May 18, 2017
Whether you’re a gardener, a reader, or someone who simply enjoys a cup of tea and a slice of cake, don’t miss out on our upcoming MSC Plant, Book & Cake Sale in Cork!
Our Bring & Buy Sales will take place at the Sacred Heart Parish Centre on the Western Road, Cork, after 6.30pm Mass on Saturday, 27th May 2017, and after all three morning Masses (8.30am, 10.00am & 11.30am) on Sunday, 28th May 2017.
Enjoy a friendly chat, indulge in a sweet treat, and pick up a treasure or two for your bookshelf or your garden while supporting a worthy cause. All funds raised will go to the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa, where the Sacred Heart Family are working to bring vital medical aid and educational facilities to children who are suffering as a result of HIV/AIDS and TB. Your support goes far beyond a simple gesture – together, we can make a real difference.
If you would like to donate books or plants for the sale, please bring your donation to the Sacred Heart Parish Office on the Western Road, Cork. The office is open on weekday mornings from 9.30am to 1.00pm.
Thank you very much for your support – we look forward to seeing you there!
Update: A grand total of €3,821.82 was raised at our Bring & Buy Sales. We would like to sincerely thank everybody who contributed so generously and with such goodwill.
May 17, 2017
Life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit
Gospel John 14:15-21
I shall ask the Father and he will send you another advocate.
Writing to the Romans (Romans 8:14), Paul says: “All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God”. The Sunday readings today stress the part played by the Holy Spirit in the lives of individual believers and of the Christian community. It is by the laying on of the hands of the Apostles that the Holy Spirit came on the believers in the Samaritan town converted by Philip. It is the Spirit of the risen Christ that gave confidence to the believers during their trials, as referred to in the letter of Peter. It is the Holy Spirit that Jesus promises to send on his followers as a second advocate, defender, and comforter.
In our own day, the Holy Spirit gives the certainty of faith in Jesus to the individual believer – belief in a world unseen. The Holy Spirit gives consolation of the soul, and the joy and peace that Jesus promised before he left. The Holy Spirit guides us as believers to live in keeping with the Gospel message, with purity of heart and with a religious attitude that takes the directions for one’s life from Heaven, from Jesus, and from the Church, rather than from a worldly secular attitude that does not believe in another world or accept direction from it.
Another thought worthy of reflection arising from today’s Gospel reading is the opposition and contest that there was, and always will be, between Jesus himself, his followers, and the other forces that the Gospel calls “the world”. Here, “the world” refers to those who were not ready to accept his person or his message, and who maintained, or will maintain, that they had been victorious over Jesus – in essence, those who believe that he and all he stood for were conquered by his death on the cross. Jesus assured his followers that the Paraclete (that advocate, the Holy Spirit) that he was to send would convince his followers (and “the world”) that the contrary was the case. They should take courage; Jesus had conquered the world. Those forces working against Jesus and his work are still active.
We need not enter in any further detail into this question here, but to recall that in this continuing contest, Jesus and his Father are also active through the Holy Spirit, the advocate and comforter. However, we may mention that an obvious example of the ongoing contest between the forces contrary to Jesus is active atheism. The “Atheist Ireland” movement is actively engaged in an effort to destroy belief in God, with special emphasis on vilifying the Catholic Church, attempting to remove any influence of Catholic (that is, Christian) religion from public life and the teaching of religion in primary schools.
Today’s Gospel and liturgical readings call for a response on at least two points:
• To recall Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit, which gives confidence to the conscience of each believer that he, Jesus, has “conquered the world” and all of its opposing forces, giving confidence and peace in believing.
• Not to forget the advice of St Peter in the second reading today: have a good knowledge of your religion. “Always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that is in you; but give it with courtesy and respect.”
Fr Martin McNamara MSC
May 15, 2017
In 2017, two of Ireland’s largest religious membership organisations, the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) and the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), joined forces to create a new group, the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI).
The IMU was originally established in 1970 for the purpose of creating a global network of missionary organisations. Currently, there are 1,500 Irish missionaries ministering in 84 developing countries around the world, with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart working as an active part of this group.
CORI was launched in 1960, with the original title of the Conference of Major Religious Superiors of Ireland (CMRS). It currently has a combined membership of approximately 9,000 religious from 138 congregations.
This amalgamation takes place “in response to a desire to energise and support the life and ministry of the Church, both in Ireland and overseas”. In their official statement, the President of the IMU, Sr Kathleen McGarvey OLA, and the President of CORI, Fr Gregory Carroll OP, said, “We believe that a new national identity will facilitate renewal and a more effective mission outreach”.
AMRI is based in Templeogue, Dublin, at the Provincialate of the Missionaries of Africa. Fr Marc Whelan CSSp has been elected as President, with Vice-President Sr Phyllis Behan RSC. A team of members of the Executive have also been elected or co-opted, and the group are meeting regularly as the association continues its development process.
According to the official AMRI website:
“The purpose of AMRI will be to represent and promote active collaboration between
Religious Institutes, Societies of Apostolic Life and Missionary Organisations,
so as to respond to existing and emerging realities both in Ireland and overseas
by supporting and energising the life and ministries of their members
and of the wider Church with a renewed sense of hope and relevance.
Among other objectives, it will seek to develop and promote religious, apostolic and missionary life
as a vibrant, prophetic, organic and integral feature of the life of the church.”
We wish all at AMRI every blessing as they undertake this new venture, moving towards an exciting future for missionary outreach at home and abroad.
May 4, 2017
As we celebrate Vocations Sunday, Fr Con O’Connell reflects on his calling as a Missionary of the Sacred Heart:
“For me, my vocations call follows the double path of Religious Life and Ordained Priesthood within the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC). Somehow, I felt drawn to the MSC emphasis on the compassion of Jesus and His commitment to justice for the underprivileged.
Indeed, this emphasis is to be seen in Jesus the Good Shepherd. He cares for the sheep – especially the hungry, thirsty, and wounded sheep.
It is 28 years since I took my vows as a religious brother, and 24 years since I was ordained a priest. I remember lonely days, sad days, and confused days. There were times when I asked myself what on earth I was doing. However, the happy days, the exciting days, and the days when I felt that I was exactly where God wanted me to be outweigh the darker days.
Fr Con O’Connell MSC
Serving my fellow humanity as an MSC priest and brother has been a joy and a privilege. It is a clichĂ©, but I have received more than I have given. Each year, I ask God and myself, ‘Is this still my path?’ So far, the answer each year is yes. ‘Trust in the Good Shepherd and take another step.’
Trusting means risking. Jesus teaches us that true happiness on lies the other side of our fears. I believe that when I die, I won’t regret the risks taken that ended in failure. My biggest regrets will be the risks that I did not take.”
If you want to know more about a vocation as a brother or a priest, you’re welcome to click here.
You can also call Fr Alan Neville MSC, our Vocations Director,
on (086) 785 7955.
May 2, 2017
Meet Mark Quinn, one of two pre-novitiate students who began his studies in our MSC formation house in Dublin in autumn 2016.
By spending time in personal reflection, and living and working as members of a larger group, MSC pre-novitiate students gain a rich and varied experience of the community, its works, and its mission within our world.
Mark is from Castlebar, Co. Mayo and is a chef by profession. A number of volunteering experiences in Africa led him to consider missionary life, and he has now come to explore his vocation with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Here, he shares his reason for choosing to study with the MSC.
“In the midst of a deep discernment process, I found myself on a volunteer trip in the coastal city of Dar es Salam, Tanzania. One evening, while travelling home from our daily trip to the orphanages, my gaze was drawn to a small girl standing outside a makeshift hut as we sped along the dusty road. While her impoverished surroundings were heart-breaking, it was the expression on her motionless face that captured my attention. Her eyes transfixed on mine, I felt as if Christ himself was looking at me, calling me, or asking something of me that I was yet to fully understand.
A couple of days later, home in Ireland and with East Africa still fresh in my mind, I began to look deeper into religious missionary orders in Ireland. If I am to be honest (and maybe a bit superficial), I was initially attracted by the MSC’s online presence. It showed that the congregation was very much contemporary, and alive and kicking. I contacted Fr Alan, who came to my home to meet with me for a relaxed chat. He was genuinely interested in my story and was honest and informative about the MSC.
A few weeks later, I was invited to stay with the MSCs at their formation house in Dublin. It was great to see and talk to more young men in formation, and I was able to meet a number of priests who are working in a wide variety of roles for a question and answer session. It was a revelation for me to learn about the diversity and internationality of the congregation, and how I could bring my skills to them as well as being formed by their unique charism.
Then, in July, I was also able to take part in their fantastic annual volunteer programme. I travelled to the Holy Family Care Centre for children orphaned by HIV/AIDs or TB in South Africa, where I could see first-hand the heart of Jesus being brought to life. It confirmed for me that God was indeed calling me to be a missionary. But not just any missionary, a missionary of his Sacred Heart!”
Apr 12, 2017
Fr Martin writes…
“In the First Reading, Peter stresses that the apostles are attested witnesses to Jesus’ Resurrection, with the task of proclaiming to all what Jesus’ saving mission meant. The message of the Second Reading is that all followers of Christ should be witnesses to the new life in Christ in a world that often has a contrary message. There is fruit for reflection in this for us this Easter.
Belief in the Resurrection of Christ and of Christ at God’s right hand is, in a sense, revolutionary. It calls for Christian living and Christian witness in an indifferent or unbelieving world. By union with Christ in baptism, Christians in a sense have died to one form of living, and now have a new life, in the words of today’s reading, ‘hidden with Christ in God’. (more…)
