I keep a journal—note: not a diary—where I make notes of thoughts, dreams, and insights that swim through my mind. I use it often and it serves as a great source of inspiration. The words within are some of the most impactful and penetrating I’ve encountered throughout my life. However, in addition to the words, I have a single taped picture on the inside back cover of my journal.
It is a picture of Father Damien de Veuster of Molokai. Once I learned his story I became enchanted by his life; the picture of his warped face has been haunting and encouraging ever since.
So with his face gazing at me for a long while, it was with gratefulness that I received a copy of “Uncommon Kindness”, a DVD (Ignatius Press, 2007) detailing Father Damien’s story.
If you haven’t heard of Father Damien before, I understand. He is a man I believe to be one of America’s best kept secrets. Born in Belgium, he yearned throughout his early life to be a missionary to a far-away country. In answer to this call, he became a priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in the late nineteenth century. After his brother Auguste became unable to make a missionary journey to Hawaii, Damien’s boyhood wish was fulfilled. He took Auguste’s place and became and was sent on a mission to Hawaii.
Damien arrived to the shores of Hawaii in 1864 only to discover that the islands were being plagued with leprosy. To make matters worse, shortly after Damien arrived a law was created that exiled all people suffering from leprosy—including children—to the island of Molokai. It was to this island that Damien believed God ultimately called him to.
For the rest of his life, Damien served the sufferers of leprosy with self-giving compassion. Like Mother Teresa did after him, he cared for the sick and dying, giving them dignity and peace as they passed into the next life. Many of his superiors and contemporaries chided him for his perceived stupidity; going into a leper colony was a perceived death sentence.
Despite the warnings and danger, Damien went. He labored for a handful of years, making a huge different in the lives of those in the colony. In a place where other priests were too afraid to go, Damien served boldly.
Eventually, and probably inevitably, Damien contracted leprosy himself. Rather than being distraught, however, realizing that he would die of the disease overjoyed him with feelings of solidarity. He finally shared the disease and suffering of all of the ones he served. He was finally “one of them”, and when he uttered the words ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ they were weighted by the shared experience of suffering.
By the time he died of the disease, Damien was an international phenomenon. People around the world—especially in his native Belgium—were deeply inspired by the life and mission of this bold priest. His life continues to inspire to this day, and devotion to this man’s sacrificial life is raging.
On October 11, 2009, he will officially be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI and will be forever known as St. Damien.
“Uncommon Kindness”, the hour-long, biographical account of his life, is narrated by Robin Williams—yes, that Robin Williams—and actually goes beyond Damien. The DVD enters into the lives of those who suffered with the terrible disease of leprosy. Some of the interviews are with sufferers of leprosy, many of whom still reside in the Hawaiian islands. From these people I became aware of the terrible designation of ‘leper’. The sufferers noted how deeply it hurt them to be known solely by their affliction. Society doesn’t refer to those with polio or a broken leg solely by their hardship, but the people of Molokai were identified only by their unfortunate disease.
This is a huge reason for Damien’s greatness as a human being. To him, the sufferers in Molokai were not lepers. They were human beings; human beings with dignity and worth.
In the midst of the hurt and marginalization, the hope and joy within these leprosy sufferers made my soul soar. Listening to them speak brought flesh to the beatitudes of Jesus. These people, meek and afflicted as they are, saw God. They inherited the Earth. And I must believe that their hope was birthed through Damien’s courage and love.
Lately, each time I face a fearful situation, I try and picture that haunting face of Damien from my journal—the one that was so given to others that it was almost melting off his bones. He gave his whole self—body, soul and life—in service of others. I can see no higher calling for the rest of us.
I wrote this review of An Uncommon Kindness: The Father Damien Story for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.