Summer 2012 - The Mill Hill Missionaries

Summer 2012 Advocate:Layout 1 19/07/2012 12:14 Page 26AS I am sitting down to writethis, I am playing one of Declan’sfavourite CDs, ‘TheSawdoctors’ - a band from hishome County (Galway) that he sodearly loved. One of his favouritesongs, ‘N17’ is about the roadfrom Galway that Declan wouldhave travelled on many of hisjourneys home.10 years have passed since Declan’s untimelydeath that shocked us all on March21st 2002. So much has changed in all ofour lives, but the gap that Declan’s deathhas left will never been filled. Many thingshelp us to cope better with it, and nothingmore than new life coming into the family,but it will only distract for a time from thepain and the sorrow that never goes. Youcan cry today as much as ten years ago. Nota day goes by in any of our lives that wedon’t think of Declan, and now I tell myRemembering Declanby his sister Itadaughter and my sister tells her children oftheir uncle who lived and worked in Africa,and that he is now their Guardian Angel inheaven.Declan touched the lives of many peoplethroughout the world and many that wedon’t even know about. We know that heloved the people of Panyangara (Uganda)and that love has passed on to his family;we continue to support the mission becausewe feel a connection with it and feel thathis spirit and good work lives on and continuesthere. That is where he embarkedupon his journey in 1997, and as he saidhimself on his ordination day, he was leavinghis family and friends in Claran behindhim and heading to the Karamajong tribeof North East Uganda. Physically, he wasleaving us behind, but in every other waywe were going together. “I am your missionarybeing sent out to these people, formy missionary vocation began from thisparish, and we go together”.25