by Sr. Noeleen Mooney, MMM Ireland 18.11.2021
Until I came from Tanzania back to Ireland, I hadn’t realized just how much my attitude to rain had changed. When it rains here, I hear people describe it as ‘a dirty day’ or ’miserable weather’. Maybe these are only conventions of speech, but they strike me as being hollow and untrue.
Living in a semi desert, as I did in Tanzania for many years, with not a drop of rain for at least seven months of the year, has changed my concept of what rain is and does.
I remember the collective anxiety when the time for the beginning of the rainy season draws near. The scanning of the sky to see if the little puffs of white clouds might join together; the bursting forth of the jacaranda trees – all the preludes to what you hope for, but can never take for granted.
by Jo Anne Kelly MMM Ireland 15.11.2021
The sun was just rising, shortly after 6 am when I set off from Ibadan in West Nigeria to attend a formation team meeting in Urua Akpan in the East of the country, a 10-12-hour journey depending on the roads and the traffic. I usually loved this early morning drive but I knew the meeting was going to be a tough one. So much was new about formation after Vatican11 and as team leader I had to try and present it and get things accepted to form a new programme. I did not know enough myself and my mind was quite in turmoil about it all.
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 12.11.2021
The other day I noticed this tree out on our front lawn. It struck me as a lovely image of the Sisters inside the house. It is in its autumnal stage, as we are. I am one of the youngsters at 72! But you can see how beautiful the tree is. It is not afraid to flaunt its age with all the vibrancy of colour. And we all age at a different pace. Some are pale yellow, others have darkened into red. At the top of the branches some have blown off heavenwards!
by Sr. Helen Aherne MMM Ireland 11.11.2021
I first met Charles at a meeting organised by the Town Council in Masaka, Uganda. He wanted to do something for PWDs (persons with disabilities).
by Sr. Sheila Campbell, MMM Ireland 07.11.2021
This coming week is going to be hectic. I won’t bore you with details but it will be one of those periods when routine disappears and life is suddenly full of many tasks and many new people. Then, at the end of the week, I may be travelling overseas. But I do not know yet. It looks like I will only have a twelve-hour warning before I head to the airport. It is easy to feel overwhelmed. It is at times like this that I think of one of Mother Mary’s sayings:
by Sr. Prisca Ovat, MMM Kenya 05.11.2021
“Like the experience of the disciples on their way to Emmaus, whose hearts were burning as Jesus explained the scriptures, so too my heart inflamed meditating on the Lord’s prayer. And for the first time in my life, I felt I had only learnt how to pray as a Christian and religious. This luminous experience was made fruitful through the spiritual accompaniment of my retreat guide” – Bishop Rodrigo Mejia, SJ.
In the Lord’s prayer, we learn, unlearn, and relearn to pray, so as to live. I had to purify first an inner rebellion. Why is God portrayed as our father and not mother? Providence and protection were keywords that clarified my curiosity, although I never overlooked his tender, loving and ever-caring motherly attributes. The focus is heaven. And because his name personifies holiness, the longing for his kingdom and will on earth as it is in heaven intensifies. But, instead of keying into this divine plan, we create a different earth due to our choices. Where lies my responsibility? It is in an authentic prayer life that transcends the self to embrace others. And so, I ask God for our daily bread so that whatever I seek for the self may also benefit others.
by Sr. Noeleen Mooney, MMM Ireland 04.11.2021
My work in a mission hospital laboratory was far removed from the high technology of auto-analyzers and computer print-outs.
Diagnosing intestinal and blood parasites microscopically formed a large part of the workload. The highest cause of mortality and morbidity is malaria. So may die, either because of complications, or in the case of children, because too many bouts of fever have left them too anaemic to live. This is the story of one of them.
His chart said Frenki: Frank to us
but here it is sound that counts, not spelling.
by Lisa Murphy, MMM Archivist 02.11.2021
An introduction to MMM Archives
In July of 2021, I took up the mantle of Congregational Archivist for the Medical Missionaries of Mary. However more often than not, when I tell people that I am an archivist, I am met with blank stares. I have found that the role of an archivist is not widely understood and this in turn leads to a lack of understanding about the purpose and importance of archives themselves. To that end, I would love to give you a sense of what exactly an archivist is, what we do and why the MMM Archive is so precious.
by Sr. Prisca Ovat, MMM Kenya 28.10.2021
That space appears really incomprehensible to most mortals.
It is fully grasped by the one who knows all – YHWH.
Yet, to the one tested and proven
Has ownership and wisdom been given to access – the depth of being.
by Sr. Noeleen Mooney, MMM Ireland 24.10.2021
The Healing Charism is a gift I have been given. It comes with responsibility.It involves
Coaxing – that those who feel they can’t, because of age or infirmity, may discover that they can, with just a little help. Can I give it?
Compassion – when ears don’t hear, and news and views become distorted and entangled.
Can I untangle, gently?
