As the family calendar flips from May to June, we are welcomed by the end of the school year and the beginning of summer break…and the height of vacation season.
Happy Summer!
There’s so much anticipation that comes along with the beginning of summer! We long for longer days, more BBQ dinners on the deck, and good old family whiffle-ball games in the back yard. Summer brings joy and wonder!
But I don’t think anything is as highly anticipated during the summer months as much as the family vacation! Young or old, parent or child, the idea of leaving home for new (or old) locales makes the mind wander!
So I couldn’t help but let my mind daydream when a friend of mine told me that his family is embarking on the Family Vacation of all Family Vacations this summer – yes, they’re going to Hawaii!
Now, I’ve never been to Hawaii. I’ve seen pictures and have heard stories – all good of course. In fact, I’ve even seen episodes of HGTV’s Hawaii Life, a television series that follows potential homeowners as they travel the islands as they search for that perfect place to call Home-Sweet-Home. From the looks of the show the islands are amazingly beautiful…pristine beaches, crystal clear waters, and of course leper colonies! Paradise. Perfect Paradise!
(Wait…did he just really say leper colonies!?)
Let me explain…
I have the habit of giving travel advice to my friends when I hear about their upcoming vacations. And my Hawaii-bound friend happens to be my latest victim. As soon as I heard Hawaii, I began searching for great churches and saintly-sites for my friend and his family to explore in between swimming with the dolphins and enjoying Hawaiian pig roasts.
That is how I came across the full story of Saint Damien of Molokai. An extraordinary saint who could teach us a thing or two about Comforting the afflicted
Molokai is one of the lesser-known Hawaiian islands, but counts just as much as the other nine. The natives explain that the island is an authentic glimpse into the genuine beauty and culture that the islands and its people have to offer. Today the island is becoming more and more a part of vacationers’ plans, mainly because of the story of Saint Damien and the lepers of Molokai.
The story goes that in 1866 King Kameahmeha V, the King of the Hawaiian Nation, decided that all individuals who contracted Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy) should be isolated to a small peninsula on the north shore of Molokai Island…for their good and the good of the Hawaiian people.
In case you don’t know much about leprosy or want to learn more, I suggest reading up on it here: http://www.leprosy.org/
Over these 150 years of exile, nearly 8,000 patients succumbed to their leprosy and were ultimately buried on Molokai. Today, all that remains is a National Park, a few remaining lepers (all cured from the illness), and the legacy of Father Damien.
Fr. Damien was born Josef de Veuster in 1840, Belgium. His parents were simple farmers, who saved enough to send their son off to college, hoping for a different life for their child. But as the Holy Spirit so often does in the lives of the saints, young Josef’s life took a dramatic turn. In 1858, while attending a local church mission, Josef encountered a passionate Redemptorist priest which sent his life down an unexpected path! That year Josef entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary (SS.CC.), becoming a Redemptorist himself and taking the name Damien.
A few years later, Brother Damien was sent to Honolulu as a missionary and was officially ordained there at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. He was first assigned to several parishes on the island of Oahu when he began to encounter many of his own parishioners becoming ill with the various diseases being brought to the islands by traveling Europeans , Americans, and other foreign sailors.
Even though many Hawaiians were becoming ill, it was the treatment of those with leprosy that concerned Fr. Damien the most. And when his brother priest fell ill prior to his assignment to care for the lepers could be fulfilled, Fr. Damien volunteered to take his place – knowing that this likely meant death for him.
Fr. Damien landed on the island of Molokai on May 10th, 1873. There the bishop introduced Fr. Damien to the 600 lepers as “one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you.”
Fr. Damien wasted no time helping the lepers build a culture of integrity amongst their sorrow, affliction, and sadness. He started by first erecting the Parish Church of St. Philomena, emphasizing the need for worship and the Eucharist. This gave the lepers of Molokai a reason to live. It was the first domino to fall that set into motion the legacy of love that Fr. Damien brought to his afflicted flock.
Houses, farms, roads, and chapels followed. Fr. Damien restored faith in his battered and neglected flock. He taught them that even though the outside world said they had no value, in the eyes of God, they were precious! And Fr. Damien took these words to heart.
The saintly priest worked and provided comfort for his flock for sixteen years. He dressed their wounds, tended to their sick and dying, and brought them their food. And when they died, he built their coffins and dug their graves. He was often seen standing amongst the graves of his dead parishioners, praying his rosary. He became for them so much more than a priest. He became one of them. He, too, became a leper of Molokai.
Fr. Damien had the opportunity to leave the island of Molokai before contracting Hansen’s disease, but he petitioned his superiors for permission to stay with the lepers. Their consent overjoyed his heart, as he had finally found a place that he longed to be! At the age of 49 years old, Fr. Damien succumbed to the same disease that inflicted his flock on Molokai. He died of the complications of leprosy on April 15, 1889. Fr. Damien’s body was initially buried on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokai, before later being moved to his hometown in Tremolo, Belgium. But in 1995, Fr. Damien’s right hand was returned and enshrined on the island of Molokai…a fitting remembrance of the priest who did so much with his hands and heart to Comfort the Afflicted lepers of Molokai!
Today, only 100 people per day are allowed to tour the Kalaupapa Peninsula once inhabited by St. Damien and the lepers of Molokai. To do so, vacationers must book a tour with Father Damien Tours @ http://www.fatherdamientours.com/ , the only tour company allowed to bring visitors in and out of this historic place of affliction.
As you consider the amazing story of Saint Damien of Molokai, I encourage you to turn to St. Damien in prayer for your own afflictions…
A Prayer to Saint Damien of Molokai
St. Damien, brother on the journey,
Happy and generous missionary,
who loved the Gospel more than your life,
who for love of Jesus left your family,
your homeland, your security, your dreams,
Teach us to give our lives with a joy like yours,
to be in solidarity with the outcasts of the world,
to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist
as the source of our commitment.
Help us to love to the very end
and, in the strength of the Spirit,
to persevere in compassion
for the poor and forgotten
so that we might be good disciples of Jesus and Mary.
Amen.
As we reflect on our Christian call to Comfort the Afflicted, may we each find an example of hope in the love and fellowship that St. Damien of Molokai showed his community of lepers…may we never shy away from the opportunity to stand alongside those who suffer.
May your summer travels be filled with joy and wonder…and may you happen upon the beauty of our Church and its amazing Saints wherever you go – they are there waiting for you to discover them!
Saint Damien…Pray for Us!
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