April 2020

Dear Friends,

A year has gone by since we last sent you a

newsletter to update you on where we are as an

RNDM Province in Australia. We are a small group

of 15 sisters here, but worldwide we are numbering

872 sisters with our growth areas being in Asia,

Africa and Latin America. We still have significant

numbers in New Zealand, England and Canada, but

they are ageing. We are in 22 countries and our

largest Province is Vietnam with 161 sisters.

You, our partners in Mission,.... friends, schools,

parishes and donors have been extremely

generous in the support of our Mission initiatives

worldwide. In 2019 our Solidarity Fund sent

$243,613.45 to our missions in need. The break

down is as follows:

Individual donors $ 95,878.50

Parishes, Groups, Schools $ 82,027.79

Christmas Catalogue $ 10,135.00

Funding Agencies $ 30,000.00

Child Sponsoring $ 12,626.00

Interest received $ 12,946.16

Total: $ 243,613.45

It would be extremely difficult for many of our missions

to continue with their missionary outreach without your

support and for this they and we are indebted to you all.

All we can do in return is to offer you our heartfelt

thanks and our prayers for you and your families.

Blessings and peace to you all.

OUR FOUNDRESS EUPHRASIE BARBIER

1829— 1893

The slogan which we hear so often

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!

speaks to us of solidarity, and collective

responsibility for each other.

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth

living.” In isolation we have time to pause and ask,

“What is the meaning and purpose of life? What

are we supposed to be doing?” Many answers are

given: To love and to be loved; to make the world

better than you found it, to serve others; to

commune with God; to create peace; to work for

justice; to live in the present; to be content and

grateful; to help others with their pain; to bring

God’s kingdom to earth; to serve others; to give

back; to forgive and be forgiven; to grow in

knowledge and wisdom; to form meaningful

relationships; to love God and neighbour.

Pope Francis penned these words.

“Rivers do not drink their own water; Trees do not eat their own fruit; The sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.

Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help e ach other. No matter how difficult it is...Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.”

RNDM sisters in AUSTRALIA

promote mission THROUGH

various apostolates, outreach,

communication and funding for

the missionary works of 870

Sisters of

OUR LADY OF THE MISSIONS

in 23 countries worldwide.

For RNDM’s,

Friends ,

Sponsors &

Partners in

Mission

W e all find ourselves in the unique experience of being in lockdown. Our

sympathy and hearts go out to our fellow Australians who have fallen on hard

times because of our present situation. We live in unprecedented times with no

certainty in view. How inspired were we when we heard of Captain Tom Moore

now100 walking 100 laps on his frame initiating hope and

appreciation, raising 54 million pounds for medical workers

and first responders. We have seen so many creative initiatives

that laud praise for the health sector. Hearing news of our

Sisters in the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Africa, Latin

America, Vietnam and Myanmar we realized that we are the

privileged ones. Like Australia thousands of peoples are

jobless, displaced and hungry. But their great populations add to the dilemma.

Kenya and other countries in East Africa are facing their toughest months with the

added disaster of a locust plague that has decimated their crops causing famine.

Catherine Brabender, Province Leader, and Shelley Barlow represented the

Province at the General Chapter 18th January - 18th February held in Hua Hin

Thailand. Held every six years the Chapter comprised nearly 60 Sisters from

Provinces and regions across the globe. Meeting, praying, and planning with

Sisters who lived and worked among so many diverse peoples and places was a

rich experience of interculturality.

The introductory words to the Chapter orientations, practical outcomes and governance structures

are inspirational. They appear as an overture to the RNDM song lines for the six years. A taster:

“God-Trinity, breathing through all creation, awakens our

cosmic consciousness that we are one with all life, one with

Earth, One Body in God. At the same time, we recognise that

Earth and Earth Community are in crisis! … … We therefore

commit ourselves to the authentic living of our charism in our

world today. Fired by the passion and zeal of Euphrasie, our

international missionary identity impels us to the peripheries

in response to the cries of Earth and her inhabitants.

Transformation and radical action are need in every sphere of

our life.”

Some lighter moments:

On Australia Day Catherine and Shelley had everyone singing We are One we

are Many led by “The Seekers”. Sisters were treated to refreshments and gifts

of clip-on koalas as they enjoyed the film “Ride like a Girl” the story of Michelle

Payne, our famous first woman to win the Melbourne Cup. Many of you will

remember New Zealander Margaret Scott who shared her experiences of South

Sudan at our Partners Days. Margaret is Director of the Solidarity Teacher’s Training College in

South Sudan. Here she is pictured with Sr Felista of Kenya. Here Catherine

assures Sr Margaret Murphy, Leader of the British Isles, that Australia would

support the efforts to keep Sturry alive as a vibrant heritage site for pilgrims

to the final resting place of our missionary Foundress Euphrasie Barbier.

Sr Maureen Dwan had refurbished the site. Now upkeep and maintaining

ongoing personnel require future commitment.

Captain Tom Moore

Locust plague in East Africa

T hirteen Partners in Mission from Perth and Melbourne – including 7

members of staff from our two Sacred Heart Colleges in Oakleigh

Victoria and Sorrento WA - participated in a pilgrimage led by RNDM Sisters

Catherine and Madeleine tracing the story of Euphrasie Barbier and the foundation of the Congregation

in France and England.

The Pilgrimage began in Euphrasie’s birthplace in Caen, Normandy, and

moved across France to the tiny of village of Cuves and onto Lyon –

birthplace of the Congregation. Here the group did as Euphrasie did in 1861 –

prayed together in the small Chapel of Our Lady of Fourviere. It was on

Fourviere that the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions was to

begin. From France the Pilgrims travelled to England and visited Sturry, a

small village 6 kms from Canterbury and knelt in prayer at the grave of

Euphrasie in the small chapel of the Convent that Euphrasie herself had

established in 1881.

Everywhere we went the pilgrims met with Sisters of Our Lady of the

Missions and particularly enjoyed the story telling of many returned missionaries. The pilgrimage closed

with a ceremony with Year 7 Students in Sacred Heart College Wealdstone. The story will live on - such

a fitting way to close a time of grace and enjoyment for all the pilgrim participants. Special thanks to the

Sisters of England and France who welcomed us with great hospitality everywhere we went.

Jenny Bilton, First Assistant Principal at SHGC Oakleigh, Victoria spoke of her pilgrim

experience to her colleagues at the College:

“The pilgrimage was an opportunity to engage personally with the

inspiring and courageous story of the foundress of the Our Lady of the

Mission Sisters. We had the opportunity to visit significant sites

through Euphrasie’s life and while there to hear of a young woman

inspired to respond to the call of God through mission. We were astounded to

learn of her determination to work with the marginalised, especially women and

children, of how she began the RNDM Order and how she battled bureaucracy and

social norms of the time to implement her vision. We came to understand that she

was a woman of both action and contemplation – a woman who would not give up

her vision even though she was continually confronted with obstacles”

“Do not think that because you cannot do all that

you would want to do, there is reason to believe

that all is lost. No, no, what cannot be done today,

do tomorrow; what cannot be done in the first

year do in the second. Only stay calm, maintain

union with God” Euphrasie Barbier, 1868

This pilgrimage gave us the opportunity to draw

from the story of Euphrasie and to marry it with

our own life’s journey. We had time for reflection

and prayer, to allow Euphrasie and her experiences

to speak to us. This young French woman with

enormous courage and vitality is an extraordinary

role model for us all.

Like Euphrasie we hope that we will be faith-filled and courageous; embracing challenges that are set

before us. Her story has impacted us all personally and professionally and we hope that we will be able to

further embed the charism of the RNDM Sisters into the life of our community

Sturry, Canterbury England

Euphraise’s Tomb in Sturry

Heritage Centre, Sturry

where Euphrasie

Barbier died in 1893

L oving greetings to you from Melbourne, Australia, I am Anna Thi Kieu Oanh

Dang. I am a Vietnamese sister studying English since January at the English

Language School Pastoral Ministry, ELSPM. First I thank God for the opportunity to learn English in

ELSPM. Ut and I are deeply grateful to the Vietnam Province. We would like to express our special

thanks and gratefulness to all of sisters in Australia because they welcomed us with love and generosity.

ELSPM is a good school for religious and seminarians. All the teachers are very kind, dedicated and

responsible. Our class has seven students. We come from five countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia,

China and the Congo, all are very friendly. In class, we not only learn English but we also learn about the

culture of each other and of Australia. Now, Ut and I cannot go to school because CV-19 is spreading

everywhere. So we enjoy learning on Zoom. I hope the pandemic ends soon and we will go to school

again. Once again, we thank God and are deeply grateful to all of our sisters who keep us in their prayer

and give us the opportunity to become missionary sisters in another country. May God bless you always.

Thank you:

I am Teresa Nguyen Thi Ut. I am from Vietnam. I came to Melbourne In January to study

English. I want to express my deep gratitude to the Congregation and the leadership teams

of Vietnam and Australia for allowing me to come to Australia. You all have created the

best advantageous conditions for me to continue to grow up in the vocation of RNDM.

I feel peaceful and happy when I’m sharing my life with Sisters Maureen Belleville,

Margaret Mclnerney and Anna Oanh in Surrey Hills and with the other Sisters in

Melbourne. They are very lovely, conscientious and full of patience with me. My language is limited, but

with my love in Christ and a Spirit of RNDM, I understand, love and respect each person. I really admire

my older sisters because their age is high but their spirit is very young. I love the life of the first Christian

community, they had one heart, one mind and shared everything together. They gathered to pray and listen

to the Word of God day by day. They became the great witnesses to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Here, I experienced that spirit. I thank God for this good opportunity. Jesus helped me to recognize His

new face in a new culture. Teresa Nguyen Thi Ut RNDM

Four Vietnamese Sisters are studying English at the

PERTH INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE of ENGLISH ( PICE )

For the past several weeks their classes have been online, using ZOOM.

Linh and My Hang have been with us since February 2019, and have a visa till July 2020.

Nhan and Hong arrived on 27 February

2020, so (all going well!) will be with us

for another year.

Hang My Tran

Anna Thi Hong Nguyen

Huyen Linh Nguyen

Maria Thi Nhan Nguyen

I n January 2020 I returned to the Australian Province after spending twenty plus

years in Kenya. Transition has been a special time of memories and of entering

into a world which is both familiar and new. The years I spent in Kenya were a

special time of growth of RNDM charism in Africa. When I went most of the sisters

were from UK/Ireland Province. A few Kenyans had made Temporary Vows. When

I left nineteen Kenyans had made Perpetual Vows and

were involved in mission in Kenya and beyond.

Before I left Kenya there were a number of special Farewells – each one a

chance to give thanks for the many blessings. On 29th December the Sisters in

The Kenyan Province gathered in Nairobi. Salota had prepared a Power Point,

which evoked many memories of events in the life of the Province and the life

of individuals. It evoked memories of the Sisters I found in this Province when

I came who have returned to their own Provinces. While I came to Kenya as

member of the Province in 1997 in the previous years I had visited and been involved in decisions

related to Formation and purchase of the property in Nairobi. As the first Kenyans celebrate 25 years of

Profession I feel I have been part of that twenty five years and am hopeful that RNDM Mission in Kenya

will continue to grow in the next twenty-five years.

On 5th January I said Goodbye to the Parish during the Sunday

Mass. I was very aware that this experience of a Church packed

with many young people alive with singing and dancing would

be a different experience to what I would find in Australia.

Perhaps the most special occasion

was an evening meal with a Group

of Friends of Tei Wa Ngai, a

group of business people who

have come together to support us

in the building of a rehabilitation Centre for our children with disabili-

ties. This has been one of my most precious experiences in Kenya and

has been richly supported by my family and partners in Australia.

Returning to Australia has been an experience of many differences especially in relation to the digital

world but it has been a home-coming with the chance of being part of simple family gatherings and

celebrations and especially of being reconnected with the Sisters in the Province. It was blessing to be

able to be part of the Province Assembly and to be present at some functions in Sacred heart College

before Corona Virus changed our lives.

Looking to the Future with Hope:

Fencing Property for Tei wa Ngai

Progamme

I am Sr. Suchitra Rozario from Bangladesh Province. I came to Australia

on the 15 March 2019 for a year on the Enhancing Skill Visa. I worked

very closely with the Leadership Team, Teachers and Staff of the Sacred

Heart Girls’ College, Oakleigh. I tried to understand the leadership

structure of the College. Especially their roles and how they run the college.

Before I went to Australia, I was asked to give Chris Dalton

(Principal), a list of learning areas where I wanted to gain

experience. The leadership team kept every door open for me where

I went and learned things. I feel my requirements were fulfilled.

Besides my college experience I have seen some parts of Australia

too. Among them the Central Australia trip was a high light to me

where I gained much knowledge about this country. I have also

experienced the RNDM way of life in Australia and their reality.

As an RNDM I have received the Sisters love, affection, support, care

and acceptance.

My experience at Sacred Heart Girls' College will help me to work in my new

role more efficiently and I hope it will bring some positive changes and

improvement in the society. As an RNDM missionary we are a group of women

who offer our services to all kinds of people. We especially work with women and

girls as we believe they can make a difference in their communities. Bangladesh

is a developing country where people still need better education to improve

their life status. This education will help the young women to stand on their own

feet and not always rely on the men and bear the hardship and abuse from

them. They will have a voice in the family.

After my experience at Sacred Heart Girls' College, I am going to work in Rangamati,

Chittagong Hill Tracks. Here I will have a variety of students who come from tribal

communities as well as from Bengali settlers in the hill areas. There will be multi faith

students too. Tribal people are the most vulnerable people in our country. So my service

will help them to become stronger in the society and educate them to stand up for their

rights. This education also will help the people to live harmoniously in the Hill Track

areas of Chittagong, Bangladesh

Sacred Heart Girl’ College.

Mr. Chris Dalton Principal,

deputies Carmel Fenney &

Jenny Bilton with Suchitra

Sr. Maureen Belleville

T he end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 were very exciting times for me . I had no idea how very exciting they could be . Firstly my 90th

birthday would be on 21st December and my Platinum Jubilee on 18th January 2020. Because the 21st was so near to Christmas it was decided that we would celebrate both events on 14th December with a special Eucharist followed by a Luncheon in the Parish Hall. It was suggested that I invite my family, a few past students, some Partners in Mission and our

Sisters. Sr Shelley Barlow and Sr Margaret Spain had come from Perth for a meeting so that meant that there were thirteen RNDM Sisters altogether. My family live quite a distance from Melbourne consequently I do not see them very often so this was a wonderful family gathering. A congratulatory card from a nurse explained Platinum as a symbol of true love, purity and strength. I whole heartedly thank the Sisters for all the preparations they had generously made to make this a most memorable occasion. I thank also all the Sisters and friends who sent messages from afar. I pray that in imitation of Euphrasie I may strive to have true love, purity and strength.

Golden Jubilee Celebration

Sr. Mary Kim Vu Dung

1 January, 2020

T he 1st of January each year is always the happiest day on earth as the whole world celebrates the New Year with much joy and hope. For me,

the New Year 2020 was a significant day, as I celebrated my religious Golden Jubilee! What happiness! Like all the RNDM Sisters around the world, I have been called to share the Divine Mission in living the charism of Euphrasie Barbier. Being a missionary religious beyond frontiers, across countries and cultures is a GIFT of GOD that has led me to the service of people of all ages in Vietnam and Australia. I felt very blessed in working with children, youth, broken families, addicts, offenders, and prisoners. There were joys, rewards, and much appreciation; but also there were challenges and difficulties. No matter who they are and what happened, I always trusted in God and believed that, it is God who has worked in me and with me.

Living in our RNDM community has been a great blessing. The communion of “we are one, we are love” is a precious Gift we share. The spirit of “one body – one mission” has empowered me in my ministry as I believe that I did not work alone, but with my Sisters and in partnership with others. 50 years is a long life journey! 50 years in missionary religious life is a faithful journey of following Jesus! With a grateful heart, I thank God for the gift of my vocation in the Congregation. Also I am always grateful to my family and all the Sisters who have been part of my life with their love, care, and support. United with my companions in Vietnam, France and Canada, I thank God for the gift of our 50 years in His service. Here in Australia, the sisters in Melbourne joyfully joined me in the Eucharist of Thanksgiving celebrated by Fr. Peter Toan Nguyen, following a party with 3 courses and a beautiful cake. Mary Kim Vu Dung RNDM

Maureen’s family

Sr. Sheila RSM and brother

Bernie Belleville

T hanks to the help and compassion of many generous donors we are able to relieve the suffering and provide education to a number of

children. Through our Sponsor a Child initiative which has been running for seven years we are able to divert funds and support children in the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Kenya and India. Presently 48 children are being sponsored from donors in Australia,

New Zealand, the British Isles and Ireland, Canada and Rome. Of the 43

children being sponsored Australian donors are sponsoring 35 of these

children. Each child has his/her own story to tell and a brief synopsis along

with a photo is sent to the donor. Often it is the parent or grandparent, or

the Sister in Charge who writes of the progress of the child and speaks of

their gratitude to the giver. Some children are able to write their own letter

of thanks. Most of those sponsored are in our two orphanages, St. Benedict’s

and St. Peter’s in Bangladesh. The sisters care for almost 100 children from

infants to teenagers. These children are happy and loved. We are often

heartened by ‘good news’ stories, one recently of a girl left on the orphanage

doorstep as an infant who is now in her third year of nursing training. We

have a number of donors who rather than sponsor and individual child gift

money to children in general. Maureen Dwan rndm

I have been very blessed to be able to share our lovely beach house at Notre Dame Seaview in WA each

year with volunteers from our Personal Advocacy group and their spouses. Two units, belonging to

the Sisters of St Joseph, within walking distance of our house, provide for the extra accommodation.

Saturday mornings are devoted to sharing on an article concerning our faith journey, our daily life, our

commitment to one another, our friends etc. Sunday morning it’s

Mass together at the chapel in Safety Bay and that is a special time.

However, that Sunday was Sunday the 22nd of March, probably the

first Sunday in history there was to be no public celebration of the

Eucharist in churches or chapels. Fortunately, Bulletins were

already published so we had access to these, courtesy of the Sister’

of St Joseph.

The sharing of the readings, the atmosphere of prayer and together-

ness, helped us to experience a new way of being church…the,

Sensus Fidelium! We came to realise our faith was real and it was

more than Mass on Sundays.

As we made our way home that Sunday afternoon and ‘lockdown’

began we were hopefully more aware of Paul’s words for that

Sunday

“You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord;

Be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and

truth.” Veronica Martin rndm

RNDM Child Sponsorship Programme

Annual Personal Advocacy Volunteer’s Weekend BC (before Corona!)

A t the close of the 2019 school year 12 students from Sacred Heart Girls’ College Oakleigh spent 12 days with RNDM Sisters in Manila. It was rich and challenging time for them. They

were joined in Manila by four Indigenous Menubo girls who shared the Immersion experience with them. While in the Philippines the girls spent time with Sr Kate O’Neill at the Kuya Centre for Boys and travelled with Sr Claudia to visit Micro Credit Groups, participating in their group meetings and assisting the women in their small businesses. Due the inability to visit the mission to Menubo Tribal Girls in Kulaman, Mindanao, four girls from there travelled to Manila and joined the Aussie girls in the immersion sharing culture, friendship and appreciation of each others’ way of life. The girls also visited PREDA a home for children rescued from Sex trafficking and had an enjoyable experience of spending a day and night with the Indigenous Aeta Tribal people. The following is a compilation of the evaluation comments that the girls wrote as they left Manila: Our time in Manila with the RNDM Sisters gave us the opportunity to better understand the lives of those affected by poverty. We observed it up close and saw the work of those who are trying to assist or aid in healing, the scars of those who live in a hard world. This was no wishy-washy exposure to poverty. We experienced so many raw dimensions of life in the Philippines which are authentic and real. We stayed overnight in the village and homes of the Indigenous Aeta community. This gave us a better understanding of the values of other cultures and the importance of their history. We come home to Australia more aware of injustice and we are motivated to learn more about poverty - its causes and the organisations that fight it, so that we can see where we can help. I gained more from this experience than I could ever have imagined. I want to ensure that I am a voice to raise awareness for those people living in poverty and not to be put off when people in society or at school for example say things that I don’t agree with. I want to make sure that I take into consideration the consequences of my actions, thoughts, and opinions on the wider global community scale and to be sure to look out for my neighbour – help others during their time of struggle. I need to remind myself of the immersion when I am complaining – to be less selfish with my own material needs. It is important that we strive to make some sort of difference to other people’s lives - to act more selflessly and put people in the community first. We were a great group together all of us, including the four Menubo girls from Mindanao who were with us the whole time and who fully immersed themselves in the experiences which made it so memorable, challenging and even fun. We also had the opportunity to meet RNDMs in their community house – share a meal, pray, laugh and dance together. They with other groups we met, are so passionate about fighting for the rights of others and give opportunities to those who come for help to learn. We were confronted with so many challenges: Language – it seemed a barrier at first, but we learnt other ways of communicating! The HEAT! And so much walking! The effort to hold back tears when I realised that the innocent children I was meeting had been assaulted or abused. The realisation of how much we take for granted when there are so many who have to fight/struggle for the basics of life. One thing I need to do is to remind myself of the immersion when I am complaining – to be less selfish with my own material needs. This was an important experience for us all. Madeleine Barlow RNDM

Sr Kate O’Neill

(Australian) is the

Cheif Executive

Officer of the Kuya

Centre for Street

Boys in Manila

Contact: Sr. Maureen Dwan 14 Rupert Street, Doncaster East, Vic. 3109 Phone: 03 9841 5875 Mobile 0405474176 Email: rndmausmission@olm.org.au

Keep Safe

Keep well

We remember the victims of

our bush fires who lost loved

ones, homes , memories,

domestic animals and wild life.

We acknowledge our heroic

fire fighters and volunteers.

This ANZAC DAY 2020

(Australia & New Zealand

Army Corp) we remember our

fallen soldiers, men and women

who gave their lives for our

liberation and freedom.

OUR SISTERS IN CARE

Sr. Patricia

Byrne

Sr. Anne

Noonan Sr. Maureen

(Tar) Clifton

Madeleine Barlow, Catherine Brabender, Margaret Spain, Maureen Dwan, Helena Brabender, Trish Keogh,

Marie Therese Ryder, Shelley Barlow, Mary Kim Vu, Suchitra Rozario, (Sitting) Margaret McInerney,

Maureen Belleville, Lorna Brown, Veronica Martin.