A husband, father, deacon, and hospice chaplain shares the night that changed everything: a workplace robbery, a gunshot to the spine, and three words that came out of his mouth before he even hit the ground — “I forgive you.” On Heroic Stories, Deacon Mike Bellinder reflects on Desmond Doss, faith under pressure, the fatherhood crisis, suffering, forgiveness, hospice ministry, and why so many men are starving for meaning. This is a raw, deeply Catholic conversation about what heroism actually looks like when life gets brutal.

What You’ll Learn
✅ Why Desmond Doss and Hacksaw Ridge still hit men so hard
✅ How Deacon Mike responded after being shot during a robbery
✅ What hospice patients reveal about regret, meaning, and purpose
✅ Why strong fatherhood and a living faith matter so much for men

00:00 Intro – Meeting Deacon Mike
01:14 The heroism of Desmond Doss
03:28 Why faith-first courage matters
06:57 Two jobs, exhaustion, and pressure
10:41 The night of the armed robbery
14:20 Praying for death, receiving peace
16:53 Shot in the spine
19:47 Forgiveness changed everything
21:13 His father’s influence
23:30 How hospice became his mission
25:02 What dying men reveal
28:21 The questions he asks the dying
34:40 How men find meaning
40:35 Saints and heroes he follows
43:03 Final message to young men