January - February - March 2011 Issue

Summary

In Crisis with our sources

Columns

Spiritual Life

Condemned to Decay in the Sun - André Gadbois

Pollution and large quantities of wastes disposed by giant industries are a menace to the fertility of the earth and to humans. Is there a link between the millions of deformed red peppers abandoned in the fields and the millions of poor people whom we have abandoned? [READ MORE]

Cultures and Mission

Reciprocity at Its Best - Collaboration

Being a religious Institute whose specificity is missionary, we learn to share this aspect of our charism with lay people who also have a calling to reach-out. Today, alongside the Catholic faith there are, more than ever, the world-wide religions. In a humanity saturated with materialism there is a deep quest for spirituality... [READ MORE]

Women

Do You Know Kanyanga? - Huguette Turcotte, m.i.c. 

You don’t know Kanyanga? Then follow the author on a bumpy dirt road, 100 km long, in a rural region of Zambia, Central Africa. At the end of this dusty road, there is a surprising discovery… [READ MORE]

Youth

Heroes Were Very Ordinary People- Reyna Libres, Roselle Maduay, High School Students, Year III I

In this place where negligence was born and responsibility is in the guise of ‘all peoples’, where murky waters and mountains of garbage are common, a few heroes have risen to save Mother Earth... [READ MORE]

A Memorable Day - Colette Leclerc, m.i.c. 

One of our priorities as missionaries is to work toward the rise of the local Churches. We have at heart the autonomy of the local religious congregations. The Holy Rosary Sisters in Malawi, Africa are an example. In the early years of their foundation many MIC Sisters were involved and today rejoice over their success... [READ MORE]

Infocus: In Crisis With Our Sources

Social Justice in the World Market - Renaude Grégoire 

Did you realize that buying your food either in a super market or at a public market has important consequences for the producers as well as for the land which needs to be respected and protected? [READ MORE]

To See the Invisible - Marie-Paule Sanfaçon, m.i.c. 

So many artists are great mystics without knowing it. As they look at others, events, nature, they see what the majority of people do not see… they have a gaze that penetrates the soul of beings and the nature of things... [READ MORE]

About the MICs

Mission - A Driving Force 

The MIC Provinces are currently experiencing a time of grace—searching for the essential. We are called to the Source of Life in order to maintain our dynamism and creative spirit. The many challenges that confront us, the various needs of the local Churches and the peoples we work with are multiple... [READ MORE]

An Association that Shines Forth - Paulette Gagné, m.i.c. 

A song from the French Canadian singer, Robert Lebel, reads as follows: Let us be what we should be and we will see emerging future buds. Could we not say that the future buds in our Church are the lay associates who have been flocking to religious congregations... [READ MORE]

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Editorial

Thirsting For More!

Some time ago, I went to a shopping mall with a friend and her four year old son. At the entrance of a store they were selling huge multicolor balloons. Mama, I want a balloon! My friend acquiesced and bought him one. Shortly after returning home, he went outside to show his friend his new possession. A few minutes later, he came back in…very disappointed. His little neighborhood friend had two balloons. Oh, what a drama!

How many times this happens in our life? Seeing what the other has creates a desire for more of ‘whatever’. This thirst for more inhibits our happiness. Why long for a liter of water when a glass would be sufficient to quench our thirst? In the long run such unquenchable cravings become a contributing factor to a world-wide disequilibrium. Are we in crisis with our universe? Every day, the mass media present us with facts about our environment that are disturbing. However, we have become more aware of the situation and steps are being taken to safeguard our natural resources. The United Nations Environment Program declared: Earth Day, World Water Day, Zero Emissions Day and in 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity; this year, 2011, has been declared the International Year of the Forest. Environmental ethics proposes guidelines that create a thirst for taking actions that will preserve our planet’s ecosystem. This is a sacred cause!

At the MIC General Chapter, the participants broached this subject: Citizens of the world and more so as religious, the situation of our world calls for our participation. We feel invited to accomplish concrete tasks which will change our models of consumption, question our ways of
thinking and of acting… Thirsting for more? Yes, thirsty for making responsible decisions and taking actions to preserve Creation, a masterpiece of love and beauty. We must dare to follow the guidelines, to go to the Source that dwells within us, to be in relationship with the Creator who wants the greatest good for humanity. Are we in crisis with the sources that were given to us as gifts? Perhaps! It is up to each one of us to delve into the matter and rediscover the blessings.

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The Team

MIC MISSION NEWS TEAM

Editorial Board 

                               

Marie-Paule Sanfaçon, Directress of publication

Originally from Quebec, Sr. Marie-Paule was a missionary in Haiti; she worked with high-school students in the field of catechesis and also in youth ministry.  She is now directress of the MIC Missionary Press and Provincial Superior of the MIC Canadian Province.

André Gadbois, Journalist 

Married and father of two children, André Gadbois, after several years in pastoral work, taught children with serious learning disabilities for 20 years and was school director for ten years. He has been very involved with catechumens of the church in Montreal, and is the editor of their journal, le Sénevé. 

 

Louisa Nicole, journaliste

  Léonie Therrien, Journalist

Occupation:  She is a member of the editorial team for the missionary magazine Le Précurseur/MIC Mission News.  She is also responsible for a group of MIC Associates (ASMIC).

Experiences:  Educator; youth group animator as well as animating groups of Associates; member of an intercommunity mission animation team.

 

  Claudette Bouchard, Translation and Journalist

Sr. Claudette is a former missionary in Malawi, C. Africa.  She also worked in the Archdioceses of San Francisco, Ca.; Toronto, Ont.; and Vancouver, B.C. as Archdiocesan coordinator and promoter of mission awareness activities. Within parish contexts, she coordinated religious education programs and accompanied youngsters on their faith journey.

 

Carole Guévin, Direction's assistant

Assistant Director of the MIC Missionary Press, Carole lived in Nicaragua and Lebanon as a lay missionary.

 

Véronique Martel, Journalist

Véronique Martel has a BA degree in linguistics and French literature, and she is now completing her MA. She is also interested in cultures and visual arts. The author is a literary chronicler on the Radio Ville-Marie station.

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