Jul 22, 2021
Bro Warren Perrotto MSC, originally from the US Province, ministers with the MSC community in Fiji. Here, via the Facebook page for the MSC Province of the Pacific Islands, he shares his thoughts on the most recent wave of COVID-19 in the region.
A New Wave
“Since March, the COVID-19 virus has landed on Viti Levu, Fiji, via a repatriation flight. One passenger was contaminated. Different from the first wave, the 2021 invasion began to sweep at a rapid speed throughout the isle. The government and police have sanctioned restrictions, such as lockdowns and quarantines, including masks when going outdoors. The island also has a curfew, and all schools are closed until further notice.
However, the rapid pace of the virus throughout the island is primarily due to the lack of cooperation of persons not following the government’s restrictions, including not wearing a mask, not keeping social distance, such as social gatherings, drunkenness, and not following curfew hours (6.00pm to 4.00am). The arrest of these people does not seem to have much of an impact.
All of these things have a devastating effect on the Fijian economy. There is unemployment, lack of food and water supplies, marital violence, and violence among the youth, accompanied by psychological stress. On writing this, on June 27th 2021, we have 3,329 active cases, 15 deaths, and 736 recoveries.
Australia and New Zealand deserve our appreciation. These two countries generously gave aid to Fiji. They have donated thousands of needles, food supplies, and necessary medical equipment. These have been a significant contribution to contain the virus from spreading. Most MSCs here in Fiji have received their first ‘jab’. We must wait three months for our second injection.
The real heroes and heroines in this pandemic are the nurses, doctors, volunteers, and police. Each day they risk their lives to assist and protect the people from this sickness. We thank them for their unwavering dedication.”
Bro Warren and the Fiji community are among many MSCs around the world who are working together to combat the spread of COVID-19 among the poorest and most vulnerable. Please keep them in your prayers.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL MSC MISSIONS
Jul 15, 2021
The wonderful pictures were taken by the OLSH community in Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu City, in the Philippines, where the blessing of a new water system took place in the spring.
The OLSH clinic in Marigondon was established over 20 years ago, offering healthcare to the poor in the region. The facility is mainly for maternity care, but also caters to the general community in caring for medical issues. People travel from surrounding villages, and even from other islands located close by, to access the health services facilitated by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart here.
Malnutrition is a significant issue in the area, due to a combination of poverty and a lack of awareness regarding proper diet. This problem is particularly prevalent in children, pregnant women, and the elderly, and the OLSH Sisters at the Marigondon Clinic do their best to offer effective treatment, with an established feeding programme in place, along with essential education on nutrition.
The clinic offers pre-natal examinations for pregnant women, and many of these expectant mothers go on to give birth in the facility. Women who may be experiencing issues or difficulties are referred to local hospitals, with financial assistance from the OLSH community, and these ladies are often transported for hospital care in the official clinic vehicle.
While patients await their medical consultation, they are given instruction and education in terms of nutrition and self-care. Expectant mothers are instructed in taking proper care of themselves and their babies, with strict attention on the personal hygiene of both mother and child.
In addition to the provision of vital healthcare, the clinic also offers employment opportunities to many local people in need of work, from the construction of buildings to the establishment of factories.
The new water system was blessed at the end of March, with great joy and gratitude. With this new system in place, guaranteeing better hygiene facilities, the OLSH Sisters at the clinic are able to continue their dedicated work in caring for expectant mothers, new families, and the general community in Marigondon and beyond, bringing “hope and light” to “poor and sometimes hopeless patients”.
Images via the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook, and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Australia website.
Learn more about OLSH Global Outreach
Jul 8, 2021
Bro Giacomo Gelardi MSC writes on ministering through the COVID-19 pandemic in Killinarden, where long-standing issues such as alcoholism, drug addiction, violence, and abuse have been exacerbated by the past 16 months of lockdowns and regulations.
“Killinarden, west Tallaght, Dublin. Some of our missionaries have ministered here for a long time and know the place, with its people and their problems, inside out. People from other parts of the world may have just heard stories about it, as the area infamously and regularly hits the headlines. For those who do not know Killinarden, the concerns encountered here range from material and financial poverty to unemployment; from joyriding around the park to drug dealing around the corner; from people struggling with poor mental health to families shattered by addiction, resulting in the neglect or, worse, the abuse, of children.
I have been in pastoral placement in Killinarden for the last four years during my theological studies, and on a daily basis since October 2020. During all this time I have accompanied Patricia Darling, a lay woman who has assisted, supported and advocated for the poorest, the most vulnerable and marginalised people in this community for the past 20 years. With great devotion, she tirelessly carries out a fundamental service. I am deeply indebted to her for all I am learning. The initial and essential step in the work we do is outreach: visiting people, meeting them where they are, listening to their stories with a compassionate and non-judgmental heart. Often, the basic assistance we offer is making sure that there is enough food and heating in people’s homes; in some occasions however, we have also provided carpets, beds and cookers. At the same time, we offer a safe place to talk, to listen to as well as to encourage, and whatever goes beyond our abilities is referred to experts and professionals.”
“Addiction adds chaos to confusion.”
“COVID and the lockdowns added an extra burden onto the already precarious living conditions of families. COVID meant children being at home for months, with no in-person access to health services, GPs as well as mental health support. That is true everywhere. Yet, for families that struggle in normal times, COVID meant the uncertainty of being able to put something on the table; extra mental strain for both parents and children, often assessed only over the phone and resulting in the prescription of anti-depressants to children too. In-person psychological assistance was not always available and some people did not feel safe to engage with it over the phone or online. People who live in areas where there is a lot of illegal drug dealing and use tend to ‘self-medicate’. Not a day passes that we don’t witness drug-dealing at any hour of the day; often it is teenagers on their bikes that do the deliveries. In these conditions, many find it very difficult to manage their addiction, or relapsed with serious consequences. Addiction adds chaos to confusion. Some families are unable to follow any routine, which results in children regularly missing school.
There aren’t many outdoor facilities and distractions, and the park is often unsafe because of the drug-dealing and joyriding. People with very few resources felt forced to spend their days enclosed at home, which meant an increased risk of domestic abuse and violence. We know of some people that have fled the house with their children because of the abusive environment they were forced to live in. They feel that being homeless is a far better option for them.”
“We are the only ones knocking at the door, willing to listen.”
“COVID for us meant flexibility and adaptability. When schools were closed because of the lockdown, there was a high risk that some children might miss out on their daily meal. Thus, in collaboration with the School Meal Scheme and supported by the local gaelscoil, we provided food hampers to the most disadvantaged and numerous families. We assisted about 80 families every week. ‘Masked up’ and sanitiser in hand, we shopped, packed and delivered. Sometimes the delivery was our opportunity to link in with families and to keep the relationship with them alive, which was otherwise impossible due to the restrictions.
Even now that some restrictions have been lifted, we are the only ones knocking at the door and willing to listen to people’s stories. People do not miss the chance to let out their frustration, tiredness, anger and their sense of helplessness, all multiplied by the forced isolation. In fact, thanks to these calls, we have come across and dealt with domestic crises that otherwise would have passed undetected.
For very chaotic cases, we also have to prompt parents to send their children to school and encourage them to engage with support services that are available in the area.”
“COVID has reminded us of our powerlessness.”
“COVID has forced everybody to slow down or even to stop. During these months we have discovered new ways of living, but more importantly I think, we have rediscovered the importance of taking a break. It is not by chance that God rested the seventh day and commanded his people (which is us) to do the same as well, to take a break from work every seven days (Deut. 15).
Having more time for ourselves gives us the opportunity to remove all the clutter we have accumulated with our busy, production-oriented, personal-gain-focussed lives. It allows us to reorient our lives towards what is essential. This essential is our relationship with the loving God, which is also lived every day in our relationship with other people. Having more time for ourselves allows us to rediscover the original call that drawn us to service: “love one another as I loved you” (e.g. Jn 15:12). As Christians we share in the life of God, who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6), and thus we are called to show these essential qualities in our lives. In particular for us Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we bring this compassion and abounding love of God to all we meet. For me this becomes a lived reality by caring for the poor, the marginalised, the vulnerable and the neglected people of Killinarden. To show them that they are not forgotten, but that they are loved for who they are. If in doing this we are able also to bring about some sort of justice, even better.
Finally, and perhaps more importantly, COVID has reminded us of our powerlessness. That ultimately we can trust only on God’s love and mercy. That we are only passing here and we are made for something greater: eternal life with him.”
Bro Giacomo Gelardi MSC
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MINISTRY
Read more from Bro Giacomo Gelardi MSC:
Jul 1, 2021
There seemed to be a dreadful inevitability to it, but no one was surprised last week when Uganda joined the list of East African countries that have gone into lockdown in response to a surge of coronavirus infections. Along with Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, Uganda has seen an increase in community transmissions and hospital admissions. All these countries roughly surround South Sudan, but to date our numbers have remained exceptionally low. How long that stays that way remains to be seen.
“When these young women commit to something, there are no half measures.”
In the meantime, we are not sitting idly by in the face of the crisis. In fact, the students of Loreto Rumbek Secondary School decided themselves to take a more proactive, hands-on approach. So it was, on Fr Alan’s day off, that we loaded up three minibuses with students, mops, buckets, sponges, disinfectant, a few dedicated teachers, and a decidedly rumpled, certainly sleepy Fr Alan, and headed off to Rumbek Hospital. The hospital is our main health centre for the entire Lakes State area and is run by an Italian Catholic charity.
The students spent the morning washing down the walls, brushing floors, and cleaning windows. Shortly after my arrival I was dispatched to go into town and buy more mops. Apparently, my cleaning skills were not up to scratch. When these young women commit to something, there are no half measures. They blitzed both surgical wards and the paediatric ward from top to bottom. They also brought along mandazis, a local pastry, for patients and staff alike. They went down especially well in the maternity ward.
“When the pandemic makes its way to Rumbek, we will be as ready for it as we can be.”
It was only a week later when we were back in Rumbek Hospital again. This time we were on the receiving end of their care. A couple of thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been delivered and the hospital were on a drive to get as many people vaccinated as possible. In fact, the vaccine rollout took place in one of the large tents that our students had just cleaned. The process was quick and efficient, and we were registered, injected, and sat down for our own mandazis in no time at all.
The programme for COVID vaccines here will take time due to challenges around cold chain storage availability, as well as a large, geographically dispersed population. Still, there is a determination among the people involved that when the pandemic makes its way to Rumbek, we will be as ready for it as we can be. There will be many people who will be at risk due to underlying health issues, poor nutrition, and lack of access to even basic medication. Please do keep us in your prayers.
Ben Nhialic areer keg a way,
Fr Alan
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Jun 24, 2021
The MSC community in Ecuador del Sur have recently written with gratitude for funding received from the Irish Province, in support of the construction of a new multi-purpose church and community room for the parish.
In a video sent to Irish Provincial Leader Fr Carl Tranter MSC by the people of the parish of St Francis of Assisi, located in the neighbourhood of Ecuador del Futuro, the community introduce themselves: “We are a group of neighbours and friends who have been working for several years, motivated by our dream of having and building our church, to praise God and to listen and share his word.”
The community recently required assistance in completing the first floor of the church and community centre, and with the help of the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, our brothers and friends in Ecuador del Futuro were able to make great strides towards completing the necessary work over the past few months.
Coming a long way together
“The work has come a long way with your help,” writes Fr Moacir Goulart de Figueredo MSC, parish priest in the community of San Francisco de Asís, or St Francis of Assisi. “With the resources sent by the Irish Province, and some financial and material donations by the community, we have managed to finish the walls, install windows and glass, put in doors outside and in the bathrooms, begin construction leading to the second floor, complete work in the kitchen, finish the living room floor, and set up electricity, gas, and drinking water.”
“We still have a little left to finish on the first floor,” continues Fr Moacir. “We need bathroom dividers, plus internal kitchen doors and windows. We are going to use further donations for this and we are starting work on it now.”
“The pandemic caused the work to slow down,” he explains. “There was a lack of materials and so we had to wait. It also made it very difficult to manage our community work and it prevented fundraising events.”
St Francis Grotto
One of the main focal points of the centre is the San Francisco Grotto (or St Francis Grotto) window, with a special space underneath for people to visit for personal prayer. This space is dedicated to highlighting the principles of Laudato si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical devoted to the care of our common home.
“We are very happy,” writes Fr Moacir. “We have achieved what was most urgent, and the first floor is now fully operational. We are waiting for an end to the pandemic and the state of emergency so we can continue the work we have begun.”
Fr Moacir has been in contact with the project office for the archdiocese with regard to continuing work in developing the second floor, and has submitted a request for further support in the hope of being able to resume development in July. “If God allows, in July we want to receive the resources to continue the second floor, where we will locate the chapel,” he explains. “We have not received positive responses from other foundations in Ecuador, as many resources are directed to food and medicine because of the pandemic.”
“Thank God, you always remember the poor!”
“We have not yet opened the church and community centre officially, but we are already using it for Masses, catechesis, parent and child meetings, youth groups, altar server training, and music courses. Already, we hear people saying, ‘This is a miracle of St Francis of Assisi!’, ‘We are no longer on the street!’, ‘It is already our special space!’, and ‘Thank God, you always remember the poor!’.”
As they continue in their efforts to raise funds for the second floor of the church and community centre, the people of San Francisco de Asís remind us that “Life is good when you are happy, but life is so much better when others are happy because of you.” “Our plan is to carry out this dream for God,” they explain. “A hug from afar. May God bless you and protect you. You are always in our prayers.”
“The place is beautiful and the people are happy,” concludes Fr Moacir. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity. Blessed be God who has given you this generous heart.”
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL MSC MISSIONS
Jun 17, 2021
It is with grateful hearts that we thank everyone who participated in this year’s 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.
“The Way of the Heart”
Irish Provincial Fr Carl Tranter MSC opened the Novena on June 3rd, reminding us that “this year’s 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.”
“We’re conscious that we’ve all been changed by this experience,” reflected Fr Carl. “We have experienced an enormous disruption to our lives – loss, sickness, grief. People have felt isolated and lonely. People have been afraid and have had financial worries and business worries. We’ve been disconnected from each other, from friends and family. We’ve had so many hard and tough experiences this past year.”
“The theme for the Novena this year is ‘The Way of the Heart’,” he continued. “It 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 we’ll be inviting you to embrace this time, this space that we’re 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 God’s love, of God’s gentleness, of God’s embrace, of God’s care for each of us.”
Living as God’s creation
Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, Director of the Missions Office, celebrated the second Novena Mass, on the theme of Mission, where he spoke about “The Way of the Heart” and how it “it opens us up to a whole way of being, of really living as God’s creation”. “If 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 – that’s really very narrow, and it’s very finite”, he said. “But when it’s the heart, when it’s the way of the heart – 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, they’re gone. But the way of the heart, that’s something inside us, that inner strength we have, that inner way of being – nobody can take that from us.”
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 “exactly 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.” 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 “to be able to bring God’s love to people throughout the world”.
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, “The 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.”
“A love that’s beyond our knowledge, more than our minds can grasp.”
On day six of our Novena to the Sacred Heart, Fr John Fitzgerald MSC led us in prayer for our dearly departed – “a special day,” Fr John observed, “because the dead visit us so many times in our memories.” Reading from a selection of beautiful poems, Fr John reminded us not to worry about those we have lost: “Our loved ones are at peace; that is the promise, and we need have no fear of them or for them.”
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 day’s 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, “If 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.”
“This is the time to pray a massive thanksgiving, lest we forget and take for granted.”
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 “The Way of the Heart”, Bishop Fintan spoke of Christ’s love, a “love that’s beyond our knowledge, more than our minds can grasp.”
“All we can do,” he said, “is place ourselves in love and in faith. And if we can do that, then Christ’s 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.”
“Our faith is a missionary faith,” Bishop Fintan continued, “and 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 – that’s the Christ we’re called to follow, that’s the Christ we hear about in this evening’s Gospel, that’s 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.”
“Love begins to work its changes…”
At a time when we are beginning to slowly emerge from the fear, stress, sorrow, and uncertainty of the last 15 months, this year’s 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. “COVID has changed so much of our lives,” Fr Carl reflected. “It has had such an enormous impact on us, but as Pope Francis has wisely observed, it’s not just what COVID has done to us, but it’s also what COVID has revealed to us, about ourselves, about our lives, about our world.”
In the different ways the pandemic has impacted us, Fr Carl reassured us, “we 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.”
As Fr John Finn closed our 2021 Novena, he said “I 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.”
Our heartfelt thanks to all who took part in this year’s 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)
