Fr. Arturo Aguilar

“Come and eat, the meal is ready!” Who doesn’t have memories of being called to the table with the love and intimacy that comes with a life shared dayto- day? These also were Jesus’ words to His beloved ones after a long night of fishing that yielded no catch. For the third time after being raised from the dead, He revealed Himself in this most intimate and ordinary act, the sharing of a meal. (Jn 21:1-14) Jesus saw the weariness of His followers and came to comfort, nurture and care for them.
An important part of daily life for Columban missionaries is celebrating the Eucharist together.

Sharing a meal brings us into greater unity and fullness of God’s love and reminds us that we are one family united in faith.

Frequently we share our reflections on the readings of the day. On the occasion of this reading of Jesus cooking for His disciples, one of my Columban brothers shared with me that he was struck and moved by the kindness Jesus showed for His friends. It is an image of Jesus that shows His understanding for the need we all have to be loved and nourished in mind, body and soul.
In fact, Jesus shows that same love for all of us. Every time we sit at the table in whatever culture or country we find ourselves, we experience the same generosity and care shown by Jesus to His disciples. From the hands that toiled in and harvested food from the earth to the hands that prepared the meal, the people with whom we sit show the same kindness, care and generosity to us. It doesn’t matter if the meal is a grand, multi-course affair or a simple sharing of bread. What matters is that we share at the table, that we share the banquet of life. We are Eucharist people, that is, a community of believers who in the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup are transformed into the One Body.
It is no coincidence that Jesus chose the most basic and life sustaining acts to demonstrate God’s profound love for us. Sharing a meal brings us into greater unity and fullness of God’s love and reminds us that we are one family united in faith. The next time you are called to the table or the next time you call someone to the table, I invite you to remember that in your meal you are sharing not only the bounty of a harvest, but the abundance of love God has for you and the love to which you are called to share with the world. “Come and eat, the meal is ready!”

Fr. Arturo Aguilar

Looking back now, I realize the treat wasn’t so much the orange or cookie, but time spent with mi abuela. The joy came from being welcomed in a special place.

In my ministry as the regional director, I travel the U.S. and visit many parishes to share our Columban missionary story. As a stranger coming into the parishes for a weekend, I am always grateful for the welcome I receive. So often I feel that same kind of hospitality as when I would enter my grandmother’s house through the back door and sit at her table.

Following Jesus’ example, we are called to be that welcoming “hug” with our arms and hearts stretched open wide.

We’ve all experienced that feeling of being a stranger whether it is to a new school, neighborhood, parish, country or some other new discrimination can keep us in the shadows. How comforting it is when we receive a warm smile or hug that says “You belong.” Following Jesus’ example, we are called to be that welcoming “hug” with our arms and hearts stretched open wide. The Church has always had a tradition of welcoming the stranger.

In the U.S., from our Irish and Italian immigrants of the 19th century seeking greener pastures to our Asian, African and Hispanic immigrants today in search of a better life for their families, the Eucharist is the table that brings us together as a family of sisters and brothers united in God’s love.

Pope Benedict XVI chose “One Human Family” as his theme for the 97th World Day for Migrants and Refugees which was celebrated last January 16. His message begins, “ ‘As I have loved you, so you also should love one another’ (John 13:34), is the invitation that the Lord forcefully addresses to us and renews us constantly: if the Father calls us to be beloved children in His dearly beloved Son, He also calls us to recognize each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

He continues, “It is the Holy Eucharist in particular that constitutes, in the heart of the Church, an inexhaustible source of communion for the whole of humanity. It is thanks to this that the People of God includes ‘every nation, race, people, and tongue’ (Rev. 7:9).”

May our missionary hearts hear these words and be inspired to welcome the stranger among us, for once we were strangers ourselves. May the communion we exchange at the table of the Lord extend to all.

Fr. Arturo Aguilar

My mother taught me that prayer is an ongoing conversation of the heart which brings us into relationship with God. It is that primary relationship with God which impels us to be in relationship with this world. The intermingling of the otherworldly with the worldly is God’s love incarnate. As a Church, we are called to relate to our world with love and joy.

As a Society with members from all over the world, we share a spirit of mission to serve others, especially the poor. At our recent annual Columban retreat, I was reminded that we are often described as missionaries of the people. We have a tradition in the U.S. that following our annual retreat we gather in thanksgiving at our retirement home where we celebrate with our brothers by commemorating their jubilees with Eucharist and a good meal with family and friends.

“I’m not going to work. I’m going to be a priest.”

Stephen’s answer reflected what many Columbans believe about their vocation.

At our most recent celebration, one of the jubilarians, Fr. John Marley, shared a story that I want to pass on to you: Once on my home vacation from the missions, I stayed with my older sister and her family. At that time, their neighbors were a young couple and their two children, Marina, age nine, and Stephen, age six.

One day the children were in the local store where some of the area farmers were relaxing. The farmers asked the children what plans they had for when they were grownups.

Marina had no problem answering. She was going to be a nurse in the city hospital. Stephen was uncomfortable and kept his head down. Curious, the farmers urged him to answer, “Come on, Stephen; don’t be shy. Tell us what you’re going to be when you grow up.” Stephen continued looking at his shoes.

Finally someone coaxed him, “Whisper, Stephen. What would you like to work at when you grow up?” Stephen did not look up, but answered in a clear soft voice: “I’m not going to work. I’m going to be a priest.”

Stephen’s answer reflected what many Columbans believe about their vocation. While our many years of service in the harvest of the Lord are indeed work, it is work that brings profound joy to our lives and others. It is the relationship with God, nurtured in prayer, which attracts others like you who, through your generous support, your prayers and your service, join us in God’s mission.

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve. That is what our jubilee celebrates.

The article originally appears in the December 2010 issue of Columban Mission.

Fr. Arturo Aguilar

Fr. Arturo Aguilar is the U.S. Region director. Read more of his writings below.

I am moved by the phrase to taste the gift of His presence, for I find it is that which is the heart of the missionary. Having tasted the gift of His presence, the impetus is to share it.

This resonates with me and, I would venture, finds resonance in every missionary heart.

On page two of this magazine is a statement of mission of the Society. One of our aims is to “foster among all baptized people an awareness of their missionary responsibility.” We Columbans take this goal to heart. Here in the U.S. Region, one of the most effective ways we participate in the evangelization and missionary formation of the local Church is through resources we develop for mission awareness.

Our mission education programs provide an opportunity for parishes and schools to connect with and grow in their call to continue Christ’s mission and ministry in the world. We are reminded by Pope Benedict that the people of our time ask us “to make Jesus seen, to make the face of the Redeemer shine out in every corner of the earth before the generations of the new millennium and especially before the young people of every continent, the privileged ones to whom the Gospel proclamation is intended.”

Through our well received and widely known Come and See! and Journey With Jesus programs, for example, we have helped young people open their hearts and engage in mission. Blessed with the joys and sorrows, the work and relationships of our lives of ad gentes mission, we aim to assist the Church in understanding missionary activity and, out of our mission experiences, to act as agents between God’s people in other lands and cultures. Walking with God’s people, we learn from them about their cultures and faith experiences and at the same time share with joy the Good News as we have received it.

For over twenty-five years we have helped people, especially young people, engage in mission and in solidarity with the poor. In the twenty years since we have kept data, we know that over 2,250,000 children and young people have been introduced to mission by over 150,000 teachers and catechists using our mission education curriculum.

At the Mission Congress held last month in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Missionary Society of St. Columban was honored to receive the Mission Award from the U.S. Catholic Mission Association. This is given annually by the USCMA to organizations or persons that exemplify a mission minded understanding of the world, the Church, and all people.

In a note accompanying a donation from a fifth grade class, one student wrote, “We realize that $67.00 won’t make living conditions perfect in Peru, but it’s a start anyway.” Yes, it is indeed a start on what we hope will be a lifelong commitment to answering the baptismal call to mission. The Columban Fathers are grateful for the opportunity to educate and witness to those who are students today but may become missionaries tomorrow.

This article originally appeared in the November 2010 issue of Columban Mission.

The Good News must first be proclaimed to all the nations. Mark 13:10

It was in Chile on a Society visitation that Bernie‘s “addiction to St. Paul” (his words) began. The Columbans in Chile were grappling with questions of missionary presence, spirituality and community during their assembly. Bernie writes: “I think it was during one of these debates, probably when I was absently looking out of the window and marveling at sunset over the Andes, that an idea, not a very original idea, came to me. Why not go back for guidance to St. Paul, the first and greatest of missionaries? Perhaps he would have something timeless and true to say to the missionary of today.”

I recalled these words of Bernie when Pope Benedict opened the Church’s Pauline Year in 2008, giving us the outline of a model missionary and teacher. Among the apostles and disciples, Paul stands out as one who felt the urgency of the missionary mandate he received: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1Cor.9:16). Knowing himself as loved and redeemed, Paul could not but take to the road to proclaim Christ and His message of salvation.

The Holy Father writes: “By looking at St. Paul’s experience, we understand that missionary activity is a response to the love with which God loves us. His love redeems us and prods us to the missio ad gentes.” (A good translation of this phrase is mission to the nations from Mark 13:10: “the Good News must first be proclaimed to all the nations”). After digesting Paul’s life, travels, letters and spirit in search of what he would have to say to the missionary of today, Bernie comes to the same conclusion as Pope Benedict. He writes: “For, like Paul, we really have only one thing to proclaim to a bewildered humanity and it is not, of course, his or ours at all, ‘the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:39). In Christ this love was visible, perceptible, almost tangible. In our humbler way this should be true also of us.”

In the Missionary Society of St. Columban, indeed, as in many congregations, societies and groups of a religious nature, practices and terminology of the business world are frequently useful. Fr. Smyth wrote his book on Paul in 1980, so I was surprised, and pleased, to find this analogy: “Like Christ, each of us must be Sacrament of God.

To put it in less theological language, any good salesman brings samples of his wares. As samples, we missionaries bring ourselves. People will be less impressed by the things we say than the samples we are.

In this diverse and culturally rich community, the children and their families came together to form a bond through prayer and preparation for the sacrament. As I listened to the family talk about this meaningful bond, I recognized anew that it is not by coincidence that Jesus chose the setting of a meal to teach the disciples that in life’s simple and routine moments—like sitting at the table together—we encounter one another, and in that encounter we see the face of God.

In today’s modern world, not unlike the world of the early Christians, this encounter is not limited to the walls of a church, but more likely to be defined by unexpected people in surprising places. It may be in familiar places such as work or school, and in and through the relationships we have there, that we find ourselves most deeply connected to God’s love. Or perhaps it is when we go beyond ourselves, beyond the familiar and into a place where we are uncomfortable by whom we meet, what we see, hear, smell and taste that we feel most acutely God’s everlasting compassion. Maybe it is through the daily struggles and joys in the midst of our families that we get a glimpse of God’s love.

Just as the early Church struggled to understand itself as Christian, we are called to be people of faith at all times and in all places with all people, though our culture tells us that our faith life is reserved for Sunday mornings. The Eucharist reminds us that Jesus’ death and resurrection fills all things with His presence. In the unity of the Spirit we have the strength and courage to go out into the
world with His message of hope and love.

As I think about my nephew and his fellow communicants coming to the Table of the Lord for the first time, I am reminded that we are living members of the Church and that in this unity we will share everlasting life. I am inspired by their searching, by their courage to put their faith into action. May we all have the faith of the children to move beyond ourselves and towards one another.

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28

Fr. Arturo Aguilar - U.S. Regional Director

It is a ministry that is about healing broken relationships. In the Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation we pray, “You have gathered us here around the table of your Son, in fellowship with the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and all the saints. In that new world where the fullness of your peace will be revealed, gather people of every race, language and way of life to share in the one eternal banquet with Jesus Christ the Lord.” Our JPIC ministry is witness to our belief in the Gospel message that a new world is possible, where all will have life to the full.

Through the leadership of Columban missionaries like founding director Fr. Michael O’Laughlin and successors Fr. Mark Mengel, Fr. Chuck Lintz, Fr. Mike Dodd, the JPIC ministry has told the human story of the barriers that keep people marginalized such as international debt, global warming, migration, poverty, hunger and war. The telling of that story has brought a greater awareness to those in political power in the U.S. and around the world of the impact economic, social and political policies have on individuals, families, human rights, communities and countries. This awareness has at times helped to facilitate change for a more just, peaceful and environmentally sustainable world.

Our JPIC ministry is witness to our belief in the Gospel message that a new world is possible, where all will have life to the full.

Today through the JPIC ministry and the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, we continue to work to right the relationships of injustice and inequity with the participation of young people through our Advocacy Internship Program and Columban Volunteers U.S.A. The ministry has become one that both informs and forms people to live their missionary calling to take their seat at the Table of Life.

Fr. Arturo Aguilar - U.S. Regional Director

Like many missionaries, my strongest memories are of the people among whom I served and with whom I worked.

One young man, who is now Columban Father Ioane Gukibau, was in his sixth year of seminary formation in 1993 when he was assigned to Brazil for overseas missionary experience. Fr. Gukibau hailed from Fiji, and I have long remembered what he told me:

In 1985, I started my studies as a Columban seminarian along with two others. As the first Fijian Columban seminarians, we felt excited, and we were conscious of being pioneers. After our first year, the other two decided that the missionary life was not for them, and I was left on my own – the only Fijian Columban seminarian. I felt a bit lonely.

The sentiments expressed by Fr. Gukibau remind me of St. Teresa of Avila’s words that “Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.” While Fr. Gukibau might have been the lone Fijian seminarian in his class, he was never alone on the journey.

It was in February 1952 that eleven Columban Fathers descended the gangplank of the steamship Aorangi and began a new Columban mission in Fiji. Following our expulsion from China and with the Korean War putting development of our mission in Korea on hold, new seminarians were free to go elsewhere, to start new missions, to proclaim and witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. It would have been impossible for the Columbans who landed in Fiji in 1952 to conceive of what was then a missionreceiving country becoming a mission-sending country by 1973.

In only twenty-one years, the local Church in Fiji had developed to the point where it would start sending lay missionaries to other countries. The first group of Fijian Columban lay missionaries went to Ireland; I can only imagine their surprise at the change in climate!

In 1976, Fijian native Fr. Petero Mataca was installed as the Archbishop of Suva. In 2009, Archbishop Mataca reached retirement age, although he continues to serve as he, and the rest of the country, waits for his replacement.

Columbans continue to work in Fiji, helping to develop the local Church and evangelize the laity. We continue to develop the vocation program and lay missionary program there. In early 2009, Fr. William Lee was ordained in Fiji and is now serving in Chile. Columban seminarian Etuate Tubuka just completed his course of study in Quezon City, the Philippines, and returned home to Fiji to continue his education. In February 2010, two Fijian lay missionaries went to Pakistan. In June 2010, two Fijian lay missionaries will begin work at our mission at the U.S./Mexico border.

Fijians have responded to God’s call and are actively inviting others to global mission. It is with great joy that we witness both the awareness and the commitment to the missionary mandate that has developed in Fiji.

Father Arturo Aguilar, U.S. Regional Director

The message is not that we do not have fear, but that despite our fear we say, “Yes Lord, Yes!” It is this response that becomes our model for discipleship.

Today we have examples around us of women who, like Mary, have embraced their call despite uncertainty and hardship. One such woman is Burmese human rights’ activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has lived under house arrest for nearly two decades, and has sacrificed her own freedom in her struggle to bring democracy to her country.

Just as Mary faced her own fears, Suu Kyi knows the power of fear. Yet, just as Mary had the courage to reject those fears, Suu Kyi chooses a life that, while restricted physically, brings freedom at a much deeper level. In her 1990 speech, Freedom from Fear, she said, “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.

When we look at the similarities between Mary and Suu Kyi, we can see the truths that transcend differences of religion, politics and culture. Commenting on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, former First Lady Laura Bush stated, “We know that this document proclaims the rights that belong to every human being of every religion, race, class, or gender. I have met thousands of women from many nations. And I have seen that women everywhere have the same dreams. They want to be educated, they want to raise their children in peace, they want to enjoy good health, to be prosperous, and to be heard.”

Often we wonder what God is telling us. If we have the courage to hear, it is unlikely that we will be confused. The uncertainty comes not from God, but rather our discernment of God’s call for us. The angel says to Mary, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Gabriel continues, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” God’s call for each of us is just as certain, if only we can allow ourselves to be liberated from our fears.

Fr. Arturo Aguilar
U.S. Region Director
Missionary Society of St. Columban

Father Arturo Aguilar

How consoling it must have been for him, grief-stricken upon being expelled from China, to be able to gather into a community those Chinese Catholics who found themselves strangers on the shores of a new homeland. And it must have been quite comforting and consoling for the immigrants to find a welcome and a home at what was to become the St. Bridget Chinese Catholic Center.

Fr. Cowhig was followed by Fr. Anthony O’Doherty in 1954 and later by Fr. Matthew Quinn in 1963 as directors of the Center. The 40 years of dedicated service to St. Bridget Chinese Catholic Center of these three Columbans continues to be a source of pride and treasured history for Columbans worldwide. As you probably know, the Society was founded in 1918 for mission work in China.

Hence, the Chinese people, country and culture have long been beloved of our Columban Society. St. Bridget Chinese Catholic Center grew throughout the years and developed many projects and programs of service and outreach.

In 2000, it was upgraded from center to parish. It first served Chinese immigrants in the area, more recently reaching out to all neighbors in need with a focus on recent immigrants. The hospitality and assistance offered by the parish is a gift to the entire community. As a beacon of acceptance and aid in a brand new world for many people, the church must seem as welcoming as the stable did to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem when they were immigrants.

The hospitality and assistance offered by the parish is a gift to the entire community.

When I had the opportunity to meet Fr. Matty Quinn in Ireland shortly before his death in 2007, I was treated to story after story of the people and the church and his love for both. It was during Matty’s tenure that the church’s outreach to the increasing number of Chinese-speaking immigrants from all parts of Asia expanded significantly.

At the meal after the anniversary Mass, many people came up to me to share stories and memories and to express their gratitude for our mission and for creating the spiritual foundation of the community. For the members of St. Bridget Catholic Church, as well as for the Columban Fathers, the spirit of those who have gone before us continues to be an inspiration.

Though administration of the parish ultimately passed into the hands of the Salesian Fathers, we Columbans continue to feel a bond with the Chinese Catholic community of Los Angeles. We celebrate our history and common tradition and look forward to new ways of collaborating in mission.

From the Director
By Fr. Arturo Aguilar