BREAKING NEWS! A Miracle is Unfolding in East Africa's Largest Country: Tanzania

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Is.6:18)

Sr. Maureen with some Tanzanian children

Sr. Teresa visiting a family in the town

Sr. Maureen gathering the children for her morning Catechism class

Sister fetching water from the public well

The missionary Sisters of Mary with the happy and vibrant Tanzanian children

From Asia, to Latin America, and now to Africa! :)

The Sisters of Mary is now laying the foundation for a new charity program in Tanzania, East Africa's largest country, and the first in the African continent. They were graciously received and welcomed by His Eminence Polycarp of Phengo, Archdiocese of St. Joseph, Dar Es Salaam. The Sisters are now busy looking for the possible site for the establishment of a Girlstown program while already immersing and adapting themselves in the local culture and the Church in the country.  

May God and Our Lady of Banneux, the Virgin of the Poor, continue to guide you, dear Sisters, as you extend your mission to the poorest of the poor, wherever it is, and wherever the Lord calls you to serve His people with joy in the Name of Christ!

Thank you very much our beloved Venerable Fr. Aloysius Schwartz for the continuous outpouring of love and guidance from above and to our generous benefactors for helping the Sisters of Mary continue the legacy of their beloved Father Founder. To God be the glory!

The Sisters of Mary started as a small group of women of Christian faithful formed into a religious Congregation on the feast of the Assumption in 1964 by Fr. Aloysius Schwartz in Busan, Korea. Through the invitation of ecclesiastical and government authorities, they have expanded to the Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil and Honduras. They are “contemplatives in action”. That is, they strive to unite the vocations of Martha and Mary. Their active life is balanced by three hours of daily prayer and contemplation. The Most Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, granted through the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life, the decree that they are a Religious Institute of Pontifical Right on March 2, 2000.

Source: http://www.thesistersofmary.com/ | Photo (c) The Sisters of Mary

READ: One of Fr. Al's Last Homilies to his Children at Girlstown in Sta. Mesa, Manila

On March 1, 1992, two weeks before the demise of Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz, founder of the congregations of the Sisters of Mary and Brothers of Christ, and the holy priest behind the establishment of Boystowns and Girlstowns, he still managed to offer the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist and deliver this one of his last homilies to the students of Girlstown in Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines.

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The homily this morning will even be briefer than usual. God speaks to us in many ways. One way is through our body. Each day, my body grows weaker and weaker. It is becoming more and more difficult to breathe and to speak. So, God is telling me, “My child, my son, you have done enough. Take it easy. Take a rest for a while.” This is what I intend to do. Someone else will preach these homilies to you and someone else will say Mass for you. Unless God chooses to heal me and restore me to health, I will continue to pray for you, but in the solitude of my room and in the silence of my heart. I will continue to offer, along with my prayer, through Jesus, for you and your intentions, my sacrifices and sufferings.
 

St. Paul writes, “I must make up in my own body the sufferings which are lacking to Christ.” As a priest, I now, in a sense, must make up in my own body, my own flesh and blood, the suffering and pain which is lacking in the body of Jesus.

At the Last Supper, when Jesus said farewell to His disciples, again and again, He spoke of love. He said, "Abide in My love. Dwell in My love." In a word, Jesus is saying, "Love Me as I love you." My little children, my daughters in Christ, I ask you in the name of Jesus, to abide in my love, to remain in my love, to continue to love me as I love you. No doubt in your heart, you are saying, "But Father Al, we do love you!" But what is true love?

True love, as I have said many times before, is not expressed by warm tears, romantic feelings, or sentimental words. True love is in the will, and above all else, true love is obedience. Jesus expresses this sentiment at the Last Supper when He said, "If you love Me, keep my commandments." My little children, my daughters in Christ, if you truly love me, keep , my commandments. Observe what I have told you and follow the spirit of the Sisters of Mary which is the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the Gospels. Obey me for Jesus and obey cheerfully, joyfully, and completely. Obey the rules and regulations of the Sisters of Mary Girlstown and Boystown. Obey my representatives who are the Sisters and the teachers. And if you do this, I will know that you truly love me and that our hearts are united in Jesus.

So that’s it. Let us continue to love each other in Jesus. I express my love for you by constant prayer and by offering for you my little sacrifices and sufferings. You, in turn, express your love for me by your spirit of loving, cheerful, and complete obedience.

Thank you and God bless you! Amen.

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Article from: The Sisters of Mary Schools - Philippines website.

READ: "Story of Aloysius Schwartz" by Vincent J. O'Malley,C.M.

"Story of Aloysius Schwartz"
Saints of Asia: 1500 to the Present
Vincent J. O'Malley,C.M.

Born in Washington, D.C., the third of seven children, Aloysius Schwartz (1930-1992) attended Holy Name Grammar School, Saint Maryknoll College at Lakewood, New Jersey and Glen Ellyn, Illinois: and matriculated in theology at Louvain University, in Belgium. After visiting the shrine of the Virgin of the Poor at Banneux, Belgium, he dedicated his life to serving the poorest of the poor.

After ordination on June 29, 1957, Father Al was assigned to Pusan, South Korea, where he arrived on December 8. Evidence of post-war poverty abounded, especially among orphaned or abandoned street children. These children lacked the necessities of life. For these innocent victims, Fr. Al conceived and oversaw the construction of a Childrens Village to provide the poorest youth with basic necessities. To assist him in this mission, he founded two religious congregations: in 1964, the Sisters of Mary; and seventeen years later, the Brothers of Christ.

In 1985 and 1990, he extended his ministry to the Philippines and Mexico respectively. His foucus remained
the poor, and especially children. He founded Children's Villages in South Korea at Pusan(1964) and Seoul (1975); in the Phillipines at Manila (1985), Talisay (1990) and Silang (1991); and in Mexico at Chalco (1990).

In November 1989, this servant of the poorest of the poor was diagnosed with ALS, known popularly as Lou Gehrig's disease, and medically as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. As his muscles gradually weakened, his mobility lessened, and he became increasingly dependent on the use of a walker, and the wheelchair. As his voice weakened, he no longer preached to large crowds, but to small groups, and eventually, his spoken word gave way to written messages. He, nonetheless, continued his ministry. As his activities diminished, his prayers increased; he spent hours praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament, also saying the rosary, and hearing confessions. He writes in an autobiography:

"Pain is pain and suffering is suffering no matter how deep the faith, how bright the hope and how pure the love. At the same time, in the depths of the pain there is this oneness of spirits, and in the heart of the suffering there is this union of souls. And from this oneness and this union there rises a very pure, spiritual peace- this peace of God which surpasses all human understanding."

In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to society, he was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize-- in 1984 and 1992.

On March 16, 1992 he died at Manila. The funeral procession took several hours to wind its very way through Silang as the poor poured out of their hovels to line the streets in demonstration of their affection for their advocate. Dignataries followed the cortege in grateful recognition of all that this priest had done for the church and the community. His remains were buried at the Children's Village at Silang, in Cavite Province, Philippines.

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From: Shorelines Newsletter Archives
Published by : Vocation.com

Fr. Al and the Eucharist

 "Our strength to love and to serve others comes from the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life "

~ Venerable Aloysius Schwartz

In 1989, he was diagnosed to have a terminal illness. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He accepted with it with joy, serenity and courage, and regarded it as a gift from God. In spite of his deteriorating health, he still expanded his Boystown and Girlstown program in Mexico, which he called his "unfinished symphony".

With humility, courage, and unwavering faith, he suffered and accepted a lot of humiliations, criticisms, pains, incredible trials, and difficulties. He did his best to relieve the suffering of the poor. His illness made him immobile, still even on a wheelchair, he continued to fulfill his duties with joy. He spent hours before the Blessed Sacrament, praying the rosary, hearing confessions, and preaching in words and examples the virtues of truth, justice, chastity, charity and humility, penance and fortitude. His love for God and the poor consumed him. He did not only help the poor but also he lived poorly.

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After his death in 1992, Fr. Al's footsteps could still be traced and seen in his Boystowns and Girlstowns. His legacy is LOVE.

He taught us to love JESUS in the EUCHARIST; he taught us to love Jesus through devotion to the saints and the Blessed Mother; he taught us the love of Jesus in the poorest of the poor; and, above all, he taught us to see and touch the face of God in the poor whom we are serving.

His spirit of poverty has taught us that only in emptying one's self can one possess God, the most treasured Good, and with God one possesses everything.

Indeed, we will always feel grateful for having once seen, talked to, and listened to Fr. Al, who was a generous instrument of God's love. --- Sr. Michaela Kim, SM