At 83, Father Martin still speaking to pain of addiction

In retirement, Mae Abraham has become Father Martin's caretaker. On days when his blood pressure plummets, she props his feet up and feeds him broth and monitors his numbers. In January, he was near death in an area hospital. Last rites were given. Mae rushed to the hospital and insisted he be placed on a respirator. There had been confusion about his living will, she said.

One recent afternoon, Mae, who has been sober 45 years, steps outside to give a tour of her garden, but needs to get back inside. She doesn't like to leave Father alone (she has never called him Joseph). At night, her son, Alex, helps Father Martin into bed and wonders if he'll still be with them in the morning. You just don't know on those dialysis days, Mae says.

"He's afraid of leaving this place," she says. "But I told him I made him a promise a long time ago. As long as I'm alive, you'll be here."

In the family room, Father Martin turns the sound down to Fox News. As a Sun photographer takes pictures, he whispers, "You can use some of these pictures to keep the mice out of the basement." One of the black Labs lopes over with a toy in his mouth. Just like the Labs years ago at Ashley.

"Like everything, I miss it."

No blackboard lecture, just a tired and sick man whose simple and smart words helped a lot of sick people while giving him something very much to do with his life.

"Mae and I know what we've done. We stand before God with it," says Joseph Martin of Father Martin's Ashley.

"And if they mess it up and don't keep our philosophy," Mae Abraham adds, "we'll come back and haunt the hell out of them."

They aren't kidding.

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Father Martin says goodbye at www.baltimoresun.com/martin