A “miracle” for a priest who was told he’d never walk again

Two summers ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Fr. John Murray, who invited me to speak at a retreat on preaching at the San Alfonso Retreat House on the Jersey Shore. It was a great getaway, and the retreat house is a gorgeous spot. There’s nothing like waking up to the scent of salt air as the sun rises over the Atlantic, and gazing out at the crucifix standing watch over the beach.

Fr. Murray was a gracious host. But he lived with serious limitations: 

On the day his life was turned upside down, the Rev. John Murray was taking a leisurely stroll along a Jersey Shore boardwalk.

It was a walk the Brooklyn-born priest had taken hundreds of times before. But this time, he lost his footing and smashed his head against a railing — shattering two vertebrae and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

“You should expect no voluntary movement for the rest of your life,” doctors told Murray.

But what followed is something he now considers a miracle. Read all about it. And check out the video below.

Photos by Deacon Greg Kandra