St.Joseph's Advocate Ireland

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A Christmas Prayer for all our friends and benefactors May the celebration of Christ’s birth and the wonder of his presence light up your hearts and lives. May this Christmas bring love, joy and peace to you and your families, and may the New Year bring many blessings to you all.

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Advocate Winter 2016 Volume 54 No 4 ST JOSEPH’S ADVOCATE Published by: Editor: Printed in Ireland by:

Mill Hill Missionaries Fr. Jim O’Connell Modern Printers, Kilkenny

CONTENTS Dhiki Village School 2 3 Declan O’Toole Centre 6 Fr. Laurence English 8 Obituaries

Editorial Long Singut New Territories Jubilee Sunday

10 12 15 16

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Grateful Thanks to all our Contributors

Front Cover:

. Photo: Fons Eppink

Back Cover:

. Statue of St. Joseph - Mill Hill Kilkenny. Photo: D. Harney.

Photo Credits:

. F. Eppink, M. Corcoran, Roberta Kilbride, S. Odhiambo.

MISSION OFFERINGS All Postal Orders and Cheques to be sent direct to us at Mill Hill Missionaries, Waterford Road, Kilkenny.

All Bank Giros to be sent direct to Bank of Ireland, Parliament St., Kilkenny. A/c No. 10914412. Sort Code: 906064.

Mill Hill Missionaries St. Joseph’s Waterford Road, Kilkenny.

Tel: (056) 7721482 Office: millhillkilkenny@eircom.net www.millhillmissionaries.com

Mill Hill Missionaries 50 Orwell Park Rathgar, Dublin 6.

Tel: (01) 4127700 E.mail: josephmhm@eircom.net

St Mary’s Parish 25 Marquis Street Belfast BT1 1JJ. Tel: 04890 320482

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F R OM T HE E D ITOR lay leadership. It gives plenty food for thought these days as we hear so much about the lack of priests and the struggle that is taking place in Ireland to keep local church communities alive. We may well ask: how Fr. Jim O’Connell,mhm do these people do it in the most isolated circumstances deep in the heart of the forest? They have You may be wondering what the photo lay prayer leaders and of course they has to do with this Winter/Christmas have the presence of the Holy Spirt in Issue of St. Joseph’s Advocate. Well, the their hearts and lives. They have an photo was taken in Long Singut in a very occasional visit from the priest who lives remote area of the tropical rain forest in and works in the main parish of Kapit Sarawak, on the Island of Borneo. Long which is located miles and miles Singut is in the parish of Kapit where one downriver. And we have an Irish of our young Mill Hill priests, Mathews connection here - as mentioned in the Olili, works. Fr. Fons Eppink, mhm, article - the parish priest of Kapit in the visited Long Singut and spent Christmas early days of the Long Singut with the people there last year. He writes community was Fr. Tom Connors from about his experience in the article that County Galway, who is now retired in St. follows.

Joseph’s House in Dublin.

On the front cover you will see the photograph of a young boy standing beside the trunk of a big tree. He is somewhat behind the tree, almost hiding as it were, peeping out at the camera. He looks happy and healthy.

Long Singut is a settlement of ‘Longhouses’ in an extremely isolated spot in the rain forest on the banks of the Balleh River. All along Sarawak's many rivers you find ‘Longhouses’ - groups of related people living in tightly knit ‘Longhouse’ communities, built as one unit with a large common veranda. One such ‘Longhouse’ may have fifty or sixty 'doors' - individual families. ‘Longhouses’ afford their inhabitants a unique experience of community living.

Perhaps one of the really striking features of the Long Singut community is that it is a vibrant Catholic community that has depended for the most part on 2

The celebration of Christmas in Long Singut described by Fr. Fons is a reminder that there are no boundaries or barriers when it comes to Christ and Christmas. The same Jesus is God-withus all, whether people live in the rain forest in Sarawak or in more affluent places in the western world.

Living in these troubled times, Christmas is an opportunity for us to reflect on the humble, simple, ordinary circumstances of Christ’s birth and the powerful message of hope, love, simplicity and humility that it gives to all whether we are in Long Singut or anywhere else in the world.

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T IS about 11am on December 24th when we arrived at Long Singut, a collection of ‘Longhouses’ with a population of about 800. The settlement is on the banks of the Balleh river far upstream in a remote area of the rainforest in Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia. It's been a long journey: four hours by express-boat and four hours by 4x4 pick-up, an overnight stay in a camp, and nearly three more hours in a canoe the next day. Amazingly we're still within the area of the parish of Kapit where I am the guest

of Fr Mathews Olili, a young Kenyan Mill Hill missionary.

I have come here in the company of Fr Andrew Tan, the assistant priest of Kapit parish, and three more visitors. This is going to be a Christmas with a difference. I am grateful for the invitation. In the minds of the local population remote Long Singut has an almost mythical ring about it. The elegant dances and distinctive musical tradition of the local Kenyah people are well known and admired throughout Malaysian Borneo.

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Fr. Fons sharing the dinner with a family on Christmas Day

A Catholic community with lay leadership Our ‘Longhouse’ host tells the story of the arrival of the Kenyah people to this ‘Longhouse’ settlement. They migrated from Indonesia in 1967. He himself was seven years old then. It was a three days arduous journey. They travelled through virgin forest and occasional leech infested swamps. They were already Catholics.

The government promised them citizenship if they accepted to become Muslims. But they refused. As a consequence many of them are still not full Malaysian citizens. The ‘Longhouse’ leader travelled with others all the way to Kapit to see the parish priest, Fr Tom Connors mhm (from Galway) and invite him to come. At first he apparently did not believe them. They had to prove that they were Catholics. How? By reciting the rosary!

The elegant church built in character4

istic ‘Longhouse’ style is packed at 8 pm for the Christmas 'midnight' Mass. The congregation sings a variety of Christmas carol melodies and songs drawn from the Kenyah tradition. Fr Andrew has two prayer leaders in a supporting role. In ordinary circumstances (that is 95% of the time) they have, of course, to lead the community prayer. Here too the question of lay leadership and the Catholic Church's priest-centred tradition is very much alive. I marvel at how this Catholic community has thrived without the presence of a priest for the most part.

Lots of celebrations After Mass it is time to celebrate the Kenyah way! We're all invited to come to the veranda which stretches the length of the principal ‘Longhouse’. All guests would be expected to show their dancing ability. Young and old start the celebration by moving around the veranda in a long snaking line to the sound of the music. But after this appetizer the Kenyah cultural heritage takes over with

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the dance of the hornbill! (The hornbill bird is the symbol of Sarawak). This is an individual dance in which men and women each in their distinctive way give a performance of their dancing prowess in a style unique to the Kenyah tradition.

Everyone watches spellbound as the headman gracefully mimics the flight of the hornbill to the accompaniment of an entrancing Kenyah tune. Then it's the turn of a woman who dances with exquisite grace a feminine version of the hornbill dance.

After another few such performances, the dreaded challenge to the visitors to step forward comes! To the hilarity of all present I make a total hash of it, stiff, clumsy, tall, European! It's great fun. These celebrations often continue through the night.

I retired at around 1 a.m.

On Christmas Day we celebrated Mass

at 8.30 am. The church is again full even though celebrations last night continued well into the wee hours of the morning.

The communal spirit of the ‘Longhouses’ is clearly in evidence everywhere.

Soon after Mass we are invited for food by one family. Then another, and another.

I have never had so many Christmas dinners in my life! The music and dancing continue through the night and only stops just before we depart from Long Singut at the crack of dawn, waved goodbye by our generous hosts. The journey back to Kapit seemed less daunting. Everywhere there are signs of erosion and the river banks are littered with logs and fallen trees - the logging activity's natural waste.

Back in Kapit, I reflect on what a uniquely memorable Christmas this has been!

Rocking the baby in the hammock (cradle) in Long Singut!

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by Fr. Michael Corcoran, mhm - General Superior of Mill Hill ESS THAN a decade ago the Mill Hill Missionaries charted new territory in Turda, the Philippines, by taking on an apostolate amongst the Tagbanwa indigenous people who are a minority group. In place is a multi-cultural team of Young Mill Hillers from Uganda, India and Cameroon.

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They are giving witness in the very best tradition of our Mill Hill Society in choosing by preference to work among those ‘most abandoned and in greatest need’ – to quote our Founder Cardinal Vaughan in this, the 150th Jubilee year of our foundation.

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Pope Francis speaks about a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it is out on the streets, reaching out beyond its own comfort zone to those in need throughout the world, especially the poor. A couple of years ago the Typhoon Yolanda hit this area of the Philippine Islands. Together with Caritas International our missionaries were very much involved in providing and distributing assistance to vulnerable communities. In reaching out to the people our missionaries travel by a boat called ‘The Mill Hill Trail Blazer’ (pictured above) in order to visit the many islands that form the parish of Turda. Our cherished links continue with the Archdiocese of Jaro and San Jose de Antique where our missionaries are involved in a variety of ministeries.

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In the photo - Fr. John Ambrose, mhm, from Limerick who has spent over 50 years

in the Philippines

As General Superior I was privileged to participate in celebrations in the Philippines marking the 150 year jubilee of the foundation of Mill Hill. I also attended the celebrations in Kenya. Our missionaries began the great work of evangelisation in Kenya in 1902 among the peoples around Lake Victoria. Both in Kenya and the Philippines the local Church publicly sang the praises of past Mill Hill Missionaries and demonstrated a genuine affection and respect for the work our Mill Hill Society has done in the past.

It’s a song I have heard in other countries I have visited, including Pakistan and India. There is a wealth of missionary experience and effort bearing much fruit and giving broad and rich testimony to our Mill Hill motto ‘to love and to serve’. In these days our presence

in so many areas where we have worked decreases as Christ’s Church increases; yet as this story appears to come to an end, a new story is emerging. The local churches are now ready to send out missionaries to continue our missionary tradition. What greater gift from God can we ask for than to have these young missionaries as our future. We had ten Mill Hill Members from Africa and Asia ordained this year and six students made their commitment for life; they will be ordained next year.

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Jubilee Sunday 10th of July 2016: St. Joseph’s House, Dublin.

JuBILEE SuNDAy was a very happy occasion when four Mill Hill Members celebrated their Jubilees. Family, friends and Mill Hill colleagues joined the Jubilarians for the Concelebrated Mass, which was followed by refreshments and a meal.

As you can see from the photograph below, our three Irish Jubilarians were joined by Fr. Paul Hien, who is celebrating his Silver Jubilee this year and is a classmate of Fr. Gerald Doyle. The four Jubilarians have many years of missionary experience behind them; Donal spent most of his life in Uganda; Michael was in Malaysia and the Philippines; Gerald was in Cameroon and Paul has been working in Kenya, Uganda and India.

Our General Superior, Fr. Michael Corcoran was present for the celebrations.

The Jubilarians (left to right): Fr. Gerald Doyle (Silver), Fr.Donal Harney (Golden), Fr. Michael O’Brien (Golden), and Fr. Paul Hien (Silver).

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Fr. Gerald Doyle with his mother and family.

Fr. Michael O’Brien with family members.

Fr. Donal Harney with family members.

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Our school at Dhiki is going very well. It is one of our best village schools. Both teachers and children work very hard and are regular in coming to school. We are happy with their progress but they have a long way to go to reach a good standard.

The number of children has surpassed our expectation. When we started in April 2012 we had 56 children and when I first wrote to you in March '14 we had 105. Now we have 150 (102 boys and 48 girls (25 Christian boys and 16 Christian girls, 77 Hindu boys and 32 Hindu 10

girls.). The number of girls is increasing slowly but surely. Twenty two of our Christian children made their First Holy Communion on the 4th of September 2014.

We now need to employ a third Teacher, preferably a woman, to teach the Kindergarten class as Sutrun teaches classes 2 and 3, while Khiraj teaches Kindergarten and class 1.

They work very well together. They are Catholics. Sutrun has great leadership qualities. She teaches from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm. After school she supervises the Health Centre and

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Sewing Centre. As they are not trained Teachers they continue to attend Teachers Training Programmes for 2 days at the end of each month and are very good at implementing all they learn. As they now have 2 classes each they are finding teaching quite difficult.

The good news is that one of our Punjabi Sisters, Sr. Ghazala, is Principal of our main school and that leaves me free to visit the village schools; I get to visit Dhiki every 3 weeks.

The two roomed school is now finished. It has a flat roof instead of a thatched sloped roof. There is a lovely little chapel between the two rooms. The children have moved in but there are still a few unfinished jobs; the 4 blackboards have to be repainted, the second toilet to be completed and the floors to be cemented. We have got some tables and chairs for classes 2 and 3 but we've still to get smaller ones for

the two lower classes. Yet it is great that the children are now in from the harsh climate and no longer sitting in the open.

We visited Dhiki for the celebration of Christmas Mass. The two class rooms were packed. The Christian children had made lovely straw stars and cribs with figures made from mud. They sang beautifully at Mass. They had a tasty lunch prepared for us before leaving.

On behalf of our 2 Teachers, Sutrun and Khiraj, parents, children and myself, a very sincere thanks to Mill Hill Irish Region for the financial support. It enables us to give these children and I guess many more in the future a very good Primary Education.

May God bless and reward you all for your generous help.

[Fr. Denis Hartnett (Mill Hill) from Ballyhooly, Co. Cork, works in the same (Sind) area of Pakistan.]

The number of girls in the school is increasing.

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Fr. Sylvester and other leaders with a group of youth in the new Social Centre.

As missionaries serving among the poor, one of the many problems that has touched us deeply in recent years is the alienation of many young people by changes taking place in society.

The disarmament (by the army) of the young Karimojong men (warriors) left them in crisis. The once macho young men proud of their identity and role in the culture now have to find a new identity. These men, who are largely illiterate, are no longer needed in such large numbers to defend and acquire cattle. This group has traditionally kept itself apart from the other activities within the society; agriculture, education and mainstream religions. Many now find themselves without work and without a role. This group is also very much affected by the mobile phone

technology. They may be illiterate but they know how to operate a smart phone.

Having no phone is not cool!

The young girls too have not been spared by the changes taking place. The young girls in Karamoja were once famous for the way they could adorn themselves in traditional clothing during celebrations. Nowadays the traditional dressing is no longer appreciated and they are made to feel that they are illiterate and good for nothing.

In the post disarmament period many children too are finding themselves redundant. They are no longer needed for herding the cattle. Their homes are not very interesting and so an increasing number of children are choosing to go to school out of their own choice. And there 13

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are children who want to be in school but their parents cannot possibly give them the necessary guidance and support.

We decided to develop a safe space for young people and children where they can come at any time and interact with one another - a youth friendly space where they could come and relax, discuss, explore their talents and also study. The Centre was officially opened on the 19th March 2016, the Feast of St. Joseph. The Centre when fully finished should have various social activities for youth, women and other interest groups.

So far we have started developing the youth activities. There are already various indoor and outdoor games. We also have a library which is very much used by students during holidays. It is also used by a number of poor students who are studying (but not in school) and register for the final exams.

The young people also regularly hold discussion on topics of interest. Most of the time they hold discussions by themselves but sometimes we invite outside facilitators. Among those who have been in the centre so far for discussion is Bishop Giuseppe Filippi of Kotido Diocese. We hope to install solar power in the Centre in the near future.

Once installed the young people will have a chance to study computers and also explore their talents in other areas.

So far the Centre is very successful.

What is going on in there is much more than what we had imagined. It has given us a new opportunity to engage in our pastoral activities in a more creative way.

We are grateful to the Area council and to the Mill Hill General Council who approved of this initiative and supported it financially with some money coming from the Irish Region – a big thank you.

The new Social Centre is dedicated to the memory of the late Fr. Declan O’Toole, who was working in the Parish of Panyangara when he was murdered in 2002.

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Fr. Laurence English , mhm, RIP (24th September 1928 – 10th July 2016)

Laurence(Larry) was born in Tullamore, Co. Offaly; he was the third born of eight children in the family of John and Elizabeth English. He was educated in the local primary school, in St. Joseph’s College Freshford, in Roosendaal the Netherlands, and Mill Hill London, where he was ordained to the missionary priesthood on 12th July 1953 by Bernard Cardinal Griffin.

Fr. Larry’s first appointment was to the Philippines where he served in both urban and rural parishes. In 1961, he was appointed to the Organising Department in St. Joseph’s College, Freshford, but his stay was a short one as in the following year he was sent to the USA where he did promotion and vocation work in Los Angeles and in St. Louis.

He was appointed back to the Philippines in 1969, but as his visa was delayed, he was able to spend time with his mother who was seriously ill. Arriving in the Philippines in 1970, he was sent to the parish of Barbaza in Antique Province; he spent six very fulfilling years there and built a beautiful parish church which was described as ‘a gem, architecturally and liturgically’. He was re-appointed to the USA in 1976 and served as Rector in St. Louis for six years. After major heart surgery and a sabbatical, he was appointed as chaplain in Jacobi Hospital, the Bronx, New York, where he ministered for five years. In 1991 he was appointed to

Kilkenny and was editor of St. Joseph’s Advocate until 1997; he then worked in mission promotion until he retired to St. Joseph’s House in 2007. In the past few years, as his health declined, Larry was rather silent, but always had a word of welcome for visitors; he moved to the Holy Family Residence (Nursing Home), Dundrum, early in 2015 as his need for care increased.

Fr. Larry showed great commitment to the Society and was ever responsive to any task that he was asked to do. He had a love for Irish music, was a keen photographer, and was an avid reader of books on spiritual themes.

Fr. Larry received the Sacrament of the Sick in the early afternoon of Sunday, 10th July; two of his nieces and two members of the St. Joseph’s House community were with him during the afternoon. He died peacefully in the early evening. His Funeral Mass was on Wedneday July the 13th, in St. Joseph’s House; it was attended by his remaining sister, Elizabeth, and many family and Society members. Fr. Larry was buried in the new plot in Bohernabreena cemetery. After a lifetime of achievement may he rest in eternal peace.

(Fr. Maurice McGill, mhm) 15

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Obituary List (Winter 2016 - up to and including 1/9/2016)

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on the souls of: Fr. Larry English, MHM Eileen Ganly, mother of the late Fr. Liam Ganly, MHM. Joan Gogarty, sister of Fr. Terence Gogarty, MHM

Perpetual Members: Joyce O’Reilly Members: Sr Kathleen Durkan, Sr Irene Lowther, Anne Buggy, Mary Butler, Malachy Campbell, Frances Conboy, Breda Condron, Eamon Condron, Bobby Connolly, Michael Coroon,

Tim Heenan, Bridget Laffey, Thomas Madden, Annie Miller, Eugene J McGrohan, John McMahon, Lily O’Connell, Bridget Redican, John Joe Redican, Mary Smith.

Please Remember the Missions in your will I bequeath to St Joseph’s Society for the Missions Inc, (Mill Hill Missionaries), Waterford Road, Kilkenny, 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 for the time being of St Joseph’s Society, Waterford Road, Kilkenny, shall be a sufficient discharge of the same.

Please Note: We regret that we have fewer pages in the Winter Issue of the Advocate; this is due to changes in the postage rate for sending the Advocate and Calendar together. The other Issues (Spring and Autumn) will not be affected.

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• • • • •

It keeps all our friends and supporters in touch with our missionary work.

It promotes devotion to St. Joseph - our patron and protector.

It is published from our house in Kilkenny. 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. Most 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: Fr. Director, Mill Hill Missionaries, Waterford Road, Kilkenny.

I enclose e10 for: (Please tick)

r New Membership 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.

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