Father Tom Lam

[These remarks served as the introduction to the one act play, “Damien,” performed by Fr. Richard Wahl on October 11, 2009, the canonization day of St. Damien.]

            There are more than ten thousand canonized saints, men and women in heaven whom the Church officially decrees that their lives were so holy and virtuous that we should in our own way, imitate our lives after theirs—more than ten thousand saints, their names are recorded in this book I hold in my hand called the “Roman Martyrology.”  And before today, we only had four (by my count) canonized saints from the United States of America: St. Katherine Drexel, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, and St. John Neumann.  This morning in Rome, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI canonized Fr. Damien of Hawaii the fifth saint from the United States of America.

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            As a freshman in high school, I hesitate to admit, that I was a little envious of my oldest sister, who at the time was a senior and was vice-president of the National Honor Society.  I wanted to be a part of the club because they got to do cool activities like answering the telephones for the Jerry Lewis Telethon and singing Christmas carols at nursing homes, or any number of service projects that got you out of the house so you could hang out with your friends. 

            And I still remember the wheels of my pre-legal mind squeaking as I tried to come up with a way to get into the club.  I helped my sister make signs for their bake sale.  I even showed up to volunteer at the early Saturday morning car wash.  And when I thought the time was right, I asked my sister if she would use her clout as vice-president to get me in the club.  To my surprise, my sister threw the proverbial book at me—citing to the bylaws and Constitution, reminding me that I had to be at least a junior in high school and have the requisite grade point average before I was allowed in.

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