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,…
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…
Interculturality between generations
Sr Monique Bonami, in the community at the MRS St Joseph in Evere, Bruxelles, shares a story about the pleasures of sharing between young and old. Next to the St Joseph’s Rest and Care Home (MRS) in Evere, north of Brussels, there is an elementary school and happily there are good exchanges between the two structures with intergenerational activities (games, etc.). In the past Sr. Mia had done activities in the school on interculturality, and Sr. Marie-Paule Schiltz and I did some tutoring. For Christmas, the guests of the rest home were invited to the school. This year the religion teacher, Mrs. Sylvie Panneels, organized some Eucharists for the children in our chapel, and all the Residents could participate so about 12 MSOLA were there. I had been with the children in the classes for the preparation and also the Father Chaplain adapted well to the children. …
Season of creation in Nouakchott
On the occasion of the Season of Creation 2022, the Muslim-Christian dialogue group of Nouakchott organised a common prayer by the sea on Wednesday 21 September. We sat side by side on the sand, 5 Muslims and 6 Chris-tians, contemplating the immensity of the ocean before us. We were inspired by the suggestions sent by the Sea-son of Creation 2022. During the spontaneous sharing about what was coming up in us, as we contemplated the ocean and the people around us, listening to the birds, we felt confirmed that creation unites us as believers of different traditions. God has given human beings the responsibility to care for all created beings. We experienced the Kingdom of God already here, feeling brothers and sisters, called to care together for creation and to praise God for the air we breathe, for the water that gives life, for the earth that sustains and nourishes…
A Muslim lives the charisme of Lavigerie
A Muslim lives the charism of Lavigerie We share with you a marvel of God’s action, the presence of his Kingdom among us. Yahya Sall, a young Muslim from Mauritania, fights for the rights of undocumented and out-of-school children, as well as planting trees in his neighbourhood, supporting migrants and foreigners, widows and children. Through our sisters in Nouakchott, he has become a reference person in the neighbourhood for those who are voiceless and without support. He himself says that he is now a missionary: “What touches the human being also touches me”. Sensitive to the suffering of others, recognising that he himself is limited, he believes that God is beyond our limits and that with Him everything is possible. When a poor family or a sick mother turns to him, he replies that he personally has no means of helping them; but he promises to tell all the people…
The Tabaski festival in Burkina Faso and Mauritania
Le Tabaski est célébré par les sœurs avec leurs amis musulmans dans les différents pays. Voici deux témoignages. Les SMNDA fêtent le Tabaski à Ouagadougou Comme chaque année, la Commission diocésaine pour le dialogue islamo-chrétien s’est préparée à aller saluer nos frères musulmans le jour de la fête de la Tabaski, 9 juillet. Avec joie, les sœurs Clémence, Agnès, Georgette (de passage), Leticia et les pré-novices, Ancile et Emily se sont jointes à la commission pour les différentes visites. Nous étions très heureux de vivre cette journée de rencontre et de fraternité. J’ai été très touché d’être appelé par mon nom par l’Imam Alidou Ilboudou qui prêchait à l’Université de Ouagadougou. Il me tendit la main pour me saluer et nous remercier de notre présence. Les photographes en ont profité pour nous prendre en photo. Les photos ont commencé à circuler rapidement sur les réseaux sociaux disant qu’une religieuse catholique…
A more humane world in harmony with nature
The request for an article on the MVA in Oran found me as I was preparing a meeting at the library. What is close to my heart and what I would like to invite others to do with me is to continue to develop our commitment to a more humane world in harmony with nature. For this purpose, I asked a Malian student Félicienne Diarra, who had just finished her studies at the University of Oran in a “specialty” and defended her Master in Environmental Process Engineering. She told us about the production of biogas through the treatment of organic waste (vegetable peelings, sludge from treatment plants, etc.). She chose this theme because according to her the world is facing a challenge that threatens its existence. The waste is piling up (and in the streets of Oran for several days of the garbage collectors’ strike it has become drastic and…
And may the friendship continue!
The International Day of Living Together in Peace takes place on May 16 each year. It was established on December 8, 2017 by the United Nations. It is devoted to living together, that is to say the acceptance of differences, respect and recognition towards others in a spirit of peace. This date was not really known to us, the Sisters of La Marsa, in Tunisia! It was Sofia, one of the daughters of our friend Najoua from the city of Kef, in the north-west of the country, who told us about it. Sofia, 16, is the leader of a club of young Keffois aged 15 to 18 who meet regularly “to improve the state of our society and the spirit of our generation and to spread a healthy mentality in our environment “. Sofia had the idea of inviting two White Sisters from La Marsa to come and testify about…