I am Fr. Barry Cairns, and I am 94. I am 70 years ordained as a Columban missionary priest and 69 years ago I came, compared to today, to a very different Japan. War devastation, poverty, war widows, fatherless children and limbless ex-soldiers dressed in white begged for alms in front of railway stations. Tuberculosis was rampant. These conditions were quite obvious in the country areas outside of Tokyo and Osaka.
After language school, I was appointed to Yakata parish in the mountainous country province of Wakayama. In my first week on this mission, I was taking part in team teaching for those preparing for marriage. Here, I had an experience that is very much alive for me to this day. It is basically the reason why I am still in Japan today.
In this group, many of the men were non-Christian, and the women were parishioners. I was still weak in the language, so I resorted to asking questions, such as “When you hear the word ‘God’, what words or images come to mind?” and “What is your main interest in life?”
The answers to the first question showed me that Buddhism and Shintoism had little influence on their lives. For some, God was someone who punishes evil (how sad!); for others, God was a vague, distant something in space.
To the second question about one’s main interest in life, the answers included “the company I work for,” “the Hanshin Tigers (the area’s pro baseball team),” and “photography.” It hit me that my faith, gifted to me by God, was a wonderful treasure and that I wanted to share it. I thought then, and still do, how superficial, how truly unsatisfying and how transitory were their main interests.
Meeting Christ is a wonderful gift, the experience that has set the needle of my missionary compass to this day. I want to give my life to show the Japanese people, in my limited way, that God loves them.
In my early years of mission, I was afflicted with a spiritual affliction called a “Messiah complex.” I thought mission depended on my own strength and effort. And I did work hard! Now mostly cured, I am Christ’s representative, not his plenipotentiary!
At 94, I am ”priest in residence” in a mission parish in Yokohama city. Many of my Columban confreres have retired to their home countries. They are still very much “on mission” by their prayer which has no boundaries. I have chosen to stay in Japan to live among the people I pray for.
This is my typical week. For Sunday Mass, the average attendance is 70. In this digital age, I have my homily put on the parish homepage both in Japanese and English. There are two million foreign workers in Japan. I usually end my homilies with words like this: “Let us share the gifts that God gives us with others this week.” My aim is to encourage parishioners to be missionaries in their own milieu.
The parish also hosts a Chinese community and an Indonesian community, with priests from these countries celebrating the Masses.
Monday is my recreation day. My hobbies are do-it-yourself (DIY) carpentry and a vegetable garden plot. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, I have classes for those preparing for baptism and a class called “Praying with the Scriptures.” I go as the Japanese say at “my pace,” a slow one! I am not busy!
I am a member, with five Japanese priests, of the Formation Group for Yokohama diocesan seminarians. One seminarian comes each weekend for a hands-on experience. The present seminarian is the nineteenth, so I know many of the young priests of Yokohama Diocese.
I delegate jobs and authority. Our bishop has recommended “subsidiarity.” A United Kingdom Labor Union leader used the word and described it as, “Sharing out jobs with others, and trusting the blighters to do their jobs!” In our church, this has helped build community, and it sure relieves stress! I find that just being “in residence” can help faith and mission.
So even with three stents in my heart, I am still in Japan sharing the great gift given to me—my faith.
Psalm 97:7 tells why I am still here: “Among the nations, I will praise you, Lord.
Your love reaches to the Heavens.” Columban Fr. Barry Cairns lives and works in Japan.