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Missionaries of the
Sacred Heart
Last Update:
22/01/2010
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• Up • Members' Biographies •
Mission in Brotherhood: The Cordate
Community
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New name and Logo for the Community
Cordate is an English word meaning
"heart-shaped".
"Heart speaks to heart" (Cor ad Cor Loquitur) was
the Episcopal motto of Cardinal John Henry Newman, a famous and influential 19th
Century English convert to Catholicism who had a close connection with
Birmingham and a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Believing, Befriending and Bridging are
the three key aspects of our mission.
Read more about the name and the logo
here.
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.jpg) Photo:
L-R: Mark Van Beeumen
MSC, Ton Zwart MSC, Carl Tranter MSC.
Photo taken in
Issoudun, France, in July 2004 at the launch of the project
To find our more
about each member
of the community,
click here. |
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Of the eight MSC Provinces in Europe, three Provinces
(Belgium, The Netherlands and Ireland/England) have contributed personnel to the
new European Community Project; Mark Van Beeumen MSC (Belgium), Ton Zwart MSC
(The Netherlands) and Carl Tranter MSC (England). Each of the members volunteered for this
new ministry and were released from their existing assignments. Mark, Ton and Carl each have interesting backgrounds and a
variety of experience prior to joining the project. Read more about their
backgrounds here.
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Carl, Mark and Ton during a walk on Dartmoor,
Devon. |
Ours is a spirit of family and a spirit of brotherhood,
formed by kindness and understanding,
by compassion and mutual forgiveness,
by gentleness, humility and simplicity,
by hospitality and a sense of humour.
MSC Constitutions, 32
In the Society no one is a stranger, no one a foreigner,
but
all are brothers in the Heart of Christ.
Jules Chevalier MSC, Founder of
the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, 1897
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Their
initial task was to work at becoming one
community, formed in the spirit of the Gospel and the MSC constitutions
and spirituality, preparing to begin their new ministry in Aston,
Birmingham. |
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Living as an international community is a great
richness and offers many daily opportunities, blessings and challenges.
Coming from different cultures and backgrounds, with different ages and
experiences, means that each one sees things in a slightly different
way. Something one finds normal, another finds strange and
unusual. This gives rise to many moments of amusement and
conversation, whether it be a matter of food, customs, English
bureaucracy (!) or the way each sees the unfolding mission of the
community. Things Carl takes for granted in England are often
questioned by Ton and Mark - a real gift in trying to prayerfully
discern the current social situation and how the new community might be
best present. Although living together since the
end of September 2005, the community was only formally (canonically)
erected as a special community of the Irish Province on June 12th 2006,
when Carl was also appointed Community Superior.
On 25th August 2006, at the closing Mass of the Third MSC
European Assembly, Carl, Ton and Mark were formally sent on mission to
Aston by the Superior General, Fr Mark McDonald MSC and by the Chair of
the Conference of European Provincials, Fr Ben Verberne MSC.
Speaking in his homily of Ezekiel's vision of the valley
of dried up bones (Ezekiel 37), Fr Mark McDonald saw the connection
between the mission of Ezekiel and that of the new European Community:
"They will be living and working among people who experience brokenness
and alienation in today's society. their mission is not to change
the situation, but to be with the people of Aston as they struggle to
change their reality. But their presence will be a humble
reflection of and a prophetic witness to the God of love who gives new
life, who makes all things new and better. they have the same
mission as Ezekiel!" After communion Fr Mark
McDonald presented Carl, Mark and Ton each with an MSC stole on behalf
of the eight sending Provinces. |
Ton and Mark standing either side of the Dutch-Belgian border.
Sitting on the fence could be the best
option for Carl!
Understanding one another's
personalities
During our seminar in Tilburg we had agreed to take time
to explore one another's personality profiles and have a time of sharing
on our uniqueness: the things that drive and limit each of us.
With this in mind we spent a day at the end of May sharing the results
of the Myers-Briggs personality test that each of us had done over the
previous few days. After nearly eight months of living together we
felt that we knew one another well enough to be in a position to really
appreciate what such a test could reveal. It was a wonderful day,
begun in prayer and concluded with the celebration of Eucharist.
The deep sharing and reflection on each other's profiles confirmed many
things we had come to learn about each other, but it also helped each of
us better appreciate the subtleties of our personalities, the three
unique people God has created in his own image and likeness. We
are sure that this exercise will prove to be an important building block
of our commitment to live a deep community life. Take the test
yourself
here
and read more explanations of your profile
here.
Mission sending during the closing mass of the Third MSC
European Assembly, August 24th 2006 |
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In his prayer of missioning and blessing at the end of
the Eucharist, Fr Ben verberne MSC prayed:
May
the Father who has called us to serve our brothers and sisters send
us anew today.
Be gentle to the people you meet on your way and
be gentle also to yourselves.
Feed the hungry, quench the thirst of those in
need, set the captives free, and comfort those afflicted by
un-mercy, especially in this continent of Europe which is so dear to
us.
May God who is loving and merciful of heart bless us
all, and fill with a sense of mission the Cordate Community.
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