The Missionaries of God's Love

Cross and Flame (November 2004)

A superb dinner dance

Congratulations to the Friends of Providence (helped by the Spiritual Association) in Melbourne for the successful dinner dance on 28th August. It was the largest gathering yet, and there were no seats left. Everyone had a great time. Good music and excellent food, exciting prizes and lots of fun for all. Congratulations to Neville and Trish Joseph, and Glenn and Jenny Rawlins, Jeff and Christine Pinto, and all the other wonderful people who made this such a enjoyable occasion. The MGL received over $5,000 from the event. Bless the Lord!

New developments in the Manila mission

The brothers in Manila have moved ahead into a new era of mission. The Bishop of Novaliches Diocese has given them the care of two sub-parishes, which have chapels and accommodation. This enables them to re-locate to this new area, while still maintaining one of their present houses in Donar Pilar compound. Having their own churches they will be in a better position to celebrate Eucharist in MGL style, and conduct outreaches etc. from these centres. This new arrangement also gives them space for an office for their campus ministry work which is expanding. They have been given responsibility for campus ministry for the Diocese. Given the many thousands of young people involved they need to be selective and just focus on a few of the more open colleges rather than spreading themselves too thinly. They are modifying the Youth Alpha course for use in the Philippines and hope this will be an effective means of bringing the young people to initial conversion. At the moment in Manila the mission has Fr. Steve Tynan, Fr. GeoffreyCoombe, Fr. Simon Wayte and Brother Noel Cabigting. Please keep them in your prayers.

MGL sisters expanding, need help!

The MGL sisters in Canberra have outgrown their present house. Praise the Lord!

It is such a great blessing that they are receiving new vocations again next year. However, it means that they must find a new residence. Already they are stretched to the limit in their present accommodation.

Everyone is asked to pray earnestly for the Lord's provision by the end of January of a new house large enough for at least seven sisters, and preferably more.

We have to pull out all stops in seeking a place for them.

The sisters are now ready to move ahead in numerical growth. If you know of someone who could help them find a house in Canberra they would love to hear from you.
Otherwise, let us all pray our hearts out, trusting the Lord will do the impossible.

In Sr. Judy Bowe's absence ( away on sabbatical) please direct all correspondence to her deputy Kathy Miller: 6 Dunstan Street, North Balwyn Vic 3104; Phone: (03) 98578177.
Or you can contact Therese Mills at the house in Canberra : 58 Hannaford Street Page ACT 2614 Phone: (02) 62545441.

Reflection ……………

Dear friends in Christ,

In the midst of the inevitable trials and anxieties of life I find it useful to remember often the saying of St. Padre Pio: “Pray, trust and do not worry”. At first this aphorism could sound trite and simplistic, especially when we are faced with so many complex and perplexing situations in modern life. Yet I propose that this little formula really works. This age of anxiety with many anguished souls feeling lost and depressed could do well to listen to the simple wisdom of the saints. We need this wisdom more than we need the psychologist’s couch.

Padre Pio says: “Prayer is the best weapon we possess, the key that opens the heart of God”. How true! As Scripture says: “The prayer of the humble man pierces the heavens”, and “God hears the cry of the poor”. We are to cast our cares upon the Lord, who in due time will raise us up ( 1 Peter 5/7). As St. Paul says: “There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus” (Phil.4/6). It is simply a matter of acknowledging the depth of our personal need, and then, rather than becoming moody and introspective, turning to Jesus, crying out to him from the heart.

In times of trial and difficulty we are unfortunately inclined to make inadequate responses. Sometimes we fall into a heap, consumed by anxiety and self-pity. Self-absorption sucks all our interior energy, and we can see no way forward. We are without hope. At other times we steel ourselves to face the problem and press on regardless with stoic resolve, relying on our own strength, rather than the Lord. We become problem-centred rather than Jesus-centred. Underneath each of these inadequate responses is a fair dose of pride and self-sufficiency. A more life-giving response is to use the situation as a way to God. While being realistic about the depth of our plight, and being honest about the feelings we are experiencing, we can turn to the Lord for help. This is the stance of faith, making an act of trust in God.

Once when I was on the chapel floor experiencing the “terror of the night” I was led to read this Psalm: “I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free. Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called; the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. The angel of the Lord is encamped around those who revere him, to rescue them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him” (Ps.34/5-9). These are the words that John Fisher, the English Martyr, quoted as he saw the morning sun shine through the gallows just before he was put to death as a witness of faith.

Trust in the Risen Son is our ultimate assurance. Corrie Ten Boom, who experienced the horrors of Ravensbruch concentration camp, and lost her own sister during the ordeal due to brutality and maltreatment of the guards, says that “faith is trusting in the goodness of God, even when all the evidence in your life seems to be to the contrary”.

Padre Pio simply advises: “Do not worry over things that generate preoccupation and anxiety. One thing only is necessary: to lift up your spirit and love God”. Fear paralyses the soul. Remember the apostles when they thought the boat was sinking. They certainly had reason for concern! The waves were crashing over the boat and it was filling up with water. And Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the stern! They woke him in terror: “Master, don’t you care! We are going down!” We are told Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the waves and all was calm. Then he said to them “Why were you afraid, you men of little

Faith?” Fear is the opposite of faith. When we
are afraid we build in our minds an image of the worst case scenario. “We are going to sink!” “We’ll all be ruined, said Hanrahan!”. We forget who is in the boat with us! The apostles forgot Jesus’ assurance to them that they were going to the other side. His word is good and true. We can stand on his promises. He is not going to let us sink! In our times of trouble it is sufficient to turn to him with trust in his power to save, and confident in his will to provide for a us and to protect us. “Pray, trust and do not worry!”

………… Fr Ken

vows and promises

All are warmly welcome to the celebration of Vows and Promises of the MGL brothers to be held at 11.00am, Saturday 4 December at St. Benedict’s Church Narrabundah ACT.
There will be four brothers professing their initial vows and seven who will me making promises. This should be a wonderful day of celebration of the work of God in our midst.

recent happenings ......

Acolyte and lector celebration

On Tuesday October 5th at 7.30pm Mass at St. Benedict’s Narrabundah Archbishop Carroll installed MGL brothers as acolyte and lector. For most this was an initial step towards priesthood. Those instituted as acolyte were Mark Cummins, James Yomban, Edward Ekari and Michael Tal. Other brothers were affirmed in their status as acolytes which had been attained in another context viz. Joseph Neonbasu, Eddy Lering and Timothy Maima. In addition, a number of brothers were installed as lectors – Peter Kuraya, Larry Talentino, Sam Burns, and Tom Doran. In his homily Archbishop Carroll stressed that the essence of all ministry is a personal relationship with Jesus, which should be fostered daily in personal prayer.

MGL priests meeting

The annual meeting of MGL priests , who are less than 5 years ordained, was held at St. Benedict’s, Canberra, on September 27-29. Some of the more senior priests took the opportunity to be present as well. The time together included prayer, sharing and on-going education. The topic this year was on growing in the grace of celibacy. The focus was especially on the human dimensions of this journey. Fr. Chris Ryan and Fr. Tony Schick prepared presentations on the psycho-sexual dimensions of the celibate life and on issues about growth in chastity. The input was excellent and really well received. Everyone who participated was grateful for the opportunity for the input, sharing and mutual support.

A time for travel under the providence of God

MGL priests have been blessed recently with opportunities to travel that have been provided for by generous sponsors and Harvest pilgrimages. We are very grateful that our priests are able to have these experiences which help expand vision and empower them in their work of evangelization and formation. Fr. Dave Tremble recently had a couple of months on sabbatical in Europe. He is in transition between leaving St. Benedict’s Narrabundah and taking up a new appointment at St. Martin de Porres aboriginal community in Darwin. Fr. Tony Schick will be travelling in Europe, USA and Canada during December and January checking out formation programs that could be useful for the MGL seminary. Fr. Tony is the rector of the Melbourne seminary and this trip will give him greater vision and understanding of his important role as formator of students. Fr Chris Ryan is making a lightning visit to Paray le Monial and Paris for a couple of weeks in order to participate in a practical program on how to bring the new evangelisation to the cities of the modern world. This will help him develop vision and programs for the St. Benedict’s Eucharistic Centre. Fr. Ken travelled in Indonesia and East Timor in September in search of vocations to the MGL. He also visited the MGL missions in Manila and Darwin earlier this year.

Excitement in Darwin

The Darwin mid-year school of evangelisation , which was coordinated by Fr. Dan Benedetti MGL, had a new and exciting feature – almost all the participants were Tiwi young people from Bathurst Island. This was a unique experience for everyone and very encouraging to see the Tiwi young people open their hearts to the Lord. Since the school there has been some follow-up on the island, and it seems a whole new thing is happening with the people there who are hungering to go deeper with the Lord and establish a new way of life in Him. Keep this in your prayers.
The brothers in Darwin also recently conducted an outreach to a mining town in the remote area. The largely European congregation was ecstatic with praise of their powerful ministry.

Reflection on candidacy

Ben Roberts was accepted into candidacy for Orders by Archbishop Carroll on October 10
at St. Benedict’s Narrabundah. The ceremony took place in the context of a Celebration Sunday Mass of Disciples of Jesus Community. In this article Ben reflects on the significance of this step towards ordination to the priesthood. He hopes to be ordained next year.

In the Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul gives a brief biography dealing with the time after he was captivated by Jesus on the Damascus road. A retreat in Arabia was followed by life among the believers in Damascus, a visit to Peter in Jerusalem and then ministry in the regions of Syria and Silicia (Gal 1:18-21). Fourteen years passed. After all this time Paul went up to Jerusalem again to the home of the ‘pillars of the Church,’ Peter and John and James the brother of Jesus. There, after he laid out before them his methods, the wonderful fruit of his ministry and his vision for the preaching of good news to the nations, they ‘extended the right hand of fellowship’ to Paul and Barnabas to continue in their work.
In Paul’s story we can discern two inseparable threads. On the one hand, something intensely personal happened to him. No one else saw what took place between Jesus and Paul on the road to Damascus. He could never have put that experience fully into words, I’m sure. But he experienced himself as ‘grasped,’ as taken hold of by the Lord. ‘I press on to lay hold of the prize for which Christ Jesus laid hold of me (Phil 3:12).’ On the other hand, however, after years of testing and growth, he needed the approval of someone besides himself. The leaders of the church had to listen to his story and say, 'Yes. We recognize that God is at work in your life and we give you our blessing.’ What had been happening in Paul’s life was real, but it needed to be submitted to discernment and given the authority of the apostles.

On the tenth of October this year Archbishop Francis Carroll celebrated the Rite of Candidacy, accepting me as a candidate for ordination to the diaconate first and then priesthood. Without wanting to compare myself too closely with Paul, his story helps me to understand this event and to share it with readers of this newsletter. About fifteen years ago the Lord Jesus ‘grasped’ my life and named me as his. Like Paul’s early years, my life since has been a mixture of testing and retreat, of life in communities (Antioch, a prayer group, various parishes, Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community and the Missionaries of God's Love), and of doing my best to bring the gospel to the people I’ve met. When Father Francis, the successor of the apostles, received me as a candidate, he was ‘extending the hand of fellowship’ to me in a tentative way. I say ‘tentative’ because candidacy is not the last word. Unforeseen things happen. Nevertheless, what we celebrated on the tenth of October was my submitting all that God has worked in me to the discernment of Father Francis, and his saying that it seems to be the hand of the Lord. It is a real step: the first official recognition from the Church of the intensely personal word that Jesus has spoken to my life, and which has been nurtured by the MGL and recognized by MGL when I took final vows earlier this year. Barring those unforeseen things, the next step is ordination to the diaconate.
Please pray for me as I begin pastoral work in a parish in Canberra in December. May God's peace reign in your hearts.

………… Ben Roberts

Reflection on final vows

On the 25th Sept. Kate Atkins professed her final vows at St. Benedicts Narrabundah. People came to the celebration from all over Australia. In this article Kate reflects on what it means to her to have taken final vows and lets us know about her story leading up to this great day.

On reflecting upon my final vows I see the first thing that has stood out for me is that I am extremely grateful to the Lord for my life and to the Lord for calling me to the Missionaries of God’s Love. Secondly that I have been loved through out my life and in each stage of my journey the Lord has blessed me with amazing people who have reflected to me something of the love of God and lastly that the Lord has been gracious to me in answering the first prayer I ever really prayed in giving me the strength that I have needed throughout my life.
The journey began thirty-one years earlier in 1973 in Port Lincoln in South Australia I was born into a strong catholic family and my parents became involved with the Charismatic renewal when I was two.

I n 1991 I moved to Adelaide to study and I completed an Arts Degree in Philosophy and English and a Graduate Diploma in Legal studies. At the end of 1991 I became involved with a Catholic Youth Group and began to experience God’s Love for me in a personal way. I also experienced for the first time consciously began to experience release of the charismatic gifts. I had been praying for God’s Strength as I realized that I needed more then my good will to live out a Christian life. God answered my prayer with the gift of His Spirit.
In 1994 I felt a call to join Disciples of Jesus Community and felt that the Lord was asking me to be open to consecrated life. I spent the following two years finishing my study and praying about the drawing to consecrated life, that I was experiencing.

I joined the Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters in Adelaide in1996 when I was 22 and at this time I had the privilege and enjoyed working with St Paul’s College and working with the young people in Disciples of Jesus Community. In 1999 I moved with the sisters to Canberra and spent three years working with the University of Canberra Chaplaincy team and also began studying Theology part time by correspondence. I n 2002 I moved to Darwin and had the opportunity to work with a Marist Youth Leadership program in O’Loughlin College. The two years in Darwin were very enriching ones as I had the experience of mixing with different cultures and found the exposure Indigenous cultures to be a great privilege.
This year we have relocated to Melbourne where we have begun a study house and this has given me the opportunity to focus on study.
So here after my vows I can say with confidence that my desire is to be able to be nothing but a good Missionary of God’s Love and live fully the joy that this life brings.

….......... Kate Atkins

Young men of God conference

A weekend conference for young men held on 9-10 October at St. Benedict’s Narrabundah proved to be a great success. Fr. Ken had called the Conference after having a prophetic sense that now is a specially anointed time for young men to grow to their full stature in Christ and take up their rightful place in the Church and the world.
Close to a hundred young men, primarily from the Sydney and Canberra regions, gathered for a unique experience of healing and personal empowerment. Sam Burns, from the MGL pre-novitiate, who was on the organizing team, commented “I think a lot of guys felt empowered through the talks and the sharings to overcome disordered patterns in their lives and were strengthened in their commitment to the Lord and to brotherhood amongst themselves”. There was a general recognition at the conference, both by the speakers and participants, that young men are often wounded deeply in their sexuality, and there was a clear affirmation of the power for healing that can be found in the redemption brought by Jesus.
The weekend featured adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and charismatic worship, and most of the participants took the opportunity of sacramental reconciliation. On Saturday evening Fr. Chris Ryan gave a stirring call for the young men to surrender their lives to Jesus. There was an enthusiastic response. On Sunday the focus turned towards using ones gifts in the Body of Christ and being an influence for good in the world. Tom Doran, MGL Canberra, who was in the music ministry for the weekend, reflected: “I think we all realized more deeply our identity as leaders in the Church, lay, consecrated and priests. We became more aware that individually and collectively we can make a difference”.

Why not sponsor a novice or seminarian?

The MGL Friends of Providence invite you to journey with the novices and seminarians by sponsoring a student – full or part sponsorship is available. Even a small amount given on a regular basis can enable you to be part of this great work. We sincerely thank the very generous people who have taken up sponsorship this year. All benefactors are remembered in the prayers and Masses of the MGL.
It is a long road to priesthood – 9 years in fact – but we can see that the MGL are indeed the Lord’s fruitful vine as we watch their numbers increase. The MGL are only able to continue to grow and live their lives for the Lord because others have made sacrifices for them. By making these sacrifices, however, we are privileged to be part of a work that will influence the eternal destiny of many.

For details on how to sponsor a novice or seminarian, see the flyer inserted in this newsletter.

SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION NEWS

Canberra

The last Spiritual Association day for the afternoon tea, adoration and rosary.

It was a special occasion as we expressed our gratitude to John and Noeleen Carrick who have been leading the Association for over ten years but now have decided it is time to give the task over to someone else.

Thanks John and Noeleen.!
You have done a marvellous service for us all. They will of course still be active members.
As yet a new leader has not been announced.

Fr. Ken visited Brisbane 25-27 June 2004. He spoke at many different gatherings, including a large breakfast meeting and the Sunday afternoon Spiritual Association Mass. It was a time of renewal in faith , prayer and enthusiasm for Jesus. Fr. Ken’s message was simple but challenging. For future gatherings with MGL and information on the Spiritual Association, contact Margaret- Mary Hayes
(07) 33491944

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Melbourne

Jenny and Glen Rawlins continue to do a great job in calling people together for the Association days of reflection with Mass , adoration and Rosary, at the Seminary house in Burwood. These days are very well attended . Members of the Association also helped out with the annual Dinner Dance organised by Neville and Trish Joseph and the Friends of Providence. It was a great night and a wonderful support for the MGL. Anyone wanting to know more about the Spiritual Association call Jenny and Glen on
(03) 970808

What is the spiritual association?

The Spiritual Association of the MGL is a large body of people throughout Australia who are committed to sharing in the way of life of the MGL and praying for the brothers and sisters. As lay people they share in the way of life by the following commitment:
a) daily Eucharist (or as often as possible)
b) daily time of personal prayer (before Blessed Sacrament if possible)
c) some acts of fasting and/or self-denial
d) daily Rosary (with particular intercessions) and
e) some involvement in sharing the Good News to others.
They pray for the brothers and sisters in whatever way they are called.
Anyone interested for more in formation see the local representatives, or contact Fr. Ken

Vow of evangelical chastity within the MGL Spiritual Association

A little known aspect of the Spiritual Association is the presence of a few women who have made private vows to be hidden intercessors for the MGL and have chosen to give their lives for this purpose. This way of life is not public, and can only be undertaken by women who are mature in age and emotional integration; either a widow who does not intend to marry again, or a person who has an annulment and does not intend to marry again, or a single person who has never married and does not intend to marry.
A candidate needs to be a woman with deep faith in the Lord, with experience of the baptism in the Spirit, a growing spiritual life, and a personal call to serve the MGL in this way. She needs to be free from other commitments which would conflict with this commitment. Anyone who may be interested in discerning this calling to offer your life in intercession for the MGL is welcome to write to Fr. Ken Barker, 6 Boake Place, Garran ACT 2605.

prayer points …….

a) Urgent need for a new house for the MGL sisters in Canberra. They have outgrown the present house, and either need another one close by or a new house twice the present size!
b) For visas to be granted easily for the overseas candidates coming to join the brothers next year.
c) For the brothers who are taking vows and promises on Dec. 4
d) For all those men and women discerning a call to the MGL – that they know the will of God for their lives and have the courage to follow it.
e) For provision for the ever-increasing costs for novitiate and seminary - tuition fees, medical insurance for overseas candidates, living costs, travel, vehicles etc.
f) For the movement towards re-establishing a mission in PNG – timing and resources.