Past Magazine Stories

The snow outside is tapering off. There is a Christmas concert on public television. Surely it is time for me to reflect as Christmas approaches.

How was it that Columban priest, Fr. Dick Ranaghan, spurred Bing Crosby into making his first record of Silent Night?

There are times when God is near to us and helps us through the day
No matter what the obstacles, the worries, the cares on top of us

There is something about life on an island. The past number of years I’ve been blessed to spend three weeks on an island called Negros Oriental.

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.

The Paris Foreign Mission Society handed over pastoral responsibility for Jeju Island to the Columban Fathers in 1933.

Ever since I returned to Korea, people have asked me, “How old are you?” “Why don’t you dye your gray hair?” whether I’m at the market or waiting at a bus station.

Since childhood I have been fascinated with geography. At times I would build different islands and mountains on the seashore and imagined myself at the top of them.

Thinking back on my life in South Korea, there was the humdrum of daily living along with surprises and the excitement that went with being part of new things happening…

Over the course of nearly 100 years, Columban missionaries have been caught up in major wars and insurrections in the countries where we live and serve.

I call this article “men of the road” because in all my years in Japan, only one woman came to me looking for a handout.

That encounter inspired me to be more with the people with my true self. You don’t have to pretend because people would notice it.