Memories of Yamasa

Sr. Susan Daly of the Grey Sisters of Pembroke, Ontario, shares moments in her journey with Scarboro missionaries in the Dominican Republic

By Sr. Susan Daly, g.s.i.c
January/February 2013

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When I went to Yamasâ in 1960, the pastor of this small town surrounded by rugged mountains was Scarboro missionary Fr. Lawrence McAuliffe. He was dedicated to the parish and went as often as he could to the far out settlements, riding his favourite mule.

His was the first funeral I attended in Yamasâ. One Saturday morning a young man came in from the village where Father had gone to celebrate the Eucharist to tell us that Fr. McAuliffe had died during the night. As the following day was Sunday and his fellow priests had to be in their parishes, the funeral was hastily arranged for Saturday afternoon. A larger coffin than those available had to be constructed. Telephones were scarce so a group of our Sisters offered to drive to the Scarboro central-house in Santo Domingo, the capital, to inform the priests there. It was amazing how quickly the message got to the Scarboro Fathers in other parts of the island. Almost all were present for the funeral mass at four o’clock.

Sometime before his death, Fr. McAuliffe had erected a statue of Our Lady in a small, fenced-in space near the church. He had also expressed the wish to be buried beside the statue if he died in Yamasâ. And so it happened. The pallbearers had much difficulty in lowering the casket as there was so little space between the base of the statue and the fence, but lower it they did. It was a harsh sound when they began to hammer the lid closed. That sound stayed with me for a long time.

Some pastors were able to serve in Yamasâ parish for long periods of time. I greatly admired the way they responded to the men and women in the outlying areas where the priests were unable to visit on a weekly basis. Courses were planned to prepare the people to take leadership in the celebration of the liturgy and for the reception of the Sacraments. The people would come each month to Yamasâ for a meeting and to receive the materials they would need for the following month’s gatherings. The dedication of these men and women was always an inspiration to me.

In a tribute to the Scarboro Fathers, a native Dominican priest remarked on how well the liturgical services in the Scarboro parishes were attended and that there was a greater participation of the laity than in most parishes. Yet, despite being scattered in different parishes of the country, the Scarboro priests took time to be with each other every week at the central-house in Santo Domingo. I can imagine that many stories of the past week would be shared.

Fr. Dan MacNeil

When Fr. Dan MacNeil was living his last days at the Society’s central-house in Canada, a fellow priest asked him for a “word.” After some thought, Fr. Dan replied, “Harmony.” For me, this was also a fitting expression of how all the Scarboro priests I knew in mission strove to live.

Fr. Dan had the gift of letter writing. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the first three Grey Sisters to Yamasâ, Fr. Dan wrote the following letter:

“The word spate comes from the Irish Gaelic word, speid, which means a river swollen by rain, and recently we have been having a spate of anniversaries of religious who have dedicated themselves to minister to the Mystical Body of Christ...

There is coming a time, now in preparation, when the Kingdom will be in full bloom. Remembering the squabble about Kingship with Pilate and the Jews, and straining his leather neck to see the title on the Cross, Dismas also joined in, saying simply: ‘Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom.’ For Christ had already found a throne in the heart of the Good Thief, a prototype of all religious who lend their hearts to Christ to be His throne.

So, rejoice, Sisters and take your place with the multitude who follow Christ and minister to Him in the slums of the world of the Pilates and the Wall Street Augustus Caesars.

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