Stephen was one of 17 Mill Hill priests ordained in the 12 month period up to the end of January - 3 more than my own class of 1969.
join Mill Hill, was accepted and began his formation in Luanda, on October 6, 2010. This happened to be my last year in Luanda parish.
STEPHEN’S STORY – GREAT JOY AND SADNESS
Stephen went on to study with Mill Hill in Jinja, Uganda, and also did some of his studies in India. He is well qualified with an MA in philosophy and a BA in theology. He spent two years in the Mill Hill parish in Mbikko, Uganda, as a student gaining pastoral experience. After ordination, Stephen was appointed to Mbikko and is now serving there as a priest. Please keep Stephen and our other young Mill Hill priests in your prayers.
Stephen, the youngest of six children, grew up in Esirome village in Luanda parish. His father, Dismas, died in 1992, when Stephen was only 6 years old, leaving his mother, Alice, a young widow. Alice herself died in 2002, so Stephen depended a lot on his siblings, Thomas, Michael, George, Syprose and Jane. Sadly, Thomas died early in January, barely 2 weeks after presenting Stephen to the Bishop for Ordination at the Cathedral. He had helped prepare for Stephen’s Thanksgiving Mass at home in Esirome on December 23rd – such a joyful occasion. Stephen completed his primary and secondary education in Ekwanda. He was a bright student with many life choices and careers beckoning, including university education. However, he had met Mill Hill students from the Formation Centre in Luanda and was curious about what motivated them. The students invited him to come and see where they lived and attend a youth retreat. At the end of their few days together, Stephen remembers being asked, “would you like to be a priest?” That was the moment Stephen felt that this was the Lord’s call to serve God as a missionary priest. He applied to 10
ST. JOSEPH – A REFLECTION Yes, most of us live uneventful and ordinary lives. We live out our days quietly, plainly and simply. The tasks that make up the hum drum of our lives draw little or no attention. In our homes we do what has to be done: take care of one another, prepare meals, make the school lunches, go to mass, walk the dog, put out the rubbish, water the plants, commute to work, go for the shopping. We call it - routine. Yet, the common bits and pieces that fill and structure our days give purpose and meaning. They fill us with the silent presence of our everyday God, the one who turns up quietly in every little detail.
Fr. Tom vesting Stephen with white chasuble during ordination ceremony
I returned to Labasheeda in the middle of January, never expecting the global pandemic that has made life so strange and difficult. While cocooning, I had plenty time to look back with gratitude to God for calling me to be a Mill Hill Missionary. I’m amazed at the way the Lord has been working ever so quietly and wonderfully in my life. The Virgin Mary’s beautiful Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” sums it all up for me. Autumn 2020
St, Joseph too was an ordinary man who quietly surrendered to Gods call. He lived from a place of absolute faith and was guided by it. He paid attention to the detail of life, noticed the intervention of the divine, and acted without delay. Joseph had an unexpected fearlessness – he even took on Herod and thwarted his plan. A skilled man, good at his craft - his workbench his altar As a parent, he figured it out as he went along as all parents do. Putting the safety of his family first. Joseph reveals that nothing is lost in the eyes of God, that all of our little efforts make a difference. Joseph reveals that Faith is lived out daily - in the kitchens and workshops of ordinary men and women who put their trust in God. Even if you are only able to shuffle one foot in front of the other, you are doing good. You can live by faith and be guided by it, following the example of Joseph – the ordinary man who quietly surrendered to God’s call. Devotion to St. Joseph gives us a chance to revisit our roots – to remember St. Joseph and all the good people who planted the seed of faith in us - and those who helped us yield its fruit in due season. Amen! (Fr. Donie O’Connor, mhm) Autumn 2020
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