From the Editor

Janette MenthaThe March issue of The Far East carries stories of the lives and work of Columban Priests, Sisters and Lay Missionaries and fundraising efforts from a small rural parish in Victoria.

In 2008 Columban Fr Willie Lee was ordained in Fiji and almost immediately was assigned to be in charge of San Matias, a sprawling parish of 90,000 people on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. Fr Lee spent eight years there responding to the call of Pope Francis to go to the peripheries of society before returning to Fiji as Vocation Director.

Sr Susanna Choi is the new Congregational Leader for the Columban Sisters. You can read about her remarkable journey of faith. She was one of the first group of Columban Sisters that returned in 2003 to Myanmar where she began a programme in health-care and education.

The reflection - The Last Supper, by Columban Fr Shay Cullen challenges us to reflect on the life of Jesus. As St Paul says, we are called to imitate Him, ‘to put on Christ’ and be doers of the Word and not just listeners.

In our Centenary coverage we feature Columban Fr Tom Rouse who spoke out against the military coup in Fiji in 1987 and was forced to leave the country. We continue to receive a steady stream of ‘Your Columban Story’. These stories are an important part of Columban history. Thank you.

Poverty in Peru is highlighted with the story of a wheelchair-bound paraplegic boy who cannot leave his home due to the steep and rocky terrain. Columban Fr John Boles visits David and is moved by the family’s care and affection for him. The people of St Mary’s in Birchip, Victoria, were so moved by an article in the October 2017 Far East that they decided their annual fundraising would support the Children’s Centre of Yanaoca, Peru.

The Vatican Museum is currently showcasing a new book: Australia, The Vatican Museums Indigenous Collection which features some of the earliest known documentations of Australian Indigenous cultures.

In his column Columban Fr Brian Vale speaks about the joy of returning to his home parish of St Joseph’s, New Plymouth, in New Zealand to see the faithfulness and vibrancy of the
Mass-goers.

When the Director of the Hope Workers Centre in Taiwan assisted a young woman named Amy to document her story for transfer papers with the Council of Labor Affairs, she was shocked by the appalling treatment that Amy endured.

We read yet again of another disaster in the Philippines where Typoon Vinta devastated villages and killed 39 people.

Columban Fr Tim Mulroy, originally from Ireland, recounts an amusing tale of when he visited school children in third grade. They spoke about St Patrick and the significance of the four leaf-clover. Kids continue to surprise us with their insights as Fr Tim found out.

Wishing you a happy Easter

Janette Mentha singature

Janette Mentha

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