You can watch the Michelle Duppong Movie, Radiating Joy, on EWTN OnDemand.
I invite you to join me on a spiritual journey for the next 2 months, praying for the intercession of Michelle Duppong in the cure of Philip Joseph Skoch, currently in the last trimester of his development in the womb of his mother, Nicole. Michelle is a Servant of God, awaiting the miracle that will establish her on the calendar of saints. Philip Joseph Skoch is the child of Thomas and Nicole Skoch, of Olathe, Kansas. He was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, a rare and very serious heart defect that prevents blood from reaching the lungs. His birth date is anticipated on April 14, 2025.
In the bulletin (February 16, 2025) and in the vestibule of the church are the prayer cards for the miraculous prenatal cure for Philip. The prayer is offered daily, asking for his cure through the intercession of Michelle Duppong. Our spiritual hope in this journey is for God’s cure of Philip, and allowing us to recognize Michelle as a member of the heavenly court. We are also accompanying Thomas and Nicole Skoch on this journey, that the strength that flows through faith will sustain them and their family continually, in these final weeks of Philip’s gestation and beyond.
This is personal. I witnessed the marriage of Thomas and Nicole on December 28, 2018. Thomas is the son of Ginny and Dr. Mike Skoch, formerly parishioners of St. Cecilia parish in Hastings, friends of mine since a dramatic encounter I had with Dr. Skoch in 1987. I helped him choose the Church’s teaching on family planning, which resulted in a magnificent career serving the people of Hastings for over 30 years, seven children in their family, and many great memories of our faith and friendship, including sharing in their son Tim’s ordination to the priesthood in 2023.
Another link with us is that Michelle Duppong was a Focus missionary, and served at the Newman Center on the University of Nebraska campus during the 2006-2007 academic year. In a January 2023 Southern Nebraska Register article, Marie Benes spoke of being discipled by Michelle. “Michelle had incredible humility and did ordinary things with extraordinary love,” Benes said. “In fact, so many of my memories with her are of us doing ordinary things together like cooking pasta, going for a walk around the track at the UNL rec center, or her teaching me how to waltz. Michelle challenged me to not be so concerned with the things of this world that I lose sight of my ultimate mission to go to Heaven. I still carry that reminder with me today, that worldly success is nothing compared to the treasure of eternal life with God.”
I know Marie too!
And so, I ask your help with this intercessory prayer. A young couple is in great distress. A child in the womb is experiencing a rare and deadly ailment. A great woman, a modern disciple of Christ and Focus missionary, needs a miracle to establish, on this earth, her sanctity and union in eternal life. As St. Paul reminded us in his teaching on the Body of Christ, “If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy” (1Cor.12:26).
In the letter Dr. Mike Skoch wrote, informing me of the need in their family and asking me to accompany them, he stated: “We thank you for all you have done for the Skoch family, and once again we ask your help with getting this prayer into the hands of folks who might join us in this effort. We do know, of course, that should God desire that Philip Joseph live a life outside the womb bearing his affliction as demonstrated on prenatal ultrasound, God has a greater plan for him than we can now see. And we’re prepared to accept that.”
I am happy to share this spiritual journey with you. It’s about the most important things in life: the unborn, friendship, God’s will, sharing in the communion of saints and the rare privilege of participating in the canonization process of one of God’s special friends. Michelle’s story, entitled “Radiating Joy” is available for free at EWTN on Demand:
She will touch your heart. Thank you.
Fr. Walsh
