He saw the streets of New York as his ministry.
In fact, he was just hours away from becoming a lay chaplain and graduating from a community-crisis chaplaincy program before he and fellow New York police Officer Wenjian Liu were gunned down in their patrol car Saturday in Brooklyn.
The gunman in the two officers' killing, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, was found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds at a subway station immediately after the slayings.
...
Ramos, 40, enjoyed the spiritual dimension to life and work.
"He told me that his job even with the NYPD, he felt he was doing God's work," the Rev. Marcos
Miranda, president of the New York State Chaplain Task Force, told Arise America on YouTube.
"He felt that he was protecting and serving his community and that was a sort of a ministry for him. And I totally agreed with him," Marcos said. "He said this type of ministry, the chaplaincy, he could see himself doing this in the future as a full-time ministry after he retired from the NYPD."
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Ramos always carried a smile, Marcos said.
"He had the kindest eyes you could see. They radiated kindness and compassion," Marcos said.
Ramos leaves a wife, Maritza, whom he married in 1993, and two sons, Justin and Jaden, said the Rev. Adam Durso, executive pastor of Christ Tabernacle, which Ramos attended for nearly 14 years.
To his close friends and even to his family, Ramos often went by Ralph, not Rafael.
"Ralph was definitely a family man. He always talked about his kids and how well they were doing athletically and academically," Durso said.
Miranda, president of the New York State Chaplain Task Force, told More at the CNN link.
David Wright, Mets third baseman and local Virginia star, has reached out to Ramos' sons:
Nothing can take away their pain — but a Christmas Eve phone call from Mets star David Wright lifted the spirits of slain cop Rafael Ramos’ two sons Wednesday.
Wright, as the son of a cop himself, felt a sense of duty in reaching out to Jaden and Justin Ramos, a source told the Daily News.
The Mets star’s compassion extended beyond the 15-minute call — he also offered Ramos’ sons an opportunity to suit up with the Mets during spring training next spring.
The boys will even get the chance to join Wright and the other Mets players in the dugout for Grapefruit League games in Florida.
"You should have seen them — what a reaction," said a police source who was in the room when the two boys got the surprise call from the Mets' captain.
"They were really smiling. It gave them a few minutes to smile and be excited.
“They are really looking forward to meeting him and spending time with the team,” the source added.
Jaden, 13, and Justin, a Bowdoin College freshman, were plunged into unbearable sadness after their dad, along with Officer Wenjian Liu, was executed by a cop-hating madman Saturday.
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Wright was left shaken after making the emotional call, a source close to him told The News.
It came about after the Mets asked him to represent the team in passing on their condolences to the Ramos boys.
“He talked about how he idolized his father who was a police officer and he couldn't imagine how hard it was for these boys,” the source close to Wright said.
Much more at the link.
We give not our men and women in blue enough credit and in far too many instances, smear them for the acts of a corrupt few.
Shame on us. For all who serve and protect:
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the evil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
