Aung San Suu Kyi |
Nelson Mandela once said: “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” Even with our daily news reminding us of the emerging “Arab Spring,” we can often take our freedom for granted and think that our country was always free. Yet, as we have learned through our own struggles, past and present, freedom needs to be desired and often fought for.
Living as I do with La Salettes from around the world, I am often struck by the struggles that other present-day nations have in approaching freedom. One struggling country is Myanmar, an ancient nation but certainly having its struggles to approach some basic freedoms. From our entry as La Salettes into then known as Burma in 1937, we have been encouraged by the goodness of the Burmese people but eventually suffered with them from Communist governments that eventually threw us out of their country. But more recently, the smallest of signs of emerging freedom may be blossoming.
“A hungry child is humanity-deprived. And orphans are the most helpless
around us. Simple faith allows us to see Christ on the faces of the
hungry.” Frank de Leon, Pres., “And You Gave Me Food”
Hungry child being fed |
We met Sister Eva Marie of the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette, Philippine Province, during our novena last June 18, 2011. She introduced us to her community’s ministries and projects in the Philippines and asked everyone to help them with our prayers, our talents and our financial support. Sister Eva Marie also gave emphasis on the Sisters’ prison ministry, bringing hope to the dismal conditions of the Philippine jails.
According to the Asia and Pacific Prison Forums in Manila, a prison built to hold 800 detainees has more than 5,000. The prison in Quezon City is meant to cater for 815 people, but its population has reached nearly 3,500 inmates. This means each detainee has less than 0.3 square
La Salette window in Sisters’ chapel, Quezon City, Philippines |
meters of space compared to three square meters per detainee stipulated by the United Nations. Detainees die of tuberculosis, chickenpox and other simple diseases that spread rapidly. Many prisoners die before their trial.
In the Philippines, the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette are present in the provinces of Isabela, Bulacan, Cavite, and in Quezon City. Since education and professional training is an important part of their formation, the Sisters engage in various ministries: from teaching to administration, guidance and counseling in schools, from catechetical instruction in parishes to the formation of Basic Christian Communities in the barrios, animating Bible studies and prayer groups.
The giant statue of Cristo Redentor, Christ Redeemer, overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro |
Since the arrival of Fr. Clement Henry Moussier, M.S., to Brazil in 1902, he desired to establish a Shrine in the National Capital of Brazil at the time. It was a dream that was soon to be fulfilled has not been slow to materialize.
Several years ago, Fr. Joe with Maureen Daniels (from St. Louis, MO) on the right, in front of the foundation walls of St. Joseph’s |
“Burma’s revolutionary government has asked a large number of foreign Christian missionaries to leave the country by the end of this year, sources said today. Some 250 Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Ireland will start leaving next month. No reason for the decision was given.
The Catholics were hardest hit, the sources said, with 73 priests, 14 lay brothers and 145 nuns asked to go. Twenty Baptists, including wives and children, and three Anglicans also were involved. The Baptists begin moving out April 2. A spokesman for Catholic groups said the government request did not involve all their missionaries here. Only those who arrived in Burma since 1948 and 84 who were here prior to 1948 were asked to leave.”
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This letter from Fr. John P. O’Reilly. M.S. (1915-1973) was written from St. Paul’s Cathedral in Prome, Burma, and expresses the true missionary attitude we have always noticed in our foreign missionaries. Their devotion to their mission is absolutely clear. (We reestablished our Burmese Mission with our return on Nov. 18, 2005.)
Bp. Donald Pelletier, M.S., (3rd from left) with newly |
Banaue Rice Terraces in Philippines, an amazing feat of human engineering |
Fr. Jeremy Morais, M.S., with children in his parish school of St. Ann’s in Ambatolahy, Madagascar |
Spring flowers on the Holy Mountain in France |