by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 20.08.2025
The other evening I met one of our Sisters who is suffering from dementia. She was sitting down looking a little bit lost. Just to greet her I said, “How was your day today?” She answered, “I keep to myself so that the others will not be afraid of me”.
Now, how do you give an answer to that? My instinct was to reach down, give her a hug and kiss the top of her head. Later I was thinking about my instinctive response. It was one of giving comfort. I think this instinct is innate in all of us. Think of a mother comforting a newborn baby who is crying with colic, or a father comforting his son when the other team wins the football match!
Of course, we are only mirroring the way God comforts us when we comfort others. St Paul reminds us:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2Cor 1:3-4).
This kind of comfort has nothing to do with wealth or position. It is an assurance that despite all difficulties we face in life we are secure in God’s presence. God is ever present, ever loving – especially during the times we are totally unaware of it or unaccepting of it.
Today I set myself one small task. Share God’s comfort with one other person. It may be with a word, a gesture, or just a smile. Thank you, God, for comforting me. May I pass it along!
by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer MMM USA 16.08.2025
Life was vastly different in Makiungu. The saying goes that life begins at forty and here I was, having a new outlook and learning so much about medicine and surgery from the Flying Doctors. Instead of being four miles from the nearest surgeon, I was twenty miles away. But we had our own airstrip where the Flying Doctor planes from Nairobi could land. We always had to give a day’s warning to the local farmers who liked to pasture their cattle on the air strip. The farmers expected the plane to stop short if a cow got in the way!
Mr. Woods was a plastic surgeon and founded this service some years ago. One of the cases I remember was of a young boy around eight who was stung by many bees. In fact, his whole scalp had sloughed off because of the stings. I do not know how he survived.
Mr. Woods took a skin graft from the boy’s thigh and sutured it on his scalp. The whole graft healed well. Everyone was happy.
Another surgery also ended well, but the whole six months it took to heal was very traumatic. Ramadani, a young boy of seventeen, came to the hospital complaining of severe abdominal pain. He was suffering from typhoid and his bowel had perforated. I opened his abdomen to drain the pus and his wound broke down. The Flying Doctors were coming in a few days, and I thought they might be able to do something for him. An American plastic surgeon came and took pictures and said he was an interesting case. In my distress I did not hear him say he would either die or get better. There was nothing more to be done.
When they left, I took Ramadani to the theatre and put in steel sutures to hold his abdomen together. This helped a little and by this time he was passing stool. We thought that was a good sign and everyone, his parents, nurses, and me, brought him food. One day he sent for me to come, because he was going to die. He also requested that I come with some soup and bread. Ramadani poured out his heart to Allah and I poured out my heart to Jesus and, after taking the bread and soup, Ramadani progressed from that day onwards. He then looked like he was a skeleton but within six months, his wound healed, and he gained weight. Sr. Patricia O’Connor, who was Matron at the time saw to it that he was well cared for and well fed. He received several blood transfusions, antibiotics, and healthy food. He never stopped praying.
Eight years later, a well-developed young man of twenty-five came to the clinic and asked me, “Do you remember me?” Before I could answer, he opened his shirt, and I saw a very scarred abdomen. I said “Ramadani” and we hugged. I thanked God for his recovery and good success in life. He was working in the prisons in Dar es Salaam.
This event healed me of my sorrow of leaving Uganda. I did not know one could grieve when leaving a country. I found grieving helpful before change happened again, going to Nigeria, and coming home to USA. It helps to really accept that life is always changing and new adventures in faith can begin when one lets go.
by Sr. Mairead O’Quigley MMM (1917 – 2003) Ireland/Tanzania 13.08.2025
First published by MMM in 1956
“Women and their hair styles!” But what about the men?
The story goes that in the life of St. Hugh of Lincoln there was a young sacristan named Martin. He wore his beautiful hair floating on his shoulders, as was the fashion. It was the rule in those days for sacristans to wear their hair short like the clerics, but Martin could not make up his mid to part with his curls. Twice the bishop told him to cut his hair, but he still neglected to do so. Then one day the bishop said, “Since you cannot get a barber, I will cut your hair myself!”. As the bishop was cutting his hair, Martin told him that it was the only thing keeping him back from giving himself to God.
Among the tribes of East Africa today the men as well as the women specialise in hair styles. Each tribe has its own distinguishing head-dress, whether it be made from pieces of cowskin, the horns of a rhino, or the coat of a zebra or leopard. But of all the tribes of Tanganyika (Tanzania) perhaps the warrior tribe of the Maasai attracts most attention by its hair style.
A lot of time and thought goes into the coiffure ad many an odd thing too. Custom prescribes the following ingredients: a piece of straight stick, about twelve inches long for each pigtail, a strip of the inner skin of a sheep, one inch wide, several feet of fine string made from ox-gut, cord made from the roots of a tree, and sheep fat, red ochre, and ornaments.
The hair at the back of the head is twisted into braided strands which are then grouped around the end of the stick and lashed on with the gut string. The stick and the hair ends are then bound neatly with the sheepskin strip so as to taper into a point. The hair in front is divided into three equal parts and braided, the ends of each part being bound together with gut string. The two side pieces which fall to the front of the ears, are then tied together with a chord under the chin and so held fast against the face. The centre forelock is finished off with a metal clasp. The whole coiffure is then liberally coated with fat and tinted with red ochre.
The Maaai women? They wear their hair cut close to the head, no style at all, thus emphasising that to have one’s locks formally braided is an initiation to manhood.
As a nature lover, Summer is a joy. I love all seasons for different reasons, but not equally . I lived in the tropics for some years and Summer was stressful because of oppressive heat and torrential rain, along with hurricanes. But, having returned to Ireland several years ago, I have reclaimed my favourite memories of childhood growing up here and my love for Summer.
This is a busy time in MMM Templeogue, terribly busy.by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 02.08.2025
Embroidery on paper is a hobby that I picked up later in life. Strange, isn’t it? I think of myself as physically a bit clumsy, but at least my hands work well. I make greeting cards, and this is a useful skill in a house where the elderly Sisters keep up written contact with people in the various countries where they were in active ministry. Recently, one Sister made a comment that stayed with me for days.
She was looking at a card I was making, admiring the pattern and the delicacy of the work. Then she turned it over to the back. This is where the threads are cut and glued together, where pattern is not so obviously, where one thread shoots across the page to start up again in another spot. Frankly, the back of the card looks messy. Eventually I put a backing on this so that the finished card hides the cut threads.
“That is exactly like our life”, said Eileen Mary. “We only see the tumble and mess, and God turns us over and sees the beautiful pattern that is out true self”. How wise, I thought. And then I realised another truth. The pattern I was making was made from small bits of thread. These are the bits that are left over from a larger pattern, but still too long to just throw away. For God, too, there are no scraps. Everything has a use in the economy of the universe. Everything forms a pattern. There are times when I cannot see the grand scale of things. I get bogged down in the messiness of everyday life.
This is when I am called to trust. Trust in God who has a wider, more loving and embracing sense of who I am and of the future of our world. Every day God encourages me to thread my needle and embroider, revealing the beauty of this world.
So today I ask for the grace to attend to the small things of life – God will make the pattern in the long run!
by Vera Grant AMMM Ireland 30.07.2025
All was not quiet as I approached the doors of the church.
The murmur of voices reminded me of going to funerals in our local Presbyterian and Church of Ireland places of worship where everyone would be talking, not only to those beside them but also in turning to greet those sitting behind. I remembered being quite shocked the first time it happened at what seemed to be a lack of respect for God’s house.
On opening the door, I heard the parish priest talking to the sacristan who was at the far end of the church and whilst he wasn’t shouting, his voice was raised and distinctly audible. I sat down and thought, this is rather nice, it’s like going into someone’s home and there is the chatter of voices in the background. The longer I sat and listened I realised that I was on edge, I felt unsettled, I couldn’t begin to pray and my concentration was zapped.
The talking between the two didn’t last that long but long enough for me to be discomforted. In a matter of minutes, I had switched from embracing the voices to wanting for them to stop.
There have been times at the end of Mass when all are filing out and we see people slowing down to say hello to a friend. I have done the same especially when it is someone I haven’t seen in a while only to be chastened and told not to be talking in church and to go outside.
Recently there was an article in the paper about a priest, Fr Brennan who penned a poem, ‘Not I Lord surely’ on what he considered to be one of the reasons why people do not come to church. In his view it was the cold indifference and quiet disdain of the regular church goers.
It can be difficult to greet people particularly the newcomers when there is no parish centre and people appear to rush out of Mass, into their cars and drive away. At times there are a few stragglers who stand huddled in a group, ‘gossiping’ as Fr Brennan remarked in his poem. It can make others feel excluded and the newcomer remains a stranger.
In today’s gospel St Luke talks about the sisters, Martha and Mary, the former welcoming Jesus before leaving him to go and prepare something to eat. Mary instead sat with Jesus and listened to his words.
What would I have done? Hospitality takes many forms, and it is in the welcoming that we feel loved and wanted. I would have been the one preparing the meal so when Jesus said that Mary in sitting to listen chose the better role makes me think that there is room for both and a need for there to be a balance in both action and prayer. The same balance that is needed in our Church for a time to talk and a time to pray.
by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer MMM USA 26.07.2025
The Sisters had told me about a very frightening earthquake in their part of Tanzania that had occurred three months previously and damaged the operating theatre adjoining the outpatient’s block, rendering it unfit for surgery. Thank God the Pharmacy part of the building was safe to use and Sr. Mairead Caroll did a fantastic job of keeping us the medicines supplied. This meant regularly travelling hundreds of miles over bad roads.
The female and children’s ward storage rooms were being renovated for a new theatre. Two weeks later, just when the theatre lamp had been installed, there was need to do a Caesarean Section because a patient with a prolapsed cord appeared at 3am. At first, I was hoping that the generator would not go on, but Sr. Nuala Horgan had everything in place so quickly and helped me so much that we were able to have a safe Caesarean delivery. Thank God all went well and of course the mother was delighted, too. I thanked God too for His help as I was extremely nervous.
The day before St. Patrick’s Day, we were having an informal chat about the celebrations we would enjoy with the Pallotine Fathers. Sister Christina Hanley was the sister in charge of the house and how she managed to train the cook and get food to eat in this desert area was always a sort of miracle to me. At that, Sr. Salus stormed in and said, “How can you be discussing food and parties when the male ward latrine has just caved in?” We all laughed. Nonetheless, Father Basil stepped in and said, “Do not worry about the latrine. Together with the Viwawa, young people of the parish, we will build a new latrine for the male ward patients.” He saved the day, and all the celebrations were good despite the fact he still had mud on his boots from finishing the latrine just before the party. Sr. Christina Hanley outdid herself in producing a delicious feast.
by Nadia Ramoutar MMM Communications Coordinator Ireland 23.07.2025
Recently a number of my friends participated in a fundraiser to make money for the Samaritans. In Ireland, this is a well-known charity that provides help to people in their darkest hours. They even have a 24/7 hotline that people can ring anytime and talk to a trained volunteer. It’s a wonderful gift to any community.
It is interesting how over many years we have come to think of the Samaritans as people who are kind and help strangers and neighbours who are in a bad situation. However, as many of you know, when Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, at the time this was not the case. In the response to the trick question “Who is my neighbour, Jesus told the famous story of three people who saw someone in dire need and how the first two, who were supposed to be spiritual, ignored the neighbour.
It was the third person, the Samaritan, who aided the person going up and beyond the call of duty to which Jesue said “Which of these proved to be a neighbour to this man?”
It is a powerful question and one that is as timely now as it was then. At the time of this story, the Samaritans were not a popular group of people. They were disliked and the Jewish people of Galilee and Judea shunned the Samaritans. Our view of them now is totally different.
When we look at the condition of the world today, we can see that there is a lot of noise around “belonging” and who is our neighbour raises its head again. When we look at the atrocities being done globally it seems that political and spiritual boundaries are being used in horrific ways not only to divide people but to persecute them. It is difficult to stay in touch with world news without a sense of dread and anxiety.
When I visited the MMM Missions in Tanzania I was standing with the MMM Sisters at the top of a hill. I could see as the starting time for the outreach antenatal clinic was growing close. I saw women and girls coming from every direction. Some were carrying one of two babies or small children. Many were pregnant. It was a true gift to see the women coming together like a river of humanity and flowing up towards us.
What tribe the women or girls were from, or what religion they were, was not a question. They were now our “neighbours” and in need of support and care. What would it take to spread this idea again and to bring Jesus’ example back into humanity?
We are facing dark times in our world and it is time now to say, “I will be your neighbour.” No questions asked.
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 19.07.2025
In our times we sometimes fail to take account of how we influence one another. We have all heard of “influencers” on social media platforms, but I am guessing that most of us think “I would never be influenced by anyone else!” We have such a high regard for our own autonomy!!
Recently I heard a story which made me think again. One of the Sisters was sharing at coffee about working with young couples who were in marital difficulties. In the culture where she was working, the custom was that the mother would feed her husband first. Then she would feed the children. Lastly, and only when she had all the chores done, she would eat herself. At the Health Centre where she worked, they had a different philosophy. They asked the couple to try a different system. They asked them to feed the children first and then sit down together to eat. Just that. They were not into therapy as in the Western world, but just a small change to help the husband and wife see each other as equal human beings, both concerned with the education and upbringing of their children.
The change was remarkable. Not alone did marriages improve, but the level of domestic violence in the society was drastically reduced.
Now, I think to myself, what small change can I make in my life patterns to produce good results like that? Recently I was reading a blog by one of our young Sisters. She was recommending acts of kindness. When you do a small act of kindness, it changes you on the inside to becoming a kinder person. It also has a ripple effect. When you notice a small act of kindness you want to reach out and do one yourself.
I remember being in Chapel one day and a Sister who was confined to a wheelchair noticed the person in front of her was cold. She inched forward until she was near enough to reach her and draped a shawl around her shoulders. That is kindness. Up to the end of her life she was thinking of others and how she could help.
So that is my challenge today – be kind, notice others’ needs, and maybe God will be kind to me and help me be a better person.
