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Sainthood for one who suffered in solidarity

18 Oct 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days," it is said of the "Suffering Servant" in this Sunday's reading from the Book of Isaiah. Father Damien of Moloka'i, a Belgian-born priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, was elevated to sainthood Sunday for his ministry in Hawaii to those with Hansen's disease, otherwise known as leprosy. Saint Damien himself contracted and died from the disease in 1884 at the age of 49. After being sent to Hawaii as a missionary, Damien volunteered to minister to those who, under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine, had been banished to Kalaupapa, a settlement on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. He worked there for 16 years, sitting by the bedsides of the sickest, hearing their confessions, washing their bodies, and bandaging their wounds. People began calling for his elevation to sainthood shortly after his death. Damien, said Pope Benedict XVI during the ceremony, "not without fear and repugnance," chose to go to Molokai and risked his health to serve the patients "who were there, abandoned by all," and went on to feel "at home with them." For centuries leprosy was one of the most feared diseases, although doctors have since learned it is not easily transmitted and can be cured with antibiotics. Damien's image, vividly showing leprosy lesions on his face, was draped from the basilica's façade during Sunday's celebration. Included as well among those added to the church's roll of saints was French nun Jeanne Jugan, who helped the elderly, including some abandoned by their families. Jugan, also known as Marie de la Croix, was "an authentic Mother Teresa ahead of her time," Vatican Radio said. Her Little Sisters of the Poor order of nuns today runs homes for older people worldwide. She died in 1879. A Polish bishop and two Spaniards were also canonized. Source: Articles by Rose Ybarra for Catholic News Service, Frances D'Emilio for the Associated Press, United Press International, Wikipedia.org, and HonoluluAdvertiser.com

Saints hawaii kalaupapa joseph de veuster hansens disease sainthood molokai father damien leprosy canonization missionaries
Disheartening news from the heart of Texas

13 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s first reading the prophet reminds the people that they can choose between “life and death, good and evil,” but that God does not command anyone to act unjustly nor gives anyone “license to sin.” The recent fatal shooting of a Texas missionary on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border has reinforced the impression that the region is falling into the hands of drug runners, thieves, and others those who feel they have license to kill. Evangelical missionary Nancy Davis, who had worked in Mexico for decades, was shot in the back of the head by gunmen in a pickup truck who had pursued her and her husband for miles near the border. For decades the Davis' have run a charity--the nondenominational Gospel Proclaimers Missionary Association in Weslaco, Texas--that raised money to build churches, hold revivals, and distribute Bibles in poor Mexican villages, mostly in the states bordering Texas. The couple generally drove an older model car while in Mexico to avoid attracting carjackers, but that vehicle had been in the shop so they took their 2008 Chevrolet pickup truck. The police in Pharr say they think that choice made them a target, but police chief Ruben Villescos said the motive for the attack remained a mystery. The number of U.S. citizens killed in the border region has increased in recent years. The heaviest toll is in the El Paso area, where many U.S. residents cross the border regularly to conduct business or visit family in Mexico. Officials with both governments are quick to point out that the great majority of Mexico remains safe for foreign travelers and tourists. Source: An article by James C. McKinley, Jr. for the New York Times

mexico missionaries us-mexico border shootings nancy davis
Missionaries risk illness to heal

17 Aug 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul reminds us in the reading from the Letter to the Romans that “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” Dr. Kent Brantly, the missionary who is being treated for Ebola at Emory University Hospital in Georgia, released a statement about his condition and work in Africa, suggesting that he felt a strong call from God to continue his work. Brantly, with Samaritan’s Purse, and Nancy Writebol, with Service in Mission, are medical missionaries who were infected with Ebola while working with patients in Liberia. Brantly wrote in his statement that “one thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places. When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. “I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror firsthand, and I can still remember every face and name,” wrote Brantly. As he recovers, Brantly says his focus “remains the same—to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God’s call on our lives in these new circumstances.”Homily hint: Mission work sometimes gets a bad rap, as a colonial import imposed on native societies. But when trained medical specialists like Brandt and Writebol risk their lives to bring healing to those who suffer in faraway lands, they represent not colonialism but the universal gospel of selfless love. Let us pray for goodhearted missionaries everywhere, of every faith. Source: An article by Sarah Pullian Bailey for Religion News Service

missionaries ebola
Long overdue justice for Guatemalan victims

10 Jan 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The first reading from Isaiah 42 promises that the servant of the Lord “shall bring forth justice to the nations.” Guatemala on Wednesday brought 14 ex-military officials to justice for forced disappearances and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest period of its 36-year civil war. Over the past decade, the Central American country has begun prosecuting crimes from its civil war past, including massacres of women and children. Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war pitted a succession of right-wing governments against leftist insurgents and led to nearly a quarter-million deaths. A U.N.-backed truth commission said the armed forces carried out more than 80 percent of human rights abuses during the conflict. Homily hint: Catholic churches and missionaries were in the front lines as witnesses to the terrible violence of the Guatemalan conflict. Many lay and religious missionaries and church workers lost their lives serving and defending the poor and marginalized during the long years of war. The church of the poor inspired and formed the values of our current pope, born and bred in Latin America. Be equally inspired, and pray for those who work and risk their lives for justice. For more on the Guatemalan justice effort, see: Guatemala arrests 14 former officials for war-era crimes

Peace Justice guatemala missionaries
Homily stories

27 May 2012 - Solemnity of Pentecost, Cycle B

IN THE EARLY days of the Pentecostal movement, a few of its missionaries went to foreign countries fully expecting to receive the gift of instant fluency in native tongues, just as the disciples at the original Christian Pentecost did. Needless to say they quickly realized they would have to learn the language just like everyone else. While one can credit them for their faith, zeal, and even courage, their story reflects what can happen because of an over-literal reading of scripture. Pentecost is one of those events that’s prone to too-easy interpretations. The preacher’s well-worn fallback line, “it’s the birthday of the church,” is an example. But if you leave the cake at the door, you’ll see the solemnity offers a rich description of how to be church and do mission. Where to start? Trust Jesus. Jesus said he would send his Spirit, and he did. What to do? Cultivate the many gifts of the community in ways that begin and end with the common good. Let the Spirit be your guide: live according to it, not to the self-centeredness, “the flesh.” And don’t forget to forgive—that’s as sure a sign of the Spirit as any.

Authors Joel Schorn

Pentecost Holy Spirit mission missionaries

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Exploring the word

22 Oct 2017 - Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

It’s not about words. I say this with humility as a professional bearer of words. The gospel doesn’t come to us in word alone, Paul declares—and he too is a primary dealer in words, written and proclaimed. Pope Benedict expresses it frankly: The Gospel is a Person. This means the church doesn’t exist to promote an ideology, worship style, ethical system, or membership in a club. The church exists to introduce the world to a very significant Person. This Person can save your life. Our gospel claims that he’s the only one who can. Today is World Mission Sunday—a title that may suggest it’s time to sit back and tune out. Missionary work, after all, isn’t about us. It’s about rare characters running around in jungles spooning out rice and saying Mass in straw huts. But Pope Francis says the church is “missionary by nature.” We’re that church. Which means you and I are missionaries to the core. The pope offers three questions that are at the heart of our Christian identity. As believers, what’s the basis of our mission? What’s at the center of our life as church? What fundamental approaches assist us in carrying out our mission? Being Pope, Francis also supplies answers for our reflection. The basis of our mission is Transformation. We become church to be transformed by our relationship to Jesus. In turn, we set out to transform the world with this same vital encounter. If the mission is transformation, how does the church foster this? Three ways: in its worship, in the encouragement to a Spirit-filled life, and in preaching the gospel passionately and creatively. Remember, the gospel’s a Person, not a creed or theology. We preach Jesus therefore by way of sacraments, acts of service, and sacrifices of our resources. We introduce the world to Jesus by doing what Jesus did and still does—through us. What about that final question: How do we approach our mission? Pope Francis insists it’s not about force-feeding the world our ideology or ethical teaching. Jesus isn’t Aristotle, and he isn’t Moses. Jesus is the first great evangelizer, the bearer of good news. Which makes our goal to evangelize and to act: to bring good news and then to demonstrate how good it really is. This mission puts all of us in constant Exodus mode, according to the pope. We can’t hunker down into our comfort zones and relax. Missionaries are apostles: They’re sent, which means primarily they move. The church isn’t an end in itself, as our restless young people have been telling us by refusing to park in the pews. The Gospel is a Person, and he’s already down the road ahead of us. Related scripture links Faithful remnant: 2 Kings 19:4; Isa. 10:20-21; 11:11-16; 28:5; 37:4; Jer. 23:3; Amos 5:15; Mic. 2:12; 4:7; 5:6-7; Zech. 8:6-13; Zeph. 2:7-9; 3:12-20 Kingdom within: Luke 17:20-21 Opening the gates to the king of glory: Pss. 24:7-10; 118:19-20 Catechism links God acts in history: CCC 302-308 Earthly kingdoms: CCC 2234-2246

Authors Alice Camille

world mission sunday missionaries the gospel is a person

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