Below are stories from past issues of Columban Mission magazine. The Columban Fathers publish Columban Mission magazine eight times a year. Subscriptions are available for just $15 per year. Sign up to receive our next issue. Read more about Columban Mission magazine.
In 2012, while I was working in a parish among the aboriginal people called Atayal in the mountains of Taiwan, we organized a pilgrimage to the northern Philippines (where I am originally from) as part of the celebration of the parish's 50th foundation anniversary.
What was the first thing you did when you entered the church today? I assume you dipped your finger in the holy water and made the sign of the cross. Making the sign of the cross affirms our faith in the Most Holy Trinity.
I live and work in a mountainous area of Taiwan with aboriginal people. The majority of them are pomegranate and orange farmers who also cultivate a variety vegetables which they sell.
In my new parish assignment, I am blessed to have met wonderful ladies who were named after our Blessed Mother. I would like to share my experience with them.
Nana Maria
On Saturday August 12, 2017, I officiated at the wedding of my grand-nephew Killian to his bride Jenna. The wedding took place in the parish of Notre-Dame de Bresse-Finage, in Burgundy, France.
For more than a year, I spent most of my time visiting the elderly while on mission in South Korea. I would say that meeting the different types of elderly people is interesting and enjoyable but requires a lot of energy and a peaceful mind and heart to be able to listen to them.
Some days when it feels that God is far from us we may begin to harbor a real doubt: Is there a God at all? Am I fooling myself giving time day after day to pray and nothing seems to happen? Others who don't believe at all do well, are happy and live life to the full.
Aminiasi and I arrived in Lima on May 20, 2016, for our pastoral experience called FMA (First Mission Assignment). We arrived during winter, above all, at midnight. The first thing I experienced was the cold breeze as soon as I went out of the airport.
This year, as Columban missionaries look back on one hundred years of mission, we recall with gratitude our accomplishments in various distant lands. However, this centennial year also reminds us to recognize those who have who have played a major role in our mission story close to home.
Since the St. Joseph church compound was close to the central bus station, many homeless men came there. Some requested food, while others slept under the verandahs. When winter came and work on construction sites halted, their numbers increased significantly.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.