LAWRENCE CRAIG       1916 - 2007

 Homily of Fr. Michael Coleman, ss.cc. 

     Lawrence Craig was born in Boston, Mass., in 1916, the second youngest of four boys and one girl.  When he was two-years old and his brother one, his Mom passed away, and his aunt, who was in the convent, left to take care of the five children.  When they were grown, she returned to another congregation of sisters. Larry remarked many times during his life that he would love to have remembered what his mother’s face looked like.

After graduating from Providence College, Larry joined our Congregation and was ordained in 1941. He became a chaplain to the U.S. Army.  He was one of the first to arrive in Tokyo, from the Philippines, with General McArthur, at the end of World War II. 

After returning to the States, he was assigned to the new mission of the Congregation in Japan, with Frs. Albert Evans, ss.cc., and Pat Heran, ss.cc., arriving on July 23, 1949.  Because there was no language school at that time, the three new missionaries stayed with Sisters near Tokyo.  One month after arrival, Monsignor Uchino, called the Provincial in Fairhaven, asking that one of the priests go to Mito in the new mission area of Ibaraki to celebrate Mass.  Larry, being the Superior, after getting help to write a three page sermon, responded to the call.  While vesting in the sacristy, he left the second page of the sermon behind. During the homily he went from page one to page three. Afterwards, he remarked to the sacristan that he felt awful for skipping a page.  The sacristan replied, “Don’t feel bad Father, they didn’t understand very much anyway.”  When Larry turned around, a lady was standing there, and she said to the sacristan, “I have a problem; I would like to talk with Father.”  Larry had to open his dictionary as he had not yet learned the word for “problem” in Japanese.

As time went on, Larry was to oversee the building of the big church in Mito and the purchase of the property in Tomobe.  As this property was actually a number of small lots, the negotiations were very involved, and the subsequent building of our Monastery is, in itself, a testament to Larry’s tenacity and dedication. Also, as the Superior, he was involved in the purchase of the properties on which now stand Hitachi, Tsuchiura, and  Shimodate churches

After our French SS.CC.’s decided to leave Yamagata Prefecture, Larry again was involved in negotiations over the acceptance and the staffing of the Yamagata mission area.  Because of his great vision and determination, the Church and the Congregation were firmly established in both prefectures.

Those of us who have lived and worked with Larry over these many years, knew him as a very kind and gentle person.  A wonderful trait in his character was that if you said anything not so complimentary of someone, Larry would immediately respond by pointing out positive things about that person.

One of the great sorrows in Larry’s life was the death of his younger brother.  Like Larry, he was a chaplain (Dominican) in the Army, during the Korean War.  During his tour of duty, while anointing a wounded soldier, his comrade, nearby, stepped on a landmine – all were killed instantly.

It is a well-known fact that many priests (yours truly included) don’t start preparing their Sunday homily, until the weekend.  Larry began his preparation, the evening of the Sunday before, and, early in the week, he would always ask us if we had any good ideas to share with God’s people on the following Sunday.  When Larry came to Japan, there was no language school, and it was quite a struggle to pick up Japanese, without the help of formal classes.  Over the years, Larry developed a love for Japanese kanji (characters).  He became proficient in reading newspapers, Catholic magazines, and other publications.

At the age of 82, Larry was given his last assignment as pastor of Toride Church.  People tell us that the first thing he asked was for somebody to take him to the houses of those who no longer came to church, the sick, and those who were living alone.  Even at this advanced age, his zeal for the Kingdom and his love of people was so evident, as he strove to be a good shepherd.

Larry was a man of prayer.  In the morning he rose early and spent hours before breakfast in meditation, praying the Breviary, Adoration, and Mass.  Every evening he was in the chapel for a Holy Hour and all during that time, he loved to talk with Jesus.  They were great friends, and they had many animated conversations.

During the last year of his life, Larry suffered much.  Finally, on May 9 th, in the presence of Frs. Andrew Healey, John Biffar and Bro. Francis, he was called to his eternal reward.  The last word he uttered was, “Brother,” a farewell greeting for the wonderful care that Bro. Francis gave to him.  May the Good Lord have mercy on Larry’s gentle soul.