Earlier in the year, our MSC brothers in the Pemba district of Mozambique joined with the Shepherd Sisters for prayer, reflection, and celebration in the Oratory.
The Facebook page for MSC Mozambique shared photos from the day in late February, explaining: “The Oratory was born from something very simple and very revolutionary at the same time: a priest who decided to love young people before trying to correct them. St. Philip Neri did not create a complicated method, he created an environment. He gathered children and young people to pray, sing, talk, laugh and teach. He spoke of God as one who introduces a dear friend, not as one who imposes an obligation. Faith there was not a burden, it was breathing.”
“Basically, the Oratory is this: a place where the heart learns before the head,” they continued. “It doesn’t start with rules, it starts with presence.”
Our MSC mission in Mozambique was established in early 2018 in the Diocese of Pemba, where families and communities struggle greatly with poverty and the effects of civil war. The need for help in the region is very real, and the mission is continuously working to adapt and respond to serve the many and changing needs of the vulnerable and displaced, from emergency response to natural disasters, to the brutal impact of violence and political unrest.
The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart has a long friendship with our Mozambique mission, and through the years, the friendship and support of our mission friends and benefactors here at home has helped thousands of people across the district of Pemba. Thanks to your compassion, we have been able to bring about positive change to disadvantaged communities and vulnerable families across the diocese. In recent years, we have been working alongside Fr José and Fr Eduardo to raise funds to support those in real and urgent need, helping to provide essential aid and more hopeful prospects for those struggling in their circumstances.
The Mozambique mission continues, with Fr José Eduardo and Fr Roney responding to the changing needs of the communities in their care, and hope grows for the future with new MSC students beginning their missionary journey this year. As their Facebook page writes, “[We are reminded] that no one approaches God out of fear. He approaches through affection. And where there is true affection, faith flourishes almost without us noticing.”
We continue to journey alongside our MSC brothers in faith and affection, and we wish them every blessing and continues success on their mission.
Images via the Facebook page for MSC Mozambique.