MMM Blog
Breakfast at Coffey's
by Dr. Mary Coffey AMMM Ireland 14.04.2022
Editor’s Note: This blog was chosen for this day, the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper, to remind us that sharing a meal is one of the greatest gifts God has given us.
Mission is a story about which I cannot keep silent. I was on the Meath Diocesan Mission team for the Extraordinary Year of Mission in 2019. There was some debate as to whether we were speaking of Mission abroad or Mission at home. The Mission of the Church is one and, if we must make the distinction, it is my contention that Mission abroad has come to our shores in the person of the refugee. This has been my great passion since 2017, welcoming and caring for refugees, Syrians initially, but more recently Afghans and more recently still meeting Ukranians in the course of my work.
Anxiety
by Sr. Noeleen Mooney MMM Ireland 12.04.2022
One of my favourite pieces from the Gospel is where Jesus tells us:
“Which of you can live a few more years by worrying about it? If you can’t manage even such a small thing, why worry about other things?” (Luke 12.25-26)
Mother Mary to the Sisters, Passion Sunday 1963
by Lisa Murphy MMM Archivist 10.04.2022
As we celebrate Palm Sunday, we look back at a letter written by Mother Mary Martin on Passion Sunday in 1963 to the Sisters in Makiungu, Tanzania. The MMM Archive is extremely lucky to hold many of the letters that Mother Mary wrote during her lifetime. Her words remain a source of inspiration and can be applied to many of life’s circumstances today.
What Sr. Cora Wall taught me
by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer, MMM USA 08.04.2022A few years ago, I was asked to watch a webinar about the works of The United States Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking. They showed four branches, Education, Communication, Advocacy and Survivor Protection. The Sisters who spoke were very enthusiastic about what they were involved in. I asked if I could please join the Advocacy group and was accepted. Little did I know what was involved! I had to learn the terminology used when contacting legislators about passing a bill which would help the men, women, and children involved in human trafficking. I did not realize how many men were caught up in forced labor in the sea food industry and little children lured from another West African country with a promise of education or be forced to work for long hours in the sun and use a machete to harvest cocoa beans.
Hospitality
by Sr. Ruth Percival MMM England 06.04.2022
When I was a child in the 1950s my family used to attend the local parish in Derby. One Sunday, we and the rest of the people were astonished to see two Nigerian men come in. We had not seen black people in Derby before.
After Mass, my Dad asked my Mum would we invite them to our house. Mum said, “of course”, and so Edmund and Anthony became frequent visitors, and even the bus driver would remind them of their stop. They wore beautiful, traditional dress and got to be known in our neighbourhood, especially at ball games. They were really good!
Edmund said he would pray that I would become a Reverend Sister one day and go to Nigeria! My parents kept in touch with Edmund until he died and then with Monica, his widow, until my Dad died.
Foundation Day
Sr. Jo Anne Kelly MMM Ireland 04.04.2022
One morning recently I visited Mother Mary’s grave. In need of some inspiration, I said to her “I haven’t written anything for a while, is there anything you want me to write about?”
Well, that very evening as I was just finishing my supper, Sr. Sheila came to me and said “Would you write something for Foundation Day?” I should have known that when Mother Mary wanted something done she wasted no time in getting it done.
Never too old
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 02.04.2022
Today my older sister celebrates fifteen years of marriage. Yes, fifteen, and she, like me, is in her seventies. This is her second marriage and today I just stopped and thought – it is never too old to take up a commitment, to fight for a cause that aroused us, to say ‘yes’.
Steps for Hope
by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer MMM U.S.A. 31.03.2022
“Step by Step they go together until they reach the God of SION”. These paraphrased words of Psalm 84 helped me as a young Sister to navigate the joys and sorrows of friendship. I felt a more looking outward towards Jesus than inward to each other and yet we were together in the looking for Jesus. “To see and seek God in all things” as St. Benedict says.
Compassion
By Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 31.03.2022
I never learnt Latin, but knowledge of Latin is very useful when you begin to look at the word compassion. In English, it is often mixed up with pity. When I pity someone, I put myself in a position of superiority over the poor unfortunate who is not as well off or as healthy as myself.
Com – passion is different. ‘Com’ means we are in this together. What affects you, affects me. ‘Passion’ is more related to suffering. When you suffer, I suffer too. I think that is why a compassionate response to the Covid-19 pandemic is to vaccinate the whole world, not just my little patch of a country
Mother's Day Musing
by Nadia Ramoutar MMM Communications Coordinator 27.03.2022
Recently, my 13 year old threw up all over the bed and himself. High temperatures from COVID 19 had made him very ill and I knew as I got him to the shower that most likely I would soon have the virus too. Less than a week later, I did have it. My son fortunately was feeling much better by then.
I think this experience shows what motherhood is like for many women. There is no one type of mother and certainly expectations of mothers have changed over the years and in different parts of the world. There is no agreement on motherhood to guide us. In fact, Mother’s Day is celebrated at different times of the year in various parts of the world. In Ireland this year Mother’s Day is 27th March. In most parts of the world it will be in May.
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