Onto Another Chapter…  Daniel Magadia MSC, Formation Reflection

One of the many insights I gained from my formation journey so far has been the importance of reflection, noticing the moments of growth, consolation, and even difficulty. As I dive into another semester of theological studies, I guess it is ideal for me to do that exercise again. Thanks, Peter Malone, for suggesting to type it out.

Might as well start by briefly reflecting on my time in novitiate last year. To use the analogy of a novel, the novitiate was a significant chapter of my journey as an MSC. I consider myself to be extremely privileged to be given that opportunity. The novitiate was a cherished time of entering deeper into the life, spirit, and mission of the congregation. It was also a year of growth and maturity in terms of how I understand myself, my prayer life, and my relationship with Jesus, the beloved son of God (an identity I share with Him).

Also, how lucky was I to be situated at Douglas Park during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Detachment and isolation were already elements of that year, disregarding the virus. Fast forward to present, I am now professed, and have moved on to another chapter, another stage of this rollercoaster ride that is religious life.

Returning to Blackburn was coming back to a place that is familiar, but within an unfamiliar context. The Daniel (or Iyel) that once stayed here two years ago was different to the one who returned late January, as mentioned earlier. I may be residing in the same room as the pre-novitiate, but the surroundings, in some ways, are different. I have both old and new housemates. Of course, there is the “new normal” of the post-COVID world. But as Frank Dineen would often label the place, Cuskelly House is still paradise. By the way, it was good to resume to cooking for the community again. And goodness me, some of the Filipino ingredients I left two years ago are still in the pantry. Thankfully most of them are not out of date.

The big addition to post-novitiate life for me is studying Theology again. This is one of the things I was excited for since the finishing my time at Douglas Park. I have heard great things about YTU from confreres who either learned or taught there. Upon the entering the quaint but hallowed grounds of Yarra Theological Union, I was first captured by its tranquillity. It felt like entering a monastery, with its courtyard, which unsurprisingly has a sculpture of St Francis. It was at marvelling at the simplicity and beauty of the place where I was introduced to YTU’s mascots, the adorable guinea pigs. It is an environment conducive for learning.

As for the people that make YTU, there is a warmth, and sense of community among the lecturers and students. A notable quality is its diversity. I have classmates from across the globe, representing a variety of religious congregations. Last semester I was the lone MSC student; but this semester I am joined by my brother, Trieu Nguyen, who just finished his ELSPM course.

I did three units last semester, covering different fields of Theology. I found the classes fun and engaging, and I learned so much. I considered myself lucky that the last semester was not affected too much by the coronavirus, with all sessions face-to-face. Though I must confess, studying at Master’s level was intimidating, especially with their big assessments. It tested my energy, and my ability to stay organized and disciplined. The moments of insights, stress, and even procrastination, were opportunities for growth. It also tested my religious life, especially regarding prayer. To use another analogy, I was so used to juggling a certain number of clubs. The addition of another item meant returning to re-practicing juggling, and adapting to the new situation. I feel that I am more prepared for this second half of the year.

As for highlights, there are many. Some that are worth mentioning include the many walks through parklands to class, witnessing the final professions and ordinations of schoolmates, cheering at the Brotherhood Cup, and finishing the last 4000-word essay for my lecturer and community leader, Philip Malone (which signified the end of the semester).

Aside from studying, this first half of 2021 was also occupied with pastoral work. One of my commitments this year is teaching Catechesis to children preparing for first reconciliation and communion. One definite fruit from this experience is a greater respect of primary school teachers.

Relating to past pastoral experiences, teaching is a continuation of this ongoing lesson on the importance of simply being. There were moments where I doubted myself.  Am I just wasting the children’s time? That is why I am thankful of my confreres at home, who remind me of that valuable insight of presence before I drive off to Keysborough. Aside from that, being a Catechist has been fulfilling and fun. Looks like my experience in Antioch and youth ministry did come in handy, especially with games.

Another placement was briefly helping Geraldine Lee, and her ministry to people in housing commission, drug addicts, and those suffering from mental illness.  There were moments that were confronting, but likewise it was also fulfilling. She has a drama ministry, which was amusing to take part in.

As I embark on this second half of 2021, I look forward to more memories, challenges, and discoveries, accompanied by the love and support, and the banter and laughter of my brother MSC’s. Bring it on!

Celebrating Mary MacKillop this weekend – and some MSC links

Sunday is the feast day of our saint, Mary MacKillop (1842-1909). Her congregation has the name and patronage of St Joseph – whose special year this is. There is also the naming of The Sacred Heart.

St Joseph is described in the liturgy as a wise and just man. Mary MacKillop’s congregation has shown a sense of justice responding to 19^th century challenges, and the sisters continuing to take stances, act, commit themselves to the continuous emergence of justice issues. That is their wisdom.

Fr Matthew Smith MSC was one of the priests who administered the last rites to St Mary.

Fr Paul Stenhouse MSC celebrated the daily morning Mass in the North Sydney chapel for many years during the 1960s and 1970s.  MSC Priests also served with Mass supply for other communities like St Margaret’s in Darlinghurst.

Several MSC brothers and priests had sisters in the congregation, Brothers James McNamara, Terry Barry, Fathers John Burford, Frank Crilley. Fr Norbert Earl’s sister, Sister Denis, became Superior General in the 1960s. Today, Peter Carroll’s sister, Therese, has also been part of MSC groups, especially a consultant for aged care.

A Malone story of a grandaunt: Catherine Malone was born in Braidwood, NSW, in 1863. She met Mary MacKillop in 1881 and was invited to join the sisters, a friend of Mary, working in Josephite schools in New Zealand and Australia, dying at an advanced age in 1956. There is a postscript concerning the Madigan-Malone link. Mary Mackillop stayed at Philip Madigan’s hotel in Araluen on the southern NSW goldfields as did the sisters for nine months while the convent and school were built.

And a connection with the NT mission and community of Wadeye, Deacon Boniface Perdjert. Fr Brendan Reed, PP Deepdene, was present at the canonisation and notes: The Mass of Thanksgiving, on the day after the canonisation of Mary of the Cross, was celebrated with the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian Catholics.  Members of the Aboriginal Community ceremoniously danced the gifts of bread and wine to the altar.  The late Aboriginal Deacon Boniface Perdjert, from the Northern Territory, assisted at the Mass.  And after the Mass, a group of Aboriginal Catholics prayed and sang over the burial place of the young Francis Xavier Conaci, the young Aboriginal man who had accompanied Father Salvado to Rome in the mid-nineteenth century. 

Finally, we are still trying to solve the mystery of the cloth from 1866, the year of the foundation of the Sisters of St Joseph, held in the museum in Mount Street, North Sydney. It contains the Latin motto that Jules Chevalier, Founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart from the later 1850s.  Where did Mary MacKillop come across the motto, aged 24, founding the congregation, a motto in Latin from France? Fortuitous or a connection?  No one has come up with a solution.  We still hope.

August, First Friday, Chevalier Family intentions.

In this August poster sent from the Chevalier Family Justice Committee, we are asked to name two people who inspired us with their environment-friendly mindset.

Whom would you name?

For us in the Pacific, we nominate:  John Ribat MSC and Anote Tong of Kiribati.

• Cardinal John Ribat MSC, Archbishop of Port Moresby, has spoken often on this theme:

“The rising seas level across the Pacific – we are all affected by this.”

“In Europe and here in Australia you don’t see this affecting the lives of the people. 

“But for us coming from many islands – Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu – we are seeing what the sea is doing … washing away good parts of our islands already.

“The first island that has to be evacuated … Carteret Island in Bougainville has been broken into three parts and is really disappearing.

“By 2050 most of the islands will be gone, and that is a great threat to us.

“The work of the Church is to make governments aware that we are responsible for our nation and the common good of our people.”

2.  One of the significant heads of government who made representations at international meetings is Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati.

“For us climate change is not an event in the future. It's an event that we're dealing with now…our entire survival is at stake”

“The earth is not ours to do with as we please – we are merely trustees for future generations. We ignore this reality at our peril.”

“Our message is simple: if one of the world’s smallest, poorest and most geographically isolated countries can do it, so can you.”

Vincent Long, Australian Plenary Synod, Perspectives

Bishop Vincent Long OFM.Conv. delivered the 2021 Helder Camara Lecture.  A selection of paragraphs reminding us of approaches to Catholic life today – and the challenges.  The photos remind us that Catholics in Australia have different views on Vincent Long.  We support his views.

That is the kind of stretching of the imagination and dreaming of the transformation of the Church that many Catholics are thirsting for. Few Catholics have any appetite left for cosmetic changes, mediocrity or worst, restorationism dressed up as renewal. We have struggled under the weight of the old ecclesial paradigm of clerical order, control and hegemony with a penchant for triumphalism, self-referential pomp and smugness. We yearn for a Church that commits to a God-oriented future of equal discipleship, relational harmony, wholeness and sustainability. 

There is a sense in which the Church must change into a more Christ-like pattern of humility, simplicity and powerlessness as opposed to worldly triumphalism, splendour, dominance and power.

The model of the Church based on clerical hegemony has run its course. Insofar as it is deeply embedded in patriarchal and monarchical structures, it is incapable of helping us to meet the needs of the world and culture in which we live. We have long moved out of the Ancien Régime and the age of absolute monarchs. We are on this side of the secular state and the rise of democracy. Yet it seems that the deeply entrenched patriarchal and monarchical structures of the Church have failed to correspond with our lived experience.

The Church cannot have a better future if it persists in the old paradigm of triumphalism, self-reference and male dominance. So long as we continue to exclude women from the Church’s governance structures, decision-making processes and institutional functions, we deprive ourselves of the richness of our full humanity. So long as we continue to make women invisible and inferior in the Church’s language, liturgy, theology and law, we impoverish ourselves. Until we have truly incorporated the gift of women and the feminine dimension of our Christian faith, we will not be able to fully energise the life of the Church.

Pope Francis has applied a critical lens through which the Church is renewed for the sake of its mission for the poor. The Church is helped to decentralise and impelled towards the peripheries. The Church, the People of God, should walk together, sharing the burdens of humanity, listening to the cry of the poor, reforming itself and its own action, first by listening to the voice of the humble, the anawim of the Hebrew Scriptures, who were at the heart of Jesus’s public ministry.

MSC Cor Vitae, Notification about Webinar on Spirituality of the Heart and the Human Heart

News Update: (This site has posted items on Cor Vitae, Manila (which means Heart of Life) on December 17^th 2017 and July 14^th 2021 – check with the Search Engine on the Current News page.

On Sat 7^th August, Chris Chaplin MSC is conducting a webinar titled “Dealing with Emotions in Community Life”, all religious and lay are welcome to participate.

It is part of a broader course called, “Christ Jesus Before Our Eyes: The Spirituality of the Heart and the Human Heart of the 21st Century”.

Details attached; For those in Australia it will take place from 3:30pm to 5:30pm AEST (3:00pm-5:00pm ACST).

COR VITAE

c/o. Missionaries of the Sacred Heart,

22 Gilmore Ave., corner 4th Street,

1112 New Manila, Quezon City

PHILIPPINES

E-mail Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

REMINDER

Dear Chevalier Family Congregations/Lay members,

Greetings from Cor Vitae, Manila.

Kind reminder for the forthcoming webinars.

Christ Jesus Before Our Eyes: The Spirituality of the Heart and the Human Heart of the 21st Century.

The course seeks to discover who is the human person/human heart of the 21st Century. Focusing on the human heart, it seeks to understand how the 21st century heart deal with its own emotions; how it functions within a 21st Century community life; how it manages differences and resolves conflicts; how could it live for, with and among others in this change of an era.

It will conclude with reflections on the openness/readiness of the heart of the 21st Century to be imbued with the Spirituality of the Heart. This will be done through presentations of St. Joseph, Model and Patron of those who love the Sacred Heart, and of Mary, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Spirituality of the Heart.

Cor Vitae is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Spirituality of the Heart

Time: Jul 3, 2021 13:00 Singapore

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Some Significant Days for the Chevalier Family, August 2021.

Local OLSH Sisters and a re-enactment of August 1st 1887.

1 August, 1887

The first four FDNSC Sisters arrive at Yule Island, PNG.

3 August, 1899

First community of MSC Sisters is established in Hiltrup, Germany: two Sisters of Divine Providence and one MSC candidate. Sister Servatia, one of the Divine Providence Sisters, is appointed first Superior General of the MSC Sisters, Hiltrup.

4 August, 1859

The saintly Curé d\'Ars, Jean-Marie Vianney, dies, shortly after the visit of Father Chevalier on 14 July, 1859.

5 August, 1982

MSC Sisters open a Novitiate in Bangalore, India.

11 August, 1905

MSC General Chapter at Louvain, in Belgium. Decisions taken were:  to revise the Constitutions of Father Founder, to move the Generalate to Rome, and to drop the \'fourth\' vow. This \'Vow of Stability\' could be taken by individual members to stay in the congregation until death, and also included being willing to be sent on mission anywhere in the world by the Pope or religious superior.

13 August, 1904

The Baining Martyrs: Father M. Rascher, together with three MSC confreres, a Trappist Brother, five MSC Sisters and seven Catholic Bainings, are killed in the Baining Mountains, East New Britain, PNG.

14 August, 1895

Arrival of the first FDNSC in Nonouti, Gilbert Islands (Kiribati).

15 August, 1945

MSC Sisters in PNG are released from Ramale Camp, New Britain.

20 August, 1848

This date remembers the death of Jean-Charles Chevalier,  the father of Jules Chevalier.

27 August, 1837

This date recalls the birth of Marie-Louise Mestmann (Hartzer) in Wissembourg, France.

30 August, 1874

Foundation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart by Father Chevalier in Issoudun, as a Sister Congregation to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

New Appointment Province Director, Province Care and Assisted Living, Catherine Molihan

Peter Hendriks MSC writes: I would like to introduce you to our first Director, Province Care and Assisted Living.

We are blessed that Catherine Molihan has accepted the role as Director, Province Care and Assisted Living for our Province. Catherine was born in country NSW and grew up in a large loving family. She lives in Randwick with her husband and has two adult daughters.

She has completed her nursing training and has since worked in a number of acute hospitals in Sydney. Having completed studies in Health Leadership and Management she moved into an Operational Nurse role and has completed projects which have resulted in improving patient and aged care.

Catherine has a caring and kind nature, and her main focus is to provide every person with compassionate care and the necessary supports to maintain their independence and wellbeing within the comforts of their own home.

She is very much looking forward to working within the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Chris and I were able to meet her face to face today (her interview was via Zoom) and she is energised and genuinely looking forward to taking on this role.

Catherine will begin on Monday 30th August as she is keen to get started and her office will be based at Sacred Heart Monastery, Kensington.

Covid 19 situation in Vietnam worsens.  Peter Hendriks MSC, News Update, story and photos from MSC Vietnam

• Our MSC confreres in Vietnam are responding, with an inspiring MSC spirit, to the worsening Covid crisis in their country. Vu msc refers to the virus as a roaring lion.
  • They are just entering a martial law curfew for the next 14 days from 6pm to 6am. They have up to nearly 80,000 cases.
  • Many people are poor, homeless and hungry and the hospitals are overloaded with numerous temporary hospitals being built

•  
  • Our MSC Communities are giving of their own rice and vegetables to share with the very hungry and needy and obtaining travel permits to distribute this produce, as well as source more from wherever they can.
• 
  
  • Minh msc is in charge of this ministry and Chung msc writes that this activity “keeps our heart burning for our mission of spreading love of God for others”.
  • The Final Vows of a number of our men in Vietnam will unfortunately have to be postponed.

Thank you to all our Vietnamese msc brothers in Vietnam, Philippines and Australia for spreading the compassionate love of God by how you live your lives, wherever you are.  

To sign off with a traditional Vietnamese farewell – Go Thiên nga.

What happens to students from our MSC colleges?  Enjoy six achievement stories from Daramalan

So many brothers, priests and students taught at our schools in past decades.  Often they reminisnce – and, perhaps, at times, wonder about its worth.  Here are some stories from Daramalan (which in 2021 is in its 60^th year).

CONGRATULATIONS CAROLINE!

Each year, around 80% of our Year 12 students gain admission to University. So graduation stories are relatively plentiful and a strong testament to the Daramalan ethos.

But every so often, one particular student has a special story to tell, and in 2021 it’s Caroline Gouws (2012). This month, Caroline graduated from the University of Canberra as Doctor Gouws, with First Class Honours in Human Nutrition, the Dean’s Excellence Award, as well as winning the University’s ‘Parker Medal’ for the most outstanding PhD thesis of 2020. Huge congratulations Caroline, we are all very proud of you.

So if any of our Alumni are looking for the right applicant to fill a specialist food and nutrition role, I have just the person for you!

ROYAL LONGEVITY PUZZLE FINALLY SOLVED

With the passing of Prince Philip last Thursday aged 99, it is timely to remember the influence Daramalan had on the health of the British Royal household.

In 1973, Daramalan Fifth Form student Greg Turnbull (1974) was invited by Canberra ABC to participate in a TV program to speak with the Duke of Edinburgh on youth matters. Greg took the opportunity to ask HRH if he’d ever tried a sausage roll in a bun, the current Dara Tuckshop favourite. The Prince replied in the negative, but indicated he’d take the “recipe” back to the Queen, which helps explain how both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip lived such long and healthy lives. (Surely a knighthood can’t be far off?)
On another Dara connection, Greg is married to Yvonne Turnbull, who has been working at the College for the past 15 years.

JACK OF ALL TRADES

One of the great characters to graduate from Daramalan last year was “our Jack”, and I thought you might like an update on his progress, to illustrate that anything is possible - with and without a disability - if you have the right positive mindset.

Jack is now part of the Governor-General's household team at Government House for two days a week. He is seen here serving the Japanese Ambassador as well as the GG himself last week. All that Hospitality training in Ms Kline’s classes is really paying off!
But wait, there’s more! Jack is also working as an After-School Care Educator a day a week, then if that’s not enough, he is mowing lawns around his neighbourhood with his own small business Flash Mowing. Phew! What a positive and uplifting story about one of our inspiring ex-students.

DO WHALES LOOK FORWARD TO HUMP DAY?

It appears so, as Daramalan’s expert Vanessa Pirotta (2006) has just proven. Dr Vanessa turned up on Channel 10’s “The Project” and the ABC TV's "Breakfast" this week to explain her new humpback whale research. It looks like these mammals have been taking their name quite literally, with results showing humpback numbers now approaching those of pre-whaling days. Vanessa, who is leading the research group, described this recovery as “pretty exciting seeing these super-groups in Australian waters”. Excellent work Dr Pirotta

QUESTIONABLE BEHAVIOUR

Patrick Pigram (2017) was always the first kid with his hand up in class asking the hard questions, and last night he turned “professional” with his appearance on ABC TV’s Q&A “Budget Special” episode. His question? “Is this year’s Budget fiscally responsible considering I’ll be paying off the huge debt for years to come?” Good question Pat.

FILM AND THEATRE AWARD WINNER

Ex-student Daniel Widdowson (1998), now Dr Widdowson, is an Australian of the Year finalist, recipient of Best Director at the Florence Film Awards, Best Screenplay at the New York Film Awards and an Australian Playwright finalist. It’s that last bit that brings me to his latest production called “Rape & Other Acceptable Practices”.

Daniel’s one-act, three-person show is his commentary on unacceptable social problems which include rape, consent, silencing victims, speaking out and consequences, which he describes as “an intense, graphic, and uncomfortable show which presents a very important message”.

Daniel has a Doctorate in Performative Understanding, focussing on Shakespearean literature and theology, a Masters in Hermeneutics, and a Bachelor of Theology.

Eulogy and tribute to Bernie McGrane MSC

Sharing of memories, roses sent from friends from Japan days.

From Bernie’s brother, Mervyn, and sister, Moira (and souvenir family photos):

Although we are very very sad at Bernie’s passing, in reality the good Lord knew the best time to take him.

We both have very loving memories of Bernie, both in his youth and as a priest.

In Bernie’s words “it is only in our Fallen Human World that death is looked upon as the last enemy to be conquered. And yet death has a timely message for us all. It teaches us not to be too wedded to this world. For the Christian, there is the hope of eternal glory and the sharing in the glorious inheritance left to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to this glory and inheritance that we must turn our eyes. The sufferings, pains, disappointments and even losses will all be restored.”

May you rest in peace and share in the glorious inheritance.

Your loving brother and sister
Merv and Moira

Eulogy and tribute, with thanks for Paul Jennings MSC

Bernard McGrane was born in West Wyalong, New South Wales, 25^th of May, 1926. The third of five children of Martin and Ita McGrane. He completed his secondary education and Downlands College, entered the MSC novitiate at Douglas Park and was professed an MSC 26th February, 1946. After studies at Croydon, he was ordained on July 27, 1952. He was ordained 69 years yesterday.

Bernie was sent to Eastern Papua as it was called in those days, In March, 1953 and immediately sent to the mission station to Daio over the next seven years. Daio is on the southern side of the bay and included also the Sagarai Valley area across the Pini range to the south.

Apart from 10 years in the 1960s when he worked in education, and 10 years from 1975 until 1985 when he worked at the Academy in Nagoya, Bernie spent the years until 2006 in Alotau with special responsibility for the Dayo area. He was variously the priest in charge of Daio while he was also parish priest and administrator of the Cathedral parish in Alotau on the northern side of the bay, parish priest after Daio was formally erected as a parish in 2003. He shared responsibility different times with Fr Arthur Stidwilll and work together with several OLSH sisters, especially Sister Bernadine and Sister Helen Warman.

Like all the MSC foreign missionaries of his time, Fr Bernie did not have an opportunity to study Missiology, but he did have a very important source of wisdom: the Manual for Missionaries, written by Archbishop Navarre and printed at Yule island in 1896. This manual contains six or seven principles for missionary activity, which included:

1.            LEARN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE

2.            RESPECT THE SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY REGARDING LEADERSHIP.

3.            BE SLOW TO CONDEMN LOCAL CUSTOMS UNTIL THE LOCAL PEOPLE ARE BAPTISED AND ARE READY TO QUESTION THEIR BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS.

4.            USE CATECHISTS

5.            ESTABLISH SCHOOLS

6.            BE CHARITABLE, NOT WITH MONEY OR GIFTS BUT WITH ACTIONS.

Fr Bernie was committed to all these principles. I want to reflect especially on the first – the importance of local language. Many of us are aware of Bernie’s interest in and study of both Greek and Hebrew. He did this to help him find more accurate translation of the Bible readings of the Mass into Yaleba language and dialects; he was not satisfied to translate from English translations available at that time.

There were reasons why the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles, at Pentecost, to enable all the listeners to hear the good news in their own languages. The Good News is more likely to find a home when it is heard within the language and culture of the specific people. Language is at the heart of culture; people retain their culture when they retain their language. Bernie was one of the many missionaries who kept local languages alive by changing them from spoken only to both written and spoken language. It is beautiful to witness people today, especially young people, sitting quietly in the evening or on Sunday and reading their New Testaments in their own language.

The Constitutions of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart describe our Mission:

‘we are sent into the world to establish new churches and to be of their service; to help churches in need and bring those who are far from the world into the community of believers.’ (23).

When he wrote about his times as parish priest of the Daio, Yaleba area, Bernie wrote:

the purpose of missions is to plant and establish the church. And now, after 50 years, I have seen all this happening before my eyes. Happy indeed those who had such an experience. Those of us who have worked in Papua New Guinea are the privileged ones. When I started there were no local priests, very few local teachers or nurses, maybe one local Bishop. Now in one generation the local people lead the church at almost every level and local laity are strong and becoming better educated. I have witnessed and been part of a miracle of God’s grace.

Bill Cunningham in his book, 75 Years of Building the Church in Milne Bay, tells the story of Bernie McGrane and the planting of the Catholic Church at Buibui (Gibara) a village on the western edge of the bay.

One day in 1953, Fr McGrane was returning to Daio from his regular visit to the Sagarai Valley with his usual four companions. They noticed some young men standing by the side of the path. Fr McGrane continues:

walked past them, giving the usual greeting. Then one of the men, Nalogi, his name, called my companions back and told them he wanted to talk with them while I waited. The men wanted me to start a Catholic mission in their village. I told them I would return and discuss it on another day.

The outcome was that the people decided they would give a plot of land, build a church into school, and a room for father to stay when he came on his regular visits. The mission would provide teachers for the school. Two years after, the first baptisms were celebrated, when many of the sponsors (godparents) were Catholics from Daio Village. Thus bringing the two communities closer.

Fr McGrane concludes: it is a story that owes so much to David Nalogi, Maurice Towasai from Sagaarai  and many of the village leaders and of how the church becomes missionary through people under the guidance of the Holy Spirit who lives and works in them and opens the way for the good news in their lives.

We heard last night of the personal qualities of heart that described Fr Bernie McGrane. His quiet patience, his humour, his ability to sit and listen to stories – and to share them; his commitment to prayer and ongoing learning. I have tried to describe some of the ways our loving God used these qualities to develop God’s plan for the churches of Milne Bay and empower the children of God in Papua New Guinea.

May Bernard McGrane rest in peace.