Father Damien and His Journey
Between 1866 and 1873, seven hundred and ninety-seven lepers arrived on Molokai. Almost half of them died. Public indignation mounted, and the Board of Health sought to improve conditions. In April of 1873, Walter Gibson, a politician at the time, wrote a newspaper article that made a bold request. It called for a noble Christian priest, preacher, or Sister who would sacrifice their own life to console the lepers on Molokai. There were several men in Hawaii who were willing to respond, and one of them was Father Damien, a charitable Catholic priest with the Sacred Hearts order. It may have been presentiment or prophecy, but Father Damien had known for some time that he would eventually go to Molokai.
…show more content…
Sacred Hearts had previously built a tiny chapel, dedicated to St. Philomena, but attendance was scarce. There was no government on the island, and the lepers' days were filled with drinking, crime, and a general sense of hopelessness. Father Damien chose to rectify this in many ways. During the first weeks upon arrival, Father Damien took normal precautions to avoid contagion. He settled comfortably under a tree outside of the tiny chapel, and a large rock on the side of the tree served as his dinner table. But if Damien protected his body from the disease, there was nothing he could do to protect his eyes or ears from the shock of the contact with the lepers. Gathering his courage, he began to approach …show more content…
He asked to come to Honolulu, so that another priest might hear his confessions, but his Father Superior forbade it. In the end, he relented, but insisted that if Damien must come to Honolulu, that he stay at the Franciscan Sisters' leper hospital. He was not allowed to leave his room for the duration of his stay, which was one week. He spoke of his rejection by his own as "the greatest suffering he had ever endured in his life." When Father Damien returned to Molokai, he was utterly alone. He continually begged his superiors for an assistant, not only to help him in the ever-mounting work, but also to provide spiritual comfort for him. They were still reluctant to help, as two other Sacred Hearts brothers had already contracted leprosy from their time on the island. As death approached, Father Damien engaged in a flurry of activity. He continued to recite the Breviary as best he could as his eyes failed, and the disease invaded his windpipe, keeping him from sleeping for more than an hour or two at night. He was forty-nine years old when he died on April fifteenth, 1889. Shortly before his death, he wrote in a letter to his brother, "I am gently going to my grave. It is the will of God, and I thank Him very much for letting me die of the same disease and in the same way as my lepers. I am very satisfied and very happy" ("Father Damien" par.
of Father Damien, a persona that she inhabited for the rest of her life. Therefore, Agnes
Romanus describes the effects of the disease on lepers and demoralizing effects of leprosy, highlighting how those inflicted with the disease were cured by Christ and why.
Also, the religious of Limmerick discriminate against poor children as in the case when Frank McCourt tries to become an alter boy but is denied. Mrs.McCourt explains why he is denied by saying " They don’t want boys from lanes on the alter. Oh, no they want the nice boys with hair oil and new shoes that have fathers with suits and ties and steady jobs"(149). The Mc.Court family is constantly aware of the discrimination it faces because of the poverty they live in.
Although Father Latour may possess few worldly desires, one may argue he wants what others can benefit from as well as pleasing himself. Along his journeys, Latour encounters various people, most associates of the Catholic Church like himself. It seems as each time Latour detects a sense of deceit in a person, he progresses in his own mission of morality. When one is trying so hard to embrace and follow the rules and restrictions of religion, as well as enjoy the worldly luxuries, a divided character is created within oneself. It is not until true and total devotion is committed to ones religion that material things become irrelevant and one can be at peace.
for his country and did his duty, even though he knew he was going to
The author of The Quest of the Holy Grail addresses a significant number of spiritual and moral issues throughout his engaging story. His goal is to provide a guide to proper living in the eyes of God, and he successfully achieves this goal through the adventures of several very diverse knights of the Round Table who, through their victories and follies, show us the value of spiritual chivalry; furthermore, if we have any additional questions concerning spirituality that are not addressed in The Quest of the Holy Grail, the author suggests that we may always seek out the guidance of our wise local hermits.
happily, and in order to do so, he gave his life in exchange. Even when there
does is that he is never selfish he is always giving he always gives to charities and doesn't forget
This quote shows the impact Saint Damien had on the island of Molokai, and the courage he had to complete this difficult task. Saint Damien exemplified many Catholic Social Teachings during his lifetime on the island of Molokai.
Father Paneloux's belief that there are no innocent victims is shaken as he watches a young boy die of the plague. Camus purposefully describes a long, painful death to achieve the greatest effect on Paneloux: "When the spasms had passed, utterly exhausted, tensing his thin legs and arms, on which, within forty-eight hours, the flesh had wasted to the bone, the child lay flat, in a grotesque parody of crucifixion" (215). Paneloux cannot deny that the child was an innocent victim and is forced to rethink his ideas.
In Chapter Five, ‘The Stigmata of Saint Francis,’ Cunningham analyzes the originality of Saint Francis of Assisi’s stigmata. It surrounds a controversy that emerges about a manuscript where Brother Elias letter is announcing Francis death, argued he carried Christ’s five wounds. Therefore, it is relevant because it exposes Francis stigmata as debatable because not many witnessed this occurrence during his death. I would apply this chapter in my life by critically analyzing the historical development of the Christian faith in order to practice a perfect
All of humanity, even the one reading this paper, has had thoughts of doing things that are far from that of a saint, and although most do not act upon these thoughts there are those who have; those who kill out of spite, those who commit unspeakable acts against men, women and children, those who to everyone else are frightening and fearful and thus locked away from
Leclercq, Jean. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God; a Study of Monastic
that he knew that he could touch more lives in this way than in any
... "The Roots of Lay Enthusiasm for the First Crusade." History 78, no. 254 (October 1993): 364. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 14, 2012).