CONTENT

Season Greetings of the General Council

Editorial: Lucie Pruvost

“INSPIRED BY LAVIGERIE”

1. A Challenge for Mission, by Communities of Boxtel Reg. H. and Molenhof
2. Following in the Footsteps of Cardinal Lavigerie, Living Fully God’s Gift, Community of Bukavu
3. Sent to Bring the Good News, Community of Cartierville
4. An Invitation to Reflect on Our Mission Today, Community of Paris Gay-Lussac
5. A Renewal for Our Consecration to Mission, Community of Boxtel Molenwiek
6.In the Spirit of Lavigerie, a Passion for Africa, María Francisca Reche (Paquita)

Sharing Life

Blessing of an Icon: Mother Marie-Salomé, Hildegunde Schmidt and Juliette Christiaens
Meeting of Accompanists, Gratienne Ndizeye


Walk through the Archives

Conceived and Born Out of a Dream, How Our Congregation Began

Editorial staff

Season Greetings of the General Council

One day, a child shared a secret with his aunt: “Before I go to sleep, mummy gently runs her fingers over my face.  It is as if she wants to continue to shape me, as if I were not finished!” This is what Advent is all about: we are the Body of Christ, ever-becoming, and the Creator never finishes shaping us. With infinite love. And this awakens within us a deep desire to contemplate that what will be born and what the result will be. It is therefore high time to dream – where “to dream” means “to ardently desire what has been announced”.

Let us listen for a moment to Isaiah (11:6 and ff). He is a prophet, and it is his task to look into the heart of God. And what does he see? First of all, an immense gathering of all peoples, races and cultures, who respect one another in their diversity and who all call God by the same name. And then, he sees tanks and cannons, which are transformed into a framework to build houses for the homeless, B-52 planes which will transport equipment to the Sahel to bore wells, in the fight against the drought.

At that very moment, Isaiah sees God himself and a dove perched on his computer, an olive branch in its beak – and this olive branch was full of buds wishing to bloom. And so, God settled himself in front of his computer screen and sent on Internet his message of Life, Peace, Love.

Shalom! He said, Salaam Aleikum!
I leave you peace. I give you my peace.
      As long as I see men and women cultivate their plots of land without using pesticides,
out of respect for my creation…
I will let the lilies of the field blossom and the birds in the sky sing.
      As long as I see a child sitting next to another child who is in tears and overcome
with sadness, simply handing him his toy…
I will change water into wine and multiply the bread.
      As long as I see one prison guard being human in inhuman situations and allow life to meet death …
I will break the whip of the guard and overturn the torture machines.
      As long as I see parents welcome within their home the murderer of their own daughter, speak to him a healing word, be reconciled, and offer their pardon to him who has wronged them, to help him to free himself from the weight of his crime and the wrong which he harbours…
I will send you my Son lying in the manger of the Eucharist.
      Already now, small flowers are forming on the olive branch held by the dove. And so, without hesitation, God opened the window of the world and released the dove, which hastened to carry this Good News to make the four corners of the world blossom. And God saw that this was really very good.
And – God just could not help it! - he remembered that one day he had exclaimed: “Earth!” and the earth appeared,
and he exclaimed: “Christmas!”
Because God knew that, thanks to us, it would be Christmas every day.

      May this Advent make us dream, fully alert and ardently desiring what has been announced, a reconciled creation, where “The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid; calf, lion and fat-stock beast together, with a little boy to lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like the ox.  The infant will play over the den of the adder; the baby will put his hand into the viper’s lair. No hurt, no harm will be done on all my holy mountain, for the country will be full of knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea” (Is 11:6-9).  

Editorial

      On 28th October, the Second Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops drew to a close. The theme of the Assembly was “The Church in Africa at the service of reconciliation, justice and peace”. On the last day of their meeting, the Bishops published a Message programme which is, no doubt, in keeping with our charism for Africa. As regards justice, we notice the particular place given to women. In fact, the local Churches are called to “recognise and promote the contribution rendered, not only in the home as wives and mothers, but also in the social field, and to set up concrete   structures in order to offer their participation on an adequate level”. This comes down to giving them real power of decision-making within the local churches. As for reconciliation, the call is clear for “a more intense collaboration with the brothers and sisters of other Christian traditions”, in view of “more dialogue and cooperation with the Muslims and followers of traditional religions”.  These projects, among others, do more than remind us of “the objectives of the millennium for development”. Drawn up in the year 2000 to be carried out by 2015,  these objectives have not reached their goal as has been seen by the members of the Synod, joining thus the observations and statistics of the international community.

It is good to recall this event of the Synod in which a great number of Bishops from the African continent participated, not only because it concerns all of us, but especially so because their activities remind us of the struggles undertaken by our Founder to establish God’s Kingdom in Africa. Did not the Chapter of 2005, with its Lavigerie Programme, immerse us again into re-reading his message for today? The communities of our three provinces testified to this when they accepted the request of the editorial committee of Sharing Trentaprile for this last issue of the year. Their answers make up the “Dossier” of this issue. You will be able to judge for yourselves, as you glance through the summary. These texts, whether come from Congo, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain or France, express how each one of the communities, Boxtel Molenhof and Boxtel Molenwiek, Bukavu, Cartierville and Paris Gay-Lussac wished to genuinely live this Programme. You will find a reflection of María Francisca (Paquita) Reche Reche, who at the occasion of her golden jubilee, largely reminisced about her commitment in the spirit of Lavigerie.

      A short “Walk through the Archives” reminds us of our Founder’s “dream” whose courage and creativity in the service of the Lord enabled him to offer to Africa our two Institutes consecrated to this continent and whose members, Sisters, Fathers and Brothers, are “dedicated to the evangelisation of the peoples of Africa, so that they might know Christ and proclaim him in their turn” giving “particular attention to the believers of Islam” (Const. n° 2 and 18).

      Many important events marked these last months as the two texts of “Sharing Life” report.  The first one is relatively old: the meeting of the accompanists which took place in Nairobi from 27th April to 2nd May. The second is more recent, but it recalls a family event of which you certainly have had some echoes through the sisters who participated in the Plenary Assembly of October: the Blessing of the icon of Mother Marie-Salomé, made by Sr. Juliette Christiaens, of Antwerp community, who painted it with artistic talent and with all her love. As is the custom, you will find the various communications from the General Council, as well as from the general secretariat, which will help you to keep your different documents up-to-date.

      You will receive this last issue of the year during Advent, a chosen moment to join the wishes of the Editorial committee of Sharing Trentaprile to those of the General Council. Their wishes contain a good orientation for reading for the New Year, always at the service of Africa.

Lucie Pruvost

“INSPIRED BY LAVIGERIE”

A Challenge for Mission

Process followed
      Our first approach to the documents received of the Lavigerie Programme was reading them personally and taking some notes. Afterwards, we read them together in our communities, sharing what had touched us more particularly. We also used them on the occasion of the monthly recollection. We realised that they should be seen in relation to the Capitular Acts (C. A.) and the Constitutions, and how they complemented one another when using them side-by-side. We felt that the Lavigerie Programme was an answer to the challenge in the line of mission, as stated in the C. A. 2005. It became for us a continuation of the reflection on mission in its present context as already mentioned in the C. A. of 1999: “We live this vocation in today’s world with all that is specific to it”. It became often a sharing in depth. Thus, during the reading of the first file which led us to share about our vocation, we realised with gratitude how God’s call had come to each one of us in a different wonderful way.

Treasures rediscovered
      We were especially challenged by the fact that the Lavigerie Programme referred to the Constitutions and the C. A. of the last 20 years. By reading and sharing about them, we rediscovered the hidden treasures in these documents. The spirit and style of mission in C. A. 1993 inspired us again: “Our special characteristic of going towards people in order to encounter them where they are”. We realised that this is also true for us in our relations with immigrants, especially Moslems, the homeless and refugees. Our experiences in Africa help us to live these aspects also here in the Netherlands.

      We also felt at home with the text: “We recognise certain strengths in the Congregation: great readiness to serve, love of Africa and life-giving apostolic dynamism in our elderly sisters” (C. A. 1987, n°6), as this is and remains our mission wherever we are. The C. A. 2005 confirm n°13 of our Constitutions: “Wherever we are, our mission is ONE. Because we belong to the same body, each assignment is a sending, and each service is a mission for Africa.” We see this as a recurring theme in the C. A. “Mission is the purpose of our existence as Congregation”. This is and remains a strong lifeline for us.

      Another text that struck us was: “Its source (of the mission) is at the heart of the Trinity. It is closely linked to the Lord’s call to us and not to a geographical area”. Its link to Ignatian spirituality was an important re-discovery and reminder to us. A God who communicates himself and enters in dialogue. The Father sent His Son, the Son sent us through his Church. To be sent is the core of our mission.

New insights
      Here follow some passages that enlighten us on our being missionary. In The Well, ”Challenges today to Mission Ad Gentes”, the passage about the changes in the theology of mission. It sees mission as something pertaining to the whole Church being the action of the Holy Trinity toward the world and the importance given to dialogue with respect to other religious traditions. Hence the need of inculturation and mutual understanding in order to create a bond of trust that will allow for cooperation in building a better world together.

      Passages on ”Globalisation and its consequences” made us see human promotion, social justice and the defence of human rights as an integral part of mission. Also, the importance of accompaniment to replace the thinking of mission as ‘expansion and conquest’, confirmed our reflection on mission during these last 20 years. 

      We reflected on some thoughts from The Well, “Missionary Spirituality: Walking on the two feet of Love”: “You have to be mystic and missionary’’; ‘‘The desire of God meets our desire. It is the crack where God comes through”; ‘’ Find God in all things’’ and ‘’We belong to each other in Christ’’.

      In The Well of April 2009, we are faced with the new forms of slavery in our time, such as migration, prostitution, child soldiers and street children, HIV/AIDS. Working for prevention and lobbying so as to create a greater awareness makes us feel that we enter into the footsteps of Cardinal Lavigerie, who fought so much against slavery in his time.

Some sisters pointed out
   - Rooted in the Trinity has become important in living my missionary life. As Mother Marie-Salomé used to say:  “This sustains us in all circumstances”.
   - I feel invited to be available to people around me, especially my sisters. My love for the Congregation and for Africa has been strengthened, and I have become more aware of the enrichment I have received from these.
   - The motto of the Cardinal: “To be all to all” and the total gift to Christ: “I am all yours” challenges me today in the way I live and am present in our milieu.

      The reflection and sharing has been for us a very positive experience, has strengthened us in our charism and has given us impulses and challenges for the future living out of our missionary vocation till the end.

The communities of Boxtel - Regional House and Molenhof
The Netherlands

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CARDINAL LAVIGERIE
IN THE TOTAL LIVING OF GOD’S GIFT

Method followed
   How have we, in community, tried to make our own, the journey proposed by the Lavigerie Programme?  In the “Letter of Introduction”, the method was very well explained. We therefore, followed it faithfully, adapting it to the reality of our community.  For each of the documents we studied, we started with a reading in common, followed by a personal reflection. Afterwards, we shared in community, insofar as the reading proceeded. Then, we took again certain passages for our community prayer. This was an opportunity to share about our vocation, to let ourselves be questioned and to deepen our faith and love for the mission.

Lights, strengths
    In re-reading the Constitutions and the Capitular Acts of the last 20 years, certain aspects of our apostolic spirituality enlightened us, strengthened us and revived us. It is in this sense that we can quote n° 15 of our Constitutions: “Everything in our life should proclaim the Father’s love”. In the Capitular Acts of 1987, we have recorded the three words which expressed the essential dimension of every human and Gospel encounter: Inculturation, Liberation and Dialogue.

    And again in n° 25 of C. A. of 1993 (p. 77), we have quoted that “Our apostolic spirituality is rooted in the mystery of salvation. God is present … is at work in history, transforming the world into his Kingdom. This conviction is the driving force and the unifying factor of our lives: it fashions our way of being, of praying, of carrying out the mission, of relating to others, of living the vows.” - “To become all to all”, (p. 77) and again: “Find God in all things… find all things in God … (This can) make us into true bearers of hope in the midst of any situation” (p. 79). In those same C. A.: “We realise that even though we are to be bearers of hope, we also receive it in return. This constant flow of grace and of life in God is the deepest meaning of the mission for which we are called” (n° 14, p. 45).

    The C. A. of 1999 remind us that “Cardinal Lavigerie and Mother Marie-Salomé show us the way: ‘Never forget that through your gift of self to God, you belong to Jesus Christ. Preserve in your hearts as your only treasure the strong and generous Love of Jesus Christ’” (p. 46). These Acts also tell us that “We have to bear witness… that all persons are equal. Commitment for justice, reconciliation and peace…” (p. 50)

    It is always in the same sense that the C. A. of 2005 remind us of the foundation of the mission which “is beyond us. Its source is at the heart of the Trinity. It is closely linked to the Lord’s call… and not to a geographical area. Consequently, “our missionary life is lived wherever we are sent… through the service that has been confided to us” (p. 38). Today, we need to strengthen and live more fully our family spirit which becomes a sign of unity in the world.

“The gift…”
    Amongst the other writings mentioned in the documents, we did appreciate “The Well”, entitled “Le don: démarche missionnaire fondamentale” (The gift: fundamental missionary approach), which we read in reference to page 50 of the C. A. of 1999: “The gift of the ‘All to all’ urges us to be bridges between these groups, to be people who bring others together…” (p. 50).

      In this number of “The Well”, we mention in particular some passages which clarify well the meaning of gift:
- The gift of self allows us “to go beyond established frontiers by cultures and traditions, to share God’s love with every man and woman” (p. 4).
- Life is given “so that the truth of the Gospel be known” (p. 5)
- We have to undergo a “cultural conversion”, a spiritual ‘kenosis’ as followers of Christ… accepting to empty oneself, in order to receive oneself from the Other, from God” (p. 6).
- Or this quotation of Mgr. Claverie (Bishop of Oran in Algeria, murdered in 1996): “Religious missionary life, sign of the gift of self to God, is a response to the question of the meaning of life today… Religious men and women, remain at the heart of the confusion and the brokenness of humanity, there where men and women look for healing and reconciliation” (p. 8).
- And finally, a last passage of “The Well”: “In the midst of conflicts, the mission is to be a sign of the universal love of God. Since the birth of the Church, missionary life is life given to God and to the world, in the image of God’s gift of self in the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus-Christ. It is the overflowing of the love which God has put into our heart through his Spirit. We owe our being to God Trinity, who is Himself life, given and shared” (p. 9).

Concrete experiences
    We can mention some of the concrete experiences of our life in which we feel that we have put into practice those different aspects of the mission which the study of these documents has allowed us to deepen. 

Let us recall some of them:
- The gift of my life to Jesus-Christ expresses itself in service: in the service of my sisters, my community, the Congregation and each person.
- I came back to Congo, to be near to those who suffer. God, Father of all, is important in the life of women in distress: raped, rejected, traumatised, widows rejected because they are accused of witchcraft, single mothers chased away, deprived of all help and forced into prostitution. Hence, my work in formation and in association to help them to fend for themselves.
- We are “God’s gift to each other”. The image of God, relationship-gift, invites me to a renewed attentiveness, marked with respect and goodness towards every person, in community and outside, in situations and activities.
- Sometimes, in my missionary life, I had to make choices, during the wars of 1967 and 1996, a free choice, lived in great peace, because I felt that I was a missionary there, where God wanted me and where superiors had sent me.
- I like to stay close to the people to whom I have been sent and who have welcomed me.

    We were all touched by the witness given by Prospérine Samba about Véronique Hégron, whose life was total “gift”.

Community of Bukavu, D. R. Congo

SENT TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS

     We were privileged to have the launching of the “Lavigerie Programme” by the sisters of the General Council during our inter-community meeting of October 2007. At that time, our sisters were in Canada for the first General Assembly, in North America.

The Trinity, source of the mission
     From the beginning of our reflection, we were very much interested by the presentation of the mission, beginning with the Trinity. She contemplates the world and chooses to become One with us through the Incarnation… We discovered there the two poles: Contemplation (interiority, gratuity) and Commitment (gift of self), which once more unite and lead us towards our Ignatian roots.

     For several months, we have studied and prayed, personally and in community with the leaflet. In May, the Provincial Council of our province organised an intercommunity meeting on The Well: “To walk with both feet in love”. Thanks to the rich sharing of the participants, we received a strong confirmation of our way of living the mission here.

Sent to North America
     We are aware that our Congregation keeps telling us again and again that “essentially, we are missionaries, sent to bring the Good News to the people of Africa.” But we, we are sent to North America for good!  What meaning then can we give to our mission here, since the mission of the Congregation is “One, wherever we are”? How can we live our “all to all”, our “being-with”, our “be apostles and be nothing else”, our “being able to endure and to leave”, in a big inter-congregational house, of 400 autonomous, semi-autonomous or sick religious sisters and with about 100 employees from different races and religions? The specific values conveyed to us by the Congregation have made us into “people being sent, to bring the Good News to the African people”. We have realised that this would be in “becoming ourselves Good News, women of the Gospel to bring Jesus-Christ where we are inserted”. It so happens that we also hear people say to us: “You have a very special charism because of your African experience”… “You have become universal sisters”.

Updating our YES today
     Strong by these convictions, we try to live our services as librarian, receptionist, sacristan, visitors to the sick, our today in a house in thorough transformation for the renovation of the infirmary. This demands of us and of the different congregations, to live with the noise, to take turns in moving elsewhere, to depart from certain people and places we love, to go open-handed somewhere else, like so many of our contemporaries who have to leave their house to go into retirement homes. We also are in solidarity with the migrant people of the area who are in search of a better life. We are called to update our Yes today in fidelity to our initial Yes. In this way, the leaflets we received have helped us to better discern our mission here at Cartierville.

Marie-Paule Thibaudeau, Jeannine Savoie, Olivette Bellavance and Aline Bélanger
                                          Community of Cartierville, Canada

AN INVITATION TO REFLECT ON OUR MISSION TODAY

The dimensions of Cardinal Lavigerie‘s undertakings are multiple.

Indeed, he endeavoured to:
- Organise his immense diocese because he also was Archbishop of Algiers, something which we often forget
- Try to reconcile the Church of the 19th century with the modern society
- Seek to bring the Eastern and Western Churches together
- Promote the reform and internationalisation of the Roman Curia
- Fight against slavery
- Support the archaeological research and history studies in North Africa, which in years past
     was partly Christian. 

But what we especially recall as our heritage is his main inspiration:

PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE AFRICAN PEOPLE
SO THAT THEY COULD PROCLAIM IT IN TURN.

      This passion meant so much to him, that soon after taking the See of Algiers, this missionary Archbishop founded missionary Institutes destined for the service of the Muslims in his diocese, and this, in spite of the opposition of the colonial powers. We know his beautiful declaration during the speech he gave when he took possession of his new See: “I ask for the privilege to love you as sons, even though you will not recognise me as father…” Even more, what had been a missionary orientation for the MAfr and the MSOLA would become, due to circumstances, a common vocation of all the apostolic agents working in the east and the west of North Africa and even beyond, because at present, Muslim-Christian relations have become one of the major problems of the African continent.

So many rays of light
      As MSOLA, we are well situated in this big movement. We could feel demoralised in the face of so many failures and of violence. Or, we can look with the eyes of our Founder upon this world which suffers, but also moves forward; and we may rejoice at seeing so many rays of light… We could mention:
- The increasing number of young Africans, young men and women, who enter our two Institutes.
- The courage of some African bishops, who dare speak up against corruption, misappropriation of funds and ethnic opposition in their country.
- The fact that, quite often, it is the Church which has become the only stable organisation that functions when everything seems to be going down-hill.
- The courage of so many African mothers who, being the only pillar of the family, still accept to take care of children whose parents have disappeared.
- The fact also that today, even Muslims are attracted by the person of Jesus, not necessarily to “be converted” in the sense of changing religion, but because they feel drawn to him through the extraordinary radiance of his person. Yes, vocations and their individual histories are very different.

A bridge between generations
      At the moment, we, the oldest of the community, having come back to Europe, consider ourselves to be a “bridge” between our generation and our younger sisters who come for studies or for a service, these young sisters who today, are for the greater part from African origin. We desire that they continue in the spirit of the Cardinal, without forgetting that the present time is so different! As for us, let us be happy for what we have been able to accomplish in the service of the Kingdom within our missionary Congregation, in West Africa and in North Africa.

Some characteristics
      In what way, is our Congregation “missionary”? We mention several points which we consider being “accents” of what we are or should be:
- The fact of giving those who desire to join us the choice, between staying in  their country, as happens in so many international Congregations, or going “elsewhere”.
- The fact that all through our life, we were always sent “elsewhere” or at least with the aim to serve “elsewhere”.
- The desire to remain in Africa, in our adoptive country, in spite of the dangers, because we are deeply attached to a people, and at the same time, always available to be sent “elsewhere”.
- Our prayer, which should help us to “digest” the events which touch us… success, difficulties, expulsions, violent death… in contemplating Christ who sends us, and also in looking at our history.
- Innovate without regretting the past, always keeping this “red thread” which guides us: the evangelisation of Africa and the African world.

      Somewhere, the former Archbishop of Algiers, Mgr. H. Teissier, has said, he who claimed his spiritual filiation with Cardinal Lavigerie, among whose successors he has been: “The history of the White Fathers and White Sisters will be marked by this being torn apart between the urgent needs of the “catechumenal” mission in sub-Saharan Africa and the not less evident needs of another type of mission, in relation with Muslim communities. Finally, this tension will have positive consequences, for it will lead to a widening of the reflection of the Church with regard to evangelisation. Lavigerie, when sending Fathers and Sisters to Muslim regions, did leave us with an unanswered question”.

Community of Paris Gay-Lussac, France

A RENEWAL FOR OUR CONSECRATION TO THE MISSION

An authentic sharing
      When we received the first file of the Lavigerie Programme in its beautiful “banana leaf cover”, we decided that we, in our community, would use the documents for reflection and sharing during the monthly recollection. We felt that personal reading and meditation would be necessary to be able to share in community. Using the “Mutual invitation”, each sister could express her thoughts, and these gatherings became a mutual enrichment as certain topics were studied in depth. Together with the Salomé Programme, we came to deepen also the sense of everyday living. Even our community meetings on “material affairs” were enriched by it. It was noticed that the beautiful way in which the materials were presented showed how much the Congregation cares for its members and the people of Africa.

True treasures
      We felt invited to go back to our Constitutions and Capitular Acts (C. A.). As we were going along, we realised how the Programme threw a new light on our Constitutions and helped us to discover them anew. We found real treasures in the Capitular Acts of the last four Chapters, and some of us were really amazed about their actuality even today. They show how the Congregation follows closely the developments that take place in the Church and society, especially in Africa. They stressed also our common mission. Our last Chapter stressed even more that mission is at the heart of our life and is ONE wherever we are.

Mission in today’s world
      Already in 1987, we were made aware of the reality of our Congregation and the fact that we are called “to live out our mission in the world of today just as the Son of God did by becoming one of us”. In and through our sharing, we were given new insights on our mission now, in our present life and wherever we are. It is clear that Mission and Communion for Mission are the ever-returning topics in our reflection; they are the true lifelines for our life as MSOLA. It was a joy for us to rediscover the Trinity as source of mission, and we were struck by the fact that Ignatius already elaborated on this truth in his meditation on the Incarnation. The reference to the C. A. has made us rediscover our apostolic spirituality.

Mission rooted in the Trinity
      The C. A. 1999 invited us to “contemplate the Trinity” and, in faith, see ourselves in Christ, the Beloved, as daughters who participate in the very relationship lived within the Trinity.” As the C. A. 2005 state: “The mission is beyond us. Its source is at the heart of the Trinity. It is linked to the Lord’s call to us and not to a geographical area”. Just as the Father sent His Son, the Son sent us through His Church. The sending is the core of our apostolic spirituality. As we read in The Well: “Mission: Key to Understand Religious Life Today”: “We are aware that we are collaborators and co-partners in his (God’s) project and that we are answering this call”. The Well: “Ad gentes, Changes in the Theology of Mission», helped us to understand mission itself being an action of the Trinity in the world, and mission is then entrusted to the Church as the Church’s participation in the saving work of God.

      The heightened pluralism that globalisation creates through interconnectedness will force us into new insights about pluralism itself, something which should aid our articulation of an adequate and faithful theology of religions. It means developing a spirituality to sustain our work which emphasizes interconnection, truth-telling and the creation of a new moral vision for societies, a pursuit of justice and a cultivation of relationships built upon trust, developing communities of memory and hope. Reconciliation may be the most important metaphor for mission ad gentes in this coming period.

      They said…“The sharing on the different files of the Lavigerie Programme has strengthened in me the conviction that there is continuity in living out our charism for Africa”, one sister says. And then: “Our vocation and mission are one. This has been a liberating experience for me. I feel co-responsible for our mission and realise a greater openness in me”. Another says, “My love for Africa has been strengthened in my present activities. They are part of our mission as we continue to witness our love for Africa. I realise again how much I am enriched by my African experience which has made me the person I am today and influences my behaviour and activities”. A third sister adds: “It fostered our love for the Congregation, and we realised how we could profit anew from its abundant richness. I have grown in respect for all the sisters who preceded us with such great faith. They were really “all to all” in order to spread the love of Christ, inflamed with the wellbeing of the people. This is a support for me in difficult situations. “

      Concluding, we can truly say: “The Constitutions and our Capitular Acts are signs that the Spirit is constantly at work, keeping us in touch with the signs of the times.” They gave new life to our consecration for the mission.

Boxtel Molenwiek Community, The Netherlands

IN THE SPIRIT OF LAVIGERIE, A PASSION FOR AFRICA

      To live according to the spirit of Lavigerie is first and foremost to live the “all to all”, which is rooted in the “all to You”. But, to live according to the spirit of Lavigerie means also living his passion for Africa. “Passion”, meaning a passionate love, animated by a strong desire which drives to action.  “Passion for Africa”, it is this aspect which I wish to reflect upon.

      I profit by my 50th year of missionary life to make an assessment and to give thanks. How, today, do I live the mission far from African territory? How do I live this essential aspect of the spirit of Lavigerie, now that I am out of Africa?

Learning to take root and to leave
     A look in the rear-view mirror takes me 50 years back in time, in 1959-60, the time of my first profession and the international year at Ste-Marie in Algiers. Since then, what a long distance covered! A long road in African terms, neither always straight nor tarred, scattered with many joys and quite some pain, but always accompanied and sustained by a faithful Presence. A road marked by many appointments, for more or less long periods, learning to take root again, but also to leave: from Brussels to Upper Volta, apostolate with young people and with women. Then followed the African Catechetical Institute (ICA, Rwanda) and the work for the compilation of handbooks for catechetic. In 1965, in Spain at the novitiate of Logrono and mission animation. Four years later, departure for one year in Equatorial Guinea, with an inter-congregational team, at the request of Propaganda Fide. Back in Madrid: service and studies. Return to West Africa in 1975. There, I could pitch my tent for many years, always at the service of young people. First, at the Inter-diocesan seminary in Ouagadougou, then at the College of the Christian Brothers of Tounouma in Bobo-Dioulasso, with possibilities to be present in other milieus.

To diminish and to hand over
     Although through my work as a teacher, I found myself mostly with the elite of people, the concern for the less privileged has never left me. The wish to add a social dimension to my mission of teaching urged me to be present in various ways near persons who worked with young people who were school failures, with street children, people with Aids… A presence in different milieus, very rich in encounters which marked my life. The great privilege of those last years in Africa, was to work for young people who once were my pupils or to be replaced by them. That is where I discovered and was able to live what John the Baptist is adding to the spirituality of Lavigerie: to diminish and to leave the place to someone else. Another great joy was to be at the side of women who fought for the abolition of unjust customs, for them and for their daughters, and also to share the dreams, the joys and the sufferings of the people of Kokorowe, a small Bobo village, which had adopted me and had even given me an initiation name.

To burst open the borders
     The year 2003 came as a “tsunami”.  This was the year of my definitive return to Spain. If the head understood that retreating is wise, neither the heart nor the depths of the being could follow.  It took me several months to accept and fully integrate the words of the Chapter of 2005: “Every nomination is mission and service for Africa”. At the same time, the certainty that Africa would never leave me took root in me. That is how doors and windows opened before me. They burst open the borders of so many places I knew and loved. My vision of Africa and what the African people live today became enlarged in a way I never imagined. Now, I can live serenely and joyfully my life “outside Africa for Africa”. Every day, I experience that far from just being a lovely thought, it is a reality.

To live the passion for Africa
     Fifty years of religious life is a good moment to ask oneself a question and to answer it: “What does it mean to live according to the spirit of Lavigerie?” It is to plunge each day in the roots of his spirituality, nourished by those of Paul of Tarsus, Ignatius of Loyola and of John the Baptist.  It is also to live the passion for Africa, like Lavigerie, to nourish it, to keep it alive and to pass it on.      To realise this project, I feel called to:
* Be receptive for what is lived in Africa: listen to the cries which reach us today, just like our  Founder, who knew how to listen to those of his time; cries, which thanks to new technologies, reach us faster and from everywhere; cries deriving from such complex situations, because of recent big changes, situations so appalling because of their extent and so many disappointed hopes.
* Try to analyse the causes and the consequences of these situations, to be able to share with those around me what happens in Africa.
* Make known the African values and the efforts of men and women for things to change, especially the struggle of women, whenever I have the opportunity. The Internet is a good means, which I use whenever I can.
* Carry every day in my prayer, Africa and the African people, without forgetting the rest of the world.

Privileged means   
   There are two privileged means which are a grace during this period of my missionary life: my appointment to work for “Africana” and my collaboration with the Committees of Solidarity with sub-Saharan Africa. First of all, Africana, of which each issue is inserted in the site, which is very often visited. It is an example of collaboration between the sons and daughters of Lavigerie. Each issue contains information about Africa, with a document concerning one specific country or a theme of current events and various columns. Other articles give information about the mission. One rubric gives information about traditional cultural values. The magazine also suggests small projects which our readers can support. It is a good means of mission animation.

   Secondly, there are the Committees of Solidarity with sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a very important means to remain close to Africa. These committees consist of persons coming from very different horizons, and who show interest in a special way for Africa; they are ready to take the time to get information, to be initiated and to transmit information. These people commit themselves to show solidarity with the African peoples, in situations of distress and violation of human rights. The thirteen committees in Spain form a Federation. They are a network, and each committee works according to its ability and sensitivity.

     In 2009, in Logroño, we organised conferences, presented the Government with a project for a building, to accommodate Congolese women who had been violated in R. D. C. … In collaboration with other Associations, we organised a week showing African films and a day against racism. On national level, many ordinary meetings are organised every year and gather delegates from local committees. The General Assembly, which is open to everyone, is prepared in studying documents on the theme which will be presented by one or another invited person. For this year, the theme was “The crisis, an opportune time for Africa”. Begoña Iñarra supported the activities of the workshops in giving an excellent conference.

     The Federation of the Committees has also a site and a three-monthly magazine Umoya, to make up, in as far as possible, for the scarce attention which the traditional media give to the African problems. In collaboration with local newspapers, this allows for a conscientisation of our society with regard to the needs, the aspirations and demands of sub-Saharan African peoples. For a long time now, I have been in touch with groups of young people who have Africa at heart, the Friends of Africa from Andalusia. These groups were set up during camps organised by the MAfr. and are now autonomous.

     To live the passion for Africa like Lavigerie, to be able to nourish, to keep alive and communicate this passion is a demand, but also a privilege. The work which I can still accomplish and the many people I meet and who are committed to Africa are a great support for me.

                  María Francisca (Paquita) Reche Reche, Logroño, Spain

Sharing Life

BLESSING OF AN ICON: MOTHER MARIE-SALOMÉ


      In n° 5 of 2007, Sharing Trentaprile, we published an article written by Juliette Christiaens in which she shared how she discovered the art of the icons. Many have been able to admire her art since then. Also Piluca Benavente discovered in Juliette the gift of “writing icons” and was inspired to ask her to create an icon of Mother Marie-Salomé. This was for Juliette the beginning of an attentive listening, a listening to tradition and especially to the Holy Spirit in her own heart, as well as a time of dialoguing with our beloved Mother Marie-Salomé, the one Juliette wanted to make present.

“VÉNÉRÉE” MOTHER MARIE-SALOMÉ, since the very beginnings,
we have called you by this name with much affection and joy!
You really are for us an icon, an icon very much alive, which speaks to us:
of your love “stronger than anything else” for our Lord Jesus Christ;
of your zeal for the mission in Africa: a zeal which understood
and sustained the apostolic intuition of our Founder, Cardinal Lavigerie;
of your outstanding charity: “Be as good as good bread”, you are still telling us…
of your confidence in Our Lady of Africa, patron of our Congregation.
As you yourself did at the moment of the Vow, together with you today, we present to Our Lady of Africa:
each one of the sisters of the Congregation
  the challenges of our next General Chapter,
the Msola vocations,
      the African Synod and all the peoples of Africa.  AMEN.

      After this prayer, every one went to venerate the icon. Then, we all gathered before the painting of Our Lady of Africa, situated in the entrance hall of the house.

Hildegunde Schmidt, Rome

Let us listen to Juliette describing her experience:

      One of the most beautiful memories of my stay in Rome was the blessing of the icon of Mother Marie-Salomé, a celebration which was prepared and organised in such a way that one could not be but touched by the event. On the day, I went to the lower floor and I saw a gathering of sisters whose eyes all focused on one central point: Mother Marie-Salomé. Her image, centred in a cast-iron frame – created by the architect – drew the attention of all. In no time, the sounds of the Alleluias!  and the Amen!  filled the air alternating the acclamations in French and English.

      As Sr. Piluca prayed to God, source of all holiness and giver of all that is good, my heart overflowed with great emotion, and I said a silent prayer: “Yes, Lord, bestow your abundant blessings upon this icon representing Mother Marie-Salomé and bless all the sisters gathered here.” Mother Marie-Salomé’s own words, well chosen, drew our attention to the one and essential lesson: “Let us search the Lord alone… let us cheerfully pass beyond everything for the glory of God”.  The three General Assistants – Sr. Hélène Mbuyamba, Sr. Marie-Alice Terrettaz and Sr. Chantal Vankalck – explained the symbolism of the icon, upon which a Little Sister of Jesus had added a small loaf of bread, reminding us of the words of Mother Marie-Salomé: “Be good as good bread.”

      After having each one of us venerated the icon of Mother Marie-Salomé, we returned to the first floor and, gathered on the steps, we sang the Sancta Maria, moved by what we just had celebrated.

Juliette Christiaens, Antwerpen, Belgium

MEETING OF ACCOMPANISTS OF POSTULANTS AND NOVICES in Nairobi

      From 27th April until 2nd May 2009, the accompanists of postulants and novices took part in a session organised and animated by the General Council. One participant gives us a feed-back of this meeting.

     We were seventeen sisters from the three provinces of the Congregation, CUM, Europe and Africa, and from different regions of these provinces, all at the service of the accompaniment of the postulants and novices. It was a good opportunity to meet and to share with one another. But above all, we acquired common orientations, in view of giving a better formation to the young women we accompany. These two initial levels of formation aim at FORMING APOSTLES ACCORDING TO OUR CHARISM. During the session, we have explored three objectives connected with this aim in view.

The first objective consists in “Creating a greater awareness of the sense of belonging, which expresses itself in an effective and responsible commitment in the service of the life and the mission of the Congregation”. 
      To help us in deepening this objective, several tools were offered.
      A systemic approach helped us to see how our Congregation as a whole is in interaction with other systems in a certain context. This approach allows us to see the Congregation as a unit which carries in itself different connecting elements.
      The tree of our charism helped to clarify for us the real meaning of mission, first of all in what we are, our identity and not in what we accomplish, our activities. We define ourselves with this identity and we are called to contribute to the life of the Congregation. The mission is the raison d’être for being here. Everything starts with the mission and comes back to the mission. An article of Jose Cristo Rey García Paredes “Misson: Key to Understand Consecrated Life Today” (The Well, March 2008), and the Dossiers Lavigerie helped us to deepen the sense of mission, seeing it as a key to understand consecrated life.
      Taking seriously our role as member of the Congregation leads us to a real commitment.

Each one of us, as member of the Congregation,can define herself with this identity and has the right and the duty to contribute personally to the life of the Congregation. This confirms the sense of belonging.
      At this level, we have to take three elements into consideration:
* The Congregation and its “raison d’être”
* The sisters themselves
* The context.
The essential point is that our investment shows some results.

The second objective consists in taking into account the culture of the young people during their formation.

      Each one of us is called to become more and more sensitive to the cultural identity of the young women we accompany and, at the same time, to be aware of our own. An extract of the book of Amedeo Cencini, Les sentiments du Fils – Le chemin de formation à la vie consacrée (Recherches Carmélitaines, 2003) helped us to become aware of the way which leads from ME to WE. It is a question of starting from the sense which the young person has of her identity, to lead her to the sense of belonging, which is the point to be reached. Those two elements, sense of identity and sense of belonging, are firmly linked. They need therefore to be developed during the time of formation.

The third objective consists in forming in view of interculturality.

      If the first two objectives are mainly centred on the accompanists, the third one is more centred on the young person in formation. Other writings have helped us in our search. Another article about the “cultural shock” allowed us to explore the source, symptoms and stages of a cultural shock. Above all, it helped us to understand how to help the young person in managing this shock and to positively live through these moments of transition. There are means for adjustment and for the enhancement of values to favour acculturation. Certain exercises suggested by the Salomé Programme can be done within the community to allow the young people we accompany to live a good transition.

      To conclude, let us say that these three objectives are linked together. At the end, we were able to examine closely the means which are offered to us by the Congregation and the context in which we live so as to arrive at these objectives. At the same time, we picked out the obstacles which result from the Congregation and from the context, directly linked to these objectives. In the service which is entrusted to us, it is up to each one to consider these realities.

       Gratienne Ndizeye, Ouagadougou Region House, Burkina Faso

Walk through the Archives

CONCEIVED AND BORN… OUT OF A DREAM!

      Our Congregation remains on the alert to respond to the challenges of the mission. The dynamism lived through our presence and our commitments, witness of the constant vitality of the charism of our Founder.  It is enough to return to the beginnings of our history. Cardinal Lavigerie dared to dream!

      After having had some setbacks with the first congregations which had taken care of the orphans, Mgr. Lavigerie asked the Sisters of Charity of Nancy for their help. They accepted. On 11th October 1868, they took up accommodation at St. Charles. To tell the truth, he had another project in mind: to found a new congregation. On 18th January 1869, he sent another letter to the Superior General of the Sisters of St. Charles of Nancy: “I have therefore resolved to form here new sisters who will deal solely with agricultural work, which they themselves will undertake. Subjects are presenting themselves in sufficient numbers, but I need sisters already trained who can be in charge of the novitiate” (H.O.C.B. p. 19).

      The answer was quick in coming. Unfortunately, it was a refusal: the Sisters of St. Charles lacked people available for this task. Mgr. Lavigerie insisted. Finally, they accepted his reasons and they promised him three sisters in the near future. In fact, as we read in How Our Congregation Began: “… in spite of his haste to launch the work of his first farming sisters, there were still no postulants who fulfilled the requisite conditions: the young girls who presented themselves lacked the aptitudes and qualities needed for such a foundation” (p. 20). It is then that, in August 1969, he took the means to realise his dream and sent one of his priests to Brittany, Fr. Le Mauff: “Hurry, he told him, I have delayed too long; bring me at least four postulants, young, courageous, ready for anything, capable of being the four corner-stones of their congregation” (p. 21). And he not only came back with four, but with eight.

      We know what happened next, related to us, not without humour: “’Where are the sisters? asked one. ? I think, replied Pierrine, we are the only ones…’ Marie-Francoise summed it up neatly for all of them: ‘Well, if there are only ourselves to begin with, it’s going to be fun!’’” (p. 24) If our Founder’s wish was granted, it is because besides his prayer, he took the means bestowed upon him by his authority. Of the eight whom Fr. Le Mauff brought back, four persevered in their initial call until death.

See "How Our Congregation Began", pages 35 - 50

Sharing Trentaprile is published 5 times a year by the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, at Viale Trenta Aprile, 15 - 00153 Rome, Italy  -
E-mail: l.pruvost@smnda.org; pruvostlucie@hotmail.com

Editorial staff: Chantal Vankalck (G.C.), Lucie Pruvost (Editor), Madeleine Bédard (computer layout and printing), Hildegunde Schmidt (archivist) - Translations: Reninca and Lucie Pruvost - Mailing: Nicole Robion