Once, Columban Fr. Bill Morton was reminiscing with me about his seminary days in the early 1980s. At that time, the most popular theologian in the Western world was Karl…
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The struggle of any missionary is to give effective aid to those who are in need. Yet, it is difficult to determine in what form do we aid others. In the 1990’s when I was…
And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the…
As a minister and pastoral agent of the Church, I am often placed in an awkward position when someone approaches me with a request in which, at least in that given moment…
In today’s world, tensions between race, ethnicity, and culture have increased. There are polarizing movements that seem to fuel more hate than understanding. As…
My first contact with people who professed a non-Christian faith was on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I had done a summer experience and encountered those…
Growing up in a Midwestern middle-class family, I was unaware of the economic realities outside of my world. Obviously, my parents worked hard to put a meal on the table…
Throughout the western world, the growth of women’s and children’s rights has changed much of societal and cultural expectations for both groups. However, some areas still…
My vocational road to missionary priesthood had many invitations, but one of the most important invitations to mission occurred near the end of my first year in the…
In my 20 years of mission in Chile, my family and close friends rarely asked about my daily life in the mission.
As a child, I enjoyed Christmas for the presents. Weeks before Christmas, I would be searching the house looking for where my parents hid the presents. Once found, I would…
“Seek no further concerning God; for those who wish to know the great depth (of God) must first learn about creation.” - St. Columban.
Like other early Irish…
In 2000, upon graduating from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago with my Master’s of Divinity (theological degree for priesthood), I vowed that it was the end of my…
As a child, my image of the faces of mission were predominantly priests who courageously ventured into unknown territories and established parishes, schools, hospitals and…
At the age of 21, I first felt the call to the priesthood. I was bewildered by this seemingly other worldly pull. There was no vision, no voice but just a feeling. It…
One summer, as a seminarian, I was a chaplain in a Level-1 trauma center at Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. Generally, I attended to the emergency room section.…
Often, we missionaries are assigned to areas that are poverty stricken and lack the basic needs that many are accustomed to such as employment, water, food, housing and…
The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead once reminded an audience that the progress made internationally after World War II brought an abrupt end to the colonial era: “…
In the midst of all the busyness that encumbers the days leading up to Christmas there is a desperate need for a moment of silent wonder as we are invited into the mystery…
Thanksgiving, my favorite American holiday, will arrive on November 25 this year.
Recently I came across a list of ten things to be grateful for. At first glance…
Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 was quite close to what people think of now as the high-water mark of the British Empire.
Instead of triumph and bombast and…
As I write this, I just got off the phone with Father Bill Morton. You remember Father Bill. He is the Columban priest whose parish in Juarez, Mexico, abuts the U.S.…
This month’s issue of Columban Mission is put together loosely around the theme of family life.
Have you ever thought about whether you have a philosophy of life? For most people it would probably sound pretentious to say you have one.
Recently Pope Francis said, “Kindness frees us from the cruelty that at times infects human relationships, from the anxiety that prevents us from thinking of others, from…
As we look back at the last year, there probably are few people who would name 2020 as among their favorite years.
In 2013, after twelve years in administrative assignments with the Columban Fathers, I was given the chance to take a sabbatical.
A while ago I was feeling discouraged and someone reminded me that “a hundred-yard dash is not over at the 99th yard.” In other words, “don’t give up too early.” It was…
October with its blue skies and bright leaves is a time for appreciating the beauty of the earth. Appropriately, October 4 is the feast day of St. Francis.
One of Pope Francis’ most famous quotations is that those of us who are priests, we “shepherds,” should have the “smell of the sheep.” What a great, pungent image!
Sometimes a line of poetry or the words of a hymn can stay in our mind for many years. Something in the turn of phrase resonates in our heart.
A good friend of mine, a religious Sister, served on the missions in Ethiopia during a terrible famine there.
Although all Columbans may not agree with me, I think our life as Columbans has three important hallmarks.
Community
Every year in the Catholic Church we have a “World Day of Prayer for the sick” on February 11, which is also the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia is a nation of scintillating beauty, copious resources and a wonderfully diverse population.
I have been trying to track down the source of this quotation: “The first prerequisite for education is a willingness to sacrifice your prejudice on the altar of your…
There used to be a kind of joke going around that said, “As long as there are algebra exams, there will be prayer in the public schools.” Algebra is important, but I think…
What makes a life a success in the grand scheme of things, that is, a success in God’s plan?
People around the globe report increasing levels of stress. Our lives are so busy that day-to-day we feel hurried and harried.
If you are a regular reader of Columban Mission, you are used to seeing Fr. Tom Mulroy's face on this page.
Fr. Peter LiChun Dong is a new face among Columban missionaries. Recently ordained, he is the first Columban priest from mainland China.
It was Christmas Eve night and Fr. Charlie O'Rourke was alone in the rectory in his parish in South Korea when he thought he heard a knock on the back door.
As the Columban Centennial Year draws to a close, and as we prepare to embark on a new century of mission, I am reminded of how the Catholic Church engaged a significant…
As a teenager Ned Galvin enjoyed seeking out adventure with his friends.
When Fr. Sean McDonagh, who taught at the University of Mindanao in the Philippines, joined one of his students on a research project among the T'boli tribe during the…
Life begins at forty! That's what Fr. Tony Coney was about to discover as his plane touched down in Lima.
This year, as Columban missionaries look back on one hundred years of mission, we recall with gratitude our accomplishments in various distant lands.
When the last group of Columban missionaries left Myanmar in 1979, they did so with heavy hearts.
This year, as Columban missionaries celebrate a century of mission, we pause to look back and marvel at the abundance of God's blessings.
Taken from the poem Mission Memories by Columban Fr. John McFadden (1894 – 1978), these lines capture his bittersweet mood as he prepares to celebrate Christmas back home…
In February of this year Fr. Charlie Duster was admitted to the hospital where he was informed a short time later that he was terminally ill.
Though she herself readily admitted that she couldn't sing, Gloria participated in the church choir every Sunday.
In late 1917, Fr. Edward Galvin landed in New York and began a long trek across the country in search of a suitable location for the U.S.
I first encountered Tien in Tokyo. He had traveled there from Australia, while I had come from Ireland.
As a teenager I browsed whatever reading materials were left around my home: Sunday newspapers that my father enjoyed; novels that my older brother and sisters considered…
"What do you know about Ireland?" I asked the third grade class that was excited to have just learnt that I was from there. "St.
Like the air we breathe, water is essential for our life and well-being. The average person here in the U.S. uses 80-100 gallons in a variety of ways throughout each day…
Like the majority of Columban missionaries, it is usual for me to spend the Christmas season far from my family.
A few years ago my priest companion in the Columban international seminary in Chicago, Fr. Leo Distor, and I were invited to join a pilgrimage in the footsteps of St.
He's known as the white ghost! This tall, middle aged man with a fair complexion and salt-and-pepper colored hair, can be seen walking the streets of neglected…
From our earliest days, almost a century ago, Columban missionaries have employed people to assist us in a variety of roles to support our mission.