Impact of Christ 1 - The story of Father Damien

Father Damien's original name was Joseph De Veuster.
Date and place of Birth - 3rd January 1840 in Tremeloo , Belgium
Date and place of Death - 15th April 1889 in Molokoi ,Hawaii


Though he prepared himself to enter business after college graduation , he changed his mind and became a priest and missionary . He joined the noviate of the fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary at Louvain. He changed his name and became Damien. He was commissioned to go to Hawaii as missionary to serve the Parish there.
 The Island of Molokai served as a quarantine leper colony , segregating them and stopping the spread of  the disease. The Catholic Encyclopedia  summarises his service to the leprosy affected souls in the island of Molokai thus :
 "On 10 May, 1873, Father Damien, at his own request and with the sanction of his bishop, arrived at the settlement as its resident priest. There were then 600 lepers. "As long as the lepers can care for themselves", wrote the superintendent of the board of health to Bishop Maigret, "they are comparatively comfortable, but as soon as the dreadful disease renders them helpless, it would seem that even demons themselves would pity their condition and hasten their death." For a long time, however, Father Damien was the only one to bring them the succour they so greatly needed. He not only administered the consolations of religion, but also rendered them such little medical service and bodily comforts as were within his power. He dressed their ulcers, helped them erect their cottages, and went so far as to dig their graves and make their coffins."
 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04615a.htm

After years of serving the lepers Father Damien himself contracted the deadly disease and died in the fifteenth year of his service to them.

Damien was called by God and sent by God to go and serve the lepers. If not for Christ and his example of self sacrificing service  , Damien would not have done what he did. This  aspect of Christianity , a teaching of Christ , to care for the destitute , orphans and widows which  has produced a Father Damien.

Would any atheist dare become a Father Damien? Do they have any reason to render service ,let alone self sacrificing service to a group of segregated and despised people? No way. Atheism does not teach anything good. It neither promotes good nor deter evil. It's just silent on the whole topic ,because there is no god for them to make any moral pronouncements. And if serving the destitute has not considered absolutely good ,then it is not absolutely evil to do the contrary either. Atheists would rather kill the lepers and say they are helping them , for that is what natural selection does. Compassion has no place in the evolutionary natural selection. The very concept and pratice of Compassion points to the existence of a God who is perfectly compassionate .
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Psalm 103:8

Compassion is virtue , only because God says it is.  Otherwise it would just a relative truth with no absolute moral weight. The contrary uncompassionate behaviour would also be not wrong. If there is no God and no absolute moral law , compassion and cruelty would not be any different. They both will just be options along with apathy , which is also a lack of compassion. 

Jesus taught in luke 6:36

"You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate."


This is the teaching of Christ and it has absolute authority because it is grounded in God , the father whose nature is to have compassion. 

James , the brother of Jesus says thus in his epistle in the Bible, in James chapter 1
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Christian living is about taking care of people who are destitute and helpless and practicing holiness.

Two Christian organisations come to mind even as we discuss the Christian teaching of compassion.
1. Compassion International
2. World Vision International
3. Missionaries of Charity

These organisations help scores of people , throughout the world . Pleases visit their websites to know more.

So the atheist rant that religion is poison , that christianity is evil etc are not based on truth but on lies. How can you consider a religion which practices love and compassion as evil? You should be absolutely biased.
 




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