly. The young man was and is Mel Gibson.