Rev. Joseph McCabe, MM

Director

jmccabe@drvc.org

Diocese of Rockville Centre

Pontifical Mission Societies and Mission Office

HCA Mission News

Words to Live by:

“Never measure your generosity by what you give, but rather, by what you have left.”

~ Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen ~

The above quote came recently in the latest Mission magazine, and it really made an impression on me. How many times have I patted myself on the back for what I thought was a good charitable donation, or beat myself up for what I assumed was a bad one? Archbishop Sheen puts our giving in the proper perspective: am I giving out of my excess or am I truly making a sacrifice?

It made me think of the story of the poor widow (Mark 12:41-44), who, by putting her two coins in the temple treas-ury, gave all that she had and depended on God for the rest:

I reach in my purse, two small coins lay inside;

But what can I buy that my Lord can’t provide?

A piece of clean linen, to sew a new robe?

Like the radiant lilies, we shall be clothed.

A small bit of grain, to bake some fresh bread?

By the words of His mouth we shall live, it is said.

Some oil for my lamp, to hold back the night?

Yet I’m told for all people, He is the Light.

An earthenware pitcher, to help quench my thirst?

No, His living water is what I’ll seek first.

Two little coins, of what use can they be?

I’ll give them to Him, who takes such care of me!

In teaching our students to pray and sacrifice for the missions, the poor widow encountered by Jesus is a perfect example of trust in God. Prayer cards with the above poem are available by request from this office. May we all be inspired by the words of Archbishop Sheen to live a more just and sacrificial existence. Amen!

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.” So said Jesus to his disciples (John 14:27). As missionaries, we are to bring Christ’s gift of peace to all people. At right are 29 ways to say “Peace” in different languages. Why not give your students the opportunity to learn one and perhaps research that country? Or make a bulletin board with the different translations written out. Wishing you all

the peace of Christ, Brenda

Volume 5, Issue 4

May 2012

UNIVERSAL PEACE

Mír Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Russian,

Serbian, Slovene, Ukrainian

Heiwa, Japanese

Salam, Arabic

La Paz, Spanish

A Paz Galician, Portuguese

Amaní, Swahili

Aman Malay, Urdu

Damai, Indonesian

Filemu, Samoan

Fred Danish, Norwegian, Swedish

Friður ,Icelandic

Hasîtî, Kurdish

Hau, Tahitian

Hoa Bình, Vietnamese

Kapayapaan, Tagalog Filipino

Kiñuiñak, Northwest Alaska Inupiat Inuktitut

Kapayapaan, Tagalog

Melino, Tonga

Nabad -Da, Somali

Pingan, Chinese

Pokój , Polish, Slovak

Pyong'hwa, Korean

Rerdamaian, Indonesian

Saanti, Nepali

Santipap, Thai

Shîte, Tibetan

Shanti Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu

Tutkiun, North Alaska Inuktitut

Ukuthula, Zulu

Meet a Missionary: Br. Alexander Walsh, M.M.

Cochabamba, Bolivia can be a sorrowful place for homeless

children. Br. Alexander Walsh, a Maryknoll Missioner from our

diocese, works at Amanecer to help street children find hope and

new life. The word Amanecer means “daybreak” in Spanish, and

“daybreak” is surely what Br. Alex’s mission is in Bolivia, bringing

sunshine and a new day to children who would otherwise not have

hope.

Children with little or no self-esteem, aggressive behavior or

any other issues are rescued from the streets and taught that

they can have a loving family, honest and dignified employment, and

a welcoming home.

In a recent letter to our office, Br. Alex shared a success story about a young boy, Juanito, and his journey

in the Salomon Klein orphanage : Juanito arrived at the orphanage when he was just eight months old and was

very sick, suffering from malnourishment, anemia and bronchitis. He was underweight, and the condition of his

skin and hair demonstrated that he was malnourished. His face showed a deep sadness, and he cried all of the

time. It was obvious from his physical condition that he was neglected, and there were signs of maltreatment.

His mother worked at night and left the child alone in the room in which they lived, Once in the care of the

educators and medical staff at the orphanage, Juanito began to recover quickly. He continued to grow and

became a sociable, communicative and cheerful child who, from a very young age, liked listening and moving to

music.

Seeing some of the other children leaving to live with adoptive families, Juanito started to ask when he

would have adoptive parents, but because he was known to have living parents all that could be done was to wait

for them to reclaim him. Efforts were made to try to locate his parents, but they were never found. Emanci-

pation processes were started to remove parental authority, which took two years. Finally in November 2011,

Juanito was assigned to an adoptive family. He is very happy and has a wonderful relationship with his new

family (even resembling his adoptive father!), and a new sister whom he plays, sings, talks and paints with.

Please pray for Juanito and the other children who need God’s love and hope in their lives. Please also pray for

Br. Alex, who selflessly lives out his vocation as a missionary. He signed his letter to us: “With your help and

other friends, there is always room in the Inn, as there was for the Christ child.” God bless you,

Br. Alex!

(adapted from Br. Alex’s letter and www.maryknoll.org)

Diocese of Rockville Centre

Pontifical Mission Societies and Mission Office “We Carry Each

Other” is published

bi-monthly. Editor: Brenda Pistani

bpistani@drvc.org

516-678-5800 x519

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