Father Richard Ho Lung (in police uniform) in a performance of the play 'Amazing Grace', last November.- Contributed IF ONE were to close one's eyes, and take two small hops in any direction, one would more than likely bump into someone who thinks highly of Father Richard Ho Lung.
This is not surprising since the tales of the 'Ghetto Priest' have spread far and wide.
A man born to poverty, Father Ho Lung and the Brothers he has gathered around him are quite bent on lessening the effects of poverty.
The Missionaries of the Poor has varying homes in downtown Kingston including Good Shepherd, Jacob's Well and The Lord's Place. These homes take care of
persons with AIDS, children and adults with Down's Syndrome, children with meningitis and the homeless.
The Brotherhood is also spreading its wings toward other needy people around the world. In Warangal, India is a mission for lepers and homeless children and the aged. A mission for AIDS patients was established in Uganda, while Haiti and The Philippines have seen homes for the destitute and homeless. All these homes, are funded through the Jamaican foundation of Missions for the Poor.
Much of this funding comes through the annual productions put on by Father Ho Lung and Friends, which celebrates its 31st year of existence this year, making it older than the Missionaries of the Poor.
If the Wailers are to be believed, and when music hits you feel no pain, by using the funds of their annual performances to fund the missions, Father Ho Lung and Friends are using music twice over. The spiritual performances, many of which are based on stories from The Bible, inspire the audiences and could be said to provide a sort of anaesthesia against the world. At the same time, the music and drama is physically helping to soothe the ills of the world through the funds raised.
According to Father Ho Lung, the company, which features all denominations, generally undergoes six tours per year. Toronto, Canada; Atlanta; Florida; New York; New Jersey and some of the islands of the Caribbean are usual stops.
ANNUAL TRADITION
The latest in the annual tradition is the musical Amazing Grace. The play debuted last year, and will be making a return to the stage of The Little Theatre from June 6 to Father's Day, June 15.
Amazing Grace is the story of a woman who decides to forgive and attempt to mother the young man who killed her son. Part of what is amazing about this story is that rather than being mere fiction, it is based on real life. According to Father Ho Lung, though some of the play is fiction, the core of the story is that of Grace Christie. Although Amazing Grace takes in the issues of violence, prostitution and drugs, according to Father Ho Lung, it is essentially the story of the ability of the Jamaican spirit to celebrate and live with hope rather than despair.
The story of Grace Christie is one of many which have been written across the history of Jamaica, far more than half of which have never been told. Amazing Grace is not the first time Father Ho Lung has turned fact to fiction. The first was Sugar Cane and later came Ruby. Sugar Cane dealt with a man who unknowingly killed his own brother while Ruby is the story of a woman who prostituted herself to raise her two children.
Father Ho Lung points out that these stories come to him through people seeking someone to talk to. However, these tales often work upon his own imagination, and when they do, something like Amazing Grace or Sugar Cane results. He admits that though he is amazed by the 'extraordinary spirit of forgiveness' shown in Amazing Grace, it is the story at the heart of Sugar Cane that moves him most.
Father Ho Lung admits to Jamaica's need to tell its own stories, though he has been disappointed by how much of it is told in local theatre. "I really believe that I'm not finding that Jamaican authors are understanding the depth of the Jamaican spiritual and cultural life," he said. "We can't take ourselves seriously and see that we have a very strong spirit."
A man who has worked for years among the dying and indigent, his word has to be taken for truth. "They will not give up," he continued. "I find that we write about ourselves too lightly or we debase ourselves."
Currently working with the threads of another true to life Jamaican tale, Father Ho Lung says passionately, "There are unending stories to tell."
