Jun 17, 2021
It is with grateful hearts that we thank everyone who participated in this yearâs Novena to the Sacred Heart, which took place in the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, from June 3rd to June 11th 2021.
This year, ongoing COVID restrictions meant that our Sacred Heart Novena once again had to take place online; while our doors may have been closed, our hearts were open, and it is with sincere joy and gratitude that we welcomed members of our great family of faith from all over the world. Well over 1,000 people joined us daily to participate in our online Masses on each of the nine days of the Novena, close to home and in far-flung corners of the world. Together, we prayed with mission friends from Ireland, the UK, and America, as well as Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Romania, Spain, and many more.
âThe Way of the Heartâ
Irish Provincial Fr Carl Tranter MSC opened the Novena on June 3rd, reminding us that âthis yearâs Novena has a special character for us as we begin to emerge from the long lockdown of the last months, and these long 15 months of living with COVID.â
âWeâre conscious that weâve all been changed by this experience,â reflected Fr Carl. âWe have experienced an enormous disruption to our lives â loss, sickness, grief. People have felt isolated and lonely. People have been afraid and have had financial worries and business worries. Weâve been disconnected from each other, from friends and family. Weâve had so many hard and tough experiences this past year.â
âThe theme for the Novena this year is âThe Way of the Heartâ,â he continued. âIt invites us into the language of journey, a process, a way living, a way of praying, a way of walking our path in life: the way of the heart. So over these coming nine days weâll be inviting you to embrace this time, this space that weâre given to allow our wounded hearts, our pained hearts, our grieving hearts, our confused hearts, but also our longing hearts and our hopeful hearts, to go on a journey, to be taken on a journey deep into the heart of Christ, that unique place where we discover the intimacy of Godâs love, of Godâs gentleness, of Godâs embrace, of Godâs care for each of us.â
Living as God’s creation
Fr Michael OâConnell MSC, Director of the Missions Office, celebrated the second Novena Mass, on the theme of Mission, where he spoke about âThe Way of the Heartâ and how it âit opens us up to a whole way of being, of really living as Godâs creationâ. âIf you are living according to questions like, how can I make money, or how can I get a bigger house, or even how can I get my children to be the biggest earners or get the best qualifications â thatâs really very narrow, and itâs very finiteâ, he said. âBut when itâs the heart, when itâs the way of the heart â wow, that can go anywhere. COVID has shown us that questions like, when can I go on my next holiday, when can I buy my next car, or when can I go out for dinner⊠Living for those things that are just so finite, they can all be taken away at the stroke of a regulation. At a cough or an infection, theyâre gone. But the way of the heart, thatâs something inside us, that inner strength we have, that inner way of being â nobody can take that from us.â
Day three of the Novena, on the theme of Reconciliation, was celebrated by Fr Tom Mulcahy MSC, who spoke of the power of grace and love: of loving a person âexactly as they are, with all their rubbish and brokenness and all the rest⊠Not a pretended love, not an act put on, but an absolute giving.â Fr Seamus Kelly MSC also spoke of love on the fourth day of the Novena, which celebrated Corpus Christi, calling on the grace of the Holy Spirit âto be able to bring Godâs love to people throughout the worldâ.
The fifth day of the Novena was celebrated by Fr John Finn MSC, who spoke at length about caring for our planet, and planets beyond. Bringing us from outer space back to our own earth, he reminded us that, âThe earth is given to us by God as a gift, life is given to us by God as a gift, and we are called to a deeper appreciation, to a gratitude of heart for that gift that God has given to us, his blessing.â
âA love thatâs beyond our knowledge, more than our minds can grasp.â
On day six of our Novena to the Sacred Heart, Fr John Fitzgerald MSC led us in prayer for our dearly departed â âa special day,â Fr John observed, âbecause the dead visit us so many times in our memories.â Reading from a selection of beautiful poems, Fr John reminded us not to worry about those we have lost: âOur loved ones are at peace; that is the promise, and we need have no fear of them or for them.â
Day seven saw Fr Michael return to celebrate the theme of Healing, emphasising the power of compassion, of active compassion, not just passive pity, for others and for ourselves. The idea of compassion carried through to the following dayâs Masses, where Fr John Fitzgerald led a service of thanksgiving for our front-line workers, and all who have worked behind the scenes during the COVID pandemic. Showing us an ornament of an open hand, sculpted from timber, he said, âIf there ever was an apt ornament for today, it is this, in thanksgiving for the people who opened their hands freely to offer what they had freely for us and for the people around them, and we are very, very privileged to devote a day of the Novena in thanksgiving.â
âThis is the time to pray a massive thanksgiving, lest we forget and take for granted.â
On the final day of our Novena, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Fr John Finn was joined by Bishop Fintan Gavin to celebrate the closing Mass. Reflecting on âThe Way of the Heartâ, Bishop Fintan spoke of Christâs love, a âlove thatâs beyond our knowledge, more than our minds can grasp.â
âAll we can do,â he said, âis place ourselves in love and in faith. And if we can do that, then Christâs love begins to grow in our hearts, and so through faith our hearts will reflect something of the Sacred Heart, something of his love will flow into our human hearts, to bring life to us so that we can bring life to our world.â
âOur faith is a missionary faith,â Bishop Fintan continued, âand so our faith is never turned in on itself, it is always reaching out to others, always selflessly self-emptying so that we can share that love and that encounter with others â thatâs the Christ weâre called to follow, thatâs the Christ we hear about in this eveningâs Gospel, thatâs the Christ I invite you to take deeper into your lives, so that others, through our witness, may come to know the love of Christ.â
âLove begins to work its changes…â
At a time when we are beginning to slowly emerge from the fear, stress, sorrow, and uncertainty of the last 15 months, this yearâs Novena to the Sacred Heart was a wonderful way to pause and to give thanks for the daily blessings that have meant so much, and continue to do so. âCOVID has changed so much of our lives,â Fr Carl reflected. âIt has had such an enormous impact on us, but as Pope Francis has wisely observed, itâs not just what COVID has done to us, but itâs also what COVID has revealed to us, about ourselves, about our lives, about our world.â
In the different ways the pandemic has impacted us, Fr Carl reassured us, âwe bring that to the heart of Christ, and let him know how we are feeling and what it is we want and we need. And in that space, maybe if we just stop talking for a while, and allow him to hold us and embrace us and love us, and that love begins to work its changes. And as it works its change, we find ourselves opening that little bit more.â
As Fr John Finn closed our 2021 Novena, he said âI thank you, from our community house here at the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, for joining us in this Novena. I thank you for praying for us, for praying with us, as we pray for and with you, and I pray that you will come to know ever deeper the love that God has for you, revealed in the heart of Christ.â
Our heartfelt thanks to all who took part in this yearâs Novena celebrations. May the Sacred Heart bless you and your loved ones, now and always.
Watch our 2021 MSC Novena to the Sacred Heart:
June 3rd: Opening Mass by Irish Provincial Leader Fr Carl Tranter MSC
June 4th: Mission, celebrated by Fr Michael O’Connell MSC
June 5th: Reconciliation, celebrated by Fr Tom Mulcahy MSC
June 6th: Corpus Christie, celebrated by Fr Seamus Kelly MSC
June 7th: Care of Our Earth, celebrated by Fr John Finn MSC
June 8th: Pray for Our Dead, celebrated by Fr John Fitzgerald MSC
June 9th: Healing, celebrated by Fr Michael O’Connell MSC
June 10th: Thanksgiving for front-line workers, celebrated by Fr John Fitzgerald MSC
June 11th: Feast of the Sacred Heart, celebrated by Fr John Finn MSC (Morning Mass)
June 11th: Feast of the Sacred Heart, celebrated by Fr John Finn MSC and Bishop Fintan Gavin (Evening Mass)
May 13, 2021
On April 23rd 2021, three Spanish-born MSC priests and seven lay catechists of the indigenous Maya people became âblessedâ and were beatified in the Cathedral of Santa Cruz del QuichĂ©, Guatemala.
Last year, Pope Francis signed a decree which recognised all ten as martyrs, and on April 23rd, Guatemalan Cardinal Ălvaro Leonel Ramazzini celebrated the beatification Mass in El QuichĂ©. Three priests of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, namely Jose Maria Gran Cirera, Juan Alonso Fernandez, and Faustino Villanueva, were beatified along with seven lay people: RosalĂo Benito, Reyes Us, Domingo del Barrio, NicolĂĄs Castro, TomĂĄs RamĂrez, Miguel TiĂș, and Juan Barrera MĂ©ndez, who was just 12 years of age. All ten were killed in Guatemala at various stages between 1980 and 1991, in âhatred of the faithâ.
Champions of the poor and vulnerable
It is estimated that 200,000 people, including Catholic missionaries, priests, and nuns, were killed in Guatemala between 1960 and 1996, when the country was by ravaged by conflict between its government military regime and a number of leftist groups. In the 1980s, a time when dictatorship was in full force in Central America, the Church found itself the victim of constant persecution for its role in championing the poor and defending human rights.
During this time, to stand for what was right in the name of peace was to stand against the military regime. The ten martyrs were unashamed and unafraid in their faith, assisting those in need in every way they could. From spiritual guidance and visiting the sick, to serving their communities and attempting to right the wrongs of an unjust regime on a local level, both the MSC priests and the lay people maintained the use of the Bible and the rosary despite the very real danger this posed. They eventually sacrificed their lives for their beliefs, and were killed by those in power who considered the teachings of the faith a threat to the system as it stood.
âI do nothing but preach the word of God.â
The three Spanish MSC priests died terrible deaths for their faith and for their friendship towards the countryâs most marginalised people. Fr JosĂ© MarĂa Gran Cirera was shot repeatedly alongside his friend and sacristan Dominic Batz while leaving Mass on horseback on June 4th 1980. Fr Faustino Villanueva was shot in his home, by two young men who visited the parish house, after celebrating evening Mass on July 10th 1980. Some months later, at the end of January 1981, Fr Juan Alonso Fernandes wrote to his brother, saying âI have the feeling that I am in danger. I don’t want to be killed in any way, but neither am I ready, out of fear, to abandon this people.â He was living and working in the north of the country, a particularly hazardous area. On February 13th 1981, he was forcibly detained by the military for questioning. Unbowed, he told them, âWhat we preach, anyone can hear. If you want to know what I say, just go to church. I do nothing but preach the word of God.â Fr Juan Alonso was released that night, but was intercepted on his way to visit a community the following day. He was tortured in a ravine, and then shot in the head three times.
Twelve-year-old Juan Barrera MĂ©ndez, known as Juanito, is particularly noted for his dedication to his faith. He received the sacrament of Confirmation himself, and acted as a spiritual guide for children preparing to receive their First Holy Communion. He was captured in a military raid on his community, and was tortured cruelly before his death; his passion was indestructible, and his name and his testimony are still well-recognised amongst Guatemalan children today.
âMissionaries on the moveâ
In an interview with Vatican News, Bishop Rosolino Bianchetti of QuichĂ© reflects, âOur martyrs were truly missionaries on the move… They went from house to house, keeping the faith alive, praying with their brothers, evangelizing, imploring the God of life. They were men of great faith, of great trust in God, but at the same time of great dedication to bring about a change, a different Guatemala.â
MSC Superior General, Fr Mario AbzalĂłn Alvarado Tovar, gave sincere thanks to all involved with the beatification at the recent Mass. âThe three religious Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the seven laymen today beatified as Martyrs are the prophetic voice that continues to resonate and call us to recognize the situation that was experienced in El QuichĂ© and in Guatemala in the 1980s,â he said. âThousands of brothers and sisters who were killed for the sake of justice and their faith committed to building the Kingdom of God. It was a whole system of death â genocide â that destroyed the lives of these ten new Blesseds. They are the sign that this unjust barbarism that bled an entire nation should never be repeated in Guatemala again – never again! Unfortunately, situations like this continue to happen in different parts of the world.â
âWounds that continue to bleedâ
Fr AbzalĂłn continued, âWe are encouraging our MSC brothers to be convinced that the best way to honour the memory of those who gave their life is to remain committed to eradicating the causes that led these three Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and seven laity and so many others to shed their blood. Causes that remain open, wounds that continue to bleed in Guatemala and throughout the world, through violence, exploitation, poverty, injustice and corruption. Our mother earth continues to be violated and destroyed. The Common Home needs us so that, inspired by the new Blessed Martyrs of QuichĂ©, we raise our voices and give prophetic, living and coherent witness, as the three Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the seven laity, today Blessed Martyrs, did.â
As many communities in Guatemala continue to face extreme challenges and severe hardship, including poverty, exploitation, and forced migration, we remember the sacrifice of the El Quiché martyrs, and we pray for all who continue to struggle in their home country, and in similar situations around the world.
âWe are united with MSCs and the wider Chevalier Family around the world in celebrating this day and praying for the local church in El QuichĂ© and Guatemala as it continues the work of evangelisation, service and worship, justice and peace, and the dignity of all its peoples, especially the indigenous communities.â
â Fr Carl Tranter MSC, Irish Provincial Leader
Read more about the beatification of the martyrs of El Quiché
Apr 23, 2021
Blessed are the martyrs of El Quiche Guatemala. Faith’s response to injustice.
Article from the Italian newspaper, Avvenire 23/04/2021.
Ten missionaries, priests, catechists, pastoral workers and also a 12-year-old boy are raised to the altars. Their engagement was against violence during the civil war.
It was a day in August 1995. The farmer was working in his field, as usual. The hoe inadvertently moved a stone, stuck in the dark earth. It was then that he noticed the strange object: a closed book in a plastic bag. With difficulty, on the thick black
cover, he can still read the golden writing: “Holy Bible”. The photo of its ruined pages, on display at the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala (Odha), is the most authentic memory of the civil war that bloodied the nation between 1960 and 1996.
Genocide took place in the highlands of QuichĂ©: tens of thousands of civilians were massacred. Women, men, children and old people; the overwhelming majority poor and indigenous: a tragically “normal” situation in a country where poverty has the colour and
features of the Mayan people. A people, however, deeply believing, capable – riding the wave of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, of the Latin American Bishops’ Conferences and of the work of evangelization carried out by Catholic Action – of reconciling
the Gospel and their daily commitment to the construction of the Kingdom. Thus was born the prophecy which incited priests, bishops, laity, catechists and pastoral workers to denounce the vicious system of exclusion fostered in the blood by the small land elite
and its representatives in the military governments. It was enough to have a Bible in the house to be tortured and killed. Violence has not extinguished faith. The sacred books and symbols were buried, but people continued to read and pray them, in secret.
“They buried the Bible, put flowers and candles in it,” says Fernando BermĂșdez, a missionary for thirty years in Guatemala with his wife, theologian and author of digital religious affairs. In the evening, the community met there to remember certain passages,
thus resuscitating the Word. Witnesses to the end. Like the Spanish priests, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart JosĂ© MarĂa Gran Cirera and Juan Alonso FernĂĄndez and Faustino Villanueva, the sacristan TomĂĄs RamĂrez Caba, the catechists RosalĂo Benito Ixchop,
Reyes Us HernĂĄndez, Domingo Del Barrio Batz, NicolĂĄs Castro, Miguel Tiu Imul and Juan Barrera MĂ©ndez, just 12 years old. All murdered in hatred of the faith between 1980 and 1991, as recognized by the decree which Pope Francis authorized for promulgation on
January 24. And as such, they will be beatified today at the Rosary Institute of Santa Cruz de El QuichĂ©. The Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Ălvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, Bishop of Huehuetenango.
The city is decorated with flowers and murals for this great celebration that not even the pandemic can erase. “It is a recognition of the faith of the people of God who go on pilgrimage to QuichĂ©. There, the Church was persecuted, paradoxically, by “co-religionistsâ.
âThe soldiers and paramilitaries who massacred civilians and tortured priests and catechists professed to be Catholics. To justify themselves, they accused the victims of being subversive and communist. Nothing is further from the truth. Their non-violent defence
of the dignity of the oppressed was rooted in the Gospel “, explains Nery Rodenas, director of Odha. It was precisely this latter office – created by Juan Gerardi, longtime bishop of QuichĂ© and also a victim of death squads – that exposed the “official lie”
of the âNunca MĂĄsâ (Never Again) report. A meticulous work of reconstructing the historical memory by collecting testimonies on the ground: 6,000 arrived from QuichĂ© alone. âI accompanied the future blessed NicolĂĄs Castro and Reyes Us. One day, they asked me
to help them hide consecrated hosts in a container with corn husks. It was the only sure way to take them to their villages, a day’s walk away. They knew they risked horrific death if found. But they told me that neither they nor their communities could renounce
the Body of Christ”, BermĂșdez remembers. “They killed NicolĂĄs on the night of September 29, 1980: a commando broke into his house and tried to kidnap him. He resisted and they hit him with three bullets in front of his wife, mother and children. He was 35.
Less than two months later, it was Reyes’ turn.” “The example of these martyrsâ, concludes Rodenas, âprompts us to work with an even greater impetus for the truth and justice of the Kingdom, for which they lived. And for which they died.”
Archdiocesan Television
https://www.youtube.com/…/UCaX9JrFxj84pLq3lbAp…/featured
https://canalcatolico.tv/ click on live TV.
Mar 16, 2021
This St. Patrick’s day we will be having a special reflection evening in the Sacred Heart Church on Western Road with Music, Song and Poetry on our Live Stream at 7pm.
Sep 16, 2020
This Year, a year like no other we have had to cope and adjust to many new ways of doing things.
For over fifty years we have organized an Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes but as you are all aware such travel is not permitted this year. That is why with the use of technology we are inviting you to join us on a virtual pilgrimage online at here
It will include Daily Mass at 10 am from Sacred Heart Church in Cork.
Angelus and Rosary with reflective images at Noon repeated at 3pm.
A reflection at 7.30 followed by a live stream from Lourdes. See our online schedule here.
It may not be the same as being there, but we hope through images and reflections during the week it will in spirit bring us to that place of peace and calm.
From Nevers, Bernadette made a spiritual pilgrimage to Lourdes every day: âEvery day I go in spirit to the Grotto. I make a pilgrimage there.â
If you would like us to send out your petitions to Lourdes, please feel free to forward them to Fr. Michael OâConnell MSC at our Mission Support Centre.
You can also send in your prayer intentions online here
We pray through the intercession of Our Lady Lourdes that this time of prayer and reflection may bring us peace and healing during these troubled times.
Fr. Michael O’Connell MSC
MSC Pilgrimage team.
Prayer to the Immaculate Conception for a Spiritual Pilgrimage
Our Lady of Lourdes,
You who revealed your presence to Bernadette
By simply saying âI am the Immaculate Conceptionâ,
Grant us the grace to be present with you
at the Grotto of Massabielle.
We cannot be there today,
but we are present in spirit
with Bernadette and all the pilgrims from Lourdes
who have gone before us.
You gave birth to the Saviour of the world,
Look tenderly on our world in her distress.
Open in us a path of hope,
Guide us to Him who is the Living Source,
Jesus, your Son, who teaches us to say âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ..Our FatherâŠ
We might be unable to come and gather together physically in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, but we are all invited to come on a spiritual pilgrimage.
From Nevers, Bernadette made a spiritual pilgrimage every day:âEvery day I go in spirit to the Grotto. I make a pilgrimage there.â
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us:
âFor where two or three gather in my name, there am I with themâ.
(Matt. 18:20)
Lourdes Pilgrimage 2019
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Aug 13, 2020
Our annual Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a beautiful time of reflection and thanksgiving, when we bring our prayers and petitions before Our Lady.
Our Novena of Masses runs for nine days and will take place from Monday, August 31st to Tuesday, September 8th online only due to Covid-19 crowd limits in the church.
All are welcome to join in the Novena by watching our daily Masses live from the Sacred Heart Church in Cork. These Novena Masses will take place online daily @ 8.00pm. You can also submit your personal prayers and intentions online, and our MSC priests will remember your petitions specially throughout the course of the Novena.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Novena Prayer
Remember, Our lady of the Sacred Heart , the great things the Lord has done for you.
He choose you for His Mother
He wanted you close to His Cross.
He gives you a share in His Glory
He listens to Your Prayer.
Offer Him our prayers of praise and thanksgiving.
Present our petitions to Him.
(Share your petitions silently with Our Lady)
Let us live like you in the love of your Son so that His Kingdom may come.
Lead all people to the source of living water that flows from His Heart,
spreading over the world hope and salvation, justice and peace.
See our trust in you;
Answer our Prayer.
Show yourself always our Mother.
Amen.
Be part of this yearâs Novena to the Sacred Heart
At this special time of year, you can help us to help others by supporting our ongoing mission projects, and in gratitude for your contribution, we will be glad to remember your intentions at our daily Novena Masses.
OLSH Novena 2020 Schedule:
31st August : Woman of Faith Homilist Fr John Finn MSC.
1st September : Woman of Hope Homilist Fr John Fitzgerald MSC.
2nd September : Woman of Love Homilist Fr Des Farren MSC.
3rd September : Woman of Service Homilist Fr. Alan Neville MSC.
4th September : Woman of Commitment Homilist Fr. Seamus Kelly MSC.
5th September : Healing and the Family Homilist Fr. Tom Mulcahy MSC.
6th September : Woman of the Poor Homilist Fr Michael O’Connell MSC.
7th September : Woman of Prayer Homilist Fr. Tom Mulcahy MSC.
8th September: Woman of Joy Homilist Fr John Fitzgerald MSC.
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