Meet Mr. Shigeru Kato
I would like to introduce Mr. Dismas Shigeru Kato. He was born 91 years ago in a small fishing village called Kushimoto in Wakayama Province of Japan. In his youth and when drafted into the wartime army he built up a massive debt for alcohol at different bars.
By Fr. Barry Cairns
April 29, 2019
Dealing with Grief and Loss
In my ministry as a priest I have encountered many experiences of grief and loss, and, like any other human being, I have had to deal with these difficult emotions both in myself and in others. Over the past 50 years since my ordination, I have learned a lot in this regard.
By Fr. Joseph Joyce
April 22, 2019
A Woman of Great Faith
Although my mother uttered her first words in the Philippine Ilocano language, we are a Chinese family and along with my brothers and sisters, I was born in Hong Kong.
By Dawn Rosa Chiu
April 15, 2019
Counting Your Blessings
The Higher Education Center [HEC] is for poor but bright young women and men who cannot afford further education after high school. In the beginning, over nine years ago now, we took 30 young people for the three year course to train them as teachers and development workers.
By Fr. Neil Magill
April 9, 2019
An Easter Meal in Chile
The scene is one full of children waiting eagerly for their Easter meal. Noise levels reach a climax. In one corner the little ones are playing a game I do not understand, but in Chile I have grown used to not understanding things.
By Oisĺn Kenny
April 1, 2019
From Microsoft to Mission
In 2010, Kevin Sheerin was working in Dublin for the high profile computer software giant Microsoft, earning a good salary and living a comfortable life. That was the year he decided to do something about a thought which had been niggling away at him – he wanted to have a lay mission experience. Faith had always been part of his life, but he wanted to be something more than a "Sunday Catholic."
Sarah MacDonald interviews Columban lay missionary, Kevin Sheerin
March 25, 2019
Cheers for Christ!
"Na yacamu?" (What is your name?) I got used to being asked this question every time I meet people in the village. I came to the village of Navatuyaba, Toga, in Rewa province, Fiji, where I am having my exposure of the local language and culture.
By Evangeline "Jinky" Ucol
March 18, 2019
The Beautiful Game
Sport is always a great way to bring people together. This is especially important when you live in a barrio, an area with a high poverty rate, where there are migrants from different countries.
By Oisĺn Kenny
March 14, 2019
Commitment to Justice
Language is a basic skill we need to communicate, to express our feelings and to understand others. But, we are divided by different languages used in nations or cities.
By Michael Javier
March 11, 2019
In So Many Words
Back in 1990 a missionary priest in Taiwan was the parish priest of a small parish that had a small kindergarten attached. The kindergarten was underused and struggling.
By Columban Missionaries
March 1, 2019
Tata
My grandfather's name was Ireneo, but he was best known and called "Tata" by everyone in the family or Tatay Neo by everyone else who knew him.
By Sherry Lou Capill
March 1, 2019
Patience and Perseverance
As a tall, athletic youth, Fr. Tom Rouse was a valued player on any rugby team. He was also a diligent student, who excelled in history and math. However, when he felt God's call to become a missionary priest during his high school years, there appeared one dark cloud on the horizon.
From his birth, Tom had a hearing impediment that not only impacted his ability to comprehend others, but resulted also in speech difficulties. As a child, he obtained professional help to address these difficulties, but his struggle to participate fully in conversations resulted at times in feelings of frustration and embarrassment.
However, Tom was determined to follow his dream and, after high school, was accepted into the Columban seminary. There, his outgoing personality, his …
By Fr. John Burger
March 1, 2019
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.