ST. DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI
1 Samuel, Chapter
28, Verse 20
Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, in great fear because of Samuel’s message. He had
no strength left, since he had eaten nothing all that day and night.
Christ is the strength of the weak and the humble and
the confidence of those who trust in him. Christ says to us, “My sheep hear my voice,
says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me. (Jn. 10:27) Saul was in
great fear because the spirit of God had long ago left him, and he no longer
heard the voice of God. In desperation now that Samuel had died was to have the
witch of Endor act as a medium to conjure up the spirit of Samuel to help save
him from the Philistines. Saul broke his own laws by seeking the aid of a
sorcerer. The Israelites were a Holy people and Saul could not understand the Ends never justify the means. No, we
must be calm and listen to the voice of he that was the epitome of fairness and
justice that took upon Himself our sins to the cross and thus bearing our guilt
to make us a Holy people.
Joseph De Veuster, the future Father Damien, was
born at Tremelo in Belgium, January 3rd, 1840. His was a large family and his
father was a farmer-merchant. When his oldest brother entered the Congregation
of the Sacred Hearts (called 'Picpus' after the street in Paris where its
Generalate was located), his father planned that Joseph should take charge of
the family business. Joseph, however, decided to become a religious. At the
beginning of 1859 he entered the novitiate at Louvain, in the same house as his
brother. There he took the name of Damien. In 1863, his brother who was to
leave for the mission in the Hawaiian Islands, became ill. Since preparations
for the voyage had already been made, Damien obtained permission from the
Superior General to take his brother's place. He arrived in Honolulu on March
19th, 1864, where he was ordained to the priesthood the following May 21st. He
immediately devoted himself, body and soul, to the difficult service of a
"country missionary" on the island of Hawaii, the largest in the
Hawaiian group. At that time, the Hawaiian Government decided on a very harsh
measure aimed at stopping the spread of "leprosy," the deportation to
the neighboring island of Molokai, of all those infected by what was thought to
be an incurable disease. The entire mission was concerned about the abandoned
"lepers" and the Bishop, Louis Maigret ss.cc., spoke to the priests
about the problem. He did not want to send anyone "in the name of
obedience," because he knew that such an order meant certain death. Four Brothers
volunteered, they would take turns visiting and assisting the
"lepers" in their distress. Damien was the first to leave on May
10th, 1873. At his own request and that of the lepers, he remained definitively
on Molokai. He brought hope to this hell of despair. He became a source of
consolation and encouragement for the lepers, their pastor, the doctor of their
souls and of their bodies, without any distinction of race or religion. He gave
a voice to the voiceless, he built a community where the joy of being together
and openness to the love of God gave people new reasons for living.
After Father Damien contracted the disease in 1885,
he was able to identify completely with them: "We lepers." Father
Damien was, above all, a witness of the love of God for His people. He got his
strength from the Eucharist: "lt is at the foot of the altar that we find
the strength we need in our isolation..." It is there that he found for
himself and for others the support and the encouragement, the consolation and
the hope, he could, with a deep faith, communicate to the lepers. All that made
him "the happiest missionary in the world," a servant of God, and a
servant of humanity. Having contracted "leprosy" himself, Fr. Damien
died on April 15th, 1889, having served sixteen years among the lepers. His
mortal remains were transferred in 1936 to Belgium where he was interred in the
crypt of the church of the Congregation of Sacred Hearts at Louvain. His fame
spread to the entire world. In 1938 the process for his beatification was
introduced at Malines (Belgium): Pope Paul VI signed the Decree on the
"heroicity of his virtues" on July 7th, 1977. He was canonized on
October 11th, 2009.
In Father Damien, the Church proposes an example to
all those who find sense for their life in the Gospel and who wish to bring the
Good News to the poor of our time.
Things to Do:
Be adventurous and prepare a Hawaiian luau in honor
of St. Damien.
Humble
Confession[2]
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