MSOLA on the road to Integral Ecology: Gitega experience
Sr. Maite Oiartzun and Fr. Bernard Lesay, MAfr. By Sr. Maite Oiartzun, Gitega Community, Burundi I’m delighted to share with you that in Gitega (Burundi) we continue the project to plant Artemisia, a medicinal plant to prevent and cure malaria. I’m working in collaboration with Fr. Bernard Lesay, MAfr., agronomists and farmers in Gitega. I’m also part of a network called “La Maison de l’Artemisia” www.maison-artemisia.org which runs awareness-raising workshops in 28 African countries. In Gitega, I’m involved with the “Ecole Sociale” and the “Ecole d’Art”, where the students are boarders. The entire education community is involved, and they’ve given us plots of land to cultivate. Every school year, together with the students and teachers, we plant the Artemisia plants prepared by the farmers. In 4 months, we harvest plenty of Artemisia for the whole year. Students and teachers take the tea 3 times a week to boost the…
Knock and it will be opened to you!
The experience of our sister Béatrix Dagras The door of room 506 of the “Résidence de Bon Secours” in Paris is accustomed to discreet and unexpected knocks: questions, services requested or rendered, information… are all occasions for friendly encounters, bringing the pleasure of their balms. Even at night, a joker or a person suffering from insomnia may knock on the door a couple of times. No need to open the door: by the time you get up to see who’s there, they’ve gone! In our residence a parish-initiated reflection group was set up, for the reading of the New Testament. I took part along with other residents. When this parish activity came to an end, the comment was made: “We don’t know the Old Testament!” The group then became an in-house group, called “Biblical”, and they entrusted me with the task of leading it… Since last year,…
February 8, 2024 – St. Bakhita Day
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING INTERFAITH PRAYER VIGIL FEBRUARY 8, 2024 – ST. BAKHITA DAY THEME FOR THE YEAR 2024: JOURNEYING IN DIGNITY: LISTEN, DREAM, ACT This interfaith prayer of this year’s International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking is an invitation to integrate the journeying for dignity centered on the four elements of nature. We can offer prayers, reflections, and rituals that honor and connect with the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and metal in listening, dreaming, and taking action in combating human trafficking. For this year’s Vigil of Prayer, we are invited to listen, dream, and act to journey with each person with dignity. We know everything is interrelated and exploitation of people cannot be tackled without a respectful relationship with all creation. Hence, we invite you to reflect on the realities of human trafficking and the five elements of…
Talitha Kum International launched the “Walking in Dignity” application
Sr. Abby Avelino, MM, International Coordinator of Talitha Kum On January 30th, 2024, in the presence of about 300 people, including ambassadors, people from institutions, religious and young people, Talitha Kum International launched the “Walking in Dignity” application. DOWNLOAD THE APP Sr. Abby Avelino, MM, International Coordinator of Talitha Kum, opened the online and onsite event by presenting the goal and features of the app, a project that Talitha Kum members, embassies to the Holy See, and many volunteers have been working on for over a year and a half. The idea is to walk together, especially for and with young people, and engage against human trafficking by feeling involved in prevention, care of persons and empowerment of survivors. The Irish Ambassador to the Holy See, H.E. Frances Collins, emphasized the importance of synergy between the networks and different organizations: Working through networking, with different departments and states, is crucial because this…
Let Justice and Peace flow
From the Rome community, Italy The Season of Creation runs annually from September 1 through October 4. It unites the global Christian family around one shared purpose, that of caring for the Planet. It invites us to celebrating prayer services and engaging in a variety of actions to care for creation. This year’s theme is inspired by the Prophet Amos. He cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24) And so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. In this sense, many of us MSOLA in Rome, General Council, generalate community and juniors participated in two activities. On 9th September we prayed with our brothers, the Missionaries of Africa, the brothers…
Migrate or stay… Epiphany collection
We receive and publish from Pierre Diarra, theologian, administrator of “Aide aux Eglises d’Afrique”, Consultor of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue How fortunate a person is to be able to choose to migrate or stay at home! Do Africans who put their lives at risk trying to cross the Sahara and the Mediterranean choose to migrate or to stay? Do they really have a choice? Often crammed into makeshift craft or boats in poor condition, migrants do not always realize that they are putting their lives at risk. Political, economic and religious leaders in Africa and Europe don’t always dare answer the question: why are so many young people risking their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean? People who leave their country often do so against their will. They flee a country at war, unemployment, distress or poverty, in an attempt to “save their skin” or improve their living…
Season of creation prayer 2023
Creator of All, From your communion of love life sprung forth like a mighty river and the whole cosmos came into being. On this Earth of overflowing love, the Word was made flesh and went forth with the life-giving waters proclaiming peace and justice for all creation. You called human beings to till and keep your garden. You placed us into right relationship with each creature, but we failed to listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the most vulnerable. We broke with the flowing communion of love and sinned against you by not safeguarding the conditions for life. We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats, we grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished, and we ache at the sight of an economy of death, war and violence that we…
Opening the Season of Creation
The Season of Creation starts on the 1st of September and our Congregation and our brothers Missionaries of Africa are starting the celebration with a letter from our superiors Here is the link to download the PDF 2023 0729 SoC_En
Accompanying Refugees
The community of Missionaries of Africa and MSOLA sisters at Lavigerie’s house in Karlsruhe, is formed by a Nigerian, a Rwandese and a German Missionaries of Africa and two MSOLA. Our Mission is to live and promote interreligious and intercultural Dialogue, and to accompany the refugees who are our sisters and brothers. We contact families, single persons, and some victims of human trafficking: accompany them to offices, to doctors and hospitals and help them to fill out their many papers and even to participate in social activities. Every Thursday and twice on Saturdays we have a cooking program with refugees from the camps. They are very happy to cook their own food! One of us helps in the Caritas fabric shop selling cheap clothes or even giving them free of charge. During the interculturality week we opened wide our doors and invited refugees for a culinary feast. Refugees from…
I have been very blessed in my life
Sister Françoise Dillies, currently in the Ehpad St Jean in Lille, has spent most of her life in Kabylia. When an opportunity arose, she spontaneously accepted to be photographed dressed as a “Kabyle woman” and with great simplicity, she let her heart speak and told us how happy she is to have lived with the women of this country. I have been very blessed in my life because I have only served in Kabylia where I learned the Kabyle language which is not easy; this was with Sister Madeleine Alain, the great linguist. We were a small group and so it was like private lessons well adapted to each one. I began my journey by teaching at the elementary school in Beni-Yeni, for a couple of years. Then I was asked to come to France for a while. After that, I had the chance to return to Beni-Yeni. Because…