In the Hands of the Master Baker
I’ve been working in the parish of Christ the King in Ba, which is located in the western part of Fiji, for more than a year now. Near where I live is St. Theresa’s Primary school which has a statue of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
New Language
Living with a host family was a blessing for me. I lived with the family of Maria Rene Covarrubias Arze in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She is a widow who lives with her two daughters and three grandsons.
My "STABLE" Experience in the Sacred Heart Community
My name is Iowane Naio, and I am from Fiji. I joined the Columban Formation Program in 2014, and I studied for two and a half years in the Pacific Regional Seminary in Fiji before moving to the Philippines in 2016 to continue my theological studies.
Inspiring People
Getting to know the people in this community of Rancho Anapra Corpus Christi Parish, Juarez City, México, was my number one priority when I arrived here after learning Spanish. I visited families and got involved in parish activities such as catechism class and prayer groups.
Hope for a Brighter Future
Casa del Migrante (Migrant House) is one of the shelters in ciudad Juárez, Mexico, under the management of the diocese.
A Home for the Sacred Heart of Jesus
During a recent visit to Peru, Maritza Upiachiwa and her husband Jorge Sanchez invited me to celebrate Sunday Mass for the community of the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Chuquitanta in Huandoy parish on the north side of Lima.
Fire!
The phone woke me from a deep sleep. I turned on the light. The clock read 2:35 a.m., and the caller was Saiyun, a church leader in DaGuan village. Her mother is elderly and in poor health. I thought something had happened to her mother, and I answered the call.
The Dream of the Amazon
Even before the Pope convoked the Synod on the Amazon in 2019, and issued his dramatic exhortation, Columban missionaries in South America have been eagerly engaged in campaigns to support the local Church, and to protect the ecology and peoples of the Amazon against injustice and exploitation.
Going on Mission
In February 2020 some eighteen priests and Sisters participated in the Mission Education Program for Korean missionaries going overseas at our Center House in Seoul. It was directed by Columban Fr. Thomas Nam Seungwon and the staff at our Mission Center in Seoul.
Keeping Ancient Traditions Alive
In the Gospel of Matthew 13:52 Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven as being like a householder who brings forth treasures new and old from his storeroom.
Thankfulness, Gratefulness, Praise
A while ago I was feeling discouraged and someone reminded me that “a hundred-yard dash is not over at the 99th yard.” In other words, “don’t give up too early.” It was good advice. Now we all find ourselves heading into the last few weeks of 2020, but we should not just resign ourselves to coasting till the end of the year. Turning this strange year into a successful year means discovering the Lord’s will in the circumstances we find ourselves in each day.
Earlier this year one of my friends quipped that “the most useless purchase he ever made was a 2020 planner.” Indeed, the “at a glance planning calendar” on the wall in my office is full of crossed out commitments and dotted all over with appointments that never happened. It tells quite a story. Who could even have imagined on the first of January that we were headed for a shut-down of so much of the economy and of so many aspects of our personal lives? Who would have
Wisdom of Heart
During my vacation back home in Ireland, much of my time is spent visiting family members, neighbors and friends in the countryside.
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.