Oct 31, 2019
This year, our MSC mission in Mozambique marked the Feast of St Matthew with a wonderful day of baptisms in the community of Ravia.
On September 21st, the people of Ravia and beyond joined together to mark St Matthew’s feast day. It was a joyous day indeed, as 80% of the members of the community who had not already been baptised celebrated the sacrament together.
“It was a great celebration,” the MSC Mozambique Facebook page posted on the day. “Now, the faithful people of Ravia have been baptised.”
The Mozambique mission began in March 2018, with MSCs from Brazil ministering in the Pemba diocese – an area of extreme poverty and hardship, where up until that point, local families had no access to church infrastructure or pastoral ministry.
Despite challenging setbacks, our MSCs have been tireless in their work to bring about positive changes for local communities – the most pressing being the two cyclones that hit north-eastern Mozambique over the space of six weeks earlier this year. 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.
Our MSC missionaries have been helping local families to rebuild their lives following this catastrophe, while also continuing in their mission to share the message of God’s love in this area of real need. The baptism day in Ravia has been a great triumph for the local community and our MSC mission in the region. Blessings and best wishes to all who took part!
Images via the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN MOZAMBIQUE
Oct 24, 2019
Our Mozambique mission spent a wonderful weekend marking the Diocesan Day of Youth in August, with the Bishop of Pemba, Bishop Luiz Fernando, celebrating the opening Mass.
At the opening Mass, Bishop Luiz reminded the young people in attendance that the young Catholic must always bear in mind the joy of the Lord and the workings of Christ within society, and to always keep an open mind to saying yes to God. “Only then”, he said, “will it be worth the participation”.
The Diocesan Day of Youth was a real moment of unity for the young people of the area. Throughout the weekend, the group reflected on celebrating faith in Christ, establishing a positive relationship between the local youths, acknowledging the challenges faced by the parish, and establishing harmony and peace in the region.
The celebrations served to greatly increase the sense of friendship and togetherness amongst the youth of the diocese, encouraging young people to come together in their faith and in the love of the Lord.
Above all, Bishop Luiz encouraged the young people present to be vigilant in hearing and understanding the call of the Lord, and being available to serve Him in any way they can. “In addition,” he said, “meet with God through prayer, have joy, says yes to God, and have faith.”
Oct 19, 2019
Gospel Reflection
God will see justice done for his chosen who cry to him.
Reflection & Dialogue: Prayer without ceasing. Reading the Scriptures
The Gospel (Luke 18:1-8)
Prayer without ceasing
The heading in today’s Gospel reading invites us to a subject on which to reflect – prayer without ceasing. All today’s readings, in fact, provide two clear topics for our reflection, topics mutually related. These are Jesus’ call for prayer without ceasing and Paul’s emphasis on the Bible as a guide for Christian life, an approach to the Sunday Scripture readings which we attempt to follow in these monthly reflections.
With regard to prayer, it must be regarded as necessary, since belief in Christ cannot be understood without a personal relationship with God in prayer. Christianity is a mystery, a mystery that demands this personal relationship. Without this there is no living faith. Of course there are many different forms of prayer, both public and private, but any of the forms need to have this personal relationship with God, and in the Christian tradition under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
With regard to the reading and the study of the Bible there is no better place to begin to examine their importance than today’s reading from the Second Letter to Timothy. This reading can serve as a timely reminder of the importance attached by the Vatican II Council to the reading of Scripture in the new revised liturgy, especially in the readings at the Sunday Mass. The Council goes beyond this and in its Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) there is an entire chapter on the place of scripture in the life of the Church, and in the various aspects of Christian living. In this chapter special mention is made of its importance for the all clerics – priests, deacons, catechists, and all with direct contact with the ministry of the Word, and a call on them to immerse themselves in the Scriptures by constant sacred reading (lectio sacra) and diligent study. In another Council document, in the Decree on the Ministry and the Life of Priests, the matter is attended to in greater detail, with a special section on the priests as ministers of God’s word, with an expressed desire that they endeavour to treat of contemporary problems in the light of Christ’s teaching – something the reflections on this website have been attempting to do over the years, from 2011 onwards.
Fr Martin McNamara MSC
Oct 17, 2019
August saw great celebrations for our MSC community in the Democratic Republic of Congo, when four MSC novices came to the end of the novitiate journey and made their First Professions.
“First Profession takes place at the conclusion of the Novitiate, which is a one-year period of intense spiritual preparation for young men who wish to become Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. From this point on, they are now members of the Society, with temporary status, and they will continue their studies in preparation for the day when they will make their Final Profession as full members of the Society.” (Fr Joseph McGee MSC)
The ceremony took place in Kimwenza, outside the city of Kinshasa. The three-hour Eucharistic celebration was led by the Regional Superior of the Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fr Dieudonné Kenda MSC, and was a powerful and joyful celebration for all involved. There were approximately 130 priests and members of the religious community in attendance, along with family and friends of the newly professed MSC brothers, and members of the local congregation who all wanted to celebrated the beginning of a new chapter for these four young men.
The newly professed MSC members will now continue with their studies, while also engaging in different types of ministry and pastoral experiences as part of the MSC community. We wish them all the very best on the beginning of this new leg of their journey, and our prayers are with them all.
Congratulations and blessings to the newly professed Br Roland Kaboré MSC, Br Sylvain Mingou MSC, Br Alfred Gomis MSC, and Br Brinda Nguele MSC!
Images via @AmeturMSC on Facebook.
Oct 14, 2019
The end of September marked the beginning of the 25th MSC General Conference, which took place in the city of Busan, South Korea.
Due to start on September 23rd, the opening of the Conference was postponed by a day due to a tropical typhoon passing through the south of the peninsula, which was the cause of a number of delayed and cancelled flights into Korea. Many Provincial Leaders were affected and had to find alternative means of transport as a result of the storm, including the Irish Provincial, Fr Carl Tranter MSC, who was fortunate enough to be able to get a bus from Seoul to Busan when his connecting flight was cancelled.
The Ametur MSC Facebook page shared a collection of “HEARTbits” from the Conference, snippets of prayer, meditation, and reflection from the gathering.
“Our being MSC doesn’t call us to come out of ourselves. Coming out of ourselves is why we are MSC. This is the ecstatic nature of religious vocation, to go out beyond ourselves, as did Jesus, following him,” reflected Fr Chris Chaplin MSC.
“Everyone needs support from each other. Even leaders are not self-sufficient,” noted Br McKee, following a discussion on leadership. “Everyone has to engage in the transforming process so as to open up new possibilities and listening attitude is requirement.”
“We should meditate in the gospel but that is not enough, we have to put it into effect. Look into the depths of the hearts, the inner depth of the heart.”
Renewed focus and energy for mission was another topic of discussion, with a focus on Pope Francis’ invitation to missionaries. “Francis wrote letter to the members of the consecrated life, he told us to wake up the world; we have to be expert of communion, to go forth, to live the gospel radically and sincerely. We should meditate in the gospel but that is not enough, we have to put it into effect. Look into the depths of the hearts, the inner depth of the heart.”
“We have a common mission,” it was noted, and “the spirit that we are one big family. We need to LISTEN and not be AFRAID.”
“In today’s world, generative listening is prophetic. Let us make it a reality for all of us.”
The closing remarks of the Superior General, Fr Abzalón Alvarado MSC, reinforced the sense of unity and mission that shone through during the Conference proceedings:
“This morning the Gospel invited us to be leaders, but different from the leaders of a world that is often manipulative and inhuman. To be humble servants, forming ourselves and offering formation to be leaders according to the Heart of Jesus.
We have gathered here together, and we have listened to each other. Together we have co-created the atmosphere of this conference. We have tried to practice not only factual but empathic listening that has opened our hearts. And we have also experienced moments of generative listening, when we opened our will to listen to the life that was emerging from the depths of our confreres, and in this way we listened to the life that is emerging from within each MSC Entity, the older and the younger entities.
Here we have shared and deepened the need to live a leadership that must be for the present moment, with all that this present moment has to offer. Not a leadership lived out of nostalgia for a past that, although valuable, no longer exists. A leadership that listens more than it speaks. When it does speak, it should be the fruit of empathic and generative listening, and not simply after downloading.
We need to build bridges of communication and trust between us and among our entities. We would offer a great witness if we could learn in all our Provinces to feel that we are a WHOLE that is not simply the sum of the parts. My entity is neither better nor worse than any other.
We do not love what we don’t know. How can we come to love each other more, to love the brother who comes to my province if I don’t know anything about his culture?
We are aware that we are returning to our different realities, realities which today are lived in uncertainty and chaos.
In today’s world, generative listening is prophetic. Let us make it a reality for all of us.”
Ahead of the Conference, Irish Provincial Leader Fr Carl Tranter wrote, “We pray that this Conference will be a moment of grace for our entire Congregation” – and indeed, it truly was, as our MSCs look ahead to the future with renewed hope.
Images via Ametur MSC on Facebook.
Read more about the 25th MSC General Conference from the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Australia.
Oct 10, 2019
On Sunday, September 22nd, the parishioners of the Sacred Heart Church on the Western Road in Cork came out in great style for a family fun day, to raise funds for our Venezuelan mission. Our MSCs have spent over 50 years working in regions of profound hardship in Venezuela, and today, the population is deep in the worst political, social, economic, and humanitarian crisis ever experienced in the country’s history.
The day began after 10.00am Mass, and was filled to the brim with fun, games, and a sweet treat or two! There were raffles, face-painting, art projects for children, tables selling jewellery, bags, clothes, Delph, lamps, cushions, and homeware, plus enough tea, coffee, and cakes to keep everyone going through the day.
At 2.00pm, there was music and entertainment, and at 7.00pm that evening, participants in a table quiz filled the hall. There were plenty of spot prizes awarded during the evening’s festivities, and everyone involved had a wonderful time.
Fr Vincent Screene MSC is currently back in Ireland from the Venezuelan mission. He came to support the fundraising on the day, and explained to those in attendance just how much of a struggle life is for the people of Venezuela in the grip of the current social and political turmoil.
The fundraising day raised over €8,000 for our Venezuelan mission. This will make an enormous difference to the communities served by our missionaries in the troubled region, and we send our sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated for their enthusiasm and generosity of time and spirit.
“With the help and support of friends, a lady called Mary Kate made this possible,” said Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, director of the MSC Missions Office on the Western Road. “Special thanks to Mary Kate, our friends, and all the businesses who so kindly donated spot prizes.”
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN VENEZUELA
Find out more about our missionary outreach in Venezuela
Read Fr Michael’s diary from his 2019 visit to Venezuela
