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Editorial We are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Pope Francis reflects on the mystery of the Resurrection in the Apostolic Exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, ‘Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which has permeated this world. It is an irresistible force. However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads. Each day in our world beauty is born anew, it rises transformed through the storms of history. Values always tend to reappear under new
guises, and human beings have arisen time after time from situations that seemed doomed. Such is the power of the resurrection, and all who evangelize are instruments of that power. The Resurrection is already woven into the fabric of this history, for Jesus did not rise in vain.’ Jesus did not rise in vain. All Christians are missionary disciples who are convinced that Jesus did not rise in vain, that we are instruments of the power of the Resurrection and that the resurrection is already secretly woven into the events and experiences of our lives. Through our witness to the Resurrection we can contribute to the transformation of the world. In the month of May we reflect in a special way on the role of Mary in God’s
Content 2 Prayer to Our Lady
13 Ordinations
3 Editorial
14 Friends of Mill Hill
5 Happiness
15 Obituaries
6 Baptism at 106
18 FMSJ
8 Jubilees
19 Become a Mill Hill Missionary
11 God of another chance Friends of Mill Hill
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plan for the world and for the whole of creation. Although it is not mentioned in the Bible many Christians believe that after his resurrection Jesus first appeared to his mother. Some artists have created works of art depicting the risen Jesus appearing to his mother. At the Annunciation, Mary accepted her vocation to suffer with her Son in His mission of redeeming the world from sin. On Easter Sunday, she shared with Him in the joy of His glorious Resurrection. In the present issue of the Friends of Mill Hill magazine we meet various signs of the power of the Resurrection. Missionaries bring the Good News to distant places to people of all stages of life from infant baptism to the baptism of a man at the age of 106. Together with their families, parishes
and friends we share in the joy of young men who have been ordained priests. In gratitude we celebrate God’s faithfulness with jubilarians. We admire the zeal and generosity of the Friends of Mill Hill in various activities. We celebrate the life of missionaries and family members who have been called by God to their reward. With Pope Francis we pray: May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ. May Mary our heavenly mother, and St.Joseph intercede for us.
‘As part of his mysterious love for humanity, God furnishes the totality of the faithful with an instinct of faith which helps them to discern what is truly of God.’ (The Joy of the Gospel 119).
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HAPPINESS By Ignatius Nshing mhm In my Philosophical studies at St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary Bambui, I studied Happiness as a topic. The meaning of happiness, the means through which one can be happy, and what it means to be happy. It was good to study it in class but in Karamoja precisely Sacred Heart Parish Loyoro, I have been taught Happiness in a practical way. In order words, I have learned to be happy from a realistic point of view from the above people. First I have learned that happiness is not about material possessions. According to my beloved people material possessions are necessary for life but they cannot give happiness. Furthermore, being
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contented with what I have can give me happiness. This can be seen from the picture whereby the people are happy despite poverty. They are contented with what they have. Secondly, pains and poverty cannot hinder happiness. My beloved people are the happiest despite the pains and poverty which they are going through. From this, I learned to participate in their joys and suffering which gives me happiness. In addition, I have learned that accepting reality as it is, is of capital importance to one’s happiness. With all these, I come to the conclusion that sharing and participating in the life of the Dodoth is a source of great happiness and joy to me. The poor have a lot to teach!
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Baptism at the age of 106
By Fr. Lawrence Otieno, MHM. (Fr.Lawrence is a young Mill Hill missionary from Kenya, who works in Cameroon) July 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 mission in the early morning and walk to the remote village. Soon after arriving, celebrations began by 6
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 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 Friends of Mill Hill
their cheerfulness? Probably, it flows from their acceptance of hardship and their faith in God. 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 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
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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. Celebration in the parish of Fundong/ Cameroon
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50 Years of missionary adventure,
Fr.Wijnand Huijs MHM I came to Uganda on 25th Jan.1969, knowing little about the country, but with a lot of zeal and youthful enthusiasm to give witness to the Good News, as described Lk.4, 16-21, which was the gospel I had chosen for my First Mass and which became my source of inspiration for the next 40 years. The ‘Good News’ fascinated me and energized me, using music as a tool to make that News sound loud and alive and to build bridges 8
of mutual respect between people of different tribes, religions and political affiliations. For many years my guitar became my daily companion on my visits to the villages, schools and small Christian communities. Later on I was encouraged to let the Good News sound even louder and I started brass bands for children from different tribes and religions, trying to illustrate the power of unity in diversity, by trying to instil in the children respect for each other in their differences, using the brass band as a visual aid: Friends of Mill Hill
instruments of different sizes and sounds making beautiful harmony, when united, but causing chaoscacophony- when disunited. During all those years I tried to make the parishes in Jinja, Kamuli, Kakira, Mbikko where I had been working, a home, a place where young and old, rich or poor, catholic and non-catholic were welcome, trying to recognize and appreciate in each of them the image of God. In 2007 I felt drawn to get involved in another new and challenging ministry in the Institute of St Anselm in the U.K., a ministry of accompanying fellow priests, religious and bishops from all over the world, It was a humbling and precious experience for me lasting nearly 10 years. I felt privileged and
enriched. Having said goodbye to Uganda in 2007 I was surprised when in 2016 I was requested to go back to Uganda for a period of 3 years to assist in the formation of our Mill Hill students in Jinja Rubaga on the very spot where in Jan. 1969 I had started my missionary apostolate. I am happy to be back for some time in the country that for forty years had been a home for me. I am grateful to all the people who have been part of my life during the last 50 years and I am also grateful to God for having giving me good health which is still enabling me to continue to love and to serve as a missionary.
We may be sure that none of our acts of love will be lost, not any of our acts of sincere concern for others. No single act of love for God will be lost, no generous effort is meaningless, no painful endurance is wasted‌’ (The Joy of the Gospel 279). Friends of Mill Hill
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Golden Jubilee of Fr.Gerard Kraakman, MHM Fr.Gerard Kraakman celebrates his golden jubilee as a missionary priest. During the Annual Assembly held at Stam Centre , Kakamega from 3rd to 6th January 2018 the Mill Hill Missionaries working in the East African area celebrated with Fr.Gerard . He presided at the Eucharist on 4th January. Here are some of the experiences he shared during the homily: Since my primary school years I regularly attended Holy Mass. My mother used to say, ‘In the Church is work’. One day after morning weekday Mass as I was leaving the pew in the church I heard the Lord telling me that he wanted me to celebrate Mass, to become a priest. This call was decisive in my life and remains with me throughout my whole life as a stabilizing factor. I started my training in the minor seminary of the Mill Hill Missionaries in Hoorn/ The Netherlands in 1955 and was ordained in June 1968. I worked in Nyang’oma for ten years. Then I was asked to start Nyamonge; there I worked till 2002. I had many building programs going on. Then in January 2003 I moved to Nanga. In Nyamonge I had communities of Brothers and Sisters around me; it was quite a change to move to the one-man parish in Nanga. Somehow I got used to it; I found my hobbies, e.g. book binding, reading and translating articles, were very helpful. Malcom Muggeridge who was converted to Christianity from agnosticism by the work and example of Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, ‘ The ultimate disaster is to feel at home on earth.’ I felt at home in all parishes, but I know I work to get to my real home with the Lord. Did I do my work well enough? The Lord may tell me I should have spent less time on buildings, but I hope he will say that even buildings carry a message. So I pray in this jubilee Mass that I will contribute in the years to come to the spreading of the message and of Christ in our world where darkness still prevails. I thank the Lord for his invisible guidance and ask him to do so in the years ahead. 10
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God of Another Chance by Fr Gerard Hastie, mhm The back doors of many of the public minibuses (matatus) here in Kenya are inscribed with words of inspiration or warning. One of the matatus that plies its trade along the main road near our formation centre has ‘God of another chance’ in bold letters written across its back door. In June last year I facilitated a group of inmates in Kamiti high security prison who were following a course in ‘introduction to scripture and theology’ run by the Zaidi Centre for Ignatian Spirituality (two of our students normally lead the group but they were on their long holidays). We had been looking through the prophets and one of the inmates (I’ll call him Gabriel), who had been there for more than twenty years, chose to study Ezekiel and in particular the passage on the vision of ‘dry bones’ found in 37:1-14. This passage is set in the time when the people of Judah are in exile in Babylon: they have lost their land, they have lost their king and they have lost their temple. As Gabriel narrated, ‘the people Friends of Mill Hill
knew that in some way they were responsible for their situation, and they were lost, broken, frightened and afraid. And it was in the depth of their misery that this vision of hope emerged: they realised that God was there, God had not abandoned them, they were not condemned forever and new life was possible.’ As Gabriel concluded his reflection, he looked around at the other inmates and at me and said simply, ‘God is here’ and then he sat down. Gabriel, in his short reflection, gave witness to the God he had come to believe in. A God who, as Pope Francis reminds us again and again, is simply ‘mercy’: in God no one is condemned forever, He or She is always the God of another chance. I am coming to the end of ten years 11
working in formation where I have had the privilege to accompany our students in their discernment journey towards becoming missionaries within the Mill Hill Society. As I look back over the ten years I see that at different times and in different situations I have been challenged again and again to look at my own image of God: the God I claim to follow and the God I give witness to. Two images dominate. One is ‘God’ as the divine accountant: he records in my account book both the debits and the credits and I have to hope that when my time comes I’ll be in credit. This ‘God’ has little room for second chances: debts have to be repaid and there is no room for error. And I’m sure times at times this is the ‘God’ I’ve given witness to. The other God, however, is this God of mercy: the God who is like the father in the story of the ‘Prodigal Son’, who is waiting for his lost and broken child to come back so that he can simply run out and embrace him and offer him another chance. This God of mercy I have encountered again and again in the stories of the students I have accompanied as well as in the faith of the inmates and in many others who, often in challenging situations, have radiated hope and compassion by their way of life. I have especially encountered this God in the times when I have had the chance to visit our students during their two year mission placement. I have met this 12
God in our students as they lived among the marginalised and landless tribal people in South Pakistan as well as in the faces of the tribal people themselves. I met this merciful God in the colourful dresses and exuberant joy of the minority Christians in North West Pakistan during a parish feast where one of our students was living. I met this God in the care given to a young dying woman on the coast of Kenya and in her smile and welcome. When I look back, all I can do is be grateful for the many opportunities I have had to meet this God. Ten years in formation work, as I’ve accompanied students in their struggles and joys, I have had to learn to accept more and more, and work on, my own many struggles and joys. I have had to own the truth of the fact that I am a fairly cracked earthenware vessel, and I can only be grateful towards the students and my team members who have often shown mercy to me and given me another chance – surely ‘God writes straight with crooked lines.’ As I look around the Mill Hill world and see so many of our young missionaries serving generously with joy and happiness the people they have been sent to, and as I hear so many stories of how they are witnessing to God’s mercy and have experienced that mercy from the people they are with, once again I can only be grateful. God is mercy. He/ She, is always the God of another chance. Friends of Mill Hill
Ordinations Cameroon: Ordination of Alexander Kimbi mhm
Fundong, Cameroon: Ordination of John Paul Bangsi and Elvis Mbangsi On Saturday 3rd February 2018, Bishop Michael Bibi, auxiliary bishop of Bamenda, in a colourful celebation at Fundong parish, ordained two Mill Hill priests, John Paul Bangsi and Elvis Mbangsi. Despite the prevailing political situation in the region the occasion passed well with a great attendance by Christians from Ilung and Fundong parishes where John Paul and Elvis come from. Elvis Mbangsi is well known in East Africa in Kotido where he worked for two years during his formation and in various places in and around Nairobi where he did pastoral work. He has been appointed to Malaysia. Richard Njoroge mhm.
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In a colourful celebration in his home parish of Mbessa, Archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, Alexander Kimbi mhm was ordained by bishop Michael Bibi on Friday 9th February. His ordinations comes on the heels of that of Elvis Mbangsi and John Paul Bangsi. Fr Alexander Kimbi mhm has been appointed for mission to the parish of Witu in the diocese of Malindi, Kenya. He spent already two years in Witu during his formation.
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Up-coming ordinations:
Placide Elias Batondobi will be
Chanikya Kodati will be ordained
ordained priest on 15thJuly 2018 in
priest on 9thApril 2018 in Vijayawada
St. Pierre et Paul Cathedral, Diocese
by Joseph Raja Rau Thelagathoti,
of Basankusu, Democratic Republic
Bishop of the Diocese of Vijayawada.
of Congo by Joseph MokobeNdjoku,
He has been appointed to Ambikapur,
Bishop of the Diocese of Basankusu.
Diocese of Bishunpur, India.
He has been appointed to the Archdiocese of Douala, Cameroon.
Mathew
Juma
ordained
priest
Ongany
will
be
28 April
in
Mark Owor will be ordained priest
Consolata Catholic Church, Likoni by
by Emmanuel Obbo, Archbishop of
Martin KivuvaMusonde, Archbishop
Tororo. The date and venue have
of Mombasa. He has been appointed
still to be arranged. He has been
to the Diocese of Kroonstad, South
appointed to the Diocese of Kotido,
Africa.
Uganda.
on
th
Robin Rainu Ram will be ordained
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priest on 13thMay 2018 in Ekamba
The friends of Mill Hill in Uganda held
Parish, Jashpur District, by Emmanuel
their Annual General Meeting in Jinja
Kerketta, Bishop of the Diocese of
on January 12th 2018.
Jashpur. He has been appointed to Baswar, Diocese of Ambikapur, India. Thomas
NgongNteban
will
be
ordained priest on 26thMay 2018 in
St.
Joseph’s
Parish,
Djottin,
Diocese of Kumbo, Cameroon, by AgapitusEnuyehnyohNfon, Bishop of the Diocese of Kumba. He has been appointed to Luanda, Diocese of Kakamega, Kenya. 14
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Obituaries Father Patrick Neville MHM was born on 16th March 1927 in Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland. He took the Perpetual Oath on 5th May 1951. On 13th July 1952, he was ordained priest by Archbishop Matthew in Mill Hill. Following his ordination, Patrick took up teaching appointments, first in Lochwinnoch and then in Freshford. In 1955, he was appointed to Kampala, where once again he found himself in education. He was Headmaster at Budini, Prefect of Studies at Nyenga Seminary, Headmaster at Jinja College, Principal at Ggaba Teacher Training College, Headmaster at St. Peter’s in Nsambya, and finally, Founder and – for a brief period – Principal of Kamuli College, Namasagali. The time spent in Uganda, wrote Patrick, was the happiest time of his missionary life. In 1967, Patrick was re-appointed to Lochwinnoch, as M.D. and to do teaching. He died in Dublin on 31st December 2017.
Frank Thompson MHM was born in Coventry in Birmingham Diocese on 4 July 1939.. Francis took the Perpetual Oath on 1 May 1964 and was ordained at Mill Hill, London on 10 July 1965, just a few months before the Second Vatican Council concluded, by Cardinal Heenan. Frank was appointed to Kisumu, Kenya, where he served for three years in Kibuye Mission. He was then transferred to Port Victory where he worked for two years. In 1970 Frank accepted an appointment to do vocations work and organising Friends of Mill Hill
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work for the APF in the South of England. Francis was re-appointed to work in Kenya for just a year in 1974 during which he served in Kibabi Mission and in Port Victoria. Frank injured his back while in Kenya, and suffered from the sequels of the accident throughout his life. Frank retired to Herbert House in 2016. He died on February 4th 2018. May he rest in peace. We also remember in our prayers the Mill Hill Missionaries, family members, friends and benefactors who have died recently. Fr. Kees Breed MHM who died on 26th December 2017, in Oosterbeek, The Netherlands, aged 92. Fr. Richard Oberhauser MHM who died on 12th January 2018 in Hall/Austria, aged 84. Fr. David Bingham MHM who died on 27th January 2018 in Freshfield/England, aged 86. Fr.Edmund Slowey MHM who died on 22nd February 2018 in Freshfield/ England, aged 88. Fr. Jaap Nielen MHM who died on 23rd February 2018 in Oosterbeek/The Netherlands, aged 90. Mr.Emilio Kibingo, brother of Fr. Oniz Kihokolho MHM who died on 21st December 2017. Mr.Gerard Klaver, brother of Ko Klaver MHM who died on 23rd December 2017. Mr.Josef Pรถll, brother of Fr.Adolf Pรถll MHM, who died on 31st January 2018. Eternal Rest grant unto them, o Lord. And let Perpetual Light shine upon them. May they rest in Peace. Amen.
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Retired Bishop Vincent Mojwok Nyiker, 85, of the Malakal Catholic Diocese is dead. Bishop Mojwok was pronounced dead at Al-Saha Hospital in the Sudanese capital Khartoum today morning. “It was indeed sad news for the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Malakal, and in all Catholic Dioceses in South Sudan,” said Roko Taban, the Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Malakal in a statement today.Roko said arrangements are in place to transport the body to South Sudan. Bishop Mojwok took over leadership of Malakal Diocese in 1979. He was born in the Lul area of Upper Nile in 1933. Bishop Emmanuel Barbara of the Catholic Diocese of Malindi has passed away on January 5th 2018 at the age of 68 years old in his residence. The late Bishop was born on October 27, 1949, in the parish of Gzira, in the Archdiocese of Malta.He joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and took his solemn profession on 26 September 1966. In 1973 he was ordained to the diaconate and a year later, on July 20, he was ordained as a priest.Until 2008 he served as a priest in the Diocese of Malindi. He also served as Provincial Minister of the Maltese Capuchin Province. In 2011 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of Malindi and on October 1 2011, was consecrated by Cardinal John Njue.
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Would you like to become a Mill Hill Missionary Priest? Lay Missionary as an Associate? “Come follow mw.” Say yes to the voice of God in your heart and take part in the adventure of making his Gospel known to the world. “The harvest is rich, but labourers are few” (Mt. 9:37-38). The Mill Hill Missionaries are called to dedicate their lives to Evangelisation with preference for the poor, the oppressed and those in greatest need. “Yes, I am ready to follow you, Lord.” For more information write to: Vocation Director In Kenya: P.O. Box 2011, 40100 Kisumu, Kenya Mobile 0705 819 773 & 0732 458 117. Email: mhmvocationken@yahoo.com
Vocation Director of Kenya and uganda: Fr. Ronald Kajja MHM
In Uganda: P.O Box 520 Jinja, Uganda. Mobile: 0757 106 323 Email: mhmvauganda51@yahoo.com
Becoming a Friend of Mill Hill? You can support Mill Hill Missionaries
with prayers and donations. For 500/- Ksh or 10,000/- Ush per year you can be enrolled as a Friend of Mill Hill, and receive the FOMH magazine two times a year. If using Pay Bill or MTN Mobile Phone please write or send an SMS with your name, address and the amount you sent. In Kenya: Payment for membership of the Friends of Mill Hill should be sent to P.O. Box 2011, 40100, Kisumu, Kenya. Or: Pay Bill Number: Business No. 811908 Account No. 0717 20 84 81 In Uganda: Payment for membership of the Friends of Mill Hill should be sent to P.O. Box 520, Jinja, Uganda. Or via MTN Mobile Money 0784 786 184 Friends of Mill Hill
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If undelivered, please return to: Mill hill Missionaries, P.O. Box 2011, 40100 Kisumu, Kenya.
Mill hill Missionaries, P.O. Box 520 Jinja Uganda.
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