A new children's book titled "He Said Yes: The Story of Father Mychal Judge" features the story of the East Rutherford Catholic priest who became the first official victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Chaplain to the New York City Fire Department since 1992, the 68-year-old was killed in the collapse of steel and concrete as he anointed a firefighter and a fallen office worker. The priest was named as the first officially recorded fatality following the attack.
The children’s book was written by Pennsylvania-based author Kelly Ann Lynch, whose parents were parishioners at Saint Joseph's church. The story takes children through Judge’s life of charity and selflessness led by the now famed priest whose last day was spent ministering to those that he loved.
"Here is the story of a small boy, who in his youth, found a path to a life of service," said Dympna [Judge] Jessich, Father Mychal’s twin sister. "The wonder of it all gave him great happiness. Life as a Franciscan was what he was born to be. It had hardships as well as joy. Fr. Mychal Judge, though, rejoiced in the love of the people he met daily along his path and loved each one in the depth of his soul. At the end of his life, my twin brother had the great good luck to be both friar and firefighter; he delighted in them both."
Author of the new children’s book Kelly Ann Lynch recalls how, in her childhood, Father Mychal was always there for her family.
"My own father was a parishioner at Saint Joseph's of East Rutherford from 1947 to 1973," said Lynch. "My Dad was an altar boy in the early 1960s at Saint Joseph's where Father Mychal was. My father was 17 when his own father died, and Father Mychal Judge helped him get through that, and many other family traumas. He became an integral part of our family. He was always there for us".
Father Mychal touched many lives, including those of the homeless, AIDS patients, recovering and addictive alcoholics, the firefighters and his friends.
"Father Mychal Judge had an inner belief, and possessed an unconditional love for people" said Lynch. "He always said God went out and preached to the people, so he did the same himself. He would just go out, to a plane crash, to the wounding of an NYPD officer, to the homeless, to those suffering with AIDS and he would give endlessly of himself assisting others".
Following Fr. Judge's death on 9/11, Lynch says memories of her childhood came flooding back, and she recalls just how influential the priest had been in her life.
"I remember my mom telling me about going to Father Mychal Judge for confessions one time" said Lynch. "She told me that, for penance, Father Mychal asked her to 'Do something kind for someone else.’ So she opened the door for someone with a cane on the way out of the church. The, later that day, Dad bought her flowers, and she decided to give away her flowers to an ailing lady next door. Next time she saw Father Mychal, she jokingly told him not to give her that penance again, for it was, in her words, too simple!"
Now on a national book-signing tour, which includes radio and print interviews, Lynch remains a very grounded individual, with charity and Catholic beliefs abounding in the Lynch family.
"My mother always had a heart full of compassion," said the author. "She loved New York City and wanted to share that with her children. Each year, before Christmas, we went to the city to see the tree in Rockefeller Center and the Macy’s windows. One year, my mom gave each of us a bag of new socks. That was one of my first lessons on homelessness. My mom explained that there were people in the city that day who would need these socks and that God would show us who to give them to."
The author, her husband Joe and her three children Shannon (11), Erin Mary (6) and Christopher (9) live in Lancaster, PA. Her older daughter, Lauren, who she raised from the age of 4, also lives in Lancaster. With sales of the new book now picking up momentum, the Lynch family is, as ever, focused on some of the many other family activities being passed down from generation to generation, and influenced by the teachings of Father Mychal Judge.
"My 11-year-old-daughter Shannon started to collect socks to give to the homeless after 9/11" said Lynch. "We have since collected over 125,000 new clothing items, all brand new, which we then give out to the homeless." The book contains illustrations throughout by M. Scott Oatman. The drawings show how young Emmet (Fr. Mychal) spent his early years, how he responded to his vocation, and how he lived out his life as a priest and fire department chaplain. Illustrations contain hidden images that encourage discussion and serve as additional teaching tools about actual occurrences during the span of the story.
For the children who lost a parent in the World Trade Center, 2,752 of them are under the age of 18. With the ongoing press coverage from the event itself, these children are forced to contend with their loss again and again. "He Said Yes: the Story of Father Mychal Judge" aims to bring some solace to these children, as well as bringing wisdom to all readers through this touching story.
