2007 - 2008

Dear Friends,

Please join me in thanking God for my successful cataract operations and for the successful removal of the melanoma cancer from my face on the right cheek. I pray that God will bless all the doctors and nurses who helped me. I pray also that God will bless all of you who have helped many poor Nigerians to have access to skilled medical help as well as to food, clothing, education and shelter. For the past three or four years, I have given money each week to Mama Oluchi, a self-sacrificing, dedicated Nigerian lady who gets on a bus and goes once a week to care for an old lady named Mama Mary, who had a stroke about five years ago. Her right hand and leg are paralyzed and she cannot get up from the mattress on which she lies.

Mama Oluchi cooks and brings food, and she fetches water and washes Mama Mary and her room. She takes the dirty clothes home to wash by hand. Mama Mary is incontinent, and Mama Oluchi said that sometimes when she is washing her clothes the water splashes in her face. She asked me to pray for her that God will give her the grace to continue. Mama Oluchi treats Mama Mary as her own mother even though there is no blood relationship and they belong to different tribes. She knows that this is what God wants, and she refuses to accept any salary even though she herself is very poor. Let us all pray for Mama Oluchi and Mama Mary and for all the poor and those who help them.

If you want to make a donation for our ministry to the poor in Nigeria, you can make out a tax-exempt check to ‘Dominicans’, and mail it to:
Fr. Ed Riley, O.P.
c/o Fr. Robert Goedert, O.P.
St. Pius Priory
1909 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL  60608

“May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Sincerely,

Fr. Ed Riley, O.P.

P.S. Dominican Fathers and Brothers Province of Nigeria is incorporated as a non-profit tax-exempt charitable organization in Prince George’s County, Maryland (cf. www.taxexemptworld.com). The address in Maryland of our Office of Development and Mission is 4501 21st St., Mount Rainier, MD  20712-2408.  Tel. 301-927-0387.