Franciscan Sisters of Mary Novices Profess Vows

In the last days of March, four novices of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary professed their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in a joyful celebration that was held at Saint Felix of Cantalice Parish in Pangia, Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.  The Franciscan Sisters of Mary are a community founded in the Diocese of Mendi.  Sisters are involved in various ministries throughout the diocese: health care, teaching, pastoral work, etc...  Let us give thanks for God's gift of consecrated religious life in the Church... and as always, let us pray for an increase of vocations in the church to the priesthood, consecrated religious life and committed lay ministers.  Congratulations Sisters!

Before and After: The Ordination of a Deacon

As Lent was getting started this year, the church in Diocese of Mendi celebrated the diaconate ordination of Elias Zambra.  Last year he finished his seminary studies at the Catholic Theological Institute in Port Moresby.  The ordination mass was a reverent celebration of faith and culture.  Deacon Elias' family made the long journey from Madang to be with him for the celebration.

In a moving moment of the ceremony, Deacon Elias' family presented him to the bishop.  He and many of his family members were dressed in their traditional attire.  He then reverently removed the traditional attire and was vested in the clothing of a deacon to mark his new role within the Catholic community.  Deacons, from the days of the New Testament are important collaborators with bishops and priests in the generous service of the People of God.

Deacon Elias will serve the Diocese of Mendi as a deacon in the Lower Mendi Pastoral Area.  He will also teach in the Blessed Peter ToRot Catechist Training School in Mendi.  We welcome Deacon Elias to this ministry of service and we ask all to continue to pray for vocations.

Catching Up

Dear Friends, it's been a while since I've been able to post anything to the blog (and Facebook and Google+ too due to technical difficulties in Mendi (and because connection to the Internet here can be very expensive)), but I am now in Port Moresby with free access and therefore I want to catch up a bit on some things that have been going on here in Mendi.

In mid-January, a team of Jesus Youth from Australia came to Mendi for two weeks.  The first week, they had a missionary immersion experience in various parts of the diocese.  The second week, they divided into two teams, one team went to the Western Deanery and the other team stayed in Mendi.  Both teams conducted retreats with young people.  The young people responded enthusiastically to the singing, praising and preaching of the Jesus Youth teams.  The Jesus Youth plans on returning later in the year to do a follow-up retreat.  (Pictured are members of the Jesus Youth teams and some youth leaders from the diocese.)

Diocesan Pastoral Council.  Representatives from each parish and pastoral area in the diocese met in Mendi at the end of January for a meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council.  Each Councillor presented a report on what is going on in their parish, paying special attention this year to what the parish is doing in the area of self-reliance.  It also gives the bishop a chance to share with all of these leaders the pastoral priorities for the coming year.  The four-day meeting ended with a festive Sunday Mass with the parishioners of the Cathedral.

Then in March, there was a meeting of the Priest Senate in Mendi.  All of the priests who are serving in the diocese come together three times a year to share ideas and experiences and to do pastoral planning. Priests, Sisters and lay ministers (such as catechists) are the right-hands of the bishops in the work of evangelization and caring for the People of God.  In the Diocese of Mendi, only one-third of the priests are local PNG diocesan priests... the other two-thirds are missionaries from other countries - Poland, Korea, India and the USA.  Please join us in praying for vocations.

At the same time, the Legion of Mary of the Diocese was meeting in Mendi.  The members had just renewed their promise and commitment to be zealous apostles in the Legion of Mary.  The Legion is a wonderful movement of lay men and women whose spirituality combines prayer and apostolic service.

All of these groups in the Diocese of Mendi work together to strengthen the faith and to spread the Good News of Jesus to all corners of the diocese.

Gold in Mendi

It's been a while since I posted and I have much to share with you, but I couldn't let this go without getting it out to you right away.  December 7 - 8 marked the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Religious Profession of five religious men and women who have consecrated their lives to God and to the service of God's People.  The Jubilarians are Sister Lukas Suess, FSDP; Brother Ray Ronan, OFM Cap.; Sister Gaudentia Meier, FSDP (pictured below), also celebrating are Bishop Bill Fey, OFM Cap., and Father Allan Wasiecko, OFM Cap.

The celebration began with a traditional SingSing.  People dressed in traditional attire marched the Jubilarians from the cathedral (background) to the grandstand where a program of traditional and contemporary song and dance took place.  The people, young and old were happy to express their appreciation to these dedicated  missionaries for their 50 years of consecrated religious life - most of those years spent in the Diocese of Mendi.  Sister Lukas is currently the Director of the Diocesan Pastoral Center.  Brother Ray has served in many ministries, including Vocation Director for the Capuchins and for the Diocese.  Sister Gaudentia is considered the 'mother' of Catholic Health Services in the diocese - a vast network of clinics and health centers serving the medical needs of people in the remotest areas.  Father Allan is currently the pastor of Saint Felix of Cantalice Parish in Pangia.  Bishop Bill served for 20 years as formation director of the Capuchins and lecturer in philosophy at the Catholic Theological Institute in Port Moresby.  He now serves as the Bishop of Kimbe in the West New Britain Province of PNG.

Old and new joined together in the praise and thanks to God for the life and example of these dedicated religious.  Even the perennial Mendi rain didn't dampen the spirits of those who came to take part in the celebration.  As you can see above... who needs an umbrella when you have a banana leaf to share with a friend!

The culmination of the celebration came the next day at the celebration of Sunday Mass in the Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd.  Bishop Bill (far right) arrived in time for the celebration and added to the joy of the day...

Consecrated Religious life is a gift and blessing to the Universal Church, but it has been a true blessing to the local Church of Mendi... Many religious men and women have served and continue to serve in this diocese and it is not an exaggeration to say that the diocese would not be the same if it wasn't for the self-giving love and service of these dedicated men and women from across the globe and from PNG itself.

Happy 50th Jubilee!  You're all Golden!

Earthshaking Ground-breaking

A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered in Mendi to witness the blessing and ground-breaking for the new residence for Diocesan priests.  It was a beautiful celebration of faith and culture in this remote, mountain diocese of Papua New Guinea.  It is a strong witness of trust in God’s generosity and Providence and a challenge for the Catholic community of the Southern Highlands and Hela Provinces of PNG (and beyond) to respond to God’s constant call to build-up the Kingdom of love among all peoples.  The project is made possible with the help of the Capuchin Mission Office in Pittsburgh, PA  USA.  We pray daily for our benefactors who through their generosity and sacrifice are helping to make this dream come true.  “If the Lord does not build the house...in vain do its builders labor.” (Ps 127)

Mission Sunday in Mendi

Today the Church celebrates Mission Sunday.  As you might imagine, in a traditional 'mission' country this takes on a special significance.  Today, in the Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd, we also celebrated the commissioning of catechists... Men and women who carry the Good News of Jesus to every corner of the diocese.  The Diocese of Mendi has 33 parishes and almost 350 rural outstations.  If you consider that there are only 32 priests and only one bishop, you can see how important is the ministry of these (and other) lay men and women who take their baptismal call seriously.  Every Catholic, by his or her baptism is commissioned as a missionary, sharing in the very mission of Jesus Christ.  Jesus counts on all of us to do our part to spread the Good News of His love and salvation for all people.  We all have a part to play.  Next time you look in the mirror you can say: "Hey, there's a missionary!" As you can imagine, being a missionary in this day and age is not easy.  But we are not alone.  In Confirmation, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit who helps us be faithful to our mission.  And in the Holy Eucharist, we have food to strengthen us for this important work.  God bless our new catechists - and help us not to be afraid to take our part in the mission of your Son Jesus, with the help of the Spirit of Love.

Mama María

In the Catholic world, the month of October is traditionally dedicated to renewed devotion to praying the rosary.  The rosary is a contemplative prayer that helps us to focus on the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus - as well as Mary's singular role in life of Jesus and in our life too.
During this month, the faithful of the mission station here in Mendi are processing with the image of Mary around the families of the area and spending time praying the rosary and reflecting on the Scriptures.  Yesterday, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the group came to the Bishop's House... undaunted by the usual Mendi afternoon rain.  The Catholics of Papua New Guinea love Mary and accept her into their homes as did Saint John the Apostle - at the request of Jesus Himself.  They know, as we all know, that Mary is our Mother, but she is also the first and best disciple of her Son, Jesus - and can help us come close to Him and to follow in His footsteps.

Gracias a todos mis amigos de habla española.  Aprecio muchos sus comentarios y su apoyo.

María ven, llévame de la mano a Jesús.  Enseñame a amarle, cómo lo amaste tú.