When we were growing up in the 60'd and 70's, we were aware that our grandmother's cousin Titus was a holy man. We knew of his history, as well as the strong Catholic heritage that we have comes from our father's side of the family. Many of our relatives went into Catholic ministry.
Growing up in America with Dutch parents, there was always a standard that was very important for us to live by: that was respect, honesty, helping others, and standing up for what was right. Our father, Jouke, was a strong impetus behind our way of thinking. He was a very kind, helpful man. He was always helping neighbors. He was very active in the Church, looking for ways the Church could better serve people in need. He was not, with his tendency towards activism in social justice, always the favorite of monsignor.
Our father lived what he believed; his life was his teaching for us. In 1954, he was recruited to come to the United States by Zenith Radio Corporation. He was an electrical engineer, living at the time in Eindhoven, Holland. All of his children were born and raised in the Chicago area.
He was very successful in his career, but also worked very hard to support those who were underserved.
He volunteered through Project HOPE, a fair housing not-for-profit organization founded by Bernie Kliena, a former priest. This organization was focused on the western suburbs of Chicago and helped immigrants obtain housing.
Our parents were sponsors (through our Church) of a family of Vietnamese refugees. My parents tutored them, helped them to assimilate into work and schools and supported them for many years. I think because my mother and father were immigrants, they could relate to the difficulties and were empathetic to their needs.
Our parents were also foster parents to two troubled teens. They took them into our family of six children without any hesitancy.
Our father and mother were also involved in religious education through the Catholic Church. Our father taught a high school morality class. I will always remember that my peers found his classes so interesting! I was very proud of my father. I knew what a good man he was and that he often saw things from a different lens. The fact that high school teenagers were excited to come to his class was special!
We traveled back to Holland as a family a few times when we were young children. These trips would always include going to Friesland and visiting relatives. There was often conversation about Titus and his life, as well as the rest of my grandmother's family, Fr. Titus’ sister, that became nuns and priests and the impact each of them made. In later years we would go to Oss, to the priory honoring Father Titus. Our uncle was very involved in overseeing this as he lived in Oss. But I must say, our family did not overemphasize their life stories. It was more like a discussion of someone in the family who had a good life and lived the values that were expected of all of us. It was all seen as "normal.”
In 1985, our cousin Mainse (his father is Joghem and the other little boy with my father Jouke in the family portrait) went to Rome and was present for the beatification of Titus. He described that event as life changing and profoundly spiritual for him. Our family in America discussed it, mostly at dinner, because we were all together then. We honored Father Titus, but again, his life was not glamorized. We all just strove to be better in our daily lives.
For me, I feel very humbled, proud of Saint Titus, and inspired to live my life as Pope Francis said “as a saint.” Daily I think of Saint Titus. I think of the common family roots that he and I share. And I am encouraged that I too can make a positive impact on our world, however small, one day at a time.
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