Apr 8, 2020
This is a testing time for all of us and our missionaries let us know that it is yet another hurdle on the other sides of the world where life is already challenging enough. Here are a few messages from our priests:
From Cameroun:
Dear Fr Carl,
Know that we are together in prayer with you particularly for our old confreres of your Province. We think of them and the Benefactors, we do pray for them. From today on and every Thursday evening, we will be having our HOLY HOUR combined with the evening prayer. We would like to do that for this whole difficult period. Thank God that we are still able to celebrate the mass with the whole community. We are really trying ourselves to be aware, to be well and to stay safe.
With our love and prayers,
Jean Manga MSC
From India:
Dear Fr. Carl,
Greetings of the day.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has shaken the whole world. Yesterday our Indian Prime Minister ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days and we are not allowed to go out of our houses, all our states and district borders are closed down. I’ve heard on the news that the whole of Europe is also experiencing a similar ‘lockdown’. We are in this together and we will be coming out from within this crisis enriched and full of even more awe and wonder for the God who is ever present – with us wherever we go. I hope and pray all our MSC confreres in England and Ireland are fine and safe. My thoughts and prayers are with you, the MSC community, our friends and Benefactors. Please know that I will remember you all daily in my prayer.
Your brother in Christ,
Darwin Thaddeus MSC (Union Superior).
From Fiji:
Hi Carl!
I hope you are all safe and well at this difficult time. Yesterday, the Prime minister of Fiji has confirmed 4 COVID 19 cases in Fiji. This creates fear and panic to many people. But we are also advised to remain calm and look after ourselves at this time. There has been a ban to all gatherings in the country and people are very much aware of what coronavirus will bring to the islands if we are not careful. We will continue to pray for our supporters, benefactors, all the victims and families affected by coronavirus around the world.
Peace and prayers for you,
Tamati Sefo MSC (Pacific Union Superior)
HELP SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS
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.
Dec 4, 2018
Great plans are in place for the community of Our Lady of Victory in Tsakane, South Africa.
Under the leadership of parish priest Fr Martin Morrissey MSC, the purchase of a new building for the community is in its final stages. This will then be developed into a church for the community, which currently numbers 60 and is growing steadily.
At the moment, parishioners gather together to pray in a small family garage. Space and facilities are very limited, but this doesn’t dampen their spirits! Irish Provincial Superior Fr Carl Tranter MSC was given a warm local welcome on his recent visit, and Fr Martin shared his enthusiasm for the new developments in the ongoing project.
“The people have been coming to pray here in a family garage,” says Fr Martin. “This new church won’t be the perfect thing, but it will be something of their own, and that will make all the difference.”
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are hard at work in Tsakane, a township near Johannesburg that was established in the 1960s. As is the case in many areas of South Africa, the population of Tsakane struggle with social and economic issues, with poverty being one of the main challenges faced in the region. “There’s a lot of poverty around,” says Fr Martin, “and we do our best to help wherever we can.” A feeding scheme at St Paul’s brings much-needed nourishment to local families, and our MSCs work alongside the Dominican Sisters in the area to bring practical aid and spiritual guidance to vulnerable families who have nowhere else to turn.
The new church will be a welcome boost to the community of Our Lady of Victory, and we look forward to following Fr Martin and his parishioners on their journey as they bring their plans to fruition.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Read more from Tsakane:
New beginnings at St Francis Xavier, Tsakane
Greetings from Tsakane, South Africa!
Nov 15, 2018
A project that began two years ago is now nearing its final stages of completion at the church of St Francis Xavier in Tsakane, South Africa. Parish priest Fr Martin Morrissey MSC is leading the project, which sees a new church put in place for the growing congregation.
A township located just outside Johannesburg, the name “Tsakane” actually translates as “happiness” or “joy”. As is the case in many parts of South Africa, however, Tsakane struggles with significant social and economic issues, and our MSCs are on hand to provide practical aid and spiritual guidance to the local communities.
The congregation of St Francis Xavier are delighted with the development of the new church, having previously gathered to pray in a school classroom. Getting the site was a huge achievement, with the titles handed over just over a year ago, and new church is growing, step by step. An altar and sanctuary area have been set up, and the windows have been put in, while a new ceiling still has to be put in place.
Fr Martin and the community are working hard to bring their plans to fruition, although the budget is tight. Fr Martin was able to source benches from another church around 80km away, acquiring 28 church benches for 50,000 South African Rand (approximately €3,500). The same benches would have cost 300,000 Rand, or around €18,500, if they had to be bought new.
The community of St Francis Xavier now numbers over 100 people, and is growing steadily. In October, parishioners enjoyed a day of great celebration when a total of 27 adults celebrated the sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation.
On a recent visit to Tsakane, Irish Provincial Superior Fr Carl Tranter MSC visited with Fr Martin, and was welcomed with open arms by the parishioners of St Francis Xavier. Fr Martin and the community extended their sincere thanks to all of our mission friends in the Irish Province for their ongoing support, and we send our very best wishes to them as they approach the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the church of St Francis Xavier!
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
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 God’s love, which “empowers, heals, and transforms”.
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 O’Connell MSC, Fr Terry O’Brien MSC. Fr Eamonn Donohue unfortunately could not attend the Jubilee celebrations.
“As 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!” Fr Carl said. “We 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 ‘achieved’. 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.”
The commemoration of this year’s 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 O’Connell MSC
Fr Carl Tranter MSC
Fr Terry O’Brien 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
