By Sr. Sheila Campbell, MMM Ireland 25.02.2022
One of the questions I am asked, often if not frequently, is “How did you know you wanted to be a Sister?” Well, the truthful answer – I always knew – is not very helpful so I went around all my colleagues to see if I could come up with a better answer.
by Sr. Cecily Bourdillon MMM Zimbabwe 23/02/2022
Not long after my arrival at Zungeru Rural Health Centre in Northern Nigeria, I was called to see a young woman who was bleeding to death having been bitten by a snake. We were unable to give our patient a blood transfusion nor had we anti snake venom serum to administer. All we could do was to refer our patient to the general hospital in the nearest town, Minna, and hope that there she would receive the treatment she needed.
This patient was the first of many patients I would see bleeding from a snake bite – the bite of a Carpet Viper.
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 21.02.2022
I am now in my seventies and in recent years I have found myself drawn again to doing jigsaw puzzles. I think it began when I had a period of forced inactivity from work due to medical reasons. But no matter how I started, I am now well and truly hooked! After our evening meal I usually go to the table with another two or three Sisters and spend an enjoyable hour piecing a puzzle together.
by an unknown MMM author – undated 19.02.2022
A Chinese riddle asks which is better ‘a teaching, a story or a greeting?’ The answer given is a greeting. Why we may ask: To greet is to bless, to bless is to greet, to greet is to expect a response. Every greeting has elements of anticipation: will I be welcomed, will I be included or will I be rejected and perhaps excluded?
by Vera Grant AMMM Ireland 17.02.2022
We waited, we prayed and we hoped the outcome would be the same. The same in that Rayan, the five-year-old Moroccan boy would survive as had the twelve Thai boys and their coach, trapped in an underground cave some eighteen months earlier.
I say ‘we’ to include my family, neighbours and friends who living here in Ireland felt so connected to those in a far away land keeping vigil for the safe return of a small boy who had fallen down a well.
- by Lisa Murphy MMM Archivist Ireland 15.02.2022
One of the most important jobs that an archivist does, is to ensure that the material we hold in the archive is preserved for the future. Without the proper care, environment and storage conditions, archival material is vulnerable and at risk of deteriorating over time. However, taking preventive measures can considerably extend the useful life of collections, and is usually much more cost-effective than interventive measures taken to remedy damage after deterioration has taken place.
by Sr. Jacinta Mahakwe MMM Nigeria/ Brazil 13.02.2022
In one encounter during my pastoral work, a woman came up to me and struck a conversation. Accordingly, she is from Bahia, born in Itapuá and lives in Pituba. The places are nearby. She added that she cannot stand living away from home, family and friends and she visits home every weekend. Addressing me as little sister (irmázinha) she had a lot of questions and she want to understand how I could live far away Africa to Brazil for mission. She expressed worries for me, my family, my parents and siblings. As a mother, she wondered how they allowed me to travel so far to be a Missionary. Looking at her concerns, I reassured her that I am fine, and I am used to living far away from home. She promised to pray for me and to count on her support. Wow, the heart of a woman, a loving heart.
by Lisa Murphy MMM Archivist Ireland 11.02.2022
On the 11th of February 1936 Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide issued the decree Constans ac Sedula, enabling religious women to undertake work in all fields of medicine. This permitted Marie Martin’s vision of a congregation of medically trained religious women to be realised. At that time, Marie Martin was on a retreat with the Benedictine nuns at Kylemore Abbey, County Galway which was being directed by Dom Bede Lebbe OSB from Glenstal Abbey.
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 09.02.2022
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began we have all been with heightened awareness for the need for fresh air and ventilation. We have all our windows and, where possible, doors open. This morning I sat staring at the open door of our chapel when I went in to pray in the early morning.I love the symbol of the open door. It just offers up so much possibility. It is exciting. What is on the other side? I remember entering MMM so many years ago. The open door was a welcoming one. Come and see. Come and join our life. But the open door also has a touch of reality about it. It was kept open so that those who decided otherwise could also leave. The open door is really just an invitation, a liminal space between two worlds.
by Sr. Noeleen Mooney MMM Ireland 07.02.2022
On 21st January this year, the first daffodil, long a long line of shrubs outside our chapel in Beechgrove, Drogheda, burst into bloom.
In retrospect, since I returned to live in Ireland six years ago, this has been a pattern.
At first I was annoyed. It didn’t fit with “my” idea of daffodils. They should be for Easter!
Of course that was before I realised that climate change and its effects has crept into our small island too. I am a slow learner.
