Jan 9, 2020
Members of the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines recently paid a visit to the students at an MSC-run educational programme in Saints Peter and Paul Parish Learning Centre, in Tubod, Surigao del Norte.
For the past two years, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines have been supporting the programme, which provides educational assistance to children who have difficulty in continuing their studies because they and their families live in circumstances of severe poverty and hardship. The Philippine Province of the MSC provide financial support for their tuition fees, plus the necessary books for their studies, through this programme. âThese children are very willing to study, but their parents are financially incapacitated,â say the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines. A total of 21 children are currently taking part in the programme â children who are all too pleased with the opportunity to be able to continue their studies, but who would not be able to without the help and financial assistance of the MSC Mission Office and the mission friends around the world who support our work.
The team at the learning centre include Mrs Norma Porcil, who is principal of the school. A retired teacher, she now works voluntarily to take care of the school and its students. The project manager of the programme is Mr Boni Dano, who is also the coordinator of the Chevalier Family Lay Associates in Tubod. He also volunteers his services in making sure the programme runs smoothly and benefits the children involved as much as possible. Finally, Fr Sansin Ebuna MSC is leader of the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines, and has been instrumental in ensuring the success of the programme for children who are in great need of help in order to be able to hope for a more positive future.
We send our best wishes and blessings to everyone involved in this wonderful project, as we continue to work together all over the world to make a difference where it is most needed.
Images via the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jan 2, 2020
November was a busy time for the MSC mission in Mozambique, where the celebrations of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation took place throughout the month.
Early November saw Confirmations taking place in the community of Our Lady of Fatima in Meluco. The MSC Mozambique Facebook page described it as a âbeautifulâ day, and the accompanying photographs give us a glimpse into a very special celebration of faith.
Just over a week later, the community of St Augustine in Muaguide celebrated the sacraments of Baptism and First Holy Communion. Again, this was an exceptionally blessed day for all involved. âThis is a time of grace and blessings from God,â said the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
It is a truly great thing to see communities across our MSC Mozambique mission marking these joyous occasions, particularly as recovery from the devastation caused by two cyclones earlier this year is still ongoing. The strength, resilience, and spirit demonstrated by local communities is an inspiration to behold, and while the journey to recovery is a long and arduous one, moments such as these provide much-needed encouragement and motivation to all involved in the mission.
Blessings to all who received the sacraments, and to the families, communities, and MSCs who joined them in celebration!
Images via the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
Dec 28, 2019
Br Giacomo (Centre) with Fr. Alan and Br Jaime at World Youth Day in Poland
A Hole in Your Heart
I thought to share with you the story of my vocation. My vocation began in my heart. A hole in my heart. Maybe you heard Pascalâs intuition of a God-shaped hole in the heart of each human being that only God can fill it. Or more likely Saint Augustineâs saying that âour heart is restless, until it rests in Youâ (Confessions I.1). But surely you heard Christ saying âthose who drink of the water I will give them will never be thirstyâ (Jn 4:14).
My vocation, as each vocation, begins with a longing for God, a thirst that only God can quench. My vocation began in my family, with my parents and my grandparents, as well as friends in San Bernardinoâs parish in Urbino, the Franciscan friars, I could name them all! I grew up blessed in my blessed family.
But the bliss of the perfect family had to finish. God wanted to strengthen me; I suppose. When I was about sixteen and my parents decided to split. I remember it as extremely painful, the most painful moment in my life. And that hole in my heart went deeper and my thirst for love became bigger. I started looking for things and people to fill it. I was so needy of love that relationships became almost an obsession. And some people instead of helping me, took advantage of my vulnerability. That of course did not help much. And I nearly completely lost trust in peopleâŠand in God! However, no matter how hard I looked nobody and not a thing in the world was able to fill the void. Unfortunately, at that time, nobody told me that God is Love.
Br. Giacomo with his fellow novices at Flame 3 Catholic Youth Festival in Wembley
âDoing a Jonahâ
Meanwhile, I remember one day, I was twenty more or less, sitting on the steps outside San Francescoâs Church in Urbino with a person I loved most in life, and still do, I saw a group of young friars walking down the street, they looked so full of joy that I said âI think it would be cool to be a friarâ. She looked at me bewildered âare you serious?â (more…)
Dec 19, 2019
MSC Christmas Raffle 2019
Prize Winners:
1st Prize: Shopping voucher to the value of âŹ1,000
J. & J. Cassidy
Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
2nd Prize: Festive Feast Hamper
O. McGahon
Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan
3rd Prize: Supreme Christmas Hamper
J. Dunne
Dundalk, Co. Louth
4th Prize: Festive Celebration Christmas Hamper
S. Coakley
Frankfield, Cork
5th Prize: Christmas Pantry Hamper
N. Carmody
Tarbert, Co. Kerry
6th Prize: Deck the Halls Hamper
C. Commane
Ennistymon, Co. Clare
7th Prize: Deck the Halls Hamper
J. Noonan
Tralee, Co. Kerry
8th Prize:Â Deck the Halls Hamper
S. Donnelly
Lucan, Co. Dublin
9th Prize: Deck the Halls Hamper
E. Fogarty
Newtown, Co. Kildare
10th Prize:Â Deck the Halls Hamper
P. Gilbert
Killmallock, Co. Limerick
Special Seller’s Prize: Christmas Pantry Hamper
K. McEvoy
Portlaoise, Co. Laois
This year’s Christmas Draw took place on Thursday, December 19th 2019.
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone for taking part.Â
Click here to read a special Christmas message from Fr Michael
Dec 19, 2019
Dear Friends,
As we prepare to bid farewell to another year, I wanted to take a moment to pause in reflection and gratitude for the blessings that 2019 brought, and of course, for your friendship to our missionaries.
2019 has been another year to remember. Beginning with my visit to Venezuela in January, we have continued to keep track of the progress of our missions all over the world, from Mozambique to the Philippines and beyond. As we are all too often faced with bleak news of death, disaster, and destruction, it truly is a breath of fresh air to see our mission family joining together to do something that is nothing short of astonishing in its power. Together, we are a force to be reckoned with, and thanks to our great community of faith, I look to 2020 with a hopeful and grateful heart. With your continued support, we will make it another year of positive change.
Each and every time you send one of our Mass cards, support an appeal, or join us in a special celebration, you are a vital part of a far bigger picture. What may seem like a small gesture, completed from the comfort of your own home, has a tremendously far-reaching effect, touching the hearts of MSCs and the communities they serve in towns and villages far across the world, surviving in conditions we can’t even begin to imagine. From orphaned children to elderly people who are faced with the abyss of poverty and loneliness, you are a friend to those who live with hopelessness, fear, and despair.
On behalf of our extended Sacred Heart family, you have my heartfelt thanks for your generosity in reaching out to those in need, though they may be a world away. You and your loved ones are not only in my prayers this Christmas season, but in the prayers of our MSCs everywhere. We remember all those in our great family of faith – those who are surrounded by the warmth of family this festive season, and those who may be struggling with personal challenges of different kinds. We remember those who may find Christmas difficult, and those who sacrifice the home comforts of Christmas to help others. As I have said before, love knows no bounds, and we are every one of us a loved and valued part of this great family of faith.
In the spirit of the season and on behalf of our MSC community around the world, I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a joyful Christmas, and I pray that the coming year will bring you and yours an abundance of peace, happiness, and blessings.
Wishing you and yours a happy and holy Christmas,
Fr Michael O’Connell MSC
Click here to view the winners of our 2019 Christmas Raffle
Dec 19, 2019
It is with great joy that we recently received an update from our MSC brothers at the Sacred Heart Bilingual College in Lada II, a small village situated 25km from Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon.
Back in the summer of 2018, we appealed to our mission friends in the Irish Province to help the Sacred Heart family in Lada II, an area racked by extreme poverty and hardship. The Sacred Heart Bilingual College opened in 2016 to both male and female students, but remained in an unfinished state of construction with minimal facilities and equipment.
Poverty is a huge challenge faced by local families, who cannot afford to send their children to school when they are struggling to find enough food for daily meals. The students of the Sacred Heart Bilingual College are grateful for amenities that we take for granted every day; âI appreciate the toilets,â student Wilfried said, âbecause they have taps around them where we can wash our hands.â
The MSC community in YaoundĂ© contacted us in recent weeks with âgreat joy and satisfactionâ that the project has made excellent progress, thanks to the support of our mission friends here in the Irish Province. âThe new MSC community is now established,â they wrote. âIt was blessed on October 21st by the UAF MSC Superior, Fr Yvon-CĂ©sar Banackissa, who installed also the new Superior of the community on that day, Br Magloire Njankou Samen. This structure will be greatly helpful in strengthening our abilities, our aims, and our dreams, particularly in running our school.â
âWe are sincerely grateful to everybody who supported our project for your great generosity and openness of heart, for your support, help, and care. By so acting, you show us the real proof of your commitment to help people to live and to enhance their fundamental right to dignity.â
The Yaoundé MSC community sent us some pictures of the progress as the building works have been completed, and of the blessing of the community at the end of October. The MSC Mission Office on Facebook have also made photos available from a recent visit to the school in October, when they captured photos of Br Magloire and his team undertaking extensive carpentry projects, making the desks and furniture from the school.
âThank you, once again, for your unceasing kindness and generosity towards our African community and mission,â wrote the MSC community in YaoundĂ©. âThank you for your great generosity of heart!â
Read more about the Sacred Heart Bilingual College in Lada II
