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That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try This from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn, I host Try This. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. Follow, try this right now wherever you're listening.
Seriously, try it. And we continue with our American stories. Father Stew is a motion picture starring Mark Wahlberg, who plays Father Stew, and Mel Gibson. It's based on the true life story of Father Stuart Long. the Golden Gloves heavyweight boxing champion turned Catholic priest.
Warburg first heard about Father Stu's story while out to dinner with two priests. and he, a devout Catholic, put his own money into financing this film. Warburg intentionally gained 30 pounds in six weeks to portray Long in the film, eating up to 7,000 calories a day.
Sounds like fun. We'd like to thank the Diocese of Helena, Montana. for providing the footage you are about to hear of Father Stuart Long himself. sharing his story. with us.
Let's take a listen. I was born out in Harborview Hospital in Seattle. And then my dad was discharged from the Navy, so they came back to Helena. And I grew up there and we used to go and hike around in the hills. and there are all kinds of abandoned mine shafts.
And you're not supposed to go in there, but we sneak around the... Oh, it was just an adventure. And I really enjoyed that when I was a young man. And we used to get in trouble. We had apple trees in our yard.
We'd sit up on the roof of our house and when the tour train had come by we'd throw amples. At the people on the tour drawing. They don't like that so much. When you're a kid, it's funny what you think. When I went to I attended central school.
We lived up on And s the South Indoena. And I looked at the kids going, man, that building is so big. It's got to be shorter to cut through the middle than to walk around it.
So I'd walk through there. And uh There's this grumpy old guy and you'd always see me and he's like, He'd start chasing, you damn kids. And he'd come running after us, you know, like, it was like a game, you know, we'd run off. And I did it probably about eight, ten times during my life. And sometimes you'd come up and you'd open the door and he'd be standing there with his arms folded across the chest and you'd say, Out He wouldn't let us in there.
Sometimes you get in there and he'd chase you. Other times he'd be busy talking to people and he'd He'd just kind of shake his head at us. And then I guess I can outgrew that. Ladies and gentlemen, the graduating class of 1981. In my first year of college, I attended western Montana down in Dillon.
It was Western then, I guess it's University of Dillon or something. But I I didn't really I didn't care for it.
So I transferred back to Carol. And uh and it and I went back to Helen and I went to Carol. And I played football there for two years. Two years. Under Coach Bob Petrino.
And um and I also boxed. Each of the years I was there. I really enjoyed the box. The the individual sport f seemed to fit my personality a little better than the team sport. I was kind of a little rambunctious back in the day.
But it was it was a curious experience for me because I wasn't Catholic. And Carol, as you know, is a Catholic school.
So I always felt kind of like an outsider. I remember we had to attend Mass there is part of the football preparation. Coach Richino came out of his office. One of the young men on our team could do an excellent impersonation of him. But I'll do my best here.
He said Tomorrow's our first game. Today Mass in the chapel at five o'clock. Attendance is mandatory.
So I looked at the kid that was dressing across the uh the little The little walkway from here that's that's what's a chapel. I didn't even know what it was. He's like, yeah, yeah, he walk up. And one of the other guys took me up there and showed me. And we're sitting in there for mass and the windows that were like stained glass windows about eight feet up.
Along each of the uh the long walls of this chapel's rectangular shape. And there were, I had no idea what was going on. I look at the window on this wall. And there was a man. who had wings with a flaming sword, who's going to get another man.
who was laying at his feet, who had horns and a tail. I'm like, okay. And I didn't know who it was. And then there was another man on this side. A great big guy had a A little boy tied to a rock and he's gonna get him with a knife.
And it was a story of Abraham and Isaac. I had no idea at the time, but I'm just like... What's going on? And then a man dressed like Johnny Cash came in, everybody stood up and sat down. And I had no idea what was going on.
Yeah, I had no idea. That was my first mass. I was not Catholic and I didn't, you know, I had no understanding, no education. They they had us take a couple of uh religion classes there when we attended the school. And I used to argue with the teachers all the time.
one of the history professors with Father Jeremiah Sullivan. And I just really enjoyed this math class. He was so well educated and very knowledgeable. And he would teach us like history of the civilization or Italian history or all these different kinds of history. And um I kept interrupting this class and asking, very ignorant questions that didn't even relate.
But I you know, I didn't have the the background that a lot of the people there had. And he would say, uh, Mr. Long one day tells me after class, he said, Do you enjoy boxing? And I said No. Andy said, Well, why don't you meet me down at the gym?
Today at four o'clock.
So I said, okay.
So I went down there and he took me into the little boxing room. And at the time, Father Sullivan was probably 510, maybe about 350 pounds. pretty pretty uh portly. But uh since I've seen both Sugar Ray Leonard And Mike Tyson hit the speed bag, and Father Jeremiah could hit the speed bag better than either of those guys. I was just amazed how fast he was moving, and I was like, wow.
And then he showed me how certain... basic techniques in boxing. And when the coach came in, it was Walt Chauncey, my old football coach from Capitol. Uh This is your coach. And he said, let's do what he tells you to do.
And I just I fell in love with it. I really like that boxer. My goal after after graduating from Carroll was to get into professional boxing. And I knew, you know, you know a man who knows a man who knows a man. And I knew a friend.
There there's the old judge. Uh Mills Lane. He was a district attorney in Nevada. And he was also one of the main boxing referees of his day. And he was also involved with top-ranked boxing on the SPN.
but they take younger fighters. and give my father on TV to kind of make a name and see if they would. make a splash in the boxing industry. And I had this this in. with my friend's dad who uh raid used to train horses.
with Millsland. And so I thought, yeah, there's an opportunity for this. But I had some dental work done on my jaw. And all my teeth are false. They'd remove a large portion of my upper jaw.
and put in a bridge. And I tried to fight one more time again after that, it just wasn't the same. Yeah, so I had to give that up. And I'm hoped around the house for I don't know, probably six months. I was working.
But I just kinda you know I didn't really have anything to have any a degree in English or literature and writing. And I didn't really know what to do with it. And my mom came to me one day and she said, So do you always like movies? I said, yeah, I like movies. She said, why don't you go to LA and get in the movie business?
I thought That's a good idea. I didn't really have too much on it. I just moved down to Los Angeles, so we did that. I went down there and uh to get you know to get in the mood business. And I did I did some sm I did a couple of commercials.
I was I did I was an extra. And a bunch of me see how he seems to like walk around the back room. You know You work long hours and the money is just terrible. Uh I did I did it was in a CBS movie of the week, so. And I I got typecast pretty early as a bad guy, like a hitman, that kind of thing.
And I was the head of the uh the Neo Nazi skinhead gang in Los Angeles. Yeah, yeah, it was.
So somebody says, oh, I'd like to see that movie. I'm like, nah, I don't think so. I'm not going to drag it out so you can watch that and kind of embarrass about some of the things you used to do. And I had some trouble kind of it didn't really work out the way I thought it would. And I had a lot of um A lot of real unpleasant experiences.
with some of the people who are involved in in casting. in uh you know becoming you know uh acquiring new talent and they were talent agents and directors and stuff. And it was it was a real a real C D. CD business and I just decided that I didn't really want to do that anymore. And I used to work at a nightclub.
I worked at a comedy club in a bar. In the evening, then in the daytime I could drive around and do auditions and things. And um Honestly, well, I'm going to let that go and I'll go get another job. you know, during the daytime and I I started working at a museum. and I really enjoyed it and I ended up managing that museum for seven years.
It's the Norton Simon Museum down in Pasadena. What a nice job. Nice job. anywhere from between 55 and 60 people on a daily basis. Yeah, and I really enjoyed it.
And it helped me grow a lot and I learned a lot about relating with people. And you've been listening to Father Stuart Long tell his story. There's the movie Father Stew with Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson. This is the real fathers do when we come back. More of his story here.
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I used to ride a motorcycle in my attempt to get in the movie industry. I thought it would give me a better chance to get a part.
So I'd ride my, we had a uniform at work, so I'd ride my motorcycle. from my apartment over to work. And one day I was riding home after work. And um I got hit by a car. and I smashed into a car in the next lane.
With my head, I was immediately unconscious. I have no idea what happened. And the witnesses reported to the chefs that I was rolling down the road and another car ran over the top of me. And uh I thought I would die that night. My dad and the girlfriend I had a girlfriend that I lived with at that time.
They were both in the hospital there and I had some really really interesting religious experiences. That proved to be you know uh what I perceived to be a call of God and it brought me into the Catholic Church. The uh this girlfriend she was a beautiful woman. She was a Mexican girl, she had dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes. She was a really nice gal.
And She came in one day and she had a little chip on her shoulder. I had a big chip on my shoulder. And I think that's what kind of drew us together. But she came in one day and she had dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes. She was her hair looked blonde.
And it looked like there was light coming from her face. And she was vacuuming. the uh the carpet of this apartment we shared. And I looked right and I said, What the heck happened to you? And she says, I'm Catholic, I've been away from the church for 13 years.
And I just saw, I just went to confession.
Now I attended Carroll and I had some exposure to the Catholic Church. and I didn't really understand anything about it. But when I saw this change in her, I knew there was something to it. And she said, We were talking about getting married at the time. I said, if we're going to get married, We'll get married in the church.
And here's a class you can take shedder bulletin. is a class you can take. that will allow you to get baptized and confirmed in the church. and then we'll be able to to set a date for our marriage sometime after that. And I said, okay.
And I went through this this about a year and a half of this RCIA class. And then when I was When I was baptized, at the very moment the priest was pouring the water over my head. I didn't hear the voice of God or see a big banner come down from the sky or anything. I just knew. that I was going to be a priest.
Right at that moment, I'm like. I didn't want to be a priest. I wanted to get married. And I didn't really know what a priest did.
So, um I I went on for about three days later I told the priest to baptize him. I said, yeah. The other night when you baptized me, I thought um had this feeling that I'm going to be a priest. He says, don't worry about it. Every man who is baptized as an adult has that same feeling.
Wait a few days, it'll go away. And I went and I went away. I'm like, shh, thank you. But it came back. Went away, came back, I played ping pong with this for about seven years.
And then I I was going to go into a religious order in New York City. And I went there and spent some time on and out for a couple of years. They sent me to school in Ohio. to do uh s what they call pre-theology studies. You learn some philosophy.
And then after that, we discerned this religious order and I discerned that I was better suited for parish work.
So they sent me back home to the Daces for Hallana. And in 2003 they sent me to the seminary out in Mount Angel, Oregon. and I was ordained a priest in 2007. in December. It's funny.
because I lived a very fast life. Um I was involved in in in troublemaking, I used to get in street fights a lot. I was very involved in I used to drink. And I had a a lot of problems. I had several accidents, both on my motorcycle and cars.
I had some falls, I hurt myself, you know, fighting. And um About 15 years ago, I just started weakening. I thought maybe because I had such a fast life. I was just aging a little more rapidly. than than people my age.
And when I was in the seminary, I had hip surgery. My left knee just kept It was really causing me a great deal of pain.
So I went in, they didn't x-ray the knee. No, knee is fine. They did MRI. No, your knee is fine. And finally they did an x-ray in my back and they noticed something on my hip.
And they did an MRI and they found that it had a large tumor about the size Uh I can't close my fists anymore. about the size of your fist. that was growing right at the insertion point of your groin muscle. in my femur and that's what was causing, it was putting stress on the muscle. That's why my knee was hurting.
So they removed that tumor. And uh Just a couple of months after they did that, I just I remember sitting at the seminary one day on the edge of my bed. And I could just feel the strength. flowing out of my body. It was the most uncanny experience that I've ever had in my life.
It's like a ball rolling across the table. And then when it f gets to the edge, it just drops. That's where my strength is. And I was diagnosed very soon after. with a disease called inclusion body myositis, that's what I have.
It's a different disease, but it mimics ALS.
So the progression looks uh very similar to somebody who suffers with Lou Gehrig's disease. And there's there's no cure for this one either. Um It it will claim my life. But it's a very curious experience because through the difficulties and the struggles that I've been through, the problems that have arisen from this And the people, especially my dad, who have come to my side to support me and aid me. you know, and assist me through this life since I've been diagnosed with this.
It's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. It is a it's a profound experience. Suffering. and every person in the planet suffers and the more you try and deny it and move it the more you suffer. It is a truly profound mystery.
And What I've noticed in my life, the good things that are coming from this. Uh it's It's helped me overcome some of my prideful ways, which was a big cross for me for many years. It taught me a little humility. It's taught me dignity and respect for others. Especially for those who a share the condition that I'm in.
I live in a nursing home now. I live at the Big Sky Care Center. just uh south of St. Peter's. And Yeah, I've entered when I became Catholic, I used to go and volunteer at a convalescent home every week.
And sometimes you go into this place and it was like entering the first circle of Dante's hell. You would smell of feces and urine and people are screaming. And you wonder why you go there. But when you left, Every time you left, you felt a little better about being able to participate. in assisting others with their suffering.
in helping them struggle with their burdens through life. You know, it's a powerful powerful. Powerful reality. For myself, Um You know, I've been very healthy and active my entire life. up until about five years ago.
And At the end of my ordination, I said, I stood before you a broken man. My my my disease is Uh disabling. and it will continue to progress. And barring a miracle of Christ, it will claim my life. But like I said the uh The struggles of this disease.
Help me and help others. to learn the way that we should have been living all along. And sometimes people like me, there's an extreme example. We need things like this. to be able to make those changes.
and decisions in our life that are going to help us to become better people. to become the people that God has created us to be. when he sent us to this planet. There's a really interesting movie. Uh it's called Gladiator.
And there was one line in there I really enjoyed. There was the man played by Oliver Reed, who is now deceased. and he was the owner and trainer of the Gladiators. His name was Proxima in the movie. And he was giving these gladiators a little pep talk.
before they went out into the arena to fight. And he said, uh Is it ultimately? He said, we're all dead men. He said, sadly, we cannot choose how. But we can choose how we face that end.
in order that we are remembered As men. And I think This is a message for all of us. We don't get to choose what happens. only how we respond to it. and how we're going to cooperate with God.
to overcome the difficulties and challenges. that exists in our world. And a terrific job on the production by Greg Hengler. and a special thanks to the diocese of Helena Montana. for providing this footage.
This audio of Father Stuart Long telling his own story. story. With his mother and father at his side, Father Stuart Long At 50 years of age, passed away. In the early morning hours on June 9, 2014. in Helena, Montana.
where he resided. and ministered. Since 2010. You know, so much is written about happiness and chasing happiness. And John Stuart Mill wrote about this and said, People who chase happiness end up being unhappy.
It's the people who step into others' suffering. that understand happiness. And my goodness, did Father Stew do that? And did people do that for Father Stew? and always understanding who is in charge your father Stew, That was Jesus Christ.
The story of Father Stuart Long here. on our American stories. Life's messy. We're talking spills, stains, pets. and kids.
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That's one of many things I learned after working on a new audio course about the gut microbiome. You can learn how to keep your gut happy by listening to Try This from the Washington Post. I'm Christina Quinn, I host Try This. Dig in with me on practical advice for life's common challenges. Try this right now wherever you're listening.
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