October 1, 2010
People of Faith
Couple attest to importance of faith in everyday life
BY STEVE HALBIG
The People of Faith feature is compiled by Steve Halbig, who asks a series of questions of people of the diocese — some who have reached the “age of wisdom” and some who are younger. All will share stories of faith.
Earl and Grace Robertson are recipients of the Mother Teresa Award from St. John Church, Daylight. Their faith comes through loud and clear in their answers to the following questions:
Number of children, grandchildren: Three sons, five grandchildren
Have you lived in Southern Indiana all your life? Yes. Grace is a fifth generation member of St. John’s who has always lived close to the church. Earl grew up in the River Bottoms on the West Side and attended St. Agnes and Mater Dei, where he graduated in 1956.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What did you end up doing? Grace: Raised on a farm so by nature “I was a caregiver.” She is a retired nurse. Earl: Wanted to farm. He is retired from Alcoa and also from farming.
Who influenced you growing up? Grace: Parents and grandparents. Earl: Parents. Also, on the West Side, Earl says, “We were taught, ‘Everybody was good people.’”
Who do you consider to be the best role models today? Both agreed it has to start at home with the parents. Earl said, “We don’t have the heroes like we used to.”
Describe how your faith helped you through a difficult time in your life? Grace described how they were powerless when a daughter-in-law was suffering from a life-threatening illness. “It was totally up to our Lord Jesus Christ.” He came through again.
Earl said faith is especially important in everyday life, in his case farming and raising kids.
Do you have any hobbies? How do you stay active? Grace: “People are my hobby. I’m very pro-life.” Earl is a model train buff, but says friendship among the group is just as important. “They are people of faith,” he said.
What is your first memory of church? Grace: Midnight Mass, the choir loft. She thought “real angels were up there.” Earl: Church every day in school and “that Latin.”
What do you like most about being Catholic? They said: “The security. Blessed Sacrament, the true presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Of those things that are possible to change in the Catholic Church, what would you change? Earl “wonders what we will do for priests.” Grace doesn’t know “if celibacy is a necessity.” Both admit they don’t know the answer to the priest shortage.
If you could make one change in your community, what would it be? They would like the politicians “to listen to us.”
Do you have a favorite saint? A favorite religious item? Grace: St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. Earl: St. Joseph, the patron saint of workers. Grace’s favorite religious item is a Crucifix that is 109 years old. It was given to her great-grandparents by a priest in 1901 at their golden wedding anniversary. It was given to Grace by her mother.
Any regrets in life? Earl: “Probably a few but we’ve had a good life, good parents and good kids.” Grace: “Nothing major. We have been blessed.”
Tell us a few more things about yourself: Grace has been the pro-life coordinator at St. John, Daylight, for 20 years. She’s also involved in the advocacy for life through the Gabriel Project and volunteers at Pregnancy Resource Center. Earl is active in the Knights of Columbus and the Men’s Club and serves on the Catholic Charities Advisory Board.
What do you do in your spiritual life that you would recommend to others? They pray throughout the day. Earl says that his prayers at the end of the day are the same prayers he said as a kid. Grace: Every year I start a Thanksgiving journal. It’s a good reality check.”
What is your best wisdom on life? Grace: Be honest and “trust our Lord.” Earl believes what his dad once told him: “If you treat other people like you want to be treated, you’ll be OK.”
Contact Steve at shalbig@evdio.org