St. Joseph’s
Advocate Mill Hill Missionaries
Spring 2018
Spring 2018
1
Streams of love and mercy flow from the heart of God like streams of living water (See John 7:38)
2
Spring 2018
Advocate
Spring 2018
Volume 58 No. 1
St. Joseph’s Advocate
Published by: Editor: Printed in Ireland by:
Mill Hill Missionaries Fr. Jim O’Connell Modern Printers, Kilkenny
Contents From the Editor 2 The experience of a life time 4 Baptism at the age of 106 8 When a Maasai child is born 10 The women will carry your bags 13 The reign of terror in Witu 14 Novena Prayer to St. Joseph 15
Nine Day Novena to St. Joseph Jubilarians Knock 1879 – hard times God’s own sailor Sustainable use of water All creatures great and small Obituary – Fr. Brian Coffey Obituaries
16 18 20 24 27 30 31 32
Photos credits: Front Cover: A Rural Scene, Kitale, Kenya. Photo: Fons Eppink Inside Front: Waterfall at Glencomeragh. Photo: Jim O’Connell Other Photos: Aidan Hart, Lawrence Otieno, Daniel Foley, Fons Eppink, Donal Harney
Mission Offerings
All Postal Orders and Cheques to be sent direct to us at St. Joseph’s Advocate, Mill Hill Missionaries, 50 Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin D06 C535. Bank Giros to be sent directly to our Bank account. Details of the a/c available from our ofice: 01 412 7707
St. Joseph’s Advocate Mill Hill Missionaries 50 Orwell Park Rathgar, Dublin D06 C535 Tel: (01) 412 7707 Spring 2018
Email: organisingmhm@gmail.com Website: www.millhillmissionaries.co.uk
St. Mary’s Parish 25 Marquis Street Belfast BT1 1JJ Tel: 04890 320482 1
From the
Editor
Fr. Jim O’Connell, mhm
I
t is not often that a modern film gets mentioned in a papal document. But this is what happened when Pope Francis published ‘The Joy of Love’. He referred to the film ‘Babette’s Feast’, which is based o n a novel by t h e Danish writer Isak Dinesen – the writer who also gave us the book (and film) ‘Out of Africa’. Babette’s Feast is a story set in a remote village in Denmark in the late nineteenth-century. Two sisters, Martine and Philippa, were the leaders of a small pious Protestant community founded by their father as a young man. After their father died, the sisters and members of the congregation continued to meet to read the Bible and pray. The two sisters wished to celebrate what would have been their father’s 1OOth birthday w i t h a simple supper for his remaining disciples. However, their housekeeper Babette (a refugee from Paris they had taken in) asked if she could prepare a French dinner for the celebration, and pay for it herself from money she had won in the lottery. The sisters, who were used to simple meals all their lives, reluctantly agreed, and
2
so Babette, who had been a chef in a famous Paris restaurant before she fled the French revolution, prepared a great feast. ‘A most joyful life-giving experience’ At first, the friends and villagers who were accustomed to plain food were u n e a s y with the luxury of such a feast. In their religious tradition, tongues were made for praising God, not for tasting exotic foods! They reluctantly decided to go to the Feast. However, as they tasted Babette’s food the room gradually became filled with conversation and laughter, hearts softened, old rows were resolved, and the feast turned out to be a most joyful life-giving experience for everyone. Babette herself was overjoyed. At the end of the meal one of the guests spoke about love, mercy, joy, gratitude and appreciation: “There comes a time when our eyes are opened. And we come to realise that mercy (love) is infinite. We need only await it with confidence and receive it with joy and gratitude. Mercy (love) imposes no conditions”.
Spring 2018
‘An example of selfless love’ In Babette’s Feast, Pope Francis saw a wonderful example of selfless love that brings joy to others: “The most intense joys in life arise when we are able to elicit joy in others, as a foretaste of heaven. We can think of the lovely scene in the film Babette’s Feast, when the generous cook receives a grateful hug and praise in the words: “Ah, how you will delight the angels!” It is a joy to bring delight to others, to see them enjoying themselves. This joy, the fruit of selfless love, is not that of the vain and self-centred, but of lovers who delight in the good of those whom they love, who give freely to them and thus bear good fruit.” (The Joy of Love: 129) Babette’s Feast is a modern parable for the infinite, selfless love of God, who loves us so much that he sent his
only Son to be our Saviour. He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Such selfless love is rooted in the heart of God who reveals his love for us in so many ways but especially in the passion, death and Resurrection of Christ our Saviour. There is no greater love than this – to suffer and die for us and lay down his life for us. (See John 15:13) This is our focus for Lent and Holy Week when we will be drawn deeper into the great mystery of God’s infinite love for us and, hopefully, we are able to accept this love with gratitude and share it generously with others, communicating it in our daily lives by giving of ourselves to help bring joy to others. This is ‘The Joy of Love’ that Pope Francis wants us to experience – a love beyond all telling. [Note: The Novena to St. Joseph is on pages 15, 16 and 17]
Sorry for the delay We are sorry that some of you had to wait so long for a reply to your letters in October, November and December. With our move from Kilkenny to Dublin, we had problems with the new setup here which led to a delay in replying to the letters as they came in during that busy period. A breakdown in our computer system was the major problem. This affected our data base and mailing list and it took time to get it sorted. We are hopeful the problem is now solved. As you will know from experience there can be a delay in replying to letters during the busy period that runs from early October until the end of March. We do all we can to keep the time you have to wait for a reply to a minimum. If you have an email address or mobile phone number we would be grateful if you could send us the details; this would help to speed things up with a reply and also save a lot on postage. We want to say a sincere ‘thank you’ for your support which we deeply appreciate. Fr. Maurice McGill, mhm Spring 2018
3
(Aidan Hart was a student with Mill Hill for six and a half years. When he left Mill Hill in 1965 he trained as a teacher, specialising in Catholic Religious Education. He went on to be an Inspector of Religious Education with the Northern Ireland Department of Education. Aidan is retired and lives with his wife Margaret in Bangor, Co. Down. They have three daughters and 5 grandchildren living locally. Aidan regards Mill Hill as his ‘spiritual home’ and since 2004, Mill Hill has benefitted greatly from Aidan’s experience and expertise.)
With the Parish Visitation Team Shauri Moyo: (left) Fr. Tom Keane, (centre) Aidan Hart, (right) Anna Boomers, former Mill Hill Lay Associate
The Experience of a Life Time By Aidan Hart A few years ago I was sitting at my computer answering emails when up popped one from my old friend and Mill Hill class mate, Fr. Bernard Phelan. He was working in a parish in Kotido, northern Uganda, with two other Mill Hill Missionaries – Fr. Philip O’Halloran and Fr. Sylvester Odhiambo, a young Mill Hill priest from the Luo tribe in Kenya. Fr. Bernard told me about his new appointment of being in charge of the local diocese until a new Bishop would arrive. He mentioned struggling to put the diocesan financial accounts 4
into order for the new arrival, alongside a range of other responsibilities. I have always regarded the Mill Hill Missionary Society as my spiritual home, the place where my spirituality was formed as a teenager and young man. Wanting to give something back to the Society which had given me so much, I emailed Fr. Bernard back immediately, volunteering, with my wife’s agreement and support, to go out for a few months and help put the diocesan accounts in order while he got Spring 2018
on with more important things. I was recently retired and not an accountant, although my daughter is, so it was a big challenge. Mass took on a new intensity and meaning I flew into Nairobi airport in Kenya and spent some time with Fr. Tom Keane MHM in Shauri Moyo parish in the vast slums outside the city. In the evenings we often went out to various house meetings, where Fr. Tom celebrated Mass for those present. Dire poverty stared me in the face. The ‘houses’ were mostly a one room hut made of un-plastered concrete blocks and scraps of tin, cardboard and plywood. Clothes in plastic bags and cooking utensils were stored on the bunk beds lining one or two walls. Seating was
on old wooden planks. Water and sewage flowed down shallow rivulets outside many of the huts. Mass in these surroundings took on a new intensity and meaning, reinforced by the obvious joy of all those present at being able to participate in Eucharist and praise God. The singing was joyful and loud. Knife crime and murder were commonplace in the slums; on one occasion Fr. Tom Keane and I were accompanied back to the parish house surrounded by a tight circle of male parishioners for our protection. Gunfire at night was not uncommon. One day I witnessed an old man digging desperately for food as he lay amidst the stinking garbage at the local dump. After a few weeks I flew on to Uganda. Mill Hill Missionaries in Panyangara,
Watakau Village, Kotido, Northern Uganda Spring 2018
5
Fr. Sylvester Odhiambo, mhm, with adults and children in Kotido
Kotido, in northern Uganda have a ministry to the Karimojong people. The priests, to identify with the poverty of the local people, lived in a compound of several simple huts with grass roofs, not unlike those used by the local people. One hut was reserved as a chapel for morning and evening community prayer. Terrible Poverty and the fierce heat Two things struck me immediately – the terrible poverty of the people among whom the missionary priests lived and laboured and the fierce heat during the day. Dinner and bread were cooked inside a tin box with a glass door, set on the ground facing the mid-day sun! Bugs of all descriptions were another problem. I was advised to roll back the sheet on my bed each evening before lying down to check for large, black 6
cockroaches and scorpions. Fr. Bernard Phelan MHM had been bitten previously by a scorpion while lifting some fresh clothes from a drawer in his hut. For the same reason I was also advised to turn my shoes upside down each morning before putting them on. I gave up trying to pick the small ants from the home made cake and just ate them with every mouthful of cake like the priests did. On two occasions during the night I was awakened by local gunfire, and felt I was back in Northern Ireland during ‘the troubles’. It transpired the local police and army had attacked cattle rustlers, a common occurrence in this part of Uganda. Many local warriors still carry the now illegal spear and have modern guns hidden in the thatched roofs of their primitive huts. I also noticed on two occasions a boy of about 12 years of age walking behind his mother carrying Spring 2018
a large gun to protect her from abduction as she worked a primitive plough in a field next to the Mill Hill Mission. The Karimojong are a warrior tribe and fiercely protective of their cattle. They don’t hesitate to take by force of arms cattle belonging to other tribes. It is a dangerous region. A Mill Hill priest of the same parish in which I was staying, Fr. Declan O’Toole MHM - aged 31 and from Headford, Co. Galway - was shot dead in 2002 by members of the Ugandan army; the two Ugandans travelling in the car with him were also shot dead. Fr. Declan paid the ultimate price for striving for justice for the local people and thus upsetting those in power. The experience of a life time I can honestly say that my time in Nairobi and Kotido was the experience of a life time, one I’ll never forget. It
left me in awe of the generosity of the Mill Hill priests I met and the dedicated work they were doing to establish the Kingdom of God in faraway places, where people live in great poverty and suffering. They endured excessive heat, deprivation, sickness, loneliness, frustration and having to learn a difficult foreign language. But they never let it interfere with their work in making Jesus Christ known and loved by those they served. (News of the Mill Hill priests mentioned: Fr. Bernard is still in Kampala, Uganda; Fr. Tom is a Chaplain at Knock Shrine; Fr. Philip is now the Irish Regional Superior; Fr. Sylvester continues to minister in Kotido with great courage and dedication; the late Fr. Declan is fondly remembered by his family, friends and Mill Hill colleagues, and is sadly missed by the people of Kotido for whom he laid down his life.)
Youth Training Session in Fr. Declan O’Toole Memorial Hall Spring 2018
7
Baptism
at the age of 106
By Fr. Lawrence Otieno, mhm. (Fr. Lawrence is a young Mill Hill priest from Kenya, who works in Cameroon)
J
uly 3rd 2017 was a special day in a village in St. Jude, Fundong Parish. Members of St. Thomas the apostle Small Christian Community prepared and assembled in a homestead in their neighborhood to celebrate the feast of their Patron Saint with joy. It was made extra special as a 106 year old man was being baptized. The roads in that area are hilly, muddy, rocky and very slippery after a night’s rain. Since there was a heavy downpour the night before, I had to set off on foot from the main
8
mission in the early morning and walk to the remote village. ‘Acceptance of hardship and their faith’ Soon after arriving, celebrations began by visiting all homes in this Small Christian Community, blessing them and praying for the sick. Homes in this village are scattered but linked by the rocky paths along the foot of long hills. It was impressive to meet families living a very simple life style, united Spring 2018
by love and hard farm work. Neither electricity nor solar power is found in these homes. The gift of rain and fertile soil are precious to the inhabitants of this village. Through hard farm work, the women plant corn which produces a good harvest. Although visiting their homes provided a precious chance for blessing their farm produce, it also enabled me to witness and experience the effects of poverty in this village. I felt very helpless when I met those who were seriously sick but had no way out to get better medical attention. There is no health centre or hospital in this village. Due to poverty, they turned to traditional healers and herbs but these have not improved their health. In spite of the hardship, they were cheerful, not complaining, not begging. What is the source of their cheerfulness? Probably, it flows from their acceptance of hardship and their faith in God. 106 year old grandfather’s Baptism The joy which was expressed by members of the Community in their various homes reached its climax in the celebration of the Eucharist in the last home. The Christians, a handful of members of the African Traditional Religion, Children and grandchildren of a 106 years old man, assembled to witness the baptism of their grandfather at a very advanced age - he had lost his sight due to his age. He was baptized during Mass and he felt that he encountered Christ in the sacraments of Baptism, the Eucharist and in the community of faith. His baptism on Spring 2018
“I felt very helpless when I met those who were seriously sick but had no way out to get better medical attention� the feast of St. Thomas brought joy to him, his family, the Christians and also adherents of African Traditional Religion in his village. They all danced in procession around him and congratulated him for receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. He received a new name, Thomas Nyamsa. After the mass, there was food for all. It was amazing to witness the Christian community and other members in their neighborhood assembling as a family to celebrate the love of God. I witnessed their joy and felt humbled to be the channel of that joy through baptising Mr. Thomas at the age of 106. Though he cannot walk to the Church due to his age, he is very grateful to his fellow Christians for enabling him to receive Christ through the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.
9
When a Maasai Child is born: A Sense of Belonging, by Fr. Frans Mol, mhm From the day a Maasai child is born he or she belongs to a variety of social groups. The baby is born into a family and will be known as ole (son of) or ene (daugher of). Naserian ene Lerionka is therefore Naserian, daughter of Lerionka. The position of the house (hut) where the child is born on either the right side or the left side of the family gate will determine his or her first status. This takes us to the heart of the complex and beautiful social system of the Maasai, which protects, surrounds and shelters each individual.
The women build and own the separate houses
Each family lives in an enkang, a homestead, consisting of a number of small low houses, grouped in a circle. This circle of houses is surrounded by a thorn-fence to keep out intruders, man or beast. The women build and own the separate houses. One enters a Maasai house only with the consent of the woman who owns it. She can keep unwelcome visitors out, especially in times of drought when she has little food or drink to offer. It is good manners to bring some gifts along such as tea, sugar, milk or biscuits, and discreetly give these to her. 10
A number of families might share the homestead, mainly on the basis of friendship. These families may be related, but need not be. Each family, headed by an elder, has its own familygate in the thorn-fence. That is the gate through which the family-cattle go out to grazing in the morning and come back in the evening - one’s own cattle through one’s own gate.
Individual family structure
Each family has indeed its own gate and the houses of the individual elder are grouped near his gate. The first house on the right-hand side, as one enters the gate from the outside of the compound, belongs to the first wife of the elder. The first house on the lefthand side belongs to his second wife; the second on the right-hand side to the third wife; and so on, depending on the number of wives an elder has - in days gone by eight wives was no exception. How this worked out demographically I never quite understood, but perhaps the fact that many young warriors used to die in battles and cattle-raids resulted in a surplus of women. If the child born to the first wife is a boy he will be the senior boy of the village, irrespective of whether the woman has one or two daughters, or Spring 2018
of whether the second wife or a third wife may already have a son. The first son born to the first wife is olbotor, the senior. It is more a position of respect rather than of privilege or power.
Childhood – free, happy, but tough
Childhood traditionally is free and happy, but it can also be tough. Youngsters spend long days out on the plains in the hot sun, herding cattle. Even for those fortunate enough to go to school there are hazards. I once saw two young children surrounded by a pack of wild dogs, which were chased off. I met a boy whose back had been scratched by the horn of a buffalo, and two children who had very quietly walked past a lion. Needless to say, children prefer to walk in groups! There are other ceremonies during early childhood. Six months after birth, having proved that it can survive, the baby is given its proper name. Up to that time its hair and that of its mother has been allowed to grow. This black mop of hair gives them a dark appearance, enhanced by their black clothes - black being the holy colour of God in his benevolence. Besides being given a proper name by its father, which has been approved by two elders and two old women, the hair of both mother and child is cut off in a private ceremony. Until this happens the baby has a nickname Spring 2018
Maasai mother and child 11
which sometimes is still used even after a proper name has been given. The child also belongs to the wider world of the Maasai; besides the family, it now belongs to the enkang, the homestead, the elatia, the neighbourhood, and above all to the olosho, an independent section of the Maasai people united by language and culture.
Searching for points of beauty and value
The missionary tries to keep all this alive and searches for points of beauty and value which can be incorporated into the sacramental ceremonies and
12
liturgical life of the Church. Unaware but not unaffected by all this, the new baby sleeps in its mother’s house on its mother’s bed, already accepted within a protective and caring social system. And this is only the beginning. However, the child is officially not a Maasai, but a child of the Maasai. Only at circumcision will he or she become a fully-fledged Maasai. [The author, Fr. Frans Mol, spent his missionary life with the Maasai and is considered an expert on Maasai life, culture, language, manners and traditions. He is now retired and lives in his home country – the Netherlands.]
Spring 2018
The Women Will Carry Your Bags! Fr. Peter Major out and about
by Fr. Peter Major, mhm On the night of Passover, Jesus rose from the table, took a basin of water and began to wash the feet of his disciples. 2000 years later during the Holy Thursday liturgy, I washed the feet of 12 people in the Nuba Mountains, in Sudan. On Good Friday morning, I packed my bags and picked them up to go. “Father, these two women will carry your bags and will accompany you to the next village.” I objected, but they insisted. So off we went, four strong men leading the way, two grandmotherly looking women carrying my bags and me coming behind them with my walking stick. As we were descending Spring 2018
the mountain, it struck me. In the liturgy of Holy Thursday the previous night, I, the priest, represented Christ the servant and washed the feet of the people. But now, in real life, these two women represent Christ, the servants of the priest and of the people. It was a humbling experience for me. Why is it that so often there is no connection between liturgy and life? 13
The Reign of Terror in Witu, Kenya, continues, By Fr. Philip Amek Adede, mhm. (Fr. Philip is the Mill Hill Regional Superior in Kenya and he sent this update on the situation in Witu - following on from what was in the Winter Advocate.)
Fr. Cyprian Taah
The coastal towns of Kenya are known for their beautiful beaches and wonderful world class hotels that attract many tourists both local and international. But the reality for the many locals in the interior parts of the coastal region is a tale of terror, untold pain, death and destruction. The anguish, fear, loss, pain and desperation are shocking in the camps that dot Witu Parish. Fr. Cyprian Taah, one of our Mill Hill priests working in the parish of Witu, took me around to visit three camps around the parish. I found it shocking to see the state of the camps and hear the stories of those who lost close family members, relatives, neighbours and all their property. Many are traumatised struggling to come to terms with the loss. Fr. Cyprian had organised volunteers to help them. On our way out we found people struggling to get drinking water which is delivered only twice a week. The media are not allowed to highlight the plight of these people in the camps. Just before my visit, 15 people have been butchered to death, among them a 15 year old son of a catechist. Staying in the camp without basic amenities makes an already difficult life unbearable. The long historical land issues, the threat from Al-Shabab terrorists and the volatile political situation make it hard to see a solution in the near future. For the children and women living in the camp, they have to bear the pain, shame and loss. All they can do is to ponder why? Witu Mission refugees collecting water
14
Spring 2018
Novenato to St. Novena St.Joseph Joseph Sunday March March 11 Sunday, 11 -- Monday Monday,March March1919
Please join the Novena by reading the short reflections given on pages 16-17, and saying the Novena Prayer St. Joseph. Please join the to Novena by reading the short reflections given pages saying a In addition to the on nine day 16-17, Novenaand of Masses, the Novena Prayer to St. Joseph. Mass will be offered each day in March for your intentions and the intentions of all our subIn addition to the nine day Novena of Masses, scibers a Massand willbenefactors. be offered each day in March for your intentions and the intentions of all our subscibersPrayer and benefactors. Novena to St. Joseph
Ever glorious St. Joseph, good and faithful serNovena Prayer to St. Joseph vant, was St. pleased to place his own family EverGod glorious Joseph, good and faithful inservant, your care. youtofor being GodWe wasthank pleased place hissuch own a family in your care.ofWe thank you being wonderful example humility andfor faith, of such a wonderful example of humility and prayerfulness and courage, in your ordinary faith,life. of prayerfulness and courage, in your daily ordinary daily life. Through your intercession, may God grant us the blessing living continually in his Through yourof intercession, may God grant presence, and responsing to his lovein inhis our us the blessing of living continually presence, to hislived loveour in our daily lives.and Andresponding when we have dailyon lives. And when have our days earth, may Godwegive uslived the great days on earth, may God give us the great joy he gave you - that of entering eternal joy he gave you - that of entering eternal life life in the company of Jesus Mary. in the company of Jesus andand Mary. Most Most loving St. Joseph, accept our Novena loving St. Joseph, accept our Novena prayers prayers andfor obtain for us through your and obtain us through your powerful intercession, the favours graces we ask powerful intercession, theand favours and for in this Novena. graces we ask for in this Novena. Pause to call to mind your special intentions ... Pause to call to mind your special intentions ... St. Joseph, Pray for us. Add: Our father..., St. Joseph, Pray for Hail us. Mary..., GloryOur be to the Father..., Amen.Glory be to Add: father..., Hail Mary..., the Father..., Amen. Spring 2018
15
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH MARCH 11 - MARCH 19 Each day, please join our Novena: read and contemplate the thought for the day, and then read the Novena Prayer on p.15 - same on leaflet. Add: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be...
March 11th Joseph took the child and his mother and left for Egypt. (Mt. 2:14) St. Joseph patron and protector
When Cardinal Vaughan founded the Mill Hill Missionaries (St. Joseph’s Missionary Society) in 1866, he chose St. Joseph to be the patron and protector of his missionaries - as he was for Jesus and Mary and is for us. He also pointed to St. Joseph as a model for missionary life - steady, quiet work in an unusual faith situation, always close to Jesus and Mary his mother.
Joseph the just
Joseph was a just man who always did what was right (Mt. 1:19). What a predicament Joseph was in when he discovered Mary was pregnant. He was a just man. God would show him. He trusted in God’s guidance to show him the way. When we are troubled and worried, may we too learn to trust in God.
March 13th
If you listen to me you will know what is right and just (Prov.2:9)
Joseph the listener
Joseph was one who listened. No spoken word is recorded of him. God’s word came to him in silence. Constant noise prevents us from listening and hearing. We ask Joseph to help us carve out a quiet time in our day to listen to God.
March 14th
The Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph (Mt. 1:20).
Joseph man of vision
God spoke to him in dreams and visions, yet he was a very ordinary man. God speaks to each of us ordinary people. We ask Joseph to help us to be sensitive to God’s presence with us.
March 15th
Joseph went to David’s town Bethlehem, because he was of the house of David . (Lk. 2:4).
Joseph the family man
Though of the Royal family of David, Joseph was ordinary and faced many family problems such as Mary’s pregnancy, the threat to the life of Jesus, exile, how to make ends meet. We ask Joseph to protect our families too - and strengthen us in love.
March 12th
16
Spring 2018
March 16th
Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival (Lk. 2:41).
Joseph man of prayer
As husband and parent in the Holy Family, Joseph observed religious feasts; he went to the Synagogue on the Sabbath and prayed the Psalms at regular times during the day. We ask Joseph to help us to live prayerful lives, by spending quiet time in prayer each day, and taking part in the church’s liturgy.
March 17th
And Joseph named him Jesus (Mt. 1:25).
Joseph the teacher
Joseph taught Jesus his prayers, brought him to the Synagogue, introduced him to the Scriptures and taught him all the religious practices of a devout Jew. Strong family guidance, setting Christian standards of behaviour and worship, are badly needed in families and society today.
March 18th
Isn’t he the carpenter’s Son (Mt. 13:55).
Joseph the worker
Joseph taught Jesus his trade. Joseph was devoted to his work and knew its dignity. He also knew what people suffer in times of hardship and unemployment. Work is not just a means of making money. It is a service to others, a means of creating order and beauty and making the world a better place. We ask Joseph to help us appreciate the dignity of work and meaningful employment. And we also ask him to care for those who cannot find work.
March 19th
Feast of St. Joseph
To Love and to serve - Our Mill Hill Motto ‘To love and to serve’ is the motto that was chosen by Herbert Vaughan in 1866 for St. Joseph’s Missionary Society. He pointed to the example of St. Joseph’s life of loving service and wanted his future missionaries to love and to serve. In 2016 the Mill Hill Missionaries celebrated 150 years of missionary service. We are also very aware that our mission continues: we now have around 100 Mill Hill priests from Africa and Asia and 150 students preparing for the priesthood. So we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph with gratitude for the past and hope for the future.
Please join us in our nine-day Novena to St Joseph, as we pray for all our loved ones and for the intentions of those who have sent in petitions to be included in the Novena. Spring 2018
17
Mill Hill
Jubilees 2018 We congratulate our Jubilarians, as they celebrate many years of Missionary Service in: India, Pakistan, Kenya. Philippines, Cameroon. Some of them have also spent time working in Ireland, England and the USA. Fr. Pat Byrden – Diamond Jubilee
Fr. Pat Byrden is from Ranelagh in Dublin. After his ordination in 1958, Pat was appointed to India, where he spent 12 years in Andhra Pradesh, teaching in the Diocesan Seminary. In 1970 he was moved to Hyderabad, where he also taught in the Seminary. Later he went as Chaplain to St. Martha’s Hospital in Bangalore. He returned to Ireland in 1982 and spent a year on promotion work. In 1983 he went to Kenya, where he also taught in a Seminary. He returned to India in 2003 and was involved in pastoral work as well as building up a network of Friends of Mill Hill, in the twin cities of Hyderabad - Secunderabad. He came back to Ireland in 2016 and is now retired in St. Joseph’s House, in Dublin.
Fr. Hugh Lee – Diamond Jubilee
Fr. Hugh Lee is from Cootehill, Co. Cavan. Hugh was appointed to the United States after his ordination in 1958. His next appointment was to Pakistan, where he spent most of his priestly life. In the late 1980s he returned to Ireland, where he did a sabbatical, after which he was appointed to St. Mary’s Parish, Belfast. He moved from Belfast to work in the Diocese of Elfin, in the parish of Curraghboy, Athlone, Co. Roscommon. He has had a long and fruitful ministry in Curraghboy. His energy and enthusiasm for his ministry have been greatly appreciated by the people of Curraghboy and the Diocese of Elphin. Fr. Hugh is a brother of Fr. Terry Lee, who celebrated his Diamond Jubilee last year.
18
Spring 2018
Fr. Jim O’Donoghue - Diamond Jubilee
Fr. Jim O’ Donoghue is from Caherciveen, County Kerry. Jim was ordained in Mill Hill on July 13th 1958. After studies in the United States, he was appointed to work in the Philippines. He served there in the Diocese of Antique from 1962 until 1980, when he was recalled to be Rector of St. Joseph’s College, Freshford. He then served in Holland and London in formation Work. He also spent some time back in Ireland on Mission Promotion work in Parishes and Retreat work. He returned to the Philippines in 2002. In 2005 he returned to take up pastoral ministry in St. Mary’s Parish in Belfast, where he remained until 2016. He is now retired and as he says himself ‘blissfully happy’ with his Mill Hill community in St. Joseph’s House, Dublin.
Fr. James Anthony Boyle - Golden Jubilee
Fr. James Anthony Boyle is from Inver, Co. Donegal. James Anthony was ordained together with Fr. Maurice McGill on June 30th 1968, by Bishop Anthony McFeeley. The ordination took place in St. Agatha’s church, Clar, Co. Donegal. After his ordination, Fr. James was appointed to the staff of St. Joseph’s College, Freshford. He taught there for a number of years, and was then appointed to the Cameroon. He returned from Cameroon in the mid-eighties and took up parish work in the Diocese of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Over ten years ago he moved from England to central Belfast, where he has been the Administrator of St. Mary’s Parish - assisted by Mill Hill priests Fr. Jim O’Donoghue (now retired) and Fr. John Nevin and recently arrived Fr. Gerald Doyle.
Fr. Maurice McGill – Golden Jubilee
Fr. Maurice McGill is from Maghera, Ardara, Co. Donegal. After his ordination in 1968, Maurice was sent to Rome for studies in Theology and Sacred Scripture. He then taught in the Major Seminary in Bambui, Cameroon. In 1982 he was recalled and appointed Rector of St. Joseph’s College, Mill Hill, London. Having completed his six year term as Rector, he was elected Superior General of Mill Hill Society in 1988. After twelve years as Superior General, Maurice returned to Cameroon, and was involved in Retreat work. He was also the Society Superior there. In 2008, he found himself back in Ireland as Irish Regional Superior. When he completed three years as Superior, he moved to Kilkenny and was Rector of our house there. He has been Organising Secretary since Fr. Crean died over three years ago. He continues this work in Dublin since Mill Hill moved from Kilkenny in September 2017. Spring 2018
19
Knock: 1879 – Hard Times By Fr. Tony Murphy, mhm. (Fr. Tony is a Mill Hill priest who has worked in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Cameroon. He now works as a Chaplain at Knock Shrine)
New mosaic of the Apparition in the re-furbished Basilica 20
Spring 2018
I
t was August 1879. History tells that in Ireland, especially in the West, the late 1870s were extremely hard for the subsistence farmer. The famine that had devastated the country in the late 1840s, had struck again in 1877. And in 1879, the year Our Lady came, the potato crop had failed once more. The situation was grim. In the following year (1880) General Gordon wrote the following to Mr. Gladstone: “I believe that those people (in the west of Ireland) are patient beyond belief, but at the same time, broken-spirited and desperate, living on the verge of starvation.� Hard times And the weather was dreadful those years. Records tell that weeks and even months went by, when the sun’s appearance was too rare and too brief to dry up the land or warm it. Saving the few acres of hay and corn became
an all-out struggle. Weather forecasts were made from observations of nature. A dog eating grass was a sign of rain. Swallows flying high was a good sign, and you took the risk of cutting down your small field of hay. But often as not, as soon as you had it nicely dried, the wind would blow from the Atlantic, and down would come the rain. You saw the clouds coming of course, and you rushed. Farm machinery as we know it now, was not even dreamed of in those days. The small farmer depended on a few tools like the fork and the rake. Even those were generally scarce. There was manpower: the whole family, father, mother, boys and girls all rushed as the rain approached, forking the hay into cocks and roping it down against the wind. But in spite of the sweat and the strain, there was not enough time. There hardly ever was enough time before the rain
Mill Hill Knock Pilgrimage a few years ago, l to r, Fr. Richard Gibbons, Administrator, Fr. Pat Molloy, Fr. Tony Murphy (author) and Fr. Maurice McGill Spring 2018
21
Fatima, Knock is the only place that St. Joseph ever visited. St. John certainly has never come to any other place.
came slanting down, soaking both you and your hay. So much of it lay there, sodden and hopeless, scattered out on the field. Then you made you way homewards, dispirited and very, very worried. If this bad weather went on and your bit of hay became spoiled, what would become of your cow and your few sheep during the long winter months ahead? What would become of your family and yourself when the blight came down and destroyed the potatoes? And on top of that, there was the everpresent fear that if you failed to pay the rent to the landlords, you and your family were going to be evicted without mercy from your small house and farm. Mary had come with her family It was on such an evening that she came to them. The rain had come down and no doubt the smell of rotting potatoes was in the air. They were on their way home to their bit of supper when they saw her. From the earth with its worries and its miseries, they looked up, and Mother Mary was there. She was there for her children. She had come with her family: Joseph, her husband and John her adopted son. It was not the first time, or the last, that Mary had appeared on earth to console her loved ones, or to warn them. But except for a brief visit later to 22
And that was not all, for there were angels. These were not hovering around Mary the Mother of God, but around the Altar of Sacrifice, the Cross of suffering, and the Victim of suffering, the Lamb of God (Jesus our Saviour). But there was no spattering of blood, and the Lamb was alive: all had been glorified. The Lamb had already conquered. As they stood there in the rain praying their rosary, Mary and her family stood with them. It was a Thursday evening, so it would have been the Joyful Mysteries they were praying. But an onlooker might describe the scene as a combination of the Sorrowful and the Glorious. Because, for those people, it was an experience of sorrowful earth and joyful heaven, come together visibly. No words were spoken. No words were needed. The 15 people who stood there in the rain that evening saw a vision of heaven’s glory and its nearness to them. Assurance of love and belonging After two hours the Vision disappeared but the reality behind the Vision stayed. Each of those people must have realized they had been given the gift of a wonderful personal message. For the Vision raised up, not only their eyes, but their hearts and their whole lives: the struggle for survival, the hardships of every day, were now given meaning through the Cross of the Lamb. And they saw how they mattered. They belonged to the Family of God, with Mary and Joseph, and the Father who “fills the starving with good Spring 2018
The Apparition Chapel at the gable of the old church
things.” Mary had not come to promise material satisfactions on this earth, but to assure her people of her love, and their belonging. After that evening their lives would never be the same again. If they had been ‘broken-spirited’ as General Gordon thought, they would no longer be so. The Lamb had suffered and the Lamb had conquered. Christ had suffered, died and was now risen in glory. Those years in Ireland were the worst of times, but the best of times too. People were poor materially, very poor, but rich in love and kindness towards each
other. The practice of love in suffering makes people more refined, altogether finer people. As some preacher has remarked, “All those witnesses must have been holy people. Otherwise they would not have seen Our Lady.” It was the Mass (the Eucharist) that had made them holy. It was the centre of their lives as it was the centre of the Apparition – a Eucharistic Apparition. The Mass had sustained them and would continue to do so. It all suddenly became visible to them that evening and remained with them, lifting their hearts and souls, if not their bodies, out of the wind and the rain.
Prayers
Our Loving Father has done great things for us through His Son Jesus and through Mary’s powerful intercession. Let us bring our needs before Him with great confidence and trust. - Let us thank Mary for being our Queen and Mother, and for the special love she has shown to her people in time of distress. We pray for a new realization of how very precious we all are to her. - That we may appreciate the Sacrifice of the Lamb for our salvation: that we may adore our Saviour as he is adored by the angels. - That all who visit Mary here at Knock may feel her love and peace, especially those who are troubled in mind or body. Spring 2018
23
Br. Duncan in his working clothes
God’s Own Sailor by Fr. Fons Eppink, mhm
‘Join Mill Hill and see the world!’ You occasionally hear this take on a wellknown advertising slogan. But, in 1983, when Duncan MacGilvray applied to join the Mill Hill Missionaries at age 37, he had already sailed the oceans and travelled around the globe. Last January, I had a chat with Duncan at the Mill Hill Guesthouse in Bamenda, NW Province, Cameroon. He recalled calling into the port of Mumbai, India, on one of his journeys serving as a mechanic in the engine room of a freighter. “The sight of women prostitutes chained up in cribs and the sheer abject poverty in areas close to 24
the harbour was an absolute shocker. It tore my heart out.” The desire to do something about this tugged at his heartstrings. But what difference could he make? He wanted to put himself wholeheartedly at the service of others, not just for a brief stint as a volunteer, but as a lifelong project. The strong religious faith inspired by his mother - a convert - gave further direction. Back in England he started to take concrete steps. Somewhere along the way he picked up a leaflet of the Mill Hill Missionaries. He made contact and Spring 2018
in 1983, he received a letter from Mill Hill to start his training to become a missionary brother: the crunch time had come. He had not yet cut his ties with the merchant navy. “I still remember it very clearly, that day on the quay at Liverpool. I decided I had to cut off other options and ‘burn my boats behind me’. I made my definite choice”. He sold the house he had inherited from his mother and joined the Mill Hill Formation Programme. The joys and challenges of missionary life His first experience of mission was with the Mill Hill Missionaries in the diocese of Basankusu DR Congo. Still a trainee missionary brother he discovered the joys and challenges of missionary life in the depths of the Congolese rainforest. He found himself in an ocean of green in exchange for the deep blue sea he so cherished. It was to become an experience he would have loved to prolong. But after two years he had to return to Mill Hill. His mind was made up. In June 1988 he made his lifelong commitment as a Mill Hill Missionary brother.
off he sailed to a far distant Mission post without informing his missionary companion - with rather disastrous consequences. When he eventually returned he found his belongings outside the door of the mission house. Move! And move he did!
His next port of call was The Philippines. In this island nation he was hardly ever out of earshot of the sound of waves. Accounts, maintenance work, odd jobs, trekking, he moved into a role of jack-of-all-trades. And he enjoyed it. He learnt to sail a fisherman’s twin sail outrigger. Then, one day as he was riding the waves off Caluya Island, he felt the tugs of his seaman’s heart. And
More calls and a major exploit After ten years of missionary service in the Philippines a call came for him to cross the Pacific and the Southern tip of the South American continent. “Come and help us prepare our centenary celebration”. The tiny Catholic community of the Falkland Islands was readying itself for this memorable event which was due to take place in
Spring 2018
Br. Duncan with Mill Hill student Patrick Lonkoy and Fr. Fons Eppink (author) in traditional dress
25
1999. The church at Port Stanley was badly in need of a facelift. Not unlike St Paul on the shores of Asia Minor Duncan heeded the call. But you cannot chain a seaman to the shore for too long! After all Mgr. Anthony Agreiter mhm at Port Stanley had charge of what is probably the largest diocese in the world: it included the island of Tristan da Cunha, halfway across the Southern Atlantic, and St Helena, close to the African coast. So when one day a wandering, somewhat forlorn sailor proposed to visit these two islands in his lobster boat Duncan was hooked. He got the green light from Mgr Agreiter and off they sailed in Roger’s ramshackle vessel accompanied by the latter’s teenage son Jonathan and his dog. That they survived through
26
heavy weather in an only marginally seaworthy vessel is a true miracle! They made it all the way to St Helena. His assignment in The Falklands completed Duncan returned to his roots. Not far from Liverpool’s fondly remembered quays he took time off for a welcome spiritual renewal at St Beuno’s in North Wales. Cameroon came calling next and Duncan said ‘yes’. That was in 2002 and he is still there. Duncan carries his 71 years gracefully. I sense a generous heart that yearns for deeper human contact in a caring ministry - the sick, the aged, the physically and mentally challenged. But for now there is an electricity failure in the kitchen and there is a leaking water pipe in the Convent. Yes, Lord!
Spring 2018
Sustainable Use of Water, Oceans and Marine Resources [Ireland and Kenya were appointed by the UN to co-facilitate the final stages of negotiations for the new ‘Global Sustainable Development Goals’ for the years ahead – up to 2030. The ‘Goals’ were approved by the UN General Assembly in September 2015.]
Spring 2018
No Life without water. Even more than food we need it to survive. That is why access to water is a basic human right. Yet, around a quarter of a Million people do not have access to clean water. About a third of the world’s population lacks basic sanitary services. Polluted water and lack of hygiene are the causes of many sicknesses. The oceans, too, are polluted by plastic materials and industrial and agricultural toxic wastes which harm fish populations and destroy coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Already now climate change means for many regions of the African continent less rainfall, lower ground water levels and lack of drinking water. The struggle for diminishing water supplies is likely to cause major conflicts in the future. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for 27
the conservation and fair and effective management of all water resources. In the drought areas of Africa, missionaries have provided the population with access to clean water by digging wells, drilling boreholes and constructing simple water reservoirs. We can all contribute to avoid the pollution of water resources and of oceans by reducing our use of chemicals and by avoiding as much as possible plastic bags and packing.
What do the Development Goals call for?
They demand that all people have access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation. Means suggested to achieve this aim are: • Reducing chemical pollution; improving wastewater treatment and recycling and reusing water • Protecting and restoring waterrelated ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers and lakes • Manage, protect and restore marine and coastal ecosystems • Minimizing and addressing the impacts of ocean acidification; regulating harvesting and ending over fishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices
Words to challenge us – from Laudato Si’ (Pope Francis)
• “For human beings to destroy the biological diversity of God’s 28
Spring 2018
creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins. To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God.” (Patriarch Bartholomew, quoted in Laudato Si’ - 8) • One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. Every day, unsafe water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases. … Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market. Yet access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights. (Laudato Si, 29.30) • An acute water shortage may occur within a few decades unless urgent action is taken. The environmental repercussions could affect billions of people; it is also conceivable that the control of water by large multinational businesses may become a major source of conflict in this century. (Laudato Si, 31) Spring 2018
29
ALL Creatures Great & Small
In June 2015, Pope Francis issued his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ – On care for our common home. We had some short quotations from the Letter on the previous page; here are some more: ‘Every creature is the object of the Father’s tenderness, who gives it its place in the world. Even the fleeting life of the least of beings is the object of his love, and in its few seconds of existence, God enfolds it with his affection.’ (77)
‘Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection’ … (69)
‘There is nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions’… (211)
‘Saint Therese of Lisieux invites us to practise the little way of love, not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which sows peace and friendship. An integral ecology (respect for the environment) is also made up of simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness.’ (230)
30
Prayer All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love so that we may protect the life and beauty of all creation, Amen. Spring 2018
In memory of
Fr. Brian Coffey, mhm Fr. Brian Coffey died on Sunday morning, 22nd October 2017, in Hartsdale, New York, aged 72. Almost two weeks later, he was laid to rest in his beloved Beaufort, Killarney, on November 4th not far from where he was born on 1st March 1945. His parents James and Mary had a family of five girls and three boys. When Brian finished his primary education in the local National school, his journey with Mill Hill began when he went to St. Joseph’s College, Freshford, County Kilkenny, for his secondary education. From 1965 to 1968, he studied philosophy in Dublin. From 1968 to 1972, he studied theology at St Joseph’s College, Mill Hill, London. And on the 25th June 1972 he was ordained to the missionary priesthood with two Mill Hill companions in St John’s Church, Tralee. Following a period in France learning French, Brian took up his appointment to a busy mission station in the Diocese of Basankusu in (then) Zaire – now D. R. Congo. There he served until 1979. This was a happy time for Brian, serving a church that he found to be “ever so active.” In 1979, he was back in Ireland because of problems with his health. He worked for a few years in vocations ministry and preaching in parishes. He returned to Basankusu in early 1983, but only for a brief period, as his health problems surfaced again in the tropical conditions. Spring 2018
He was appointed to the Irish Region and found himself on the road preaching in parishes and visiting schools. He threw himself into this work with great energy and enthusiasm. In 1992, he was appointed Administrator and Organising Secretary in St. Joseph’s (Mill Hill) House, Kilkenny. This was followed by an appointment to North America in 1999. The following year, he joined a multi-faith chaplaincy team at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York State – an assignment which he found highly rewarding. He also helped out in the nearby parish and did supplies in other parishes in Yonkers and New York City. He also found great satisfaction in serving as chaplain to the ‘Kerrymen’s Association’ in New York. He still had time to play some golf and spend holidays in his native Kerry. Brian is greatly missed by his family, Mill Hill colleagues and many friends, who are grieving his loss but also grateful to God for the blessing of his life, which was characterised by faithfulness, enthusiasm, dedication to his ministry that brought comfort and support to many people. He had a gift for making friends and keeping in contact with them – and of course he always had a great interest in Kerry football! Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Fr. Jim O’Connell, mhm 31
Obituary List (Up until 15/11/2017)
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on the souls of: Fr. Brian Coffey, MHM, who died in Hartsdale, New York Sr. Patricia Dee, FMSJ, who died in Blackburn, England Michael Hayes, brother of the late Father Bart Hayes, MHM Mary Murphy, sister in Law of Father Tony Murphy, MHM
Members Sadie Blaney, John Broderick, Margaret Cullen, Emily Cunningham, Nora Dillon, Maureen Downes, Gerard Freeman, Anna Gribben, Patrick Harkin, Colm Harty, Christina Hoban, Rose A Hatton, Anthony Kilbane, Elizabeth Kilcullen, John Lafford, John Leogue, Marie Little, Seamus Maloney, Judy Maguire, John
Meehan, James Miller, Mary Moran, Bridie Murphy, Bernadette McCafferty, Eileen McCluskey, James McDonagh, Mollie McLemon, Noel O’Brien, Breda O’Grady, Thomas O’Sullivan, Liam Phelan, Kathleen Reidy, Michael Rooney, Hannah Spellman, Sally Sloan, Bridie Stackpoole, Margaret Waldron.
Please Remember the Missions in your will I bequeath to St Joseph’s Society for the Missions Inc, (Mill Hill Missionaries), 50 Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin D06 C535, the sum of e..................................................................... free of duty
to be applied for the general purpose of the said Society, and I declare that the receipt of the Rev. Director shall be a sufficient discharge of the same. 32
Spring 2018
Winter
ocate -
2017 Adv
Final:0
7 11:55
21/08/201
• • • • •
Page 1
It keeps our friends and supporters in touch with our missionary work.
It promotes devotion to St. Joseph - our patron and protector
There are three issues per year plus a Calendar at Christmas. It is sent to all our members.
Membership is e10.00 per year, £7.00 for those in the sterling area, $12 for the U.S.
Members give generously to help our missionary work and we deeply appreciate their great support.
If you would like to become a member and receive the Advocate, please contact: St. Joseph’s Advocate, Mill Hill Missionaries, 50 Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin D06 C535
r New Member
r Renewal of Membership (If you have not renewed)
Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........................................................ Perhaps you might interest a friend in becoming a member. All help for our missionary apostolate is deeply appreciated, and you share in the prayers and good works of our missionaries.
Spring 2018
33
Advocate Autumn 2017:Layout 1 29/06/2017 12:54 Page 1
34
Spring 2018