Below are stories from past issues of Columban Mission magazine. The Columban Fathers publish Columban Mission magazine eight times a year. Subscriptions are available for just $15 per year. Sign up to receive our next issue. Read more about Columban Mission magazine.
I want to tell you about my friend David. Mind you, he prefers to be called Princess. He is known as the “Princess of Paradise.” Since I arrived on the Gold Coast (Australia) a little over two years ago, I usually rise before 5 a.m. and go for a walk along the beach.
"As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near, I have fought the good race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me, the crown of the righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return.
On my first day of prison visitation, Ate (big sister) Sally accompanied me to Stanley prison where she gave me an introduction to the process from initial registration at the gate to visiting the inmates on the inside.
Then a young priest, I was appointed in 1975 to the islands of Kadavu, Fiji, which is about 60 miles from the capital of Suva. Over the years, Kadavu had not been well served. There were not enough priests, and so parishioners were visited only once in a while.
Situated close to the center of Birmingham, United Kingdom, Fatima House is operated by the Birmingham Archdiocese and the Columban Fathers and offers shelter for women asylum seekers.
It was a great privilege to have had the opportunity to visit Myanmar (formerly Burma) this year. As a Columban missionary it is a country that has always fascinated me.
In her autobiography, St. Therese tells of a dream she had about a year before her death. At the time she was in a dark place, a storm was raging very strongly in her soul with no relief at all.
I have been trying to track down the source of this quotation: “The first prerequisite for education is a willingness to sacrifice your prejudice on the altar of your spiritual growth.”
One of the many joys of being a Columban lay missionary is the joy of entering into a new culture and sharing my faith and experience with the people, while at the same time learning so much more from them in return.
Let us begin with a story: Equally qualified, Carmen and Diane both sought employment with the same local company. Both prayed to God for help, and the company granted both women interviews.
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.