Happy New Year to all our wonderful friends and supporters! 

On our first working day of 2024, the Mercy Centre team had the incredible opportunity to meet with our Founder, Father Joe.

May your New Year be filled with blessings, prosperity and abundance for you and your family. The holiday season is upon us, and I wish you a time of love and warmth during this time of year. 

Blessings on a Monday morning – it’s not that often I get to write and tell you about our Heroes. Of course, every Mercy kid is a Hero. “Daughters and Sons” as goes the Irish song. Mercy orphans, who fought off the “bad guys” and still do… that’s why they are with us here at Mercy. Still, I don’t get to show you even some of little stuff, actual pictures very often – so “here we go”.

My most beloved St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the small town of Athol, where I said my first Mass 58 years ago – a wooden church, seated 40 people.  Built by my Irish ancestors. Now gone, as the farming town of Athol is now almost deserted, down to about 30 people and they recently closed the post office. Small farming is no longer profitable. The railroads are long ago built. 

I’m also sending a picture of me, a few years later, joyful, after my Redemptorist congregation had assigned me here to Thailand.  A picture of my first “home” here in the slums of Klong Toey, part of the slaughter house. We were literally avoided by “proper” society, outcast Catholics, because they lived with and butchered the pigs.

This is where we lived and where we began our first Catholic kindergarten in an un-used pig pen.  Me, living with the Catholic population.  Outcasts to all, but to speak of that in a moment. Mosquito nets and dirt floors and a portion of rice nightly near the door to keep the rats happy. And nasty feral cats – the dogs ran from the cats.

We had Holy Mass in a “make-shift” chapel under the railway bridge.  That’s why I went there; the Catholics had no church, no sacraments, no priests, no schools.  The children of the slaughter house had no opportunity to go to school.

        It’s been more than yesterday & I am ashamed/ ‘not keeping in touch’ …. As the expression goes….
        So a note to you good folks this Monday.  A couple days ago (really) the GYPSY KING TYSON FUREY (World heavy weight boxing Champion         Of the entire world stopped by – to say ‘hello’ as great boxers do.  

      

Hi everybody.  It’s back to school.  Fabulous for our kids. More food than you get at home & two helpings if you want, plus more friends to play with. Every kid you know in the slum goes to school.  It’s the cool thing to do.