Frances helps Yoshiko with her baptismal candle
Today a miracle occurred at St. Albert’s. But before I can get into the details I have to give a little bit of a background…
Like most chapels and oratories, liturgies and prayer times at St. Albert’s are open to the public. It is precisely this availability that enabled me to see the beauty of prayer. But for years a small Japanese woman would swing by early in the morning and join the friars for morning prayer. We had a rather informal name for her—the one with regular observance. That’s because she came to prayer more often than some of the friars. And at 6:30a that’s some feat! Then she would return much later in the afternoon for evening prayer and Mass. We all knew that she wasn’t Catholic because she would dutifully cross her arms at communion to receive a blessing from the presiding priest.
Now Dominicans, unlike Benedictines, don’t really have a penchant for hospitality. It’s not that we’re not hospitable, but rather our minds are off somewhere thinking about something else (probably something philosophical), and often the little details slip through. Still, Yoshiko’s presence did not escape some of the brethren and they struck up a long, protracted relationship with her. Sometimes she’d come in for breakfast; other times she’d simply wave her had at a passing friar. Her English wasn’t very good, so we usually used body language to communicate.
In the past couple of years Yoshiko developed health problems and her ability to come to St. Albert’s was hindered. But she was determined to come as regularly as possible. So she insisted that her caregiver bring her for Mass rain or shine, even though she wasn’t Catholic, even though her communication with the brethren was limited.
Next, enter Frances. She started coming to St. Albert’s only a couple of years ago, first to Sunday Mass and then on and off to daily Mass as her schedule would permit. Unlike Yoshiko, an elderly Japanese woman, she is an elderly Chinese woman. But she has been a Catholic for decades and has incredible faith. I could tell this by observing her after she received communion as she knelt in thanksgiving. It was as if each time she did this that she had just received the most incredible gift possible (which actually isn’t far off the mark).
I often wondered about these two women, sitting in our chapel only two or three choir stalls apart. Both of them are immigrants to the United States, which means that both of them lived part of their lives in their respective countries as far back as World War II. Naturally, as a country that has its roots in European culture, the United States identifies much more closely with Europe than Asia. And even though the bombing of Pearl Harbor pushed us into the war, we still tend to think of VE day rather than VJ day. And our history classes (at least mine) told us just as much.
However, Japanese aggression was every bit as brutal (some think more so) than the Nazi’s. I think it is the rare person who has ever heard of the Rape of Nanking. But if there was ever a reason for the Chinese to hate the Japanese this was it. And, the feeling was mutual.
So it was a bit odd today on a bright Sunday morning after our regular Mass that Yoshiko came forward with a declaration to be baptized. We friars were incredibly overjoyed, particularly since Yoshiko had been such a fixture in our chapel. And of course, baptism itself is a miracle. But the real miracle was this pair of Asian women. Frances knew the ritual and everything that it signified. She held Yoshiko upright in order to be anointed; and she propped her up when Fr. Reginald poured the water of baptism over her head. And, frequently Frances would blurt out instructions in Japanese (which shocked me and only verified her connection with the Japanese and World War II).
Frances a Chinese had every reason to loathe and hate Yoshiko as a Japanese given what had transpired during the war. But she obviously would have none of that. In loving care she saw Yoshiko as a child of God, and one that received the miraculous cleansing of baptism. I was moved beyond words.
