One Family in Mission

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1 The Holy Childhood Association One Family in Mission Diocese of San Diego Children helping Children Quarterly Newsletter IN THIS ISSUE: The Reason for Hope Fr. Damien of Molokai Pg.1 A Mission Story from Ecuador Pg.2 May the Month of Mary Pg.3 We Celebrate Children helping Children Pg. 4 & 5 And the Winners are... Pg. 6 The Reason for Hope During these days the readings put emphasis on the apostles boldness to preach about the resurrected Jesus. The scriptures describe how the apostles had definitely gone through some transformation; the transformation that can only come from the power of Holy Spirit. It is evident that the experience of the Risen Christ gave them strength and hope to proclaim the Good News of Jesus. As we embrace the joy of this Easter Season we are reminded that Jesus did not abandon us. He lives with us, walks with us and, as He promised, will be with us until the end of times. The apostles preaching set up the foundations to bring people in touch with the reason for all our hope the person of Jesus Christ- is the heart of the Church s mission. The Catholic Church in mission countries is indeed often the only source of hope and help for the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters half a world away. Through their work and witness, local priests, religious and lay catechists reflect this hope-filled Good News in a world of need. During this Easter Season reflect with your students on the Reason for Hope our Risen Lord as you remember the call first heard At Baptism, to be missionaries of the Risen Lord to the world. As we approach the end of another school year, I am happy to say that our students from Catholic Schools and Religious Education programs have demonstrated that they can go far and beyond to show their support to the children living in the missions. Their prayers, sacrifices and donations are not wasted, they are reaching out to thousands of children who live with the hope of knowing that our Lord Jesus makes himself present through the generosity of boys or girls that very selflessly share the little they have with those who have almost nothing. Thank you for all your efforts to instill a mission spirit at your school or parish. Blessings, Sr. Eva Rodriguez, SJS From the desk of the Director With deep gratitude to you for your generosity of time, energy and dedication to Children Helping Children I share this with you. In a spirit of joy, The Holy Childhood Association celebrated our children s gift of generosity to the missions. Loving Greetings! Special Blessings & wishes this Easter Season! Your missionary efforts and the Easter Season remind me of one of my favorite stories The Velveteen Rabbit. A story of how toys become real. There is a lot in the story we can relate to. How much JOY the little boy had when he played with his Rabbit. He loved his Rabbit so much it became raggedly. Sadly, boy took sick and the Rabbit had to be tossed. The Magic Fairy acted quickly and saved the Velveteen Rabbit by making him a real Rabbit. The boy s love helped the toy rabbit become real! Our JOY has an effect on others it helps others become Real. What greater JOY than Children helping children! We open our minds to learn; our hearts to pray; and our hands to give! JOY! JOY springs from the possession of God! JOY lasts that comes from being snuggled up in the Lord! J O Y! J is for Jesus; O is others; Y is you! When we care in that order JOY happens! May Easter JOY put a smile on your face! Stir deep affection in your heart! Reflect brightly through your eyes and lift all those in your heart! Thanks for sharing your gift of JOY! You are our blessing! Peace always! Fr Joe Miller, SVD

2 Page 2 On October 11, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien. The Holy Childhood Association Father Damien of Molokai One winter day in the year 1840 (more than 150 years ago) a boy was born in the country of Belgium in a farming town called Tremeloo. His name was Joseph DeVeuster. Joseph loved to listen to stories of the saints that his mother read, especially the ones about missionary saints. When Joseph was ten, he received his first communion. He went to school until he was 13 and then he worked full time helping his father on the farm. He loved God very much and wanted to go away and study to be a priest just as his older brother had done. He fulfilled this desire when he was 19; he went to the Sacred Hearts Fathers. He received the new name of Damien. Damien wanted to be a missionary-to serve God's people in far away lands. His brother, who was already a priest, was supposed to go as a missionary to the Hawaiian Islands. But since his brother was sick, Damien was allowed to have his wish and take his brother's place as a missionary. Damien was ordained a priest in Hawaii (1864). He spent the next 8 years serving the people in different parts of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1873 the head of Damien's order asked for a volunteer to go to Molokai, Damien immediately volunteered and was sent. Molokai was considered to be such a terrible place was because it had been chosen by the king of Hawaii as the place to send people who had a disease called leprosy (leprosy is now called Hansen's Disease). This disease was considered very contagious and incurable, so people who had it were separated and sent away from their family. There were 800 lepers on Molokai at that time. His first task was to fix up a church for the people; then he built himself a very small house. Damien was not afraid of the people with leprosy-he accepted food from their hands, drank from their cups and even shared his pipe with them. Nevertheless, the people did not accept him right away. But he never stopped working for them. He worked to get pipes so they could have water; he got lumber and built homes and hospitals. Food was scarce and he worked until he got food and milk for the people as well as clothing, bandages, and medicine. He built a hospital; he washed and bandaged the sores and wounds of each patient. He developed a cemetery and built more than 600 coffins by hand. Damien believed that "one person can make a difference"; he proved this by his actions. After working with the lepers on Molokai for twelve years, Father Damien himself announced that he, too, had the disease. He began a talk by saying: "We lepers." Then his people knew that he was truly one of them. Damien shows us that love in the Gospel sense means a commitment and getting involved. Father Damien died in almost a hundred years ago--at the age of 49. In 1994 Damien was beatified by Pope John Paul VI. Damien's feast is May 10. A Mission Story from Ecuador Growing Up with HCA and Giving back Talk about making a difference! As a child, Basilio dreamed of becoming a teacher so that he could help children just as he was helped by the Holy Childhood Association (HCA). Basilio had attended an elementary school supported by donations to HCA. After high school, he got a job and saved money for college, studying to be a teacher. A few years after his college graduation, Basilio moved to Ecuador s northwestern province of Esmeraldas. In this remote area of the country live the descendants of slaves brought from Africa to work in the New World (the Americas) parents changed their minds. Today, Basilio teaches children of all ages and enjoys sharing with them his own faith in Jesus. In fact, some children and their families have asked to be baptized. Basilio built a small school house in Esmeraldas, and purchased supplies and furniture with his own money. Later, he received additional financial help from HCA. At first, parents were reluctant to send their children to school because the young people were needed to work on family farms. In time, these Basilio talks to some of his students Thanks to your help through HCA, Basilio s dream came true and young people in Ecuador see bright possibilities for their own futures!

3 Quarterly Newsletter Page 3 May the Month of Mary Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Fatima Mary Help of Christians Prayer Intentions of Pope Benedict XVI April That the risen Christ may be a sign of certain hope for the men and women of the African continent. May That Mary, Queen of the World and Star of Evangelization, may accompany all missionaries in proclaiming her Son Jesus. Thank you to all Schools and RE programs that have already submitted their final donations to the Holy Childhood Association. If you have not done it yet, we remind you that we close our HCA accounts for the present year on June 30th. Our Lady of Kibeho Our Lady of Akita In February of 1951, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950 to 1966), inaugurated a World Mission Rosary. Each decade of that World Mission Rosary calls to mind an area where the Church continues her evangelizing mission: green for the forests and grasslands of Africa; blue for the ocean surrounding the islands of the Pacific; white symbolizing Europe, the seat of the Holy Father, shepherd of the world; red calling to mind the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas and yellow, the morning light of the East, for Asia. As we honor Our Lady this month, invite your students to pray the World Mission Rosary and ask for Mary s protection. You may use a Marian advocation for every continent. For example: Our Lady of Guadalupe for the Americas; Our Lady of Kibeho for Africa; Mary Help of Christians- Patroness of Australia; Our lady of Akita from Japan; Our Lady of Fatima from Portugal. Encourage your students to show their love to Our Lady by praying the Rosary daily, keeping fresh flowers before the painting or image of Mary inside their classroom or at home, and learn songs about Mary. Our Pope John Paul II encouraged everyone to intensify their praying of the Rosary "to obtain from the Lord those graces that the Church and humanity especially need." For more ideas on Mary s Crowning or about how to pray the Rosary visit:

4 Page 4 We Celebrate Children Helping Children! By Denis Grasska Our Catholic school students from throughout the diocese were recognized March 13 for their role in supporting Catholic missionary work. About 350 Catholic youth, accompanied by teachers, principals and parents, gathered at St. Catherine Laboure Parish for the annual Mass and recognition ceremony hosted by the diocesan Office for the Missions. Divine Word Father Joseph Miller, director of the Missions Office, celebrated the Mass. At the conclusion of the liturgy, he presented certificates of appreciation to representatives of 21 Catholic elementary schools and four parish religious education programs. Last year alone, local schools and religious education programs raised about $65,000 in donations to the Holy Childhood Association. The HCA, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies, serves as a vehicle to raise mission awareness among Catholic children and inspire them to offer prayers, sacrifices and donations for their counterparts in mission lands. The HCA motto is Children Helping Children. Describing the annual event as a labor of love for the Missions Office staff, Father Miller explained that it provides an opportunity to recognize the children for their generosity, to emphasize that they are already missionaries by virtue of their baptism, and to remind them that there is meaning and richness in what they re doing. It was really a children s liturgy, Father Miller said, noting that the children were invited to dress in the cultural attire of mission countries and fulfilled many roles during the liturgy. Children led the entrance procession, bearing colored flags representing different regions of the world; served as lectors; and participated in the offertory procession, presenting not only the gifts of bread and wine but also religious and cultural symbols expressing the faith of people in Africa, Europe, Oceania, Asia and the Americas. The choir was composed of students from Santa Sophia Academy. Delivering the homily was Father Sebastian Bukenya, a Ugandan priest who is currently earning a master s degree in peace and justice at the University of San Diego. He began his remarks to the young Church here present by apologizing for his thick accent, but quickly added that the mission of Christ means encountering strange places, strange peoples and strange accents like mine. Father Bukenya thanked the students for financially and spiritually supporting the missions. At one point, he even got down on his knees to express the depth of his gratitude. He counseled the children not to forget that, even though they have not ventured off to a foreign land to proclaim the Good News, they still have touched the lives of countless people in countries throughout the world. Do you know that you have touched many lives on this globe? Are you aware of that? he asked. Are you aware that you are doing incredible things out there in those strange lands, among strange people? Do you know the impact of what you re doing? Father Bukenya noted that, if it were not for Catholic missionaries, he would never have heard the Gospel or become a priest. On behalf of all the missionaries and those who receive the Gospel message from them, he said, allow me to thank you very much for responding to the mission of the Lord. Thank you for being ambassadors for love. Thank you for being ambassadors for Christ.

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6 Page 6 And the winners are... Congratulations! By Catherine Barley At the beginning of the school year, we decided to ask the children of San Diego to participate in a song writing contest. Not just ANY song writing contest, but specifically one which demonstrates what the HCA theme Children helping Children means to them. Years ago, Art Linkletter hosted a TV show called Children Say the Darndest Things. At the Fourth Annual Mass and Recognitions Ceremony held at St. Catherine Laboure Parish in March the finalists had an opportunity to perform their submissions. It was a show that could be called Children SING the Darndest Things! The songs spoke of the close tie between all children the world over. They demonstrated why God loves little children so much! One refrain said See we have so much that we don t use, so how about spreading a little joy? Does it hurt First and Second place winning when you see children hungry? Can you help, just can you help? Another declares We all songs Can you Help and Shine feel the urge to reach out a helping hand as we try to protect that special innocence each Your Light from St. John of the child has. Cross School. Yes, children sing the darndest things. Things that all adults can certainly learn from. Every song submitted, either in the Lyrics Only category or in the Lyrics and Music category were filled with keen understanding of the plight of children around the world and the passion to help in small and large ways. In recognition of their work, all entrants were awarded a certificate of appreciation. Those who submitted Lyrics and Music were given an opportunity to perform for those in attendance at the luncheon following the Mass. The three finalists were awarded ipods from the Mission Office and will be invited to record their songs for the first annual HCASD CD. Third place winning song God s Calling Card from St. John School. Honorable Mention to the song Makes Me Pray from St. Mary s School. Honorable Mention to the song For Christ, for Christ from St. Mary s School. Office for the Missions Sr. Eva Rodriguez, SJS P.O. Box San Diego, Ca Phone: Fax: erodriguez@diocese-sdiego.org Websites to Remember Honorable Mention to the song Love, Share, and Help from St. Mary's School. Honorable Mention to the song How will they Make it? from Sacred Heart School in Coronado. Honorable Mention to the song Make a Change from Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.