Monthly Archives: June 2020

Jesus says to us: “Love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would want them to do for you.“ The Mother Angela Mobile Clinic embodies this call as they go from place to place throughout the Diocese of Jacmel, serving the sick and those who don’t have access to healthcare. These days have been difficult due to the unseen enemy of the Coronavirus. But this is not stopping the Mother Angela Clinic. We have been so blessed to have received needed supplies from the Felician Sisters with the help of Sr. Janet Marie Adamczyk and Helen Lee; Dr. Zbyszek Purzycki, MD, and his wife, Małgorzat;, Dr. John Paul Bonnet, MD; and many other Felician friends who helped us get the needed medications and supplies. God bless you all for healing God’s poor with us.

In the midst of a pandemic there are signs of life that fill us with hope and health. Our gardens are growing and giving us food for the body.

Our pumpkin patch.

Now we wait a few months and hopefully we will have our own pineapples.

On Saturday, June 20, we joined Felician Sisters and Associates throughout the world for the traditional Ceremony of Hearts that we offer on the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We are reminded today of the many times Mary pondered things in her heart, especially in those times she did not understand. We, too, desire to learn this grace from Mary.

Most of us have trust issues, even with God. We have those issues because of what is happening to us at a given moment of our lives when it doesn’t make sense. Events in our lives can easily overwhelm us and fill us with fear–like the virus that keeps spreading here in Haiti, and the rest of the world.

It is in times like these that the life of Mary can speak us. She was battered by many tragedies in her life and was often afraid. Yet, her steadfastness in remaining open to the mystery of God and trusting in God’s faithfulness never wavered. She was present from the beginning to the end and beyond, into the life of the early Church. She is a true disciple. As we remember and honor Mary today, may each of us ask her to intercede to God that He would help us in our lives to never lose heart and to trust that He is always with us.

As we mentioned earlier, today Felician Sisters throughout the world have a special ceremony of placing wax hearts before Mary and entrusting themselves to her to be totally for Jesus, her Son. Our beloved foundress, Blessed Angela, desired this for herself and for her sisters.

We did not have wax hearts; ours are made of paper. As you see, we not only offered ourselves but also all of you who accompany us and the people of Haiti.

Act of Consecration

composed by Blessed Mary Angela)

O BELOVED HEART of my Immaculate Mother, I desire to make an offering of myself to you, for belonging to you, I belong to Jesus also.

O dearest and sweetest Heart of Mary, I consecrate myself wholly to you as your exclusive and entire possession forever.

Accept me, O Heart of my Mother, for you never reject anyone. I give you my body, my heart and my soul; all my actions, thoughts, words, desires, and intentions I dedicate wholly to you. I offer you all my joys and consolations; on you I place the burden of the sorrows and afflictions which Jesus may wish to send me. I give you even my sins and my failings. May I be so closely united to you as to say: I live now not I, but the heart of Mary lives in me.

Feel, love and do all in me; rule my entire being; guide those whom you have place over me. And I solemnly promise you, O sweetest Heart, I promise and vow my fidelity until death. Watch over me and give me strength that I may keep this vow, that being yours on this earth, I may be yours for all eternity. Amen.

On Thursday, June 11, here in Haiti, we celebrated the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. We were very blessed to have Mass and a Eucharistic Procession around our mission compound. Fr. Maurice carried Jesus and, as we approached the main gate and opened it, he blessed all of Haiti and the world to be healed of the coronavirus.

Today, we celebrate the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We are invited to look deeper into the history of salvation and our own personal history of walking with God at this moment. During these months of the coronavirus and seeing how it gets worse everyday here, we often can get caught up in our present sufferings and lose an awareness of where God is leading us. Always God is leading us to encounter His divine presence.

In the Gospel we hear today, Jesus speaks about proclaiming the Kingdom of God at hand. It means that the Kingdom of God is the presence of God in the world. We see Him in so many places here…

…in the sick and suffering…

…in all His people.

So when Jesus sees that lots of people are looking for God and want to follow Him, Jesus tells us the harvest is abundant. Yes, even during this pandemic in Haiti, people are looking for God; and now, unfortunately, we cannot go and visit them, or welcome them into our mission home because of the quarantine everywhere. This is a new kind of suffering on our way to discovering the Kingdom.

How are we to proclaim the Kingdom now in this situation? The call to mission today is prayer. We pray for the cure and healing of those with the virus; for those who have died; for those who have nothing, especially no food for the day.

Answer the door and respond to the need before you, whether it is for some rice and beans or whatever the need for assistance may be. We ask the Holy Spirit to give us the vision to see how God is present in our midst right now. May we have the power to ask for God’s healing, for the life of those who are dying, for freedom from demons.

O God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace that, in following your commands, we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The above words were said by Dr. Yves and Dr. Valcin who lead the Mother Angela Clinic here in the Diocese of Jacmel. The Coronavirus is on the rise in Haiti. Like other poor countries, there is no protection from this widespread enemy. Here the hospitals are closed because doctors have no supplies or protective gear. The Mother Angela Clinic is the only mobile clinic, visiting villages located in the mountains. We, too, were struggling with no protective gear. We reached out to some organizations and were able to acquire 8 paper gowns and 16 masks. We knew we had to do something quickly, so we reached out to Helen Yee, Director of the Felician Sisters Care Center in Lodi, NJ. She immediately sent us, via FedEx, some much-needed face shields, an infrared thermometer and some masks. She had no disposable gowns to spare because, in the States, they are difficult to purchase at this time. We needed to act fast. That led us to Plan B. We found some sheets that could be made into gowns, and Sr. Izzy went to work. Within 24 hours, everyone had two gowns each and a bottle of Clorox to wash them. The clinic follows the regulations given from the Ministry of Health–no more than five people gathered in one space at a time. Keeping patients faithful to social distancing is a new job for Fritz, our driver, as well as telling everyone to wash their hands from a bucket with water, Clorox and soap for hand washing. Please pray for our Mother Angela Clinic team who are willing to face the battle and this war against the Coronavirus.

Love never fails

Even in the darkest moments, love gives hope. 

Love compels us to fight against coronavirus alongside our sisters and brothers living in poverty.

Love compels us to stand together in prayer with our neighbors near and far.

Love compels us to give and act as one. 

Now, it is clear that our futures are bound together more tightly than ever before. 

As we pray in our individual homes – and around the world – we are united as one family.

So, let us pause and find a moment of peace, as we lift up our hearts together in prayer. 🙏🏽

This was not like any other year that any of us had experienced on the Vigil of Pentecost. On Saturday evening, we gathered in our Cenacle to keep vigil after the example of the Apostles and disciples who, with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, persevered in prayer, awaiting the Spirit promised by the Lord. Like them, we, too, listened with quiet hearts to the Word of God. We began with a procession from Mary’s grotto to the chapel, our Cenacle.

We entered the chapel, listened to God’s Word, and meditated on the many great deeds God had done in times past for his people. We prayed that the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sent as the first fruits for those who believe, might bring to perfection His work in the world. We interceded especially for an end to this pandemic.

Our Church is one of many languages; and so we prayed, listened, shared God’s Word, and sang inspired songs in Creole, French, English and Polish.