Verbum Dei UK

Hi friends!

I'm a 43 year old guy from Dublin (born 1967) who became a missionary priest in 1995 with the Verbum Dei community. I'm actually a qualified doctor, but I've had multiple sclerosis since 1998. I can't play the guitar or sport anymore (not that I could much before anyway!), but at least I can tap a keyboard, and I suppose that it wouldn't do any harm to tap a few words to yourselves this autumn.

I'm Irish (although that's not my fault!) and the strange thing about me is that I'm happy! Fifteen cases of M.S. were diagnosed in my province in 1998, and eight of them ended up committing suicide. Poor folks! It's true that the diminishment of vision and muscle power etc, are annoying, but I honestly still feel very lucky. I have two lungs that work and I never run out of air to breathe! But the basis of my happiness is that a guy two thousand years ago gave his life for us voluntarily in a painful and shameful crucifixion, and the sorrow of his friends didn't last for long. On the contrary, they became very joyful and gathered a big group of followers. The fact is that that 'guy' really did rise from the dead! In other words, He was actually the son of God. He is the Son of God - and that's for ever. Scientific proof for this never came our way, but the more I pay attention to the words that he preached, and that his followers preached, the more they move me. 'Verbum Dei' moves me! I like it. I hope that I don't sound like a boring philosopher, but you could say that it 'sheds light' on Life and Love for me.

I graduated in medicine in 1985, and I was very glad to be able to do something useful for the sick, but it struck me how many people aren't happy simply because they haven't really realized what that Crucified Son of God brought to us... and is bringing to us. The Good News still gets passed on, amidst 'interference' from time to time, but the Body of Christ (the Church) keeps active. The News made it's way to me, and as I gave thanks, I felt as if God was asking me to help out.

When I was learning about anatomy in my medical school, I used to examine dead bodies (post-mortems), and I began to take seriously the fact that within a few years, one of the dead bodies will be mine! On the way home that day, by chance, I was passing the house of Verbum Dei missionaries, and I knocked on the front door, and said “Excuse the interruption, but I have a little question: When we die, where are we all going?”. Of course, it's not a little question! The reply didn't come from a book of philosophy or theology, but rather, I was invited to drop into their chapel and sit on a chair. There was a model Cross in front of me, and I'd often seen such things before, but this time I stayed for a little while contemplating.

And it bore fruit. For some reason I began to really respect the solidarity of Christ. He has accepted the pain and the shame, and in spite of his condemnation, his friends didn't stop following his new way. I took a good look and I got more and more convinced. He rose from the dead! And this faith in Christ has moved many hearts throughout history, that ended up loving very generously and putting up with persecutions. I had been involved in social work and in hospitals, and in spite of my selfish phases, I did realise that to love generously does make you happy.I spent 6 months in Africa (Zambia) working in a small hospital with Polish missionaries. I came across many mal-nourished children, and asked myself, if God loves a lot, why doesn't he give the world enough food to eat? But the United Nations says that there's four times more nutrition in the world than is needed fore this human family of 6,000 million. So the problem is that some take much more than they need, while others are left with too little. That's a truth about nutrition, but it reflects the injustices in many aspects of our world. Technology and politics etc can help, but the fundamental need is to get people to love well... to change 'hearts'! I also came across plenty of depression in our 'first' world (as opposed to 'third world'). In fact, between 1910 and 2010, the suicide rate in Irish 15 to 25 year old males has multiplied by 4! Christ can certainly cure that, and his call to help struck me a lot. It brings challenges, but all in all, it's brought me joy. There is a solution for this human family!

So I wondered “What are you doing still on the cross, Lord?”, and I understood in my heart, as if Christ was replying “What are you doing, Dara? - You could participate with me in moving hearts”. It's Christ who moves hearts, but He asks us all to participate.

A few years have passed by, and a decent physical health has passed me by, but I'm still very happy and confident about God's Love. If Our Father wanted me to bite the dust (die) soon, then I'd be glad to 'rest in peace'! But at the moment I don't think that He does. I think that He wants me to play some role in the world. All of us are going to die for sure within a few years, but in the meantime, God wants us all to play some role in loving.

I've got MS, but 99.99% of my life is joyful! Often you don't really appreciate gifts until you loose them, and the M.S. is teaching me to appreciate so many, many gifts in life - like having loads of air to breathe! One of the tremendous things about Christianity is that it's within poverty that God reveals true richness! From the stable of Bethlehem to the Cross of Calvary, Christ makes clear how the road to resurrection is that road.

Of course I ask God to take the MS away, but much more profoundly I ask Him to take my temptations and sins away, so that I can say honestly with Mary: "Let it be done in me according to your word". Because I believe that God's will is for our eternal happiness.

The Bible puts it well: 'Nothing can separate us from the love of God - neither death nor life, the present nor the future, hunger, thirst or persecutions.. We overcome all of these because of the love of Jesus Christ that's been poured into our hearts' (Rom 8:34 ). I'd add MS to those problems that are overcome by the love of God!

Having faith is itself a gift that I'm lucky to have received, and as the letter of James says, trials in life augment that gift and help it to become long-lasting. The letter says this: 'Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing' (James 1:2-4 ). I'm certainly not perfect and complete, but if God wants to guide me along a path, then I'm keen! This is similar to what the letter of Peter says: 'In the faith you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ' (1 Pt 1:6-7). Maybe my M.S. is one way in which God is testing and refining this little sclerotic lump of Irish clay!

But, I hope that I'm not rattling-on too much. John the Baptist didn't 'rattle-on',

but pointed to someone whodoes speak very well: to Jesus Christ!

...........Dara.