Apr 29, 2022
It is with grateful hearts that we thank all who joined us in prayer throughout the glorious Easter season this year – a triumphant celebration of the Resurrection that was all the more beautiful for seeing friends and parishioners in person at the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, after all of the lockdowns and restrictions of the past two years.
Over the course of Holy Week and Easter, over 6,000 people prayed with us via our live stream, from here at home in Ireland and the UK, to far-flung corners of the globe including Malaysia, Mauritius, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago – and everywhere in between! On Easter Sunday alone, over 1,300 people tuned into our live stream to join in with our Easter celebrations, beginning with our Easter Dawn Mass at 6.00am.
Our Easter Garden took pride of place in the Sacred Heart Church once again this year, with our sincere gratitude to all who took such care in its construction and maintenance. Our Family Tree of Life Book, a lovely Easter tradition that celebrates the joy and value of family at this special time of year, was positioned on the altar as our MSCs pray for all those enrolled throughout the Easter season.
On Easter Sunday morning, MSC Missions Office Director Fr John Fitzgerald celebrated our annual Easter Dawn Mass, reflecting, “There is something there that seems to stretching us, to imagine that from this winter and from this darkness, something is coming, something is coming forth. There is a stretch. There is a stretch in the evenings, the grasses are stretching, and the catkins on the trees are stretching, the lambs in the field are stretching… There is an awakening, a pushing of a boundary, and we are asked to respond.”
“We need this time of the year”, Fr John continued. “We need this time of the calendar year and the liturgical year to survive, where we plant new seeds, where we plant new crops, and we move from the darkness and the harshness, and we take a chance getting up in the morning, knowing that even with the cloud, the sun will rise.”
In celebration of the Resurrection, the theme of hope and light sprang forth on Easter Sunday morning – a theme that resonates with each one of us, as we continue to navigate a global landscape of war, violence, political unrest, and the ongoing pandemic. “We are a people of hope,” said Fr John. “We are a people who must hope a lot, and we dare to hope… It seems like a dangerous world, and yet we dare to come here today to celebrate hope and encouragement.”
It is with this hope singing in our hearts that we welcome the light, the stretch, and the brighter days of spring and summer to come, with every grace and blessing of the Sacred Heart to our mission friends everywhere, this Easter season and throughout the year ahead.
Click here to watch a recording of our 2022 Easter Dawn Mass.
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Apr 28, 2022
Dear Mission Friends,
Please note that as of May 1st, 2022, there will be some minor changes to suggested donations and delivery charges for Mass enrolment books ordered through our Cards & Gifts section.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the suggested donation for several of our Mass enrolment books will be increased slightly. These changes are unfortunately unavoidable, as current rates of inflation and mounting energy costs have caused a significant rise in the cost of our supplies, in addition to the increased cost of postage and delivery.
Revised rates
From the beginning of May, the following suggested donations will be in place:
As An Post have also recently increased their charges, the following delivery rates will come into effect from May 1st:
| COUNTRY |
STANDARD
LETTER |
LARGE
LETTER |
PARCEL |
| Republic of Ireland |
€2.00 |
€3.00 |
€7.50 |
| Northern Ireland |
€2.00 |
€3.00 |
€7.50 |
| UK |
€3.00 |
€5.00 |
N/A |
Thank you
The MSC Missions Office is run as cost-effectively as possible, with every single donation we receive being put to the best possible use. Even so, the progressively rising cost of necessities such as postage and utilities means that we face a constant challenge to manage our organisation efficiently and effectively. It has been 10 years since we last found ourselves in the position of having to raise our rates; however, as daily costs continue to rise, we’re struggling to do more with less, and in line with current circumstances, we have no choice but to reflect this in these small changes to our online service.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our mission friends and benefactors, old and new, for your support of our ongoing missionary work. Every single order makes a real difference to our MSC community, and to our Sacred Heart family across the world. Like many charities, we have keenly felt the effects of the last two years; our fundraising abilities have been severely limited, coupled with the reality of an urgent cry for help from the mission fields, where the poorest people had been fighting a daily battle to feed their families even before the complications of COVID came into play. Every order, no matter how small, helps in some way. Every donation is a significant one. Thank you for your understanding; your friendship and support are quite simply invaluable, and you are in the prayers of our MSCs around the world.
BROWSE OUR MSC MASS CARDS AND GIFTS
Apr 28, 2022
On Sunday, April 24th, we were blessed to have our 10.00am Mass in the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road, Cork, concelebrated by MSC Superior General Fr Absalón Alvarado, along with MSCs Fr John Fitzgerald (Director of the MSC Missions Office) and Fr John Finn. The Sacred Heart Church was filled with local mission friends and parishioners, while over 700 people tuned in to pray with us via our live stream on the morning of the Mass.
Fr Absalón, who is originally from Guatemala, is currently on a three-week visit to the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, where he is travelling around Ireland and England, meeting MSC members and witnessing various projects and ministries that are currently underway around the Province.
Bringing his vast experience and a great sense of understanding to Sunday’s celebration, Fr Absalón invited all present, in person and online, to reflect “on a culture of encounter, on a culture of mission”. Emphasising the value of togetherness and unity, a particularly important point in the wake of the enforced isolation and separation brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Fr Absalón noted, “Once we are far from the community, from the family, we start feeling that our faith is weak, and sometimes we lose our hope as well.”
Following from this, our Superior General encouraged us all “to be workers of peace, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation,” especially at a time such as now, when the world is racked by war and violence. “In a general atmosphere of tension and exclusion, it is urgent that the Church, the community of disciples today, be a promoter of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, starting from ourselves, our families, our communities, our Church, and it can spread through all the world,” he said.
“You have made life possible.”
Fr Absalón placed particular emphasis on his gratitude, and the gratitude of MSCs all over the world, to our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province.
“Each of you, who are watching us on the live stream of this Mass, each of you who is present here in the church, have shared and collaborated for many years in the development of this culture of mission around the world,” he said. “I am a missionary from Latin America; I am originally from Guatemala, in Central America. Through my service at the moment, as a Superior General, as a leader of the Congregation, I have had the opportunity to visit many projects throughout the world, where you, and the Mission Office of Ireland, have made life possible. All of you have made it possible.”
“As you know, we are a missionary Congregation, present in 50 countries on five continents. Each one of you, with your financial contributions and your prayers, makes it possible for the Risen One to be hope and life for so many suffering people in the world, in different parts of the world. Please, do not feel alone. You are part of this great family, of this great network of mission, of the MSC mission through our world. On behalf of the entire MSC Congregation, I thank God for the life of each of you, and I thank you all, parishioners, friends, and benefactors, as well as the people who work and have worked in the Mission Office next door [to the church] here; thank you very much for your generosity and support. I pray to the risen Lord that God may multiply abundant blessings in your lives and in your families.”
“May we continue to build together hope for today’s world.”
Our Superior General also gave his thanks for our missionary communities of MSC members across the Irish Province, who have worked and continue to work at home and abroad in our shared mission of making the Sacred Heart of Jesus known and loved everywhere. “I thank God for those who are here in this community of Cork,” Fr Absalón reflected. “They are living missionary witnesses who have spent their lives for the good of so many human beings, in Ireland, in England, in South Africa, in Texas, in Russia, and in Venezuela. Thank you very much, my confreres, for your ministry, for your testimony of missionary life.”
“So, brothers and sisters, let us ask as well to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, that we may all continue to go and build the project of life that the Risen One invites us to realise in this uncertain world, full of wars and injustices, that we face today. May we continue to build together hope for today’s world, convinced that the Risen One walks the path with us.”
As he concluded his sermon, Fr Absalón reiterated his appreciation to the friends and benefactors that make our work possible. “I say it again – thank you for your generosity. We have been praying for all of you, for all the people that have been following us through the internet, and for those here in the church. Let’s continue praying for our mission. We pray for you, and you pray for us, for all the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart throughout the world. Thank you so much for being with us, for being part of our history, for being part of our lives. You are the reason for us to be MSC, you give sense to our consecration as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Thank you so much for that.”
It was our privilege to have Fr Absalón lead us and join us in prayer here in the Sacred Heart Church in Cork, and we wish him well as he continues on his journey around the Irish Province in the coming days and weeks.
Please click here to watch a recording of Mass concelebrated by our MSC Superior General.
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Apr 21, 2022
Our MSC community in Mozambique have shared wonderful photographs from their ceremonies and celebrations throughout Holy Week and Easter, when local families joined in prayer across the parish of Metuge in the Pemba region.
Fr José Eduardo Paixão led the celebrations, including:
Palm Sunday processions across the parish of St Anthony of Metuge and the community of Santa Terezinha.
Holy Thursday Mass and the ceremony of the washing of the feet.
The celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
The Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday.
A joyous celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Our MSC Mozambique mission recently marked its fourth anniversary; it was in March 2018 that two MSCs from the São Paulo Province, Fr Angelo and Fr Eduardo, arrived in Pemba to establish the mission in what is a very poor part of Mozambique, with little to no church infrastructure or active pastoral ministry. Since then, the community has gone from strength to strength, growing together in faith and prayer even in the face of what often seemed like insurmountable challenges. Our MSCs were on hand when two cyclones ripped through Pemba, one after another, just a year after the mission began; with the support of our provinces around the world, the helped local families to rebuild homes, livelihoods, and lives, and today, they continue in their shared journey to make the love of the Sacred Heart known and felt across the district of Pemba.
With Easter blessings and warmest wishes to our MSCs and the communities they serve on our Mozambique mission!
Images by Abudo Manara via the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
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Apr 13, 2022
MSC Easter Draw 2022
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s MSC Easter Draw!
Prize Winners:
1st Prize: €2,000 Cruise Travel Voucher
A Hughes,
Monaghan, Co. Monaghan.
2nd Prize: €1,500 Sun Holiday Voucher
M Dowling,
Rosslare, Co Wexford.
3rd Prize: €1,000 City Break Voucher
M Flemming,
Tuam, Co. Galway.
4th Prize: €1,000 TV/Audio Voucher
F Mulry,
Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
5th Prize: €1,000 TV/Audio Voucher
L Mooney,
Belfast, Co. Antrim.
6th Prize: €1,000 Home Furniture Voucher
E Sheehan,
Killarney, Co. Kerry.
7th Prize: €1,000 Home Furniture Voucher
P Bourke,
Clonmel, Co.Tipperary.
8th Prize: €500 Weekend Break Voucher
M Egan,
Birr, Co.Offaly.
9th Prize: €500 Weekend Break Voucher
M Franklin,
Foynes, Co Limerick.
10th Prize: €500 Computer/Tablet Voucher
M O’Sullivan,
Portmagee, Co.Kerry.
11th Prize: €500 Computer/Tablet Voucher
R. Mallon,
Dungannon, Co. Armagh.
12th Prize: €500 Home Decor Voucher
b. Power,
Fenor, Co. Waterford.
13th Prize: €500 Home Decor Voucher
E Boyd,
Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
14th Prize: €500 Garden / Outdoor Voucher
S Dutta,
Edinburgh, Scotland.
15th Prize: €500 Garden / Outdoor Voucher
A Perkins,
Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
16th Prize: €500 Home Appliances Voucher
J Gallagher,
Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo.
17th Prize: €500 Home Appliances Voucher
C Harvey,
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.
18th Prize: €500 Hot Air Balloon Voucher
P Horgan,
Birr, Co. Tipperary.
19th Prize: €500 Driving Lessons Voucher
P Fearon,
Dundalk,Co.Louth.
20th Prize: €500 Cookery Class Voucher
M Hamil,
Craigavon, Co. Armagh.
View €200 Shopping Voucher Winners
View €100 Shopping Voucher Winners
All winners will be notified individually.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who took part in this year’s draw.
This year’s MSC Easter Draw took place on Wednesday, April 13th 2022.
Apr 13, 2022
On Easter Monday, Fr Absalón Alvarado MSC, our Superior General, will arrive in Ireland to spend three weeks visiting our MSC members in England and Ireland. It has been 14 years since the last visit of our Superior General, then Fr Mark McDonald, in 2008.
On Sunday, April 24th, Fr Absalón will be the main celebrant at Mass in the Sacred Heart Parish on the Western Road, Cork. This Mass will be live-streamed at 10.00am, and all are welcome to participate.
In the course of his trip, Fr Absalón wants to get to know the members of the Irish Province; to understand our reality, listen to our hopes and dreams, share in our struggles and disappointments, and confirm us in our mission to be God’s heart on earth. He will certainly want to encourage our MSCs, but in the first place, he comes to listen and walk with us for three weeks.
Journeying together in the Way of the Heart
Originally from Guatemala, Fr Absalón was elected Superior General for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart at the General Chapter in Rome, in September 2017. Fr Absalón was in the role of Provincial Leader of the Central American Province prior to his election, and is the first MSC Superior General from the Global South.
With a Masters in Theology and a PhD in Psychotherapy, Fr Absalón has also ministered as a Vocations Director and Formator, as well as spending some time working in parishes in Nicaragua.
During his time in the Irish Province, Fr Absalón will travel to several MSC communities around Ireland and England, as well as visiting various projects and ministries that are currently underway. We look forward to following his journey, and we would be delighted to welcome mission friends from the Irish Province and beyond to join us in prayer via our live stream for our special Mass on Sunday, April 24th.
Please click here to watch a recording of Mass celebrated by
our MSC Superior General on Sunday, April 24th.
