MEMBERSHIP IN MCA

Membership

Membership in MCA brings our children to a greater understanding of not only how blessed they truly ate but also how, through their Catholic faith, they are called to love and care for the poor.
Certainly, prayer is something of which even the youngest is capable-but is only one of the two pillars of MCA. The second, true sacrificial action must follow. A HAIL MARY + ONE COIN A MONTH

During school or parish unit meeting, the children hear how important it is to fill their snacks boxes so that other children may eat, go to school and most importantly learn how God loves you.
They are encouraged to give up their favorite treat and put the cost into their Mission Bank or do extra chores around the house to earn the funds needed by missionary to spread the Gospel to the world’s children.

BENEFIT OF MEMBERSHIP

1. Faith formation
2. Spiritual development
3. Empowerment
4. Moral upbringing


Enrol your children to MCA today

IS MCA APPROVED BY THE CHURCH?

REV. SR. FAUSTINA EJEAGU, SHCJ
LAGOS ACHDIOCESE MCA COORDINATOR

IS MCA APPROVED BY THE CHURCH?

Popes and other ecclesiastical dignitaries approved the association and recommended it to the Catholic faithful. Pope Pius IX, by a brief of 18 July 1856, raised it to the rank of a canonical institution, give it a Cardinal Protector, and requested all bishops to introduce it in their dioceses.

Pope Leo XIII, in an Encyclical letter, Sancta Dei Civitas (3 December, 1890), blessed it and recommended it again to the bishops. “It is my earnest wish,” he said in 1882, “that all the children in the Catholic world should become members of this beautiful association.”

Pius X emphasized its international character, comparing it to a great army the component parts of which are the various national branches.

In 1922, the Missionary Childhood Association was given the title Pontifical by Pope Pius XI, thereby designating it as the Holy See’s official agency for mission for children – providing substantial support for their most basic human needs while offering them hope in the person of Jesus Christ.

In May 17, 2013, Pope Francis spoke to the National Directors about the importance of their work in educating all church members-from children on up about their Christian responsibility to participate in and support the missionary work of church.

The answer then is YES? Missionary Childhood Association is approved by the pope himself. Lets make MCA count in our parishes.

THANKS FOR READING

BRIEF HISTORY ABOUT THE MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION

The Pontifical Missions Society Of The Missionary Child

Missions Leader - Rev. Mons. Bernard Okodua
MISSIONS FOUNDATION

Missionary Childhood Association was started in 1843 by Charles De Forbin Janson, Bishop of Nancy. He grew up in the 1800’s. When Charles was ten, he was walking with his teacher on a very cold day. Charles saw another boy about his age selling roasted chestnuts. The boy had no shoes. Charles took off his own shoes and gave them to the boy.


Then in his bare feet Charles ran home across the street. Years later he became a priest and later made a bishop. He started getting letters from missionaries who worked in china. They wrote how the children had no idea about Jesus. Many had no food, clothing or shelter. Bishop Charles decided to go to China and tell the poor about the love of Jesus. Several years later, he returned to his country France and shared the stories of his missionary experiences. The French wanted to help, to be missionaries in some way too. Bishop Charles suggested that the French children pray and sacrifice for the children in the missions.

That was the beginning of Missionary Childhood Association. On May 3, 1922, Pope Pius XI recognized the group as Pontifical.

FROM THE PMS WEBSITE

WHAT DOES MCA OFFER THE CHILDREN?

AGEGE DEANERY MCA

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL BLOG SITE OF MCA AGEGE DEANERY

What does MCA Offer Children?

This may probably be your question. but we shall address that in this article. ENJOY!

1. First, to rally our little Christian children around the infant Jesus from their tender years, so that with increasing age and strength, and in imitation of Jesus their Master, they may practice true, Christian charity with a view to their own perfection;

2. Second, that by the practice of charity and enduring liberality those same little Christian children may co- operation in saving from death and sin the many thousands of children that are neglected by their parents and cast away to die unbaptized.

3. Missionary Childhood Association teaches our children that we are indeed our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers if we are truly Catholic in our hearts. It also teaches them basic stewardship.

4. Each Catholic, regardless of age has a responsibility to one another.

5. It offers them spiritual, moral and social education.

6. It enables them to discover, develop and deploy their God-given Gifts.

Children are the future of the church... treat them with care

THANKS FOR READING

MCA AGEGE DEANERY PROGRAMME FOR 2018

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL BLOG SITE OF MCA AGEGE DEANERY 

OUR 2018 PROGRAMME

WEEKLY PROGRAMME : Every week at all MCA meetings the mission rosary will start the activity followed by the Holy Childhood prayer, spiritual reflection and any programme that can develop the children.

EVERY LAST SATURDAY PROGRAMME TAGGED: 'MCA AGEGE DEANERY AWARENESS DAY: On this day the Deanery chaplain alongside with some appointed executives will visit parishes in Agege deanery to create awareness for MCA. During the visit there will be: FILM SHOW, MCA TALK AND INTERACTIVE SESSION.

OTHER PROGRAMMES

1. TALENT HUNT

2. SKILL TRAINING AND ACQUISITION

3.  EXCURSION

4. SUMMER COACHING

5. CONFERENCE

PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES PUBLICATIONS

The following publications of the PMS National Office are available at the National Office or through the PMS Diocesan Directors.

• Come and See (PMS News Letter).
• Yearly Mission Sunday Messages by Popes(from year 2000).
• Children’s Parliament.
• Catechesis and Mission.
• SOMA 1 in Nigeria.
• Introducing the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) Audio Tape.
• Mission Club in the Seminaries.
• Mission Club in Formation Houses.
• 50 YRS OF AD GENTES
• Holy Childhood in our Community (Reprint).
• Holy Childhood Guideline
• PMS Guideline for the Diocesan, Parish and Station Committee.
• Mission Rosary (Booklet).
• Mission Stations of the Cross.
• The Mission Quiz Book.
• The New Breed Missionaries.
• Children Helping Children (HCA Dossier).
• Priests and Religious on Mission (PMU Dossier).
• The Successful Missionaries.
• PMU Guideline
• The Life and Work Of St.Paul, The Great Missionary in 313 Questions
• World Mission Sunday

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2017

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2017

Mission at the heart of the Christian faith

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Once again this year, World Mission Day gathers us around the person of Jesus, “the very first and greatest evangelizer” (Paul VI,Evangelii Nuntiandi, 7), who continually sends us forth to proclaim the Gospel of the love of God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. This Day invites us to reflect anew on the mission at the heart of the Christian faith. The Church is missionary by nature; otherwise, she would no longer be the Church of Christ, but one group among many others that soon end up serving their purpose and passing away. So it is important to ask ourselves certain questions about our Christian identity and our responsibility as believers in a world marked by confusion, disappointment and frustration, and torn by numerous fratricidal wars that unjustly target the innocent. What is the basis of our mission? What is the heart of our mission? What are the essential approaches we need to take in carrying out our mission? 

Mission and the transformative power of the Gospel of Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life 

1. The Church’s mission, directed to all men and women of good will, is based on the transformative power of the Gospel. The Gospel is Good News filled with contagious joy, for it contains and offers new life: the life of the Risen Christ who, by bestowing his life-giving Spirit, becomes for us the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6). He is the Way who invites us to follow him with confidence and courage. In following Jesus as our Way, we experience Truth and receive his Life, which is fullness of communion with God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. That life sets us free from every kind of selfishness, and is a source of creativity in love. 

2. God the Father desires this existential transformation of his sons and daughters, a transformation that finds expression in worship in spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4:23-24), through a life guided by the Holy Spirit in imitation of Jesus the Son to the glory of God the Father. “The glory of God is the living man” (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses IV, 20, 7). The preaching of the Gospel thus becomes a vital and effective word that accomplishes what it proclaims (cf. Is 55:10-11): Jesus Christ, who constantly takes flesh in every human situation (cf. Jn 1:14). 

Mission and the kairos of Christ 

3. The Church’s mission, then, is not to spread a religious ideology, much less to propose a lofty ethical teaching. Many movements throughout the world inspire high ideals or ways to live a meaningful life. Through the mission of the Church, Jesus Christ himself continues to evangelize and act; her mission thus makes present in history the kairos, the favourable time of salvation. Through the proclamation of the Gospel, the risen Jesus becomes our contemporary, so that those who welcome him with faith and love can experience the transforming power of his Spirit, who makes humanity and creation fruitful, even as the rain does with the earth. “His resurrection is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which has permeated this world. Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up. It is an irresistible force” (Evangelii Gaudium, 276). 

4. Let us never forget that “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a Person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 1). The Gospel is a Person who continually offers himself and constantly invites those who receive him with humble and religious faith to share his life by an effective participation in the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection. Through Baptism, the Gospel becomes a source of new life, freed of the dominion of sin, enlightened and transformed by the Holy Spirit. Through Confirmation, it becomes a fortifying anointing that, through the same Spirit, points out new ways and strategies for witness and accompaniment. Through the Eucharist, it becomes food for new life, a “medicine of immortality” (Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Ephesios, 20, 2). 

5. The world vitally needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the Church, Christ continues his mission as the Good Samaritan, caring for the bleeding wounds of humanity, and as Good Shepherd, constantly seeking out those who wander along winding paths that lead nowhere. Thank God, many significant experiences continue to testify to the transformative power of the Gospel. I think of the gesture of the Dinka student who, at the cost of his own life, protected a student from the enemy Nuer tribe who was about to be killed. I think of that Eucharistic celebration in Kitgum, in northern Uganda, where, after brutal massacres by a rebel group, a missionary made the people repeat the words of Jesus on the cross: “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” as an expression of the desperate cry of the brothers and sisters of the crucified Lord. For the people, that celebration was an immense source of consolation and courage. We can think too of countless testimonies to how the Gospel helps to overcome narrowness, conflict, racism, tribalism, and to promote everywhere, and among all, reconciliation, fraternity, and sharing. 

Mission inspires a spirituality of constant exodus, pilgrimage, and exile 

6. The Church’s mission is enlivened by a spirituality of constant exodus. We are challenged “to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium, 20). The Church’s mission impels us to undertake a constant pilgrimage across the various deserts of life, through the different experiences of hunger and thirst for truth and justice. The Church’s mission inspires a sense of constant exile, to make us aware, in our thirst for the infinite, that we are exiles journeying towards our final home, poised between the “already” and “not yet” of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

7. Mission reminds the Church that she is not an end unto herself, but a humble instrument and mediation of the Kingdom. A self-referential Church, one content with earthly success, is not the Church of Christ, his crucified and glorious Body. That is why we should prefer “a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security” (ibid., 49). 

Young people, the hope of mission 

8. Young people are the hope of mission. The person of Jesus Christ and the Good News he proclaimed continue to attract many young people. They seek ways to put themselves with courage and enthusiasm at the service of humanity. “There are many young people who offer their solidarity in the face of the evils of the world and engage in various forms of militancy and volunteering… How beautiful it is to see that young people are ‘street preachers’, joyfully bringing Jesus to every street, every town square and every corner of the earth!” (ibid., 106). The next Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in 2018 on the theme Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, represents a providential opportunity to involve young people in the shared missionary responsibility that needs their rich imagination and creativity. 

The service of the Pontifical Mission Societies 

9. The Pontifical Mission Societies are a precious means of awakening in every Christian community a desire to reach beyond its own confines and security in order to proclaim the Gospel to all. In them, thanks to a profound missionary spirituality, nurtured daily, and a constant commitment to raising missionary awareness and enthusiasm, young people, adults, families, priests, bishops and men and women religious work to develop a missionary heart in everyone. World Mission Day, promoted by the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, is a good opportunity for enabling the missionary heart of Christian communities to join in prayer, testimony of life and communion of goods, in responding to the vast and pressing needs of evangelization. 

Carrying out our mission with Mary, Mother of Evangelization 

10. Dear brothers and sisters, in carrying out our mission, let us draw inspiration from Mary, Mother of Evangelization. Moved by the Spirit, she welcomed the Word of life in the depths of her humble faith. May the Virgin Mother help us to say our own “yes”, conscious of the urgent need to make the Good News of Jesus resound in our time. May she obtain for us renewed zeal in bringing to everyone the Good News of the life that is victorious over death. May she intercede for us so that we can acquire the holy audacity needed to discover new ways to bring the gift of salvation to every man and woman. 

From the Vatican, 4 June 2017 Solemnity of Pentecost

POPE FRANCIS

MEET THE PMS DIRECTORS AND KNOW THEM

WELCOME TO MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL BLOG SITE

(AGEGE  DEANERY)

MEET THE PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES DIRECTOR 

PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES STRUCTURE IN NIGERIA

The First Step of the organization centres in the parish. Each parish has a PMS Committee whose work is to coordinate all the PMS activities in the Parish. From there, it steps down to stations and wards where similar committees function, according to the need of each area. For the Holy Childhood, it moves into schools, giving every child the opportunity to participate in the school-based HCA.

The Second Step is the Diocesan level. Here, it is headed by a diocesan director appointed by the diocesan Bishop. The Director works with a Council and may establish committees at the Zonal or Deanery levels for more effective animation and coordination.

The Third Step is the provincial level. Each of the nine Ecclesiastical Provinces in Nigeria has a provincial PMS Council made up of the Diocesan Directors and a few others.

At The National Level, it is headed by the National Director appointed by Rome on the recommendation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria. He works with the PMS National Council made up of all the Diocesan Directors and Secretaries of the four arms of the PMS. In addition, each of the four arms of the PMS has a working committee headed by the secretary of that society. The Holy Childhood has the meeting of all diocesan coordinators which assists the Secretary and the Director in the planning and execution of the HCA programmes.

The PMS work in close collaboration with the National Missionary Council of Nigeria, of the Department of Mission and Dialogue (CSN), Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). The Bishop Chairman of this Department is the “eye” of the CBCN at the PMS.

At The International Level,the PMS is directly under the congregation of the evangelization of peoples,It is the congregation that appoints the National Director for each country.The National Director is a member of the Superior Council of the PMS which meets every year in the month of May in Rome.

THANKS FOR READING

THE MISSION ROSARY

THE MISSION ROSARY

In February 1951, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (National director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950 to 1966), in a radio address (The Catholic Hour), inaugurated a World Mission Rosary; “We must pray, and not for ourselves, but for the world. To this end, I have designed the World Mission Rosary. Each of the five decades is of a different colour to represent each of the five continents”

The founder of the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA), Bishop Charles de Forbin Janson, asked the children to say a Hail Mary every day as Missionary children and help to spread the Good News.

To celebrate the month of May (Month of our mother Mary dedicated to the children), and the Mission month – October, children and their animators all over the world pray the Mission Rosary for special intentions for all the children of each one of the five continents. The Mission Rosary has five colours:

Green for Africa, Red for America, White for Europe, Blue for Oceaniaand Yellow for Asia.

 The aim of the Mission Rosary is to help children grow in the universal Missionary spirit of prayer and generous sacrifice as they reach out to all the children of the world.

THANKS FOR READING

FACTS ABOUT THE MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION

The Pontifical Mission Society of the Missionary Childhood Association was founded in France in 1843 by Bishop Charles de Forbin Janson.  Its Motto, “Children Helping Children” awakens the Missionary Spirit of prayer and generous sacrifice in all the children of the world leading them to share both spiritual and material resources.

FACTS ABOUT THE MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION

 The Pontifical Mission Society of the Missionary Childhood Association helps children to proclaim and share the joy of the Word of God with other children through their prayers, works of charity, inviting others to join them and providing material help to those most needy.

The Missionary Childhood Association concentrates its efforts on teaching the Catholic Faith to children, promoting their rights and providing assistance in situations where children are suffering due to various reasons.

It promotes Missionary vocations at an early age hence future apostles: priests, sisters, brothers, catechists and responsible parents.

The Mission Society of the Missionary Childhood Association aims to foster Christian faith and missionary formation of children and to help them take their responsibility in the Church as Missionaries.