The Magazine of the Missionary Society of St. Columban
February 2014
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A Place at the Table
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ecently, a Columban serving the poor in the barrios of Lima, Peru, visited our office. He invited us to understand the reality of the poor in Latin America from the perspective of the Eucharistic celebration. What does it mean to have a place at the table in this global economy? Ten years ago, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a pastoral letter entitled: “A Place at the Table.” They asked, “How can it be that even today there are still people dying of hunger?” and concluded with this challenge from John Paul II: “Christians must learn to make their act of faith in Christ by discerning His voice in the cry for help that rises from this world of poverty.” Pope Francis, in his recent Apostolic Letter, “The Joy of the Gospel,” asks: What does it mean for the poor to have a place at the table in today’s global economy when “the majority of our contemporaries are barely living from day to day” {52}, “masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized” {53}, and the divide between rich and poor is growing exponentially?” {56} What chance do the poor have when “everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest,” the global economy “tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits” {56}, and “the socioeconomic In So Many Words system is unjust at its root?” {59} By Scott Wright Here are some key conclusions from the pope’s Apostolic Letter: “The Church, guided by the Gospel of mercy and love for mankind, hears the cry of justice and intends to respond to it with all her might.” {188} “God’s heart has a special place for the poor, so that he himself ‘became poor’. . . . That is why “the Church has made an option for the poor,” and why “I want a Church which is poor and for the poor.” {197} “The need to resolve the structural causes of poverty cannot be delayed. . . . The dignity of each human person and the pursuit of the common good are concerns which ought to shape all economic policies.” {202-03} Pope Francis invites us to respond with the joy of the Gospel that gives life to others, and especially to the poor: “At our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: ‘Give them something to eat.’ ” {Mk. 6:37}
What does it mean to
have a place at the table in this global economy?
Scott Wright is the director of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach in Washington, D.C.
www.columban.org
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Japan Is in Crisis! People Without Hope By Fr. Barry Cairns
Japan is in crisis! There is the pervading fear of earthquakes, tsunami and resulting nuclear radiation. Some nuclear power stations are said to be built over earthquake fault lines. A recent headline in the newspaper read, “320,000 Could Die in a Nankai Trough Earthquake!” Some predict that even Mount Fuji is due for an eruption. Such news items seep into the heart and create uncertainty and fear. Added to these heart disturbing factors is the growing friction with China and the sabre rattling statements of politicians. The ruling party wants to change the peace Constitution and have an active army. Older people especially see their future with unease. Those in their 70s have experienced war, nuclear devastation, hunger and poverty. They worry about whether or not their savings and pensions will have value in the future. They 4
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worry there will be another war. The big companies are making a profit which boosts the GNP, but the little people feel only the effects of rising prices of food and housing. As I see it, there is an insidious fog settling over Japanese society today. There is a malaise that seeps deep into the heart. Especially in cities, the traditional religions of Shinto and Buddhism have sadly little influence. What Pope Francis calls “the cult of money” has taken over. I see this cult as an escape mechanism against the above fears. A Japanese Nobel Prize Laureate, Kenzaburo Oe has said of his own people, “Today we Japanese face a grave crisis: we are a people without hope.” This is when the missionary proclaiming Christ’s message comes in! The Japanese people are a people without a shepherd to guide them. To the very depths of
His heart, Jesus felt deeply for such people. Japan is neither a popular mission nor a romantic one! There are comparatively few baptisms and vocations. But it is a nation that has a dire need of Kingdom values, especially hope, peace and joy. It is a mission to the unevangelized. As such, Japan is an import mission for the Church and the Missionary Society of St. Columban. Are we being selective? Selectivity is not Christ’s way. Only God Himself can judge “success!” Here I give you concrete examples of modern mission in Japan: The parish of Hodogaya is in the geographical center of Yokohama City, a city of three million. We have 975 parishioners on the books and another 204,258 non-Christians in Hodogaya Ward. Our Bishop has said that “parishes are evangelizing communities.” I give pastoral care to my people, but as a missionary www.columban.org
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I must also care for the multitudes who have only heard of Christ in a distorted way. My aim is to imbue the Catholic community to be missionaries in their own homes, schools, workplaces and apartments. They are the ones who sow seeds of hope among a people with no hope. Our aim is to be witnesses to Kingdom values, especially of hope, peace and joy. That is our primary aim. If as a result some will seek Baptism, we have welcoming groups to cater for them. In my homilies and talks I would constantly repeat Christ’s message in some way, namely, “God loves you 100% as you are, this is the basis of our hope. Go out and share this gift with others.” To
share God’s gifts is the essence of mission. Some concrete example of such mission are a group of mothers who staff a drop-in center for lonely and disturbed youth who come in just to talk; others care for migrant workers and the homeless. Yokohama is a major port, and the men help out in the Apostleship of the Sea; others help out in various A.A. style recovery groups. Some are involved in helping tsunami victims; others are active in L’Arche groups for the disabled. And finally, there is a group of five who reach out to the internet multitudes. The parish home page is attractive and kept up to date. They publish my homilies weekly in both Japanese and English. We get
about 60 hits a day. This is part of modern mission as well. I first came to Japan in 1956. It was a poor country, rife with malnutrition and tuberculosis. Now, 57 years later, I see malnutrition of the heart rather than the body. We as Columban missionaries in Japan aim to be instruments of Christ’s hope and peace. We are passionate about the value of mission to Japan! CM Columban Fr. Barry Cairns lives and works in Japan.
The Power of Being Powerless The Commonality of Mission By Fr. G. Chris Saenz
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ecently, I was in Tasmania for mission promotion work. A school girl in St. Patrick’s Catholic College of Launceston asked, “What is the hardest thing about working with people in poverty?” The question stumped me a bit and made me think. Generally, it’s the youth who ask the deep theological questions. After reflecting for a moment, I answered her, “the feeling of being powerless to change the situation of the person in poverty.” In the missionary vocation, one has to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Often one has to leap without knowing where to land and trust it will all work out. www.columban.org
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One has to leave the “black and white” world of certainty and desire to be in the “gray” world of doubt. One has to discover power in being powerless. Doesn’t sound easy, and it’s not. So why do it? I do it for people like “Maria.” In my years in Chile, Maria is truly one of the poorest people I met. Maria used to come to the parish to talk to another Columban priest. She was also friendly with the parish secretary, and I often would see Maria “hanging about” in the office. I didn’t have much to do with her and really didn’t pay much attention to her. When the Columban priest left the parish he referred Maria to me. So one day
Maria showed up on the doorstep wanting to talk to me. I wasn’t reluctant to talk to her but not overly enthused as well. I assumed that she wanted money. I knew she was poor but didn’t know how poor. Maria lived in a “media agua” or what would be like a shack. There was not much to her home. Her only means of living, from what I knew, was the selling of small handicrafts she made from old yarn and material. Sometimes Maria would come to the church selling her handicraft. And out of pity, I must confess, I would buy some from time to time. I figured it was an honest pay for honest work. Yet, much to my surprise, she never February 2014
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begged for money. Most often she came to the church to desahogarse, a Chilean phrase that means “to let it all out.” It was during these conversations that I discovered that she was a mother. Maria was a mother of two children who were taken away from her by social services. Maria suffered from psychological ailments like depression and was unable to care for them. She never mentioned the father of the children, and it seemed he was not in the picture. She remarked to me that her only true desire was to regain custody of her children, but she was a single mother, too poor, too sick and had no job to be able to care for them. Maria struggled to find odd jobs but often could 6
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not hold on to them. Listening to Maria’s story made me feel powerless to help her. There was nothing I could do for her. She in return never asked for any help. I felt more pity for her. I prayed to God, “what is the point to all of this?” One day the secretary came to inform me that Maria was waiting to talk to me. I received Maria and noticed she had a big smile on her face. “Father, I came to share my good news with you!” she said. I was curious. Was she miraculously cured of her aliments? Will she get her children back? Is there a sudden monetary fortune? I waited for the surprise. “I’m pregnant,” she blurted. I felt my insides crashing. What was she thinking, I thought,
so poor and now pregnant? “With twins,” she added. It was like a punch to the stomach. I really thought God was playing a cruel joke on the both of us. Then I looked upon her face. Her smile was radiant. It was the first time I truly saw her happy. “Father, I am so happy,” she gleefully continued, “that God considered me worthy to give life again. I am truly blessed!” It was as if I heard Jesus’ mother speaking into my ears. I had thought that Maria wanted me to do something about her situation but in reality she just wanted a compassionate ear to listen to her. She just wanted someone to share her joy. I began to wonder if my pity for Maria was more moved by pity for myself—me being helpless. Yet, being helpless made me powerless with Maria. It was something we both shared together. And that is the power of mission. Two people, worlds apart with nothing in common, find commonality in being powerless. It made us equals. Some time later, I used to see Maria walking in the street with a man, the father, I assumed. They embraced and looked happy as a couple. In time, Maria did regain custody of her two older children. After that I never saw her again. I don’t know her fate, where she is or what she does but that is mission. Being powerless—not having all the answers or certainty—but trusting that God is doing what God does best. The power of being powerless. CM Columban Fr. G. Chris Saenz lives and works in Chile.
www.columban.org
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The Special Education Center in Ozamiz City Serving Children with Special Needs By Virgie Vidad
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ince 2002, Columban Fr. Oliver McCrossan has been helping people with disabilities in Ozamiz City, Philippines. Due to poverty, many of these special needs children cannot go to school. Their parents work hard driving pedi-cabs, working as port laborers or vending street food. Most of the families are renting one small room in the slum areas. The DepEd Central school serves 70 children. Seventeen of them need financial assistance and school supplies. These children www.columban.org
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have various disabilities such as mentally-challenged, hearingimpaired, blind, cerebral palsy and children with autism. It is very important that these children have access to education and skill training. The common problem in the public school is that they lack instructional materials for the children with special needs in addition to the lack of functional supports, like chairs and tables. In addition the public schools serve only a limited number of special needs children and did not have
adaptive educational programs for them. The special needs children were unable to adapt to the learning methodologies of the school. The DepEd Central school has the books, chairs and tables that are most essential to facilitate the learning atmosphere for these children with disabilities. This school year, most of the children with special needs were given transportation allowances and school supplies. As the National Disability week is nearing, the children would have wanted to have a gathering of people who have heart for their needs and contribute to acquire the needed facilities for their studies. They also would love to have sports activities which will be for their mental and physical development. We hope through the continued financial and moral support of our benefactors and friends that these children will be given a chance to continue in their studies and fully enjoy the gift of life God has given to all of us. CM Virgie Vidad lives and works in the Philippines.
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s priests in parishes around Lima we Columbans are asked to bless many things, often as part of the “blessing and opening” of some public service. The Peruvians still like to have God’s blessing called down publicly on all aspects of daily life. Recently the Mayoress of Lima, Susana Villaran, asked me to join her at the inauguration of the fine new sporting complex constructed by her municipality. The new sporting complex is right in front of the chapel of St. Columban and St. Toribio, which was being completed as Columban Fr.Tony Coney and I handed over the parish to the care of the Archdiocese of Lima in 2003.
The Peruvians still like to have God’s blessing called down publicly on all aspects of daily life.
A Memorable Blessing A Flourishing Community By Fr. Chris Baker
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However, my involvement in the Association for People with Special Abilities (ASPHAD) has kept me going back most afternoons to El Planeta. Our Center is only a few blocks away from the new chapel and now the new concrete surfaced playing areas. Hundreds of the local people came into the complex to welcome Mayoress Susana as she arrived punctually at midday. She greeted many of them with the typical Peruvian abrazo – a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek – as she headed for the raised platform. The president of ASPHAD, Walter Berto in his wheelchair, and I were among those so greeted. For me it was renewing acquaintance with a good friend. www.columban.org
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How wonderful are the ways of the Lord! After 50 years, we are seeing big improvements in front of both churches in that last Columban parish we had within the present Archdiocese of Lima. Ten years earlier Susana had kindly accepted my request, on behalf of the Columbans, to give a keynote address during the celebrations marking our 50 years in Peru. Padre Jorge (Fr. George) from the parish and myself were taken onto the platform, where he read out a Psalm, and I gave the blessing with plenty of holy water from the stoop which Padre Jorge was holding. Susana stood beside us for all the blessing, then came close to my chair as she addressed the people. She recalled her close association with the Columbans over the past 40 years, as she had been active in Fr. John O’Connell’s parish of Ermitaño (Lima) from the 1970s. She also spoke of how the Columbans have accompanied the humble people in El Planeta during the past 50 years. For that reason she had arranged that I should do the blessing as a Columban, in collaboration with the current parish priest. Another cheerful announcement on Susana’s part was that the municipality is now starting to construct an even more elaborate sports complex in front of the parish church, Virgen Medianera, at the other end of the parish. It so happens that Frs. Leo Donnelly and Luke Waldron were the www.columban.org
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Columbans stationed there when Fr. Luke motivated the locals to build a concrete sports complex in front of that church. Now it is about to be completely remodelled, in fulfilment of the “participative budget” recommended by the local people of that area. How wonderful are the ways of the Lord! After 50 years, we are seeing big improvements in
front of both churches in that last Columban parish we had within the present Archdiocese of Lima. It is an added joy for me to hear that the committee elected by the people of El Planeta to look after the new sports complex consists of active members of the parish. CM Columban Fr. Chris Baker lives and works in Peru.
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Behind Bars Life in Stanley Prison, Hong Kong By Lolito A. Balilo
I was born in Macasila Calatrava, Negros Occidental, the Philippines, and I came to Manila at the age of 13. I am from a poor family of seven, of whom I am the youngest. I was not able to finish high school due to our financial problems. I started work at a young age to support myself, and I lost my mother when I was 15. At the age of 20, I got married, and we had four lovely children – two boys and two girls. In 2006, I separated from my first wife but still supported my kids. After a few years, I took my kids to stay with my second wife. Before I entered the drug business, I was working in the Manila International Airport as a taxi driver, and one day someone hired me and became my so-called “friend” who introduced me to the 10
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business. Although it was risky, it seemed like easy money, and I grabbed the opportunity, agreeing without hesitation. I was offered $2,500.00 per trip from Malaysia to China. Even though I knew the penalty for drugs in China was death, I was blinded by my greed. There were three Filipinos on death row there at that time. Before I went to Malaysia, I went into Church and prayed to God to help me to save some money in this way for my children. I made the trip four times, and on the fifth I was arrested on August 20, 2011, one day before my birthday. During my arrest I was only thinking of my children and how they were going to cope when I was locked up. I kept on crying and thinking of committing suicide
rather than be locked up for a long time, and I asked God why He let this happen to me. I didn’t have enough savings for my kids, and He knew I had good intentions. On August 22, 2011, I arrived at Lai Chi Kok Remand Center from court; while waiting for my papers to be processed, I just remained quiet, thinking all the time of my children until tears started rolling down my face. One guy beside me saw me crying and he put his hand on mine and said, “Don’t worry, brother, everything will be OK. Don’t cry because no matter how hard you cry they will never open the door for you, so be strong and once you get inside, you will not be bored, because there are Filipinos there.” I just nodded my head and said to him, “Thank you,” and I www.columban.org
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realized that if what he said were true, I might be able to turn the situation around for myself. After a few days I wrote to my wife; it was two months before I got a reply. I didn’t get any moral support from my family which made me feel so sad; I just got the one letter, and after that, no more. I really felt rejected at that time. I didn’t fight my case, because there was no point. I wanted to get my sentence as soon as possible, get my money and things from customs, and send it to my children for their expenses, but it was nine months before they sentenced me. Finally I got my sentence on May 7, 2012. A few months before my conviction, I started doing Bible study. As time went by, in June 2012 I decided to accept God as my Savior and Creator, and to trust His plans for me. My whole family are devoted Catholics, but I only went to Church once in a while. I just made the sign of the cross when I left the house, before I ate and if I passed a Church (as I learned from my father), and I prayed now and again. I stayed in the separation unit for 28 days. During my stay there, I started composing a song in my own language. In most of my songs, God is involved. I was thinking, maybe this is His plan for me. The wardens then brought me to the workshop where I wanted to be, and I was very happy because I had Filipino companions. I had been praying hard for this, because I knew this was already my third offence, and they might send me elsewhere. That is why I asked God with all my heart to use me as an instrument of His love and mercy. I promised that I would follow His way and to share all my learnings with everyone; I will use this www.columban.org
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situation to inspire people outside, to give those in difficulties courage and hope, especially those who are in a situation like mine. I always said to my fellow inmates that I have no right to complain because I have done something wrong. Look at those people who are innocent, the preachers who have been locked up and killed, but most of all, Jesus Christ who suffered and died for my sins; my situation is nothing in comparison. I have so many things to appreciate. Many people get stuck with their problems and cannot move on; they don’t see the blessing of God. They keep complaining and blaming God, but they don’t realize that it is because of their own or others’ disobedience. If we go the wrong way up a one way street, we can cause an accident, create a traffic jam, or even cause lives to be lost; similarly, by opposing the will of God, we cannot have a good life. As long as we oppose His will, we cannot find true peace and happiness in this world. That is why I say to everyone I meet that I would be more happy to be in heaven than back out in the world, because only in heaven will I find happiness and peace. I am so thankful to God that despite my situation, I am still supporting my kids morally, spiritually and financially, and I am helping another three children who do not have parents. I will supply their school needs and give them an annual Christmas gift; along with my Columban friend, we are so blessed to be able to help these children. My future plan is to open an orphanage in the Philippines when I get out; that is why even now I am providing shelter and education for abandoned and victimized children. I will dedicate
my whole life to helping poor people, especially children, and I know God will do His part. As Mother Teresa said, “Do little things with great love.” For me, no matter how big the gift you give, if it is without love, it is useless. So I am not “counting my time” here. I am counting what I have done already, what else I can do and how better I can help others. If you truly submit yourself to God and are willing to give everything you have, even your body, you don’t need to worry, if you trust Him. We should always remember that our loved ones may leave us, but God never leaves or forsakes those who trust Him, because He is faithful to His promises. So, my brothers and sisters, don’t complain about your situation; try to see the people who are less fortunate than you. As Mother Teresa said, “For thinking too much about ourselves, we cannot help others.” I do pray that my life story may bring unbelievers to faith and strengthen the faith of believers. Thank you for those priests who visit us here, and for allowing this story to be published. Love and care, Lolito A. Balila, Stanley Prison, Hong Kong. CM Lolito supports two projects from his prison cell along with fellow inmates. The first is the support of his own three children and another three orphan children in their educations. The second is financial support for an orphanage run by the Good Shepherd Sisters in the Philippines. Lolito shared his story with Columban Fr. Patrick Colgan who lives and works in Hong Kong.
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Pedaling Out of Poverty
A Hand Up by chris Hochstetler
Pedaling to Live
The Pedaling to Live Project began in 2005 when Columban Fr. Oliver McCrossan spotted Josefino Bayno pedaling a pedi-cab in Ozamis City, the Philippines. Josefino had a physical disability and had been driving for ten years when he met Fr. Oli. Like many of the poor folks from the rural areas of the city and neighboring towns, Josefino is unskilled and uneducated without many livelihood prospects to feed his family of six. At that time, Josefino was renting his pedi-cab at a cost of approximately $1.50 per day. Since he averaged only $3.50 in daily income, it wasn’t unusual for members of his family to skip meals in order to pay the rent on their home. 12
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Fr. Oli started the Pedaling to Live Project to enable people like Josefino to purchase their pedi-cabs and escape the burden of the daily rental and literally drive themselves and their families out of grinding poverty. The Pedaling to Live Project allows the drivers to own their pedi-cabs utilizing a rent-to-own paradigm. The project buys the units, and the drivers pay for them over 15 months. After paying the unit cost, the pedi-cab is owned by the driver. The opportunity for asset entitlement, something previously unavailable to the poor, has given the families a more hopeful outlook in life. Moreover, the families no longer have to skip meals, and the children are healthier.
The Green Shelter Housing Project
Many of the program pedi-cab drivers lived as informal settlers in the poorest section of Ozamis City, along the shorelines and at the outskirts of the city. They lived in one-room houses with their families. A family of six or eight is a big crowd in the small space where they cook, eat and sleep. The families residing along the shorelines also suffer the stink of the muddy waters beneath their houses and the oods during rainy season. Naturally, the environment is a big risk and a hazard to the health and life of the families residing along the shorelines during high tides and stormy weather. These conditions lead Fr. Oli to conceptualize the Green Shelter www.columban.org
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Housing Project for the qualified drivers of the Pedaling to Live Project. On December 10, 2010, a ground breaking ceremony was held for the shelter project which was made possible by the donations of Columban benefactors. The homes are two room houses with defined areas for kitchen, dining and living room as well as toilet-and-bathroom. To develop a sense of ownership for the drivers and their families, they provide free labor, or sweat equity, as their part in the project. Each house cost $2,319 that the beneficiary will pay over 10 years. The Green Shelter Housing project freed the families of the pedi-cab drivers from the risks and hazards of living in the shorelines of Ozamis City. They were also freed from paying rent and are now becoming home owners. And for the first time in their young lives, the children didn’t breathe anymore the stink of the muddy waters underneath their previous homes, nor experience getting wet even inside their homes during rainy season since the rain water would drip from the holes of their roofs.
Hog-raising was introduced as another poverty alleviation project that became a secondary source of income for the families. Thirteen piglets were dispersed to seven families with the condition that each family will pay back the cost of each piglet once the fattened hogs are sold so that the other beneficiaries can also be given piglets that they can raise and fatten. The Green Shelter Housing Project is providing scholarships to 35 children from preschool to high school to ensure that the children are educated well. The children are provided with school supplies and uniforms at the beginning of each school year. Adult education programs like management skills, organic farming
and life skills training through the Alternative Learning System (ALS) are also conducted for the adults. What has been started in this small community is not only a small step towards the economic growth of its members, but it can become a giant stride in our development work with the poor providing a hand up versus a hand out. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.� (Acts 20:35) CM Chris Hochstetler is the director of fund development for the Missionary Society of St. Columban. He lives and works in St. Columbans, Nebraska, and visited the Philippines in November 2013.
A Self-Contained Community
The Green Shelter Housing Project is an attempt not only to provide permanent residence to the families of the Pedaling to Live Project, but also to try to establish a small community that is self-contained and self-reliant. A portion of the individual home lot is dedicated to vegetable gardening. In this way, the families will have constant source of vegetables for their food and sell at the same time. Neighbors outside the small community also come to buy their vegetables. www.columban.org
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Discovering a Path Helping the Poor and Oppressed Find Justice by Fr. michael Dodd
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t all began while I was doing parish visitation in 1976 in Seoul, Korea. It was standard practice for pastors to visit all the Catholic homes at least once per year. The parish was divided by a major road, and those living on the hillside on one side of the road were the poor. They had no representatives on the parish council, but it was while visiting them that I began to wonder about my pastoral focus. Visitation in that area helped me discover that there were many young people who were working in both large and small factories in the area and were never seen in church. Their wages were low and their hours long. The factory shifts they
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worked left them no time to attend any of the weekend scheduled Masses. I wanted to do something for them, so I approached the parish council and proposed adding another Mass at a convenient time for young workers on either Saturday or Sunday night. The parish council accepted my proposal on condition that no changes were made to the established Mass schedule, which required me to celebrate six Masses between Saturday evening and Monday morning. They knew I would not be able to add another Mass and, in fact, had little or no interest in helping people from the other side of the road. They even wondered why I bothered thinking
about helping them. They seemed to consider them an inferior species of humanity. I retained my intention of doing something about this matter and soon after went on home vacation for a few months. While in Ireland I checked out what might be available for working class youth and the YCW (Young Catholic Workers) was mentioned. I then found out there was a two week course being offered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, for people who wanted to become YCW chaplains. I did the course, which confirmed that I should go for it. On returning to Korea I took over a Workers’ Center deep in the maw of the city of Seoul that had been set up by the Columbans a number of years www.columban.org
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previously. It was an old, two story building with basic living quarters and meeting facilities, located behind the infamous Peace Market not far from the center of the city. At that time the national security state was firmly in place in Korea, and we were living under the rule of a military dictatorship. A Korean CIA agent (who happened to be Catholic) was assigned to keep an eye on activities in the Workers’ Center and make weekly reports to his superiors. Harassment of me and the young workers who came and went became an almost daily happening. On the other hand, the then Archbishop of Seoul, Cardinal Kim, was most supportive of our Workers’ Center and its activities. In fact every once in a while he would come over to pay a casual visit to me and any of the young workers who might be around. He was very interested in their wellbeing and working conditions. The see-judge-act methodology that we used in our meetings seemed to me a useful tool in helping the youth take responsibility for their lives and also in helping them to focus. Many had not completed high school. They had come from the impoverished rural areas of the country and were not very street wise. They clearly benefited from the experience of systematically sharing their experiences as workers, reflecting on them with other young workers who could identify with them, and discussing passages from Scripture in the context of their experience. Daily Mass and our weekly eucharistic liturgy formed an important part of our program at the Center, but I encouraged the youth to seek out their own parishes and try to engage with that community in an active way. Some www.columban.org
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came from distant parts of the city; I recall two young people who had to change buses twice to reach the Center. We were able to provide accommodation at the Center for around ten young women who had come to the city alone and without family contacts in Seoul. These were quite vulnerable young people. When eventually I became Regional Director of the Columbans in Korea, I was determined to carry on my commitment to the Center and the workers. Youth whom I knew were being picked up in factories, taken to police stations, interrogated and often beaten by police. It was difficult getting in to see them in custody, but I kept trying with limited success. There was a serious human rights issue at stake, and it needed to be dealt with. During my term as Regional Director in Korea I went to Peru for our 1982 Columban General Assembly, a meeting held every six years to review and plan the work of our missionary society. That Assembly both encouraged and inspired me to continue along the path of solidarity with the poor seeking justice. The final sentences of Paragraph 5 of the Acts of that 8th General Assembly remind us: “[Jesus] consistently stood against oppressive and unjust power in order to defend and promote a just life for the poor. Obedient to the Lord of Life, he died a victim for the Kingdom.” (cf. Phil 2, 8 ff; Lk 24, 26) After completing my term as Director I was subsequently appointed to the Columban Seminary Formation Program in Ireland but with only eleven students to engage with I came to feel underemployed and frustrated. I then took up the offer of an appointment to the United States and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1987 to work on mission education, part of which
concerned the injustices being endured by the poor in countries in which Columbans worked. I coordinated with the Catholic schools in the New England area offering them Columban mission education programs and videos. Schools also invited me to accompany them for one day retreats especially with high school kids. It was, for the most part, a fleeting contact and difficult to evaluate its effectiveness. Passion for human rights issues obliged me to join the Amnesty International group that met weekly at Harvard University, and I worked with that group until 1994. There were about fifteen Amnesty groups in the U.S. who were assigned (assigning prisoners of conscience to the various groups was the responsibility of the Amnesty International head office in London, United Kingdom) Korean prisoners of conscience, and I became their coordinator. This Harvard group was dedicated to gathering and managing information about prisoners of conscience adopted by Amnesty International groups and supplying updates to the groups around the United States. As my fluency in the Korean language became better acknowledged in the London office, I was invited to join Amnesty International staff on human rights missions to South Korea and Russia. From 1994 to 2004 I was assigned to the Columban JPIC (Justice and Peace and the Integrity of Creation) office in Washington, D.C. Our work was done in coordination with other religious groups, both Catholic and Protestant, on a number of major areas of social concern, chief among them being the international debt crisis, which involved advocacy with and sometimes protests February 2014
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outside the IMF and World Bank headquarters; the reunification of North and South Korea; care for the earth and climate change. Our coordinated work was in effect an experience of interreligious dialogue through action. A key factor in all this work was that our dialogue approach to the issues helped us gain the respect of and access to the U.S. Department of State, to some Senate and House offices on Capitol Hill and consequently a modicum of access to legislators and government officials. I was assigned to the Columban U.S. headquarters in 2005 to work
on fundraising, which provided me the opportunity to help our benefactors appreciate the relevance of our concern for justice to Christian mission. Some, at times, have expressed strong disagreement with our work for justice for the poor and oppressed of our world. I now leave to return to my native Ireland confident that work with the poor seeking justice will continue to be integral to the mission we share. I identify very much with the words spoken by the well-known American economist, Jeffrey Sachs, at the Lincoln
Determined to Live Acting Together By Fr. Tom Shaughnessy
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thello was 13 years of age and working as a tailor when he came to the parish to ask for baptism. His parents were Catholic, but being very poor, they somehow never got around to having Othello baptized. I asked one of our catechists to prepare him for baptism, and in due course I both baptized and confirmed him. After his baptism he asked me if he might be an altar boy. Clearly he was intent on making something of his life. Then, one Sunday morning on returning from celebrating Mass in one of the barrio chapels I found a group of altar boys waiting for me. They told me that Othello was quite sick and wanted to see me. On arrival at his house, I found him in great pain and running a high fever. The pain was located in 16
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his abdomen, and when I lightly touched his stomach he winced. I told his mother that it might be appendicitis, which would require an operation. I returned to the convento (rectory) to get the parish pickup. We put a mattress in the back of the pickup and loaded Othello onto the mattress and took him to the local hospital which had been set up by the sugar mill. It was a private hospital for sugar workers and their families but would accept others as emergency patients. On arrival at the hospital, the doctor on duty, Dr. Rojas, was leaving to go to the beach for a picnic with his family. After I explained the nature of our emergency he gave Othello a quick examination and said that he thought the lad had a burst appendix, so he needed to operate
Memorial on August 24, 2013: “In our age of greed and glitter, the work of justice often seems to be stilled. But do not be deceived. For the ancient cry still moves us today: Justice, justice shall you pursue, so that you may live in the Promised Land.” CM After many years in St. Columbans, Nebraska, Columban Fr. Michael Dodd returned to his native Ireland in late 2013.
immediately. He went to tell his family that he would be delayed and was back at the hospital in ten minutes. One of the two nurses prepared the operating room. The altar boys carried Othello from the pickup to the operating room on the second floor. Dr. Rojas asked the nurse, an orderly and me to be present at the operation and assigned to each of us our duties. He then asked the altar boys and Othello’s family to leave the room. The doctor was both anesthetist and surgeon that day. My main task was to comfort Othello and help him relax. His last words to me before he went under the anesthetic were, “Thank you, Father!” Dr. Rojas made an incision and discovered that the abdominal cavity was filled with pus. He made a longer incision and gently removed the whole small intestine and placed it on the lad’s chest. He then suctioned the pus from the abdominal cavity, asked the orderly to bring a bucket of water, poured it into the abdominal cavity, swished it around and suctioned it out. He then turned his attention to the intestine, which would www.columban.org
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normally be a light pink color but was dark red. He said it was rotten (dunut in Visayan). I don’t remember what exactly he did about this but after replacing the intestine he sewed up the boy’s abdomen. The doctor told us that because of the infection in Othello’s system he had only a fifty/fifty chance of recovering. He prescribed an aggressive regimen of antibiotics. It was touch and go for two full days, but on the third day of treatment Othello began to turn the corner and eventually recovered. Dr. Rojas was a Protestant and when I asked him the cost of the operation he refused payment but eventually accepted payment in kind when I offered him some medical equipment that had been donated for our parish clinic. From funds I had for emergency relief I
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paid the hospital for the use of the operating room and the medicines. Knowing the poverty of the family, I knew Othello would not get the nourishment and care he needed to regain his strength, so I invited him to stay with the group of young helpers who lived at the rectory. It was heartwarming to see him growing stronger by the day. Also, as part of the parish staff he received free tuition in our high school. Later, while he went to college, he worked for another Columban who was chaplain at the sugar mill. After receiving his degree in education he returned to teach in our parish high school. Eventually Othello married, and I was deeply moved when he named his first son Tom-Tom. Jesus tells us, referring to his followers: “I came so that they might have life and have it more
abundantly.” The above experience of participating with a variety of people to support Othello in his struggle to live has been for me a treasured memory. The altar boys took the initiative; the parents were there waiting in hope; the doctor, the most skilled surgeon I have seen, postponed his family time and did an amazing job; the nurse and orderly were also there in support. Clearly, we do not need to believe the same way to imitate the sentiments expressed by Jesus but we do need to act together. CM Columban Fr. Tom Shaughnessy lives and works in St. Columbans, Nebraska.
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The Vessel of Love Hope in Sacrifice By Amy Woolam Echeverria
I first began working with refugees and migrants twenty years ago. One of my earliest and most transformative memories of that time centers around a vessel. The story goes that a refugee family from Vietnam had arrived for resettlement. They were just hours off the plane from a more than 24-hour journey between Southeast Asia and North Carolina. It was an extended family, about 13 in all including children, parents, and grandparents. My responsibility was to take this family to the local Social Security office to get them registered. Their exhaustion was clear and understandable. Hot, humid, little sleep the night before, long lines in the government agency, all made for tired and irritable children, if not adults too! And who could blame them? Sojourners in a foreign land, unable to understand or be understood, the Lit family had crossed borders they could not even begin to count or imagine. As we waited for our number to be called, one of the small children became particularly restless. She cried and squirmed and no one could offer her comfort. Without much thought, I passed the child my water bottle. Within minutes she calmed down and was totally entertained by the drops clinging to the side and the crunchy sound the bottle made when she squeezed it. Phew! is what we were all thinking. After several hours we returned home. As I said my good-byes for the night, the father, in his fledgling English asked me to wait. He left 18
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the room for a few minutes, but when he returned he handed me a gourd with the family named burned on the side. In my broken Vietnamese, I understood him to say that the gourd was his water bottle he carried with him to work in the fields in his home in Vietnam. He expressed gratitude for relieving the suffering of his daughter, if but for a few minutes, when I gave her my water bottle. Knowing how little the family brought with them from Vietnam,
Sojourners in a foreign land, unable to understand or be understood, the Lit family had crossed borders they could not even begin to count or imagine. the exchange took on greater significance. More than a special family possession, this vessel symbolized for Mr. Lit and his family a life once lived, a home never to be theirs again, a sign of hope that in sacrifice, new life awaits. In this gift which was given so freely and so generously, was one of the great experiences of love in my life. In an instant I became not the host, welcoming Mr. Lit and his family to the U.S., but the guest into their lives of hope and faith. Jesus gives us this ultimate command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mr. Lit and the vessel continue to define for me the
meaning of this call. More than any other “thing” in my life, twenty years later, the gourd sits always in sight and brings me to my knees. It is what melts away the internal border and boundaries of my heart and impels me to love more deeply, more fully and more universally. CM Amy Woolam Echeverria is the International Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Coordinator for the Missionary Society of St. Columban.
WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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Mission in Lima The hills around Lima are calling to me In their music and dances and liturgy. The Inca inspiration is lovely to see On the Banks of the Rimac that flows down to the sea.
The Liberation theology of Vatican II Has been taken on board by far too few Just coming alive is a new inspiration Which God has prepared to better the Nation.
On the 30 of August of ‘78 How I remember well that lucky date! St. Rose was at hand to welcome me And we became intimate friends; herself and me.
When Jesus cries out, “Let them come to me” They are people of God who want to be free. Their freedom will come, believe you me In their joys and hopes; in the griefs and anxieties of life’s mystery.
We walked through the streets of this capital city Her name was heralded with respectful simplicity. As we strode down the years, St. Rosa did say The people are good, they want to love the Lord in their own way.
So, Lima that is nestling in the scowl of the Andes Protects us from rain and leaves us with sand hills And the unexpected earthquake which is always a threat May the Lord of the Miracles preserve us from death.
th
Fr. Maurice Foley lives and works in Peru.
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Luke 12:34) As Christians, we are called to model our giving after God’s unconditional generosity to us. Our gifts become sacrificial when we give from what we need and not from our excess. Giving generously can be a joyful experience and can lead to a closer relationship with God. When we do, we realize that our security lies not with our material wealth here on Earth, but in God and His promise of eternal life. That is why your support of Columban missionaries is an expression of your faith and a sign of your gratitude to God for all He has given. Rejoice! To learn more about the work of Columban missionaries and how to support our work contact us at:
Columban Fr. Jude Genovia
WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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Columban Fathers P.O. Box 10 St. Columbans, NE 68056 www.columban.org Email: mission@columban.org
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The Poor Are Something Else A Witness By Fr. Leo Donnelly
I have stood for more than 50 years, up to my chin, in an ambiance of inferiority with the economically poor. They are the robbed, the frustrated, the exploited, the isolated, the maltreated and the denied. All of this over centuries has drained my people of their innate dignity and awareness as persons. I have learnt to love these people in this shambles cast upon them by their sad history. Firstly the Incas, then the Spaniards, then the “Republicans” – now owning the land. It is just simply not fair. I marvel at their ability to survive, not overall, but in general. They own nothing, have little or no education, and migrate from miserable steps of arable land clinging to the mountain sides. It seems that while destitution is definitely destructive to the human spirit, economic poverty in an ambiance of mutual help creates a base for the human spirit 20
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and ingenuity to flourish. I am a witness. A small invaded block of land. One thousand handmade “King Kong “ bricks. A truckload of river sand. Twenty bags of cement. Lay the 1,000 bricks around the perimeter and then start saving again. There will be sand for the second lot of bricks and cement. And so it goes through some fifty years to build a proper home. Every minute of those years is witness to the incredible human spirit, initiative, and creativity necessary to overcome impossible odds. Then the vultures move in once they know they are onto a guaranteed and legal form of robbery. You have this very valuable piece of property — mortgage it, take out a big loan for investment, make a killing, and you are up and away. And the very first instance there is a family economic crisis, ill health, school fees, death – even a marriage – it becomes impossible
to pay back the monthly quota. The poor are then told to look for a place to rent. The home they built, bit by bit throughout the years, now belongs to the mortgage holder. Toss into this mix the cost of educating the children, especially through university and add the cost of feeding and clothing the family. With a lack of work or chronic underemployment, it comes down to a perfect recipe for “the street” again and this after a life long struggle to get ahead. God save us. The poor are something else. I am conscious of myself having been woven into this context. As a child in the Depression years of the 1930s, with Dad six years out of fixed employment, until the war broke out, it was rough on my parents. In no way, however, was it nearly as rough as what I have witnessed in the poor of Lima. And what stands out? Their incredible strength to get up and go on often in many tiny ways like selling trinkets to motorists at the traffic lights. They will do anything to survive. There are two photos displayed here on the walls of our Columban Center House in Lima. The first depicts where we began in the late 1950s as chaplains to the multiple cotton farm laborers on the open farm land. In the more recent photo, that land is now covered in four-story high-rise apartments where the only cotton is inside on the beds. And our people have achieved this. In all of these “high-rises” there are thousands of homes of good ordinary people eking out a respectable livelihood out of their own initiative without having deceived or stolen or embezzled anyone. The poor are something else. CM Columban Fr. Leo Donnelly lives and works in Peru.
WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG
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You Cannot Teach an Old Dog New Tricks… …Or Can You? By Fr. Cathal Gallagher
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n our HIV self-management and prevention project here in Lima we spend a lot of time in promoting “Conduct Change” with the participants in our programs. First we help people understand their own dignity as persons, unique children of God and from there progress through human development and growth in selfesteem to human rights and care of self and others. It is a process and brings many joys, lapses and renewals. Recently, one of the participants came to say that he had been offered money to take part in a clinical trial directed to people living with HIV. He had thought about it and “felt” that there was something wrong in the way he was recruited and brought to this private clinic. He also said that he noticed that those recruiting were looking for people who were very ill, people who were poor and people without hope. With his permission, we contacted a journalist from a television station who carried out an investigation and indeed uncovered an unauthorized clinical trial taking place. But the point I wish to emphasize is that this young man, www.columban.org
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who for so long had seen himself as the victim, who was easily led by others, who rarely thought of himself as important, arrived at a decision that something was wrong and that those being recruited were in fact being used. He had learned something of his own dignity and had progressed to seeing that when one is being used, others are also being abused. He had learned
He had learned to become proactive in the care of himself and others. about solidarity, social vigilance and respect for human rights, and was a long way from seeing himself as the victim. He had learned to become proactive in the care of himself and others. What does it mean to be proactive? We teach our participants to set goals for themselves and then each week to use an action plan in order to take a little step towards that goal. Of course, the goal has to be something that they really want
to achieve, not something that someone else wants them to achieve. The very process or coming to realize that their own wishes and desires are important and can be the guiding star for their lives is a great leap forward in selfesteem. We then teach people to review the results that they achieve, make corrections where necessary and to celebrate any advance towards the goal. This experience made me reflect on the work that we do and to relate it to the initial training that we received as young people. Exams and success were the goals, but the big difference was that we were rarely taught to trust our wishes and desires, the heart. There existed a certain mistrust that desire could lead us by the easy path; reason was more important than feeling, and our teachers knew better what we needed than we did. Perhaps real change in conduct can only come when we unite the heart and mind to seek what we really want. Then we may learn many new tricks. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” — Aristotle CM Fr. Cathal Gallagher lives and works in Peru.
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When we plan ahead, we honor the will of God.
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ax season is a time that many of us would just as soon forget — or at least postpone to the last minute. However, when we plan ahead, even for our taxes, we honor the will of God; for He did tell us, “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” (Luke 14:28) As we join in the construction of God’s Kingdom, it is important to consider God’s work here on earth and how best we can support that work through planning. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis instructs that “Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid.” With prior planning at tax time, we can ensure that we honor the Holy Father’s guidance by directing dollars from our income that would otherwise be committed to taxation to the work of building God’s Kingdom instead. There are many ways to shelter these important dollars for the Lord’s work. A few of those ways include direct donations to the Missionary Society of St. Columban, entering into a Charitable Gift
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“Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” (Luke 14:28) Annuity, establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust for the work of the Columban Fathers and ensuring that you recognize the Columban Fathers by including us in your estate plans and will. This year, please consider early tax planning as a way of fulfilling God’s will and continue to help us build His Kingdom through your gifts. The Columban Fathers thank you for your generosity and will remember you in our prayers and Masses.
For more information regarding membership in our Legacy Society, obtaining our legal title or for a handy booklet on how to prepare a will, 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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The Real Cost of the Bargain
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ho doesn’t like a bargain? You see something you really like and then your joy is doubled when you look at the price tag. In your delight you don’t want to know that your good fortune might well be due to someone else’s misfortune. Who wants to consider that their stylish appearance has cost someone working in a textile factory in another country their eyesight? Who wants to think that discounted food prices in their local supermarket are the result of farm laborers in another state having to work long hours for a low wage in order to be able to provide food for their own families? When Columban priest, Fr. Shay Cullen saw firsthand the real cost of cheap goods and bargain food prices in the lives of the people in the Philippines, he knew in his heart that such exploitation was contrary to God’s wishes. Fruit farmers, who worked tirelessly in the fields, had to sell their produce at a low price to those who had the means to rapidly transport it to supermarket shelves in the cities. Likewise, those who were skilled in various crafts often had no choice but to sell their products cheaply to cartels that controlled the markets. Living within
FROM THE DIRECTOR By Fr. Tim Mulroy such a system meant that hardworking people would constantly struggle to provide the necessities of life for their families. Furthermore, their children were often compelled to abandon their studies and go to work in the local towns or cities in order to supplement the family income. Such an unjust system greatly disturbed Fr. Cullen, but it also spurred him to begin building an alternative system, Preda Fair Trade, that would promote human dignity and family life through ensuring a fair wage for fruit farmers and crafts’ people. Today, almost forty years later, Preda Fair Trade is a thriving organization that benefits the lives of thousands of Filipinos. By ensuring that families have economic security, children are given
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”I tell you the truth, whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.” (Mt. 25:40) the opportunity to develop their talents, which in turn enables communities to remain whole and vibrant. Several years ago I visited Fr. Cullen in Olongopo city in the Philippines and met many young adults with beaming smiles who showed me a variety of household items that they had crafted and were marketing through Preda Fair Trade. Later I heard how these young people had not always been so fortunate. Before their encounter with Fr. Cullen, they had experienced the physical and emotional scars of child labor and various forms of exploitation while striving to support themselves and their families. After listening to some of their stories and reflecting on what was happening in the wider society, I soon realized that, while Fr. Cullen’s commitment to economic justice had made a major difference in the lives of those young people, each of us would need to play our part if we wanted all young people to be able to foster their talents, share their gifts and live their dreams. In other words, all of us would need to be willing to pay a fair price for the goods we purchase in order that those who produce them receive a fair wage. Ever since that encounter with Fr. Cullen and those young people who benefit from Preda Fair Trade I find myself instinctively skeptical whenever I see a bargain advertised. I try to imagine the real cost of that bargain in the lives of workers who have to sacrifice so much for our comfort and convenience, and then those words of Jesus start ringing in my ears: “I tell you the truth, whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.” (Mt. 25:40)
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COLUMBAN FATHERS PO BOX 10 ST. COLUMBANS, NE 68056
NON PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID COLUMBAN FATHERS
Journey with Jesus
“Said Jesus to Simon, ‘do not be afraid, from now on you will be
Journey With Jesus is a supplementary Catholic mission education curriculum for grades preschool through eighth grade from the Columban Fathers.
catching people.’ ”— Luke 5:10 Indeed, if you feel called to help with Jesus’ nets, do not be afraid to call us and discuss a life of mission service.
Five lessons per grade containing: • Opening and closing prayers • Video presentations • Original songs on CD • Activities • At Home Connections • Posters Journey With Jesus is available free on loan or for purchase. Visit the Columban Mission Education website at: www.columban.org/missioned for more information and how to order the program.
We invite you to join this new generation by becoming a Columban Father or Columban Sister. 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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