Stanhope author Rich Fritzky explores suffering and unexpected in new book

In his early teens Rich Fritzky, 65, was called to help his aunt Mary Varick, a woman devoted to helping disabled adults expand their worlds through pilgrimages to some of the most beautiful and holy places on earth. Varick was not impeded by her own inability to walk that resulted from polio at the age of two.

While his duties were initially performed as a family obligation, Fritzky, a longtime resident of Stanhope, eventually developed a deep appreciation for his aunt's mission and the community of physically challenged men and women whom she devoted her life to. He could never have imagined back then that he might meet with a fate similar to those he was helping.

In his newly released book, "A Pilgrim's Song: Mary Varick and her Theology of Suffering," Fritzky reflects on the extraordinary work of Varick whose indomitable spirit and tireless dedication earned her the respect and admiration of her close friend — Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Fritzky said his aunt was intimate friends with Mother Teresa for more than 20 years — from the late sixties until Varick's death in 1989.

"Mother Teresa visited her on the day before she died at Saint Michael's (Medical Center) in Newark," said Fritzky. "They often met at the airport and Mother Teresa was a frequent guest at her apartment at the Colonnade in Newark."

Miraculous healing

What Fritzky considers to be a miracle was his aunt's instant recovery from terminal cancer after she visited a shrine in Canada. In July 1951, after she had been given two months to live, she traveled 10-1/2 hours to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Shrine in Quebec. When she returned home, just days later, Fritzky said her doctor was mystified. He told her the cancer was gone.

Varick met Pope Paul VI in 1977 when her pilgrimage to Russia detoured to Rome and Lourdes. "They had an audience with the Pope," said Fritzky. She also met Pope John Paul II in the mid-80s, around 1985, he said.

Fritzky was compelled to write about Varick's life because her strength, spirituality and worldview had such a profound impact on his life and has supported him through the most challenging part of his life.

The difference a day makes

Fritzky's life was brimming with professional accomplishments spanning four decades.

Early in his career he served as communications director for the Mayor of Boston. He enjoyed a teaching career at Seton Hall Preparatory School, Bergen Community College and Felician College and has continued to teach at Fairleigh Dickinson University for more than 35 years now.

He also served as president of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce for 25 years and as New Jersey Employment and Training Commissioner, New Jersey State Planning Commissioner, Chairman of the New Jersey Task Force on Adult Literacy, and as Chairman of the Meadowlands' Master Plan Development Committee. In addition, he served as a member of the Northeast-Midwest Leadership Coalition of the United States Senate, appointed U.S. Senator Bill Bradley.

At the age of 55, with many academic and professional achievements under his belt, as well as a rich family life that he shared with his wife Maggie and their 12 children, Fritzky found himself working almost day and night establishing a new public relations business focused on the transportation industry.

"I remember the day so clearly. It was October 4, 2005 and it was one of those absolutely gorgeous autumn days. Upon leaving a lunch meeting, I suddenly felt like I was getting the flu — but it was more like a flu on steroids," Fritzky said.

With his body shaking and vision blurring Fritzky made it back to his home in Stanhope. Within hours his body temperature soared to 105 degrees.

"When we were about to leave for the hospital, I remember my daughter Emily helping me put my shoes on. I'll never forget that moment — because it was the last time I would put on shoes," he said.

During the ensuing days, his fever spiked to 108 degrees, parts of his body turned black, and he was not expected to live. He was engaged in the battle of his life against Neisseria meningitides — a life threatening bacteria that commonly results in death within 24 hours.

In the weeks that followed, Fritzky endured six weeks in a coma and during the next two years, would undergo more than 36 major surgeries. His legs and some fingers were amputated, and almost every organ in his body had been compromised.

Joy and suffering

In one day, Fritzky's life radically changed, yet, like his aunt, he has taken the suffering in stride.

He said for the last nine and a half years he has been living with the same kind of limitations that Varick faced all of her life yet what has kept him inspired and happy is embracing his aunts deeply held conviction that joy can be found in suffering.

He remembers her saying to those in her disabled community, whom she referred to as 'God's inner circle,' "You have time for God that enabled people don't have. You can become an instrument of transformative grace — no one is more important than you."

Fritzky recalls the summer days when he was recruited to work as a volunteer for Varick, who lived in the Lafayette section of Jersey City. Varick worked tirelessly to create community among those who were disabled and coordinated and led dozens of pilgrimages to shrines in Canada, Europe and Russia.

He said while he initially he would have preferred going to baseball games or swimming, he found something he never expected while in service. "I found that I grew to love the people and the profound happiness they felt," he said.

Intolerable becomes tolerable

"(Mary Varick) had a very spiritual message with a practical application," Fritzky said. "Her goal was ultimately to establish an extended family that would offer an alternative to life in dark and dim institutions where life felt like a tragic dead-end."

He said there are times when the pain in his body becomes almost intolerable but he finds himself employing what his aunt believed in — finding grace and peace in the pain.

"I used to say, God you have got to take this pain away. Now when it becomes intolerable, I ask him to simply be with me in the pain and as crazy as it may sound — the intolerable becomes tolerable," Fritzky said.

Fritzky said, through the lessons he learned from Varick and the community she developed and inspired, he has never had difficulty accepting how his life has changed.

He said, "I feel rather blessed — remarkably blessed — to be thinking and doing and trying."

For more information about the book, "A Pilgrim's Song: Mary Varick and her Theology of Suffering" available through Tate Publishing, visit the author's website at http://richardfritzky.tateauthor.com.

Are you a Morris author? Send your story to Eva Abreu, planning editor, eabreu@GannettNJ.com