"Father! Why Did You Come to Japan?"
I never thought that my photo would be on the front cover of a book – admittedly with fourteen others! All of us, in our 80s, are foreign missionaries still working in Japan.
Next Year Is Now
Part of life while growing up was the occasional phone call I would receive from my uncle, Columban Fr. Tomás King, who is a missionary priest in Pakistan. Every conversation I had with him over the phone would include the question, “When are you coming to Pakistan, Dáire?” While I knew he was usually joking, it still made the phone call a little awkward as I was unable to tell him I had never planned on going to Pakistan to see him. I would always answer
Paschal Candle
During the celebration of the Easter Vigil last year, this verse from the Exsultet resonated deeply within me. As the Paschal Candle, signifying the risen Christ, was raised high, I imagined the radiance of His glory dissolving the steel bars encircling the prison of death.
Mission in Mushroom City
“Ever seen a mushroom grow? asked our gardener one morning in the grounds of the Columban Center House in Peru, as he pointed out to some of us a particularly fine example. “Sprouts up overnight. Incredible.” “Hmmm, just like Lima,” observed Fr. Dermot Carthy. He should know.
Finding God
Like many other Columban missionaries before me, I have devoted many years to trying to promote harmonious relations between Christians and Muslims in the Southern Philippines, a place that has witnessed much misunderstanding and conflict between adherents of these two world religions.
Who Is Razia?
Razia is a Pakistani woman of small stature and big heart. She has known the Columbans since about 1985, and from that time, has been involved in bringing education to the women and children of brick kiln workers in the villages around her home in Jiunpura, Sheikhupura, Punjab Province.
Time In Mission Flies ...
We always hear the expression “Time flies!” and indeed that is true. In 2020, I suddenly realized that I was already celebrating my 10th anniversary as Columban Lay Missionary. Truly, it is amazing how by God’s grace I made it this long, which I myself did not expect.
Acts of Kindness
Recently Pope Francis said, “Kindness frees us from the cruelty that at times infects human relationships, from the anxiety that prevents us from thinking of others, from the frantic flurry of activity that forgets that others also have a right to be happy.” Wow! Three or four good effects from one simple loving habit!
Recently I came across something I had been given many years (decades!) ago. It is a copy of a letter to a priest attributed to Mother Teresa. I decided to try to find out if it was authentic and went searching on the internet. I did not find that particular letter, but I found that she certainly did a lot of writing! And the letter that I had was in her writing style. Mother Teresa had a unique style that was at once simple and powerful. “look around and see – there are so many in the world who are lonely, unwanted, who have no one to call their own – maybe in our own home.” She encourages her correspondent to “be the sunshine of God’s love to your own – for this is where our love for each other must start.”
Living in Sub Human Conditions
The village of Parola, Tondo, Philippines, is a shantytown where the Pasig River and Manila Bay waters meet. It has been five years since a huge fire completely gutted it.
First Steps for Peace
My name is Fr. Thomas Seugnwon Nam, and I am a South Korean Columban missionary priest. Currently, I am the Vice regional director of Korean region and in charge of the Vocation Office, Associate Priest and the Peace Office.
The Call of Cicadas
A young girl and her mother went to the riverbank looking for wild vegetables and leaves. The girl and her mother thought that the river split somewhere above and then came to meet again so that they would form an island.
Zooming Into Interreligious Dailogue
The Columban Interreligious Dialogue Desk in Fiji was initiated in May 2019. I was asked to advise and guide the coordinator, Ms. Priscilla Magdalin. Priscilla had worked for some years with Interfaith Search Fiji and had many contacts among leaders of religious groups in Fiji.
The Gospel of Joy, Mission and the Visual Arts
In his well-received book, The Gospel of Joy, Pope Francis writes: “Each particular Church should encourage the use of the arts in evangelization, building on the treasures of the past but also drawing upon the wide variety of contemporary expressions so as to transmit the faith in a new ‘languag
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.