Self-sacrifice: Shining examples through the years

"Greater love has no one than this; to lay down his life for his friends" Jesus Christ to his disciples, John 15:13. Sir Philip Sidney, a profoundly serious and religious man, lived during the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England. He was mortally wounded on the battlefield in the war in The Netherlands against the Spanish army. As he lay thus wounded, some water was brought to him to quench his thirst. Seeing a dying comrade near him, in a spirit of veritable self-sacrifice, he handed the water to him, saying: "Thy need is greater than mine".

Fr Damien, known as the saint of the lepers, a Belgian priest, in 1873, sailed for Molokai, one of the islands in the midst of the Pacific Ocean. There, an incurable and dreadful disease, leprosy, scourged the islands' inhabitants. He went there to act as their priest, fully aware that, ultimately, he will fall victim of this loathsome malady. For more than 17 years he saw to their material and spiritual needs, at a cost of unheard of great personal sacrifice. He himself became a victim of leprosy and, in 1889, this courageous, altruistic, and of rarely-equalled sacrifice, man died in the midst of the people who missed him dearly. Though he would have liked to remain unknown to the world, he is universally revered and admired and considered as one of the world's heroes. Fr Maxililian Kolbe (now canonised), a Franciscan friar, was among the Polish sent to the Auschwitz prison camp during the last world war in 1941.

He gave his life to save that of another inmate, a Polish army sergeant, Franciszek Gajouniezek. He faced death by starvation and 14 days after he was condemned to die he died by an injection of phenol administered to him by one of the guards. He was 47 years old.

Arland Williams made a tremendously difficult choice between his life and the lives of others. On January 13, 1982, he was a passenger on a Boeing 737, on a regular scheduled flight from Washington DC. Suddenly, the airline plunged into the icy water of the Potomac river. Survivors tried to cling to the tail section of the plane; holding on to life in the freezing water. Each time the rescue team lowered a rubber ring to him by helicopter, he passed it to another victim, until he disappeared in the icy black water. Such a heroic act is indeed rare and publicly acknowledged and appreciated.

Senior volunteer firefighters Jed Hughes, a plant operator, and Col Eather, a coal miner, were trapped when fierce winds turned a fire at Scotsman Hill in southeastern Australia on them. The two were overcome by smoke and burned on December 3, 1997. "Laying down one's life in service of others is the greatest sacrifice that can be made and I want to pay special tribute to their enormous efforts," commented then Prime Minister John Howard.

Carla Levati Ardenghi, 28, from the northern Italian town of Albano San Alessandro, way back in 1993 died in giving healthy birth after refusing life-saving cancer treatment which could have damaged her child. She also refused abortion. "She paid with her life for her victory over death" had then commented the Milan daily L'Indipendente.

Well, may the erudite, altruistic and brave Albert Schweitzer remark that "Nothing of real value in the world is ever accomplished without enthusiasm and self-sacrifice".