Family Faith Reflections from Chris

After Independence Day last weekend, I went looking for an American-born saint to share — and I found two! Damien of Molokai is quite famous, but “behind every great man is a great woman,” and he was no exception.
 
Father Damien is most famous for overcoming his childhood fear of leprosy (a disease that can cause terrible skin and bone deformities) to minister to the lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. People who contracted leprosy would be banished to Molokai and left there to die. Damien saw how the lepers were abandoned to their fate and voluntarily joined them, becoming an educator, physician, and friend.
 
Meanwhile, Marianne Cope was a Franciscan sister in New York who had done a little bit of everything: school teacher, principal, hospital administrator. She was sent to Hawaii to help open a new hospital, but discovered a problem there. Some doctors would take advantage of their patients, especially lepers. When a leper came for help, the doctors would take their money — then just kick them out! Sister Marianne put a stop to that abuse, then realized that many of the lepers on Molokai had probably also been mistreated and robbed before their exile.
 
Marianne led a small group of Franciscan sisters to Molokai. They met Fr. Damien shortly before his death, and decided to keep his ministry alive. They built a school and a hospital and under Marianne’s leadership they transformed Damien’s small ministry into a well organized, lasting movement. Some of the programs she started in 1888 are still operating today! The King of Hawaii even gave her a medal for her service.
 
St. Damien had the gift of courage. St. Marianne had the gift of leadership. They both had extraordinary gifts of compassion for some of society’s weakest and most
vulnerable people. They embody American virtues!
 
Their stories also give us some things to consider. Who are the most vulnerable people in our society? What gifts can we bring to their service? And how can we combine our gifts with one another to maximize our impact on the world? At Holy Trinity, we strive to be a community of service. Thank you for being part of it!