MIRROR
DOING GOD’S WORK
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE
CONTENTS PAGE For the Love of God.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Michael Kinsella. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Everything Comes from the Cross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cardinal Piacenza.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Being the Hands and the Love of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . India.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Joy of the Gospel.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 St. Paul’s Brothers in Arms, Brothers in Need .. . . . . . . . . . . Burma/Myanmar.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Forming Christians and Shaping the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . Syria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Saving Lives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jordan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Caring for Child Victims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Holy Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Testifying to the Beauty of the Consecrated Life. . . . . . . . Tanzania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Meet my Extraordinary Aunt – the Nun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puerto Rico.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Reflecting upon Extraordinary Witness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Knight.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Life as Mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Msgr. Charles Pope.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 On Imitating Christ.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Heine-Geldern. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
‘Darkness can only be scattered by Light and Hatred can only be conquered by Love’ SAINT JOHN PAUL II Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: ACN International, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
ing Peace can only result from following in Christ’s Footsteps: there is no other way.
Dear Friends,
So it is that God calls all of us to follow Him and while each of us has been tasked with a different assignment, all of us have been given the same mission, to imitate Christ and inspire others to do likewise.
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ince the very beginning untold numbers of Christians have selflessly dedicated themselves to doing God’s Work, by spreading His Love and being His Hands in the World. Today in a world which viciously attacks Christian values and cynically sneers at Christian Truth, far away from the camera and buried deep within their own communities consecrated Sisters, Brothers and Priests are steadfastly and prayerfully following in Christ’s Footsteps. So it is that today as in the past, our consecrated Sisters and Brothers follow Christ into the war zones and ghettos of the world in order to bring His Mercy to the materially dispossessed and the spiritually-abandoned. This is God’s Work: the undertaking of temporal and spiritual Works of Mercy. While this is also the work to which all Christians are called, it is the work to which our consecrated Sisters and Brothers pledge to undertake both fully and publicly with their sacred vows. In making their vows those who have consecrated their lives towards doing God’s work are acutely aware that Christ, His Message and His Church is not merely some benign force for good in a fallen world. They are profoundly aware that Doing God’s Work is not just a life option but is the very meaning of life and places us firmly on the royal road to Happiness and Salvation. Our consecrated Sisters and Brothers know that deep Joy, authentic Hope and last-
This is no easy task and many fail to follow because the road all of us are invited to take, is the Way of the Cross. Every Christian, irrespective of status or condition of life is required to take up His/Her Cross daily and follow in the footsteps of Christ. Those amongst us who for the Love of God, embrace the consecrated life, either in active or contemplative ministry, do so radically and in so doing they become the ‘Hands of Christ’ in the world. Lay members of Christ’s mystical body, the Church, are being invited ‘lend a hand’ to these ‘Hands of Christ’. Future issues of the Mirror will develop the theme of how lay Catholics are also being invited to become the ‘Hands of Christ’ and do God’s work in the world. For its part this particular issue centres upon the Temporal Works of Mercy being undertaken by our consecrated Brothers and Sisters while the next edition will reflect upon the Spiritual Works of Mercy they undertake for the Love of God. Your brother in Christ,
Dr. Michael Kinsella DIRECTOR, ACN IRELAND
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DOING GOD’S WORK
EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE CROSS Dear Friends,
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e are travelling together as the Church along the pilgrim path of Lenten penance, which will lead us into the great ‘hallelujah’ of the Paschal Feast. This season is marked by our contemplation of the selfoffering of Jesus, and the sign of His saving Sacrifice is the Cross. This is the treasure which contains every good within itself. In Baptism we were marked with the sign of the Cross and everything – the sacraments that enabled grace to grow within us, the prayers and petitions that rise up from each individual and from the whole community, every blessing that has ever been bestowed upon us – everything, absolutely everything in the Christian life flows from the Cross.
Receiving absolution from Father Gregory Kitemu, Kolokol, Uganda.
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All light, all spiritual strength, all reason for hope – everything comes from the Cross. A tree led to the world’s enslavement, but through the death of Jesus a tree become the source of new life for the whole world. If we wish to be true disciples of Jesus and attain everlasting blessing, then we must follow in the footsteps of Jesus; and – sooner or later – we will inevitably encounter the Cross. And yet from this Cross, made purple with the precious Blood of Christ, there still shines forth the Light of Victory.
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
How great is the light that shines out from the Cross! It tells us that our separation from God was ended at that moment when the Son of God offered Himself for our sins and died praying to God for our forgiveness. No crime or blasphemy of ours can exceed the forgiveness of Christ. Even the condemned criminal who repents is promised: ‘This day you will be with me in Paradise’ (Lk 23:43). Hence the message for all of us: Take heart!
example by frequently confessing to one another. All pastoral ministry begins here, and all the Catholic faithful, whatever their age or status, ought to go to Confession regularly.
In the Cross this offer of salvation is held out to every one of us. Yet everyone must still lay down their own burden of sins at the foot of the Cross and bend the knee before the Infinite Mercy of Jesus – which in practice means a sincere sacramental Confession with true repentance and an honest intention to sin no more.
With the promise of my prayers and my blessing on you all, and my wishes for a truly holy and life-changing Paschal feast!
Even though we know that on account of our weaknesses we will inevitably fall again, nevertheless, each one of us must take this step in Confession. The time has come to learn a new appreciation of this sacrament, which is in practice the quintessence of the Cross.
PRESIDENT OF ACN
This will bring benefits to us all, to individuals, to families, to parishes, to society, to the entire Church. This is how to achieve a peaceful revolution, the revolution of the Good which conquers evil!
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza
All too frequently today people speak about the sins of the men and women of the Church, and of the need for reform and renewal. But authentic renewal can only come about when it takes place in every individual soul and when we make use of the means that Jesus Himself has given us for this purpose! And so priests must always make themselves available for Confession; this must be a priority for them. And they themselves must set the 3
DOING GOD’S WORK
BEING THE HANDS AND THE LOVE OF CHRIST INDIA
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ndia’s Malabar Missionary Brothers are brothers to the helpless and forgotten. Founded 70 years ago in the archdiocese of Trichur in Kerala, today their congregation is present in 18 Indian dioceses. Their mission is to evangelise through ‘service in humility’ according to the Franciscan charism. Living a life of poverty and renunciation, they give religious instruction, care for mentally handicapped children and young people who have become involved in crime, run orphanages, help unemployed young men, visit the elderly, abandoned and the sick, working for long hours each day.
For these poor ones, the brothers are the Hands and the Love of Christ. Their work is exhausting and saps both their physical and spiritual strength. The brothers are men of prayer, but even they need to recharge their ‘spiritual batteries’ from time to time. They achieve this through spiritual retreats and training courses – but with their charitable work and other expenses they have no money left for spiritual formation. We have promised €3,100 for 43 brothers waiting to attend a two-week retreat. •
Studying and finding new strength in their community retreat.
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BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL1
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n India, she is known as ‘Nari Gunjan’ or ‘the voice of the women.’ We are talking about Sister Sudha Varghese, a Religious of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Her work has allowed her to liberate the Musher, ‘dalits’ (‘untouchables’) of Bihar State, especially the women, from sexual abuse and other offenses. Before the Sister arrived in the 1980s, the Musher were known for eating rats. They had no properties of their own, they cleaned bathrooms and worked in the distilleries. Their women and children were frequently sexually abused in the houses of the dominant classes. They had no opportunity to go
to school. Girls were often given in marriage at the age of 10. Sister Sudha Varghese, born in 1949 to a wealthy family from Kerala, broke that vicious cycle by creating a network of formation centres for Musher girls, many of them single mothers. She has received many death threats for her work. The Sister, who has lived like any other ‘untouchable’ for more than two decades, complemented her charitable work with the Joyful Learning Centres, which are educational centres for children that give a future to the ‘pariahs’. • 1 Adapted and edited from Jesús Colina, https://aleteia. org/2018/01/01/10-people-who-gave-their-lives-for-others-in-2017/
Sister Sudha Varghese (centre).
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ST. PAUL’S BROTHERS IN ARMS, BROTHERS IN NEED BURMA/MYANMAR ‘Each new generation needs new apostles’
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o wrote Pope Saint John Paul II in his message for World Youth Day 1989 held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It was the spark that inspired the Missionary Brothers of Saint Paul in Burma (Myanmar). For 30 years now they have been bringing the Gospel of Christ to the people.
Their charism is ‘ad gentes’ – to the nations – and their motto is ‘I thirst’ from Saint John’s Gospel (19:28). These two phrases frame the logo of their congregation and are intended to show their desire to imitate Christ and continue His Redemptive Work.
And like their patron saint, Paul – the apostle to the nations, who spent three years preparing himself thoroughly for his mission, so too the Brothers of Saint Paul place great value on the formation of their novices, postulants and aspirants. The majority of them will go on to bear witness to the Gospel by their lives as brothers in the congregation. But right now, especially in the anti-Christian environment in which they live, they need a solid theological grounding, including Bible studies and liturgical training.
New apostles for the Church: the Missionary Brothers in their formation centre in Myetto.
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BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
Their formation also includes lessons in Church music and – an indispensable feature today – a basic grounding in Information Technology (IT). Once a week they visit the sick regularly going out to the remotest villages. Today they are active in a number of dioceses in the country.
Thankfully there is no shortage of new vocations; currently they have five postulants and 42 aspirants in formation. For such a young congregation, which began with nothing, it is not easy to handle the cost of their training, board and travel expenses. And, to put it bluntly, they cannot cope. Yet at the same time they do not wish to turn away any genuine new vocations, nor will they consider taking shortcuts in their formation programme. For the entire Gospel must be proclaimed, in season and out of season.
Computer studies: no doubt Saint Paul would be doing the same thing today.
So it is that Saint Paul’s Brothers in Need have turned to us for help (€7,000) and we have pledged our support. •
GIVING DIGNITY, BRINGING HOPE
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veryone knows her as the ‘Mother Teresa of Burma’ (a.k.a. Myanmar), but her real name is Marta Mya Thwe. She is a Religious Sister from the Congregation of St. Joseph of the Apparition, and she has dedicated her life to AIDS victims in her country.
BURMA2
Over the past three decades, her work in the state of Mon has radically changed the life expectancy of AIDS victims, who did not receive proper care and suffered expulsion from their own families and from society. In 2002, she founded the health centre ‘Mirror of Charity’, which offers a place to stay, food, medicines, education, and professional formation to orphans and AIDS victims.
Marta Ma Thwe.
Now those centres are extending throughout the country: AIDS victims are no longer despised untouchables, but people with a virus who have dignity and a future. •
2 Adapted and edited from Jesús Colina, https://aleteia.org/2018/01/01/10-people-who-gave-their-lives-for-others-in-2017/
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DOING GOD’S WORK
FORMING CHRISTIANS AND SHAPING THE FUTURE ‘In principio erat Verbum – in the beginning was the Word; at the origin of everything is the creative reason of God’, said Pope Benedict XVI.
A good education is also necessary for young Christians to have any chance in the job market. And only young Christians who are enrolled at university can avoid conscription in the army.
Faith and reason are necessary for each other. ‘Without reason, Faith degenerates; without Faith, reason threatens to become stunted.’
Education is the key to peaceful coexistence among those of conflicting beliefs. That is one reason why Christians in the Middle East have always attached great importance to their children receiving a good education. It is also why their children’s schooling and university studies are so important to them.
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sing our reason is essential for us as Christians, so that we can better understand our Faith. For Christians in Islamic countries, and especially in Syria, it is also needed for survival. Only well-educated Christians can defend themselves to their Islamic neighbours and flourish and thrive in this environment.
Paying out bursaries: everything is carefully recorded.
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SYRIA
For Christians who are now returning to Aleppo, or who have never left the city, issues such as how will they pay for their childrens’ studies are never far from their minds.
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
Working with ten local Christian Churches ACN has drawn up a programme to support students. Under this scheme some 7,340 young people will receive €20 per month for the duration of the academic year (eight months) – to help with transport, food and other essentials. Also organised are spiritual events for students, to support their souls in addition to supporting their studies. The students’ prayers, along with their studies are needed to help to build a peaceful future in Syria. €160 is required to support one student for one academic year in Aleppo. •
Students pray in the chapel of Jesus the Worker, inside the student hostel.
Medical student Boutros studies in his room in the student hostel.
FEEDING HOPE IN ALEPPO SYRIA
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ilk is vital for the healthy growth of children – but many families in Syria simply cannot afford it, so for three years now Aid to the Church in Need has been supporting the ‘Drop of Milk’ campaign for Christian families in Aleppo. A list of all children under 11 years has been drawn up and a distribution centre set up in a safe quarter of the city where dried milk is regularly provided. Some 3,000 children receive a regular ration of powdered milk every month; 250 of them are under one year and so receive special formula milk, suited to their age.
This is our milk powder – Thank you to everyone who has helped us!
All the Christian Churches in Aleppo are involved, and the ‘Drop of Milk’ campaign unites families across the religious divide, feeding not only the children but people’s hope for a life lived in peace together. One month’s supply costs €20,000 – and we have promised help for the whole of this year. •
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DOING GOD’S WORK
SAVING LIVES
JORDAN
‘Peace in Syria is possible’, says Pope Francis
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ut first of all the country’s people have to survive, which is why the Pope is constantly calling on us to help the hungry and thirsty, the naked, the sick, the stranger and those driven from their homes by violence and war.
Many sick refugees from Syria are being cared for by the Comboni Sisters in the Italian hospital in Karak, Jordan, just over the Syrian border. Here they are given shelter and emergency aid.
‘We are caring above all for pregnant women and young mothers with small children’, says Sister Adele. Children are Syria’s future, and without them peace has no future. And often the refugees, after receiving emergency aid from the Sisters, have gone on to support themselves and help provide for others in need. But most of them just want to return home. But during these eight years of war, more and more refugees have poured in to the country. The Jordanian government could no longer bear the cost, nor could the Sisters. Their x-ray machine broke down, making diagnoses difficult. It is now beyond repair. And their ancient air-conditioning system also keeps
Alive against all odds: Comboni Sister Bachara comforts a newborn child.
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BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
breaking down, limiting the work they can do in the operating theatre. They are living and working from day to day, with no idea as to how long things can continue as they are. Many of the refugees have nowhere to turn to when they fall ill. They cannot afford the most essential medication. During the early years of the civil war the hospital was still able to count on the support of other international organisations, but now their support has dwindled. But the Sisters cannot simply turn away expectant mothers or sick children, or emergency admissions. They know that for most people the 150 km journey to the capital, Amman is too far and too costly.
And we want Him to be able to continue saying to them: ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me’ (Mt 25:40).
So the Sisters are seeking our help – so that they can go on helping others. In all these refugees they see the suffering face of Christ.
Aid to the Church in Need has promised €50,000 for the medical care of these Syrian refugees. •
Back on her feet: little Mirjam is learning to stand and walk again.
Sheltering in the hospital corridor, a family waits for the doctor.
Her two children are sick and she has nowhere else to go.
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DOING GOD’S WORK
CARING FOR CHILD VICTIMS THE HOLY LAND3
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ister Rafaela Wlodarczak’s life has for the past five decades been tied with the Home of Peace for child victims of the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The place was established on December 8, 1967, as the ‘Home of Peace on the Mountain of Olives’ in Jerusalem. Can you imagine a Religious Sister in heavy rubber boots, carrying building materials or heavy steel girders on her back to build a house? Still, this is really nothing when compared to the full story of Sister Rafaela’s struggle for a better tomorrow for war orphans and Arab Christians in the Holy Land. Despite the many trials and tribulations, she has managed to build two children’s homes, in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in the Palestinian Territories.
DIFFICULT BEGINNINGS WITH FEW STRINGS TO PULL
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any children were orphaned by the IsraeliPalestinian Six-Day War. ‘Left alone, they lived literally on the street or in cemeteries,’ recalls Sister Rafaela. They ate food scavenged from garbage. Some of them were seemingly in a better position as they were given food in return for their work. This work, however, was too exhausting for children. ‘We decided to take care of them and create a home for them,’ recalls Sister Rafaela. Together with Sister Imelda Płotka, she began to ‘collect’ orphaned children from the street. At the beginning, their home was limited to a few hired rooms, courtesy of Father Ludwik Semkowski SJ. To raise money for food for their children, the Sisters played guitar and sang Polish songs. They always managed to collect the necessary funds. Sister Rafaela jokes today that the guitar she played on did not have all the strings, so she’s actually she not sure whether the donors were concerned about the orphans or were just trying to dissuade her from singing further. However, the money was only enough for such food, clothes and school supplies; they couldn’t raise enough to cover the rent. It
Home of Peace on the Mountain of Olives.
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3 Adapted and edited from Iwona Flisikowska, | Jan 11, 2018 This article first appeared in Aleteia’s Polish edition. It has been translated and adopted here for an English audience.
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
was at that moment that Providence intervened. When the Sisters were raising money in the streets of Jerusalem, a swanky Mercedes pulled over in front of them. A man got out of the car, asked if the nuns were taking care of war orphans, gave them an envelope with one thousand dollars, and left. The Sisters dreamed about a home for children. It seemed unreal, however, until they were donated a plot of land with a cave. ‘For us it was the most beautiful place in the world: the Mount of Olives overlooking the old Jerusalem. We applied for a building permit and when it did not come for a long time, we started the construction without it,’ recalls the Nun. However, it was difficult to hide the construction of a children’s home in such an attractive
location. The case to decide on the demolition or further construction of the facility went to court. ‘It was incredible, but the Israeli judge assured us that he would not allow the demolition of the orphanage, because the sisters and the children have the right to live in it,’ adds Sister Rafaela. The judge paid a high price for the judgment – he was dismissed and sent to the provinces. Construction was able to proceed at full blast, though discreetly. Sometimes, to keep a low profile, the Sisters had to carry steel elements on their backs at night. Finally, the Home of Peace was opened on December 8, 1967. Cardinal Jan Król from Philadelphia blessed the building, in which several hundred children have found shelter ever since.
»
Sister Rafaela Włodarczak.
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HEROIC SISTERS AND RAZOR WIRE
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n 2000, a wave of riots broke out in the Holy Land and in consequence the Israeli army cordoned off the city of Bethlehem: no one could enter or leave the city.
‘Hearing those words, the officer paled and let us pass. But he warned us that we could only stay there for two hours. Fortunately, it was enough to find the children and safely return home to Jerusalem.’
Earlier, the Sisters had driven several children to their families in Bethlehem. No one could have predicted that the situation would get so complicated. After a few days, the mother of the children rang, begging the Nuns to take them back, because there was nothing to eat in Bethlehem. Sister Rafaela and Sister Kryspina (then both over 70 years old!) set off on foot from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. They carried a cross and the flag of the Vatican in their hands. ‘A demonstration against the blockade of Bethlehem was taking place at that time. Seeing us, the journalists started to ask why we were trying to enter the besieged city, as nobody would let us in,’ recalls Sister Rafael. When she and Sister Kryspina reached the military cordon, a soldier ran up to them with a loaded rifle. He told them to turn back. ‘We explained that we were going to Bethlehem to help hungry children. Our negotiations were to no avail, so I wanted to talk with the soldier’s commanding officer. He was also unyielding.’ Irritated, Sister Rafaela asked if he had been talking to his grandparents about concentration camps and the children who did not receive any help during the war. 14
The Mount of Olives.
HOME OF PEACE
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nother gem in this extraordinary story is the fact that a few years ago Sister Rafaela, with the help of so many kind people from around the world, managed to build a second children’s home in Bethlehem. This time it was located in the vicinity of the separation wall surrounding the city. ‘All these years we tried to teach our children that the most important thing in life is to be able to forgive. No matter what. Many of our children have graduated from university and found a good job. Some have started their own families. I hope that they will carry light into many people’s lives,’ says Sister Rafaela.
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
Subsistence help for religious 12,801
Religious Sisters received subsistence support from ACN in 2017
‘Wherever consecrated people are, There is always Joy’. POPE FRANCIS
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TESTIFYING TO THE BEAUTY OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE TANZANIA ‘He who ventures nothing for God will achieve nothing great for him either.’
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aint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673 – 1716) ventured a great deal, and today Montfortian Brothers, inspired by his spirit, are achieving great things too. The Brothers through their actions and in their prayers bear witness to the Beauty of the Consecrated Life, the life which they have chosen for the Love of God. The Brothers of Christian Instruction of Saint Gabriel devote themselves to the education of children and young people. ‘Education is our special charism’, says Brother Mathai Moolakara, who heads their
Everything starts with prayer: the Montfortian Brothers in their chapel.
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monastery in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They run schools and organise retreats. Faithful to Church teaching, they fulfil their mission with perseverance and prayer. And they are attracting new vocations. When they began in Morogoro in 2009, they had just three novices. Now they have 23 from seven different countries. Worldwide, this congregation of pontifical right now has 1,300 members in 33 countries. Like St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, they pray the Rosary daily. Pope Saint John Paul II himself referred to Louis de Montfort as his ‘reference point in life, who gave me light in all the decisive moments of my life’; and took his
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
papal motto, ‘Totus Tuus’ (‘All yours [O Mary]’) from Saint Louis. Saint Louis described his congregation as a ‘family of divine providence’. And the Brothers in Dar es Salaam display this same trust in Divine Providence. They beg alms and give to the poor, They work in the fields and share the fruits of their labour with needy families, They pray with young people and go into villages to visit the sick and elderly. In short, they bear witness to God’s Loving Mercy. For years they lived by the fruit of their own labour, but with growing numbers of Brothers the land does not yield enough, and costs are rising. Yet they still want to continue teaching
‘God alone’ was the motto of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.
the young, and they would like more Brothers to join their mission, but these would need a solid training. They are asking us for €4,600 for their novices, trusting again in Divine Providence. Not that they have not put their hand to the plough themselves. In the coming years they are planning to become self-sufficient by cultivating more land and growing more bananas, maize and vegetables. They also plan to develop their present chicken coop into a farm, with rabbits, 10 cows and 20 pigs, hoping to be able to live from the income generated by this livestock rearing. But first... they need help for the next two years. They have a bold vision for their mission and we can help them with our prayers and whatever we can give. •
Education is the charism: Montfortian novices attending a lecture.
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TRANSFORMING LIVES AND SAVING SOULS UGANDA 4
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NN called her the ‘Hero of the Year’ in the past, since she gave a future to more than 2,000 women, victims of abuse and violence of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda.
Everything started 16 years ago. Rosemary Nyirumbe, a religious with the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, realised that in the school she directed in Gulu, there were some of the girls who had been enslaved by the LRA, one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world. Some told her that their abusers had forced them to kill members of their own family. Victims of the worst atrocities, their lives seemed destroyed forever.
Sister Rosemary did not ask them any more questions. She opened the doors of her convent to them. Soon other women began to knock at the door: some were pregnant after having been raped, others were girl soldiers who were looking for a way to flee from the horror. Along with shelter, Sister Rosemary gave them a lot of love and a future: professional formation with cooking and sewing classes. Today, many are teachers or seamstresses, among the most highly respected in the country. • 4 Adapted and edited from Jesús Colina, https://aleteia. org/2018/01/01/10-people-who-gave-their-lives-for-others-in-2017/
‘ A person’s rightful due is to be treated as an object of Love not as an object for use.’ SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe.
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Transporting the Good News 1,120
Missionary Vehicles* were funded by ACN in 2017
*Includes 424 cars, 257 motorcycles, 429 bicycles and 3 boats.
‘The Proclamation of the Gospel remains the Primary service that the Church owes to Humanity’. POPE BENEDICT XVI
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MEET MY EXTRAORDINARY AUNT – THE NUN PUERTO RICO 5
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nce upon a time, a tenacious Josephite nun from Brooklyn, New York, dreamed of missionary work in Puerto Rico. She was born on October 28, 1917, just two weeks after the miracle at Fatima, and family legend held she was meant to be called Mary de Lourdes, but the pastor instead baptised her Anita de Lourdes, insisting with a biblical cadence that was the child’s true name. The beautiful Puerto Rican name she bore made Anita long to make a difference there. And so, when she arrived in Ponce, Puerto Rico as a Nun and witnessed the despondency of the poorest of the poor who lived on the mountain, she decided to found a school there. And just as scripture tells of great transfigurations occurring on mountain tops, Centro San Francisco has always been a place of deep and abiding change. High on a mountain in Barrio Tamarindo, Ponce, this Catholic mission school is still living up to the legacy of Sister Anita. Known by locals as ‘the Mayor of the Mountain,’ Sister Anita would teach by day at the school, and at night hail the locals from her balcony, checking on everyone’s well-being. Leaning on her cane, she trekked through the steep slums, visiting and caring for the sick. Beyond ensuring that each of her students would have a solid meal each day and a clean uniform to wear, Sister Anita even helped their parents to find employment.
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I was blessed to know Sister Anita Moseley as my warm-hearted aunt, and loved her sparkling eyes and resonant laugh. I took her name for Confirmation and won a children’s essay contest writing of her courage. One year, as she entered a polling place to vote, a group of thugs approached her with raised fists and tried to block her way. The indomitable Nun stood tall and clenched her cane with a steady hand. In a strong, unwavering voice, she said, ‘I am an American woman. I am here to vote. Let me pass.’ They got out of her way. If Sister Anita found out a woman had been beaten by her husband, she ensured the man would never strike his wife again. ‘Everyone respected her because she was a Nun, but it was more than that – it was because of her personality, too. She was formidable,’ says Susie Travis Vincent, a lay missionary who worked with Sister Anita in the 1980s. In an interview, Ms. Vincent said Sister Anita ‘gave people courage. She could make anyone believe in themselves.’ Whenever the school needed repairs or funds, or when someone she loved was in crisis, Sister Anita would open her little closet ‘chapel,’ and close the door behind her. On a rickety kneeler, she would face the Crucifix and pray for help. Miraculously, it always came from somewhere. 5 Adapted and edited from Annabelle Moseley’s original article in Aleteia available at: https://aleteia.org/2018/01/09/meet-the-nunbehind-a-hurricane-wrecked-school-thats-keeping-hope-alive/
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
‘She was walking in Jesus’ shoes,’ recalls Ms. Vincent. ‘She had a direct relationship with her Father, with God. That’s what happened in that little chapel. It was where she spent her lifetime’s worth of forty days and forty nights. She would tell us the next morning at breakfast about the big discussions she’d had with Him the night before. Whenever she would ask for God’s Help, it always came.’ Sister Anita Moseley died on November 25, 2000. But the lives of hundreds of students and families who were educated and evangelized by her attest to the power of her legacy. Many have gone on to college, and many have returned to improve their community as teachers, lawyers, police, and business leaders. The teachers and administration at Centro San Francisco see their work as a true
vocation, and prepare their students to overcome obstacles and achieve greatness. Though approximately 89 percent of the over 200 students who attend live below the poverty level, these kids get a free Catholic education and learn to joyfully discern their own callings and gifts through strong academics, religious instruction, music classes, fine arts, physical education, training for trades, social support, psychological services and workshops on child rearing. •
Michael Comments
Our lives are our legacies and lives spent in the service of the Lord leave large and enduring legacies that enrich the world.
Would you like to comment? Please email: mk@acnireland.org
Sister Anita Moseley with her niece, the author, 1987.
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DOING GOD’S WORK
ON SKID ROW FOR THE LOVE OF GOD6
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here is a 4-sq-mile area in the city of Los Angeles that contains more than a tenth of the city’s 53,000 homeless. Known as Skid Row, these streets have the largest stable population of homeless people in the United States, between 3 and 5 thousand. These people are in dire need of assistance.
This provided the call to action that the Friars and Sisters of the Poor Jesus readily answered. The order, which originated in Sao Paolo, Brazil, in 2001, is on a mission to minister to the neediest and most marginalized members of society. What started with Brazilian Father Gilson Sobreiro’s bid to help addicted youths to recover has turned into a vibrant order of young Friars and Nuns that has spread to 12 countries, including Paraguay, Argentina, Nicaragua, El Salvador, France and Canada.
The area known as ‘Skid Row’ in Los Angeles.
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At the request of Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, they now have a presence in Los Angeles where one magazine describes the works of mercy they dispense: Dressed in a full habit, a straw hat and brown flip-flops, Friar Benjamin, 42, along with three other Friars, one Religious Sister and three volunteers, shouted, ‘Cold water! Free food!’ as they made their way along the tent-lined streets in 90-degree heat. They moved slowly, taking time to talk with people about their lives and to ask if they need a prayer. Tyrone Tankins, who has lived on Skid Row for eight months, asked them to pray for his sick 6 Adapted and edited from an original article by J-P Mauro available at https://aleteia.org/2018/09/28/these-brazilian-nuns-and-friars-cameto-la-to-feed-the-homeless/
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
grandmother. Even though he survived cancer and a gunshot wound, he said, it’s his grandmother who needs help. By the time they finished circling the block they had given away all their food and water, even the ice from the cooler. Together with another team of Friars, Nuns and volunteers, which walked a different block, they distributed 400 sandwiches to 200 homeless people in a single Saturday afternoon. The Friars and Sisters of the Poor Jesus are addressing the homeless crisis, but also the problems that arise when a society ‘neglects their spiritual side.’
While many of this century’s youth may find the aspect of a self-imposed life of poverty unthinkable, the Friars and Nuns find great joy and contentment in their life of service. Sister Maria Goretti of the Spiritual Infancy, who joined the order when she was 15, writes: ‘When people look at us, they’re reminded that we’re not made for this earth. People think, ‘Oh, you don’t have cellphones, Facebook, social media.’ But it’s also beautiful because we’re a sign for people who can’t live without the internet,’ she said. ‘We see society and how you can’t leave your phone. Our poverty can assure people that you can live without so many things.’
Michael Comments
They meet the poor on their level, accepting poverty and living with few possession; they sleep on the floor and subsist on donations. Friar Benjamin believes that more important than the feeding the homeless is developing a relationship with them:
That God should call forth missionaries from the desperate slums of the corrupt and impoverished Third World to minister to His sick and suffering children in the Skid Rows of opulent First World California is truly a marvel.
‘We give out simple food, but we develop friendships. Once they realise that you care about them, and that what we do goes beyond food, then they understand, and something internal happens, and it’s like a strength comes and they start fighting for their lives again.’
Wonderous are Your Works O Lord, Mysterious are Your Ways.
He added, ‘We have no illusions that we’re going to solve it completely, but this is what we need to rediscover… Jesus’ message.’ 23
DOING GOD’S WORK
REFLECTING UPON EXTRAORDINARY WITNESS ‘Smiling while being bombed takes courage,’
S
o said Sister Carol Tahhan Fachakh, a Salesian nun born in Aleppo in 1951. In a meeting with Pope Francis in Rome, Sister Carol — the daughter of an Armenian woman who fled her country to keep her family from being slaughtered — explained both her mission and her ‘love for Syria’ to the Pontiff: she’s a chemist who discovered her vocation while helping disabled children in a missionary experience among refugees in Lebanon, in the Bekaa Valley. Years later, she became the founder of a school for thousands of students, Christian and non-Christian. In their school, Sister Carol explains, ‘we welcome everyone with open arms, like a big family, the Salesian style, trying to overcome, together, the fear caused by missiles and bombs.’ In 2017, Sister Carol received an International Women of Courage Award at the Department of State in Washington for carrying out her mission in a dangerous area, ‘showing courage, strength and leadership while promoting peace, justice, human rights and the dignity of women, often at great personal risk.’ 8
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GEORGE KNIGHT7
In making this award the US State Department however failed to note the motivating force behind Sister Carol’s extraordinary witness to the dignity of every human being: ‘Caritas Christi Urget Nos’ (‘The Love of Christ moves Us’). Sister Carol is an extraordinary woman who is doing extraordinary work in extraordinary circumstances for the love of God. In doing this she is not alone. In fact she is one of the many hundreds of thousands of extraordinary women and men who have vowed to serve God and who for the love of God defend Humanity against the evils of this world. Sister Carol and her work do however beautifully exemplify the authentic face of the Catholic Church. Christ founded His Church to Heal the World in response to its deep brokenness. It is a redemptive work and work which will continue to the end of time. This is the work to which consecrated men and women have dedicated their whole lives. It is also a work which Aid to the Church in Need and its benefactors are dedicated to support in whatever ways they can and as much as they can. Aid to the Church in Need exists with the sole purpose of Helping the Church Heal the World and to do so especially in those places 7 George Knight is the nom de plume of a number of Catholic men and women who wish to write anonymously in praise of Christ and in defence of His Church in the world. 8 The above three paragraphs were taken and adapted from an original article by Daniel Esparza accessed at https://aleteia.org/2017/04/19/ sister-carol-a-much-needed-smile-in-aleppo/
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
Sister Carol Tahhan Fachakh.
and during those times when Christ and His Church are suffering their greatest trials and experiencing their greatest persecutions. Today that includes, Syria, Iraq and the Greater Middle East but the suffering and persecution of Christ and His Church are everywhere and thanks be to God, so too is Aid to the Church in Need, its benefactors and its beneficiaries. Like perhaps never before the world needs the Hope and Joy of the Gospel. It needs the Heroic Witness to Hope of Sister Carol as well as our witness: The witness of our prayers, The witness of volunteering, The witness of our almsgiving, The witness of our good cheer, The witness of our forgiving and not taking offence, The witness of our everyday struggle to imitate Christ. Yes of course we will never succeed in perfectly imitating Christ. Yes we will fail, Yes we will fail badly Yes we will fail repeatedly but we should never fail to try and never give into the temptation of giving up.
Sadly today it is surprising to realise how little the world knows about the Truth of Christ and His Church. Moreover what it does ‘know’ and widely broadcasts is far from complete, often misleading, frequently inaccurate, downright cynical and sometimes inflammatory. Yes the Catholic Church is chock-full of humanity, its sins and its sinning. And this should be no surprise after all the Church is the ‘field hospital’ established by Christ Himself to continue His Redemptive Work of taking away the sins of the world. But the Church is much more than merely a ‘field hospital’, it is also a sanctuary. Indeed it is The Sanctuary the place where the sick and healthy, all of us, go to meet God in person. Sister Carol runs such a ‘field hospital’ and thankfully sometimes the US Department of State and the World indeed recognises the great value of such field hospitals. But the Dept. of State and the World need to know why Sister Carol runs this hospital, what sustains the hospital what sustains her in the face of the most atrocious of the world’s horrors: Caritas Christi, the Love of God. •
Michael Comments Sister Carol is one of the Church’s many (largely unsung) heroic witnesses. As such she is ‘just’ an ordinary Catholic who is doing extraordinary things for the Love of God and His Greater Glory.
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DOING GOD’S WORK
LIFE AS ‘MYSTERY’
I
n the secular world, a ‘mystery’ is something that baffles or eludes understanding, something that lies undisclosed. And the usual attitude of the world toward mystery is to solve it, get to the bottom of, or uncover it. Mysteries must be overcome! The riddle, or ‘who-done-it’ must be solved! In the Christian and especially the Catholic world, ‘mystery’ is something a bit different. Here, mystery refers to the fact that there are hidden dimensions in things, people, and situations that extend beyond their visible, physical dimensions. One of the best definitions of ‘mystery’ which I have come across is by the theologian and philosopher John Le Croix. Le Croix says, ‘Mystery is that which opens temporality and gives it depth. It introduces a vertical dimension and makes of it a time of revelation, of unveiling.’ Father Francis Martin gives a classic example of this to his students: Suppose we are at a party, and Smith comes in the door and goes straightaway to Jones and warmly shakes his hand with both of his hands. And I say, ‘Wow, look at that.’ Puzzled, you ask, ‘What’s the big deal, they shook hands. So what?’
MSGR. CHARLES POPE9 And then I tell you, ‘Smith and Jones have been enemies for thirty years.’ And thus there is a hidden and richer meaning than meets the eye. This is mystery, something hidden, something that is accessible to those who know and are initiated into the mystery and come to grasp some dimension of it; it is the deeper reality of things.
In terms of faith there is also a higher meaning to mystery. Le Croix added the following to the definition above: It [mystery] introduces a vertical dimension, and makes of it a time of revelation, of unveiling. Hence we come to appreciate something of God in all He does and has made. Creation is not just dumbly there. It has a deeper meaning and reality. It reveals its Creator and the glory of Him who made it. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1). In the book of Sirach, after a long list of the marvels of creation, is this magnificent line: Beyond these, many things lie hid; only a few of God’s works have we seen (Sirach 43:34). 9 http://blog.adw.org/2019/01/christian-tradition-mean-word-mystery-2/
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BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
Indeed, there is a sacramentality to all creation. Nothing is simply and dumbly itself; it points beyond and above, to Him who made it. The physical is but a manifestation of Something and Someone higher. In the reductionist world in which we live, such thinking is increasingly lost. Thus we poke and prod in order to ‘solve’ the mysteries before us. And when have largely discovered something’s physical properties we think we have exhausted its meaning. We have not. In a disenchanted age, we need to rediscover the glory of enchantment, of mystery. There is more than meets the eye. Things are deeper, richer, and higher than we can ever fully imagine.
Scripture, which is a prophetic interpretation of reality, starts us on our great journey by initiating us into many of the mysteries of God and His creation. But even Scripture does not exhaust the mystery of all things; it merely sets us on the journey ever deeper, ever higher. Mysteries unfold; they are not crudely solved. •
Michael Comments
For the Christian, life itself is a great mystery to be savoured: it is a glorious adventure which we share with God as our companion.
Would you like to comment? Please email: mk@acnireland.org
A SIGN FROM GOD ANGOLA
A
fter 32 years as Bishop and then Archbishop of Huambo in Angola, Mgr José de Queirós Alves has now retired. In a letter to ACN he thanks all of you, on behalf of his people, for all the help you have given over the years. ‘Whenever we turned to you in our need, you were there, both as missionaries and as brothers and sisters. When your support came to us it was a sign that God was with us; your encouragement helped us to grow in faith.’
missionary spirit’ in which we helped them and he prays to ‘the Risen Lord to continue to fill and enlighten the hearts of the benefactors.’
Now Archbishop Emeritus, he thanks us, ‘not just for your great generosity, but also for the
Mgr. Alves promises to remember us every day when he offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. •
In the midst of his faithful… Archbishop Emeritus José de Queirós Alves.
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DOING GOD’S WORK
A DROP IN THE OCEAN OF NEED LITTLE THINGS WITH LOVE
GREETINGS FROM AN OLD FRIEND
Every month I collect up my small change and put it in a piggy bank, so that in December I am able to give you a bigger donation with the money I’ve saved over the course of the year. I’m just an ordinary woman and can’t contribute much.
As a friend of your wonderful charity for many years, I want to thank you for all you are doing for our persecuted and suffering brothers and sisters.
So here is my offering for my brothers and sisters in greatest need. A Benefactor in Brazil CLOSER TO GOD We’d like to thank you for your very profound letter in the August ’18 issue of the Mirror. By reminding us of the great need of the Church in the Holy Land, you showed how through a closer relationship with God and educating families in God’s peace we can help the Good News to reach every family in the world! A married couple in Belgium ORDINARY BENEFACTORS’ “INTEGRITY” I enjoy the Mirror very much. I am frequently moved by the ‘testimonials’ by the donors. Often the donors are poor pensioners in Europe or Australia giving their ‘widows mites’. This has integrity and I am sure the Lord is pleased with these offerings. A benefactor in Australia
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I have come to appreciate the truly evangelical warmth of those working for your charity, which is truly in the spirit of Father Werenfried! For some years now I have been promoting your spiritual and fundraising initiatives and this year we have been able to collect a total of 80 Euros, which I am now sending you. Of course it is only a Drop in the Ocean of Need, but a drop which little by little, can become a ripple, then a stream, and then a torrent… A Benefactor in France
BEING THE HANDS OF CHRIST
ON IMITATING CHRIST Dear Friends,
A
Christian industrialist once said to me that our task in everyday life is ‘to reduce the distance that separate us from Jesus Christ in our daily activities’. If this is really the case, then fasting is one way in which we can go about drawing closer to our Lord. By Fasting I am not talking about some kind of modern detox programme, but rather the genuinely Christian notion of freely giving something up for God. I always find it very moving when I hear of individual Christians, and also of religious communities, who have consciously renounced some of life’s comforts in order to come to the aid of our needier brothers and sisters. I am quite sure that our
giving to the persecuted and suffering Church – when it comes at the same time as a conscious act of renunciation for the sake of the Gospel – has a particular spiritual power, because it has its origin in the desire to imitate Christ. Perhaps this Lenten season can lead us to a deeper understanding of the profound significance of Fasting, as a form of spiritual sharing. I am moved to share these thoughts with you by the many, many appeals for help that reach us daily. And I have no doubt that Aid to the Church in Need can continue to count on your generous response. Yours gratefully,
Thomas Heine-Geldern EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT OF ACN INTERNATIONAL
WHERE TO SEND YOUR DONATION TO AID THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.
(01) 837 7516
info@acnireland.org www.acnireland.org
IBAN BIC
IE32 BOFI 9005 7890 6993 28 BOFI IE2D
If you give by Standing Order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information. Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.
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‘All light, all spiritual strength, all reason for hope, everything comes from the Cross.’ President of ACN
Mending souls comes first: Confession amid the rubble in St. Rita’s Cathedral, Aleppo, Syria.
‘ I cannot be baptised many times, but I can go to Confession and by doing so renew the grace of Baptism. It is as though I were being baptised for a second time.’ Pope Francis, General Audience on 13 November 2013.
THE MIRROR IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG/MIRROR 19 - 2