Aug 4, 2021
Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 2021
Our annual Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a beautiful time of reflection and thanksgiving, when we bring our prayers and petitions before Our Lady.
Our Novena of Masses runs for nine days and will take place from Tuesday, August 31st to Wednesday, September 8th.
All are welcome to join in the Novena by watching our daily Masses live from the Sacred Heart Church in Cork. These Novena Masses will take place daily at 10.00am and 7.30pm.
Please note that this year’s Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will be streamed online only, due to ongoing COVID-19 government restrictions.
Be part of this year’s Novena to the Sacred Heart
At this special time of year, you can help us to help others by supporting our ongoing mission projects, and in gratitude for your contribution, we will be glad to remember your intentions at our daily Novena Masses. You can then submit your personal prayers and intentions online, and our MSC priests will remember your petitions specially throughout the course of the Novena.
The theme of year’s Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will be “Hope of the Hopeless”, and it will be celebrated by Fr Paul Clayton-Lea.
Fr Paul is a priest of the Archdiocese of Armagh, who has enjoyed a wide and varied ministry to date and is currently the priest in residence in the parish of Termonfeckin, Co. Louth. Having studied Education and Family Ministry at Fordham University in New York in 1988, he also ministered in the Riverdale area of the Bronx at the time, and has since served as a teacher of politics and religion, a college chaplain at DKIT, a Diocesan Advisor for Religious Education, and a parish priest. Author of In The Light Of The Word: Family Life Through The Lens Of Scripture, which was published by Veritas in 2018, Fr Paul is also about to resume his position as editor of Intercom, the monthly magazine of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. We very much look forward to welcoming Fr Paul to the Sacred Heart Church as we celebrate this year’s Novena together.
Each year, the Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart offers great solace and comfort, as we bring our intentions before our Holy Mother. The past year and a half has brought with it enormous challenges, and now, we look to the future with renewed hope; all are very welcome to join us online for our Novena Masses as we come together to reflect and give thanks in the grace and love of Our Lady.
OLSH Novena at the Sacred Heart Church, Western Road, Cork
Daily Novena Masses: 10.00am & 7.30pm
Day of Reconciliation: Friday, September 3rd
Day for the Dead: Monday, September 6th
Day of Healing: Tuesday, September 7th
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Thursday, September 9th (10.00am – 2.00pm)
All are very welcome to join us for our daily online Novena Masses on our live stream. While we continue to be restricted in our ability to pray together in person, we remain ever united in spirit as part of our great family of faith.
We welcome each and every one of you to this year’s Novena to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
We hope and pray that these nine days of prayer will be a grace-filled and blessed time for all of us.
TAKE PART IN OUR 2021 OLSH NOVENA
Jul 29, 2021
Welcome to the Summer 2021 edition of the MSC Message!
This summer’s edition of the MSC Message is a slightly different one, as we share just some of the ways in which our MSCs have been working to provide COVID relief aid around the world.
• Read a special message from Fr Michael O’Connell MSC, Director of the MSC Missions Office.
• Find out more about the ways in which MSCs are protecting lives from COVID-19 in India, with reports from Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC, Regional Superior in Bangalore.
• Read about MSC COVID outreach in Brazil, from the distribution of basic care packages to the provision of safe and secure housing for families who have lost their homes.
• Learn more about MSC COVID relief aid in the Philippines, where communities are struggling desperately to fight the pandemic in the wake of appalling typhoons.
• Meet the new MSC Vocations team.
• Read a message from Bro Giacomo Gelardi MSC, who has been ministering throughout the pandemic in Killinarden, Dublin, an area already plagued by issues such as violence and drug and alcohol abuse.
Read the MSC Message Summer 2021
Jul 29, 2021
The MSC Mission Office in the Philippines is currently raising funds to coordinate a mission outreach programme for families who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, millions of people in the Philippines have lost their jobs and livelihoods, and have been relying on government assistance and charitable donations. This is of particular concern in areas where poverty has long been a pressing issue, where families were already living hand-to-mouth and were struggling to put food on the table. Now, with a second wave of COVID-19 wreaking further havoc across the Philippines, many families have the very real worry of how they are going to feed their children, as well as the overwhelming fear and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus threat.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected so many lives of Filipino people,” writes Fr Samuel Patriarca MSC. “Millions have lost their jobs and businesses, which lead to a great impact in the livelihood and food system of the country. Food security is one of the main adversities that every Filipino has been dealing since the start of the pandemic. As the country is on verge of the second wave of COVID-19, more and more people become hungry and most of them rely on relief drives organised by the government and other civic organisations.”
The MSC Mission Office in the Philippines has been providing relief assistance where possible since the pandemic took hold, providing food and essential items to families in need. Their next mission outreach programme, which they aim to run this summer, will see relief distributions to 3,000 families across three of the most badly affected areas in the country: Luzon (Sta. Quiteria and Caloocan), Visayas (Camotes Island and Cebu), and Mindanao (Butuan and Agusan del Norte).
Each relief pack will provide food and basic items that will act as a lifeline to these families, at a cost of 500 Philippine pesos – approximately €8.50 – per pack.
Just €8.50 will provide an emergency relief pack
for a family in the Philippines. Can you help?
“We hope that through this project, we will be able to help the most vulnerable sectors of the society, the poor.”
– Fr Samuel Patriarca MSC
Director of the MSC Mission Office in the Philippines
PLEASE SUPPORT MSC COVID-19 RELIEF IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jul 29, 2021
The coronavirus has torn through Brazil, where the death toll of half a million people was the second-highest in the world in June 2021. With the situation labelled as “critical”, the pandemic continues to have a devastating effect on health, employment, and social and financial security – and our MSCs across Brazil are doing their best to help those who need it most.
Distributing care packages in Muriaé
The São Paulo Social Work Project is based in the city of Muriaé, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where MSC missionaries help the poorest people every day. The project works daily on two main purposes: The provision of essential medicines which are expensive, or unavailable via public health services, and the distribution of food baskets, containing basic necessities.
In addition to food and medicine, the project also provides families in need with nappies for young children, and hygiene and cleaning products, which are more crucial than ever in the current pandemic.
The São Paulo Social Work Project is funded by donations from local people, and additional resources made available by the parish. The distribution of food, hygiene products, and medicine takes place from the project’s head office, or care packs are sent by volunteers to the homes of those who are unable to collect them in person.
The monthly cost of the project is estimated at approximately €770. This currently provides food baskets for around 80 families every month, along with the distribution of over 200 medicines monthly.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, requests for help from the São Paulo Social Work Project have increased significantly, as many people in the region find themselves unemployed and without the means to support their families. MSCs in the region are currently trying to raise funds for a year’s worth of relief aid, amounting to €9,240 in total.
Just €9.60 will provide food, medication, and cleaning products for a family in Muriaé for a month.
A donation of €115.50 will give that family these necessities for a year.
A contribution of €9.60 will provide food, medication & cleaning products for a family in Muriaé for a month.
Sowing seeds for the future in Rio de Janeiro
The São Francisco de Assis Social Work Project was founded by MSCs in São Gonçalo-RJ, Brazil, in March 1988. The project originally began with the establishment of a community crèche to help single mothers and their children, before the implemention of a larger-scale project in 2005, which aimed to support disadvantaged parents and children in the area, providing opportunities for personal development and professional qualifications. With the help of this programme, single parents and vulnerable families have been able to work towards gaining education, qualifications, and paid work, all with the aim of providing independence, dignity, and an improved quality of life.
The São Francisco de Assis Project are now raising funds to help vulnerable families in Rio de Janeiro in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Their latest project, named The Desert Also Produces Flowers, will focus on:
- Promoting health and wellbeing following the pandemic, with specific attention on women’s health.
- Working with the local community employment centre to run workshops for people who are lacking in the necessary skills to find employment. These workshops will include computer skills, caregiving for the elderly and infirm, sewing and clothing production, and beauty courses.
- Developing and running educational courses to help people in financial difficulty to gain qualifications, prepare for the world of work, and improve their quality of life in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.
The Obra Comunitária São Francisco de Assis are working to raise a total of €2,900 in order to be able to fund this new community programme, which will run for a period of 10 months.
Can you help to give a family in Brazil a second chance?
A focus on family in Pinheirinho
The ongoing plague of the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing problems of violence, marginalisation, and poverty in the area of Pinheirinho, in the city of Curitiba, and MSCs in the region are working to help vulnerable families who are struggling with a lack of facilities, a lack of support, and often, a lack of the most basic necessities.
The Projeto Família Viva, or the Living Family Project, hosts weekly meetings for 120 families in the area, with talks on themes such as addiction, health, family values, and spirituality. Monthly meetings also promote self-help, with particular emphasis on support for those struggling with alcoholism, or with family members who are dependent on alcohol.
Home visits are carried out by volunteers, who provide help and offer much-needed social interaction to those who are alone. Workshops are also held, teaching skills including knitting, embroidery, painting, and making clothes and rugs. Monthly bazaars are held to sell the products made during craft workshops, with all funds raised diverted back into the project.
The ministry provided by the Projeto Família Viva is invaluable; in addition, the group supply essential care packages to families in need every month, containing food, medicine, and basic necessities. MSCs in Pinheirinho are working to raise funds to continue the work of the Projeto Família Viva, and the provision of essential items to families who have been left without the means to support themselves as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
A donation of just €19 will provide a monthly care package for a family in need in Pinheirinho.
Can you provide a Brazilian family with this lifeline?
Just €19 will provide a monthly care package
for a family in need in Pinheirinho.
Providing a safe haven in Minas Gerais
The Pró-Moradia Housing Project was founded by Fr Tiago Prins MSC in 1992, in Muriaé, Minas Gerais, a region of Rio de Janeiro that is significantly affected by poverty. Fr Tiago developed this project with the aim of being able to give low-income families access to safe, secure, and comfortable housing.
Sadly, the number of people living on the streets in Rio de Janeiro is increasing rapidly due to the harsh rise in unemployment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by the lack of support from the Brazilian government.
Each house costs approximately €1,600 to build, and the houses themselves are built on a volunteer basis by their future residents. MSCs in Muriaé are appealing for the funds to build 10 new houses, to help those families who have lost their livelihoods and their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For €1,600, a displaced family in Brazil will have a new home. Can you help?
For €1,600, a family in Brazil will have a safe home.
Can you make a difference?
PLEASE SUPPORT MSC COVID AID IN BRAZIL
Jul 29, 2021
It has been impossible to avoid news reports of the horrific effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Harrowing images of overcrowded hospitals and mass open-air cremations have appeared in our newspapers and on our television screens. The disease has run rampant throughout the country, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. MSCs in India have been doing their very best to help those in desperate need; however, it is often a case of trying to do an awful lot with very little.
“In India, the situation has become worse,” writes Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC, Regional Superior in Bangalore. “In many areas, daily life has come to a halt.”
The Indian government has put in place an ongoing lockdown with an advisory to stay at home, and so many people, including daily-wage labourers, have lost their livelihoods. They now have no income at all and are locked in a serious struggle to meet their daily needs.
MSCs in India have been providing a rapid response programme to ensure that those in need have essential relief supplies, including dry rations and basic hygiene necessities.
To date, the MSC Mission Office in India have provided help with:
- Food for daily-wage workers who have lost their income.
- Groceries and dry-ration supplies for poor families and migrant workers in Bangalore City and beyond.
- Dry-ration relief supplies for rural parishes ministered to by MSCs.
- Food and provisions for widows and elderly women.
- Medical assistance for COVID-19 patients.
- Dry-ration supplies for school staff at the Chevalier Academy. The school caters for students in a rural parish, where poverty is rife. The school has not been able to function properly during the COVID pandemic, and so the staff have been out of work, without pay. The MSC Indian Mission Office have supported 57 teachers and staff members with food and essential provisions.
- Distribution of hand wash, face masks, and sanitiser for residents of homes for the elderly, along with nutritional food such as eggs, buttermilk, and Ragi, a whole-grain which is rich in fibre, calcium, and Vitamin D.
“We have helped those affected by the pandemic in whatever way we could help,” writes Fr Darwin. “While adhering to all safety and hygiene measures, we began our relief service by providing a meal or packed grocery kits to the marginalised and the low-income segment of our society, which is largely made up of daily-wage workers, migrant labourers, construction site workers, and needy people at old-age homes and night shelters in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.”
“We want to continue to help people during this ongoing lockdown situation,” says Fr Darwin. “We want to provide them with food and other provisions as much as we can. But due to a lack of funds, we have not been able continue our service for the people.”
“These are unprecedented times and we are a close-knit community in the Heart of Jesus. We would greatly appreciate it if you will help us to fight against this pandemic with whatever you can.”
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have carried out COVID relief for those in need with dry rations, medical aid, and educational help for disadvantaged children. Unfortunately, we have not been able to continue our relief work due to a lack of funds.
It would be a great blessing for the poor people if you would help us to help them.
Together, we are stronger. Together, we can overcome.
Big or small, every effort counts and it will all have a great impact on someone’s life.
Individually, we are just one drop.
Together, we are an ocean.
– Fr Darwin Thatheus MSC
Regional Superior in Bangalore
Can you help our MSCs to protect lives in India?
PLEASE SUPPORT MSC COVID-19 RELIEF IN INDIA
Jul 29, 2021
Fr Gerwin Mendoza Lumanglas MSC, of the Philippine Province, professed his final vows to become a Missionary of the Sacred Heart in May of this year, while being treated in hospital for pneumonia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In his own words, he shares his story, travelling from the brink of death to a hopeful, faith-filled future.
Final Vows: In God’s Hand
“I am Gerwin Mendoza Lumanglas, MSC of the Philippine Province, 37 years old, presently assigned to the Chevalier School, Angeles City Pampanga, Philippines, as a Campus Ministry Officer. I joined the MSC in 2013 and made my First Profession on June 2nd 2016.
I have encountered many challenges in my journey as an MSC. The most recent one was on May 3rd 2021. I was brought to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. My blood count level went down to the lowest. My haemoglobin was only 5. The normal level is 140 – 175. My platelet was only 7. The normal level is 150 – 400. I was at the brim of death.”
“Yes, miracles happen!”
“On May 12th 2021, while at my hospital bed, I professed my vows for life of obedience in fraternal charity, consecrated celibacy, and evangelical poverty in the MSC Society. Dedicating myself to God and the Society of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart while in the four corners of my room in the hospital was very memorable for me. I was very alive and happy to utter the words of my commitment to the Society in front of my Provincial Superior, Fr Bogey Cabrera MSC, together with my witnesses, the Rector of the Chevalier School Fr Ben Roquero MSC, and our Chevalier School secretary, CFLA member Mr Lamberto Arcilla II.
Yes, miracles happen! God works mysteriously. I was terrified and helpless at that moment, but instead of losing hope, I placed my complete trust and faith in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and fervently asked for the intercession of our Father Founder – Jules Chevalier. Now, I feel okay and vibrant, although I have to submit to chemotherapy sessions to ensure complete recovery.”
“Thanks for the Love and Mercy of God. Everything happens with a purpose. I know that I have still a mission to fulfil and that is ‘to be the heart of Jesus here on earth’. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere, now and forever. Amen.”
Fr Gerwin Mendoza MSC
(Province of Philippines)
Images courtesy of the MSC General Bulletin (June 2021) and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Australia website
