Who's in Charge Here?: Stories of My Life

By Maurice O. Gallagher

From an Iowa homestead, ahead of the Great Depression, to the plains and mountains of Colorado, this book is about a priest using his wits and sensibility to affect the lives of everyone he met. In his journey, he plowed forward, but had to turn corners quickly into fields he hadnt imagined. The supposed director of his life found himself being directed. Why are 300 Christmas cards his reminder that this was all good when so many people from every walk of life think of him as friend and family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468574197

Maurice O. Gallagher

A seemingly self-directed man and priest, at age 90, concludes that of the major decisions in his life, he had little input. He was guided into paths he avoided with vigor, but despite his protestations, and through the twists and turns of his life of service to people, he finds that God is good. From six months old to his work with the poor and needy late in life, a power outside himself was stronger than his stubborn disposition

Book preview

WHO’S IN

CHARGE HERE?

Stories of My Life

Maurice O. Gallagher

37_a_reigun.ai

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 by Maurice O. Gallagher. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/09/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7420-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7419-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905702

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Foreward

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 Beginnings

Chapter 2 My Family

Chapter 3 Early Education

Chapter 4 Early Seminary Years

Chapter 5 How I Got to Pueblo, Colorado

Chapter 6 Fast Start in Pueblo

Chapter 7 West to Salida

Chapter 8 Meeting Bishop Buswell

Chapter 9 My Introduction to Walsenburg

Chapter 10 Volunteer Programs Begin

Chapter 11 Going My Way to Avondale

Chapter 12 Penitentes of the Southwest

Chapter 13 Connections

Appendix

Editor’s Note

Father Maurice Gallagher recorded these comments about his life in January and February of 2012 at the age of 90. Minor edits were made to smooth out the text with an effort to preserve the tone and color of his comments, as many have heard them in conversations over the years.

Thanks to Theresa Gallagher for collecting and providing many of the family photos included here. Thanks, likewise, to Sue Doyle and others for providing photos. Cover drawing is courtesy of Mary Ellen Gallagher.

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Foreward

God asks only this: to act justly, love tenderly, and to walk humbly with God and others. (Micah 6:8)

Let us therefore love, because God first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For how can he who does not love his brother or sister whom he sees, love God whom he does not see. (1 John 4:19-20)

My association with Father Gallagher began some 40 years ago, covering more than half my 65 years of life. In the summer of 1972, when I arrived in Walsenburg, Colorado in my red Volkswagen and pulled up to the front of the rectory of St. Mary’s Church, little did I realize what a serendipitous journey I was about to begin. From the moment I knocked on the rectory door to my time in the 2000s living in his wonderful cabin overlooking the Arkansas River, it has been a life-enriching experience knowing and sharing life with Maurice Gallagher.

From whatever generation or culture you hail, this book will take you back to days of yore and your remembrances of unique interactions and shared life experiences with this man. The vignettes will take you from the rolling hills and farmlands of northeast Iowa to the plains and mountains of the land of the Turquoise Sky. Each of you was and is an integral part of his grace-filled life. We were formed in our youth to a large extent by his FATHERLY concern for each of us. These snapshots of his life are woven into a beautiful tapestry of a life dedicated to God and people. Whoever loves God must also love his brother or sister. The two Scripture quotes above are the fundamental commands of the Christian life. Living them is the name of the game.

All who have known Father, from his family to so many inside and outside the Church family, can bear witness to the fact that he has been a faithful practitioner. Father’s life task and mission have involved caring for people—be they big or little, rich or poor, sick or well, be they brown or white, speaking English or Spanish, documented or undocumented. He has repeatedly stated that his job is service, kindness, and love in every encounter with others. His willingness to share his time, talent, and treasure was