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No 4 • May 2019 Published eight times per year
© Ismael Martínez Sánchez/ACN
www.acnmalta.org “It was the hardest and most beautiful journey of my life. The hardship is already almost forgotten – the burning heat, the murderous roads, our Jeep stuck fast in the water, an improvised sea journey, the rocket fire in Saigon… But the beauty remains – heroic priests, rocklike faith, courageous seminarians, Mother Teresa, grateful missionaries, the young child saved, thanks to your help.” Father Werenfried van Straaten, recalling a missionary journey in 1973
It must surely have seemed like an impossible mission when, after his resurrection, Jesus sent his apostles out into all the world to proclaim the Gospel to all men. For what must then have seemed quite beyond them, given the lack of modern communication, technology and modes of travel, was achieved by the Holy Spirit through his own power. Today we have innumerable technological means of communication available to us. With our technical resources, mass media and air travel, we can reach the remotest corners of the world with the message of Christ in hours or even seconds. However, all this is to no avail if we lack the motivating power of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, our “first mission” is an invisible and entirely spiritual one. It is this: “Remain in me; then you will bear much fruit” (cf Jn 15:5). This “first mission” is something we can only achieve in silence, in the personal encounter with God. Mother Teresa writes in her spiritual testament, “I am concerned, because some of you have not yet truly
Father Pedro, travelling up the Amazon on the “Padre Werenfried”.
encountered Jesus – face to face – just you and Jesus. Have you truly perceived, with the eyes of your soul, with what great love He gazes upon you? Unless you hear Jesus speaking in the stillness of your heart, you cannot hear Him saying to you in the hearts of the poor: ‘I thirst’.”
Dear friends, not everyone has the vocation to travel to foreign lands and proclaim the Gospel publicly. However, the universal mission of the Church is impossible without the underlying mission of prayer and unity, to which we are all called. Hence, the missionary is not alone, for his mission is borne by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The “second mission” also has something of a hidden character, for it takes place
There is no more noble a goal in life than to bring redemption to all nations. Hence, your donations not only “The universal mission of serve a useful purpose but also the Church is impossible help bear fruit for eternity. For without the mission of they carry within them the power of your prayer and your prayer and unity.” love. This is something we owe within our families and communities, one another (cf Romans 13:8). What gift can among our circles of friends, our acquain- be greater than the power to pass on the tances, our school friends or work col- gift of eternal life? Thus, the quintessence leagues, in the places where we live and of love, the goal of all mission is this: “I want work. It consists in the striving for mutual you to never die; I want you to live!” love, reconciliation and unity. Again, this is what Jesus prays to the Father: “May they With my grateful blessing on you all be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me…” (cf Jn 17:21). Only this unity can give us the strength and the necessary credibility for our “third mission”: that of proclaiming the Gospel to all Father Martin Maria Barta the world. Ecclesiastical Assistant 1
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ion ngelisat a v E w e The N
Until the church is built, Father Henryk must continue to celebrate Holy Mass in the open air.
Faithful through time The profoundest truth of the Gospel is this: God is our Father, and we are his children. This thought from Pope St John Paul II belongs at the beginning of every work of mission and new evangelisation. In Eastern Europe, above all in the region of the former Soviet Union, people need to be made aware once again of this and other such fundamental truths of faith and love. In his new parish, not quite two years old, in Hrodna, Belarus, Father Henryk Jablonski is starting with the young families with children.
Blessed by unconditional love: a new beginning for couples during the retreat in Ukraine. 2
They are being drawn in from the countryside, into the city outskirts, close to where there is work and schools. His parish, named after St John Paul II, is currently in the process of building a parish centre with a large chapel and small flat for the priest, so for the time being Sunday Mass is usually celebrated in the open air, while the catechetical sessions take place in the family homes. Father Henrik himself is living for the time being in a room in a tower block some 10 km away from his parish. Every day he travels to the hospital to celebrate Holy Mass and visit the sick. Often he also helps out in neighbouring parishes. He regularly travels to Poland to raise money for the church and for a car. But it is still not enough. And the young families are poor, and the sick and elderly are happy simply to be able to get by somehow. The new evangelisation can be a challenging task. We have promised him €10,000 for a car. In Ukraine the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are also working in support
of the new evangelisation. They organise catechesis with the young people, offer pastoral care in the workplace, visit children’s and old people’s homes, offer retreats for adults – in short, an all-round programme. One particular problem for the families is when one, or even both, of the parents goes abroad to work, thereby dividing the family. Months of separation like this can burden the relationship, and doubts can creep in. To walk faithfully through time is the name of love, according to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Not all couples hold out against the inevitable temptations. When this happens, strength is needed to forgive. What sounds so simple can be extremely difficult in practice. Through their retreats for married couples, the Sisters are striving to help the spouses to find this strength. Ultimately, it is the strength of trust in God. “If we accept that God’s love is unconditional, …. then we will become capable of showing boundless love and forgiving others”, writes Pope Francis in “Amoris Laetitia”. Sometimes, however, it is simply the daily routine, the absence of romance in life, the bad habits that creep in, the lack of communication and the living without thinking about God that can burden a relationship. The Sisters have asked our help (€4,000) for their retreats, so that they can help couples to make a new beginning in their marriage, find the grace of loving forgiveness and a new dawn of love for themselves and their children.
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t anspor r t l a r o Past
Little miracles for the fishers of men left: the Magnificat before the storm right: after the accident and repairs in the dockyard
Duc in altum! “Put out into the deep!” (Lk 5:4). Christ does not demand the exceptional, still less the impossible, in order for miracles to happen. However, he does demand faith and sometimes a little effort. In the diocese of Lisala, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the catechists and missionaries regularly travel down the broad Congo River in an old river boat called the Magnificat in order to reach the communities on the banks and riverine islands.
“And he taught them from the boat” (cf. Lk 5:3): Bishop Ernest Ngboko on one of the islands on the River Congo.
Last autumn on such a journey, a sudden squall, as on Lake Genasereth, tossed the boat about violently. Driven by the wind, it veered off course and hit a tree on the bank. A large branch went straight through
the stern, causing the hold to fill with water and the boat to capsize. Miraculously, no one was hurt but the Magnificat was unable to go any further. Despite Bishop Ernest Ngboko Ngombe’s best efforts, the boat’s recovery and repair swallowed up the last of the diocese’s financial reserves. Now the faithful are hoping for another miracle – in the form of our help. The diocese needs this boat. Bishop Ernest is asking for €8,700, so that the Magnificat can once again sail forth with its “fishers of men” aboard.
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Doubling their impact “Go into all the world…” (Mk 16:50): Christ’s mission to the disciples. All the world – especially Burkina Faso, where Christ’s poorest live. The Sisters of Annunciation of Bobo, a local congregation, work here caring first and foremost for women and girls. The town of Orodara, in the Bobo-Dioulasso archdiocese, lies in a mountain valley and many of its 12,000 or so Christians live in the surrounding remote mountain villages. Three lar
of the Sisters work in the youth apostolate here whilst also visiting the sick and elderly, with one moped between them. Now Mother Lea Belemsaga is asking for a second moped so the Sisters can bring Christ’s love to twice as many people. It will lend wings to their proclamation of the Gospel. Imagine doubling their missionary impact for just €2,000 – how about that for an incentive!
projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.
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Help lend wings to their mission: Sister Josephine, on their one and only moped. 3
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Albania
Coming close to God: catechism and prayer session with Padre Rolando.
“Ask only about his pain” In her private diary, Mother Teresa writes: “Once, I was speaking with a priest about the kind of friendships that can take us away from God. He confessed to me: ‘Mother, for me Jesus is everything. I have neither time nor space for any other friendships.’ For me this was the explanation why this particular priest had brought so many people to God. He was always united with Him.”
Looking to his future: an orphan in one of Don Orione’s vocational workshops. 4
this: “Do not ask who he is, what he is, or what he believes. Ask only about his pain.” In this spirit he founded orphanages and vocational schools. For he knew that the future of the young and abandoned depends on how and what we teach them. Inspired by this same spirit, and for over 20 years now, the congregation of Don Orione has been running mission stations for hundreds of Catholic families in Bardhaj, at the foot of the mountains in the diocese of ©Archivio Don Orione - Roma
©Archivio Don Orione - Roma
This is the secret of the saints. They are always closely united to God. Filled with the spirit of this relationship, they are able to perform works of mercy. Don Luigi Orione, the founder of the “Little Work of Divine Providence” (“Piccola Opera della Divina Provvidenza”), was, in the words of Pope John Paul I, “a strategist of mercy”. He himself saw himself as the “servant of Divine Providence”. He did not ask many questions, but simply acted. His guiding motto was
Canonised 15 years ago: Don Luigi Orione, the founder of the “Little Work of Divine Providence”.
Shkodra, in northern Albania. After the collapse of the Communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, they had emerged from the craggy mountain villages, where they had hidden away from the tyranny of the atheist regime, and come down into the valleys – in rags and tatters, emaciated, but with God in their hearts. Today three missionaries, Don Rolando, Don Dorian and Don Giuseppe, care for these four thousand or so souls. They also run four other mission stations in the mountain regions, all of them inaccessible without an all-terrain vehicle. “We travel around 400 km (250 miles) a week”, they tell us. They do not ask questions, they act. They ease the bodily pain with medication, still the thirst for God with catechesis, the physical hunger with bread, and the spiritual longing with prayer. They bring God to the people and the people to God. Roughly 60% of Albania’s close on 3 million inhabitants are Muslims. Catholics make up around 10%. They have maintained their faith throughout the decades of atheist dictatorship. And one of them, of course, was Mother Teresa, who at an early age travelled to India. Many of these Catholics hardly know their catechism. But, up in their mountain villages, they eagerly look forward to the visits of Padres Rolando, Dorian and Giuseppe. However, when they are late – since the roads here are really barely worthy of the name – they begin to fear that the old Jeep has broken down again, as it has so often in recent years. For without a vehicle, the mission and its work would grind almost to a standstill, and that would be painful for everyone. We have promised them €14,000 for a new vehicle.
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Benin
Patrons of the school: Mgr. Roger Houngbédji, Archbishop of Cotonou, and Père Daniel Ange, the founder of the Jeunesse Lumière.
A beacon of humanity As many popes and saints have told us, whoever wants to change the world must first start with his own heart. For it is in the heart that our real life decisions are made; the heart is the true place of faith. Scripture similarly sees godlessness not as a matter of the intellect, but of the heart. “The fool says in his heart, there is no God”, as Psalm 14 tells us.
Pupils and their teacher: joy and light for the young people of Africa.
Father Cyrille Miyigbena shows ACN’s Christine du Coudray-Wiehe a model of the new school. lar
Wisdom of heart is not something we learn, like mathematics. It is a question of the inner life. This is why the one-year formation course for young people aged 18 to 30 at the Jeunesse Bonheur School in Cotonou, Benin, rests on the four pillars of contemplation, education, community and mission. It is the first school of its kind in Africa and is based on the principles behind the Jeunesse Lumière Mission school, originally founded in France by Father Daniel Ange. The idea is that by the witness of their lives, these young people should become prophets for their own generation. For Father Cyrille Miyigbena, the head of the school, it is above all a programme of humanity. “You can learn anything”, he says: “joy, a smile, respect for others, punctuality, love for work well done, justice, a sense of community, cleanliness, tidiness, patience, forgiveness, self-control – in short, all the virtues the lack of which is so painfully obvious in today’s society. All these things are learnt in the school of Christ, the true Master
projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.
Angelica, one of the first students: with a deeper understanding of the value of marriage and family.
of the interior life.” Consequently, it is hoped the young people graduating from this school will take these virtues into society, through their Christian way of life. At the end of her year in Cotonou, Vicentia is firmly convinced. “I have realised that by abandoning ourselves totally to the spirit of love, we can come to see other people as a gift of God, with all their strengths and limitations.” Fabrice now sees their mission in the following light: “Just as a scientific experiment proves the validity of a thesis, so our mission testifies to the truth of the Gospel. Without this testimony, the Christian is lacking an essential dimension.” The fruits of the school are self-evident. Just three years after opening its doors to students, the school has seen 12 young men enter the seminary, whilst five others have discerned vocations to religious life and a number of others now work in various dioceses across the country. The school is growing at such a rate it needs to relocate and is now set to leave the minor seminary in Cotonou. Young people from Malawi, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali and Ivory Coast are already applying for places. The school has become a beacon of humanity for Africa. The land is available and the plans are also ready. Now they need help, so they can begin building. We have promised €50,000.
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Moving hearts to missionary love Their guardian angels were surely working hard... In the diocese of Matanzas, Cuba, the driver of the minibus carrying the Sisters of the Servants of Mary had a stroke, lost consciousness and collided with a lorry. The driver survived, the bus suffered only superficial, though extensive, damage. But there is no car insurance in Cuba – and the Sisters urgently needed the minibus for their work with the sick. They even drive out at night to care for their patients, and on Sundays and Holy days they transport the sick and elderly to Holy Mass. But they had no money to pay for the repairs. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to help. Sister Brunilda sends her heartfelt thanks to all involved in this “wonderful charity, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who moves your hearts to missionary love”. She adds, “Without your help, we could not keep going here.” And still less care for the poorest and most needy.
Need, love and thanks − your letters Right to the end I was delighted to receive the birthday card from ACN. My heartfelt thanks to you all for your kind wishes and prayers. I am 83 years old now, but I promise you that ACN can always count on me, just as long as I live! A benefactor in Switzerland Little sacrifices, for other children This donation comes from Timothée (aged 6 ½), who has decided to turn on the lights only when necessary, use water very sparingly and save on heating, so that he can save up a little money to share with the children in Syria. He says: “Sometimes, when I don’t want to, I think of the children. That helps me.” A family in France Persecuted Christians – saints of today Many thanks for your letter. For some years now I have been concerned about the sufferings of persecuted and oppressed Christians,
and so I was very pleased to hear that your charity is active in Slovakia and keeps Christians in our country informed about this topic. I think it is important for more people to realise just how many Christians are suffering today because Jesus matters more to them than their own life. For me they are heroes – saints of today. Who knows if we would have the courage, when put under pressure, to witness to Christ? May God bless you! A benefactor in Slovakia
The Church – still walking with Jesus ACN’s work is inspiring. It is about loving God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves. Many people criticise the Church or no longer believe in it, but ACN is the living proof that the Church is still walking with Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit himself is guiding you. A volunteer helper in Brazil
Thomas Heine-Geldern, Executive President, ACN (International)
Dear Friends,
It is very much a part of the living tradition of our charity to help those priests, religious and laity who work above all for the spread of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by providing them with motor vehicles and means of transport of various kinds. This represents a sensible form of material aid that actually makes it possible in the first place to reach those who have not yet been touched by or have barely heard the Gospel. We need only think of the rucksack priests sent out on their motorbikes by Father Werenfried, or of the chapel trucks and chapel boats, the “Flotilla for God”. Today – thanks to your generosity, dear benefactors – we can help, with cars, bicycles and boats, to ensure that the appeal of the Holy Father to go out in mission to the remotest regions can actually be responded to. In post war Germany, Hans von Lehndorff, a Protestant doctor working with the refugees, wrote a hymn with the following line: “Those who live secure, forget that they are still journeying.” Please continue to help us, so that we can support all those in the pastoral ministry, as they journey out to all those who are not yet on their journey. Thank you for your prayers, your wonderful support and your understanding.
Editors: Jürgen Liminski & Stephen Axisa Please use the envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 39B Mdina Road, Publisher: Aid to the Church in Need, 39B Mdina Road, Attard ATD 9038 Attard ATD 9038; Tel: 21487818; Fax: 21586257 APS Bank, IBAN: MT72 APSB 7705 7008 5772 2000 1771 733 Printed in Malta BIC: APSBMTMT De licentia competentis auctoritatis Email: info@acnmalta.org – facebook//Aid to the Church in Need Malta ecclesiasticae Pass this leaflet on to your neighbours, friends or leave it at the Parish www.acnmalta.org Church for others to review.
Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need
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