Missionary
For Father Donal
Eyes clenched,
I conjure your grave,
White above Boyne grasses,
Stone processing
Like acolytes.
All questions buried,
Answered.
An Excerpt from a Missionary Diary
Last night Fr. Theo and I decided to visit separate Indo-Fijian families in the same settlement about five miles from town. We borrowed the parish van. I dropped him off at the family which was hosting the mandali (prayer meeting), promising to pick him up later that night. I drove about a mile further and climbed a steep
Who Can Really See?
Archbishop Petero Mataca confirmed about 50 young people at Nabala (Fiji) today. As part of the preparation we priests had invited Beniamino, a blind dau ni vucu (composer) from Bua Vou Village to teach a meke (group dance). He stayed with us for about six weeks. I noticed that each time he
Journalists Risk Death for the Truth
Journalists, writers, reporters, commentators will just have to curb their passion for speaking and exposing the truth if they want to continue to live. Too many end up a corpse in a cold dark morgue, silence their only companion. That is just the way it is in the Philippines and elsewhere.
The Piglet that Wouldn't Grow
I did a funeral in a small village near Dogoru a few months ago. The villagers very generously offered me some mats, dalo (an edible root similar to taro) and a live piglet. The mats could be sold for the parish and the priests and sisters could eat the dalo but what to do with the piglet?
Forgiveness
You snubbed me and the others laughed.
You were right in what you said
But were wrong in the sneering way you said it
And smoothly packaged it in an oily smile.
You hypocrite.
I Was Ready for Battle
There was a frantic voice at the end of the phone. “Fr. Peter our Filipino friend Genalyn is sick in hospital and our Taiwan broker is going to send her back to the Philippines this afternoon. Can you please come to the hospital to help her.” I asked Sr.
Sharing Gospel Joy
It is with much joy and heartfelt gratitude that I, on behalf of Columban missionaries and co-workers invite you, our benefactors, your families and friends, and the people among whom we live and serve, to join us in our Centennial Year celebrations which commenced on November 23, 2017, on the Feast of St. Columban.
Epiphany
In the middle of the night, with the wedding guests gathered around, the groom is led to a specially-prepared canopy. There, he is seated, facing north. A short time later, his bride is led in and is seated next to him.
We Remember
Last year, I was visiting Monasterboice, an Irish monastic settlement that dates back to the fifth century, with a group of Australian pilgrims who were on pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Columban.
Advent Reflection: Running to Stand Still
“This Advent season invites us to gently prepare our hearts to receive the Son of God.”
My Friend Matthew
During the years between 1972 and 1975, I was pastor of a parish in Seoul, Korea. On Friday mornings I would go to a large prison nearby to visit the death row prisoners. Among the prisoners that I would visit there was one whose name was Matthew who was a very happy go lucky individual.
CHANGING PLACES - MARK 1:40-45
Leprosy - that dreadful word
causing terror in the heart
bad enough to live with rotting flesh
but even worse to be among the living dead
cut off from relatives, friends, community
Welcome Fr. Chris Saenz
Fr. Chris Saenz is a native of Bellevue, Nebraska, and belongs to the Missionary Society of St. Columbans (commonly known as the Columban Fathers). He never felt a priesthood vocation when he was young. In reality, Fr. Saenz did not participate much in the Church during his youth. However, at the age of 21 he had a conversion experience after reading the book, The Song of Bernadette. That was the first time he began to feel a priesthood vocation which, at first, he rejected.
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.