Jan 9, 2025
On the final Sunday of 2024, MSCs on our Mozambique mission celebrated a very special ceremony to mark the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. MSCs Fr José Eduardo Paixão and Fr Roney Lima prayed together with the parishioners of the Diocese of Pemba, along those that had travelled from neighbouring areas to be part of this wonderful celebration filled with joy and hope.
Our MSC mission in Mozambique was established in early 2018 in the Diocese of Pemba, which is a very poor part of the country. The need for help in the region is very real, and the mission is continuously working to adapt and respond to serve the many and changing needs of the vulnerable and displaced, from emergency response to natural disasters, to the brutal impact of violence and political unrest.
The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart has a long friendship with our Mozambique mission, with the compassion and support of our mission friends and benefactors here at home touching the lives of thousands of people across the district of Pemba. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our extended mission family here at home, we have been able to bring about positive change to disadvantaged communities and vulnerable families across the diocese. Civil war in the region has caused significant suffering, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes and their lives since 2017, and many others killed or reported missing. In recent years, we have been working alongside Fr José to raise funds to support those in real and urgent need, helping to provide essential aid and more hopeful prospects for those struggling in their circumstances.
Let us all be pilgrims of hope in this Jubilee Year, carrying the spirit of faith, hope, and perseverance in our hearts.
Images via the Facebook page for MSC Mozambique, with credit to Abudo Manara.
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Jan 2, 2025
As we neared the end of December, the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines once again carried out its annual tradition of Christmas unity, sharing, and togetherness, with its Share a Christmas Basket programme.
Just before Christmas, a tremendous group of local volunteers worked together to pack hundreds of baskets of groceries and Christmas provisions in preparation for the programme, which benefitted a total of 750 families this year. Each donation for a basket was marked at a value of 549 Philippine pesos, which meant that an entire family’s Christmas could be transformed for a little under €10 per household.
The MSC Mission Office in the Philippines posted their gratitude to all of their donors on their Facebook page, heading their post “A Moment to Remember”.
“The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, through the MSC Mission Office, would like to express our deepest gratitude to the following donors for their generous support of our ‘Paskong Handog: A Christmas Noche Buena Basket Project’,” they wrote.
“Thanks to [our donors’] passion and generosity in helping the needy, the project was a resounding success! With their unwavering support, we were able to distribute 750 Noche Buena baskets to families in need in the following areas: Bataan, Triala, Nueva Ecija, San Anton Mission Station, Butuan, Cebu, Libis Caloocan, and various areas served by TFUC.
We are deeply grateful for your partnership in bringing joy and hope to so many families this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year to Everyone!!
From your MSC Family”
Well done to all involved in this wonderful project, which gave the priceless gift of a happy Christmas to hundreds of families in the Philippines. With the spirit of Christmas goodwill still in our hearts, we send every blessing to our MSC brothers in the Philippines and the communities they serve there.
“Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with joy, laughter, and endless possibilities.
May this year bring you peace, prosperity, and all the good things you deserve.
Cheers to a fantastic new year!!!”
~ MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
Images via MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
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Dec 18, 2024
Please note that the MSC Missions Office will be closed over the Christmas period,
from 3.00pm on Monday, December 23rd to 9.00am on Thursday, January 2nd.
With warmest wishes to our mission friends everywhere for a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas season.
Dear Friends,
Beannachtaí na Nollag oraibh go léir – Christmas greetings to you and yours! We have come to the end of another year, and what a great blessing it is to be here writing to you as we look ahead with hopeful hearts to 2025.
This year marked 170 years since the foundation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and 60 years since we set up our MSC Missions Office for the Irish Province here in Cork City. Time goes on, generations come and go, challenges arise and are met, and new ones take their place. Throughout it all, there is always a need, there is always a call. Be it 170 years ago, 60 years ago, or today – people remain in real and great need of our ministry. From pastoral support and care, to the provision of the most basic necessities such as clean water to drink or a safe place to sleep, our MSCs continue on our shared mission to help those in need, and you, our mission friends, are a powerful and invaluable force in allowing us to do so.
Recent months allowed me and a team of MSCs to meet with many of our mission friends and benefactors across the Irish Province, and what a great pleasure and privilege it was. The sense of community and the sheer generosity of spirit are a tremendously powerful and wonderful force, particularly in the face of all the fear, sorrow, and violence that plague our world in current times. Your compassion extends to people at the other side of the world, to friends you will never meet, but whose lives have been and will be changed immeasurably because of the kindness of strangers.
Of course, Christmas can be a difficult time for many; to all who find themselves struggling for any reason this Christmas, be it with loss or illness or personal challenges, please know that you are in my prayers this Christmas, and in the prayers of our MSCs everywhere.
Pope Francis has described Christmas as “an inner joy of light and peace”, and that inner joy, that peace of mind and spirit, is my prayer for you this Christmas time. Our mission friends have been and continue to be instrumental in bringing the joy of progress and the light of hope to so many needy people and vulnerable families in so many different places, and it is with a truly grateful heart that I thank you for your kindness, on behalf of our MSCs all over the world. May the spirit of peace, goodwill, and the Lord’s love fill your heart and your home this Christmas, and may God bless and protect you and your loved ones throughout 2025.
Wishing you a happy, holy, and peaceful Christmas,
Fr John Fitzgerald MSC
Dec 17, 2024
It’s all excitement in the Catholic University of South Sudan for the start of 2025. We are moving! Thanks in large part to the generous support of the Mission Support Office’s benefactors, we will shift all our lecturers and students to a local Catholic secondary school for the next four months. This will allow for the complete renovation of our existing halls, including lights and fans. We will be able to develop a programme of evening classes and extend our popular late night study sessions.
The building we are currently using is a repurposed youth centre, lacking ceilings, windows, and any electricity. As we move into the dry season, dust becomes a real problem and on a windy day it can feel like a scene out of Lawrence of Arabia minus the camels and sweeping vistas. During the rest of the year, when it rains it pours and students had to move to the centre of the classroom to avoid getting drenched.
Many of our students actually came from that school, so it will be a chance to revisit the past and see if they can fit back into the small desks. It will take a considerable amount of effort, but it will be worth it. In future, we also want to use the new building as a training centre for existing teachers to upgrade their skills and support their work.
Thanks in a special way to all of you who have supported our ministry here and on behalf of everyone in the University we wish you a joyful Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
Nhialic abi thiei,
Fr. Alan
Our Students: Meet Helena and Isabella (Our newest student – just 2 months old)
Helena is 25 years old and is in her second year of a four-year Bachelor of Business Administration Degree. She has three other children along with Isabella. Only 4% of the population of South Sudan has access to electricity, so being able to study at night is a real challenge.
“I like to study in the Catholic University because there is availability of internet, to allow us to access new information. We have a little library and we have five computers. We now have night-time study twice a week and when my baby is old enough I can take part in it. During the day it is hot. Our temperatures can go up to 42C, so it is difficult to study. Our lecturers are very committed and we don’t miss a single class.
The University’s partial scholarship for women is encouraging us, as the full fee would be too much for us to pay, as many of us are not working. When you are pregnant in other universities you are suspended as a student, but here we are allowed to bring our babies with us and this is really helping us.
I study at night when the baby is asleep. When Isabella is awake she wants to know about everything I am doing. I have to get up at 2:00am and study until 4:00am using a torch. Then I start preparing for my other children to go to school, lighting the fire, and making the porridge.
My hope for the future is to open up my own school, to ensure that education reaches more children in South Sudan. In our primary schools we have a lot of students, up to 150 children in a class with one teacher and those teachers often are not well trained.
With everything that is going on here the number of students will increase next year. Our sisters are admiring how we going and they hope to join us.”
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
Dec 16, 2024
MSC CHRISTMAS RAFFLE 2024
🌟🎄 Christmas Raffle Prize Winners:🎄 🌟
1st Prize: Shopping voucher to the value of €1,000
P Booth,
Portlaoise,
Co Laois.
2nd Prize: Jingle Bells & Whistles Luxury Hamper value €500
McSweeney,
Mallow,
Co Cork.
3rd Prize: All I want for Christmas Hamper value €400
M Cummins,
Clonsilla,
Dublin 15.
4th Prize: Festive Feast Christmas Hamper value €300
F Hendrick,
Enniscorthy,
Co. Wexford.
5th Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
K Lavin
Ballymote,
Co. Sligo.
6th Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
M Kenny,
Killarney,
Co. Kerry.
7th Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
M Dawson,
Letterkenny,
Co. Donegal.
8th Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
M Neary,
Kilkenny,
Co. Killkenny.
9th Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
P Delaney,
Dundrum,
Co. Tipperary.
10th Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
F Flannery,
Nenagh,
Co. Tipperary.
Special Seller’s Prize: Christmas Eve Luxury Hamper value €200
W Carroll,
Cobh,
Co Cork.
⭐
This year’s Christmas Draw took place on Monday, December 16th 2024.
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone for taking part.
Please click here to read a special Christmas message from Fr John.
Please note that the MSC Missions Office will be closed over the Christmas period,
from 3.00pm on December 23rd to 9.00am on January 2nd.
With warm wishes to our mission friends everywhere for a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas season.
Dec 5, 2024
On Saturday, November 23rd, we brought the Month of the Holy Souls to a close with a beautiful candlelight memorial in tribute to loved ones who have gone before us at our annual Light Up a Memory Mass. This year marked the tenth anniversary of what has become a much-loved and highly anticipated tradition each year, and once again we lit up the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, with the flame of remembrance and the everlasting warmth of treasured memories.
November weather was out in full force with stormy conditions all round, but that did not deter local mission friends and parishioners from joining us at the Sacred Heart Church for a truly special evening of music, reflection, and prayer in honour of loved ones who have gone before us in the Lord’s eternal embrace. Almost 900 people also joined us via our live stream to remember and pray with us, from Ireland, the UK, and Europe, to Canada, the United States, and the Philippines.
An evening of love and goodwill
Fr John Fitzgerald, director of the MSC Missions Office, celebrated this year’s Mass with Fr Con Doherty and Fr Seamus Kelly, and opened this year’s ceremony by speaking of what the annual Light Up a Memory ceremony means. “We in the Missions Office next door to this church, where we communicate with so many benefactors, so many helpers, so many people who keep our missions going… where we try to look after as many projects as we can in different places… we make a promise, every year, that apart from having the Novena to the Holy Souls, as you’d find in most churches, we promised that we would always have a ceremony towards the end of the November, a Light Up a Memory Mass for your dead, for my dead, and for the dead who have no-one to remember them at all.”
“When I looked here about 15 minutes ago, there was hardly anyone in the church really, a few stragglers getting to know each other,” said Fr John. “Then a nice crowd arrived, considering that here in Cork tonight, just to let the whole world know, that it is something like 15 degrees, so it is very warm, but we’re in the middle of a storm that’s going to finish tomorrow so it’s not a night really for the faint-hearted! I congratulate the people who have made their way here tonight, it is great, but I am also very aware of so many people tonight who are at home and listening to us, not only from Cork, but from all over the place.”
As the Mass progressed and the candles were brought to the altar, Fr John once again remembered those joining us in spirit from home, saying, “I am also very much aware of yourselves at home… I know you wish you could have brought your own candle tonight, but we have plenty of love to go around for you, we have plenty of goodwill, because we know what it is.”
A language of the heart
Reflecting on loss and grief, Fr John spoke of the language of the heart – the mourners who tell us they are heartbroken, the sympathisers who say that their heart goes out to the bereaved, those who come to a funeral with heavy hearts. “We should not take that sort of language for granted,” reflected Fr John. “It is a sort of an explanation of what has happened, or that description of a feeling. Heart language is a beautiful way of speaking to grief, to loss, to love, and to pay sympathy to somebody else… It is a language to do with a healing of the heart, the love of the heart and the heart of Christ, and it is a language of hope. Heart language is a language of hope. So here in the Sacred Heart Church tonight, on this big night for us who promised we would pray for the dead, we believe in the power of the risen Christ and the promise of the hereafter – we believe in that. And we believe in the language of the heart when we deal with loss, with grief, with healing, and with joy as well when we try to move on.”
“We are invited to be a people of hope.”
In a lovely personal moment, Fr John shared the importance of also being able to move on and look ahead in life, even as we carry the love and sorrow of loss that never fades away. “My father is dead for many years,” he explained, “and there was a family friend one time, I was giving her a drive, and when I had my hand up on the gear lever, she said to me – ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘you have freckles on your hand like your father.’ She said, ‘I remember his hands, he had freckles on his hands, and he had a scar on his finger’ – which he had. And I then kind of funnily said, ‘Well, I have a scar on my thumb.’ And she said, ‘Yes, well we all have to carry our own freckles and our own scars.’ So, there is this kind of a movement, that while I was thrilled that I had a scar like my father, she was saying, well you have to get on with your own troubles and your own freckled life – so, you know we have that little thought as we move out of here tonight.”
This year’s Mass once again featured a wonderful musical accompaniment from Gerry and Deirdre Tuohy, while Fr John’s homily incorporated a selection of poems and prayers, each one a fitting reminder of the power of grief, of faith, and of love everlasting as he prayed for those we have loved and lost, and for those who have nobody to remember them at all.
Bringing the ceremony to an end, Fr John prayed for protection, grace, and hope on this sacred night: “We are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven itself, and we are here very close to it in the kingdom of this world. So, we are invited to be a people of hope, a people who listen to the voice of God, and a people who can be assured that our dead are in the hands of God.”
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who took part in this year’s Light Up a Memory celebrations, in the Sacred Heart Church and beyond. All of us, and one point or another, in one form or another, have been touched by grief, and our annual Light Up a Memory Mass is always a very poignant and moving way for us to commemorate treasured memories of those we hold dear, while praying for healing and hope in our hearts as we navigate life without them, carrying memories and generations of love and remembrance down throughout the years. Sincere thanks to all who took part in this truly special evening of prayer, reflection, and fond remembrance on the tenth anniversary of this very special ceremony – may God bless you all.
Please click here to watch a recording of our 2024 Light Up a Memory Mass.
