I know what my father did and said for most of the decades of life granted him .  Once his tax return was audited by the Internal Revenue Service because for people of modest means he and Mama gave so much to charity .  That's what the auditor told them .  
They literally "buried the dead" ,  paying the funeral home and cemetery for friends who were indigent .  Daddy was not a bigot or a racist .  He was kind to all : strangers and friends .  He sacrificed for his family .  He and my mother cared for their Down Syndrome son .  
Well , you get my drift , Trid  .  
So yes he would say what he said because it bore witness to his faith in the loving father of our brother and Savior , Jesus  .  
Daddy was forgiving . And he had plenty of practice in that virtue !  Only a profound prayer life   made all of this possible .  He was educated by Franciscans.
Today's Catholics need not copy anybody  .  If Francis of Assisi  was told in the 13th c. to rebuild church we can , too.