Jul 29, 2021
Fr Gerwin Mendoza Lumanglas MSC, of the Philippine Province, professed his final vows to become a Missionary of the Sacred Heart in May of this year, while being treated in hospital for pneumonia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In his own words, he shares his story, travelling from the brink of death to a hopeful, faith-filled future.
Final Vows: In God’s Hand
“I am Gerwin Mendoza Lumanglas, MSC of the Philippine Province, 37 years old, presently assigned to the Chevalier School, Angeles City Pampanga, Philippines, as a Campus Ministry Officer. I joined the MSC in 2013 and made my First Profession on June 2nd 2016.
I have encountered many challenges in my journey as an MSC. The most recent one was on May 3rd 2021. I was brought to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. My blood count level went down to the lowest. My haemoglobin was only 5. The normal level is 140 – 175. My platelet was only 7. The normal level is 150 – 400. I was at the brim of death.”
“Yes, miracles happen!”
“On May 12th 2021, while at my hospital bed, I professed my vows for life of obedience in fraternal charity, consecrated celibacy, and evangelical poverty in the MSC Society. Dedicating myself to God and the Society of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart while in the four corners of my room in the hospital was very memorable for me. I was very alive and happy to utter the words of my commitment to the Society in front of my Provincial Superior, Fr Bogey Cabrera MSC, together with my witnesses, the Rector of the Chevalier School Fr Ben Roquero MSC, and our Chevalier School secretary, CFLA member Mr Lamberto Arcilla II.
Yes, miracles happen! God works mysteriously. I was terrified and helpless at that moment, but instead of losing hope, I placed my complete trust and faith in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and fervently asked for the intercession of our Father Founder – Jules Chevalier. Now, I feel okay and vibrant, although I have to submit to chemotherapy sessions to ensure complete recovery.”
“Thanks for the Love and Mercy of God. Everything happens with a purpose. I know that I have still a mission to fulfil and that is ‘to be the heart of Jesus here on earth’. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere, now and forever. Amen.”
Fr Gerwin Mendoza MSC
(Province of Philippines)
Images courtesy of the MSC General Bulletin (June 2021) and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Australia website
Jul 15, 2021
The wonderful pictures were taken by the OLSH community in Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu City, in the Philippines, where the blessing of a new water system took place in the spring.
The OLSH clinic in Marigondon was established over 20 years ago, offering healthcare to the poor in the region. The facility is mainly for maternity care, but also caters to the general community in caring for medical issues. People travel from surrounding villages, and even from other islands located close by, to access the health services facilitated by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart here.
Malnutrition is a significant issue in the area, due to a combination of poverty and a lack of awareness regarding proper diet. This problem is particularly prevalent in children, pregnant women, and the elderly, and the OLSH Sisters at the Marigondon Clinic do their best to offer effective treatment, with an established feeding programme in place, along with essential education on nutrition.
The clinic offers pre-natal examinations for pregnant women, and many of these expectant mothers go on to give birth in the facility. Women who may be experiencing issues or difficulties are referred to local hospitals, with financial assistance from the OLSH community, and these ladies are often transported for hospital care in the official clinic vehicle.
While patients await their medical consultation, they are given instruction and education in terms of nutrition and self-care. Expectant mothers are instructed in taking proper care of themselves and their babies, with strict attention on the personal hygiene of both mother and child.
In addition to the provision of vital healthcare, the clinic also offers employment opportunities to many local people in need of work, from the construction of buildings to the establishment of factories.
The new water system was blessed at the end of March, with great joy and gratitude. With this new system in place, guaranteeing better hygiene facilities, the OLSH Sisters at the clinic are able to continue their dedicated work in caring for expectant mothers, new families, and the general community in Marigondon and beyond, bringing “hope and light” to “poor and sometimes hopeless patients”.
Images via the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook, and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Australia website.
Learn more about OLSH Global Outreach
May 27, 2021
The MSC community in the Philippines have been working tirelessly in recent times to help families whose lives are being quite literally swept away in an instant by ravaging typhoons.
Super-Typhoon Rolly, the world’s most powerful tropical typhoon in 2020, struck the island of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, on November 1st. The Bicol region was the worst hit, with more than 800,000 people left in urgent need of emergency aid as the super-typhoon wrecked untold devastation on its relentless path. While Super-Typhoon Rolly raged, volcanic mudflow from the active Mount Mayon buried over 300 houses in the areas surrounding the volcano.
The MSC Mission Office in the Philippines immediately mounted an emergency response, raising 321,721 Philippine pesos, or approximately €5,500, over a period of 15 days. Working with local volunteers and mission partners the Dominican Daughters of the Immaculate Mother Sisters (OP-DDIM), the Mission Response team distributed desperately needed emergency relief packs to more than 800 families spread across six communities in the Albay province. “The beneficiaries were so grateful for the support of the generous people had given to them,” writes the official website for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines.
On November 16th 2020, Typhoon Ulysses tore through the main island of Luzon, following in the footsteps of the earlier super-typhoon that had already caused unimaginable damage at the beginning of the month. More than one million families were left devastated by the typhoon, as homes, farms, and entire livelihoods were reduced to ruin by torrential rain, mudslides, and ferocious winds.
The areas most badly affected included the Metro Manila (Marikina area), Rizal, and the Cagayan Valley, where homes were demolished by raging floods.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Philippines Province immediately mounted a campaign to provide emergency aid to those whose lives had been shattered, and to help affected families and communities rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the typhoon.
Through donations collected by the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc., the MSC community in the Philippines were able to send care packages of essential items to people in the most badly-hit regions. Boxes of groceries, essential items of clothing, and over 400 sacks of rice were included in these emergency care packages, which were distributed to MSC mission partners, the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP). With the help of these mission partners, these aid items were sent in relief distributions to the most affected areas of the country.
In February 2021, the country was battered by violent weather conditions once again, as Typhoon Auring hit. The MSC missionary community in the Philippines continues in its work to bring relief to those who find themselves in severe difficulty as a result of the typhoons, with the Duvog-Ambit Project in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, currently bringing MSCs and the Diocese of Tandag together to help those in need.
The official website for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines posted a message of gratitude to all who contributed to their recent fundraising endeavours for victims of Typhoon Ulysses:
“We would like to thank all the people who took part of this mission especially to all the donors and generous people who helped us raise funds for the project. And to our mission partners, the OVP and AMRSP, thank you for organizing and facilitating the relief distribution activity. In behalf of the MSC Mission Office and all the beneficiaries, ‘Maraming Salamat Po!’”
Images via the MSC Mission Office Philippines website and the MSC Mission Office Philippines, Inc. on Facebook.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jan 21, 2021
The Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) are a vital part of our Sacred Heart Family, working all over the world, often in partnership with MSCs, under our shared motto:
“May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved.”
CARING FOR THE ELDERLY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
In Papua New Guinea, a community of 86 OLSH Sisters provide dedicated hands-on care for vulnerable individuals and families, from young children to the elderly. In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, financial assistance from the Irish Province allowed the OLSH Sisters in Papua New Guinea to provide extra safety measures in the Hartzer Centre, an aged-care centre attached to the main convent in Port Moresby, the country’s capital, where the Sisters care for elderly OLSH Sisters and MSC missionary priests who have devoted their lives to serving the people of Papua New Guinea.
As we all know, hygiene is one of the most vital defences against the coronavirus, and our mission friends in Ireland and the UK have already helped to provide extra sinks for improved safety measures. The Hartzer Centre has eight rooms for their elderly residents, but the centre does not have a dedicated laundry area of its own, and this creates significant difficulties surrounding hygiene as the centre’s nurses must bring all dirty laundry through the convent dining room to reach the communal washing area.
Sr Relida, Provincial of the OLSH Sisters in Papua New Guinea, has sent her “deep gratitude” for the changes we have already helped to make, and now asks if our mission friends in the Irish Province could please help the Sisters to build a small laundry area for the Hartzer Centre, to ensure the continued safety and care of vulnerable elderly residents.
In a time where good hygiene can quite literally save lives, especially in the case of the elderly and infirm, can you help us to help the Hartzer Centre?
A donation of €235 will buy a washing machine for the centre, while the new laundry room will cost €7,100 in total.
SOWING SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE IN SOUTH SUDAN
The Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart recently marked 25 years of service in South Sudan, where they have been involved in everything from education and nursing to general pastoral work.Most recently, the Sisters have been working to build gardens which will help to provide a stable and sustainable source of food and water to families in the region who have very little.
The gardens contain bores which are drilled and fitted with a pump, a tank, and a watering system.
These gardens are used to grow a variety of vegetables, and, when cultivated to their full potential, will be hugely beneficial in the long-term provision of nutritious food supplies to local families, who are up against a daily struggle to afford to feed their children.
The gardens are an investment which will provide years upon years of profit to local communities, from being a source of nutritious food to providing local students who tend to the crops with the physical and mental benefits of gardening.
CAN YOU HELP THE OLSH SISTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Feb 24, 2020
Msc Phillippines shares an appreciative message from their Outreach Programme for for the victims of the Taal volcano eruption earlier in the year where the community of Taal in Batangas were on permanent lockdown.
January 27, 2020 – The MSC Mission Office posted A Call for Donation campaign in various social media platform to gather funds for the project. “With the help of a company, organizations and generous individuals, we were able to collect amount of funds in just a span of few days. We also received handful of grocery items from a private organization who have been very supportive to our missions”. Having enough resources, the office decided to schedule a relief operation as soon as possible.
February 6, 2020 – The MSC Mission Office with the help of the MSC Scholastics & MSC staff started the repacking of relief items for Taal evacuees. A total of 200 families were expected to receive the relief packages which contain of rice, canned goods, noodles, monggo beans, biscuits, dried fish, bottled water, toiletries, bed mat, blanket, towels, pail and water dipper.
February 8, 2020 – The MSC Mission Office Philippines together with some volunteers from various organizations distributed relief items in Bgry, As-is, Laurel, Batangas. Through this project, a total of 200 families received relief packages. In addition, we were able to also give milk supplement and clothing for the children in the evacuation center.
“The evacuees were thankful as they received the relief packages. They had big smiles and were saying endless pasasalamat as they took their own relief goods. We appreciate the help of our volunteers and of course, a million thanks to you our donors for your generosity and support to this project. As we worked together for this Mission Outreach, we became witnesses of Christ’s heart here on earth.
Thank you and God bless us all.”
-Msc Mission Office Philippines.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MSC MISSIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES
