When I was growing up in Saint John the Baptist Parish in
Peabody, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur taught us to sing The Catholic
Action Hymn. Some of you may be familiar
with it. It begins “An army of youth,
flying the standard of truth. We’re
fighting for Christ the Lord.” It
continues “Heads lifted high, Catholic Action our cry and the cross our only
sword.” I often think of these words
when I correspond with our missionaries, many of whom are faced with danger and
challenges that go well beyond the tasks of evangelizing their people.
One of my faithful and favorite correspondents is Archbishop
Adrian Smith, a member of the Society of Mary (Marists). The Marist missionaries are well known in
Boston because they have staffed some of our parishes over the years, as well
as the Shrine of Our Lady of Victories and the Lourdes Center in Boston. Archbishop Smith is the ordinary of the
Archdiocese of Honiara in the Solomon Islands and his letters are informative
and interesting as he fills me in on the happenings in his local church.
His most recent letter arrived in December with details of
the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the martyrdom of the Marist
missionaries at Ruavatu Parish, Father
Henry Oude Eberink, sm, Sister M. Odila, smsm, Sister M. Sylvia, smsm, Sister
Edme Bonnet, smsm and a Boston native, Father Arthur Duhamel, sm. Archbishop Smith writes:
He was born in Boston, USA. After two years in a parish, he went to
Solomon Islands in 1939, age 31. After
three years at Ruavatu on Guadalcanal, he died at age 34, bayoneted to death by
the invading Japanese army. It was good
to recall the pastoral commitment of Father Arthur and the other missionaries
who died with him. Their fidelity has a
strong message for all of us.
He concludes his letter:
Thank
you for your kindness to us. I hope that
one day I have the opportunity to meet you and share more with you about life
here in Guadalcanal.
Our missionaries are
armed only with the cross of Christ.
Continue to pray for Archbishop Smith and all those who carry that cross
so as to share it with others.
-Rev. Rodney J. Copp, JCL
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