Integral Spirituality (PE nr. 1084)

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

1. A personal approach

In one of the last issues of the Petit Echo, 2017/01, the focus was on Spirituality. Introduced in a reflective and global way by Francis Barnes “… Spirituality is that desire to live more authentically, more responsibly, more fully the faith…a lifelong journey to grow in our relationship with God…based on the person of Jesus and his Gospel call to love…it is an addiction to living our life at the deepest level because all that is authentic lies deep within and our awakening to such authenticity in our awakening to life in Jesus Christ” (pps. 3-5). It is a vision that needs to be sourced more…and lived more, of course.

However, I did not understand John Itaru when he writes; “we are called to be men of prayer” (p.11) that’s true. But if prayer has “become the centre of gravity or the capital of my missionary life” (p.12) is this for him or is it for everybody? I do not understand the fear of Prosper Mbusa when he says, “If the candidate does not experience the importance and centrality of prayer in his Christian life as well as in his missionary vocation… (p.20), neither do I understand the “My first task as a missionary: Prayer” of the article of Pierre Petitfour (pp. 21-25) what does “first” mean in this case? It might mean that in the eyes of the Lord, his first task is his constant attention to sick people, who knows? I am more inclined towards the “secret” (p.26) of Joël Ouédraogo, when in a very poetic way says he listens “to the voice of God who is constantly whispering in our ears” (p.27) and when he joins prayer to activity and activity to prayer, “personal meditation helps us to discover our mind power and how to achieve it, and we can learn more about it from sites as http://www.subconsciousmindpowertechniques.com and others” (p.28).

These confreres share with us what they do, “the life of their lives.” I thank them from the bottom of my heart and I admire their way of life totally at the service of others. At the same time, I am surprised at their singular attention on prayer in spiritual life. Life comes first, not prayer, even if prayer has its obvious place in a life of faith.

Maybe I have misunderstood, or that I express myself badly. I cannot understand why an issue dedicated to Spirituality (2) begins, after a broad overview on the subject, with five articles focussed on prayer. In the official magazine of the Society, is this the official vision of the Society, to reduce spirituality to prayer in the first place or to centre spirituality on prayer?

I had my suspicions already after the PEP Post Capitular Assembly where the booklet summarising the findings gave first place to Spirituality (p.4) and proposed, regarding this subject, 1) the writings of the Cardinal, 2) broaden prayer life, 3) have a spiritual guide, 4) organise common retreats and 5) days of recollections. Basta.

It pains me when one reduces our Spirituality or if one wishes our spiritual life to a life of prayer. Obviously, I cannot be ‘spiritual’ without praying, but I do not pray, certainly not me, from morning to night. Equally obviously, I need to be ‘spiritual’ from morning to night through my apostolic activities and my many contacts, through all that eats me up, stimulates me, everything that wells up from the deepest part of me and can and ought to communicate the Face of Jesus.

In the first place what the word spiritual invokes in me is not prayer but enthusiasm; to go out and meet people, to be close to those to whom I have been sent by the Bishop and/or the Society. However, it is also a personal choice. For example, at Kigali from 1971 to 1986 while working in the Cathedral Parish, I looked for work with the students of the College of Nursing, the non-denominational Collège Officiel and the French and Belgian schools which were basically non-Christian. From 1986 to 1998, while attached to the Parish of St.-Antoine in Bruxelles (located in the area around the Gare du Midi), I worked close to poor people in the adult catechumenate in a deprived pastoral milieu and at the Centre de Formation Cardijn focussing on a Theology from the Fourth World of Cardinal Cardijn (of YCW fame). Later on, as Parish Priest at Wezembeek, I visited elderly people in the Retirement Homes, which I called the ‘Reserves’ like those of the Indians in the USA. They were the voiceless, the out of sight, out of mind people, hardly respected at all.

In all this I never felt that I was carrying a burden. In fact, this task has carried me because of the feeling of being sent, of having received and being gifted with a life every second of the day and everything in my personal life that is positive, constructive and thriving. In the family, among the White Fathers, over the years, in situations where ties were forged, where the «red thread» of my existence emerged (a retreat in Kigali in 1985), where in 1972 I saw my prayer life differently.

I have to tell you, that while staying with the Benedictines at Kifugi, on the shores of Lake Kivu, I said to myself that ‘reciting’ the breviary on my own did not make sense because the very structure of the prayer presupposed the presence of others. So I decided to stop saying the breviary on my own. However, let’s be serious, Lambert, what about 1 hour of prayer everyday and that is what I do, (very often while walking around the fountain in a park close to me here in Brussels). Now I am aware that through prayer, the recollections and retreats on the one hand, and through the contacts, talking with people both believers and non-believers, on the other hand, as well as through the joys and sorrows, successes and failures, humiliations and praise, the Spirit lives in me, inspiring, guiding, and reminding me. The Sprit also gives me strength at the hard times of my life fully committed to my job right up to my 85th year and then a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack). I always look for ways to speak to people in today’s language. I look for ways to offer them Good News, a faith that is not a combination of impossibilities. I look for ways to connect the events of their lives and the situations they observe to an attitude of ‘gratitude’ recognising that God has given them a gift or that he is calling them.

Is not spirituality immensely bigger, deeper, more penetrating than ‘prayer’ because it is a question of an incursion of feelings, of a spirit, a heart, even a complete taking over of the person by the Spirit of God? Is it not from deep down inside oneself that what Jesus lived at his Baptism and what the new-born Church lived at Pentecost, with the wind of the Spirit blowing where it will, not knowing where it is coming from or where it is going, comes the burning desire to speak and to transmit the Good News with the flair and drive of a believer.

Above all, is not spirituality, before ever being a human attitude, a pure gift of the self-communicating Spirit which incessantly thirsts for Life, yes, even an overflowing life. Spirituality means allowing the Spirit to take me over, to transform me and to make me a sounding board and letting me fill and, literally, spill over into others. Does not Spirituality mean in fact to be a missionary? As I wrote in my text ‘the missionary’ (Text written in 2009: Today, I am less sure about what is an authentic identity for a missionary) . Should not what is deepest within us be influenced by a vision which does not come from the Provincial (in such and such context) or from Rome but by a vision that comes to us from the people to whom we are sent, whom we are dealing with, a vision coming from the peripheries? What a conversion that would be?

I do not want to oversimplify things but we can agree that the Spirituality of St. Francis is not his prayer. The spirituality of St. Ignatius is not his prayer; the Spirituality of St. Theresa of Liseux is not her prayer. My spirituality is not to pray (maybe it is time at my age to spend more time at it) but to give myself (as hundreds of confreres are doing) to the needs of the people. It means committing myself to be present, to fight where it is necessary, and to console where it is opportune. For the benefit of the Church? No! For the advancement of the Kingdom of God? Yes! That is to say what I would unreservedly call the ‘Dream of God’ for humanity that is more filial and more fraternal.

So am I writing nonsense, or boasting? Not really, maybe I am expressing poorly my disagreement with what was written in P.E. 01. It is too important not to speak about it. The Society promotes two dense texts in the Capitular Acts on pages 19 and 20. As for the rest it is pitiful and hardly inspires at all. The time has come to set up the “small team” which the Chapter recommended “to study the matter and produce a booklet explaining the present day charism based on the core-values of spirituality, community and mission.” (Capitular Acts 1.1 p.20).

2. A more global approach

Up to now, I have been speaking about my own personal experience. I now add something which is more community orientated. On the eve of Lent 2017, we did a recollection with Madame Monique Foket, Emeritus Professor of Theology at Louvain la Neuve. In the morning session, we heard her exegesis on the three temptations of Jesus in the desert. At the afternoon session, there was an expose on “Spirituality is a relationship: it concerns the whole person” I come back to some of her points:

Christian identity implies a human being made up of many dimensions including feeling, reflecting and acting. There are other dimensions, but nothing can be said about them as they are outside of a possible analysis. This includes the whole theme of the subconscious, the unconscious, dreams and also events that are independent of myself. I break my leg going down some stairs, things happen and I cannot do anything. But any correct pedagogy, which reflects respect for Christian identity, will touch people in all these dimensions.

1st dimension: Feelings. It is important to feel that it is good to be a Christian. All five senses are involved and all feelings. But learning to feel «good» does not mean acting in an impulsive or even irrational way.

2nd dimension: Reflection: The dimension of reflection is what gives depth but it should be always open-ended because what I say now may be valid for now but it may not be valid in a year’s time or 20 years’ time. This ability to establish reference points on the one hand and openness on the other hand is a work of reason. Reflection means establishing some sort of baseline open to receiving new information and so open to the possibility of some alternative action or to realise that there is another way of looking at the problem.

3rd dimension: my own deep down conviction leading me to a transformation of myself. There is also an external element that involves how I act/react with others and how I can be at the service of all.

This aggregate is an anthropology that one finds among the mystics because they live in a relationship with God in all His dimensions. Each one of these dimensions has its own particular ‘night’ and involves our feelings, intelligence and actions. These ‘nights’ are a sort of emptying out and form part of our relationship with God (Cf. Forum Pedagogies, January 1999)

3. The AEFJN Approach:

See Echo 36 of the 6th May 2017, Reclaiming Christian Spirituality for Sustainable Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation, posted by Chika Onyejiuwa | May 5, 2017.

In conclusion, I would like to refer back to the first commandment: “you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your entire mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12, 30). I understand this to mean that from your five senses and from your emotions, passing by your intelligence (and of your faith) you will commit yourself to action according to the zeal within you. You commit everything. To my surprise I also found these sentiments expressed in the words of Cardinal Cardijn: See Judge Act. And do not be surprised to find many echoes of this in the writings of Cardinal Lavigerie.

Fernand LAMBERT, M.Afr.

2nd Term Confreres’ Meeting (PE nr. 1084)

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Kasisi Center in Zambia
From 2nd to 23rd July 2017

Introduction

“God our father source of life, we thank you for the gift of our Founder to the African world and to the Church. Through his inspiration we cherish a message of faith, hope and love for all people to whom you send us” (the 28th General Chapter, 2016). It is very evident that God called us to work in his vineyard though unworthy we are. He called us from all corners of the earth to be his witnesses of faith, hope and love.

The General Council, through the office of ongoing formation, invites every year, missionaries of Africa in their 2nd term for a session on renewal. The Southern Africa Province (SAP) hosted the event at Kasisi, in Lusaka, Zambia, 2nd to 23rd July. The meeting took place in a nice and serene environment. Two facilitators were on board to journey with the participants, enhancing smooth running of the program: Bernard Ugeux (D.R Congo) and Timothee Bationo (Zambia). The meeting being a Society project, we came from all over. The participants were as follows: Bukelembe John (D.R Congo), Ekka Filiyanus (India), Haile Gazena (Ghana), Itaru John (Zambia), Kanto Hembram (D.R Congo), Kawama Virgilius (Nigeria), Kawisha Jones (South Africa), Kientga Joseph (D.R Congo), Konkobo Camille (Zambia), Meraba Philip (Malawi), Nana Daniel (Tanzania), Sawadogo Florent (Mozambique), Shehu Victor (Nigeria). We were all between 5 and 9 years of priesthood in the named countries of mission from 8 nationalities.

The idea behind such a meeting is to invite missionaries of Africa in the mission to come together and share their experiences in confidentiality. This gives them a platform to meet, discuss, encourage and learn from one another after years of missionary work. Some were even meeting for the first time. We started our meeting with a recollection in which we reflected on the encounter between God and Moses, “the burning bush” (Exodus 3: 1-15).

Sharing

We, in our missionary life, strive to bring faith, hope and love to the people wherever we are planted. It is very evident that we selflessly render our services to God’s people who are entrusted to our care. In our attempt to serve them, we encounter joys and challenges. Our joys in service to God’s people have boosted our morale to move ahead courageously to work for the kingdom of God. It appeared very vividly in our sharing that challenges have never pulled us aback, rather have strengthened us even more to be radical witnesses of God’s mission, because in those challenges we have seen the hand of God. We have strong faith that God is journeying with us. No one regretted to be a Missionary of Africa.

It is true that when we share our difficulties of life, half of the problems are already alleviated. There were moments, while listening to the challenging experiences of confreres some of whom were emotional, later on got relieved. We cherish wholeheartedly the openness in the sharing of confreres who had total trust in the participants.

“Transparency never jeopardizes the life of human, truthfulness wins all the time” (Mahatma Gandhi). Transparent and truthful sharing about the challenging experiences of confreres, brought great encouragement to confreres, which prompted us to go ahead in order to fulfil the messianic vision of our founder Cardinal Lavigerie.

Session

 

We also had time for inputs on issues related to our personal, human, pastoral and spiritual growth. The sessions gave us enough material for our missionary life. In the sessions, we tackled: Building strong relationships with all through our affectivity for an integral ministry, boundaries to avoid conflicts, Addictions and the dangers around them, pastoral ministry, the spirituality of the priest and leadership, community life, media, Justice and Peace, Encounter and Dialogue, and Finances.

Our Community life is in relationship with Christ. Let Christ be at the centre of our life. The following should be our guide in the way we live in our communities as Missionaries of Africa:

  • What aspects of community life has helped me to be fulfilled in missionary life since my ordination?
  • What aspects of community life did I find challenging since my ordination?
  • What kind of community life I aspire realistically?

These challenging questions must lead us to deeper reflection and sharing in our community life.

According to the nature of our vocation, media is regarded as means of evangelization. Nevertheless the dos and the don’ts of the media have to be respected at all time to avoid abuse.

In financial matters, it is important that the dignity and credibility of a priest is preserved. This will avoid denting his own reputation in the parish/institutions.The word of God states that “Spiritual leadership should oversee the treasury of the Lord’s house” (Neh 13:12-13), should be the basis and the guide of our attitudes towards the proper use of finances.

Participants at the meeting of second term confreres in mission.

Time For Relaxation

The meeting was not only session, talk and work. We had opportunities to relax, recreate and refresh our minds and celebrate various birthdays and priesthood anniversaries. We visited the game park and the town. We also visited our two parishes within Lusaka. It was well appreciated by confreres and parishioners seeing the diversity of young Missionaries of Africa from all over the world for the Mission of God. As affirmed by some parishioners, our presence in their parishes strengthened their faith and gave them joy. We had a full day at FENZA (Faith and Encounter center Zambia). This was a good time for us to discover what the confreres are doing in the center. We ended the day with a fraternal meal with confreres of the sector and novices on their way to stage in their various countries. On the 15th of July, we joined the Catholic Church in Zambia for the celebration of the 125 years of Catholic faith. It was a great moment for us Missionaries of Africa, being the founding missionaries of Catholicism in Zambia. Our presence was indeed appreciated.

“Be not only United but One!”…

… our founder Cardinal Lavigerie insisted on this principle. We, the present missionary disciples of Jesus Christ, inspired by the teaching of our founder should strive to live these words. The spirit of oneness was very much felt by each one of us, as our Superior General, Provincial of SAP and the Archbishop of Lusaka came and shared their joys and challenges with us.

Appreciation

We sincerely appreciate the General Council for granting us this opportunity in which we met and shared our missionary lives and experiences. In a similar way, we thank our various Provincials of our mission provinces for making it possible for us to attend this important meeting. We extend our gratitude to the hosting Provincial, the organizers, the animators and the participants of the meeting.

Camille Konkobo and Filiyanus Ekka, M.Afr.

Christians of Algeria (KTO TV)

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A documentary video produced by the French Catholic TV KTO.

MAfr CIM Training Clip nr. 1

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Meant for training within the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, this video clip is the first of a series of videos clips that will be promoting the active protection of children and vulnerable persons. The training is given by Fr. Stéphane Joulain, PhD, M.Afr.

The IBLA, a new dynamism in a new Tunisia (PE nr. 1084)

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Created by the White Fathers in 1926 in Bou Khris (near La Marsa), the Institute of Arabic Letters, IBLA, was born from the desire to know better and promote Tunisian culture in all its aspects. IBLA is interested in human and social sciences in Tunisia and, more broadly, in the Arab world. Its mission is to encourage intellectual openness in Tunisia, while developing intercultural and interreligious dialogue, with the aim of achieving mutual understanding and peace.

The IBLA moved to its present location in 1932, near the medina of Tunis, where it gradually became part of Tunisian society. The training part in classical Arabic language and Islamology was transferred to the Manouba in 1949, then to Rome in 1964 to become the Pontifical Institute for Arabic Studies and Islamology (PISAI). However, the documents remained in Tunis, where for decades it has been used for academic and intellectual purposes by academic and other researchers through a Research Library. In 2010, it had more than 34,000 titles and 600 journals, as well as 130,000 references in its catalog. In the same year, there were 430 registered researchers, mostly Tunisian university graduates in Master and PhD studies, as well as professors. At the same time, the IBLA has developed other activities, including the IBLA Magazine. Founded in 1937, it is interested in human and social sciences in Tunisia and is the oldest of the journals existing to date in Tunisia. Nowadays the IBLA maintains exchanges with about a hundred institutions in the world, which enriches the Research Library. In the 1950s, it also opened its doors to teenagers from the neighborhoods and gradually created a Youth Library. The aim was to support them in their studies, by offering them a warm space and a benevolent accompaniment.

On 5th January 2010, a dramatic fire took the life of the director of the Research Library, Fr. Gian Battista Maffi (PB); it also destroyed half of the documentation and seriously damaged the building. Then a great wave of solidarity was manifested in Tunisia and abroad, both by individuals and institutions, such as the Ministry of Culture of Tunisia, the French Institute in Tunisia, the National Library, the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and various embassies. In Tunis, the National Library and the National Archives restored about 160 ancient documents. We saw this as a sign of the times, helping us to discern the importance of our action. This has encouraged us to make every effort to revitalize IBLA’s activities and respond in this way to the needs expressed by the environment in which we work. It is thanks to these multiple supports that the IBLA began its restoration and officially reopened the doors of its Research Library in October 2014. Since then, it is the action dedicated to adolescents that is gradually relaunched, through a new Youth Space, which aims at promoting the integral development of their person. As for the IBLA Review, it has continued its activities rigorously, despite the difficult times that the Institute has gone through.

The IBLA is led by White Fathers from different countries who work hand in hand with Tunisians and other people. Because of this, they learn the Tunisian dialect and some of them specialize in Islamology and classical Arabic language. The IBLA is thus a place of meeting, dialogue and exchange, an area of shared respect and knowledge, where everyone, regardless of country, culture or religion, can at the same time be actor and receiver. In this way, it responds to the mission of the Church in the Maghreb, which is committed to contributing to cultural and intellectual life and to the building of society. Through its modest presence and activities, the IBLA contributes to strengthening intellectual, intercultural and inter-religious openness and promoting living together.

Book shelves inside the IBLA

At present, the IBLA wants more than ever to be this bridge between cultures and religions, between the knowledge of yesterday’s books, the richness of today’s intellectual world and the energy of the youth that prepares tomorrow. The Research Library is gradually recovering its holdings and currently contains nearly 24,000 titles as well as hundreds of periodicals. More than 500 researchers have registered since its reopening in October 2014. Conferences will soon enrich the activities of the IBLA, which intends to participate actively in the intellectual and cultural life in Tunisia. The Espace Jeunes is being launched. Approximately 80 teenagers have been taking part in English and French school tutoring since 2016. They find in the IBLA a space of calm and confidence to study, socialize and enrich their daily lives. After the renovation of the Espace Jeunes, by the summer of 2017, new activities will also be created: computer and artistic workshops, a new youth library, projections and debates. Beyond the educational dimension, these activities make it possible to forge links with the families of the neighboring districts, most of whom live in poverty and precariousness. It also serves the mission of encounter, dialogue and solidarity with people living in existential peripheries. Finally, the IBLA Magazine, under the leadership of Mr Faouzi Bedoui and his entirely Tunisian editorial committee, celebrated its 80th anniversary with a stand at the Tunis International Book Fair (held from 24th March to 2nd April 2017) and a “round table” organized
on 26th March 2017. Thanks to the voluntary and devoted work of
the committee, the Magazine continues its activities with its spirit of rigor and benevolence, thus promoting the Tunisian and Arab-Muslim culture.

Today, the IBLA team includes the Director, Father Bonaventura Mwenda (WF); the financial manager, Father Ismaël Mendez Almaguer (WF); Father André Ferre (WF); Father Robbin Simbeye (WF); trainees Calvin Akunga (WF) and Simon Ouedraogo (WF); the Director of the Review, Mr. Faouzi Bedoui; the assistant librarian and editorial coordinator of the IBLA Magazine, Nadia Jlassi; assistant librarian, Mrs Asma Dellai; the project editor, Ms. Lucie Jacquet, and the domestic worker, Ms. Arbia Alaoui.

The IBLA team

In a post-Revolution Tunisia, the IBLA is trying to adapt and to continue supporting better the evolution of the society, as it has done since 1926. Many challenges remain: to update the documents of the Research Library, to maintain the scientific rigor of the IBLA Review despite the decline of the academic level in Tunisia, to meet the needs of a youth encountering difficulties in finding a place in society, to accompany Tunisians to live their freedom (houriyya ) and their free will (ikhtiyar), to integrate the new technologies into the IBLA’s activities and to cope with the running costs of the Institute. For this, the IBLA relies on its network and develops its relations in the neighborhood and the academic environment, while seeking partners and benefactors at national and international level. In this time of renewal, meetings and dialogues remain the rudder of the IBLA, since it is through this that its action finds its full meaning.

Bonaventura Benjamin MWENDA,
Director of IBLA.

IBLA, a new dynamism in a new Tunisia

My experience of parish work as missionary of Africa (PE nr. 1084)

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Since 5 years, I am in mission in the parish of Saint Therese of the child Jesus-Dyou, Diocese of Sikasso in Mali, in the West African province (PAO), that is to say since my priestly ordination. The Diocese of Sikasso comprises of 8 parishes with 25 diocesan priests, of which only one is animated by the missionaries of Africa since its foundation on January 14, 1953. Only two male congregations exist in this diocese: the Salesians of Don Bosco with their training center and two communities of missionaries of Africa, namely the Senoufo Center and our parish community. Our presence brings a little diversity in the diocesan configuration and in its pastoral approach.

Simplicity in contact: in order to really be «all to all», the investment in learning the local language has made me very effective in pastoral work. I can freely preach, advise, make free pastoral visits and stay in their homes without seeking comfort. All these attitudes are a great testimony that evangelise our interlocutors. Touring our 23 villages in rotation allows us to get in touch with the reality lived in all the communities. Every Sunday evening we share in our joys and frustrations of the mission, while encouraging each other. It is a moment of mutual relaxation and enrichment around a fraternal drink. As for Monday evening, the day of our rest, we have a Mass during which we share our spiritual experiences listening to one another. It is an activity that allows me to present to the Lord the whole parish community with its joys and pains.

Learning the language in a family

I dream of a specifically missionary parish where we firmly commit ourselves in :

  • catechesis to deepen the faith of our Christians who let themselves be easily tossed by the routine of life provided they have a satisfaction. There is a lot of duplicity in most of them, which explains the lack of commitment of some … I firmly believe that if they were seriously following the catechesis and had a life of prayer, they could understand what is meant by taking up one’s cross. It is said that «Even a rose is in the middle of the thorns». It is challenging to live the Christian faith in a strong Muslim environment without fear or compromise in front of the difficulties encountered.
  • Literacy: most of our Christians are illiterate, and there is an urgent need to teach them to read and write so that they can learn more about the Scriptures through personal reading, greater involvement in community activities. Sometimes there is no one who can read in certain communities and it is up to the priest or stagiaire to prepare or do everything … If the faithful learn to read and write, they can manage their activities without much frustration … and this will make everyone happier in the mission.
  • Training in self-reliance activities for the real liberation of the human person, ie training them and educating them to be financially independent so as to participate in the functioning of the parish. Most Christians think and believe that the Church is there to distribute money to them, that the Church is rich and does not expect anything from them. We work hard to give them a true image of the Church knowing that they themselves are part of it, and thus gradually free them from the spirit of begging.
  • Awareness-raising activities on Justice and Peace: we live in mining areas. There are many traditional mining sites in our territory and this attracts everyone. The most painful thing is that there are many miners and young people from all over the sub-region looking for easy money. However, this is a myth, because only a handful manage to get away with it positively. Through awareness-raising evenings we want to help these people understand the dangers they face when working without any warranty or protection. My dream coincides with that of Pope Francis as expressed in his encyclical «Laudato Si»: everyone must have the concern to keep and safeguard our common home.
Gold digger…

My biggest observation is that I have been lucky until now to find myself in a community made up of 3 confreres «semper tres», and stagiaires whom we help in their discernment of their missionary vocation. As in every missionary community, we have established a community project that helps us to live specifically our ideal and to insert ourselves into our environment of first evangelization (with many influences of traditional religion and Islam …) as someone liked to say: in Mali, there are 85% Muslims, 15% Christians and 100% animists. This still explains the strong social pressure of traditional African religion. Nevertheless, there is a real religious tolerance in my mission area and we religious leaders often meet formally and informally, encouraging us to preach peace, tolerance and forgiveness. The heart of man being unpredictable, we remain cautious in our manner of speaking and doing.

This pastoral care excites me greatly and gives me joy whenever I meet a certain receptivity on the part of certain people; when I think of Jesus, St. Paul, Lavigerie and many other apostles who have encountered difficulties in their mission but have held fast through faith, their unfailing trust in God and the consolation found in their mission. Yes, this mission is worth living!

Joseph Kamwanga, M.Afr.

Guy (Guido) Bourgeois, R.I.P.

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Father Gilles Barrette, Provincial of the Americas,
informs you of the return to the Lord of Father

Guy (Guido) Bourgeois

on Monday the 23rd October 2017 at Joliette (Canada)
at the age of 82 years, of which 58 years of missionary life
in Malawi, France, South Africa and in Canada.

Let us pray for him and for his loved ones.
Continue reading “Guy (Guido) Bourgeois, R.I.P.”

Jan Franse, R.I.P.

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Father Jozef de Bekker, Provincial Delegate of the sector of the Netherlands,
informs you of the return to the Lord of Father

Jan Franse

on Monday the 23rd October 2017 at the Hospital of Weert (The Netherlands)
at the age of 79 years, of which 53 years of missionary life
in Tanzania and in the Netherlands.

Let us pray for him and for his loved ones.

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Jan Franse RIP

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Ghardaïa in Algeria: a different parish or a parish like any other? (PE nr. 1084)

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I get angry when confreres seem to insinuate that parish life in predominantly non-Christian countries would be truncated, diminished, or even non-existent. In Ghardaïa, Algeria, we live as the very first parishes of the Acts of the Apostles, or as the “seven ordinary parishes” of the Book of Revelation. Our parish resembles those of the missionaries of Africa of the Maghreb Province and some parishes in Mali and Niger. But why should not the parish of Ghardaïa look like all the other parishes held by communities of missionaries of Africa? Even if there are some differences…

A parish experiences the mystery of Christ in its holy assemblies, especially those of Sundays, in its religious and spiritual life, in the formation and accompaniment of the laity for the mission of the gradual transformation of our world into the Kingdom of Heaven; in short, from the perspective of «Justice and Peace», dialogue and listening to the world in search of the absolute. Formerly we were taught that there is a «holy assembly» since Abel, the righteous: «Ecclesia ab Abele». This means that where there is “wounded innocence” (oppression, slavery, injustice, etc.), the «Church» is already there: the assembly of those who follow the Lamb. A parish like ours has only to join the many «Abels in tears, blood and sweat» to become more and more «Church», with the guests of the public squares and crossroads.

Many of the faithful in our parish live their sacramental and spiritual life within their own religious and missionary community. In our parish, it is the communities of missionaries of Africa and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (White Fathers and White Sisters). The Bishop, usually a White Father since Cardinal Lavigerie, joins our Eucharistic communities and participates in community offices. On Friday, holiday in Algeria, we celebrate the Eucharist partially in Arabic. Several Christian migrants, who are free on that day, attend the celebration. Sometimes, we have to find another time of the day to organize a linguistically and sacramentally adapted office for those who come late.

On the one hand, the parish is comprised of a diversity of Christians living in a territory of a dozen square kilometers around the cathedral. These include the Bishop, the white fathers with the stagiaires, sometimes African students of the Algerian universities, the White Sisters and the laity who are often engaged by the French Delegation of Catholic Cooperation and African Christian migrants from the surroundings.

On the other hand, the parish is also constituted of the moving diaspora of Noumérate (25 km), Metlili (35 km), Mansoura (70 km), Zelfana km), Oued Nichou (25 km), Berriane (45 km), Wadi Sudan (55 km), Djelfa (300 km) where we wish to establish the chaplaincy and a place of worship for Christian students; finally, Laghouat (195 km), where there is a pied-à-terre of the diocese and where nothing prevents the holding of Christian offices monthly, cautiously taking into account the clandestinity of African migrants.

The parish is not only a community around a holy water font. It is a community of communities, animated by the desire to slowly but surely transform the life of the non-Christian world around it in a world ruled by the Beatitudes in view of the Kingdom of Heaven, the reign of justice and peace.

The parish of Ghardaïa is taken care of by a number of collaborators of the administration of the diocese (including the Bishop), who invests in all parishes and religious and missionary communities of the great diocese of Southern Algeria, Laghouat-Ghardaïa, often without ordained ministers. One could think that the administrative staff of the diocesan offices are not directly or tangibly concerned with the great mission of the Church to transform this world into the Kingdom of heaven; but what would I do myself in the pastoral work for Christian migrants, the work of raising awareness and empowerment of African migrants without the discrete and unnoticed work of all those collaborators who are close to the Bishop? In fact, they carry the heat and the weight of the day. They are also actively involved in the cultural work, one of the diocesan’s priority options within the framework of the CCDS (Cultural and Documentary Center of Sahara), in school tutoring and even, as part of the coordination of initiatives, to actions in favor of African migrants.

The Ghardaïa parish includes Christian African migrants, individuals and small groups. The number of people who live far from worship places fluctuates. My great regret is that our structures of traditional missionary work prevent us from being fully in the sacramental and spiritual service of these lay missionaries (African migrants on the ground, missionaries in spite of themselves) who are the first evangelizers of the world of migrants and of the workers in the greater part of southern Algeria. The strength of White Father parishes has always been the transformation of the laity into dynamic evangelizing communities: communities that make a difference, wherever they are, and recruit by their attraction.

Johan Miltenburg, M.Afr.

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The Parish: An inescapable pastoral requirement (PE nr. 1084)

Posted on by Vitus Danaa Abobo

The Missionaries of Africa arrived in Atakpamé, Togo on Wednesday 9th May 2012 to set up their first mission in this West African country. The principal aim of the foundation in Togo was to get to know and accordingly accompany better the Missionary of Africa aspirants who were applying to join us. Up to that time, vocation directors were coming from Ouagadougou, even Bobo-Dioulasso in neighbouring Burkina Faso, for more or less regular visits. It was a huge investment in time and trouble for the vocations man concerned, and it involved a serious financial outlay on the part of the Province. However, the investment and effort have been worthwhile because we can now count six Missionaries of Africa from Togo. Two more will be ordained this year in September 2017 bringing the total to eight. We chose the Diocese of Atakpamé as most of the aspirants come from there.

However, we did not wish to be occupied exclusively with our young aspirants and their spiritual accompaniment. We also wanted to understand their mentality better, to know their background, to understand theChurch milieu and if possible to be of service to local Church. We did not want just to take from the local Church but also to give it something tangible such as our Missionary Charism. That is why, when negotiating with Bishop Nicodème Barrigah, Bishop of Atakpamé, we asked him to give us a parish. In our opinion, the parish is the best way to slot into an environment, to become familiar with it and to understand the mentality of the people. It means learning the language and the ways and customs of the local population. It also gave us the opportunity to work with the local clergy and to exercise our missionary charism. Bishop Barrigah allocated us a sector by the name of Talo-Novissi located in the suburbs of Atakpamé. There was no parish but a Christian community had been in existence for eleven years already. On the 30th August 2013, Talo-Novissi was granted the status of a Parish under the patronage of Our Lady of Africa.

The nursery school

As it was a new foundation, there were many things to be done. We did not have a house so we had to build one. We lived in rented accommodation some kilometres from the parish for four years. The only building on the compound was a small chapel without doors or windows, which doubled up as an office for the primary school during the week. We responded to this important need, which we had not foreseen, by building a primary school complete with six classrooms and a kindergarten similar to the one from https://teddykids.nl/ but with two classrooms. Now, we are building the Parish Church.

As important as these material cares may have been, we did not allow them to distract us from the main aim of our Mission. We wanted to construct a community that was both Christian and missionary. We did not come to Togo to construct no matter how essential that was but to build Christian communities, which would be the leaven in the dough of this community, which is under the strong influence of traditional religion especially Voodoo not to mention the harassment of new religious movements.

Confreres working in à Atakpamé : Callistus Baalaboore, Theo Caerts, Ghislain Mbilizi.

A few months after our arrival and despite the building work already under way, we got down to learning the local language, Éwé, which was an absolute necessity for parish work. We also got actively involved in Small Christian Communities, which gave us the opportunity each week to give some light on the Gospels and Christian living. Unfortunately, many Christians consider SCC as just another extra activity alongside other movements and associations already in place. Recently, the number of participants at the weekly meetings has increased thanks to a better awareness of the importance of the SCC.

The presbytery

In our Sunday homilies, we do not forget the missionary dimension of the Gospel and its necessity for an authentic Church of Christ. We reorganised the catechumenate in such a way to be able to follow the progress of each one more easily. We try to infuse a truly Christian spirit and a missionary and Christian conviction into our catechumens, youth, children and adults.

A special characteristic of our parish, in our Diocese, indeed in the Church in Togo as a whole, is the existence of all sorts of lay Associations known here as “Congregations” (such as St. Rita, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, St. Anthony of Padua etc). Each one has its own specificity and their principal activities are special prayers such as Triduums, Novenas etc. It is a pastoral activity totally new to us and we really have not yet got our heads around it particularly as their meetings are not like others but are in fact prayer meetings that take place between four or five in the morning!

Paula Chapel

We pay particular attention to young people in order to give them a solid Christian formation. However, they move around a lot because their studies take them outside the parish and it is not easy to keep track of them for any length of time. Thanks to our parish insertion, we are able to participate at pastoral, diocesan, and deanery meetings, which give us the opportunity to establish good relationships with the local clergy. It also means that we can share with them our different missionary experiences and our points of view on certain pastoral questions. We get the impression that they appreciate our presence and pastoral contribution.

We are dreaming, as soon as our building cares have diminished, of showing more clearly our specific missionary speciality. We want to found “outstations” that are known as “secondary stations” here. We would like very much that our pastoral activities and our different commitments go beyond the structure of our actual Parish. In the meantime, we have no regrets at all in choosing the Parish as the point of entry for our new mission!

 

 

In the name of the community of Talo.
Theo Caerts, M.Afr.