May 1, 2019
Today I escaped from my Hindi studies to visit two veteran French missionaries, Frs. Cocereau and Debois at Naililili mission station. I was impressed by the fine old church despite the green fungus on the walls. I heard that Fr. Debois polled his way in a boat up the aisle to say Mass there during a flood. It is still no bother to him to tramp in his big boots to nearby villages.
April 2, 2019
I’m at the Namata Ashram running a Hindi-speaking lay leaders course. I’ve just had a meeting with a Fijian seminarian. I was supervising him on his cross-cultural pastoral experience a few months ago. He reminded me of the first week he stayed with his Indo-Fijian family. “I haven’t slept all week,” he told me at our meeting at the end of that first week.
April 2, 2019
It all started as a simple idea. I remember Columban Fr. Dom Nolan and Lourdes de Guzman both of Mission Awareness asking us if we would accept some donations for a garage sale. They must have heard that lay missionaries and staff used to have an auction during their Christmas party as a way of raising money for some projects. We were reluctant at first.
April 1, 2019
As he lies in his sick bed, Columban Fr. Frank recalls some of his mission outreach:
March 1, 2019
Four of our Columban seminarians are studying philosophy at the Pacific Regional Seminary (PRS). During our community night one Sunday evening someone asked one of them who was serving the yaqona (local beverage made of roots) what the Fijian for philosophy would be. Being somewhat at a loss he said “talo” (serve the yaqona) and began serving the yaqona. We all laughed and then agreed that “...
March 1, 2019
The personal experience of loss and grief over the death of a loved family member is universal. People tend to remember the lives of those who have recently died. Neighbors, friends and relatives often gather together to be with the family when a cherished member has passed away. The way that this passing is remembered and celebrated differs in various cultures.
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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.