Diocese of Rockville Centre Pontifical Mission Societies and Mission Office
Rev. Joseph McCabe, MM Director jmccabe@drvc.org Volume 5, Issue 4
HCA Mission News
May 2012
Words to Live by:
“Never measure your generosity by what you give, but rather, by what you have left.” ~ Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen ~
The above quote came recently in the latest Mission magazine, and it really made an impression on me. How many times have I patted myself on the back for what I thought was a good charitable donation, or beat myself up for what I assumed was a bad one? Archbishop Sheen puts our giving in the proper perspective: am I giving out of my excess or am I truly making a sacrifice? It made me think of the story of the poor widow (Mark 12:41-44), who, by putting her two coins in the temple treasury, gave all that she had and depended on God for the rest: I reach in my purse, two small coins lay inside; But what can I buy that my Lord can’t provide? A piece of clean linen, to sew a new robe? Like the radiant lilies, we shall be clothed. A small bit of grain, to bake some fresh bread? By the words of His mouth we shall live, it is said. Some oil for my lamp, to hold back the night? Yet I’m told for all people, He is the Light. An earthenware pitcher, to help quench my thirst? No, His living water is what I’ll seek first. Two little coins, of what use can they be? I’ll give them to Him, who takes such care of me! In teaching our students to pray and sacrifice for the missions, the poor widow encountered by Jesus is a perfect example of trust in God. Prayer cards with the above poem are available by request from this office. May we all be inspired by the words of Archbishop Sheen to live a more just and sacrificial existence. Amen!
UNIVERSAL PEACE Mír Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, Ukrainian Heiwa, Japanese Salam, Arabic La Paz, Spanish A Paz Galician, Portuguese Amaní, Swahili Aman Malay, Urdu Damai, Indonesian Filemu, Samoan Fred Danish, Norwegian, Swedish Friður ,Icelandic Hasîtî, Kurdish Hau, Tahitian Hoa Bình, Vietnamese Kapayapaan, Tagalog Filipino Kiñuiñak, Northwest Alaska Inupiat Inuktitut Kapayapaan, Tagalog Melino, Tonga Nabad -Da, Somali Pingan, Chinese Pokój , Polish, Slovak Pyong'hwa, Korean Rerdamaian, Indonesian
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.” So said Jesus to his disciples (John 14:27). As missionaries, we are to bring Christ’s gift of peace to all people. At right are 29 ways to say “Peace” in different languages. Why not give your students the opportunity to learn one and perhaps research that country? Or make a bulletin board with the different translations written out. Wishing you all the peace of Christ, Brenda
Saanti, Nepali Santipap, Thai Shîte, Tibetan Shanti Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu Tutkiun, North Alaska Inuktitut Ukuthula, Zulu
“We Carry Each Other” is published bi-monthly. Editor: Brenda Pistani bpistani@drvc.org 516-678-5800 x519
Diocese of Rockville Centre Pontifical Mission Societies and Mission Office
Reality Check The Children’s Page
Meet a Missionary: Br. Alexander Walsh, M.M. Cochabamba, Bolivia can be a sorrowful place for homeless children. Br. Alexander Walsh, a Maryknoll Missioner from our diocese, works at Amanecer to help street children find hope and new life. The word Amanecer means “daybreak” in Spanish, and “daybreak” is surely what Br. Alex’s mission is in Bolivia, bringing sunshine and a new day to children who would otherwise not have hope. Children with little or no self-esteem, aggressive behavior or any other issues are rescued from the streets and taught that they can have a loving family, honest and dignified employment, and a welcoming home. In a recent letter to our office, Br. Alex shared a success story about a young boy, Juanito, and his journey in the Salomon Klein orphanage : Juanito arrived at the orphanage when he was just eight months old and was very sick, suffering from malnourishment, anemia and bronchitis. He was underweight, and the condition of his skin and hair demonstrated that he was malnourished. His face showed a deep sadness, and he cried all of the time. It was obvious from his physical condition that he was neglected, and there were signs of maltreatment. His mother worked at night and left the child alone in the room in which they lived, Once in the care of the educators and medical staff at the orphanage, Juanito began to recover quickly. He continued to grow and became a sociable, communicative and cheerful child who, from a very young age, liked listening and moving to music.
Seeing some of the other children leaving to live with adoptive families, Juanito started to ask when he would have adoptive parents, but because he was known to have living parents all that could be done was to wait for them to reclaim him. Efforts were made to try to locate his parents, but they were never found. Emancipation processes were started to remove parental authority, which took two years. Finally in November 2011, Juanito was assigned to an adoptive family. He is very happy and has a wonderful relationship with his new family (even resembling his adoptive father!), and a new sister whom he plays, sings, talks and paints with. Please pray for Juanito and the other children who need God’s love and hope in their lives. Please also pray for Br. Alex, who selflessly lives out his vocation as a missionary. He signed his letter to us: “With your help and other friends, there is always room in the Inn, as there was for the Christ child.” God bless you, Br. Alex! (adapted from Br. Alex’s letter and www.maryknoll.org)