Born in Belgium and a missionary in Hawaii long before its statehood, Damien de Veuster was also canonized on October 11. Volunteering to live with and minister to those affected by leprosy (Hansen's disease), he eventually died of the disease as well.During a recent pilgrimage to St. Damien's tomb in Louvain, Belgium, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva shared this reflection:
"We all have our Kalaupapas.... We can be critical of those people who chose to isolate people in Kalaupapa. But we have our little ways of isolating. It doesn't take oceans or sea cliffs to isolate people. ... We pass by our brothers and sisters each day and say, 'It's not my problem. It's not my business. I don't have time.' So we don't bother tending to their needs."
St. Damien of Molokai, pray for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment