Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

We would like to let you know some personal stories of our children who recently received the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.

Kasi is 13 years old and was accepted into a house of a relative. Her mother, after giving her birth, disappeared; and her father, living in Jacmel, did not want to take care of her. She is being raised by her grandmother. Kasi may be known as a girl of the streets.

For over 5 years, she has been coming to us; but, in the beginning, it was not a strong affiliation. It has not been easy for Kasi to keep any commitment. There was no one at home to prepare her or tell her it is time to go anywhere, for example, to school. She is always late for the after-school homework time and other activities, especially when we started preparation for the sacraments. But the desire in her grew while she saw others receiving the sacraments.

Two years ago, we started to focus on her in a special way. She received new feminine-looking clothes, and her hair was washed and done by one of our teen girls; she felt pretty. Kasi found she has a beautiful singing voice, and she was prepared to sing a psalm for one of our celebrations. Kasi’s attitude at times is still not the best as she looks for ways to gain our attention. She is a born leader and many times draws other girls to follow her, not always in the best direction. For the third time, Kasi is going to be in the same grade–Grade 3.

Working with God, we still have a lot of work before us with Kasi. But we know God is not giving up, and we will try to be faithful, too. The days of her Baptism and First Holy Communion have been days of awakening and new life for her. She realized that she can dance and sing and that she is beautiful and loved, most of all by God.

The past two days have been ones of great joy for, by the Lord has this been done! Some of the poorest of our children were Baptized and then received their First Holy Communion.

On Friday, October 9, twelve children were Baptized. The next day, Saturday, the feast of Blessed Mary Angela, those children–8 years of age and older–received their First Holy Communion. These two days were a taste of what the Gospel proclaims today. It was so beautiful! The question is how have we responded to God’s invitation to the banquet – the Eucharistic banquet of bread and wine, of celebration and community? We witnessed this yesterday.

Jesus repeatedly gives us the challenge to live what He preached throughout His earthly ministry; that Good News was and is to “Get ready! The Kingdom of God is at hand.” We saw it for a moment here on Friday and Saturday. What does heaven look like? The closest answer is this: The kingdom is here among us, but not yet. It is somehow earthly, but not quite. And when we accept the royal invitation, when we gather at the table of the Lord, we will catch a glimpse of the kingdom. We will experience a foretaste of the royal celebration, the Messianic banquet in the Kingdom.

It is around the table of the Lord, in community, that we will find our deepest identity, of who we truly are. The kingdom of God looks like that. Yesterday it was witnessed here among the poorest of the poor who might have never had an opportunity to come to the feast if God had not used the Felician Haiti Mission to do that. These children have been preparing for the past two years to be welcomed into the Church and to gather around the Eucharistic table.

There were soo many gifts and talents that God had pulled together to make it happen: Sr. Inga, director of the Faith Formation Program and the catechists; Sr. Marilyn and Annette, director of Liturgy and Music; Sr. Izzy who made all the dresses and crowns for the girls, with the help of Rosemarie, and the white smocks for the boys. Yes, the Kingdom of God is at hand.

“O Mary, my mother, remember that I am yours, guard me and protect me as your possession.” Mother Mary Angela

It was sunset when we gathered to remember that Saint Francis died just after sunset on October 3. He recited Psalm 142 and, during the closing verse, he died. This event is solemnly recalled each year by Franciscans all over the world to honor their holy Father’s entrance into joy. Here in Jacmel, Haiti, we gathered as a local home to remember…

St. Francis reminds us how we are to be living Gospels to all. And so we gathered to remember…

It is written in the Life of St. Francis that “As the brothers shed bitter tears and wept inconsolably, the holy father had bread brought to him. He blessed and broke it, and gave each of them a piece to eat. He also ordered a Book of the Gospels to be brought and asked that the Gospel according to Saint John be read to him, starting from the place which begins…. (John 13: 1‐15) before the feast of Passover….He was remembering that most sacred Supper, the last one the Lord celebrated with his disciples. In reverent memory of this, to show his brothers how much he loved them, he did all of this.”

We pray, Loving God and Lord of all life, as we assemble in faith and thanksgiving. We believe in the power of your call to Gospel conversion and the summons to rebuild your house. As we remember the birth into eternal life of our Seraphic Father Francis, help us die to ourselves and so live for you. Let the mystery of the cross and resurrection, with its promise of life eternal, so inflame us with love as to free us to pour out our lives in loving service to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

The Lord has certainly shown us how the work that had been done here in the Felician Mission was well done. The third day of work brought more repairs. The shades that were in the activity center had been damaged by the heavy rains and needed to be changed. Eric and Peter showed the teens how to measure, cut, hang the new shades. They also installed flood lights in the back of the volunteer house for safety precautions.

Yes, prosper the work of our hands…we are so grateful to God for our brothers, Eric and Peter, who accompany not only us but, most especially, our young teenage boys. These men mentor and model great character and strength as men of God.

Eric and Peter began the day “opening wide the doors for Christ” by fixing our screen doors. This became a lesson of craftsmanship for Jean Philippe, Alberto and James. They learned how to take a door off its hinges properly, how to replace screens, and then how to place new frames on the doors. It is wonderful to watch how Eric and Peter teach, model, mentor these young men. See for yourself the beautiful work our boys did for us.

We welcome back to the Felician Haiti Mission Eric and Peter, who share their time, talent and treasure with us each year. We are so grateful for these two men who come to our mission to share themselves with our teens so they might learn something new. These young teens then feel so good about themselves. This is the cycle of human dignity at its best. And we get to watch its grace before us.

Yes, we keep seeing the Lord and find him in our midst right here. Eric and Peter arrived and got right to work! Another busy day is ahead of us with the guys.

“Give aid to all without exception; your vocation obliges you not to exclude anyone, for everybody is our neighbor.” These words written by our foundress, Mother Mary Angela, were seen in action on Monday, September 7, when the Mother Angela Clinic team accepted its latest invitation to “serve where needed.”

At the request of the pastor from St. Anthony’s parish in Lavaneau, the Mother Angela Clinic team responded with joy as they heard the needs of the poor. Fr. Guy-Robert Gabaud had come with a request to visit his parish community, which was in need of medical care. Many suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes. They have no help, especially since March when COVID-19 struck.

Another community of Sisters near the parish had been running a clinic, but they needed to return to their motherhouse in the Dominican Republic in order to care for their own Sisters. This left the community at Lavaneau without any medical assistance or care since the Sisters left in late March/ early April. We made the commitment to serve the community until the Sisters return.

Sr. Marilyn assists with medications.

When we first arrived in Haiti 8 years ago, we never saw any birds. Slowly, here on our property, and especially now after tropical storm Laura, we are hearing birds sing. Today we found what we think is a mother and child.

They were different from what we had ever seen. We were curious, so we did some research and found out they are the Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo (Coccyzus longirostris), a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It is found in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

An impressive long-tailed species of wooded habitats, including shade coffee plantations. Typically found foraging in dense vegetation from understory to canopy; can be found sunning in the open at first light with its tail spread. Note this species long straight narrow bill, brilliant red eyering, gray chest, and buff-orange belly. The Bay-breasted Cuckoo is similarly shaped but is larger with a maroon chest and short curved bill. The Mangrove Cuckoo is smaller, with a smaller curved bill and a black mask. Secretive, but not shy, this species is often first detected by its voice: a long, rapid, ratcheting “keh-keh-keh…” Also gives a low “craaa” and a sharp “chek.”

Sister Marilyn works on preparing the Mother Angela Clinic for the new ministry year. Plans for a spiritual retreat day are in place during Mission Week in October.

There is another request from St. Anthony’s Parish in Lavaneau to bring medical assistance and health care. Before COVID-19, the Merciderian Sisters from the Dominican Republic ran a clinic in the area; but they were asked to return to their motherhouse because of the Coronavirus. They have not yet returned. We will do what Mother Angela has taught us to do and “serve where needed.” The Mother Angela Clinic will respond to this need and serve the community, visiting the area twice a month, starting in September.