The Dawn Has Broken Through
The dawn has broken through
The fears and snares of darkness
Are shattered, scattered, put to rout
Hold your head up high, oh man,
And taste the sweetness of morn.
The Grace of Love for Earth's Poor
The providence of God gives earth its seasons.
The equinox sun sets glory over the equator
radiates tempering flowers south and colors north
inspiring poets and musicians to celebrate.
Working at 8 Years of Age
In January 2015, I began a new ministry in Payatas, Quezon City, Philippines, known as the Second Smokey Mountain. The original is in Tondo, Manila – a landfill that had been used for more than forty years. The landfill and the rubbish dumps are the most important means of living for local residents who collect the garbage, sell the recyclable wastes to the junk shops and
My Heart Rejoices
My heart was filled with gratitude and awe when I finished my first term mission in South Korea meaningfully and gracefully. Praise be to God and Mama Mary. My companion Jenanydel and I went home for our vacation, were reacquainted with our family, relatives and friends happily and meaningfully.
Thanksgiving Day in Prison
Thanksgiving Day is called Zhong-Qiu-Jie in Taiwan, which means mid-autumn festival which is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with a full moon at night. It corresponds to late September or early October of the Gregorian calendar.
My True Refuge
I’ve been living here in Ciudad Juarez in the Parish of Corpus Christi in the Northern part of Mexico, Rancho Anapra, for almost eighteen months now. A few miles away one can see the border wall between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas.
50 Years of Questions
I was ordained in 1969. Those were confident and energetic times. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon a few days later. Vatican II had only just finished, and we were excited and optimistic about the changes it was bringing.
Grace of Home
Pulsating through our world, oceans and land
the tropics and artic, our home
flows the presence of God
loving a myriad of creation faces.
A Blessed Journey
There are times in my life when I feel I am at a crossroad, not knowing which way to go. In those moments, it seems all I can do is to stop and pray, or otherwise, I can just pack my bags and go back home to be with my family and get on with my life.
The Enforced Culture of Fear and Silence
A case of gang rape of a 19-year old young British woman in Ayia Napa in southeastern Cyprus by 12 youth 15 to 18 years old in July 2019 received international attention.
Loving God Makes All Things Grow
September 1 has been designated for us as World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Pope Francis asks us to “let our prayer be inspired anew by closeness to nature which spontaneously leads us to God the Creator.” (Message Sept. 1, 2019).
The Fijian Seminarian Who Couldn't Dare to Go Asleep
In 1981, Columban Fr. Frank Hoare was at the Namata Ashram running a Hindi-speaking lay leaders course. He shared with us the following story from that time. I’ve just had a meeting with a Fijian seminarian. I was supervising him on his cross-cultural pastoral experience a few months ago. He reminded me of the first week he stayed with his Indo-Fijian family. “I haven’t slept all week,” he told me at our meeting at the end of that first week.
God in Everyday Life
I recently began my new ministry in Our Lady of Remedies parish in Malate, Manila, Philippines. Although I am familiar with this parish, having visited it on many occasions, my feelings are different now that it has become the area for my mission.
Grace of a Contrite Heart
As a promise, God created a Chosen People
guiding them in deserts, freeing them from slavery
giving them a promised land as their home.
Today people flee eco-collapse in their homelands.
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.