Another Day, Another Miracle

BY BISHOP BILL MUHM

In January (before the tragic earthquakes), I visited Catholic service members and U. S. State Department employees, and their family members, serving in Turkey. Father John Machiorlatti, in his rst active-duty assignment as an Air Force chaplain at Incirlik Air Base, met me in Ankara and concelebrated Saturday anticipated Mass there. Early the next morning, he and I traveled from Ankara to Incirlik Air Base, arriving at 9:30 am. Sunday Mass at Incirlik Chapel was scheduled for 11:00am. I could not enter the base because of unresolved security protocols. It was no one’s fault; everyone was trying their best to get me in as soon as possible. Eventually at 10:55 am I asked Father Machiorlatti to go the chapel and celebrate Sunday Mass for the Catholic community while I waited at the gate. I had planned to con rm Senior Airman Giuliana Garcia, USAF, at Mass but of course was unable to. However, when Mass ended, Father Machiorlatti and all Catholics who attended Mass that day came to me at the main gate Pass & I.D. waiting room. I opened my bag and pulled out my Sacred Chrism oil stock and con rmation ritual, and I, in my traveling clothes, con rmed Giuliana, with the Catholic community seated comfortably in attendance in the Pass & I.D. waiting room! It was an unusual, beautiful, and unforgettable celebration of the Sacrament of Con rmation (outside of Mass). e graces of the sacrament were not only for Giuliana; they over owed to everyone present: her sponsor Sandra Neuman, Father Machiorlatti and the Catholic community, the 39th Air Base Wing Chaplain and his deputy, the security forces at the gate, several “innocent bystanders”, and me. e Holy Spirit uni ed and evangelized everyone present. e Spirit also opened the gate of the base to me: when the con rmation ended, I was cordially invited to enter the base! I joined the Catholic community for a wonderful home-cooked lunch in the chapel annex. is is just one of many miracles that take place regularly in the AMS vineyard. ank you for your prayers and support for all of us at AMS. V continued on page 24