Oct 3, 2023
Image from Vatican Media Article by Francesca Merlo published originally in Vatican News.
Pope Francis addresses the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart during their 26th General Chapter and emphasises the importance of knowing Christ through the Gospel, deepening understanding through fraternal sharing, and proclaiming His love joyfully in their mission. In his address to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of knowing Christ through the Gospel, deepening understanding through fraternal sharing, and proclaiming His love joyfully in their mission. He encouraged them to embrace compassion and tenderness in their interactions, and above all, to sustain their mission with prayer. Pope Francis’s words serve as a source of inspiration for the Missionaries as they continue their important work in the world.
Pope Francis addressed the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart during their 26th General Chapter meeting, on 2 October. The Holy Father began by acknowledging the congregation’s history, founded by Father Chevalier in 1854, and envisioning them as missionaries of God’s love.
“He thought of you from the very beginning as missionaries, committed to making God’s love known in the world in order to obtain from men a response of love.”
The Holy Father emphasized the importance of knowing the Heart of Jesus through the Gospel, referring to it as “the book ‘of the Sacred Heart.'” He urged the Missionaries to meditate on Jesus’s life, where they would discover His immense mercy, love, and compassion. Pope Francis pointed out that Jesus’s actions and teachings in the Gospel provide a profound understanding of His divine and human Heart.
“The Risen One, who makes Himself known in the breaking of the Bread, is the One who conquered death by giving life, who showed mankind the Father’s love by loving them without measure with His divine and human Heart, and who therefore knows how to speak words that make the breast burn!”
“For this powerful experience to become light for the journey, it must also pass through the enrichment of sharing. Here is the second element: deepening and understanding the Word in fraternal sharing”, said the Pope.
Pope Francis then shifted his focus to the importance of deepening understanding through fraternal sharing. He drew parallels with the disciples on the road to Emmaus who, after recognizing Jesus, shared their amazement and experiences with one another. This act of sharing joy and wonder when encountering the Lord is a practice that Pope Francis encouraged the Missionaries to adopt. “Before meeting him, the two companions discussed failures and disappointments, afterwards they rejoice at having seen the Risen One!” He also highlighted the role of sharing in Father Chevalier’s life, mentioning how he shared his fervor and dreams with fellow companions, whom he referred to as “knights of the Sacred Heart.” Sharing experiences of encountering Christ in the Word, Sacraments, and daily life is essential for fostering unity and constructive engagement within the congregation.
“And we come to the last aspect: the joyful proclamation in the mission. The disciples of Emmaus leave without delay, return to Jerusalem and tell what has happened.”
Pope Francis emphasized the significance of joyful proclamation in their mission. He commended the Missionaries for adopting the motto “‘from ego to echo,’ that is, from self to common home, to family, to community, to creation.” This shift, he explained, encompasses a commitment to serve as a common home for family, community, and creation.
“Faced with them, do not be afraid to allow yourselves to be caught up in the compassion of the Heart of Christ; as your Founder said, allow him to love through you and to manifest his mercy through your goodness.” “Please do not be afraid of tenderness! God’s style can be said in three words: closeness, compassion, and tenderness.” Embracing the compassion of Jesus’ heart The Holy Father acknowledged the numerous challenges faced by the Missionaries, such as serving the poor and migrants, and addressing injustices worldwide. He encouraged them to embrace the compassion of the Heart of Christ and allow His tenderness to shape their plans and projects.
“Please do not be afraid of tenderness! God’s style can be said in three words: closeness, compassion, and tenderness. God is like that: close, compassionate, tender. Be like this with others.”
“But this closeness, this compassion, this tenderness you will receive in dialogue with Jesus. Prayer is so important to bring this about. Without prayer, things do not work, do not go.” Image from Vatican Media The indispensable role of prayer In closing, Pope Francis highlighted the indispensable role of prayer in cultivating the qualities of closeness, compassion, and tenderness. He emphasized that prayer is essential for maintaining their mission and spiritual vitality.
“Thank you, dear brothers, for what you are and what you do! Continue your work with enthusiasm. Flee from sadness, which is the cankerworm that ruins personal and consecrated life! That sadness that brings you down, not the good sadness of repentance, that is another thing, but that daily sadness is a woodworm that ruins. I bless you from my heart. And I recommend that you pray for me, because I need it, this work is not so easy! Thank you.”
Source: All Images & Text from Vatican Media Article by Francesca Merlo published originally in Vatican News.
Sep 27, 2023
Fr AbzalĂłn with Fr Joe McGee MSC, Provincial, Fr Carl Tranter MSC, Fr Julius Katjipa MSC and Fr Alan Neville MSC
“I am delighted to announce the re-election of Fr AbzalĂłn Alvarado Tovar MSC as our Superior General for a second mandate.
On behalf of the Irish Province, I offer him our congratulations, support and prayers.â
Fr Joe McGee MSC
Provincial
Source: Ametur MSC on Facebook
Pictured below :
Fr AbzalĂłn with Fr Michael Curran MSC
Fr AbzalĂłn with Fr Joe McGee MSC, Provincial
Fr AbzalĂłn with Fr Celestin Bela MSC
Fr AbzalĂłn with Fr Carl Tranter MSC
Sep 26, 2023
This is a very exciting time for our MSC’s as the election process takes place to elect our new Superior General and Leadership Team for the worldwide congregation.This General Chapter also happens to coincide with the jubilee year of our founder, Fr Jules Chevalier. The Chapter Assembly takes place from September 17 â October 7, 2023
The theme for the 26th MSC General Chapter is, “Did not our hearts burn within us as we walked along together!” (Luke 24:32). It reminds us that this journey started in 1854 when Fr Chevalier began to feel his heart burning for the mission. It has continued to burn for 168 years. In the last six years, this journey has flowed in synodality and interconnectedness through the General Conferences of 2019 and 2021, the accompaniments carried out, the provincial activities and meetings, as well as the international encounters undertook.
Inspired by the two disciples’ journey on the Road to Emmaus, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart “want to recognize Jesus approaching and walking with us welcoming our misunderstandings and disappointments as well as our hopes and desire to listen and to see with mercy the world, the reality and the people around us especially those most in need and excluded.”
The Chapter Hall, therefore, has been set-up to consistently invite the MSC’s to be present in the journey.
The Pre-Chapter Opening Mass was celebrated on the 17th September bringing all the Missionaries together as brothers and sisters as members of the Chevalier Family with the homily brought by Fr AbzalĂłn Alvarado, MSC.
A General Chapter is a living process, an open life system with different stages. We come to this moment after a long journey of listening, discernment, and work, especially after the 2019 and 2021 General Conferences. This six-year process has included conversations, discernment, and listening at community and provincial levels.
During the first week, each meeting represented prayers on personal reflection and dialogues for the meaning of the Chapter and the structures of the congregation for the future.
On the fifth day, Friday 22nd September , the entire day was dedicated to Blessed MSC Martyrs of El QuichĂ©.Â
Work was also done on the Reports from some of the Commissions established by the General Leadership Team according to the recommendations of the 2021 General Conference, including the Safeguarding Commission, and the international aspect of MSC formation.
The election process will begin this week to elect our new Superior General and Leadership Team for the worldwide congregation.
Images courtesy of Amateur MSC on Facebook
Sep 25, 2023
Aug 25, 2023
The MSC Mission Office Philippines took part in the distribution of relief goods to the families who were affected by Typhoon Egay in Sitio Nalasin, Camanggaan, Vigan City last August 18, 2023.
Super Typhoon Egay, was a highly destructive tropical cyclone that had significant impacts on several countries. It became the costliest typhoon to hit China, and the strongest and most powerful typhoon to strike the Fujian province in China since records began in 1950. The typhoon caused extensive damage in the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam in late July 2023.
The typhoon led to 137 fatalities and 285 injuries, with a notable incident involving the capsizing of the MB Aya Express, causing 27 deaths. Widespread floods affected 9 out of 17 regions in the Philippines, impacting over 2 million people and prompting the evacuation of more than 300,000 individuals.
IF YOU CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SACRED HEART FAMILY
IN THE PHILIPPINES
Aug 16, 2023
Ten days in Addis Ababa was unavoidable. If you want to get a Schengen Visa for four South Sudanese pilgrims to go to World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon there really is no other way other than through Ethiopia. In fact, conventional wisdom among those familiar with the ins and outs of international travel would have said that ten days was being wildly optimistic. Holding on to hope, Sr. Beta, a wonderful Portuguese Comboni Sister, four young South Sudanese women, and myself began the first leg of our pilgrimage into the unknown as we tried to make our way to Lisbon to join 1,500,000 other young Catholics for World Youth Day.
Traditionally every three years the Pope calls young people from around the world to gather, to pray, to serve, and to celebrate their faith. The invitation is always responded to enthusiastically. Beginning with Pope John Paul II in 1985, millions subsequently came to cities like Rome, Sydney, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. Lisbon was my fifth WYD, having previously attended Cologne, Rio, Krakow, and Panama. They are week long events, sleeping on school floors, enduring cold showers, and queueing for two hours to get something to eat at Burger King. If you think it sounds like hell, you couldnât be more wrong â most of the time. In fact, it is in the chaos, where young Catholics from every corner of the planet come together to remind us as Jesus says in John 17 that we are one. But more on that later.
World Youth Day is a special kind of Spirit filled chaos. Here is one from our time in Krakow in 2016.
To get there though would require a miracle, but miracles are never in short supply if you have eyes to see. On arriving in Addis we were warmly welcomed by Sr. Marisa, the head of the Comboni Sisters. We threw our bags into the back of the land cruiser and had our first experience of the Ethiopian national sport, contact driving. To say that the Ethiopians practice a certain Fast and Furious approach to driving would be an understatement. This is no place for the timid or the fearful. You drive with joyful abandon where the rules of the road are really more like vague suggestions and the person driving alongside you is just an enemy you havenât met yet. Itâs nothing personal though.
By the time our lives finished flashing before our eyes with arrived at our home for the next ten days in an area of Addis incongruously called Mexico. The community of Comboni Sisters could not have been more welcoming and were delighted to have the six of us invade their home. While we were there we joined them in the rhythm of their daily life, including prayer, meals and community time. It was an eyeopener for the young women with us, the first of many.
While we applied to the Spanish Embassy, with the help of the Portuguese Embassy, for their visas, we also took advantage of the opportunity to see something of Addis. We were able to visit the National Museum of Ethiopia and see the fossilised remains of Lucy, an early human ancestor from 3.2 million years ago. We also saw the progress underway in the Addis Science Museum, walked the many parks around and outside the city, and took part in a traditional cultural night. Food and dance are important parts of Ethiopian hospitality, so along with all the sisters we sallied forth for an evening of injera and Eskista.
The typical food of the Ethiopians is a thin bitter pancake served in a large platter. All the different sauces, meat and vegetables are dotted around the pancake and you, along with all your companions, eat with your hands from the same dish, tearing a piece of the pancake to pick up the food. The idea is that everything is held in common to be shared equally and nothing is hidden. It is substantial and spicy, so first timers like myself needed to be careful, but not too careful. Eskista, the traditional dance, would give Riverdance a run for its money. Whereas Irish people all about moving the feet for Eskista itâs all in the shoulders. The entire South Sudanese group went up on stage, including myself, and I would like to think we did amazingly well â the girls did at any rate.
One of my favourite quotes from St. Augustine is: âThe world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.â So in addition to exposing our group to Ethiopian culture we also used the time to get them ready for World Youth Day and life in Europe. They took lessons in Portuguese to help them break the ice with their fellow pilgrims. We explored some of the hopes and challenges we would most likely face when we got there. Finally, we looked at the theme of WYD, âMary arose and went in haste,â and reflected on how we were called to mission.
In no time at all we were called by the wonderful team in the Spanish Embassy. Our prayers had been answered. Everything was ready. The visas were issued. Ethiopia had been a revelation for all of us and we would carry their sense of warmth and hospitality with us as we continued our journey. Next stop: Lisbon. Everything was going perfectly, until suddenly it didnât.
To be continued âŠ
