Today Fr. Damien of Molokai was canonized, making him a saint. I so wanted to be in Hawaii to celebrate the occasion (anything to be in 'Ha-va-ii') but it proved to be just a dream.
I think I will have to convince my college buds to plan for our next reunion to be in Molokai, seeing as it's one island I have not visited. Then I can visit where Fr. Damien lived and died.
If you google Fr. Damien, you will find that there was controversy surrounding Fr. Damien for he was probably not everyone's idea of a priest.
"A coarse, dirty man, head-strong and bigoted," is a written description of Fr. Damien in a letter by a Presbyterian pastor.
It would indeed take a man of strong character to decide to live permanently among lepers and bring order and a semblance of society to a place over-run by lawlessness and despair.
"A saint is one who doesn't put themselves at the center, but rather chooses to go against the grain and live according to the Gospel," said Pope Benedict XVI at the canonization mass of Fr. Damien and four other saints.
Fr. Damien began his ministry of embracing and serving lepers of Molokai in 1873 and remained there until his death in 1889 after having contracted leprosy in the preceding four years on the island.
He not only gave the people hope, but forged a community while taking care of the practicalities of life: tending the sick, building houses and digging graves.
He also worked tirelessly to ensure this outcast community was not forgotten by mainstream society.
Pope Benedict XVI remarked of St. Damien: "Not without fear and repugnance, he chose to go to the Island of Molokai to serve the lepers who were there, abandoned by all; thus he exposed himself to the disease they suffered from. He felt at home with them."
"The Servant of the Word thus became a suffering servant, a leper with lepers, during the last four years of his life."
"We recall, faced with this noble figure, that charity makes unity," Benedict XVI continued. "It gives birth to it and makes it desirable. In following St. Paul, St. Damien leads us to choose the good battle, not those that lead to division, but those that gather together.
"He invites us to open our eyes to the lepers that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and today still calls, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our serving presence."*
It is real people like St. Damien who inspire us to live as better people. As Pope John Paul II said during the beatification homily of Fr. Damien in 1995:
"Holiness is not perfection according to human criteria; it is not reserved for a small number of exceptional persons. It is for everyone; it is the Lord who brings us to holiness, when we are willing to collaborate in the salvation of the world for the glory of God, despite our sin and our sometimes rebellious temperament."**
St. Damien, help us be holy as you were, and bring comfort to many.
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