St. Damien of Molokai

St. Damien of Molokai

Joseph de Veuster, known throughout the world as Father Damien, was born on January 3, 1840, at Tremeloo, (not far from Louvain) Belgium. On February 2, 1859, he followed in the footsteps of his brother Pamphile by entering the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; and on October 7, 1860, 他选择了达米安这个名字作为他的宗教职业.

Molokai

当达米安5月10日第一次到达莫洛凯岛时, 1873, the situation, in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson, was, “a pitiful place to visit and hell to dwell in.麻风病人被送到那里等着腐烂和死亡，没有人试图治愈或阻止这种疾病. Lepers were outcasts from society, separated from those they loved, 患有一种被认为令人厌恶和不洁的疾病的, all but abandoned by the medical profession, 除了最不常见的宗教仪式，甚至没有任何安慰. They easily succumbed to apathy and hopelessness. Many, disheartened to the point of desperation, 抓住一切能让他们暂时平静下来的东西——酒精, gambling, lewd dancing, 还有放荡的生活——当一船又一船的新病人到来时，他们发出了欢迎的呼声, was, “In this place there is no law.达米安写道:“定居点绝对需要一个牧师。 . . . I believe it my duty to offer myself . . . I am willing to devote my life to the leprosy victims. The sick are arriving by boatloads. They die in droves . . . 我成了麻疯病人，与麻疯病人同住，为要得众人为耶稣基督. When I preach, I am in the habit of saying,"We Lepers!"

从1873年到1889年，达米恩神父服侍麻风病人长达16年之久, 给他们带来尽可能多的物质和精神上的安慰. 他自我强加的责任包括任何能帮助或安慰他们的事情, from bandaging sores, making coffins, and digging graves to building churches, hearing confessions, and saying Mass. 他费了很大的劲才为定居点提供了急需的淡水供应. He ate from a common bowl, food prepared by a leper, 抽着共用的烟斗，从一口传到另一口，使用共用的工具. Indeed he was, in the words of St. Paul, “All things to all Men.”

“从早到晚，”他写道，“我被可怕的肉体和精神上的痛苦包围着. 然而，我尽量有一定的快乐来建立自己的勇气.” In that effort, he certainly was successful. 这位关怀备至、和蔼可亲的牧师的出现，完全改变了这个定居点的气氛. 穷人很快意识到他们有了一位真正的朋友. They were no longer orphans. A wave of hope surged through the colony. 他们不再是那些被社会轻易遗忘的人, 因为达米安让世界看到了数百万麻风病人的需要和痛苦，并因此激发了许多人慷慨地支持他们的工作.

Apostle of the Eucharist

Father Damien was truly an apostle of the Eucharist. 他对圣餐的爱传递给了麻疯病人. 他组织了美丽的礼拜仪式，使他们与造物主更紧密地结合在一起, frequent Benediction, and Eucharistic Processions.

当他建立了许多礼拜教堂时，他体验到了麻风病人的信仰和奉献精神. 与在岛上建立永恒的圣餐崇拜有关, Father Damien wrote to his provincial in 1888, "This is the fifteenth year we observe night adoration..., all of us lepers."

Father Damien lived for the Eucharist. 正是这种强烈的使徒身份充满了麻风病人的生活. 他们的圣餐崇拜是对主的一种有启发性的敬意. He wrote to his brother, "Without the constant presence of our Divine Master, 我永远不能把我的命运与麻风病人的命运联系在一起."

Death