Call to sainthood

Saint Damien of Molokai is known as the leper priest and he was the first priest to volunteer to minister to the lepers who were sent to live in quarantine on the island of Moloka'i.

The then Father Damien arrived in Kalaupapa on May 10, 1873 and stayed, bringing order and hope to the lepers abandoned there to fend for themselves until he himself contracted leprosy and died at the age of 49 in 1889.

At the time, not many people understood leprosy or Hansen's disease and going there was a death sentence for leprosy was thought to be highly contagious and incurable. No one got to leave.

Father Damien is a saint that speaks to me for several reasons. First, he was not the one chosen to go to Hawaii. But because his biological brother who was already an ordained priest fell ill, Brother Damien asked to take his place and his petition was granted.

He arrived in Honolulu in 1864 from Belgium at age 24 and two months later, was ordained on May 21 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. It was clear that this was the land God had called him to carry out his mission.

Father Damien was tough, both mentally and physically, and was unafraid of hard work. He not only visited and administered to the sick, but lay pipes for water, rebuilt damaged huts, dug roads and graves, and built coffins. He also helped establish social and moral order in a society that was lawless and degenerate. He loved the rejected and unwanted, and was loved in return.

Far from perfect, Father Damien was stubborn, forceful and opinionated. His superiors and confreres found him difficult to work with. Yet when he contracted leprosy himself, he refused to rest but redoubled his efforts in community projects such as building homes and orphanages.

I am thrilled I got to celebrate his feast day and touch his relic in the Cathedral where he was ordained this past Saturday. When a Christian friend implied she did not quite understand why we Catholics made such a big deal of saints for we are all called to be saints, I replied I am glad I had the communion of saints to draw inspiration from, to emulate and to call upon to intercede.

Saints help me see possibilities when I am myopic. Saints encourage me to walk with single-minded focus (on God alone), even when confused and surrounded by darkness. Saints move me to develop my own unique charisms and spirituality.

And saints like Saint Damien tell me I can be the flawed personality I am and still bring our Creator pleasure by seeking to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength in the lepers of today. Even in hellish circumstances, one can invoke heaven on this earth.

There will be sacrifices to be made, and the costs will be high, but with the help of my saintly brothers and sisters, those who have gone before me, all things are possible, even my bid for holiness and sainthood.

Saint Damien, pray for me.