In Defense of Crazy

I've met a lot of crazy people in my life.

Frank from Jersey City comes to mind. A local legend with Elvis hair, a fixture on the corner of Grand and Columbus, who kept a switchblade in his sock and sang doo-wop at passing buses.

Then there was Zef, who ran a gypsy cab company on the Upper East Side. He believed that rules…all of them…were meant for others, as evidenced by how he may/ or may not have ‘edited’ my application so he could hire me back in the day.

And Harry the Trucker. Built like a medieval door. Always sweating, always muttering. One eye pointed towards the sky, the other right through your soul. If you saw him barreling down the block, you instinctively crossed the street or made for an alley.

City life teaches you something early: crazy is relative. And without these people, life would be far less colorful.

But lately, I've encountered a different species of crazy entirely.

The holy kind.

The Other Kind of Crazy

When I started spending more time around the Church, I began to notice a different kind of crazy person. The kind with wild eyes and rosaries in both pockets. The kind that talks about Jesus like He's their childhood best friend, and I mean, really talks about Him.

At first, I treated them the same way I treated Frank, Zef, and Harry. I'd smile, nod politely. Change the subject. And drift away before I got pulled into their orbit.

But the deeper I grew in faith, the more I started to actually hear what they were saying.

They weren't rambling. They weren't confused. They weren’t unstable…They just… believed.

They experienced Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. They knew His voice in their prayer. They showed up early for Mass, prayed the Rosary like warriors, and teared up when the Blessed Sacrament was raised. They fasted. They sang off-key. They laid hands on strangers and begged for Christ’s Mercy as if everything depended on it.

And yes, sometimes they made people uncomfortable.

But slowly, it began to dawn on me: They're not crazy.

They're the ones who actually get it.

So Who's Actually Crazy?

The world tells us to keep faith polite and private, something nice and quiet to believe in, but not something that changes how you walk or act or worship.

But here's the thing.

Maybe the ones who seem "sane", the cool, calm, nonchalant Catholics, maybe they're the ones who are out of touch.

Maybe the real crazy is “believing” in the Real Presence but never going to Adoration. Calling yourself Catholic but rarely praying. Receiving Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and walking out of church like nothing happened. Going through the motions on Sunday and then spending six days as if God doesn't exist.

Maybe it's actually crazy to believe in the Creator of the universe… and not fall on your face in front of Him.

That's not balance. That's not sophistication. That's spiritual madness dressed up in a business suit and nodding along at dinner parties.

Saints, Prophets, and Holy Fools

And then there are the saints.

So many of them were actually labeled crazy in their own time — mocked, dismissed, and misunderstood by the very Church they loved:St. Francis of Assisi stripped naked in the town square to renounce wealth, St. Catherine of Siena reportedly lived on the Eucharist alone for long stretches, St. Joseph of Cupertino levitated during Mass and barely passed seminary exams, and St. Philip Neri wore odd clothes and told jokes to humble the proud.

And St. Teresa of Ávila’s ecstasies made people question her sanity…

These weren't the respectable ones. They were God's ‘fools’. And now?

We venerate them.

Be Crazy in Love

So pray for the Grace to be crazy.

Not reckless. Not chaotic. But crazy in love with Jesus Christ.

You’ll be in good company.

Because this world doesn't need more polite Catholics. It needs more holy ‘fools’…more lovers of Christ who are willing to ‘look ridiculous’ for the sake of the Gospel.

Because in a world that's lost its mind chasing shadows, the sanest thing you can do is love God like a madman.

And here's the truth behind this holy madness: they appear crazy because they're free. When you're no longer bound by what others think, when you're liberated by Divine Love, you are truly free.

So go ahead. Be the kind of crazy that the world needs.

You'll know you're getting there when people start leaving prayer requests under your windshield wipers.

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You have my heartfelt thanks for your generosity and support and please keep me in your prayers, and know of mine for each of you. God Bless, Jeff