(LifeSiteNews) — Joining me on this episode of The John Henry Westen Show is Catholic author and speaker Kevin Wells. He discusses his latest book, The Hermit: The Priest Who Saved a Soul, a Marriage, and a Family, which details how a heroic hermit priest, Father Martin Flum, helped his wife, Krista, in her battle with addiction during the height of the COVID pandemic.
After Wells briefly explained how this book came about, I asked him to explain the story of how he met Fr. Flum.
The author explained that about 10 years ago, he miraculously recovered from a brain aneurysm following a failed surgery and grew closer to God as a result of the near-death experience. Meanwhile his wife, Krista, who stayed by his side through the entire ordeal, had suffered deep wounds of shame from the experience.
“[The experience] opened up this wound of shame [in her]. She didn’t know about it, I didn’t know about it. But she began to secretly binge-drink red wine for the first time in our marriage, in our life. And that led to a long, dark night,” he said.
Wells then emphasized that after eight years the couple met Fr. Flum, who began to help his wife heal from her addiction and even heroically continued to work with her after the Church’s COVID sacramental moratorium.
“He sort of took a spiral staircase down into my wife’s soul, and he said, ‘I’m going to stick here. I know there’s a sacramental moratorium worldwide, but I’m going nowhere, honey. I’m not going anywhere for people like you that have ghosts, wounds, addictions, whatever. I’m going to intensify my priesthood because I’m not concerned with the disease, I’m not concerned with getting sick. I’m concerned with your soul,’” Wells said.
“So, when Krista healed during that wonderful year … Krista said, ‘Write the book about what a strong, muscular, holy priest did for me during COVID, so maybe in the future, if another pandemic comes down the pike, they can see what this priest did to heal me,’” he added.
I asked Wells what this priest that was so stunning. He stressed that Fr. Flum intensified his efforts to help drive the demons out of Krista’s soul.
“So he intensified spiritual direction, he allowed [a] holy hour for Krista as many as two, three hours a day, he allowed daily Mass from the very beginning of COVID. All the things that a shepherd would do for a wounded lamb, Fr. Flum did not just for Krista, but for others too that were suffering,” Wells said.
“So really he just said, ‘Krista, I’m not going to let you go. The Church has responded, sort of in a strange way, to COVID, but I’m not going to let you go.’ So he was our shepherd during COVID,” he added.
To hear the incredible story of how Fr. Flum brought healing to the Wells family despite harsh COVID restrictions on priests, watch or listen to my interview with Kevin Wells.
To purchase Wells’s book detailing the full story, click here.
The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.
It is also available in audio format on platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and Acast. We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well. To subscribe to the audio version on various channels, visit the Acast webpage here.
We’ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new episode. Please sign up now by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel, and you’ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content.
You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].
RELATED:
Catholic bishops showed ‘a lack of faith’ during COVID lockdowns: Author
Clerical promotion of the COVID vax has damaged the reputation of the Catholic Church
