Jul 20, 2018
One day over and we are getting into the rhythm
It was an intrepid group of pilgrims who set out on the Camino last month. Fifteen relative strangers were bonded together by a desire to walk to a different rhythm of life. We left behind the hustle and bustle of Cork, Dublin, and London for a week on the Way of St. James.
Itâs hard to describe the Camino. It is a somewhat ineffable experience that those who have walked it, no matter where they are from, how old they are, or whatever their faith perspective is, understand what it means. In many ways it is the perfect antidote to the rat race and its attendant stress that we have come to see as a virtue. Pilgrims here move with a new freedom, where each day they walk to the horizon with the rising sun at their backs, and when they get there they walk on to the next horizon.
Sunset on the Way
This year we had our largest group yet and everyone gelled well. The first day took us to the town of Sarria, about 110km from Santiago. It was an early pilgrim meal, followed with the groupâs first attempt to get unpacked and settled down in the albergue dormitory with the lights off. Itâs not for the faint hearted, but by Day 3 you could do it blindfolded There were, after all, about twenty other people in the room, some who had walked all the way from France and beyond. (more…)
Jul 19, 2018
This summer, the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are raising funds to help the Sacred Heart College in Cameroon, where students gather every day in classrooms that are still under construction. For most of these students, poverty and hardship mean life is a daily struggle, and education is their only hope for the future. Here, the students share their stories, telling us what the Sacred Heart College means to them.
“My name is Athanase. I am 15 years old and a student in Form 2 at the Sacred Heart Bilingual College of Lada II. I walk a distance of 2km every day to reach the college.
In order to make money, I sell bananas and groundnuts after school, and during the weekends and holidays. My parents are not working but my father is a bricklayer â sometimes he has work, and sometimes he has nothing, which becomes very difficult both at home and at school.
I thank God for sending me the Sacred Heart College, because even though I missed paying my fees, they permitted me to still attend class.
Iâm doing my best.”
This summer, we’re working to provide a safe, comfortable space for students like Athanese to learn and grow. If you can, please help us to build a brighter future for the Sacred Heart community.
PLEASEÂ HELP US TO CHANGE LIVESÂ IN CAMEROON
Jul 17, 2018
We were delighted to receive these wonderful pictures from Fr Alan Neville MSC, taken on his recent trip to the parish of St Paul the Apostle in Tsakane, Gauteng. Fr Alan paid a visit to Fr Martin Morrissey MSC, parish priest, and joined the lively and enthusiastic community of St Paulâs parish for Mass during his stay.
Tsakane is a township located outside Johannesburg, and, as is the case in many parts of South Africa, much of the population faces significant social and economic struggles. The community of St Paulâs parish, however, is a vibrant one, who find great joy and unity in their faith despite the daily challenges they face.
âEveryone is welcome at St Paulâs,â reads the church information. âCome just as you are â weâd love to get to know you better.â This warm, inclusive nature was demonstrated clearly as parishioners welcomed Fr Alan with open arms!
Weâre sending our very best to the community of St Paulâs, and we wish Fr Martin continued success in his ministry there.
Jul 10, 2018
In early 2017, the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart assisted in the launch of a new Sewing Livelihood Programme in Pinugay, in the Philippines. Over the past number of years, the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines has been reaching out to respond to the urgent needs of families and communities around the country, in a mission to teach people new skills, to alleviate poverty, and to help communities to become self-sufficient and sustainable.
With the help of financial aid from mission friends in the Irish Province, the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines were able to launch the MSC Sewing Livelihood Programme in the KKSV9 district, Pinugay, in February 2017. The KKSV9 district is a resettlement area for families who have been displaced from their homes, and poverty is a very serious issue here. Many families struggle with unemployment, hunger, and illness, and the skills offered by the Sewing Livelihood Programme have been a lifeline for those who had nowhere else to turn.
Tools for a brighter future
Armed with fifteen sets of sewing machines, and the members of the KKSV9 community worked together to set up their local sewing station. The programme began with four mothers, who were trained in operating the sewing machinery, and there are now fourteen women working in sewing and tailoring, with regular clients placing orders with them.
The success of the Sewing Livelihood Programme led to the development of a new project, and in June 2017, a Life Sharing Programme was established, focusing on the spiritual growth of the community. The group meets every Saturday for spiritual formation, with the aim of growing in harmony as individuals and a community.
âOn behalf of the KKSV9 community, we would like to thank all of our mission friends in the Irish Province,â says Jahms Morga of the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines. âYou have all been instrumental in making this life-changing programme accessible to the people of the Pinugay Resettlement Area in Baras, Rizal.â
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines continue to work with the locals of Pinugay to foster security, self-sufficiency, and community spirit. With the help of the Irish Province, the MSC in the Philippines have also been able to launch a local consumer store and a beekeeping project, giving local people the tools to build a positive future for their families and for generations to come.
For the latest updates from the MSC Missions in the Philippines, please visit their Facebook page.
PLEASEÂ HELP US TO CHANGE LIVESÂ IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jul 4, 2018
Celebrations abounded at the Sacred Heart Church in Cork on Thursday, June 28th 2018, as eight MSCs from the Irish Province marked the great occasion of Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees. Friends, family, and fellow MSCs travelled from across Ireland, the UK, and beyond, gathering on the Western Road in Cork to celebrate in the glorious June sunshine on this very special day.
Irish Provincial Leader, Fr Carl Tranter MSC, opened the Jubilee Mass with a warm welcome to all present. Fr Carl was himself celebrating his 25-year Jubilee, and in his opening address, he spoke of Godâs love, which âempowers, heals, and transformsâ.
L-R: Fr Carl Tranter MSC, Br Donie Hallissey MSC, Fr Eugene Clarkson MSC, Bishop Emeritus Hugh Slattery MSC, Fr Patsy Kelly MSC, Fr Con OâConnell MSC, Fr Terry OâBrien MSC. Fr Eamonn Donohue unfortunately could not attend the Jubilee celebrations.
âAs each of us look back over our lives today in gratitude, as we remember and recollect with members of our family, friends and fellow MSCs, we might allow ourselves to be amazed and astonished at what the Lord has been able to do in and through us, often in spite of us!â Fr Carl said. âWe recall being given appointments or responsibilities we felt wholly ill-equipped to undertake; we remember times of great struggle and challenge, even seeming failure; and we delight in the memories of love, success, joy, wonder, gratitude, growth, communion, friendship and consolation. We recognise each as a gift and a grace. This is what gives us cause to celebrate today. Not anything we have âachievedâ. A couple celebrating 50 years of marriage are not celebrating what they have achieved, but the gift of love which has endured through the years, which has sustained them despite the challenges, and which has borne fruit in so many different ways across the different seasons of their lives. As MSCs, we celebrate that same great gift of love today.â
The commemoration of this yearâs Jubiliarians was a joyful celebration of community, fellowship, and thanksgiving, recalling the triumphs and the challenges of the years gone by and looking ahead with faith, hope, and love.
Congratulations to the Jubilarians!
Silver Jubilee (25 years)
Fr Con OâConnell MSC
Fr Carl Tranter MSC
Fr Terry OâBrien MSC
Golden Jubilee (50 years)
Fr Patsy Kelly MSC
Br Donie Hallissey MSC
Diamond Jubilee (60 years)
Fr Eugene Clarkson MSC
Fr Eamonn Donohue MSC
Bishop Emeritus Hugh Slattery MSC
Jun 26, 2018
Early in April, Loreto Rumbek were able to employ a drilling company to implement three new boreholes for the benefit of the local community. The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working with the Loreto community in Rumbek since the summer of 2017, and it is with great joy that we receive this positive update from Maker Kuei.
Two of the new boreholes were placed in communities where local residents did not have easy access to an improved water point. The third borehole was placed next to the new Loreto Primary Health Care Unit facility, which is scheduled for completion in August of this year.
âSouth Sudan has a six-month dry season that can be extremely brutal to families that are already borderline or severely food insecure,â explains a spokesperson for Loreto Rumbek. âThese new water points become a centralised point for community gardening, water collection, and sanitation â a lifeline for a community during the harsh realities of the dry season.â
Local resident Mary Akol describes just how much of a lifeline these water points are. âThis new borehole is a blessing to me,â she says. âEven if I am late, I can get water. The children can pump water too. I plan to plant kudra, okra, and pumpkin.â
For the past year, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working in partnership with Loreto Rumbek to bring hope to the people of Maker Kuei. We are proud to be able to support the Loreto Rumbek community in their ongoing work in South Sudan, and we extend our sincere thanks to our mission friends in Ireland and around the world for continuing to care.
For more news and updates from Loreto Rumbek, please visit their website.
PLEASE HELP US TOÂ TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
