To Be A Servant of the Lord (redux)

(Fr. Ho Lung, founder M.O.P.)


(Mount Tabor 'farm')


You may have noticed the link (upper left) to 'Missionaries of the Poor'. I was priviledged to be at the Mt. Tabor monastery in Jamaica (on retreat) when Fr. Arthur Newell, their oldest brother, was buried. A real Jamaican burial with lots of Joy and Praise. Fr. Newell, died January 19, at the age of 90,after a lifetime of faithful service.

It was very moving to be in Stony Hill, on the top of Mt. Tabor, my father-in-law's Anglican parish in the 60's, to bury a brother priest whom he likely knew. Dad was born and raised in Jamaica, and though he received his theology at McGill and was ordained in Canada, he was called to serve 3 years back home.Fr. Alban Westin died a year ago Easter Sunday, an Archpriest at Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church . He died a faithful servant to the end, always seeking the Lord, as evidenced by his courage in joining the Orthodox after his retirement as Anglican Canon at St. Peter's Cathedral in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

'His' people in Stony Hill, where his infant daughter is buried, are struggling still to scrape up less than we would consider to be the 'bare necessities'. Before the M.O.P. brothers built their monastery, there wasn't even a road all the way up. Dad used to walk an hour uphill to minister . There is no access to a school, electricity, running water. Shacks line the side of the rough road, a deep gully close behind.

The Missionaries of the Poor are very nearly self-sufficient on Mt. Tabor. They have a generator, grow food, have livestock. They take care of a house of older orphans and are building a school for the local children.They hold retreats.In Kingston they have a number of homes for orphans, indigent, aids sufferers - the rejected ones of Jamaica. They have similar homes in the Phillipines, Haiti, and Uganda. They offer their service for free, trusting in the Lord to help them provide for those in need.

The Missionaries of the Poor are attracting many brothers from these countries. Young men who wish to devote their lives to serving the poorest , providing the most basic needs, and above all else, loving the unloved. Really truly loving them.
My visit to the M.O.P. was transformative. I'm not sure when or what the final result will be of their witness of service and love, but its percolating.

Check them out. Help if you can. Visit . Volunteer. Pray. Sacrifice.