A Chat with Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer

From jumping out of airplanes to witnessing a resurgence of Catholic faith in Europe, Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer shares his experiences as both a former U.S. Army Chaplain and the Episcopal Vicar of Europe and Asia. Bishop Spencer describes his sense of closeness to heaven while in midair free fall, his encounters with roadside bombs in Iraq, and contrary to reports of Europeans abandoning the Catholic faith in waves of secularism, his witness to a return to the church by many, particularly since the pontificate of Pope Francis. Bishop Spencer shares insights from a chapter he wrote for a new book called "Prayer in the Catholic Tradition" edited by Robert J. Wicks(Franciscan Media, 2016). The chapter, entitled "Military Postures in Prayer: Moments of Spiritual Intimacy," explores specific ways of praying in the context of Catholic Military Life.