The
Joys of a MissionaryThe
Joys of a Missionary
(from Xaverian Mission Newsletter)
y
22 years in Indonesia have been busy and beautiful.
The first eight years I was in two small mission parishes some 70 miles
apart, of three different ethnic groups: Chinese, Javanese and Batak. Indonesian was a common language, so I could communicate
quite well. I was “on the road”
– on the rivers and on the sea – most of the time, and I loved it.
There was the care of the lepers, six quite large schools, a dispensary and a few mission stations very far from the center. Many of the children I taught then became Catholics once they came to Jakarta. Then in 1987 I was assigned to the Cathedral parish in Padang, on the island of Sumatra, for three years, and there too my work was plentiful and rewarding. We had many catechumens, mostly Chinese and a few Javanese. There was some kind of a tug-of-war with the Pentecostal churches, which in the end helped me to deepen my own faith and to correct a few mind sets of mine.
I am learning to practice all the beautiful things I’ve been teaching the novices, especially to be open to the unpredictable plans of God. It’s a good exercise in faith but also in the joy of being available.
In
1990, I was named novice master to Indonesian candidates to our Xaverian
missionary life. I was stepping
into a completely new territory, but after eight years on it, “I was
tracking comfortably.” My
experience at the Minor Seminary in Holliston, MA, did help me much, keeping in
mind, however, that American young adults were in many ways different from these
oriental young people. The
difference was a real challenge on which I tread softly.
He who gives all strength saw me through it until I had the joy of seeing
one of my first novices, Suhud Budi Pranoto Antonius, being ordained a priest a
few months ago.
Last
year, I came to a large city parish in Jakarta.
It has been another happy year, though sometimes I plunged into it a bit
recklessly, forgetting that I am not so young anymore.
Then
death struck. Fr. John Ferrari, the
new novice master, died at the young age of 64.
Fr. Nicholas Macina, who had taken his place, also fell ill and is still
recuperating in Italy. So ‘old
Bruno’ was called back to novitiate, ‘pro tem.’
However I am still the pastor here, but I make do with the help of
another priest. I am learning to
practice all the beautiful things I’ve been teaching the novices, especially
to be open to the unpredictable plans of God.
It’s a good exercise in faith but also in the joy of being available.
Come July, though, I hope to be back full-time in the parish. Surprises, of course, are always playing hide-and-seek, and I
am keeping myself open to them.
During
the recent troubles in East Timor our parishioners were receptive to the
refugees who were fleeing from the killings and the destruction on their island.
Our parishioners knew there always lurked the danger that those refugees
might be terrorized by the militia that had been scattered throughout Java.
We held our secret, and thank God, nothing happened.
Now most of the refugees, including all the Canossian Sisters with their
postulants and novices we sheltered are back in Timor.
Another
source of Joy: our parishioners have been faithful to a second collection at
Mass every Sunday, which goes to buy food for the poorest, mostly Moslem, in the
parish. So far some $77,000.00 have
been contributed, and that is saying a lot for a place like this.
Now we are planning to build a dispensary to serve the poor in the parish
territory. At this time we are
using the basement of the church, where every Sunday many Catholic doctors and
paramedics, members of the parish, give their free services.
This project has also been funded by a parish in Minnesota.
Too bad that, just when we were going full speed ahead, some thieves
broke into the place and stole away most of the dental equipment, from the
dentist chair to drills and all… But
our resolve is firm. Oh, the
joys of a missionary life. Thank
God!
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)