COLLEEN O. SATHRE

St. Damien, the Road Map, and perseverance

By the time this article is published, Blessed Damien of Molokai will be St. Damien. So much has been and will be written about him that it is difficult to imagine that this article will add to the words of others. And yet, as I think about our diocesan Road Map, there is a quality of St. Damien’s life that is instructive for our journey. He never gave up! He persevered!

Perseverance is a quality that can take a back seat to talent, skill, intellect, and many other important human qualities. But in the end, without the ability to “stick-it-out” no matter the difficulties, these other attributes can be rendered meaningless.

On more than one occasion I have shared with a new college freshman or a beginning graduate student that, if they met the qualifications to be accepted into their chosen institution or field of study, they possessed the qualities it would take to graduate. What would make the difference between them and dropouts would, in many cases, be their capacity for stick-to-it-iveness — the capacity to persevere.

We experience the positive side of perseverance close up in family and friends, teachers, public servants, our clergy and many others. We also watch it in star athletes. It isn’t that perseverance comes without self-doubts.

On a recent Sunday, a professional football quarterback demonstrated doubt and perseverance. Brett Favre shared with the media that, as he took the field with little time left and behind by four points, he was thinking (like me and a lot of other folks from Minnesota who have endured four Super Bowl losses) the team’s chances for victory had been blown earlier in the game. But that is not what he said to his teammates. Rather, he told them that they still had a chance to win. Somehow he made his teammates believe, and then they helped him execute an incredible play to win the game.

By linking a characteristic of a star athlete with that of a saint, I don’t in any way mean to elevate to sainthood that athlete or any among us who persevere, or to trivialize the work and life of our newest saint. Rather, I make this reference to emphasize how important perseverance is when we are engaged in a difficult task.

I think of Father Damien as someone who never gave up. Despite being perceived as not the most likely of candidates for the priesthood or missionary work, he persevered and achieved both of these aspirations.

Surely when he reached Molokai, there had to be times when he thought to himself that the tasks before him were nearly impossible. How could he, one priest, in the midst of such awful physical and spiritual misery, minister to these victims of Hansen’s disease? How could he provide them with shelter, food, water, medication, and most of all the hope and belief that they were not abandoned by a loving God?

As we know, St. Damien did persevere. He never stopped in his passionate quest to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of a people who were sick, poor, and often forgotten. He persevered in his love for his people, his church, and our God to the very end.

I’m sure that I am not alone in wondering at times whether we can bring about the changes that the six major recommendations of our diocesan Road Map envision — improve leadership across our diocese; strengthen the faith of believers and plant the seeds of faith among the unbelieving; involve our youth and young adults in the life of our parishes so they are ready to lead our church when we are gone; minister to the spiritual and material needs of the ever growing numbers of homeless; repair and refurbish our churches and facilities; and manage complex land issues. These are daunting tasks.

Our Road Map requires perseverance on the part of all us. And perseverance requires faith — a belief like that of Damien — that we can make a difference. There will be times when the pass will fall incomplete, but, like Damien, our belief is that if we stick to it, our witness to Jesus will make a difference.