COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease that is leading to isolation, but for many centuries another highly contagious disease forced sufferers into isolation. Worse, leoprosy was incurable until the mid-20th century, and the isolation it brought about was lifelong.

We can imagine the nervousness of the disciples when a leper came to Jesus and knelt before him in Matthew 8:2. They must have been shocked to see Jesus stretch out his hand and touched the man. However, the power of Christ is stronger than any contagious disease, and the leper was cured instantly by Jesus’ touch.

Reaching out to the sick and the isolated has been a work of mercy performed by holy people throughout the history of the Church, and St. Damien of Molokai (1840-1889), known for his outreach to lepers, is an outstanding example.

Father Damien’s original name was Jozef de Veuster. He was born in rural Belgium Jan. 3, 1840, the youngest of seven children. His older brothers and two sisters entered the religious life. 

When Jozef was old enough he followed his older brother, Pamphile, entering the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. There, he took the name Damien, after a sixth-century martyr.

Pamphile was ordered to Hawaii for mission work, but when he became ill Brother Damien offered to go in his place. At first, the community hesitated, worried that Brother Damien was too uneducated to become a priest. Brother Damien demonstrated his ability by quickly learning Latin from his brother. He also prayed daily before an image of Saint Francis Xavier that he would be sent on a mission. Eventually, his superiors agreed to send him and have him ordained.

Brother Damien arrived in Honolulu on March 19, 1864, and was ordained to the priesthood May 21 at the age of 23. For almost 10 years, Father Damien ministered on the main island of Hawaii.

In 1866, Hawaii established a leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai. The bishop was looking for several priests to minister to the colony on a rotating basis. Father Damien volunteered. Although he was supposed to be replaced by one of the other priests who volunteered for the work, Father Damien loved the people in the colony and desired to stay there to serve them. He asked permission to remain and his request was granted.

Father Damien brought law, order, and routine to the colony. He formed a popular girls’ choir. He gathered the people together, building houses and schools. Eventually a parish church honouring St. Philomena was also built. In all, Father Damien built over 300 homes and structures in the 16 years he was there. 

Father Damien also ministered to the sick and made sure the dead were properly buried. In his first six years in the colony, Father Damien dug most of the graves and built most of the coffins for 1,600 people. 

In 1885, after more than a decade in the colony, Father Damien contracted leprosy, which discovered when he accidentally stepped in scalding water and felt no pain. Father Damien was able to identify with the people he loved and served with the words “we lepers.” He continued to minister and obtained strength through prayer.

Father Damien often went to the cemetery to pray the Rosary and loved to spend time before the Eucharist. He wrote, “It is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength we need in our isolation.”

After ministering 16 years in the colony, Father Damien died of leprosy on April 15, 1889. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 11, 2009. 

May St. Damien intercede for all our front-line workers and all those in isolation during the pandemic.


達勉神父與患者同甘共苦                                                                      

高傳染性的新冠肺炎病毒，帶來人與人的隔離。麻風病傳染性，亦大大肆虐著人類數個世紀，直至二十世紀中纔有治癒的藥物；換句話說，有很多染上麻風病的人，一生都被隔離。

我們可以想象，當門徒見到前來的麻風病人，是多麼的抗拒和焦慮，耶穌卻伸手接觸他，使他們感到震驚；不過，耶穌的能力，遠勝病毒，使那麻風患者，霍然痊癒（瑪竇福音8:2-3）。

教會歷年，都有很多聖者為照顧病人，甘願被隔離，盡顯仁愛的工作。其中表表者是莫洛凱的聖達勉神父（1840-1889年）。

聖達勉神父原名若瑟.藷斯博， 1840年1月3日出生於比利時的鄉郊，是家庭七名子女中的幼子；他的兄長和兩個姊姊都進了修會。

達勉長大後，跟隨兄長彭斐鈉進入耶穌瑪利亞聖心修會，取道名達勉，為恭敬六世紀的殉道者聖達勉。

彭斐鈉本來被去夏威夷傳教，但因患病而不能去。弟弟達勉修士自動請纓接替他，可惜修會長上躊躇，認為他的學歷未恰當晉鐸。達勉修士立即跟他的兄長，努力學習拉丁文，顯出他的能力，又常到聖方濟.薩威聖相前祈求，希望能被派遣成為傳教士。

1864年3月19日達勉修士抵達檀香山；5月21日晉鐸，年二十三。差不多十年之久，達勉神父在夏威夷的主島上服務。

1866年麻風地區在卡拉帕帕半島上被建立；主教原有意讓幾位神父，輪流在那裡服務，而達勉神父是首位志願的神父到那裡。但當達勉神父在這貧瘠地區服務一段時期後，竟申請逗留，希望能繼續他的工作，最後得到准許。

達勉神父在這個麻風地區，引進國家法律和社會秩序，制定恆常的規條；組織了受歡迎的女性歌詠團，發起群眾建造住屋和學校，並建成一所聖堂作為本堂，以聖菲洛明娜為主保。十六年間，在那裡建造了逾三百間房屋和建築物。

達勉神父一方面照顧麻風病人，又殮葬死者。事實上，首六年期間，達勉神父掘墓地、做棺槨及殮葬了一千六百名死者。

1885年，達勉神父一次無意中把雙腿放入灼熱的水裡，竟然沒有感覺，隨即意識到自己染上了麻風，讓他能和他所服務的群體自稱「我們麻風人」。他以祈禱獲得力量，繼續他的牧職。

達勉神父常到墳地誦唸玫瑰經，喜愛朝拜聖體。他寫道：「在祭台下，我們找到面對被隔離的力量。」

在麻風地區服務了十六年，達勉神父在1889年4月15日死於麻風病。2009年10月11日，教宗本篤十六世把達勉神父奉為聖人。

希望聖達勉神父在這疫情下，能為我們的前線醫護人員和被隔離者轉禱。