From our Sr. Marie Kanyoni, in the community of Butare, in Rwanda
Our community wanted to conclude the bicentennial of Cardinal Lavigerie with the sister congregations, the Benebikira and the Abizeramaria from our parish; and also with our close neighbors from the cathedral as well as our collaborators, the former students of MSOLA.
Then, one of us had the idea of inviting the poor from the peripherie with whom we work in our apostolates, that is, the four groups from three different villages and the Notre Dame d’Afrique Center (sewing center for young women).
With this gesture, we find ourselves fully in line with the apostolic exhortation of Pope Leo XIV:
From the beginning, Scripture manifests with such intensity God’s love through the protection of the weak and the less fortunate, that one could speak of a kind of ‘soft spot’ of God towards them. The poor have a special place in God’s heart […]. The entire path of our redemption is marked by the poor.” 1)
In our apostolates, we work with groups of poor people (matsinda) in the villages on the outskirts. We accompany them as well as the girls who attend our sewing center. Most of them come from these same villages. We especially seek to help them overcome their mental and social poverty and to restore their dignity and help them embrace the human values that we advocate: honesty, mutual support, collaboration, and respect for themselves and others.
It gives us great joy when they say:
Sister, here you see us clean; we have learned to wash ourselves with soap and use lotion. Before joining this group, we weren’t like this; we were dirty and poorly dressed; we spent our time in bars without worrying about tomorrow, but today we know how to save and manage our money well!”
The Bible often reminds us how God loves the poor; these are the same scriptures that we meditate on every day, but sometimes we close our hearts. Let us read what the Gospel of Saint Luke tells us about a rich man and Lazarus:
My child, remember that you received your good things during your lifetime while Lazarus received bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are tormented” (Luke 16:25).
During this celebration, we took the opportunity to speak to the people from the outskirts of the city about Cardinal Charles Lavigerie. One of the main characteristics of our founder’s mission was to go to the poor.
The missionaries will go to the poorest, those deprived of life, those whose dignity is scorned; situations of distress will not deter them.” 2)
These women and men from the peripheries were very happy that we had thought of them. Some of them wished to continue similar meetings, to get to know us and our congregation better. With them, we planted a fruit tree in memory of this day, and everyone went home thanking God.
Among the girls who are learning to sew in order to make a living, several have finished their course and came to share their testimonies, especially to encourage their younger sisters not to fall into the trap of traffickers.
“Day after day, the poor will be the subjects of evangelization and integral human development: for they educate their children in the faith, they live in constant solidarity with relatives and neighbors, they continually seek God and give life to the journey of the Church.”3)
A woman member of the group called “Tuzamurane,” which literally means “let us lift ourselves up together,” pleasantly surprised me with her testimony:
Getting back on our feet is the objective of the group, but it doesn’t just stop within the group, it also continues in the neighborhoods. When I see the neighbors’ children who are not going to school, I go door-to-door to raise awareness among the parents and show them that the children need to study. It’s to open up a better future for them.”
This is what Pope Leo XIV clearly tells us in this exhortation:
Whether through your work, your struggle to change unjust social structures, or through this simple, very personal and intimate act of help, it will be possible for this poor person to feel that Jesus’ words are addressed to him:
I have loved you’ (Rev 3:9).” 4)
1) Apostolic Exhortation DILEXI TE of Pope Leo XIV n˚17
2) https://mafrome.org/la-personalite-du-cardinal-lavigerie/ Link to Missionnaires d’Afrique, 25 April 2018 (Conférence du P. Jean-Claude Ceillier à l’occasion du 150e anniversaire de fondation)
3) DILEXI TE, Op. Cit, n˚100
4) Idem, n˚121
