Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Ialibu village, Papua New Guinea...

"[A]n elderly man named Wata walked into our mission station one day..."


Like a great Saint Padre Pio story!


And who knows, maybe it was the famous Capuchin Saint!

Or, the positive side of Mark 16:16! :)

From the Christmas 2011 "Seraphic Mass Association" fund - raising letter their "Capuchin Mission Office" sent us the other day.

It was signed by Father John Pfannenstiel, O.F.M. Cap.

"In the village of Ialibu, in Papua New Guinea, an elderly man named Wata walked into our mission station one day.

"He was about four feet tall and clothed in primitive garments made of leaves.

"Twenty years before he had overheard some villagers being instructed in the Catholic Faith.

"He remembered a brown - robed Friar talking about Jesus and Mary and something called Baptism.

"He said that he knew Jesus and Mary, and every day he talked with them.

"Wata also knew he was dying and asked to be baptized.

"The mission community lovingly gathered together for prayer, decorated an outside altar, and with all the worshiping villagers around him, Wata received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion.

"He then thanked everyone and told them that he was now going to dream.

"The next day Wata was found dead in the parish garden holding his baptismal candle and rosary ...

"This in the true miracle of Christmas, as it is experienced even today all over the world.

"God loves every one of us, and values us so much that He became one with us in Jesus Christ.

"Because of Jesus' birth in a lowly stable in Bethlehem, all human life is graced and blessed.

"Every human life is precious and treasured by God, from primitive villages in Papua New Guinea to urban neighborhood I live in here in Pittsburgh ..."

Way to go, Padre! Our next stop this morning will be the Brackettville Post Office 78832 -- to send you good folks what little $$ we can, you bet! :)

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