Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus stretches from Binghamton to Haiti and beyond

Sister Brigid O’Mahony has two words for people who are seeking to pray: “Just start.”

O’Mahony, of the Binghamton-based Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, suggests talking to God with a listening heart.

“Don't try to climb Mount Everest and set prayer goals that are so great that you become discouraged. Chat with the Lord. He's quite chatty. And, he's interested in us,” she said.

O’Mahony has taught a Bible study for about 20 years in Binghamton, Syracuse and Pennsylvania.  During COVID, she started a weekly Zoom session with participants. Only recently the study was re-started in person at St Vincent de Paul Blessed Sacrament Church in Vestal.

But the online teaching continues, drawing 75-100 people each week. They’re welcoming sessions, education on the scripture mixed with take-away advice. On a recent Friday night, O’Mahony was speaking about St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.

“Be devoted to pray as intercessors who are fully alert in giving thanks to God.” said O’Mahony.

“We are a lot of things but we're not the best intercessors in the world because,” she said, “I don't know whether we think prayer is a last resort.”

“Something happens and someone says pray about it and you think ‘Oh my God’ has it come to that? That's the first thing that we should do when we're facing any situation,” O’Mahony said.

She told her class that Paul agonized over prayer as “he too is struggling and wrestling with what spiritual forces he is really contending in prayer for these people.”

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O’Mahony is a founding member of the Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus. Though locally based, it has work that stretches out into the world. The main focus is Haiti, where there’s a local staff to provide homes, medical care and more to a variety of people. It’s based on the acronym WORD ... widows, orphans, refugees and the displaced.

In recent years, the missionaries have also reached out to people in Afghanistan who were displaced due to the Taliban takeover. Some have come to Broome County to live with the support of local families.

The missionaries have also been working with USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to bring people to the area from Ukraine. And due to increased violence in Haiti, some people from that country have also come to the United States.

O’Mahony said there’s one simple prayer she uses when in need: “HELP!”

“Everything we do is preceded by and proceeds from prayer. We do not act on our own initiative. The impulse to help the specific people or groups we are allowed to serve originates from the Holy Spirit, and the grace to sustain our service comes from the Lord,” she said.

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O’Mahony said the work they do is like a plant that bears fruit, with a need for a vibrant root system to sustain and feed the plant through all as it grows.

“Prayer, for us, is our root system,” she said.

O’Mahony urges people to continue prayers, though it may seem they’re not being answered and they want to give up.

“The Gospels teach us to keep on asking, to keep on seeking, to keep on knocking. It builds our prayer muscles,” she said.

“But you have to know at the outset that God dearly loves us. He is not being difficult or cranky. He's strengthening us so that we can become effective in our intercessions.”

More information

What: Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus

Where: 396 Conklin Ave., Binghamton, NY 13903

On the web: www.findingthetreasure.org/

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and Sister O’Mahony spread faith