Old Shoes For Sale!

I first met Father Harvey in January of 1998. The Courage office was then at St. Michael’s in midtown Manhattan and consisted of one tiny room, with access to a larger room and table when Courage newsletters needed to be sorted for mailing. I had learned that part-time help was needed, so I made the trip from New Jersey by bus and subway to meet Father Harvey and introduce myself. The kindly, humble, intelligent, and down-to-earth Father Harvey I met that day was to be a blessing that revealed itself even more fully throughout the years I was privileged to work with and for him at Courage.

When the Courage office relocated early that same year a few blocks south to a third floor room at St. John the Baptist church, there was enough space for file cabinets, three desks—one big one for Father Harvey—three computers, a table, and even a small room at the end of the hall where anyone who came could meet one-on-one with Father Harvey. What I recall so vividly is that when those visits ended and the two of them came back to the big room where we were working, before saying goodbyes Father Harvey would always give the person a blessing with the sign of the cross. He did that, too, at the end of the day for each one of us who worked at Courage. Father Harvey’s faith was totally integrated into his whole being. What I remember also is that at noon, while we employees were about to go downstairs for Mass, Father Harvey at his desk would be opening his breviary for Midday Prayer, after which he would walk back to the rectory at Holy Innocents, where he stayed during the week, for lunch.

I want to mention, too, what a blessing it was for Courage that Father Harvey, besides his many wonderful personal qualities, was such an excellent moral theologian. If St. Peter is the rock for the Church, Father Harvey is certainly the rock for Courage and EnCourage—providing a sure foundation, rooted in Christ, for each and every member. I recall, in particular, working with him when Ascension Press was in the process of getting his 2007 book ready for publication. It was very important that every answer to the book’s questions was correctly worded to reflect Church teaching, and Father Harvey didn’t hesitate to submit corrections to the editors’ initial formulations when it was needed. Thank God they listened, and a valuable resource is the result.

Even though I do not know details about the challenges Father Harvey encountered in the Courage ministry, I know there were some that took a lot of grace and patience to deal with. What I especially noticed about Father Harvey is that after a few brief expressions of Irish temper over whatever the situation was, peace would soon follow. I’m not the first to say that the comparison with St. Francis de Sales, the founder of his religious order, comes immediately to mind.

This is a bit off the subject, but I’m also thinking of the acronym for his community, OSFS (Oblates of St. Francis de Sales), that Father Harvey would help us remember: Old Shoes For Sale!

Father Harvey, man of joy, peace, goodness, and wisdom: pray for us.