“Surprise! Father, guess what? I know that you don’t think about these things, but today is our 43rd year of our foundation as Missionaries of the Poor and I have a surprised for you! We will be cooking curry goat, pork lechon, roast chicken, and rice and peas. The brothers have started preparing since last night!” This is what Brother Morris Mutua greeted me with, with a big, broad African smile.

Then Br Ronel added: “We wanted to surprise you. We killed the goats and the pigs from our farm last night. The chickens were slaughtered from Mt Tabor. The brothers decided they would have a great holy celebration. They would feast today, and suffer famine tomorrow! You, Fr Ho Lung, will preach, and Fr Max will say the mass. We will sing joyful songs, all Jamaican style. I believe there will be ice cream and cake in the dinner.”

That’s the way the brothers do things: Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! And last night about 300 people were gathered together from all walks of life, including the poor from the ghetto.

What else could it be? But the working of the Holy Spirit, who blows where He will, and does whatever He wants and brings us so much joy.

Here am I now preparing for what I will say to my brothers and friends for Foundation Day. These are my words.

Happy 43rd Foundation Day!

You, brothers, know I say all this as your father, “I give you everything! I give you the best that God has given to me! I said yes to Christ. My heavenly Father, Mother Mary and the Holy Spirit, they wanted me to give up everything and to receive their special gift to me — my vocation within a vocation, Servitium Dulce cum Christo Crucifixo.

Now I give it to you, brothers, everything the Lord has given to me; God’s vision, the work of Christ, building a community in service of the poorest of the poor. That vision I now give to you.

I also give to you my country, Jamaica, the music given by God, my preaching, my friends, my happiness, and my love of God. All these I give to you.

I ask of you one gift: Be faithful, love the poor more than yourself, let that be your gift daily on the altar of God in our Missionaries of the Poor mass. Be the joy and happiness in life’s sufferings and struggles. Renew religious life, go back to Christ. Bring forth a love of Jesus Christ in a world that is lost and confused and selfish.

Forgive me the wrongs that I have done to you. Remember that I have loved you, and will always love you as a father loves his sons. There are weaknesses, there are sins, but let us continue to love each other and forgive each other.

That I am still alive is amazing! The life I have I give to you. It’s all I can give; it is given to me by God to help sanctify you and future generation. You will be blessed by the poorest of the poor. Let those who are lost in their journey through life be blessed by your commitment and faithfulness.

Light a candle in the dark, my brothers! It shatters darkness everywhere!

God bless you and keep you close to Him.

To help our Missionaries of the Poor contact us in 8767821493 or mopfounder81@gmail.com

Fr Richard Ho Lung is founder of Missionaries of the Poor.