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; “I appreciate the toilets,” student Wilfried said, “because they have taps around them where we can wash our hands.”
The MSC community in Yaoundé contacted us in recent weeks with “great joy and satisfaction” that the project has made excellent progress, thanks to the support of our mission friends here in the Irish Province. “The new MSC community is now established,” they wrote. “It was blessed on October 21st by the UAF MSC Superior, Fr Yvon-César 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.”
“We 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.”
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.
“Thank you, once again, for your unceasing kindness and generosity towards our African community and mission,” wrote the MSC community in Yaoundé. “Thank you for your great generosity of heart!”
Read more about the Sacred Heart Bilingual College in Lada II
Dec 14, 2019
Gospel Reflection
Jesus Christ, the cause of our joy.
Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?
The Gospel (Matthew 11:2-11)
In that Gospel passage, John, the precursor of the One who was to come, proclaimed that One to Come would have the winnowing-fan in his hand to separate good from evil and burn the wicked (chaff) in the fire. Jesus, proclaimed by him as the One who was to come, was doing the direct opposite, a friend of the marginalized and of those reckoned as sinners by the godly. On hearing in prison of what Jesus was doing, John had doubts about Jesus, and this explains sending the messengers with John’s query. In his reply, Jesus lists his actions one by one, all the fulfilment of prophecies, especially those listed in Isaiah chapter 35 (today’s first reading), and in other places in the book of Isaiah (26:19, the dead; 29:18, the deaf; 61:1, the good news to the poor). Jesus’ message for the new age was one of hope, of joy, which fits in nicely with the central theme of today’s liturgy.
Traditionally, this third Sunday of Advent was known as “Gaudete Sunday” from the opening word Gaudete, “Rejoice” in the Latin Entrance Antiphon: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near”. In one sense, the basis for rejoicing is the nearness of the Lord. Some biblical scholars believe that the “nearness” in question refers to the second coming of Christ – a point by no means clear. In any event, Christian joy is not founded on belief and expectation of the second coming of Christ. Together with peace, it is a gift from Christ. This joy is a gift that no one can take from believers in Christ (John 16:22). Jesus’ desire is that believers may have his joy made complete in themselves (John 17:13). He told his disciples to rejoice and be glad when people revile them and persecute them and slander them for his sake, and Paul and his early Christians so rejoiced.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say Rejoice. The Lord is near.”
All this may appear to be too theoretical, with little or no bearing on any dialogue with the world in which we live. This is not quite the case. If joy is a gift from Christ it is active in the entire life of believers, not just in religious affairs. The Church currently is kept aware of the scandals and weaknesses within her, but believers know that with the grace of God she is being purified and these will become a thing of the past. Christian joy comes from belief in God who is ever present. When we look around us we can perceive joy – joy at sport events, at football matches where one’s favourite team is supported, but in case of defeat there is no recrimination for something that is but a game. This is evidence of joy and peace. There is joy in conversation, over a drink, with “craic” and music, and in many of the ordinary events of life. And in times of trouble there can also be joy, in the belief that God is near and will see us through. These are a few of the thoughts worth reflecting on on this “Rejoicing” Sunday – recalling St Paul’s words: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say Rejoice. The Lord is near”.
Fr Martin McNamara MSC
Dec 12, 2019
At the end of October, the 2019 pastoral assembly took place over a period of three days in the missionary area of Melquibi, Mozambique.
Over 70 people from the surrounding regions joined in the assembly, celebrating the work that has been done and the progress that has been made over the past year, along with discussion and reflection on the year to come.
This year’s theme was “Being the Church, Being People of God”, a wonderful celebration of faith and unity in the Lord’s love, with a specific focus on how our MSC missionary work can continue to make positive change in the region in 2020.
As the MSC Mission in Mozambique began just a year and a half ago, in March 2018, it is especially rewarding to see the great sense of community that is already evident between local areas. The mission has been faced with some extremely challenging setbacks, namely the devastation caused by the two cyclones that hit in the space of six weeks earlier this year, but this has not deterred our Mozambique family of faith – indeed, their strength, resilience, and faith been truly inspirational in the face of destruction and despair.
We send our congratulations and blessings to the MSC Mozambique Mission on a successful 2019 assembly, and we wish them a positive, prayerful, and productive year ahead.
Images via the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
Dec 5, 2019
The evening of Saturday, November 30th, saw the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road in Cork filled with the light of hundreds of candles, each flame marking the memory of a treasured loved one who is no longer with us.
November is traditionally a time to remember, and every year, our MSC missionaries in the Sacred Heart parish mark the end of the month of the Holy Souls with the Light Up a Memory Mass, a beautiful memorial service which serves as a beacon of light and love in the winter darkness.
Now in its sixth year, the first Light Up a Memory Mass took place in 2014 and it has since become a much-beloved tradition for local parishioners in Cork, and for mission friends located far and wide, all over the world, thanks to our live streaming service. As always, we were glad to welcome familiar faces of old friends on the night, and we also had many visitors who come specially to celebrate the service with us. This year, we also welcomed over 400 viewers on our website, coming together to pray with us in Cork from across Ireland, the UK, Germany, the US, Canada, Spain, Australia, Malta, the Netherlands, and South Africa.
Bereavement touches us all and the Light Up a Memory service is a lovely way for families to remember together at this special time of year. From 6.30pm on Saturday evening, the Sacred Heart Church was aglow in the light of hundreds of candles, each one burning brightly in celebration of lives and the memories of those we will always hold dear.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who took part in this year’s Light Up a Memory celebrations, both in the Sacred Heart Church and around the world. Once again, it was a very poignant and truly special evening of prayer, reflection, and fond remembrance for everyone involved.
Nov 28, 2019
MSC missionaries in Mozambique are continuing their ongoing work in providing relief to families who were affected by the ferocious cyclones that tore across the country earlier this year.
In mid-March, Cyclone Idai wreaked havoc in north-eastern Mozambique, killing over 600 people. Just six weeks later, at the end of April, the Pemba region was hit again by Cyclone Kenneth, and the death toll began to rise further.
Hundreds lost their lives, and over 21,000 people were left homeless by the disasters. Homes, crops, and livestock were destroyed by floods and mudslides, while wells were contaminated, leaving the local drinking water unsafe for consumption, with the threat of cholera and malaria a real danger.
“We have lost everything,” said one survivor. “Our house and most of our belongings were taken by the wind and the waves.”
The Mozambique mission began in March 2018, when MSC missionaries from Brazil began ministering in the Pemba diocese, an extremely poor part of the country with no church infrastructure or functioning pastoral ministry. Our MSC brothers immediately began working to bring positive change to local families and communities, and their reach has spread far and wide in the past year and a half.
The arrival of the cyclones was a huge setback to the work being done in the local area; however, our MSCs have continued to work hand-in-hand with local families in the area, helping them to rebuild their lives in the wake of the catastrophe, and continuing in their original mission to bring God’s gifts of faith, hope, and love to those in real need.
In October, our missionaries took part in a new aid endeavour, distributing essential supplies to families in the Meluco region who are still struggling to rebuild the pieces of their lives following the disaster. These supplies included shelter kits, with tarpaulin and tools, kitchen kits, containing pots, dishes, and utensils, personal hygiene kits, water treatment kits, and flashlights.
The MSC Mozambique Facebook page reports that this aid endeavour has been taking place throughout Meluco in conjunction with Caritas Mozambique, and will provide much-needed relief to 3,500 families in the region.
While the flood waters may have receded, the extreme damage done by the cyclones is still very much a real and pressing issue for families who lost everything in the disaster. Our MSC brothers continue in their tireless work to aid these families in their struggle for survival, and to help to rebuild the lives that were shattered by this dual catastrophe.
Images via the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
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