The Magazine of the Missionary Society of St. Columban
December 2014
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Volume 97 - Number 8 - December 2014
Columban Mission
o n t e n t s
Issue Theme – Joy to the World!
Published By The Columban Fathers
Columban Mission (Issn 0095-4438) is published eight times a year. A minimum donation of $10 a year is required to receive a subscription. Send address and other contact information changes by calling our toll-free number, by sending the information to our mailing address or by e-mailing us at MISSIONOFFICE@COLUMBAN.ORG.
Mending the Nets in Dogatuki
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Mailing Address: Columban Mission PO Box 10 St. Columbans, NE 68056-0010 Toll-Free Phone: 877/299-1920 Website: WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG Copyright © 2014, The Columban Fathers (Legal Title) PUBLISHER REV. TIMOTHY MULROY, SSC DIRECTORUSA@COLUMBAN.ORG EDITOR KATE KENNY KKENNY@COLUMBAN.ORG EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS CONNIE WACHA CWACHA@COLUMBAN.ORG
For the Love of a Mother 6 God’s Humble Servant
Remembering Columban Sr. Joan Sawyer
8 Christmas in Korea
The Sad Side of Christmas
10 Remembering Fr. Thomas McEvoy
A Hero to the People
18 A Filipino Christmas
GRAPHIC DESIGNER KRISTIN ASHLEY EDITORIAL BOARD DAN EMINGER CHRIS HOCHSTETLER KATE KENNY REV. TIMOTHY MULROY, SSC JEFF NORTON GREG SIMON FR. RICHARD STEINHILBER, SSC CONNIE WACHA SCOTT WRIGHT
No Time for Homesickness
19 Leaving Darkness
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MARCI ANDERSON MANDERSON@COLUMBAN.ORG
Entering the Light
Departments 3 In So Many Words 23 From the Director COLUMBAN MISSION DEC14 final.indd 2
The Missionary Society of St. Columban was founded in 1918 to proclaim and witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Society seeks to establish the Catholic Church where the Gospel has not been preached, help local churches evangelize their laity, promote dialogue with other faiths, and foster among all baptized people an awareness of their missionary responsibility.
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The Gift of the Magi St. Matthew reminds us at the end of the Magi story that they “returned to their own country by another route...” (Mt. 2:12) It was a journey of transformation for the three stargazers. Having drawn near to the sacred, they were awakened to the mystery of their lives. They are now transformed by the experience of the Christ Child in the manger and ready to live in a new and reflective way. The Christmas and Epiphany liturgies invite us to grasp the significance of the transcendental experience of our travelers from the East. Having been awakened to the mystery of their lives, touched and nourished by the energy of the divine, the Magi return home ready to face the routine of life with new hope and purpose. Like the Magi, we too are led to Jesus. We are invited to come close to the borders of mystery, to search for God in the stable of our hearts. Insights from occasional moments of deep prayer and from reading the scriptures, our sensitivity to listening to the pain of a friend, may be for us the star or the brilliant flash of light that leads us to the Child and His mother. We discover that the real journey isn’t to Bethlehem or to the stable but into our hearts, a journey which is largely shaped by our own experiences. Prayer and meditation enable us In So Many Words to integrate all our experiences into our center, or to Sister Kathleen Coyle partially or completely revise them. Matthew’s reflection on the visit of the Magi invites us to travel “by another route.” (2:12) It also invites us to support those who are searching for God in the humility of a fragile baby and who wish to travel home, transformed. This reflection takes us to a new place. Where that new place is and how God is leading us there, can emerge in our prayer, in our commitment and in our sharing of insights to enrich the community. The star that shines over our personal mangers prepares us to welcome the Light of the World and to deepen our commitment to mission and mystery. The mystical experience of finding Jesus and of being completely encompassed by God must flow into our personal prayer, liturgies, homes and ministry, so that the mystery of God will spill over into our lives, our world and into history.
Like the Magi, we too are led to Jesus.
Sr. Kathleen Coyle, a Columban Sister, taught theology in the East Asian Pastoral Institute in the Philippines. She now resides in Ireland.
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Mending the Nets in Dogatuki An Advent Mission in Fiji By Fr. Frank Hoare
The Situation “Our people are dispirited. Thirty years ago the former Archbishop accepted our request to establish a parish here but this has not happened. No priest has been appointed here. We have been passed around among three different parishes since then and only occasionally has a priest come to say Mass. Through holding fund-raising bazaars we had gathered $86,000 twenty years ago. This was put in an archdiocesan account but our requests for information about it have not been answered. We planted a lot of yaqona, a good cash crop, to use for building a parish church and presbytery here but, over the years, priests came and uprooted some of it for their own purposes.” A catechist from Dogatuki explained this sadly. Dogatuki is an area of nine villages in the far north-west of Vanua Levu, the second largest island of the Fiji group. He added, “Quite a few Catholics have joined the Evangelical Churches in recent years. Recently 4
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the priest who was overseeing our pastoring said that he would not be returning any more. But we don’t know which parish we now belong to or who will care for our spiritual needs.”
Inspiration and Preparation I had read in other issues of Columban Mission magazine how teams of Catholics in Columban parishes in Chile and Peru evangelized neglected areas during summer camps. Inspired by this I challenged our Columban Companions in Mission in Labasa, Fiji, to visit and encourage their Dogatuki neighbors, who despite being only two and a half hour’s
drive from the town had long been neglected. At the beginning of 2013, while I was Interim Coordinator of the Companions in Mission, I consulted the Columban regional council, the Archbishop and the parish priest then in charge of Dogatuki about holding a one week evangelization camp in Dogatuki. With this plan approved, the Labasa Companions assembled their human resources (catechists, musicians, youths and experienced adults) and their program resources – Bible sharing, liturgy, reconciliation and youth themes. They planned their program in September. By the end of November they had conducted and WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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evaluated weekend evangelization programs in five different villages and sectors of Labasa parish. As a proximate preparation they asked me, since I was due to accompany them to Dogatuki, to lead them in a two-day retreat. The team members conducted a reconciliation process among themselves, leading to the sacrament of reconciliation. The parish priest of Labasa, Fr. J.J. Ryan, presided at the sending Mass held on the first Saturday in Advent and the team traveled by lorry [truck] to Dogatuki that afternoon. Dogatuki has about 400 Catholics scattered over six or seven villages. The eighteen Labasa Companions divided into five teams to stay in five different villages for the week. I got the best deal of spending one or two days in each village in succession. I provided the opportunity for all to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist, and the sick and elderly to receive the sacrament of anointing. I was humbled by the respect and hospitality with which the people treated me and the team members. Traveling to my first village I was surprised to find the elderly village catechist inside while a 70-year-old female member of the team sat outside in the rain on the back end of the van. They both explained to me later that since they were related as brother and sister, tradition forbade them to talk to each other. One of the organizers told me after the camp that he had deliberately appointed this lady to the very strict and dominant catechist’s village so that he would have to take a back seat during the sessions led by his sister!
Rejection and Healing An unexpected hitch occurred in Vugolei, one of the villages. The village headman, a Catholic, arrived there shortly after the team and announced that he disagreed with the camp and would not attend because young lay people were conducting the WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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teaching rather than older catechists or priests. The team was shocked. The village catechist was humiliated and deeply offended. But he advised avoiding conflict by withdrawing to a nearby village, Vitina, where another team was conducting a program. Some of the families in Vugolei joined the evangelization program there too. The team leader, on arrival in Vitina, was in tears as he recounted this reversal. I arrived in Vitina on day three of the camp. It was going very well with a large crowd attending, including many young people. I was delighted at the professional presentation by the youth members of the team. They strongly challenged the Vitina youth to be evangelizers themselves. At the beginning of Mass that evening we burned records of personal failings written during an earlier community reconciliation. Isaiah’s message, in the first reading that evening, to the dispirited Jews in Babylon, spoke deeply to the hurts and doubts of the Dogatuki people. At the end of the Mass, four volunteers gave testimony to how the first three days of the camp had affected them. One of them, the Vugolei catechist, said that the welcome received from the Vitina people had healed the hurt he felt by the rejection in his own village.
Confirmation and Encouragement The Dogatuki catechists were encouraged and strengthened by the four visiting Labasa catechists. Joape, one of these, had been a Methodist lay preacher before becoming a Catholic. Joape had done his own research on answering the attacks on aspects of the Catholic faith. He developed biblically-based answers to ten challenges and shared these in Vitina. This was a very relevant input since a number of Vitina Catholics, who had converted to other Churches, were present. Joape shared afterwards that a number of these people came
to him personally to ask for further instruction and advice. An unexpected but welcome result of the week was that the Dogatuki youths, inspired by the Labasa young Companions, decided to organize Columban Companion in Mission groups in three villages. They asked for information on the association and requested the Labasa young Companions help them to get going. Their main project would be to dialogue with other Catholic youths who were being influenced by other groups and try to win them back to active participation in the Church. The week ended in typical Fijian style with a packed Mass at Vitina attended also by people from the other four villages. Afterwards a formal leave-taking by the visitors and a thanksgiving ceremony by the hosts (which included gifts of mats, brooms and bottles of coconut oil) were celebrated with many bowls of yaqona and a communal feast. The Dogatuki people appealed to the Companions to come again next year. The Companions left with a sense of thanksgiving for all that was achieved and with confirmation of their identity as missionaries in their own country. On my return to Suva the new Archbishop told me that he had unearthed the Dogatuki bank account and that it now stood at over $100,000. He asked me to return to Dogatuki for Christmas with this good news. The Advent theme of waiting in hope on a faithful God was indeed experienced by all this year, in a new way. CM Columban Fr. Frank Hoare lives and works in Fiji.
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God’s Humble Servant Remembering Columban Sr. Joan Sawyer By Fr. Maurice Foley
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an Juan de Lurigancho prison, Lima, Peru, holds about 9,000 prisoners; not exactly the place where you would go to celebrate, but that was our reason for converging on the prison on Monday, December 13, 2013, exactly 30 years after Columban Sister Joan Sawyer was gunned down by the Peruvian police. Sr. Joan was visiting the prison as part of her pastoral service to the prisoners of the jail where she went every week for several hours to help them work their way through the sentences they were serving. In 1983 on the same day as Sr. Joan’s regular visit, some of the prisoners had other ideas of a more violent nature. In the course of the visit a group of prisoners took Joan and two other visitors hostage and demanded a van and a driver to expedite their escape or else the hostages would be shot. The prison authorities cooperated, and the hostages went aboard the vehicle with the escaping prisoners. About a mile away from the prison, the police ambushed the escaping vehicle killing all behind in the van, but saving the driver and the two visitors who sat in front with the driver. There was not enough room in front for a third person, so Sr. Joan went in behind with the prisoners. The rest is history, and our visit on December 13 was to commemorate the murder of Sr. Joan and the escaping entourage. The Columban Sisters, the prison chaplains headed by Fr. Jorge Calderon, friends of the deceased and ten priests of the Columban Fathers headed by Columban Fr. Toney Coney all made our way through the forbidding barricades of the biggest
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prison in Lima. The wardens were courteous, but efficient and when all was in order, we found ourselves in an open space containing a wellprepared altar surrounded by chairs. We took our places at the altar, and the prisoners provided the choir complete with musical instruments, and the Mass was celebrated paying tribute to the undying bravery and dedication of Sr. Joan. Thirty years previously when the body of Sr. Joan was recovered and the Mass of the dead celebrated in her parish church, the people of God shouldered her in her coffin from Independencia fifteen miles through the dense traffic of downtown Lima to her grave in the cemetery of “El Angel,” such was their love for Sr. Joan and their total indignation at what had happened. That last journey of Sr. Joan wasn’t just followed by a few hundred mourners; thousands of the faithful refused to let the moment pass with a simple burial. She was the beloved of God, and the world would be put on notice. Later where
the ambush took place a cross was erected and written in bold letters was the Divine commandment: NO MATARAS (You shall not kill). This message of quiet-spoken, strong and resolute Sr. Joan was still defying the passage of time as we commemorated the 30th anniversary of her supreme sacrifice; that the life we have is sacred and we have it as a gift from God who loves us. As we offered the Holy Sacrifice the forbidding prison walls lost their anger, and the love of all mankind broke through the inhibiting surroundings to a world of love and peace and new resolve made possible by God’s humble and beloved servant Columban Sister Joan Sawyer. CM After many years in Korea and Peru, Columban Fr. Maurice Foley now lives in Ireland.
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AS THIS SEASON OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST SHINES ITS LOVE AROUND US, MAY OUR FOCUS BE ON THAT LOVE, THAT LIGHT. “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.” JOHN 8:12 ALLOW YOUR HEART TO BE AGLOW WITH LOVE DURING THIS SEASON OF LIGHT. A BEACON FOR OTHERS THAT THEY TOO MAY FIND THE WAY OF LIGHT AND LOVE ON THEIR JOURNEY MAY THE BLESSINGS OF PEACE, HOPE, LOVE, CHARITY, GRACE AND LIGHT BE GRANTED UNTO YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS
~ ROSEANNA WALTERS/2014
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Christmas in Korea The Sad Side of Christmas By Fr. Noel O’Neill
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t was Christmas Eve 1981. A few months previously I had begun to live at Emmaus, a community home for a small group of people with special needs. Now being Christmas, I could see how our community was small but beautiful, poor but rich in many ways, and powerless but prophetic. A couple of hours before Midnight Mass, our group went to visit the center of the city. The Salvation Army man stood in the middle of the shopping center ringing the bell and crying for the salvation of “Jesus 1981.” Passersby dipped into their pockets and dropped 100 won (10 cents), 500 won (50 cents) or an occasional man won jari ($10) into the bucket. We stopped to listen to a group of college students singing Christmas carols in front of the post office. They sounded happy and joyful, but I wondered had they any notion about the real meaning of Christmas. At the end of the street we got a glimpse of the line of army buses with the young armed men peeping out the bus windows. It was a reminder that we were still under a military dictatorship. On return to the community home we prepared for our Midnight Mass and rehearsed the two hymns we had learned over the past few months. The floor of our small oratory was covered with straw and in one corner was the crib with the Infant Jesus. Before Mass I noticed Kyeong Ja kneeling fervently before the crib. It seemed as if she was having a private conversation with the Infant Jesus – He gazing at her, and she gazing at Him. 8
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I knocked on the door and Kyeong Ja opened it. I asked her why was she upset on such a happy feast day. “I wish to see my baby,” she said. We had a big congregation for our Midnight Mass, seven people, more than the number at the first Christmas. After Mass we sat around and sang and danced and ate rice cakes into the early hours of the morning before we all retired to sleep. I must have been asleep an hour or two when I heard some crying from the room beneath me. It was coming from Kyeong Ja’s room. Since the crying continued I decided to go down and see what was the trouble. I knocked on the door and Kyeong Ja opened it. I asked her why was she upset on such a happy feast day. “I wish to see my baby.” she said. “What baby” I asked. It was then
I learned how Kyeong Ja had been sexually abused in the institution she had lived in prior to coming to Emmaus. She became pregnant. When the baby boy was born, he was taken from her. The Infant Jesus in the crib brought back the memory to her. Christmas brings back memories to us all. CM Fr. Noel O’Neill has been a missionary in Korea since 1957.
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The Power of Prayer at Christmas “And on entering the house they saw the child with Mary, His mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.”
~ Matt 2:11
It is indeed the “greatest story ever told.” What a glorious and wondrous moment it was when the magi gazed on Christ the child. The traditional Christmas carol, Angels We Have Heard on High, as translated by Bishop James Chadwick in 1862 puts words to the magnificence of His birth: See Him in a manger laid whom the choirs of angels praise Mary, Joseph, lend your aid While our hearts in love we raise ~ Gloria in Excelsis Deo! James Chadwick (Bishop) Oh, but to have knelt and prayed before the Infant on this day… The power of prayer at Christmas is strong, it is as strong now as it was then. We ask you this Christmas to consider a prayer for the missions. Pray for the growth of the Church, the peace that it can bring to our troubled world, for your missionaries in faraway places this Christmas, for the people who have yet to know the peace that Christ brings and those who are persecuted and oppressed for their faith. Your powerful prayer and support of the missions this Christmas will make all the difference. Gloria in Excelsis Deo! We remain grateful to you as you accompany us on this missionary journey and will always remember you in our Masses and prayers.
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For information regarding gift annuities, membership in our Legacy Society, obtaining our legal title or for a handy booklet on how to prepare a will, please contact Chris Hochstetler at: Columban Fathers P.O. Box 10 St. Columbans, NE 68056 Phone: 402/291-1920 Fax: 402/291-4984 Toll-free 877/299-1920 www.columban.org plannedgiving@columban.org
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Remembering Fr. Thomas McEvoy (1913-1969)
A Hero to the People By Fr. Cireneo Matulac
Editor’s Note: Columban Fr. Thomas McEvoy was born in Drogheda, Ireland, in 1913, and educated in Christian Brothers School Drogheda and St. Patrick’s College, Armagh, Ireland. He was ordained in 1936 and went to Burma (now Myanmar) in 1937 and spent 33 years there. Three of those years were spent in a Japanese internment camp. Recently, I was in Bhamo diocese in the Kachin State in Myanmar with Francis Xavier, a young man interested in becoming a Columban missionary. My purpose was to visit his family. He came from Namlimpa parish where Fr. Thomas McEvoy, a Columban, worked as a parish priest. When the people I met from his village discovered that I am a Columban priest, the first thing they mentioned to me was their memory of Fr. Thomas especially the manner of his death. On December 24, 1969, Fr. Thomas was on a horseback, with a 10
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company of a few catechists, on their way to a mountain village called Dung Hkung, where he was supposed to celebrate Mass on Christmas Eve. Halfway to the village, he told the catechist Miss Lucia that he felt tired and wanted to rest. So he got off from the horse. After a while, he took a few slow steps, and he suddenly fell
I told them how the story of Fr. Thomas’ life and his death inspired me as a young Columban. down. The young catechist Miss Lucia was walking beside him and was able to catch him. While he was lying on her arms, catching his breath, Fr. Thomas told Miss Lucia that if she got married, she should let one of her sons become a priest if he wanted to. He died in the arms of the young Miss
Lucia. The people still have a mark on the place where he died. When the people knew that Fr. Thomas died on the way, some of his parishioners from the village of Dung Hkung came and brought his body to where he was supposed to celebrate Mass. There they laid him and had a night vigil for him to mourn his death according to their custom. The following day, Christmas day, all his parishioners from that village and the villages nearby accompanied his body back to the parish center in Namlimpa. They asked Bishop John Howe in Bhamo if he could be buried in their village, but unfortunately the Bishop refused. The people said they understood because Fr. Thomas was not only their hero but a hero to all the people whom he ministered to. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Bhamo. During my visit to the family of Francis Xavier, his sister in Bhamo called for a prayer meeting and about WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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a hundred people attended. They also invited me and the parish priest. Before the prayer started, his eldest sister spoke of her intentions for the prayer meeting. This occasion was a thanksgiving for her family especially for the health of their mother who is now 68 years old. The family was especially thankful for Francis who is joining the Columban formation program. She also remembered to pray for the soul of her father who died about three years ago at the age of seventy. Their father was working as a catechist during and after the time of Fr. Thomas McEvoy. She was asking for a special prayer too for her the soul of her husband who passed away last year at the age of only 49. The prayer service was led by the chief catechist of the parish, and there
was a part where the parish priest, Fr. John, read the Gospel for the day. After reading the Gospel he asked me to say something. He was translating for me. One of the things I spoke about was to re-tell the story of Fr. Thomas, whom some of them had known personally. I told them how the story of Fr. Thomas’ life and his death inspired me as a young Columban. It was wonderful to know his story by the way they remembered him. Francis Xavier, our student from their village, was also inspired by the story of Fr. Thomas and the affection people have for him even now. After the prayer meeting and while everyone was enjoying a cup of tea and traditional delicacies, an older man introduced himself to me as Patrick Maru Yun, the husband of
Miss Lucia, in whose arms Fr. Thomas had died. He said he is sorry that I won’t be meeting Miss Lucia because she died last year. He also told me that one of their sons, Michael, is now a priest and working close to the border of China ministering to the displaced communities because of the fighting that is going on between the army and the rebels. And as we talked more about Fr. Thomas, I felt that his memory is very much alive in the community and continues to inspire them and even the young people who haven’t met him in person. Some young men like Francis Xavier and Fr. Michael have also decided to follow the path he took. CM Columban Fr. Cireneo Matulac lives and works in the Philippines.
“Columbans on Mission” Stories Compiled by Fr. Peter Woodruff Since 1918, the Missionary Society of St. Columban has been sharing the Gospel in solidarity with the poor throughout the world. Today, Columbans including priests, Sisters and lay missionaries work in fifteen countries around the globe in conjunction with lay men and women within the local communities. Columban Fr. Peter Woodruff spent several years traveling around the Columban world and interviewing the men and women engaged in mission work. The stories collected here provide a rare look at a moment in time in the continuing mission work and the ongoing Columban story. Each story is unique and different, but all of them share in furthering the work of mission today. Explore their first-hand accounts of what it means to be a missionary in today’s ever changing world. Peter Woodruff, Australian by birth, is a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and was ordained in 1967. He worked as a missionary priest in parishes located on the northern periphery of Lima, Peru, where much of his prior vision of life was challenged and reshaped by a radically different social reality where the quest for social change and an emerging liberation theology provoked a lengthy and rather chaotic review of many aspects of life and Christian faith. Since leaving Peru in 2009, Peter has traveled to countries where Columban missionaries work, interviewing priests, Sisters, lay missionaries and those with whom they work. He has written and ghostwritten many stories that serve as raw material for the three English language mission magazines of the Columbans in Australia and New Zealand, U.S., Ireland and Britain. Peter currently lives in Australia.
Author Peter Woodruff
Order Your Copy Today! Call 888-795-4274 ext. 7879, order online at www.xlibris.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or visit your local bookstore.
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For the Love of a Mother A Transcending Love By Chris Hochstetler
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hat is in a mother’s love that leaves such a precious and indelible mark on each and every one of us? The giver of life, God has imbued her with the joyful task of bringing life into this world and the sometimes sorrowful task of nurturing us to adulthood. The giver of life…what a strong sentiment this truly is. I think the late
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Maya Angelou’s interpretation of this sacrifice may capture it. It is true I was created in you. It is also true That you were created for me. I owned your voice. It was shaped and tuned to soothe me. Your arms were molded
Into a cradle to hold me, to rock me. The scent of your body was the air Perfumed for me to breathe. My own mother passed away seventeen years ago this past April, but every day I miss her dearly and at no time have I ever been more aware of her presence in my life then during my recent trip to Columban missions in WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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Chile and Peru. Devotion to mothers in these countries is profound, and the biggest blessing that I have received from experiencing that deep devotion is that it brings me closer to my own mother, to our shared Holy Mother and to God. The Columban parishes in Chile are in the poorest and roughest neighborhoods. Everywhere I looked there were the signs of the basic struggle of day to day life. The shanty style shacks of the very poor sit interspersed with newly developing construction of government apartments that appear, at first blush, to be infinitely better than the scrabbled together shacks of the impoverished. Regional Director Fr. Alvaro Martinez first took me to Fr. William Lee’s parish so that I could spend time with Fr. Willie out in the parish, with the people and visiting the various ministries. The first thing that one notices about Fr. Willie’s parish is the sheer enormity of it all, over 50,000 inhabitants of the parish and only a few of the roads paved. With most of the inhabitants without good transportation, it is imperative and right that the Columban missionaries live among and with the people. As we left the Columban parish house, Fr. Willie pointed across the street to the neighborhood drug house and the transactions being completed in front of it. Poverty begets crime, and crime is a huge issue in Fr. Willie’s parish. Fr. Willie looked at the group of youth in front of the drug house and said to me in an assured tone, “It’s the young where we will make a difference, Chris. Without the Church, they have nothing and turn to this. We just need to reach them.” I was taken with his confidence and tried to place myself mentally in his shoes. Would I share his same confidence against this dire backdrop of poverty and crime where just across WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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the street from the parish house drug transactions with school age children take place in the strong light of day, nearly continually? I had to ask the question, “What makes you so sure of that in this place where things seem so bleak, Fr. Willie?” “It’s our faith, Chris…their faith. The mother grows that faith in every family.” As we drove to the first of the many parish chapels where people gather every day of the week for baptisms, weddings, funerals, fellowship and communion we passed huge piles of rubble that used to resemble apartment complexes. “What is going on here Fr. Willie?” “It’s what’s left of an apartment complex, Chris. You see the drugs and violence have gotten so bad in this particular neighborhood of our parish that the government has told these people they must leave their homes, and they are leveling the apartments in an attempt to control the spread of the drugs and violence.”
I tried to picture myself as one of the mothers that I see walking down the street hand in hand with a young child, perhaps headed to a street market to get food for the day for her five or six children or maybe headed to the very chapel that we are going to so that she and her children can participate in First Communion preparation. I try to envision what it would be like from her eyes to be told that the drugs and violence have just become too pervasive in her neighborhood and that now she and her family must find a new place to live and that their current home will be demolished. Would I have the courage to continue to grow the faith of my family in these circumstances? What love and devotion these mothers must truly have. At every chapel that we visited, we were greeted warmly by the lay volunteers and parishioners with the traditional hugs and cheek kisses common to the culture. There were
Regardless of the tragic circumstance, this child’s love for her mother transcended tragedy. What is it in a mother’s love that can do this? December 2014
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“Devotion to mothers in these countries is profound, and the biggest blessing that I have received from experiencing that deep devotion is that it brings me closer to my own mother, to our shared Holy Mother and to God.�
so many of them and each chapel seemed like a buzzing hive of activity. At one there was a baptism going on, at another a kitchen in busy operation for some late afternoon function, at yet another a full class of children catechism students interacting in their faith‌and everywhere there were mothers. Mothers were greeting, cleaning, teaching and even fixing broken windows and chapel doors from the ever present and weekly break-ins the worst neighborhoods experience. Like pillars of hope in a besieged wilderness they seem to stand omnipresent and oblivious to the crime and ongoing assault. In each chapel that we visited, the warm presence of the Blessed Mother, usually in the form of Our Lady of 14
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Carmel, watches over the chapel, the parishioners and the faith filled mothers so diligently instilling the faith in their families even in such difficult circumstances. Several days later we visited the fire ravaged hillsides of Valparaiso Chile. In mid-April this year, fires swept through the hillside shanties of Valparaiso, some 70 miles west of Santiago. The BBC reports that nearly 15,000 people were displaced by the fires and over 3,000 homes destroyed. Columban priests staffed chapels in this parish for many years and have only recently turned this parish over to the Archdiocese. Fr. Alvaro took me back to Valparaiso, to see the destruction of his home town, but more importantly to feel
the spirit of the people there as they work to rebuild as aid barely trickles in to provide relief for this massive disaster that has taken everything from an already impoverished people. Everywhere I looked homes were burned to the ground, reinforced metal bars melted in the intense heat of the fires, barren hillsides scorched as if when there was nothing else for the flames to consume, they devoured the very earth of the hills. Columbans are standing strong with the people of Valparaiso, helping them rebuild their homes as international aid has been very slow coming. While we drove through the wreckage that so closely resembled a battlefield, I once again saw mothers. They were hauling construction WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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materials on their backs up the steep hills of Valparaiso to the men who labored to rebuild homes on barren burnt lots, they bathed their small children in front of the scorched remains of what used to be their homes, they prepared meals for the hungry working community over open fires on street corners, but most of all, they provided the comfort that comes only from a mother. Over each burned out home and filling the barren hills of Valparaiso, thousands of small Chilean flags fly, marking where a home should be and a family used to live. Somehow, I felt the flags represented those very mothers with their singular devotion to keep their family together and safe, in spite of the conditions. I visited Iquique, Chile, this trip as well. April 2014 was not a good month for Chile. Like the fires of Valparaiso, Iquique was also struck with its own April disaster. On April 1, 2014, an earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale devastated homes and roads in the impoverished suburb of Iquique known as Alto Hospicio. Alto Hospicio is a community of shanty style villages and growing government housing projects. It is WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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the home of Columban Fr. Michael Howe and Korean associate priests, Fr. Albinus Lee and Fr. Casimiro Song. Fr. Mike also has an enormous parish with many chapels. With 40,000 plus people in the parish, it is job enough for many priests, let alone one Columban and two associates. Alto Hospicio sits in the Atacama Desert, known as the most arid desert in the world. The climate and the terrain are both unrelenting. Fr. Mike led me through the dusty ragged streets of the parish and at each chapel, mothers dominated the scene. At one chapel, mothers who have lost their homes to the earthquake have set up tents and makeshift structures next to the fenced chapel yard. Here their children can find some small respite in the wake of losing everything. The Columban Fathers feed 70 children here each week at this chapel. A young child leans crying against signs that they have hung on the fence reading “We have urgent need for food. We need milk and bread.” Like the disaster in Valparaiso, aid has been slow in coming to Alto Hospicio in the aftermath of the earthquake, but these mothers are rebuilding. Several of them stopped Fr. Mike and
me along the path not only to seek comfort from “Padre,” but to also talk of the practicality of obtaining food for their families and rebuilding their homes. Fr. Mike promised to do his best to help with the limited resources he has available. As we walked away from them, I thought of the times that my own mother had fought for me. The day before I left Chile, I was blessed by the opportunity to visit another powerful symbol of motherhood. High above Santiago on San Cristóbal Hill stands the statue of the Immaculate Conception. The Blessed Mother stands with her arms outstretched over Santiago, a strong image and testament to the burden that each mother carries and the sacrifice that she offers. As I made the climb up San Cristóbal Hill to offer a few prayers of thanks for my own mother, the sun beamed behind the statue of the Immaculate Conception like an aura, a reminder to me of the Blessed Mother’s own sacrifice for us. Later, as I prayed in the chapel below, my eye caught the image of our Holy Mother holding Christ’s limp body immediately following His crucifixion. The pain in Mary’s face etched in this stone brought the earlier thoughts of December 2014
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As I searched for something to say to Kate to ease her burden, the children of Manuel Duato came to my rescue and in a surprising and touching ceremony, they presented Kate with her very own Mother’s Day cake that they had baked with their own hands.
a mother’s burden and her sacrifice rushing back to me and made me reflect on what I had seen, through a mother’s eyes, on this journey. In that moment, I had never felt closer to my own mother. Within the next days I found myself with the people of the Columban missions in Lima, Peru. I met a colleague there, Kate Kenny, the editor of Columban Mission magazine. The Regional Director, Fr. Tony Coney, was gracious enough to take time from his important duties to share some of the various Columban ministries with us. Early on in our visit, Fr. Tony brought Kate and me 16
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to a serene and special place called St. Bernadette’s. St. Bernadette’s is part of Fr. Tony’s personal lifelong Columban ministry with the people of Peru. St. Bernadette’s is a trinity of mission work that includes a children’s after school center called Casa del Niño, a special needs school and a home and care center for sexually abused children. At every step through St. Bernadette’s complex we were met with the overwhelming imagery of mothers and their children. Since we were drawing closer to Mother’s Day, the imagery became even more significant to both Kate and me. Kate was away from her own small children and images of my own mother filled my mind. Walking through the care center for sexually abused children, Fr. Tony explained to us that the sexual abuser of a child in Peru is often another family member. In Peru, the grinding poverty makes families fragile. Often, mothers are raising their children without the father of the children
living in the home. Furthermore, families beyond the immediate typically stay together, aunts and uncles and cousins living all under one roof. Children abused in this malicious and terrible way can’t be returned to the home until the abuser is removed. In some cases, families are reluctant to evict the perpetrator since that person often provides badly needed income. When this happens, the child has nowhere to go and will stay with us at St. Bernadette’s until the situation is resolved or they are placed into state care. As we walked among the children, psychologists and teachers of St. Bernadette’s working together on therapy and healing, I was captured by the sadness in their eyes, but also their will to fight. Passing through a group of children, I was moved to tears by a young girl who had diligently worked and created a lovely Mother’s Day card for her own mother. Not knowing her circumstances left my mind to wonder about her mother. Was she WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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around? Did she recognize what had happened to her little girl? Was she in denial as to what had happened to her daughter? I looked into the eyes of the young girl and saw nothing but love for her mother. Regardless of the tragic circumstance, this child’s love for her mother transcended tragedy. What is it in a mother’s love that can do this? The next day Kate and I visited the Manuel Duato Special Needs School. Columban Fr. Ed O’Connell oversees an impressive learning and therapy center for children suffering from various disabilities including, Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and deafness. We were overwhelmed at the level of care and attention that each of these very special children receives and everywhere we turned, mothers were there with their children. They were there participating in therapy sessions, learning how to cope with the daily challenges of their special child and helping them to learn actual life giving skills from the staff and volunteers of Manuel Duato, one of the few places in Peru that remembers these forgotten families. It became quite obvious to Kate and me that these precious children have a unique relationship with their mothers and, in turn, these mothers have a sanctuary in the Manuel Duato Special Needs School. It is a place that they can find help and perhaps more importantly, find peace. Manuel Duato is a very spiritual place and as we approached Mother’s Day, the center was festooned with colorful balloons and signs announcing “Día de Mama Feliz” Happy Mother’s Day! It must have been difficult for my colleague Kate to walk amidst this happy celebration of mothers, knowing that she was away from her own small children. A figure of the Blessed Mother honored with joyful decorations and praise signifying our appreciation of her WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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A young child leans crying against signs that they have hung on the fence reading “We have urgent need for food. We need milk and bread.” ultimate motherly sacrifice stands in graceful watch over this place. As we neared the end of our day at Manuel Duato, I could feel that Kate carried the heavy weight of being away from her own children on her shoulders. As I searched for something to say to Kate to ease her burden, the children of Manuel Duato came to my rescue and in a surprising and touching ceremony, they presented Kate with her very own Mother’s Day cake that they had baked with their own hands. It was a gesture that became an instant memory for me. It transcended the moment and brought full circle to me this wonderful and strong cultural devotion to motherhood that I had been experiencing the past weeks. I will always remember my trip to Columban Missions in both Chile and Peru through the spoken and unspoken grace of one word, one person, one protectoress…Mother. Mother, my own mother and Our Mother. The Gospel of John tells us that when Jesus saw His mother and the disciple there whom He loved, He said to His mother, “Woman behold, your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took
her into his home. These strong and resilient mothers of Chile and Peru, in spite of the odds, the struggle of a culture dominated by machismo and conditions that seem insurmountable, give honor to the sacrifice of our own Holy Mother by their actions to ensure that their children grow in faith and in strength. I will never forget them, and I will never forget the gift that they gave to me in remembering my own mother in a different light. Washington Irving once said “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us, when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” CM Chris Hochstetler is the director of fund development for the U.S. Region.
December 2014
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A Filipino Christmas No Time for Homesickness By Fr. John Keenan
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ere in the Philippines, I normally hear my first Christmas carol around September each year. As soon as the monsoon season, with its typhoons and floods, begins to taper off, people start looking forward to Christmas. By the time October comes, the joyful strains of Christmas carols are heard on the radio. Decorations, cribs, trees, stars and colorful and locally made wreaths appear in the shops and along the main roads. Being a climate that lacks major seasonal changes, fiestas and feasts like Christmas and Easter help to mark the passage of time. Liturgical preparations begin with the lighting of candles and the blessing of the Advent wreath in late November. All is done in the local language, Tagalog. It’s a busy time with penitential services and confessions in the many schools and chapels. Groups of carolers go from house to house sharing the Christmas spirit. The preparations begin in earnest on December 16 with the first Mass known as the Misa de Gallo (Spanish for The Rooster’s Mass) to mark the beginning of the pre-Christmas novena. Every Church throughout the country is packed to overflowing for the nine days of the novena leading up to Christmas. This custom dates back to Spanish colonial times, when early Masses were scheduled to accommodate farmers before going to harvest the rice, which is fully ripe at this time. As early as 3:00 a.m., the night silence is broken by the clanging of bells and loudspeakers playing Christmas carols. Nobody complains 18
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but prepares hurriedly and rushes to the Church to get a seat. The building inside and outside is bedecked with multi-colored lights. A large flashing star welcomes the people in the relatively cool morning air. Many people complete these nine early morning Masses not only to prepare for Christmas, but often for a sick loved one, to pass an exam, or get employment and for many other reasons. One year as soon as I had finished one of these early morning Masses, a man from a neighboring parish rushed in and asked me to go and celebrate Mass in their Church, as no priest was available. It was only after I had said yes and was on my way that I remembered that I had already scheduled three Masses later that day,
plus the Saturday evening Mass. Some young Filipino priests regularly say up to six Sunday Masses in response to the needs of the people. The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Midnight Mass is a joyful celebration. Everyone is dressed in their Sunday best. The Church is packed to overflowing. Many people from overseas are present, happy to be with loved ones and to give thanks. The story of Mary and Joseph seeking accommodation in an inn or family residence is usually dramatized at the Midnight Mass and Christmas Day Masses. This dramatization often shows families sitting in their homes watching TV, unconcerned about Mary and Joseph seeking accommodation. The message is clear – the poor are still excluded. WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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When Midnight Mass is over, the congregation exchanges Christmas greetings amongst themselves. Many buy Filipino delicacies which are for sale outside the Church. These include freshly prepared salabat (ginger ale), puto bumbong (pounded sticky rice), and bibingka (rice cakes). People now return home for their traditional Filipino family Christmas meal of the Noche Buena. (Spanish for “The Good Night” and refers to Christmas Eve). Family members are reunited and gifts are exchanged. Like in other countries, much is spent on clothes and gifts for loved ones. Early next morning “Santa” will arrive with gifts for the children. The first Mass of Christmas Day is crowded once again to overflowing
with many people wearing their latest gifts. Soon afterwards, people begin to line up with their babies for baptism in the intense heat. There is no time for homesickness or thoughts of turkey and plum pudding. We are glad to have rice and chicken. For us Columban priests, the Christmas season in the Philippines is very busy but also very meaningful. The happiness of the people celebrating the birth of the Christ Child at church and with family brings great happiness to all of us as well. CM Fr. John Keenan (pictured) has been a Columban missionary priest in the Philippines since 1966.
Leaving Darkness Entering the Light By Fr. Tom Glennon
C
hris sat in the gloomy shelter next to the wall near the noisy television. His vision was almost gone; and he was unable to work. Previously, he had been employed by a large company as an electrician. The ravages of alcoholism had diminished his ability to work. He had stopped drinking and later found work as a janitor at a nursing home. Now the cataract and glaucoma were slowly dimming his eyesight. A visiting nurse suggested that he contact a hospital for surgery. Chris made appointments and the doctors agreed that they could try surgery. Yet, he had no money and public funding did not come through for him. Chris’ father had owned a junk yard in Minnesota. He would take Chris and his siblings to school in a WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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dump truck. One year, the father went to Alaska to work on the oil fields. An industrial accident crushed his father’s back. The family became destitute. They lost the junkyard. There was no compensation from the oil company for the accident. Chris and his family moved in with an uncle in Omaha. Gradually, things improved. Chris married and had two children. Later the marriage ended in divorce. The Columban missionary met Chris at the shelter and gradually learned his story. Chris wanted to return to work. His son, now living in Tennessee invited him to live with him. Chris really preferred to regain his eyesight and go back to work. The Columban helped Chris navigate some of the healthcare red tape. A kind and
generous Catholic doctor agreed to do the surgery free of charge. Rides were arranged with the Columbans, and the homeless shelter agreed to provide a medical bed for the week of recuperation at the shelter. “I can see!” exclaimed Chris post-surgery. After the year of living in the shelter, and the many despairing days sitting against the wall at the shelter, Chris is no longer homeless and has returned to the work force. Thanks be to God! CM Columban Fr. Tom Glennon lives and works in St. Columbans, Nebraska.
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Always, We Give Thanks to God for You Throughout the year, Columban missionaries everywhere are reminded that the work they do is made possible through a partnership – a partnership with you, our faithful benefactors. For over 96 years, Columban priests, Sisters and lay missionaries have responded to Jesus’ universal call to discipleship by crossing boundaries of country, culture and language to bring the Good News to the poor and marginalized of the world. Without your help, the
building of the Kingdom would simply not be possible. As you finalize your charitable contributions for 2014, we ask you to renew your partnership with us today. In gratitude for all you do, Columban priests will remember our benefactors in special Masses throughout this Christmas Season. Wishing you and yours a beautiful Christmas Season filled with the blessings of peace and happiness.
Missionary Society of St. Columban P.O. Box 10 St. Columbans, NE 68056 877.299.1920 (toll free) E-mail: misson@columban.org Visit us online at: www.columban.org
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Looking for something different to give this Christmas? If you enjoy experiencing the Columban Mission magazine, why not share that enjoyment with friends and loved ones? For a donation of only $15, you can give eight issues—one full year—of Columban Mission magazine. Your gift will bring the stories and inspiration from the missions to those you care about the most. It will also provide the support that is so very needed to our missionaries in the field. As part of the gift subscription, we will send a card personalized with a message from you, letting them know that you cared enough to share this special gift with them. Just fill out the form below and mail it along with your donation to Columban Fathers, P.O. Box 10, St. Columbans, Nebraska 68056 or go online to www.columban.org to fill out the form and donate by credit card or PayPal. You may also call us toll-free at (877) 299-1920 to order the gift. Name of Gift Giver Name of Recipient Address/City/State/Zip Phone/Email Message to Recipient (optional)
(Please print clearly)
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The Red Lacquered Gate The early days of the Columban Fathers and the courage and faith of its founder, Fr. Edward Galvin
Fr. Edward “Ned� Galvin was born in Ireland in 1882, the oldest in a family of seven children. After he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood, he realized that there were more priests in his native land then parishes. So Ned Galvin immigrated to the United States and turned a struggling church in Brooklyn into a thriving parish. But Father Galvin had a secret desire to do missionary work. He was especially attracted to China and had read all the books on the subject his local library could provide. Finally, his wish was granted, and he set out with a group of dedicated helpers on a mission to the Far East.
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William E. Barrett created this colorful, dramatic portrait of an unusual man whose strong Catholic faith helped him survive the horrors and heartbreak of his demanding mission to China.
Order your copy today! Call 888-795-4274, visit your local bookstore or order online at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Xlibris.com in paperback, hardback and eBook formats.
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The Holy Innocents in the World Today
H
ow I wish that the Biblical Christmas story would come to the same happy conclusion as school Nativity plays, leaving me with a warm, fuzzy feeling! In contrast, however, the Biblical Christmas story continues with some scenes that leave me feeling sad and disturbed. I watch distraught parents with their small child, fleeing their homeland because it has become wracked by violence. I realize that Mary and Joseph had not planned or prepared their escape route. However, when they learn that Herod and his militia want to kill their child, they are left with no option but to cross the border into Egypt under the cover of darkness. Herod’s threat is not an empty one: “he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or younger.” (Mt 2:16) Indeed, Herod is so cruel that it is thought preferable to be his pig than to be his son! Joseph, Mary and
from THe DirecTor By Fr. Tim Mulroy
Jesus, therefore, remain as refugees in Egypt until they hear of his death. (Mt. 2:15) This Christmas I hear this same disturbing story echoed everywhere around me. Thousands of people in the Ukraine, Honduras, Syria and El Salvador, are desperately seeking a safe haven from violence in their homeland. Like the Holy Family they are forced to become asylum seekers, migrants or refugees. While assisting at a parish in El Paso, Texas, a few years ago, I frequently encountered a
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Herod is so cruel that it is thought preferable to be his pig than to be his son! group of unaccompanied migrant children. Their bright smiles concealed horrendous personal stories. Yet, they considered themselves fortunate because they were alive, had a future, and had hope. Some of their friends had been murdered in their hometown, or had died tragically on their escape journey. During the Christmas season, our Catholic tradition invites us to hold all these children within our hearts. As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we extend our care and concern for those migrant children in our world today who, like Him, are fortunate to have escaped a violent death. Then, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, as we commemorate those children who were massacred by Herod and his militia, we recall those children who meet violent deaths because there is no place for them to go, nobody to accompany them, and nobody to welcome them.
As Christians, we cannot delete the scenes of violence toward children in the Biblical Christmas story, but we can help write a happier ending to the stories of persecuted children, the Holy Innocents, in our world today.
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Columban Fathers PO Box 10 St. Columbans, NE 68056
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“Lord, you know everything, You know I love you…then feed my lambs.” — John 21:17 Perhaps you are someone whose love of God is leading you to want to serve His hungry people. We are waiting to listen to your story and answer your questions about mission life.
We invite you to join this new generation by becoming a Columban Father or Columban Sister.
Watch the mail for your free 2015 Columban calendar! You can order additional copies for yourself or loved ones by writing to us or sending an email to: missionoffice@columban.org.
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If you are interested in the missionary priesthood, write or call… Fr. Bill Morton National Vocation Director Columban Fathers St. Columbans, NE 68056 877-299-1920 Email: vocations@columban.org Website: www.columban.org
If you are interested in becoming a Columban Sister, write or call… Sister Virginia Mozo National Vocation Director Columban Sisters 2546 Lake Road Silver Creek, NY 14136 626-458-1869 Email: virginiamozo@yahoo.com Websites: www.columbansisters.org www.columbansistersusa.com
Japan + Korea + Peru + Hong Kong + Philippines + Pakistan + Chile + Fiji + Taiwan + North America
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