God our Father,
you will all men and women
to be saved and come to the knowledge of your Truth.
Send workers into your great harvest
that the Gospel may be preached to every creature
and your people,
gathered together by the Word of life
and strengthened by the power of the Sacraments,
may advance in the way of salvation and love.
In 1954 Fr. Edward MacElroy became the last Columban of that era to leave China. His departure from China marked the end of a chapter of Columban history that had begun in 1920 with the arrival of a young, energetic group of missionaries who were committed to sharing the message of Christ with people in this vast land. Fr.
Blessed Virgin who, under the title of Repose,
reminds us of the succoring pity
with which your maternal heart is open to your children,
hear our prayer!
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator, come.
From your bright heavenly throne!
Come, take possession of our souls,
And make them all Your Own!
O guide our minds with your blessed light,
With love our hearts inflame,
And with your strength, which never decays,
Confirm our mortal frame.
It is truly a joy for the Missionary Society of St. Columban to be celebrating our centenary. We give thanks to God and all those who have supported us. For the past 100 years Columban missionaries have participated in God's mission by responding to the voice of the Spirit who speaks to us constantly through the Church and in the changing circumstances of the world.
Dear Father, who answers our prayers,
Help me to be steadfast in my praying to you,
even to stay awake that I may pray!
Fill my life with thanksgiving to you.
O God, I pray for all your servants everywhere
that you may open a door for us to proclaim your Word,
to declare the now-public secret,
Christ crucified, glorified, and coming,
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
our only Savior, the Prince of Peace:
Give us grace seriously to lay to heart
the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions;
take away all hatred and prejudice,
and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord;
that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit,
O United Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
You are all grace,
all mercy, all love.
Let my heart be joined to Yours,
so that my every need is present
in Your United Hearts.
Most especially,
shed Your grace upon my needs
Help me to recognize
and accept Your loving will in my life.
Holy and Sacred Wounds
of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
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? One of the catechists volunteered to take it home and fatten it up for me.
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.
Anger rolled through me
Like a powerful sea-wave,
Drowning the cutting remark
I wanted to make.
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.
We go in the name of the Church to announce, by deed and word, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Missionary Society of St. Columban
1902 N. Calhoun
St. Columbans, NE 68056
Phone: 877-299-1920
Fax: 402-291-4984
email: mission@columban.org
