Talanoa at NatanukuMar 17, 2022
23/3/1996, I always enjoyed the yaqona drinking session after Mass at Natanuku village. In most other villages it was very formal – the matua tabu (priest) sitting in front with the elders forming a semi-circle facing him and the young men serving the yaqona ... Read more
The Sacred CowMar 14, 2022
16/6/1990, When I spent a year in India in 1979 I began to understand why Hindus reverence the cow don’t eat beef. In a heavily populated country the cow is very important. It gives nourishing milk. It ploughs the rice fields. Yoked to a wooden trailer it carries heavy loads ... Read more
Preaching and PsychologyMar 13, 2022
22/4/1976, I am now in my second year in Naleba and I am becoming more at home with Hindi. Preaching in Hindi still takes preparation but I am not so nervous now ... Read more
The Last RequestMar 11, 2022
12/5/1977, I am always struck by the strong sense of duty emphasized in the Fijian culture. I remember giving the last rites to an old Fijian man in a village in Ba. He received the sacraments lying on the bed. But when the rites were finished he ... Read more
Early Days on MissionMar 07, 2022
7/11/1974, I have completed one year in Fiji. After my Hindi course in Suva I came to Labasa a few days ago. Fr Pat McCaffrey, the Parish Priest of Labasa, brought me here to Naleba settlement three nights ago. Fr Pat showed me to my small room at the back ... Read more
Learning The Marriage VowsMar 06, 2022
24/11/1977, The village catechist came to me recently and told me about Iowane who had been living with Maria Rosa for about 18 years. They had five grown up children and now they wanted to get married in the Church. The catechist assured me that he had given them both the usual marriage instruction… Read more
My Home Is Your HomeMar 04, 2022
5/05/1993, I have been renting a room from a Fijian family in Kinoya, Suva for the last few months while I continue to teach at the Pacific Regional Seminary. My landlady is a widow with two daughters and a son in the background. The younger daughter is 5 years old and always speaks English to me ... Read more
