November 14, 2012

The traveling relic of St. Damien, a bone from the left ankle, was brought to St. Anselm’s Abbey church this morning for veneration of the public. The left foot was the part of the saint’s body where he first saw the signs of his leprosy. The relic is contained in a box made from a tree that St. Damien planted on Moloka’I, and it is decorated by a circlet of shells from Hawaii. The box is seated on a black pillow, the color of royalty in those Islands. Earlier this month our students and staff had the opportunity to see the one-man dramatization of the life of St. Damien presented in our Devine Theatre.

St. Damien Prayer

Damien, brother on the journey, happy and generous missionary, who loved the gospel more than your own life, who for love of Jesus left your family, your homeland, your security and your dreams, teach us to give our lives with a joy like yours, to be in solidarity with the outcasts of our world, to celebrate and contemplate the Eucharist as the source of our own commitment. Help us to love to the very end, and in the strength of the Spirit to persevere in compassion for the poor and forgotten, so that we might be good disciples of Jesus and Mary. AMEN