PEOPLE

To the uninformed, admonishing the sinner may sound like a holier-than-thou Pharisee casting judgement, but in reality, it involves an awareness of one’s own brokenness and need of repentance. It’s about lovingly calling someone to conversion, encouraging those who are trying to break free from sin and addiction.

“Every young man needs to be challenged to do some heroic deed,” Nikolas Nikas said. Decades later, he and a college roommate continue to answer that challenge.

It happened 10 years ago at St. Matthew Parish in Phoenix. Dcn. Catarino Portillo and his wife Julia regularly attended the parish where they served in various ministries and participated in a group Bible study.

Dr. Michael Rock has been standing in the breach for decades, defending the unborn and fighting to protect the lives of the elderly and infirm. He recently received the Guardian of Faith award from the National Catholic Medical Association, an organization he’s been active in for years and was president of in the late 1990s.

Holy Cross Father Tom Doyle grew up in a small town in Washington, the son of a country doctor and nurse in a family where priests were often welcome guests.

Sr. Mary Fidelis discovered a vocation to the religious life when she began to understand the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. She joined the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, the order affiliated with EWTN’s Mother Angelica, 20 years ago and resides with four other sisters at Our Lady of Solitude Monastery west of Phoenix in Tonopah.

Six years ago, Bernie Capulong thought he had it all. Then came the crash of 2008. It was after he lost almost everything that God showed him life isn’t about money.

Peter Lemieux stepped into the breach more than 30 years ago and never looked back. His wife, Cynthia, has been beside him the whole way. That’s because decades before Bishop Olmsted issued his “Into the Breach” apostolic exhortation, Lemieux knew men needed training to become strong, spiritual husbands and fathers.

“In jiu-jitsu, if you give of yourself to make others stronger, you become strong," Melissa Veselovsky said. Being strong in spirit inspires you to give back, she said.

Linda Voita remembers the day a couple walked into the Voita Gallery in Scottsdale and admired a $5,000 painting her husband created depicting the Pittsburgh Steelers.