August, 2009         

“What do you do, Father?” “Do you like what you do?”

When the missionary heads north, be it to take a trip home or to visit a parish for the yearly Mission Appeal talks, these questions are heard very frequently. It is only natural for someone to want to know what we do. The geographic setting is so very different; the language is a new one, the culture unfamiliar. With these factors in mind people are curious about the tasks of the pastoral ministry in such a different environment. There are, however, questions that are never asked: Who are you? How has the experience changed you?

This month we have the opportunity to reflect on both the task and the identity of the missionary. Two of our members have just finished their mission assignments. One will accept another assignment in Ecuador while the other will return home to the Philippines. Reflecting upon their work will let us see what a missionary does and who he is.

Fr. Ed Veasey was born and raised in Ireland and worked in Glasgow, Scotland, before joining the Missionary Society. He arrived in Ecuador in 1988 and went to work in the impoverished neighborhood of Guasmo in the city of Guayaquil. There was no running water, paved streets or telephone lines, few people in church. Only naturally he asked himself: “What do we need here?” Let’s read Fr. Ed’s own words.

“I looked around to see what could be done to help these poor people...So I started with health and opened a dispensary with one doctor...Today we have 30 professionals…Over 100 patients are attended daily…We now have a small hospital… This is the Good News. The bad news is we have an epidemic of AIDS. The government kept this a secret for some time.”

“There are 35,000 people in the parish community. Over and above the sacramental life of the parish, we have other types of reach-out. In the parish are the basic communities for the young and old people, where the parishioners gather to read the Bible, sing, share their problems and try to figure out what can be done to solve them. The challenge and the beauty of these groups is that the people must take responsibility for their own self-esteem and the challenges they face. We do not want to treat them as children, but encourage them to grow and make the changes needed in their lives…The work of the missionary priest is to help people see that they can still have meaning in their lives even in the face of extreme poverty. I do this primarily through the Sacraments but also through social projects.”

Fr. Veasey has finished in Guasmo. After participating in a study program in England, he will return to his beloved – and well served – Archdiocese of Guayaquil.

Msgr. Allen Aganon was born in Quezon City in the Republic of the Philippines. He was ordained a priest in 1982 for the Diocese of Parañaque. It had been many years since a priest from the Philippines was a member of the Society. After a vocation out-reach had been made by the former Society Director, Fr. Bob Thomas of Boston, Msgr. Allen joined us in 2004. Along with his parochial ministry he had also been rector of the seminary. His first mission assignment was in Villa el Salvador, on the outskirts of Lima. After working in this impoverished urban setting for one year, Msgr. Allen headed up to the high country in Velille, Chumbivilcas, Department of Cusco. The isolation is extreme. The poverty is great. Unpaved roads reach elevations of 16,000 feet. Only recently has the life expectancy of 45 years started to inch higher. Now let’s read Msgr. Allen’s own words.

“After a year I moved on to a new mission area in Velille, Chumbivilcas situated in the Andean mountains of Southern Peru. From the first day I felt that this would be a very challenging experience. Velille is far, isolated, rough and cold. The people and the culture were fascinatingly different. I have learned and unlearned many things in the course of years I was with the people. Once a parishioner asked me to go to his farm to say mass (hacer misa) because one of his cows was struck by lightning. I had a long discussion about the sacrament and told him that I would not say mass for his cow, which was struck by lightning. But after sometime it became clear to me that the only thing they wanted was for me to go there and say a prayer and bless the place, perhaps begging the Lord to spare them from another natural disaster.”

“I learned to be more patient with myself and others. I was always annoyed when a person would come in front of the altar or a statue lighting a candle while we were in the middle of the celebration of the Eucharist. Of course this told me the level of understanding of people regarding many things in our faith. But this same act had sustained them in their faith especially in times of need and when there was no priest around.”

“These little encounters and discoveries made me conscious of a different worldview in which people depend on as they live and interact in the Andean environment. From their vantage point I tried to minister to them. I would drive, walk and mount a horse for hours to celebrate their feast days or just even visit them. I took these moments as an opportunity to know more of the people and their lives in spite of my limited knowledge of the Quechua language. There was always somebody to help me around. Being in a community was a refreshing experience although physically tiring.”

“My five years of being a missionary have been a grace-filled experience. I am going back to my home diocese with renewed commitment, wider perspective and hope that other priests would respond to the call of the mission.”

His next step is to follow in the footsteps of the Walking Evangelizer – St. James the Apostle. Before returning to the Philippines, he will walk the Camino de Santiago Apostol, from the French border to Compostela, Spain. Upon his return home he will be a spiritual director in the seminary.

“What do you do, Father?” “Who are you?” Ed and Allen have responded beautifully.

Thank you for helping us be missionaries and do the work of the Lord.

Sincerely,

Rev. Kevin Hays
Director

Msgr. Aganon stops for a moment to rest and take in the view of the Peruvian highlands, where he has worked as a missionary for the past five years.

Fr. Ed Veasey visits with the children of his Guasmo community.

Here a young patient receives dental treatment in the hospital.

Fr. Veasey reflects quietly as he looks out over the rooftops of Guayaquil.

There is a lab in the hospital where patients have blood work done.

Fr. Veasey makes a visit to this soup kitchen which he began.

Parishioners attend Mass in Msgr. Aganon's diocese.

The parishioners of Villa el Salvador walk for hours to get to a small outpost chapel to celebrate Mass.

This is a typical scene in the highlands of Peru: a small chapel, surrounded by hills and fields for miles.

Msgr. Aganon washes the feet of parishioners at the Holy Thursday service.

A lay catechist gives a class to Baptismal candidates. One major part of the missionary's work is to instruct the parishioners in the faith so that they may teach future generations.