June Magazine

The Magazine of the Missionary Society of St. Columban June/July 2011

Baptism

Eucharist

Reconciliation

Anointing of the Sick

Holy Orders

Matrimony

Confi rmation

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Sacred Signs

By His death and Resurrection Jesus destroyed death and restored the life to which we were destined from

the beginning. Now we pray at Mass with confidence, “May we come to share in the divinity of Christ

who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.” To share in His divinity, to live as God’s adopted sons

and daughters, as heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ is the life He restored to us. This is the life Christ meant

when He said, “I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

When Christ said, “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of

the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” He directed us not only to proclaim the Gospel by word and witness but also gave

us a sacramental mission.

Columban priests as missionaries bring Christ in Word and Sacrament to those we

serve. He is the Word of the Word we proclaim. He is present in the Sacraments we

confect. As priests we simply lend Christ our eyes, our hands, our lips.

By His death and Resurrection He destroyed death for all people, and He restored

to all the life God planned for us in the beginning. He died and rose again once and for

all. Over and over again in the Sacraments He comes to sanctify and strengthen us in

holiness.

In the Sacraments He does this in the same one-on-

one way He treated people during His public life. In

the Sacraments, it is He who baptizes us. It is He who

strengthens us in Confirmation when the priest anoints

with chrism. It is He who nourishes us in the Eucharist with His own body and blood. It is He who forgives us in

Confession and absolves us of our sins using the lips of a priest.

In the Sacraments Christ respects our nature and

accommodates Himself to the way we come to know and

experience persons and the world around us. In making

Himself known and sharing His life with us in the

Sacraments, He accommodates Himself to our sense

of touch, of sight, of hearing, of taste and smell. Water

for cleansing, oil for healing and beautifying, bread for

nourishment, the spoken word for assurance—these are

elements common to the people of all cultures and all

traditions. Used as sacred, sacramental signs, the Sacraments

are the same in all cultures.

In carrying out our sacramental mission, Christ assures us, “And look, I am with you all always; yes, to the end

of time.”

Fr. Richard Steinhilber lives and works in St. Columbans, Nebraska.

In So Many WordS

By Fr. Richard Steinhilber

Columban priests as missionaries bring Christ in Word and Sacrament to those we serve.

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Spanish Augustinian friars founded the town of Lingayen, the Philippines,

in 1614 and established the parish in 1616, naming it Los Tres Reyes (The Three Kings). In 1740 the Dominicans took over the parish. They were obliged to leave the parish after the successful Filipino revolt against Spanish rule in 1898, and Filipino priests served in the parish until 1933, when the Columbans were invited to staff and develop the parish. In 1939 the Columban Sisters arrived to work in the catechetical apostolate and in education.

The massive adobe church with its imposing bell tower dates from around 1700 and has gone through many stages of construction and reconstruction, the latest of which was the rebuilding after WWII bombs destroyed most of it. It was offi cially reopened in 1965, but is now called the Parish of the Epiphany of Our Lord, as there is no mention of three kings in the Bible.

Lourdes de Guzman, my guide for the visit to Pangasinan Province, grew up in Lingayen. She knew many Columbans who worked in the parish of her hometown. She wanted me to put on record some of the achievements of the Columbans in the province and also parishioners’ memories of the Columbans. The last Columbans to work in Lingayen left in 1981, so I did not expect to fi nd many whose memories went back beyond that date.

We drove into the church courtyard, and the fi rst person Lourdes met was Salud Puzon, now 88 years of age, who has been active in the parish since 1939. She told

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Last Man In and Last Man OutA Contented and Lively Missionary Priest

By Fr. Peter Woodruff

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me how she was fi rst introduced to the Sodality of Our Lady by the Columban Sisters when she was in high school. The Sisters also asked her to teach catechism to the primary school children. In 1943 the parish priest brought the Legion of Mary to Lingayen; it was the fi rst presidium in the Philippines outside Manila. The Legion fl ourished for many years, with numerous groups of adults and youth. Now there is only one group of elderly members. However, Salud is undaunted. She told me that the basic ecclesial communities now do much the same work as the Legion used to do. For her, the bases continue to be covered despite all the changes she has seen.

She and her friends told me about parish social outreach initiatives. In 1947 the parish primary and secondary school was established, and in 1960 college level education was added. It is now called St. Columbans Academy. The Lingayen Catholic Credit Cooperative was founded in 1964 and was declared the most outstanding cooperative (nationwide) in 2001 by the Cooperative Development Authority. It now has signifi cant fi nancial assets and over 8,000 members. In 1971 a parish clinic was started for the indigent, but since the local state hospital opened a few years ago the clinic does little more than hand out free or low cost medicine to the poor.

Natividad Crisostomo, a companion of many years of Salud in the parish community, was also active in religious and social issues. She told me of her work as a teacher at St. Columbans Academy where she met her husband, Fernando. She showed me

her house built of local hardwood over 100 years ago, long before the days of air conditioning; her pride and joy is a shrine to the Sacred Heart in the sitting room of her home. Fernando died 17 years ago and had been active in the parish community. He donated land to the Columban bishop, Harry Byrne, for a building to be used for the apostolate to the Aetas, the indigenous peoples who lived in the nearby hills of Zambales Province, Fernando’s home territory.

If I could meet two such people coincidentally in the space of an hour, I am sure there are many more I did not meet, others who might have told me more about how the Columbans of years past helped them form a vibrant parish community that gave witness to the Gospel in a variety of ways. Nor did I meet the many parishioners of other parishes in Pangasinan that were subsequently staffed by Columbans. Lourdes took me to where Columbans worked in six other towns along the road from Lingayen south west to Zambales Province – Domalandan, Labrador, Sual, Dasol, Eguia Dasol and Infanta.

One Columban continues in Labrador, one of the poorer

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parishes of the province, and we met briefl y as I was whisked from place to place. Fr. Jim Sheehy, despite being over 80 years old, continues to lead a busy parish. He had no advance warning of our visit as we did not have his phone number, nor did I know we were heading his way until the morning we went. Being Palm Sunday, Fr. Jim had been busy about many things since 6:30 a.m. Then he had a house blessing, and later a family came looking for a baptism, and after that a parish group was getting their act together to go camping, and then Lourdes and I arrived with two friends plus a driver.

Fr. Jim insisted we stay for lunch, and showed us the church, especially the Stations of the Cross that had been renewed by a parishioner who had recently returned from a visit to the U.S. They begin with the Last Supper and end with the Resurrection. He talked about the parish cooperative and other projects that are helping neighbors use their talents productively and so improve the family income.

As Fr. Jim continues his work, alone, I know I met a contented and lively missionary priest in the Labrador parish house on Palm Sunday 2010. He is the last Columban to be appointed to Pangasinan Province and will be the last man out.

Fr. Peter Woodruff lives and works in Australia.

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Fr. Jim SheehyFr. Jim Sheehy


My main contribution to our mission in China is facilitating overseas

study for priests, Sisters and laity from both the underground and the patriotic Catholic Church. I feel that in my present role in China I am more a missionary now than I have ever been in my 37 years as a Columban priest.

I was ordained on Easter Sunday 1973 and appointed to South Korea in August. At that time all the Christian churches were attracting lots of new members because the churches were standing up for those who were being harassed by the government, in particular the industrial laborers. I was there for four years: two years in language school and two years of parish work. We were kept very busy with programs helping catechumens understand and appreciate the Catholic faith, a variety of catechetical programs

for Catholics, sacramental ministry and plenty of opportunities to be involved with parishioners. Most of our contact with parishioners was related to the Church. The language was difficult, but we had every opportunity to practice and plenty of people willing to help us.

After four years in Korea I was asked to go to Taiwan and spent seventeen years there, from 1979 to 1996. I found it a totally different scene, where there was little interest in the Church. There were large numbers of Catholics on the books, but not many people

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Becoming More MissionaryThe Life of a Witness

byFr.gerryneylon

came to church. Many had come into the Church during the 1950s and 1960s when relief goods were distributed through the parishes. Once the goods stopped most of these so-called “rice Christians” ceased coming to church. On weekends we would have only 70 to 80 worshippers at Mass, so there was no way we could approach the mission as we had been doing in Korea. Another factor that affected Mass attendance was the work pattern of many parishioners. They did not, quite simply, have time to go to church. They often worked two jobs, one during the day and one at night, and had just two consecutive days off each month!

In these circumstances we had to ask ourselves how we might be relevant to the lives of those around us. After much discussion with parishioners and the local people, another Columban priest and I opened centers for the mentally impaired children in our parishes. Taiwanese society generally looks down on these children. They feel that they are useless, and many are kept at home because their

families do not want the neighbors to see them. Without other options available, some children are sent to a huge, state-funded institution where conditions are often horrific, where many are locked up in cages like animals. Lay missionaries from the U.S. with expertise in special

“We had to ask ourselves how we might be relevant to the lives

of those around us. After much discussion with parishioners and

the local people, another Columban priest and I opened centers

for the mentally impaired children in our parishes.”



Frs.GerryNeylonandDanTroy Fr.GerryNeylonwithAITECEteachersRachelandDavidWinton

education came to work with us. They insisted on one teacher for each five children and emphasized helping the children to help themselves, so that they might be as independent as possible. The centers are still going strong, and the children’s progress and well-being are wonderful to behold.

This work made sense to me, but I was also challenged in other ways. On one occasion, while traveling on a train, a fellow passenger asked me, “Is your wife also American?” I replied, “I’m from Ireland, and I don’t have a wife.” He continued, “You’re not married? You know, we Chinese all marry.” I said, “I’m a Catholic priest, and Catholic priests don’t marry.” He was totally taken aback at this. Noting his reaction, I said, “What do you think of this?” He said, “I think you’re very selfish.” So I said, “Why is that?” He said, “We Chinese all marry because it’s our duty to produce grandchildren for our parents. You’re not doing that. You’re only thinking of yourself.” It was pretty clear that the value that

I, and Catholics generally, put on celibacy meant nothing to him.

However, my fellow passenger’s comments had a big impact on me and suggested a need to be more in touch with his way of thinking and the values of non-Christians in Taiwan. In Korea I had been immersed in doing obviously priestly work in a busy church, but in Taiwan they were not buying that.

My missionary journey in Taiwan came to an end when, in 1996, I received a phone call from the Columban leader asking me to go to China. Columban Fr. Ned Kelly, a fluent Chinese speaker, had died in 1994. He had spent the previous

“I am convinced that it is at the level of witness that we

[as missionaries] can make the most impact. I can facilitate,

but I cannot instruct people in the faith. However, I can show

others what my faith means to me, and they can decide whether

or not to take the next step.”

ten years researching possible openings for Columbans working in post-Mao China. The other Columbans who were in China at the time primarily taught English in Chinese universities as an effective form to witnessing to Jesus Christ in a country where non-Chinese are not allowed to be involved in religious activities.

By 1996, my emphasis had moved from parish work to outreach to mentally impaired children. The idea of moving to China did not sit well with me. I didn’t see the need for it. How could teaching English compare with working with children who were shunned and ignored at


with the dead and dying arriving at the hospital that she could not contact her mother. After work, she returned home to find her house destroyed and then began frantically searching the area for her mother. To her great joy she found her mother alive but pinned under a boulder. They talked for a while, and then her mother died suddenly. The daughter was totally distraught and inconsolable. She had no religion of any kind. She was a convinced materialist. For her, her mother was dead and that was the end.

A few weeks after that, in the course of my work, I was asked to see this woman. I talked to her but, because I am not allowed to be involved in any form of proselytizing, I spoke to her about my own belief in the afterlife and what it meant to me when my mother died. I was able then to introduce her to the local Chinese priest. She is now taking instruction in the Catholic faith with him.

I am convinced that it is at the level of witness that we can make the most impact. I can facilitate, but I cannot instruct people in the faith. However, I can show others what my faith means to me, and they can decide whether or not to take the next step.

In fact, I have come to believe that witness by the way I live is the the most effective form of evangelization. I take very seriously the advice of St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times – if necessary use words.”

Fr. Gerry Neylon lives and works in China.


home or shut away in some large institution?

After much soul searching and discussion about my particular role I came to China with the intention of doing more or less what Fr. Ned had been doing. I arrived a month after the British handed over Hong Kong to the Chinese on July 1, 1997. In both Korea and Taiwan I had been free to do as I wanted, finding my way along with other missionaries as best we could. In China, as non-Chinese, we are restricted in many ways. My training as a priest and my experience of working with special needs children could not be used directly in China. Most of the props of my Irish cultural background, my seminary

training and my experience as a missionary in Korea and Taiwan were effectively removed in my new situation.

My new mission forced me to put all my emphasis on witnessing to Jesus Christ by the very way I live my life as a Christian. There is no shortage of opportunity to do that in a country that attaches no importance to religion. My being in China is about forming relationships, interacting with the people here in as deep and profound a way as I can, and letting them see for themselves what a Christian is. My mission obliges me to adopt a low profile. I cannot talk about my Christianity, but I can witness to it as I relate to others. I would like to include a short story to illustrate this point.

On May 12, 2008, there was a massive earthquake in Sichuan

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Fr.GerryNeyloncelebratesMass.

“Preach the Gospel at all times

— if necessary use words.”

—St. Francis of Assisi

Province which killed almost 90,000 people. It happened at 2:28 p.m. in the middle of a school day. Many local schools collapsed and thousands of children died in the ruins of poorly built school buildings. Because of the one-child policy, this meant the end of the line for many couples, which translates into unimaginable desolation for Chinese people.

A doctor was working her shift in a local hospital when the earthquake hit. She lived alone with her mother and wondered all afternoon what might have happened to her. She was so busy



Here in Peru things tend to happen at the last minute. This means that many of

those wanting to celebrate their First Communion (or confirmation) may not yet have been baptized. In the weeks leading up to the end of November, each of the priests is kept busy during the weekends celebrating group baptisms. I remember spending one Saturday visiting four chapels to celebrate baptisms with groups consisting of four to ten children, then racing off to our main church to celebrate 38 baptisms. Meanwhile the other priests were also visiting communities.

When these baptisms are more or less finished, the people come looking to celebrate confession (reconciliation). Now we have to work out how to visit each community to celebrate reconciliation with a total of about 600 children with their parents, 100 teens for First Communion with their parents, and a further 400 teens for confirmation along with their sponsors and parents. I won’t go into too much detail, but we don’t ask each person to confess each of their 300 sins!

When the baptisms and confessions slow down to just a few, it is time to revisit the communities to celebrate the First Communions and confirmations. Just like every other church in the world, these celebrations fill the chapels with

lots of moms and dads, aunties, excitement, flowers, cameras and mobile phones! There is a strong tradition of taking a photo of the celebrant with each person who has celebrated their sacrament (and their family if they are quick enough). This year our bishop is joining us for some of the excitement in a couple of chapels.

While the leadership groups need to oversee these celebrations within their communities, they also have to encourage the people to attend a general meeting of their own community to elect the coordinators, treasurers and secretaries for next year. It is a difficult task for our people who often lack confidence and are not at all keen to accept community responsibilities.

In another week will begin two intensive weeks of chocolotadas. These are massive, outdoor spur- of-the-moment celebrations for children. They are run by groups of students from established schools or pastoral groups from various places organizing a fun morning or afternoon which might offer games, prizes and presents and distributing the famous Peruvian paneton, a sweet, fluffy bread cake made with dried fruits. Also, everyone receives a sweet, lukewarm chocolate milk drink. The kids absolutely love these celebrations. Because I work in the poorer areas of our parish, we receive quite a few of these visits—

generally with one day’s notice. At times I need to participate to give the group a little more importance and acknowledge the donations of the visitors.

While all of this is happening I’m working with a group of our young adults organizing a four week parish based summer course of theology, scripture, sociology and catechetical methodology. About 200 young leaders and adults will attend the course which runs five nights a week. Why didn’t we organize the course six months ago? Because we are in Peru. No one has any doubt it will be ready in time, but it is pressure I could do without!

Fr. Joe Ruys is a Columban Associate priest working in Lima, Peru.

Things Happen at the Last MinuteYet All Is Finished on Time

by Fr. Joe ruys

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A Tale of Two RobinsonsAn Inspiring Modern-Day Castaway

byFr.Johnboles

Most people have heard of Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe, the

fictional autobiography of a man stranded for years on a deserted tropical island. It is believed that the story was perhaps influenced by a real person and a real island.

In 1704 a Scottish seaman named Alexander Selkirk argued with the captain of his ship, the “Cinque Ports,” and asked to be set ashore at the next landfall. The next landfall happened to be the uninhabited island of Masatierra, some 450 miles off the coast of what is now Chile. For over four years he survived in isolation, catching wild goats and ascending each morning to a vantage point (still called Mirador de Selkirk, or “Selkirk’s Lookout”) to search for ships. He was finally rescued by Captain Woodes Rogers in the British privateer the “Duke and Duchess.” Defoe read Woodes Rogers’s account of the episode, and Selkirk became his character, Robinson Crusoe.

Some years earlier, another sailor on an English ship was inadvertently left behind on the same island after a skirmish with the Spanish navy. The man was a Nicaraguan Indian known as Will the Miskito. Will spent from 1681 to 1684 on Masatierra before his rescue. Defoe went on to immortalize him as “Man Friday.”

Interestingly, it would seem that the Nicaraguan was far more adept at wilderness living than the Scotsman. However, in his fiction, the euro-centric Defoe turned the tables, and had Robinson giving Man Friday lessons in island survival.

By the time Chile gained independence from Spain, the novel was famous around the world. Eventually, the new regime decided to re-name the island after the book, and so Masatierra became Isla Robinson Crusoe or Robinson Crusoe Island.

The island really is a paradise and hardly warrants the adjective desert. The volcanic peaks that thrust 3,000 feet out of the Pacific are covered in lush rainforest. The jungle is full of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. In fact, the area has been declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. There is just one village, San Juan Bautista, which has a population of less than 700 with nearly all of the inhabitants from the Chilean mainland. And there is only one source of livelihood – lobsters. The lobster grounds around the island are amongst the richest on earth.

There is a parish church on the island but no resident priest. The Chilean Church occasionally sends out priests for short pastoral visits, and I recently offered myself for

the task. With so little contact with the outside world, I expected to find the faith virtually absent. However, I hadn’t reckoned on the passion of a modern day castaway, a remarkable individual by the name of Jorge Palomino.

Jorge is a mainland Chilean, a devoted Catholic layman who, in 1973, found himself studying theology in Santiago. That was the year of a brutal military coup by the infamous General Augusto Pinochet, and like many liberal-minded young people, Jorge had to make himself scarce. He took refuge on Robinson Crusoe Island, intending to stay “for a few months.”

Instantly, he fell in love with the place. He also fell in love with one of its female inhabitants, and soon was married with three children. He took a job as the island’s postman. But, he began to increasingly worry at the lack of pastoral care of the islanders. Remembering his earlier theological studies, he volunteered as a catechist. Soon, he was running weekly liturgies and sacramental programs. He began to undertake house-to-house visitations and pushed the bishop on the continent into restoring the neglected and derelict church.

More than 35 years have passed, and Jorge is still there. He is still the postman and the primary

Fr.JohnBoleswithJorgePalomino



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catechist. He is the bishop’s right-hand man on the island. Thanks to an ingenuity and tenacity that any Robinson Crusoe would be proud of, the Catholic Church is fl ourishing on this dot in the Pacifi c.

Jorge was my host when I went to Robinson Crusoe Island. It is a lovely experience, wandering round with him as guide. Everyone greets him. Virtually all of the married

couples have been married by him. All those with the sacraments have been prepared by him. Everyone has had their loved ones’ funerals celebrated by him. He is Mr. Catholic Church on Robinson Crusoe Island.

On Sunday morning after Mass, I hiked a track originally beaten by the luckless Selkirk, past the site of the lair he huddled in for four years, up to the breathtaking viewpoint

that bears his name. From the lookout I was able to see the whole island, from one end to the other. I looked down on the lone village of San Juan Bautista with its tiny church roof, and smiled at the legacies left by these two very different Robinsons.

Fr. John Boles is the rector of the Columban seminary in Santiago, Chile.

Robinson Crusoe Island as seen from Selkirk’s Lookout

San Juan Bautista parish on Robinson Crusoe Island

San Juan Bautista village on Robinson Crusoe Island

San Juan Bautista village church, old & new sections

Robinson Crusoe Island



byFr.barrycairns

I am a blessings priest! I use the ritual with its numerous liturgical blessings and find it a

powerful form of mission.As I write this, I have just

come from blessing an expectant mother. After receiving the blessing she said, using a special Japanese simile, “My fears have evaporated like the morning dew. My tension and aloneness have gone. I feel confidant.” And this first-time expectant mother really meant it. Her eyes just lit up. It is a beautiful blessing. It starts with a prayer expressing how this mother is sharing in God’s own creation. The short Gospel reading is from Mark 10:13-16. Jesus blesses each child and mother. The prayers emphasize joy and trust.

In Japan on November 15, there is a traditional blessing of children aged 7, 5 and 3. In the country,

parents take their children to their local Shinto shrine. But urbanized and Christian Japanese have no such shrine. We give the children and their parents a blessing at the church. I would usually have about 250 children, plus their parents (95% non-Christians) from the local kindergartens. I urge the parents to seek God’s help in raising their children in our present unsettled society. To the children, my message is this: “Say thank you from your heart – to God – and to your mom and dad. They do so much for you. Thank you is the most beautiful word in the language.”

I have noticed the great influence that blessings have on people’s hearts. God enters into their daily lives. In talks, in the catechumenate, and in sermons we can tell people that our God is

close and cares for each one of us, but often it is not until a blessing is received at a time of crisis for a particular purpose that realization comes. Yes, I can rely on my God. Yes, the Church is relevant in my daily life.

Blessings have been part of Church life for a long, long time. They are mentioned in the third century Apostolic Tradition by Hippolytus. One, called in Latin Itinerarium (Going on a Journey) became popular in the sixth century when monks, such as St. Columban, were setting out on dangerous missionary journeys. I recently blessed a young student who was going overseas to attend a meeting on behalf of her university. Kaori-san had never been on a plane before nor had she ever left the country. She had never traveled alone even within Japan. The

Sacramentals – A Form of MissionA Sacred Time


be contradicted. Give her hope O Lord.” The document from Rome, The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Baptism (January 19, 2007), is a great help here. Prior to the release of the document from Rome, I just gave the sorrowing mother my own opinion on the limitless expanse of Abba’s tender loving kindness. Now Heaven for unbaptized babies is official!

I have found it is important to give time and care to these blessings. A perfunctory set of words is disastrous. This time is sacred for the person receiving the blessing. God is showing His personal love for this person in this particular circumstance.

I have found that blessings touch people. They feel that the gentle Jesus comes directly into their ordinary everyday lives. He really does walk the road of life with them. Through blessings Jesus says in a living voice that reaches the ears of the heart, “Fear not! I am with you.” That surely is the Good News. That is mission!

Fr. Barry Cairns lives and works in Japan.


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blessing had an amazing effect. Fear was replaced by trust in God. She looked forward to the experience. The Scripture reading used is from Genesis 28:21. Jacob sets out on a journey and promises, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey of mine till I return home, the Lord shall be my God.”

When I was pastor in the southern village of Sakitsu, the Catholic communities were all connected with fishing. Near my home town in Island Bay, New Zealand, our bishop used to bless the Italian fishing fleet every year. So in Sakitsu I held the annual blessing of boats. What a festival they made of it! All the boats were festooned with a mass of colorful flags. I remember as I went across from boat to boat each man lifted the hatch cover to allow the holy water to fall directly onto the small but vital diesel engine. The Gospel was the storm on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus calls from the fog, “Fear not, it is I,” and then creates a calm sea. The final prayer is beautiful: May Jesus lead you always to a safe harbor and to the final harbor which is Heaven.

I bless the ground before work starts at a building site. Here there is much scattering of blessed salt. There is another blessing when the roof beam is raised, and finally another when the family moves into their new home. During this blessing, a medal is put over the front entrance. I emphasize the blessing of the family altar which is very much a part of Japanese households following the Buddhist tradition. I pray with the family before the altar and urge them to keep praying before it as a family.

I also bless cars and motor bikes. Here the blessing emphasizes safe driving and road courtesy as a practical way to love one’s neighbor. Driving with thoughtfulness for others is part of living a Christian life.

And there is a blessing for the saddest of occasions when a mother loses a baby through a miscarriage, a stillbirth or sudden infant death syndrome. This blessing embraces the distraught mother with gentleness, using words like, “Comfort this woman in the emptiness which gnaws within her. God’s love seems to


14 June/July 2011 WWW.COLUMBAN.ORG

It seems as though youth worldwide can be reticent, perhaps even reluctant, to

take the initiative when it comes to organizing and participating in Church activities. However, this hasn’t been my experience in Lima, Peru, where I have worked as a missionary for the last four years.

Every year the youth in the parish of Our Lord of Peace in El Pacifi co—the suburb on the

northern side of Lima named after the mighty Pacifi c Ocean that laps the coast nearby—have been the leading protagonists in organizing and running the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) on Good Friday during Holy Week.

The youth, between 16 and 26 years old, either belong to the parish youth group called the Community of Parish Youth (COPAJU), or they are among the 200-300 young people who prepare for the Sacrament of Confi rmation annually in the parish which began life as a fl edgling Columban mission 30 years ago. While the adults participate and join in the Stations

The Way of the Cross

Youth Lead the Journey

By Fr. George Hogarty

of the Cross, these two groups of youth supply the inspiration and organization for this very colorful Good Friday procession. Generally there is no lack of talent and enthusiasm for the task at hand.

During Lent, cloth, leather and wood are purchased with the meager funds these youth groups have at their disposal. Then they set to work laboriously sewing the life-like Roman and Jewish costumes and fashioning the weapons of antiquity the actors will wear and use on the day. On week nights, the youth gather to rehearse scripts and scenes for the Via Crucis. They commit the lines taken from the Scriptures to memory, the idea being to produce as real a presentation of Jesus’ last traumatic hours as possible. Despite the fact that all of the actors are amateurs, nothing is left to chance. The young man portraying Jesus has to be genuinely capable of expressing the pain Jesus would have felt while being strong enough to carry a moderately heavy replica of the cross. The Roman soldiers are usually selected from the burlier of the males, and the girls representing Mary, Veronica and the Jewish women who accompanied Jesus to the cross


neighborhood they laid a welcome sign at the entrance to their street with the words Cristo vive—Christ lives.

What motivates the youth of El Pacifi co parish to participate so enthusiastically in and make the Via Crucis their own? I believe they identify Jesus’ fi nal sufferings with their own struggle in life. In a seminar held on education in the Columban Mission Education Center in Lima, one young man said that even though poor families who come from areas like El Pacifi co make great sacrifi ces to educate their children, the doors to better employment are often closed to them because of racism and class distinctions. This leads us to the question, if we avoid suffering will we ever experience the resurrection? Perhaps the message for all of us is that we truly have to embrace suffering if we are to understand life and be able to live it to the fullest. The youth’s acceptance of the Via Crucis is a a sign of their own willingness to embrace suffering as the way to a new life.

Fr. George G. Hogarty (pictured below) lives and works in Peru.

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wail and lament as Jesus passes by on his three kilometer walk to the site where he will be “crucifi ed.” The Roman soldiers usually are determined to give the women actors plenty to cry about, leaving Jesus covered in red welts from the lashings applied by lightweight dye- covered leather whips. During the years I participated in our parish Via Crucis, as many as 2,000 people might accompany the procession in any one year. The adults would stop while our youthful actors would re-enact the last tragic scenes of Jesus’ life then follow on with a more formal prayer commemorating each station.

The biggest challenge for me and many of the adults was always the fi nal kilometer which passed through a very poor neighborhood called Pope John Paul II and was perched on a narrow, rocky ridge. We followed this with a steep ascent to the top of the 300 meter high Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) hill after processing two kilometers along Angelica Gamarra Avenue. Some of the parishioners joked that I wouldn’t make it to the summit and should quit while I was ahead. This only made me more determined to reach the summit. One year I thought I was doing well

as I slowly plodded up the pathway leading to the top only to see fi ve young men run up the hill carrying the cross over their heads in order to prepare for the Fourteenth Station before the crowds arrived. On the summit, our Jesus was duly strapped to the cross and elevated to represent the fi nal but glorious suffering of the crucifi ed Christ.

In 2009 we had to cancel the climb to the summit of Holy Cross hill because the one and only rocky street that passes through the tiny suburb of John Paul II had been dug up to lay long overdue water and sewage pipes which made it impossible to pass through. We were forced to cancel the ascent to the summit for fear the older folks and children might fall and disappear down the trenches. Of course, the inhabitants of the little village of John Paul II were mortifi ed and resolved to have the road fi xed for the following year. Despite all their efforts however, the hill-dwelling community only managed to patch up the gaping holes in their main street just days before the next Good Friday Via Crucis because of the often slow pace of completing public works. They were so grateful to see the procession return to their



“Fijian girls are lucky when they marry Banaban men, because they don’t have to do any work outside in the hot sun. They only do housework. But when a Banaban girl marries a Fijian man, she has to fish, plant crops and gather firewood as well as attending to the housework.” Lucien, a Banaban woman, went on to explain to the surprise of the visiting Fijian teenagers that in the Banaban culture a man, once married, leaves his family to live in the woman’s place. “He is expected to be a good provider, not just for his wife and children, but also for his wife’s parents,” she said.

This sharing on culture took place on Rabi Island while a team from Labasa parish held an evangelization camp with Catholic Banaban youths during the December holidays. Six young Fijians, two Peruvian lay missionaries and I traveled seven hours by bus from Labasa to Napuka and then 45 minutes by boat to Rabi. The 5,000 inhabitants of Rabi Island are Banabans who were moved there from the phosphate rich Ocean Island by British colonials at the end of 1945.

WelcomeMy experience of a Banaban

welcome came as a shock. A married woman washed my feet in a basin of water, and a young unmarried woman wiped my feet dry with her long black hair. One of the ladies then garlanded me with a

lei of flowers and placed a wreath of flowers on my head.

Our Banaban hosts looked after us well. A catechist and his wife cooked for us during our five day stay. Fish and root crops were plentiful. Our hosts killed a pig for us on the last day. The lay missionaries and I were lucky to have a bed or mattress at night. Our Fijian youths had no difficulty, however, in curling up on a mat and sleeping soundly.

InteractionPrior to the trip, the lay

missionaries had prepared the resource materials. Our group of young women and young men were familiar with the sessions they were going to facilitate. They divided into two teams. Each morning our senior team explained the Lumko seven step method of Bible sharing to the out-

LaymissionaryJudithCondor(farright)inadiscussionwithhersmallgroup

Banabans, a People Between Two WorldsInterest Replaces IgnorancebyFr.FrankHoare

of-school Banaban youths. They also facilitated sessions to explore personal identity. Our junior team explored creatively the work of God, Jesus and the Spirit with secondary school students who had recently received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bible study and group sharing were interspersed with songs and ice-breakers which had shouts of laughter resounding around the compound.

We gathered for hymn practice in the mid-afternoon. Then we were free to swim in the sea or explore the island. Each evening I said Mass and facilitated a discussion on culture.

We had one anxious situation to deal with. One of the girls on the team developed severe chest pains one night. There was no transport to take her to the clinic. I phoned the doctor who sent medicine after hearing of her symptoms. A local woman stayed with her, and we contacted her mother in Labasa. After a couple of hours the pain subsided. It turned out to be a bad case of indigestion rather than a heart condition!

ResultsThe timing of our camp for the

beginning of the summer holidays


was not the best. Some Banaban students had gone to Suva to perform their traditional dancing. Many youths were training for the annual sports day on December 15. Others were relaxing at the end of the school year.

However, the participants’ enthusiasm compensated for the disappointing numbers, and they received their certifi cates proudly at the fi nal Mass. One youth from Rabi asked how he could join the evangelization team. Others made plans to give echo seminars to the islanders when they would gather again to celebrate the New Year. The young people, the hosts and the visitors, enjoyed getting to know each other and dancing and drinking yaqona, the traditional drink of celebrations in Fiji. The festivities went on throughout the fi nal night of our stay.

Our team was quiet on the return journey. They slept fi tfully as the bus rattled over the potholes in the unpaved road. Some parents and parishioners welcomed us back to Labasa with yaqona, tea and cake at the rectory. They listened proudly as their children described the highlights of the camp.

We journeyed to Rabi Island to share the good news of God’s love for us. In return we learned a little about the Banaban people, their history and culture. Interest replaced ignorance. In the future, when we meet Banaban people in Labasa or Suva, we will meet and greet them differently.

Fr. Frank Hoare lives and works in Fiji.


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A Brief History of Banaba (Ocean Island) The island of Banaba began as an underwater peak in the middle of

the Pacifi c Ocean. Polyps built a coral base on it in shallow sea water. When the island appeared above sea level, bird-droppings laid down over the centuries formed a 40 foot deep guano covering. The guano changed into phosphate when the island went underwater. Thrust above sea level again, seeds of different trees and plants were dropped on the island by passing birds. Eventually the 1,500 acre island stood 300 feet high near the equator, between Nauru and the Kilibati group. It had tons of the purest natural phosphate fertilizer in the world.

The island was settled by migrants from South East Asia. Banabans were expert sailors and fi shermen. Drought and isolation were their main problems. Albert Ellis discovered the phosphate in 1900. For almost 80 years the British Phosphate Commission mined the phosphate making enormous profi t while destroying the island.

The Japanese occupied the island for three years during World War II and used the island people as forced labor in other places. After the war, the British decided to buy Rabi Island in Fiji with Banaban money from royalties. They resettled most of the Banaban people there on December 15, 1945. About 300 Banabans still live on the 150 acres of fertile coastal land left on Ocean Island. The interior is a moonscape of impassable, jagged limestone.

The Rabi Island Council of Elders took a legal case in 1976 to the British High Court against the British Phosphate Company and the British Government. The judge ordered the company to pay substantial damages and found the British Government morally, though not legally, negligent. Because of an outcry by ordinary British people after viewing a television program on Ocean Island, the British Government offered an ex gratia payment of $10.75 million dollars in mid-1977.

The Rabi Island Council of Elders in Fiji runs the affairs of Ocean Island. Two Banabans are elected to the parliament of Kilibati, to which Ocean Island now belongs politically. Banabans in Fiji also have a vote in Fiji elections.

TheLabasaevangelizationteamreadytogoonRabiIsland


I still remember seeing a young man in strange clothes outside our church at home in Ireland

one Sunday morning when I was seven or eight years old. At home after Mass I heard my parents and some neighbors saying that he was a G.I. either on his way to, or coming home from, Korea. Korea? Where was Korea? A war? Little did I think at the time that I would end up in Korea as a Columban missionary priest 20 years later. It is by the grace of God that I am still here in a country divided by that war. I never met that G.I. again. I don’t even know his name, but in my years here in Korea I’ve seen fi rsthand the aftereffects of that war and met and worked with people and heard many stories of people who suffered and lost so much. Through the years, I have heard of miraculous and brave escapes from the North to the South that are not contained in any books.

For the past year, I’ve been saying a morning Mass at a retirement home of the Little Servants of the Holy Family nearby

our Columban House in Seoul. At breakfast one morning as I was chatting with a group of the elderly Sisters, I found out that one of the Sisters had come from North Korea during the Korean War years, sometime between 1950 and 1953. I asked her to share some of her life story with me one morning. Three and a half hours later, she was still relating the fascinating and miraculous event of her escape and her subsequent life in the South. In this short article I can only share some highlights of her life that she shared with me in my interview.

Fr. Sean: Tell me about your family and early life in North Korea.

Sr. Dominica: I was born in Hamkyoung Province in 1931, 80 years ago this year. I lived with my parents until I came to the South. I had an older brother who had already come South, an older sister and two older sisters who died when they were young. Life was hard at that time. In 1950 I was already in my fourth year of medical school. I had received

a scholarship to attend as the communist government at the time supported both male and female students to study in the third level. I was still an exception as a female at our school.

Fr. Sean: How were you able to escape?

Sr. Dominica: It’s a long and sad story. In the autumn of 1950 the U.N. and South Korean soldiers pushed the North Korean army back up deep into North Korea. A battalion of South Korean soldiers camped in our village. They protected us and educated us about democracy and real life in the South. A bell would ring a few times a day to call us to class. One evening in early December as I was having a meal with family and some neighbors, the bell rang. I grabbed my coat, slipped into my rubber shoes and ran to the assembly point. The young South Korean soldiers were loading all the students on to their trucks and shouting urgently to keep moving. None of us knew what was happening; we followed orders, and the trucks moved out. I left


Sr. Maria Dominica A Role Model for Us All

by Fr. Sean conneely

Sr.MariaDominicaandFr.SeanConneely

Sr. Maria Dominica A Role Model for Us All

by Fr. Sean conneely



home unprepared. I never got to see my parents, family, friends and neighbors again. We traveled by night for 21 days, hiding by day, with the soldiers who cared for us and fed us until we reached a seaport where a big U.S. ship was waiting to take us to the South. We found out later the reason for the emergency was that the Chinese Army was coming from the north in droves, overrunning every place in front of them.

Fr. Sean: It must have been a great feeling to get on the U.S. ship.

Sr. Dominica: Yes and no. Along the way to the ship we saw thousands of people killed on the roadside and other people jumping in front of trucks to get a ride and being run over and killed. Even getting on the boat was a scene of pushing and scrambling, people being pushed off the side, women dropping their babies when they could not hold the weight anymore, and all the crying, wailing, cursing and swearing that goes on in a mob riot. The memory and echo of it is still alive in my head. Of course there were people helping each other too, and I was lucky to get in with a soldier’s wife with three children. We protected each other

on the ship until we reached Koje Island, south of Pusan.

Fr. Sean: What was it like for you on Koje Island?

Sr. Dominica: It was confusion, miserable and full of fear, sorrow and mistrust. I lived under suspicion because I was a medical student. The guards in the camp looked on me as a spy or a North Korean agent and of course there were many like that that came down too. I had left home with only my coat and luckily my student identification card and the clothes on my back. I remember walking by the sea one day feeling so miserable and lonely that walking into the sea to end it all seemed attractive. It was then that I remembered some of the Catholic prayers and doctrine I learned as a child from a nurse in the hospital when I was sick. I went in search of a church and by chance there was an out-station little chapel on the island, and people were gathered to pray. After the service I met an old couple who invited me to stay with them. I stayed with them for two and a half months. We lived on sweet potatoes and barley rice, but I was never hungry, thank God. During this time I decided to look

for my brother who was in Seoul. I put an advertisement in the paper and after some weeks I couldn’t believe my luck when he turned up. We embraced each other and cried and talked all night. He was a policeman and had moved to Pusan. He was able to pay for my lodgings and bought me some new clothes. It was a great feeling to have a change of clothes after so many months. I had been always close to my brother. At home as a child he often got me books, even doctrine books, although I was not a Catholic at the time. Until he died last year at the age of 91, he always cared for me and sent money and gifts to the convent for me.

Fr. Sean: When did you become a Catholic?

Sr. Dominica: After moving to Pusan with my brother and his wife, I got a part time job in a pharmacy and later in the hospital with the Benedictine Sisters. While I was working there, I got baptized.

Fr. Sean: And the vocation to be a Sister?

Sr. Dominica: A long story. Many people at that time who had lost their families so suddenly, had seen the horrors of war, experienced death, pain, sorrow and shock, had many mixed thoughts and feelings. Some days, I wished I had died; some days I wanted to hide away or become a Buddhist nun. I decided to check out religious orders. I wanted a small community where I could pray, reflect and work with the poor and sick. In the end I chose the Little Servants of the Holy Family that had been founded by a French priest in Korea only seven or eight years earlier.

Fr. Sean: Did you continue your studies to become a doctor?

Sr. Dominica: Oh, no. The order wanted me to be a doctor, but I chose to be a nurse in order to be closer to the sick. As the

WarMemorialinTapgolPark,Seoul,SouthKorea



left. To imagine my parents being buried alive fi lls me with anger and hatred for the communist regime. I will never forgive them. (She cried in pain and sorrow. We spent some time discussing forgiveness and the mercy of God and God’s forgiveness.)

The life and work of Sr. Maria Dominica has helped me to refl ect on my own life as well as hers. I can see that we foreign missionaries were not the only missionaries in South Korea. God has brought us both together to be part of the new mosaic that is the present very vibrant Korean state and Church. His glory has shone forth in a very special way in the thousands of North Koreans who came South, sacrifi ced so much in the rebuilding of both the state and Church in Korea. They fl ed in the darkness of the night, crossed their own “Red Sea” of mountain ranges and rivers to freedom. But what many did not expect was that in the desert wilderness of the post-Korean War they would meet a God of mercy, love and compassion who brought healing to their wounds and became their father and mother and led them to a new and bigger family than they ever had. Of course He didn’t take away all their pain, but He gave meaning to it and it became the fi rm foundation of their future life. As a missionary in South Korea, I am strengthened and challenged by the life and work of the many North Koreans who survived the war and have lived the fullness of life again, their Hwangap, which is the 60 year cycle of life in the South. What a privilege, grace, and honor to live and work among such people, a miracle of God in the land of a Great War.

Fr. Sean Conneely lives and works in Seoul, South Korea.

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Sr. Dominica: Pain, deep sorrow, regrets but I prayed and still do for my parents. Over the years, in the Korean custom of fi lial piety, I offered up the sacrifi ce of the Mass on New Year’s Day and the autumn full moon (Chusuk) for them. I look at the northern sky and pray. I look at the stars and moon as my parents protecting me all my life and pray for them and thank them. If I don’t see the full moon, especially in the fall, I feel sad and lonely but still bow in reverence towards the north.

Fr. Sean: Did you ever hear from your parents over the years?

Sr. Dominica: No. The only story we heard was from a Korean from the U.S. some years back who visited our village. From the stories he heard, after the war the communist regime gathered all the families in the area whose children escaped to the South and killed them all. Some of the people were buried alive. Some of the others became communists in order to survive and protect their families. The communists also destroyed the village, and there are no houses

years went by, I also helped develop two hospitals in the community and held other positions in administration. Look at me now, 80 years old. All I can do is pray and be a burden to others…(laughing and her bright eyes full of joy and sorrow).

Fr. Sean: Losing your family, your home, such trauma....What has kept you going and given you energy all those years?

Sr. Dominica: It was all in God’s will. It is by His providence that I’m alive when so many died. I have prayed in gratitude day and night all my life. When I was young with all the poverty and sickness in the North, I always wanted to care for the sick. That was my dream, and I got to fulfi ll it through God’s grace.

Fr. Sean: You never got home, never saw your parents again. What was that like?

Throughyourgenerosity,theColumbanFathershavefulfilledGod’scommandto“Goandteachallnations.”YourgiftcangoevenfurtherifyouremployerhasaMatchingGiftProgram.PleasecontactyourpayrollorHumanResourcesrepresentativetofindoutmore.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontactusat:

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Sr. Dominica:sorrow, regrets but I prayed and still do for my parents. Over the years, in the Korean custom of fi lial piety, I offered up the sacrifi ce of the Mass on New Year’s Day and the autumn full moon (them. I look at the northern sky years went by, I also helped develop

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By Fr. Arturo Aguilar

From the Director

environmental hardships that reflect daily living in Myanmar.

In March 2009, the residents of Na Seng village in Myanmar were forced to relocate to another village by the military. In order to comply, the villagers left everything – food, clothing, shelter, animals – behind them as they moved to a new area, an area where they knew no one and had no means of supporting their families.

Under the leadership of Fr. Noel Naw Lat and the assistance of Karuna Myitkyina Social Services, the Columban Fathers provided immediate emergency assistance to the displaced families. Huts quickly were built to house the families and, although small, provide shelter. Rice, oil, salt, medicine, mosquito nets, blankets, kitchen materials and farming tools were distributed to the families to help them set up their homes in the new village. In addition, we purchased fifteen piglets and distributed them to the families. Each family received one bag of pig feed and half a bag of rice to begin feeding piglets. To help the children at their new school, we provided uniforms, slippers and umbrellas to thirty children. We were able to bring in two health care workers from the Karuna Health sector to provide medical care to the families.

The emergency assistance to the villagers serves as tangible proof of our ongoing work in Myanmar and reminds us that our mission is always God’s mission. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons that I have learned over the years is that God’s will is revealed most fully when we are communion with another. While Myanmar is just one example, Columbans and the people we serve are united in faith and love, facing the challenges of the future. Outward signs of inward grace abound.

In 1978, pressure from the government forced the Columban Fathers to leave Myanmar (Burma). It was a heart breaking decision for

them, and Bishop John J. Howe, having worked in Myanmar for 36 years and served as their bishop since 1960, wrote the following:

Through Baptism, the Eucharist, the Sacraments and prayer, we brought forth and formed our people to a new life and made them into a new people, a people of God. We made them a new people in the material sense too, through educating them, training them in hygiene, teaching them to appreciate the value of their customs and culture, and through the many other influences for better living that flowed from the faith we handed on to them.

Now as we leave them to take care of their church themselves; their strength lies, I believe, in that faith-informed community spirit and life. United in faith and love they can face the challenges and difficulties of the future. Perhaps the best

tribute one could pay the Columbans for what they have accomplished here over the past 40 years is to say that they have built a real community united in faith and love.

Bishop Howe was correct about the community united in faith and love. When Columbans returned to Myanmar, we found that the seeds planted years before had continued to flourish despite the political, physical, spiritual, economic and

Perhaps one of the greatest

lessons that I have learned over

the years is that God’s will is

revealed most fully when we

are communion with another.

Outward Signs of Inward Grace

In May, we bid a fond farewell to Sr. Jeanne Janssen, CSJ, as she retired from Columban Mission magazine and returned to her community. Sr. Jeanne’s valuable work on behalf of Columban Mission and the Society was much appreciated, and we wish her well as she begins a new missionary journey. We are pleased to announce that Kate Kenny has taken on the role of editor after three years as managing editor.


Columban Fathers

Po box 10st. Columbans, ne 68056

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COLUMBANFATHERS

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 MortonNational Vocation Director

Columban FathersSt. Columbans, NE 68056

877/299-1920Email: [email protected]

If you are interested in becoming a Columban Sister,

write or call…

Sr. Grace De LeonNational Vocation Director

Columban Sisters2500 S. Freemont Avenue #E

Alhambra, CA 91803626/458-1869

Japan + Korea + Peru + Hong Kong + Philippines + Pakistan + Chile + Fiji + Taiwan + North America

An Invitation Calls for a Response

We are but clay, formed and fashioned by the hand of God.

That is to say, we are weak and vulnerable but with God’s grace we are capable of great generosity and idealism.

Is God calling you to spread the good news? To a life of ministry among those who are less fortunate and more vulnerable than you are?

For more information, please contact the Mission Education Office

Columban FathersSt. Columbans, NE 68056

Phone: (877) 299-1920 Website: columban.org/missioned

• Explore Catholic Social Teachings related to migrants, immigrants and refugees.

• Examine attitudes and ways of thinking about migration.

• Identify ways of responding to the needs of people pushed to the margins of society in light of their own baptismal commitment.

Migration: One Human Family

A New Adult Formation Program


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