
My father-in-law was just baptized at 85!
From Chris Stefanick Catholic Show by Chris Stefanick | Real Life Catholic
April 11, 2026 · 8 min
About this episode
Chris Stefanick reflects on his father-in-law's baptism at 85 and the significance of divine mercy.
My father-in-law was just baptized. At 85 years old. Watch this week's reflection to hear the whole story—and why it matters for you right now. To watch a lifetime of questions, of searching, and of sin washed away in an instant? That is how powerful the love and mercy of God is. And that's what Divine Mercy Sunday is all about. Jesus told Saint Faustina that his mercy is like an ocean — and our trust is the bucket. The bigger the bucket, the more mercy we can receive. The only thing that limits God's mercy isn't the size of your sin. It's the size of your trust. I'm recording this from Hawaii, where my family is on a pilgrimage to beauty. My kids got to visit Kalaupapa — the remote peninsula on Molokai where people with leprosy were exiled in the 1800s. It was a place of total anarchy and misery. And guess who walked into the middle of it? The Catholic Church. Father Damien came from halfway around the world, and he didn't leave. He stayed. He held people's hands while they died. He built churches. He cut holes in the floor so the sick could stay at Mass without having to leave. He crawled under the building himself to clean it all out. And eventually, he contracted leprosy too…
People in this episode
Host: Chris Stefanick
Topics covered
- baptism
- divine mercy
- faith
- forgiveness
- Catholic Church
- pilgrimage
Keywords
- baptism
- divine mercy
- Saint Faustina
- Father Damien
- Hawaii
- faith
- forgiveness
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Hawaii, Kalaupapa, Molokai
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