HOLY MAN FROM ARIZONA

 

SERVANT of GOD  PAUL MURPHY, an architect from Arizona,  was a lay member of Miles Jesu * (Soldier of Jesus). Those who knew him, say he practiced Christian virtues in a heroic way.

Friends say he is deserving of sainthood because of his chastity, his consistency in following God’s will, and his commitment to consecrated life, which only increased after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Two of his friends, Jacinto and Frances Herrera, former Miles Jesu members, said he was an unassuming, down-to-earth man who had a deep love of God and the Virgin Mary..

“He didn’t seem overly pious. He was not a fanatic but you knew there was something different about him by the way he acted. You knew you were in the presence of God whenever you were with him. That’s the presence he radiated. He could preach without saying anything to you,” Frances Herrera said.
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Testimonies collected in a 59-page booklet on Paul’s life echo similar sentiments about the young  man who died a virgin at age 36.

Paul Murphy, the youngest of nine boys, was raised in Chicago in a strong Catholic household. His father attended Mass daily, and two of his brothers went on to become priests.

In 1962, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in architecture and joined the U.S. Navy. Following his service in the Navy, Lt. Murphy came to Phoenix at the invitation of his brother in 1965 to make his Cursillo, a three-day retreat on Christianity.

After the retreat, Father Alphonsus Maria Duran, who founded Miles Jesu, sensed something special in Paul.  Paul made it clear he was not called to the priesthood.

Father Duran told Paul he was meant to be an architect, as Paul had always dreamed he would be, but he must dedicate himself to God completely and absolutely through vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Those who knew him said Father Duran’s guidance and the Cursillo changed his life. Instead of returning to Chicago to marry his fiancée, he kindly broke off the engagement, and embraced consecrated life with Miles Jesu, his true vocation.

Friends say he was always upbeat and the life of the party and he had a great sense of humor, but he was known for his humility.  Despite a lucrative career, Paul dressed simply, drove an old blue car, never complained and dedicated himself completely, financially and personally, to Miles Jesu and the Cursillo movement..

“Paul offers us an example of evangelization of society from within by the laity living their faith values at work, in work and with co-workers as well as putting time and talents at the service of the Gospel, said Father Christopher Foeckler, a 25-year priest with Miles Jesu.

Nearly nine years after joining Miles Jesu, which has 30 communities around the world, Paul collapsed while attending an architect’s meeting in Tucson.

Doctors determined he had an inoperable brain tumor and warned the religious community that the pressure on his brain would cause him to be impatient and have a personality change. While his character did change, he disproved the doctors and became more patient and more dedicated to prayer than before. The tumor caused sporadic and uncontrollable seizures.

Always faithful to his life of prayer, he insisted on going to morning prayers, in spite of intense pain and shakiness, and collapsed in the chapel before the Blessed Sacrament as he began the last part of his terminal illness in a coma.
Paul died Feb. 10, 1976, on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, after being comatose for six weeks.

Father Duran  described Paul’s life:  

The most important thing I know about him is that he was dedicated, always charitable, always loving, never put anyone down, faithful to God in every aspect of his life.” His friend Jacinto Herrera said:“He always said God comes first. That’s the way he died, too. You never saw him with a sad face, always with a smile, even in his coma.

His funeral Mass was con-celebrated by then-bishop of Phoenix, Edward McCarthy and 14 other priests and deacons, including Paul’s two brothers.

* Miles Jesu is a Catholic institute of consecrated life founded in 1964, in Phoenix, Arizona, whose membership comprises lay people and clerics who take religious vows and in addition, since it is structured as an ecclesial family of consecrated life. Miles Jesu is thus a new form of consecrated life in the Church which has been approved by the Holy See in accordance with canon 605 of the Code of Canon Law, which reserves to the Holy See approval of forms of consecrated life other than the traditional forms.