8 minute read
The ‘Year of St Joseph’
Our Wonderful World at Risk
by Fr Donie O’Connor, mhm
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Many species of birds and insects are at risk of extinction in the coming decades. Frogs have suffered a horrendous 40 per cent decline since 1990, and it is estimated that one third of certain species of bees in Ireland are threatened with extinction.
If we do not take responsibility with urgency now and protect our planet, the consequences are serious. The situation will threaten our ability to feed ourselves and control our climate. It also puts us at greater risk of pandemic diseases. David Attenborough states bluntly “that all of us have a moral responsibility to rescue our planet; it is not an option.”
We have an obligation to act swiftly, to take care of planet earth. We must begin again to coexist in harmony, respect and friendship with the natural world, knowing that all creation communicates the glory of God. We are blessed and nourished “to see a leaping squirrel in a tree. Or a red lady-bird upon a stalk. Or little rabbits in a field at evening, lit by a slanting sun.” (Padraig Pearse - The Wayfarer). The wonder of nature pours on us God’s healing and redemption. “Earth’s crammed with heaven” The poet Elizabeth Barret Browning expresses beautifully how creation is soaked in the Divine and the eternal voice of God that feeds and elevates us.
I will never forget the final words of David Attenborough as he leaned into the camera from his BBC studio chair; the unscripted integrity of his message was transfixing, as he spelt out the harrowing repercussions for our planet and our children if we continue to live unsustainably. His final words were: “it’s not about saving whales at this stage, it’s about saving ourselves.”
He spoke those words in a BBC documentary. It was a passionate but disturbing ‘Cry for help’ from this great prophet of our time; he has spent his life making films about the natural world - planet earth. He says: “our world is in real danger of destruction because of climate change and environmental damage caused by ruthless greed.” “that all of us have a moral responsibility to rescue our planet; it is not an option.”
”Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush is afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes.”
We fail God when we fail to cherish his presence in all creation. God loves all things by uniting them not by excluding them. The Divine presence seeks cooperation and connection, Pope Francis writes in Laudato Si: “the natural world is our common home; it is hurting; do we hear its cry?” The Pope affirms that all pain, cosmic, animal or human are the same - a cry for help! We have a duty of care to listen for that cry and respond. For so long, we have viewed creation as a giant resource to be exploited. We diminished and
humiliated it; we failed to glimpse that it was made by God with the same loving care and devotion as we are. The loving, liberating and life giving expression of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is breaking in if only we pay attention and allow ourselves to be caught up in the awesome rapture of this holy mystery.
“And I say to myself — what a wonderful world” (Louis Armstrong) How we take care of God’s wonderful world will decide its future. The fact is if we continue to mistreat it. it can become our crucifixion: if we care for it, it will be our resurrection. If we protect it, it will be faithful to us, evolve, flourish and bring joy. If neglected, it will fragment and die. To live fully in God, we live in dialogue with each other and with all created things. We are not apart from creation - We are one with it. We are called to enjoy its produce, appreciate its beauty and generosity without hurting or possessing it. “More than 450 scientists worked on the ‘Global Assessment Report’ (published 2016). It is the largest and most comprehensive assessment on the health of nature ever published. It spells out the appalling damage humans have caused during the past four decades.
It also tells us the kind of world we are leaving for future generations… The authors believe that one million (out of around 8 million) species are at risk of extinction in the next two to three decades. The abundance of native species has fallen by a fifth since 1990. For example, frogs and amphibians have suffered a horrendous 40 per cent decline.” (Sean McDonagh, SSC, Article in the Irish Times, May 28, 2019).
(Louis Armstrong)
Pause to ponder - quiet, be still
The Wonder of God’s Creation
“Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very nature of created things. Look above you. Look below you. Note it. Read it. God sets before your eyes things he has made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that? Heaven and earth shout to you: God made us!” (St. Augustine)
“God has written a precious book whose letters are the multitude of created things. From panoramic views to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source of wonder and awe. It is a continuing revelation of the divine. The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, God’s boundless affection for us.” (Pope Francis: Laudato Si’)
“I thank you, O lord, for the wonder of my being and the wonder of all your creation” (Ps. 139)
Bringing Out the Best in Us
By Fr Michael Corcoran, mhm, Mill Hill Superior General
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I wrote to all our missionaries throughout the world to encourage them and stress that as missionaries the capacity for being bearers of hope is part and parcel of our ministry today. Indeed, we were all caught off guard by the unexpected and turbulent storm of the pandemic. As missionaries, we are ‘sent’ in a special way to be alongside those who suffer, all the more with the impact of this global crisis. In the midst of all this, we continue to do what we do best, mission.
Bringing help and hope to many
In communication with our missionaries worldwide and in collaboration with Missio UK, our partners in mission, we as Mill Hill Society were able to reach out in a very practical way to people in need of help and assistance. Alongside this practical help, our missionaries found themselves in situations of significant spiritual and pastoral challenge, not immune to the difficulties, hardships and pain of this time.
I have received reports for funds sent out and used during the pandemic and can assure you that many people have been helped. I could give many examples but will focus on just two:
1. Funds were sent to Turda parish in the Philippines. Thanks to the money received, parish volunteers were able to deliver rice to hundreds of hungry families.
Philippines - Families in Turda parish got help
Cameroon - Kembong parish got help
Fr John Paul Bangsi (Mill Hill) wrote from Turda: ‘Missio UK and Mill Hill has shown us that God does not fail and that the Church reaches out to her children in times of distress. The people of Turda Parish know that the world has not abandoned them’.
2. Funds were sent to Cameroon to assist poor missions in handling the terrible consequences of the pandemic. With the funds received, the Mill Hill priests in parishes were able to organise vital food supplies, and other necessities, for families across 21 parishes.
Fr Richard Njoroge (Mill Hill) wrote from Cameroon: “I bring to you hearts of gratitude for this great gesture of solidarity, when the whole world is locked down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. May the good Lord increase your store.”
Blessed with generosity – cultivators of hope
I have expressed my gratitude to all our missionaries on the ‘frontline’ for their dedication and the sacrifices they were making as the crisis continued to impact on how we relate to each other, how we work and pray together. Notwithstanding fear, tiredness and grief, they have endeavoured to stand with those bereaved and suffering even in the midst of many restrictions and limitations imposed by governments to curtail the spread of the virus. We are blessed with their generosity and that of the people here at home who support us with their prayers and donations.
As missionaries, we are cultivators of hope amongst the people we live and work with every day. The Good News continues to be ‘cultivated’ in different parts of the world. In Cambodia our young missionaries participate in a unique Khmer-Christian Festival as one means of reaching out to the people. Among Christians in Cambodia, village blessings (accompanied by dancing) for the end of the harvest season are warmly accepted by the villagers. The idea actually originates from the Cambodian tradition of thanksgiving after harvest season.
Hope grows in new Mill Hill missionary apostolates begun in Douala, Cameroon, in Busaana, Uganda, and among the Maasai in Kenya. Our young Mill Hill Missionaries in India and Pakistan and the Philippines continue to witness to Christ with great faith and courage in very challenging areas. In all of this we move forward with enthusiasm as there is much to do on the journey that awaits us.
