Saturday, November 25, 2006

Coming up roses


I just returned from a short vacation with my Mum. We were in Chiang Mai for five days, four of which were spent with Auntie S. who flew up from Bangkok to see Mum. Auntie S. (AS for short) and Mum had not seen each other for about 20 years and it was time for catching up and reminiscing, filled with laughter and serendipitous fellowship.

They had met because their husbands met as Rotarians in the 70s and bonded. It's uncanny how alike their husbands and domestic situations were, and are. Both are now widows and have found a new lease on life. Their marriages were not easy, by any standard, and would have dissolved in present times for not many women today would put up with what they did. It takes women of rare courage and perseverance, women of faith, to remain true to their marriage vows in spite of all the heartaches and indignities they had to suffer.

I salute both my Mum and AS for sticking it out all the way, especially because both of them were capable women who could've fended for themselves quite easily. So staying put was a choice they each made through the turbulent seas of marriage.

I see the hand of God in their lives then, and especially now. Despite "having gone to hell and back many times" (as AS's daughter S. put it), they remain active, life-giving, cheerful and content with whatever each day brings. Women of age, gracious and wise, radiating with inner beauty. Women who give thanks for the fruit they gather in their lives, while they themselves are rare blooms appreciated by those who know them.

Chiang Mai is known as the "Rose of the North". Nestled in the cool, verdant Himalayan foothills, the city is alive with a rich heritage infused with a pot pourri of hill tribe cultures. The ancient Lanna capital is also the site of the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006, a world-class, three-month long horticultural exposition that commemorates the diamond jubilee of His Majesty’s ascension to the throne. Not only was Bhu Ping Palace, the royal winter residence, abloom with roses, but the grounds of the expo were a glorious profusion of flora and fauna. It was an apt meeting place for old friends to come together and swap life stories over bowls of delicious khao soi*, mango sticky rice and excellent local coffee.

The ability to appreciate the fleeting fragrance of life's roses while discounting the thorns is one I hope to emulate. This vacation was not just a colourful cultural or horticultural experience, but one that was an affirmation of womanhood.

* a Northern Thai specialty of noodles served in a spicy curry gravy

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Saints alive

For the month of November, the W2W Ministry celebrated the communion of saints by studying the lives of three modern-day saints: Dorothy Day, Edith Stein and Satako Kitahara. What struck me most about these three women who came from very different circumstances and diverse backgrounds was the way they lived out their faith, the fiat of Mother Mary, in their lives: "Be it done unto me according to Thy will". These women inspire strength and are role models for young women, and men, the world over.

Dorothy Day was a social activist who was born in Brooklyn in 1897 and championed the rights of women and workers in the early 1900s. A successful writer, Day founded the Catholic Worker movement that addressed the social issues of the homeless, the marginalized and the disenfranchised; setting up houses that welcomed those in need of a meal and a place to sleep. She worked tirelessly for civil rights and peace well into her 70s and was last jailed at age 75 for protesting. Day died penniless for everything she made went towards, in her own words, "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable".

Edith Stein was an intellectual, born a Jew, in Breslau in 1891. In her search for the truth, she realized the importance of faith in God which culminated in her conversion to Catholicism, a move influenced by her reflections on the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. A well respected lecturer and author in academic circles, she entered the Carmelite convent in Cologne in her 40s. There she continued to write and translate many great spiritual works. Dr. Stein lived the way of the cross and went to her death in the Auschwitz gas chambers, together with her sister Rose, in 1942. "Whatever happens, I am prepared for everything. Jesus is also here with us."

Satoko Kitahara was born into a wealthy Japanese family in 1929. While visiting a friend in Yokohama in 1948, she entered a church and felt drawn to the love of Christ through the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes she saw there. She became a Catholic and through a Franciscan brother, was introduced to the community of bataya (ragpickers) who lived in Ants Town, a settlement of previously homeless people. Kitahara foreswore her life of comfort and lived among this community, “There was only one way to help those ragpicker children: become a ragpicker like them!" She developed tuberculosis and died at the age of 29 in Ants Town.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Where there is darkness

I recently started on my next phase of work with ACCS – to interpret the mission of Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools in Singapore in today’s context. Out of the huge bag of reading material Sr. Julia passed me, I pulled out a book on the life of Mother St. Mathilde, the foundress of the Missions of the Holy Infant Jesus Sisters in Asia.

The book Where There is Darkness by P. Jenkins, SJ. is an easy-to-read, little book that spoke volumes to me and touched my heart deeply. I was awed by the humble, courageous and loving women and men described in the book, who gave their lives for Christ, in totality.

There are books one reads for pure entertainment, or for an appreciation of the written word. And then there are books that can change your life for they inspire the human spirit, and one is never quite the same again for the message within has opened doors to realms previously unexplored. This book is one of the latter variety. While it is not particularly well-written prose, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, as was Justine Raclot, better known as Mother St. Mathilde.

Tracing the emergence of a shy, French girl into a capable and selfless woman with a wry sense of humour, the book chronicles the missionary journey undertaken by Mother Mathilde from France to Southeast Asia and Japan. Modelling herself on St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Mathilde and her companions brought hope and love into the lives of the marginalized and disadvantaged, converting the hearts of many, not by preaching the Gospel, but by living out Gospel values.

Mother Mathilde remained undaunted by the many setbacks she encountered and the hardships endured in her forty odd years in Asia. Her actions were dictated only by the authority of Jesus and she was a loving, wise leader who inspired those who surrounded her. Her life is a testament to the Father and she was a bright light that dispelled the darkness wherever she went.

I only hope I am able to translate the message of the lives of Mother Mathilde and the IJ sisters and help inspire the minds of current and future IJ students when the project is done.