by Michele Sinnott Ireland 20.03.23
Editor’s Note: Michèle Sinnott works as a Spiritual Director/Companion, in Bereavement Support, Meditation and Retreat Facilitation. She writes Reflective pieces and has a Contemplative, Earth-based Spirituality.
The image that I have carried with me over these recent days, is that of The Well in last Sunday’s Gospel story, about the Samaritan woman who encounters Jesus at Jacobs Well. The woman comes to fill her bucket with water from the well at the very hottest time of the day, as she doesn’t want to bump into any other person there. However, she unexpectedly meets Jesus, who has stopped to rest alone…to rehydrate with a drink from The Source. What follows is a brief conversation between them, which opens the sense within Jesus that, really, she has a deeper thirst that needs to be quenched…And so, rather than filling her bucket, he wants her to fill Her Own Well with something she didn’t know she was searching for – Living Water…
Her Own Well had run dry…and was clearly in need of replenishing…
Isn’t that true for us all at different times along the way?
Our Own Personal Inner Wells can become empty and in need of replenishing…
When we have become depleted of all that nourishes and sustains us,
· What really has become empty?
· How has this happened?
· What needs to be refilled?
· What is it we need?
· How do we set about replenishing The Deeper Space Within?
· From where do we seek Our Source?
At times, Our Personal Inner Wells can become depleted for any number of reasons…
Sometimes, by an endless demand upon us…a too-free pouring out of ourselves, combined, possibly, with a lack of life-giving opportunities, to help us to recharge…
So often we’ve heard, if not maybe even engaged the phrase “running on empty” ourselves… It’s impossible to last that pace, isn’t it, without having to embrace the reality of the absolute need to allow ourselves to STOP again, to re-evaluate what is needed?
Refilling our Empty Interior Places, with consistency, sometimes needs to take priority, instead of trying to live through days and nights, below the danger levels….
“Running on empty” and living with the dryness of Our Personal Inner Well…simply put, are not comfortable places to be for any of us, no matter how it might appear…
We always have a choice…
On the one hand, to choose to fill our emptiness with that which is healthy and life-giving…
Or, on the other hand, to indulge in unhealthy and life-draining means…
This week, I invite you to STOP, come off The Busy Road of Life for a while and consciously take time to visit The Well of Your Being…
Look into The Well of Your Own Interior Self …
Become a witness what you might find there, just like Jesus became The Witness to the deeper needs of that Chosen Samaritan woman…
• What might you notice?
• What might you discover?
• How might you begin to tend to The Interior Well of Self-Care and Spiritual Well-Being, in a way that can help you to become replenished again with life-giving energy?
• And where might God’s Sacred Energy be in all of this for you?
• Can you or can I, honestly and kindly allow ourselves time to fill Our Interior Wells, with True Rest and Presence in God, in our own unique and meaningful ways?
We cannot pour from a cup that is already empty…
We cannot live with ease in a Well that has run dry…
How might we embrace the thoughts of these lines and turn them into learnings for Our Own Personal and Spiritual Interior Wells, so that each of us can live, not from a place of Shallowness, but from a Well of Abundant Depth?
Dip in…
Drop down…
Draw up…
Replenish…
Refill…
Blessing you with these simple, yet profound ponderings…
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Editor Note: In the life of a missionary not everything is upbeat. Sometimes you feel impotent when faced with some situations. Sr. Ese’s story below reminds us of this.
by Sr. Ese Idogen MMM Nigeria/Angola 16.03.2023
I don’t feel too good today. I remember my little friend Miguel. He is just 6 months old; he has a beautiful smile with such nice dimples. Whenever you tickle his nose, even if he had been crying, he will begin to laugh. It is always lovely to see and to hear him laugh. Sounds beautiful right? Yes, he is! I am sure you are wondering where the story is leading. I will tell you.
Miguel isn’t really one of the ‘lucky ones’. He was born into a poor home. His mother, Maria, is vulnerable. She has a problem understanding things and it seems she always has a runny nose.
Despite her vulnerabilities, how she always remembers to bring Miguel for his vaccination when due is still a mystery to me. When it comes to vaccination for her children, she is a perfect example of a good mother.
The last time she visited, she came in her usual way; struggling to carry Miguel on one hand and a big bag on the other. But something was different about this visit. The way she handled Miguel was different, the usual big grin you see on her face was missing.
Maria sat behind, as she usually does. She kept moving her body as if she wanted me to notice her, and I did. Clearly, she was distressed. I went over to her and I struggled to communicate with her in Portuguese “Mãe, Tudo Bem?” (All well?). She could not say a word. She took me inside away from the other women. She made gestures with her hands, removed her wrapper that already was almost falling and showed me her stomach.
I bet you are thinking the same thing as I thought. “Oh, could there be another little one on the way?’’ I said to myself as I kept struggling to make meaning from the gestures she made. I asked her if she could explain to my colleague as she will understand better. She had no problem talking to her so I invited my colleague. We struggled between trying to make meaning from her words to hearing her low toned voice and then following the gestures she was making. My colleague finally asked her “Are you pregnant”? And Maria slowly nodded her head. I looked at Miguel who was clearly malnourished, I looked at the mother and then I looked at the little one we are expecting and her words that followed, broke my heart. ‘’Please take Miguel, make him yours. I am offering him to you. I am not able to take care of him along with the children I already have in the house” and then she added “Vou morrer” (that is to say “else, I will die”).
Yes, the clinic is really hectic. We asked her to come along with her husband so we have a conversation and know how best we can help. But for some weeks now, I haven’t seen Miguel or Maria. The last time I tried to find out from the staff that lives close to them, “they seem to be fine” I was told.
I still look forward to seeing Miguel and Maria and I hope to visit them soon. Until then, I just keep them in my prayers, and I ask you to do same.
by Paul Brian Campbell SJ U.S.A. 16.03.2023
One of the oddities of our faith is the way we play fast and loose with our saints’ names and origins.
My favorite example is St. Anthony of Padua. Not only wasn’t he from Padua, he wasn’t christened as Anthony. He was born Fernando Martins de Bulhões in Lisbon, and adopted the name Anthony when he took vows as a Franciscan friar. Leaving Portugal, he first went to Morocco before landing in Sicily on his way home, except he never got there. He lived in various Italian towns until he went to teach in southern France. It was only when he was appointed the Franciscan Provincial for northern Italy that he decided to settle in Padua.
The founder of the Jesuits never lost his designation as a Basque from Loyola, but he was christened as Ignaki [in Basque] or Inigo [in Spanish.] One theory is that he adopted the name Ignatius apparently because he believed it was a variant of his own and would be better understood in France and Italy. Others say he took the name in about 1537 in honor of Saint Ignatius of Antioch.
All of this brings me in a roundabout way to St. Patrick of Ireland. In his writings, he refers to himself as Patricius which in Irish becomes Padraig. We have relatively little information about his life, but it is pretty well established that he wasn’t from Ireland but was Romano-British.
It isn’t that strange for a nation’s patron saint to be from somewhere else – think of Italy having the Palestinian St. Joseph as their patron – but I have always been happy that Ireland’s saint isn’t from the island itself. I hope that it speaks to a certain openness among the Irish and we certainly haven’t been slow to share him with other people.
In the United States, where I now live, St. Patrick’s Day has become more of a secular celebration than a religious one [although our local bishop has given a dispensation so we can eat corned beef and cabbage on a Friday in Lent!] You’ll have heard about our parades and how Chicago dyes its river green, but the most extraordinary “tribute” to St. Patrick I’ve found is in my local supermarket where there is a large stand featuring “Sour Cream & Shamrock” flavour potato crisps.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day – tomorrow!
by Sr. Jo Anne Kelly MMM Ireland 14.03.2023
Spring has come and new life is “springing” up all over our garden. Daffodils big and small are in full bloom. But for some reason the crocuses are very slow to open. They appeared weeks ago, but so far, none have reached full bloom. I can only conclude that weather conditions are not yet favourable for full blossoming and the crocuses are still waiting.
I think of the early days of MMM. In 1924 when Marie Martin, then a lay missionary, left Nigeria to return to Ireland she knew without any doubt that what was needed for that country was a group of professionally trained dedicated religious women, who would provide a competent medical service, where, at that time there was none. But conditions in the Catholic Church then were not favourable as Religious women were not allowed to practice Obstetrics or Surgery. So she searched, she prayed and she waited –waited for 12 more years until that law was changed in 1936.
The congregation was founded in 1937. Once founded it blossomed rapidly and spread over the world. It is interesting to note what people were saying about Mother Mary in those years. She got a lot of media attention- a few examples-
“She held on to her ideals despite illness, setbacks and all kinds of obstacles” (Sunday Independent)
“A leader in a hurry who hates cameras and refuses to talk about herself” (from Healing Hands-Daily Express)
“Our most famous Nun- known for her shyness, humility and yet described as a tycoon who runs a vast empire dedicated to Healing” (The Sunday Press).
“Awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal for distinguished service across the world” –
“Awarded Honorary Fellowship of R.C.S.I. for the lustre she added to the reputation of Irish medicine in many parts of the world- first woman to receive the honour” ( Irish Independent)
“First woman to receive the freedom of Drogheda in recognition of her devoted care of the sick and her tremendous economic contribution to the town” and “to thank her for her courage and devotion in the cause of suffering humanity”.
“Undoubtedly the most outstanding woman of this century, her vision, wisdom, courage and the legacy she left”.
“She topped the poll as the greatest Droghedean of all time by readers of Drogheda Independent.” (Drogheda Independent)
“ Mother Mary Martin probably the best example of a nun as liberator of women- nuns, an extraordinary bunch of independent and independent- minded women holding down the most responsible jobs in society” (The Irish Times)
During these same years we knew Mother Mary as frail looking, soft spoken, shy She was constantly busy with administration, but she still made time to welcome visitors from all walks of life. No matter how busy the day, each evening she went across to the hospital to visit the patients. Then, late at night, after everyone had gone to bed, she was there at the back of the chapel kneeling in silent prayer. From there she went to her office to catch up with correspondence. During the day she had two secretaries but the letters she wrote at night were handwritten with pen and ink to sisters and communities across the world.
She is also the woman who wrote in 1953 “God is over all things and needs only our good will and He will do the rest. My God, I sometimes quake if I thought MMM depended on me. All depends on God and my desire and effort at each moment to allow Him to use me as He will. Yes, often in very strange ways”.
by Sr. Mary McKearney MMM (1942 – 2017)
To be a missionary, what does it mean?
I don’t know, but two thousand years ago, Christ said:
“Let your light shine for people,
Do not put it under a tub, but on a lampstand.”
I am not aware that there is much light in me, but I know
through his gift of faith to me,
that Christ is in me.
As the years have passed, I’ve heard him call me,
I’ve seen his light shine through my parents, teachers, relatives, friends.
Their faith was strong. I saw that.
But I wanted to keep my distance from this Christ,
Right from the very beginning.
He could demand too much…even my life…not an easy thing to give, but
Someway, somehow, sometime, unknown to myself,
I must have started giving little bits, because some years ago,
A very happy day dawned for me, the day I decided to give ALL.
But painfully I’ve discovered many times since, it was only a decision.
Giving is giving, not just the decision to give.
And giving costs, even when one loves with a great love.
But love is very personal and precious to me.
It isn’t something I want to squander on just any person or any thing.
I’d like to select the people I would love.
It’s just not possible because the most unexpected people surprise me
at the most unexpected times, and I love them – in spite of myself!
Strange!
With so little co-operation from me
Christ can shine through this thick wall.
But I realise, when I stop to think about it, that
“letting Christ shine through me”
Has a lot to do with being a missionary,
And that every Christian, every follower of Christ,
Has got to be a missionary,
In his or her own particular way.
How much light we would have in the world
If all Christians helped each other to realise this.
But it all comes back to the depth of my faith,
My readiness to give, my willingness to love.
Not easy for isolated me!”
So what does it mean to be a missionary?
I suppose there are as many answers as there are missionaries.
So let your light shine!
by Nadia Ramoutar MMM Communications Coordinator Ireland 10.03.2023
The idea that we have a country and a homeland is both a blessing and a burden.
I remember Sr Rita Kelly, MMM once saying to me that home is “the landscape of the heart”. What a beautiful thought. For us, Ireland is this country with mountains, rivers, lakes, history and heritage. We were a country that was colonised. We were overruled for many, many years from overseas. It’s a complex and messy story that I cannot do justice in a blog. But, we have so much here now in terms of quality of life. The concept of homeland for me has been a positive one, but for many people know it is the death of a dream.
In my work as a communications coordinator for the MMM, I meet people from all over the globe. Often people want something and are reaching me on social media asking for something I can’t give. Long ago, I learned to see that I cannot help everyone and everyone is not who they say there are. What I cannot protect myself from nor should I protect myself from is how desperate some people are in our world because they are living in hell. Recently, I began communicating with a young father in Kabul City who in his earlier life worked in IT and communications for an international agency. Now, that work he did then may cost him his life. He lives in terror. Horrified that the Taliban will find him any moment. He has five children under ten years of age. He cannot sleep or eat.
Through the miracle of technology, we can communicate and I have become his “mentor” he says and he is proud of me for not giving up on him. How funny is this? I am in the comfort of my own home sending emails for him to humanitarian aid agencies to try and get him and the family a way out of there before it is over for him. I am now painfully aware of how many millions of people are living this way. Isolated, abused, terrified, hungry and scared to speak of the fear they face. I ask and I ask for help for them and I am told how many others also need help too. This is not an answer that offers any peace.
So few agencies exist to help the people at the bottom of the social ladder in places of crisis. They are often forgotten about. Discarded by humanity. They are lost in their own land, one that they no longer recognise. I am so sick over this realisation that I don’t know how to help them. I have no way of making their life better but to beg on their behalf to the places that are supposed to offer aid. The agencies of good and hardworking people are overrun with requests from families like this. Who got out already? Who is no longer there? Why are so many people without hope now? It is like a bad script from a film we don’t want to watch. It wreaks of injustice.
What have we done with our humanity? Drawn lines on maps like life is a game of survival. If you are lucky, you are born in a free zone but if you are not, then what? Too bad for you. W e have made up the concept of nationality and of borders. Who is not your brother? Who is not your sister? We have so much more to learn about being decent human beings.
I ask you to pray with me for the young father in Kabul City and his precious family and the millions of other like them. Also, pray for the people working to get refugees out of violent places and to safety.
by Sr. Jo Anne Kelly MMM Ireland 08.03.2023
Recently one of our Sisters had her 93rd birthday. Her nieces brought her one big beautiful bouquet of flowers. It adorned our chapel for many days. One could not but be drawn to the beauty of such a variety of different blooms of all sizes, colours and shades of colours. Each added to the beauty of the whole, and without any one flower it would not have been so attractive. I thought of our Congregation. From the beginning, our foundress, Mother Mary Martin wanted our membership to be international.
I entered MMM when the congregation was only 19 years old and by then there were Sisters from Ireland, England, Scotland, Nigeria, Czechoslovakia and America. The following year sisters from Tanzania joined us. Like the flowers each one brought her own beauty and gifts. We had a common purpose. We were learning to be religious and missionary. We were all going to be living and working with people of other cultures, colours and traditions.
At that time Mother Mary was very, very busy with all the business administration. The first wing of the International Missionary Training Hospital (now Our lady of Lourdes Hospital) was about to be opened, a new wing was being added to the convent. There were new missions in Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola and Uganda as well as houses in England, Italy and a novitiate in America. All had to be supported and guided, and money raised to make it all happen.
Yet Mother Mary made time to give us conferences when she could. The time could be morning, afternoon or night depending on what was going on for her.
Her talks didn’t vary much. They always included an emphasis on the absolute necessity of genuine love – “Loving together as the Holy Family, loving one another, taking on each other’s burdens”. She would remind us that “work without real love will never win people to Christ”. Always too we were reminded to “let our work and every aspect of our lives spring from a deep interior life of love and union with God.” We heard these phrases over and over again.
In 1954 she wrote “Now I hope you will all grow in understanding of different peoples-this is essential for an international Congregation which ours is. We are getting more and more Sisters from different lands. We must be big, and remember there are many difficulties for foreigners entering a congregation which is predominantly Irish…. As you grow to love the Lord your heart will expand to embrace the whole world…. You should be those who will leave the traditions of a true MMM vocation, love, generosity, self-sacrifice and loving obedience in our care of the sick and suffering”
Over the years in my own life, several times I have been in a community where I was the only one from my race and colour. I had a lot of learning to do, not just about others but about myself too. It was not always easy but so very enriching – to recognize and value the goodness, the beauty and the giftedness of others.
I will be forever grateful to God for those times.
by Sr. Prisca Ovat MMM Nigeria/Kenya 06.03.2023
As the journey through the Turkana desert continued, we had the opportunity of visiting the MMM community in Lodwar, where the only living story is of the late Sr. Rosetta Furlong who sadly passed away in 2007 from a spider sting.
The locals who narrated the emotional tale confirmed how they too were attacked by such dangerous spiders. Thanks to development in the country, the MMM community in Lodwar is no longer present because they have moved on. However, many priests and religious still have good memories of our mission in Lodwar.
That evening ,at the Bishop’s party for priests and religious, we received a very warm welcome from all who knew and heard of MMM. Next, we were brought to see the Kakuma mission hospital. By this time only 3 staff who worked with the Sisters were still available, one of them a driver who was enrolled in a driving school through the influence of the Sisters. They generously narrated a little of what they still recall and expressed with joy how much the Sisters. impacted their lives.
Life would have been more difficult without the livelihoods made possible by the Sisters’ presence. The less privileged received great attention as school fees were paid and free services were offered. A nutritional program continued for pregnant women and children at a time when famine greatly plague the land. Mobile outreaches were very functional to meet the needs of those unable to access services. Now there is a downward shift in these services including staff maintenance because funds dried up as donor support was discontinued after the departure of the Sisters. The diocese has had a rough time maintaining all these services. And in truth, some footsteps were either too fast or too difficult to follow. The local people are now realising that missionaries are present to capacitate, build up the local community and then they move on.
The catering school is still active and very effective, unlike some of the services which discontinued for lack of sustainability. The catering school started out as a request from the non-governmental bodies which at the time had structured the Kakuma refugee camp. It was intended to train caterers who would meet the nutritional requirements of the NGO staff, and the Sisters initiated and supervised the training.
We walked through the wards, the theatre, the pharmacy, the outpatient department, and the administration block with everyone frantically searching for ‘something MMM’. A sign, a poster, a name, a visitor’s book, paperwork, records, merely something to bear witness to our presence there, but none existed. Apparently, those who took over the mission renovated some of the areas, and signs were lost in the process. Notwithstanding the setbacks, the facility continues to operate for those in dire need of care. It is an aspect of MMM known to the world that, in response to our charism we empower the local people with skills that foster autonomy and continuity. And no matter the obstacles, God always shows the way!
by Sr. Prisca Ovat MMM Nigeria/Kenya 04.03.2023
My experience of a desert was live, not the one watched in movies, nor read in books. And I would say that not much has changed from the time I first saw photos of Turkana malnourished children many years ago. As we travelled along, I rather marvelled at the resilience that existed in the land. Both humans and animals learnt to survive with what was available. Cattle ate sticks, paper bags, and dried grasses which they would not have if they had a choice. They gazed eagerly at travellers for whatever they ate at stopovers, only to satisfy their hunger.
The long journey was endless as we travelled for hours. Just when I learnt we were in Lodwar, we could no longer travel to our destinations. Something was wrong. There were banditry activities ahead. Regrets soon replaced my excitement “Did we have to make this journey”? We waited by the roadside for so long, with hopes that a police van would accompany us through, but it was not to be. The driver then took the risk of proceeding. Thoughts came rushing through my mind, “If I opt to alight here, where I would go to, in the middle of nowhere, in a foreign land?”, and for a moment, I wondered if my companions and other travellers felt the same. Yes they did. The expression was all over their faces. Getting on to our host who zealously awaited our arrival at the other end, I said , “Just in case we do not arrive, this is what would have happened.” I explained that was me who had an opportunity to communicate. Many fall into death’s hands without a chance to reach out nor say goodbye. So, I began a silent prayer with my companions and waited for what laid ahead.
A few miles later we came upon a group of nomads with guns over their shoulders. I was so completely overwhelmed with fear that I suffered instant gastric pain. I knew why. They looked everything like the Fulani herdsmen I see on the news from home in Nigeria. T heir demeanour, the manner they held their guns, and their sad/angry looks. And I could not help but think of all the pain and suffering of my people – the kidnappings, killings and abuses people have been subjected to. I thought it was our last day.
Earlier on the journey, I watched the driver saving half-used bottled water, for whatever reason. Now the reason was clear. Every time we came across an armed Turkana, he threw out a bottle of water, and we just get a sad smile and moved on. Water was our saviour, so, all the bottles of water reserved for our journey were brought out “to save our heads”. And water indeed saved our heads. I reflected on water as a giver of life and a bringer of death. For thirst, we would have been victims of a government’s corrupt practices. There was no greater lesson on the judicious use of water than this. And if conscience is truly alive, no one would consciously misuse water after an experience as this.
by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer MMM USA 02.03.2023
Sometime ago I wrote to you about protecting our children online. The situation seems to be getting worse and so many organizations were contacting their legislators without much avail to stop this child sexual material from appearing in so many online platforms. The ages of the children affected were getting as low as 5 to 7.
Recently, on January 27th, Mother Mary seemed to answer our prayers, in sending help through a man, Russ Tuttle, whose dynamic presentations in middle schools were reaching thousands of children to explain what was going on in words they could understand. I heard him speak online with glowing passion how to encourage children to tell their parents if they found something online which made them feel uncomfortable. For the younger children to say they found a secret and needed help to deal with it. For the twelve-year-olds, Russ called it a cockroach which could be got rid of with their parents help.
The reviews of the teachers, school nurses, law enforcement officers and many students from elementary grades to high school were excellent. The presenter was able to get to the students’ level and provided a way out of despair and feelings like wanting to commit suicide. The teachers were delighted in the enthusiastic approach of the students. They were listening to the reality of the situation and wanting help from their parents to combat this horrible situation.
Russ stressed the importance of building up the self-image of a child. Many feel lonely and have a need for a friend to understand them. Any online platform that has a chat box or message system can lead to an older man posing as a young friend and luring them into a meeting place. For more information about his presentation, please look at a short video on <Stop trafficking project.com/bealert.html>
Yes, there is a ray of hope! This dreadful situation of the world we live in today makes one think that nothing like this ever happened before. Yet after the Resurrection, the apostles were gathered together in fear and Jesus came through locked doors saying “Peace be with you. “ Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, repeats the message of Jesus today in his address to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The following is taken from (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 1/2/2023)
“The peace of Jesus, ” which is also given to us in every Mass”, Pope Francis said in the first part of his homily, recalling the Gospel account of the first encounter of the Risen Jesus with his disciples, and read during the liturgy, “comes from the resurrection, because the Lord first had to defeat our enemies, sin and death, and reconcile the world to the Father. He had to experience our solitude and abandonment, our hell”. In this first encounter, the risen Jesus, greeting them with the words “peace be with you”, proclaims and delivers peace to his disciples even as his disciples’ hearts “were downcast”. Jesus’ peace arrived at the very moment when, suddenly and to their surprise, everything seemed to be over for them, without even a glimmer of peace. That is what the Lord does: he surprises us; he takes us by the hand when we are falling; he lifts us up when we are hitting rock bottom”. In this context, “in a world disheartened by violence and war, Christians must be like Jesus”. They keep peace in their hearts and offer it to the world, relying on what Jesus himself Pope Francis continues – points out to us as the three sources of peace: forgiveness, community, and mission.”
Yes, may families find these three sources of peace. Is this tragedy a call to a deeper sense of family life where parents and children are free to talk things over with one another? It is said that children these days never felt lonelier even though well connected by electronic devices. Is it a commitment to a deeper love and understanding of one another? -All finding a sense of purpose in life despite all the violence bombarding us from all sides. This is what the Holy Father is asking us to be “RAYS OF HOPE IN OUR TROUBLED WORLD.”
