Plenty to Read This Christmas in the Far East!

Plenty to Read This Christmas in the Far East!

The December 2025 issue of the Far East is now available in print and digital editions with plenty content to help you prepare for Advent and Christmas. Fr Tim Mulroy recalls a conversation he had with an elderly missionary about his prayerful preparations for a quiet...
“May there be peace!”

“May there be peace!”

Columban missionary Fr Barry Cairns marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan and one Catholic’s campaign for peace and reconciliation. It is 80 years since atomic bombs struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On 6th August 1945 at 8:15am the first of these...
In Times of Disaster – Trust!

In Times of Disaster – Trust!

An air of anxiety is with us. ‘Disaster’ is a word that occurs frequently in the media here in Japan. Politicians use the word when canvassing for votes. The predicted disasters include stronger and more frequent typhoons, causing surging floods and house-crashing...
Proverbs in Mission

Proverbs in Mission

Proverbs are the ancient wisdom of a country’s culture expressed in pithy sentences – and often with humour. Proverbs provide missionaries with an insight into how their adopted people think and act, writes Columban missionary Fr Barry Cairns. To an aged person (I am...
Proclaiming Mission in a Language Not Your Own!

Proclaiming Mission in a Language Not Your Own!

Communicating in difficult new languages can result in some bloopers cautions 90-year-old Columban missionary, Fr Barry Cairns. Did St Francis Xavier have the gift of tongues? I think not! Yes, he could speak his native Basque, Spanish, Portuguese and French. He was a...