Fr. Michael Dwyer (Fruit of Medjugorje” #63)

Video FM 63 (Easter 2013) [starting 03 min 52 sec]

First of all, it’s nice to be able to talk to all of you.

My name is father Mike Dwyer, I’m coming from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I’ve been coming here since 1988. I met Michael [Nolan] ten years ago when I talked to a bunch of Notre Dame kids. (…) So I’ve been coming since 1988. It will be twenty five years this October.

I was going to share a little bit of a testimony, of a story about myself.

I was born on January 26, 1961. My Dad was a teacher, eventually he became a vice-principal, my Mom was a nurse. They met in Goose Bay, Labrador.

As I went to school they found out that I had different handicaps. They noticed I had speech problems. As a matter of fact, when I was at school I had to go to speech therapy. I had coordination problems. I still couldn’t swing a bat at ten or eleven years of age. I couldn’t ride a bike until I was twelve or thirteen. With speech problems you could barely understand me. I’d be talking either too quickly or baby talk. It was very difficult. I had difficulty pronouncing words, I’d only baby talk. And so kids used to make fun of me, because they couldn’t understand me.

I had problems with my feet. I had two flat feet. Whenever I’d be walking a block I’d have to sit down because of the problems I had. I used to have to wear these hated red boots that would center me out, but it was the only way that I could be walking.

And it was a difficult time. Because of these handicaps I was made fun of. I also had various disabilities. My mind would operate like a computer - not like a computer – like a switchboard. I wish it would operate like a computer! It would be wonderful. But like a switchboard. My mind would be thinking about what someone was saying two minutes ago when someone was talking now, and it’s a little difficult to learn that way.

As the result of not being able to walk long distances or not being able really to play sports - because it’s a little bit difficult when you’re trying to play soccer, kick the soccer ball and run at the same time, very difficult - or you’re trying to swing a bat [and you fail] - and I was made fun of a lot in the school, an awful lot.