MMM Blog
Advent in the Shower
by Sr. Bernadette Fadegnon, MMM Republic of Benin/ Brazil 02.12.2021
There she stood under the shower,
Enjoying the warm running water
Delighting in its sweet touch
When suddenly the shower stopped running.
Shadows on the Wall
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 29.11.2021
The other day I was in the chapel around 8.30 in the morning. As we are in winter months here in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun rises a little later each day. On this day the sun, just above the horizon, was streaming through the windows, casting shadows on the far wall. For some reason I was unexplainably content.
An Ordinary Daisy
by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM Ireland 22.11.2021
Some months back, I found myself in a large garden waiting for a visitor to the house. It was a warm, sunny day, always welcome in September. I sat on a garden bench and had the time just to feel the heat of the sun, hear the breeze as it swayed the small branches of the nearby tree and to notice a bunch of daisies at my feet.
Grief
by Sr. Helen Aherne MMM Ireland 22.11. 2021
Grief: what is it? Is it this empty feeling of pain, constant nagging pain. It is the loss of a dear one, one whom I had known most of my life, one I had looked up to, had depended on, and knew he would be able to sort any problem.
I do know he has gone to God; he was such a good man, such a good loyal faithful husband to Ann, who is my only sister and very dear to me. He was a father of 8 really great children.
Miserable Weather
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.
The Journey
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.
Autumn
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!
People with Disabilities
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).
Busy Week
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:
All in the "Our Father"
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.
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