By Tom Maguire | Associate editor
Father Michael Bassano, a Binghamton native, has sent along a new poem as he continues his Maryknoll missionary service in South Sudan.
Father Bassano is the Catholic chaplain in the United Nations Protection of Civilians (POC) camp outside the town of Malakal by the White Nile. Up to about 3,000 of the approximately 37,000 people in the POC camp are members of Father Bassano’s parish.
A civil war that broke out in South Sudan in 2013 has left nearly 400,000 dead and has displaced nearly four million people, according to Catholic News Service. Last month, CNS reported that a peace deal has been brokered between the government of South Sudan and opposition leaders. According to CNS, the head of the government delegation told Vatican Radio that crucial questions remain, including elections, boundaries, and the fight against corruption.
Father Bassano’s latest poem is titled “Way.”
Commenting on the poem in an email to Father Bassano was Deacon Paul Bork, Director for Mission Education and Promotion, East Region, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Tonawanda.
Deacon Bork called the poem “a reflection of the importance of Jesus in your life — reflected in your actions for others in Jesus’ name and His example.
“And for me it is a prayer that I might live always with Jesus as my way, my only way. Your poem is a wonderful reminder of that goal.”
Here is the poem:
Way
Jesus is my thoughts,
words and
heart
Jesus is the way of
my acting
of doing
and of my very being
Jesus is the way of compassion
and healing peace
embracing our
suffering world
Jesus is the way
of my unfolding journey
and unending j
