I would like to start by expressing to Fr. Hilary and his Vice-President of Development, Chuck Sullivan, both of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Chicago, how grateful my dear friend Donald Johnson is for receiving his position as ‘Honorary Director’ at the school. In Donald’s words to me, “I can hardly wait to try making a positive difference in the children’s lives at St. Mary of the Angel’s, the way Bishop Lyne had made in my life 65-years ago at St. Mary’s in Riverside Illinois.”
Donald will be addressing the students at St. Mary of the Angels a number of times per year, speaking on the importance of sports and education. No doubt his powerful personality and love for sports and, most importantly, his undying love and respect for Christ, will allow Donald to connect with the children in a most effective way. Donald has also earned an education in working with children. He raised two of his own beautiful children Jimmy and Georgia, with the help of their wonderful mother Sharon (let us offer prayer to Sharon who is currently overcoming an illness).
Don, a semi-pro football player, was inducted into the semi-pro Hall of Fame out of Canton Ohio in 2001. He played defensive-tackle for a number of Chicago teams between 1966 and 1976, including Elmhurst Travelers, Rockford Rams, Berwyn Baron’s, Northlake Lions and Chicago Lions.
In a recent meeting with Donald I said to him, “I am very blessed to witness such a beautiful process, where a man brought up through the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago’s School system, now in the twilight of his life, is giving back to the same system that made him the great person he is today.” More beautiful than that, the same man of God, Bishop Lyne, who was there to help Donald when he was a boy is here today to watch Donald try to do the same for other Catholic children.
Because of the beautiful experiences like the ones I have revealed in this article, I have found it very easy to appreciate my life, as I have been exposed to a good number of spiritual experiences over the last few years. Bishop Lyne, and his many teachings of his rich history, and Donald Johnson are among the biggest inspirational motivations of my life. I met Bishop Lyne a few years ago, having the luck to be in his immediate presence a dozen times. I have studied him and learned a great deal about this tremendous human being. What I have discovered is that Bishop Lyne is an enormous treasure to all that know him.
St. Mary of the Angels is very blessed to have been touched by all this love, which stems from those like Donald Johnson, who are inspired by Bishop Timothy Joseph Lyne.
