Saint Damien

Here are some wisdom sayings from our newest saint, Damien, who was a hero of mine when I read about his work with the lepers as a child. I took these from the blog of Kim King who is another RSCJ. Kim is now in Chile and working at the school I helped begin in Renaca and where I was the first Head of the School as we had to build out there after the earthquake of 1965 had destroyed our convent and school.
1. I will fight without ceasing and without discouragement because I believe God is always with me, giving me a hand.

2. I will struggle without fear or rest to build up the reign of God here on earth...but I constantly dream of the radical new world God has promised: heaven.

3. I will always propose giving priority to those who are weaker, those who have been abandoned, and those who are marginalized.

4. I want to be the voice of those who have no voice.

5. I will not find the beauty of a person on the exterior, but rather the interior.

6. I will not judge, nor condemn, nor exclude anyone...from this will come my strength to understand and tend to others.

7. Like Jesus, I want to live my life totally without self-interest, because the one who loses their life for another will be saved in the next.

8. To find the strength to love those excluded, I daily turn to Jesus, looking in his heart for the ardent fountain of divine love.

9. What I fear in life is not poverty, nor sickness nor struggle, but rather the absence of faith, love, and hope.

10. Though the work may be hard and draining, though illness may invade my body, I am the happiest person in the world.