St Daniel Comboni: Surmounting the Obstacles

St Daniel Comboni is the subject of our celebration today, from the book In Caelo et in Terra. He was sent as a priest and missionary to Sudan. He worked tirelessly, overcoming so many obstacles, in his work to alleviate the suffering and bring salvation to the peoples of Africa. God gave him a vision while he was in Rome to found two twin missionary groups: The Comboni Missionaries, and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Both organizations grew and attracted new members, helping in the work of feeding and ministering to the many troubled peoples of Africa. St Daniel was accused by many so-called friends of many indiscretions, which he was later cleared of. But he had to rise above those obstacles to do his work. You can read more about him here.

St Daniel was attacked for doing the great work of helping those in need. In that way, he was like Mother Teresa (St Teresa of Calcutta), who was often criticized for the way she took care of the poor of Calcutta. People attacked her methods of caring for suffering and dying people, not apparently realizing how much worse their suffering would have been without her.

When you work for Jesus, be prepared to be attacked, criticized, and falsely accused. When that happens, remember: you're in good company. Even Jesus had all three of those happen to Him. If you're expecting it, it won't seem so bad. In fact, you can even find the blessing in it.

God, thanks for the work and example of this missionary to the poor of Africa. St Daniel Comboni, pray for us.