This solemn service celebrates the victory of God’s love over the darkness of sin and death. But just as the many individual flames, proceeding from the single paschal flame, are necessary to illuminate the space, so the lives of the saints bring the light of God’s love to the darkest situations and the most remote corners of the world.

St. Damien of Molokai is one of those radiant souls whose life brought God’s love to a place of darkness and suffering. Born in Belgium, Damien arrived as a missionary in Hawaii in 1864 and was soon ordained a priest. In 1873, Father Damien’s superiors asked if any priests would be willing to go to Kalaupapa, a remote peninsula on the island of Molokai where individuals infected with leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) were quarantined. Father Damien volunteered.

Despair was rife in the settlement of Kalaupapa, where residents, separated from their families and cast out of society, looked forward only to a lonely death. For the lepers, however, Father Damien became like St. Paul – “all things to all.” (1 Cor 9:22) In addition to performing the typical duties of a priest – administering the sacraments and teaching the faith – he helped with the construction of a church, organized farms, dressed wounds, built furniture and coffins, dug graves and gave the dead a proper burial. After 11 years, Father Damien contracted leprosy himself, and he died in 1889. Like Christ who loved us “to the end” (Jn 13:1), Father Damien had become one with those he served in both life and death.

Appropriately, the feast of St. Damien (May 10*) falls within the Easter season. In honor of his heroism, we may not be able to travel to distant lands, but we can practice his self-giving love with the people God has placed in our lives. Perhaps we can even start by serving them a summer treat made with a classic Hawaiian flavor – coconut! The victory of love over darkness is always worth celebrating.

*In Hawaii, St. Damien’s feast is celebrated on April 15.