The summer edition of the MSC Message is here!
• Enjoy MSC news from at home and abroad.
• Catch up on the latest news from the mission fields, with updates from our ongoing projects in South Africa, the Philippines, and South Sudan.
• Read a summer message from Fr Michael O’Connell, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
• Get up to date with Fr Alan Neville and the MSC Vocations team.
Read the MSC Message Summer 2017
Today, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are the only Irish priests working in this turbulent region, where social and political turmoil mean that daily life is fraught with danger and suffering for local people.
In June of 2017, Irish and Venezuelan MSCs joined together with local parishioners in Maracaibo and Caracas to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Venezuelan mission, which began in 1967. Celebratory Masses took place across the region, with a special outdoor ceremony in the parish of La Santa Cruz, Caracas, on June 17th.
An altar was set up outside the parish church in order to accommodate the large crowds in attendance, reflecting the true essence of the MSC mission: to make God’s love known everywhere, and to everyone. Our mission is not limited to the church or the sacristy – our missionaries bring the message of God’s love to the homes and hearts of the people, no matter where they may be.
The Jubilee celebrations also commemorated Fr Joe Ruddy MSC, who is retiring from the Venezuelan mission after 50 years of dedication and service. In 1967, Fr Joe arrived in Venezuela with three Irish MSCs: Fr Eamonn Donoghue, Fr Vincent Screene, and Fr Tony Moran. Since then, Fr Joe and a growing community of MSC brothers have gone up into the hills and out into the streets of the barrios to minister to parishioners living in the slums, helping local people to take pride in their parishes as they work together with a renewed sense of unity and co-operation.
Today, Venezuela is a troubled land, one where poverty, hardship, and social and political unrest motivate young Venezuelans to go abroad to create better lives for themselves. During this time of great disorder and uncertainty, the MSC Golden Jubilee celebrations offered missionaries and locals alike the opportunity for reflection on the achievements that have been accomplished over the last 50 years, and hope for better things to come in the years ahead.
During his time as Irish Provincial Leader, Fr Joseph McGee MSC visited Maraciabo and Caracas to take part in the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Read more about his thoughts on our Venezuelan mission here.
The summer of 2017 marked 50 years since our MSCs first reached out to help the people of Venezuela in 1967. To commemorate our Golden Jubilee Fr Joseph McGee MSC, during his time as Irish Provincial Leader, visited our Venezuelan missions in June of 2017. Here, he shares his thoughts on our ongoing mission as we look ahead to the future of this troubled region.
Fr Joe writes, “I have been coming here for the past 12 years and have had much food for thought on each visit. Nevertheless, on this occasion, I left feeling very disturbed by what I witnessed. The feeling of unrest is palpable in this region of social and political turmoil.
An inflation rate of 700% means that food shortages and exorbitantly high prices are the order of the day. Long queues in shops and at petrol stations are a regular occurrence. When, for example, word gets out that the local bread shop has bread for sale, people will queue for hours to buy a loaf of poor-quality bread.
Soap for personal hygiene or for laundry is a luxury item and is rationed. Clean water is a scarce commodity, and one is conscious when drinking filtered water that it too is in short supply and very expensive. The most difficult thing I witnessed was seeing people scavenge in the rubbish heaps for scraps that have burst through the overflowing rubbish bags and appear to be edible.”
“Public transport is always dangerous and not for the faint-hearted. I was fortunate enough to travel by air between Maracaibo and Caracas. The single journey cost a mere €10, but in local currency, this is simply out of the reach of the vast majority of citizens who have to make the 12-hour journey by coach overnight.
Travellers on this arduous journey must endure at least one hold-up by the National Guard searching for drugs or illegal substances – saying nothing of the poor quality of the roads and the danger of armed robberies and hold-ups.
The average monthly wage of all citizens, whether they are school teachers or labourers, doctors or street sweepers, is the same and is standardised by the government. Medical necessities are scarce, and while doctors give prescriptions, patients will often find that the necessary medication is not available in the pharmacy. Poor public transport and lack of finances means that sick people or their carers find it extremely difficult to seek out a pharmacy that may have the required medication.
The political system is heavily weighted in favour of the government. TV and radio channels must be careful what they broadcast; if they make any criticism of the government, they can be shut down without warning. It is difficult for an outsider to understand the political system, but it’s clear that there is no such thing as freedom of speech – something that we would take for granted in any democratic society.
People who can get their hands on financial resources, usually sent from relatives abroad, are doing all they can to leave the country and start a new life elsewhere.”
“During all of this turmoil, the MSCs working in the region managed to gather and celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the MSC presence in this troubled land. It was a privilege to be with them, and with the faithful people who gathered for the celebrations in Maracaibo and Caracas.
On behalf of the whole Province, I offer sincere congratulations to our MSC brothers, past and present, who have worked and continue to work in this beautiful but troubled land.”
Fr Joseph McGee MSC
PLEASE HELP US TO CONTINUE OUR VITALÂ WORK IN VENEZUELA
For more information on the current situation in Venezuela, BBC Radio’s Briefing Room has posted an informative discussion titled “Is Venezuela on the brink of collapse?”. Fr Joseph highly recommends this programme: “This discussion gives a brief and comprehensive understanding of the current situation in Venezuela where our men have been working for these past 50 years, and where they remain in solidarity with the people. This year, as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the presence of the Irish Province in that part of the world, I urge everyone to listen to this programme and to keep the Venezuelan situation in your prayers.”
For more about Fr Joseph’s experiences in Maracaibo and Caracas, read The Irish Catholic’s front-page feature on the ongoing work of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Venezuela.
Fr. John Jennings MSC working in a local school
What does it mean to be a Missionary of the Sacred Heart? Who are we and what do we do? How are we different from the diocesan priests and members of other religious congregations? It’s a difficult question to answer, but perhaps the best I can do is to show you. As part of our vocations blog we’ll follow four members of the Chevalier family, ministering in radically different parts of the world, but united in a common MSC mission: That the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere known and loved.
Fr. John Jennings is an MSC missionary from Cork, Ireland working in one of the most marginalised barrios in Caracas, Venezuela. In addition to parish work John ministers as a part time chaplain in some of the country’s largest prisons. (more…)
“You are authentic disciples of Jesus Christ,” said Pope Francis when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Speaking about the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, he spoke of their ministry, saying “only a priest in love with the Lord can renew a parish. But at the same time he must be a missionary who lives the constant desire of looking for those who are separated and who is not content with just administration.” (more…)
Last week I was at a talk in Dublin on the work of the VSO and the future of overseas volunteering after 2015. All in all an interesting morning with good contributions from representative of the UN, the European Parliment and academia. They also invited Fr. Fachtna O’Driscoll, the Provincial of the SMA Fathers, to address the group about the missionary legacy of the Church and its future. In the course of his talk he revealed a startling statistic. By adding up the number of years that missionary brothers, sisters and priests worked all around the world he estimated that their commitment added up to more than 200,000 years altogether.
Fr. Tom O’Brien MSC working in Venezuela
It was an astonishing figure. When he said it the reaction of the people in the room was interesting. There was admiration, a little indifference, but above all surprise. There is something to be proud of when we think of all those people who had the courage to follow their vocation; to go out to the whole world and to proclaim the good news. (more…)