“Sharing the path”
Young Tunisian girls and French Scouts with Sr. Speciosa (between the girls and the Scouts) and Sr. Rekha, a Missionary of the Immaculate on the far right. From our Sr. Spéciosa Mukagatare, Director of Caritas Tunisia “Sharing the path,” a place of collaboration and growth It was Palm Sunday, just after the celebration ushering Christians into Holy Week, while believers of Islam were halfway through the holy month of Ramadan. As a Lenten effort, the faithful of St Cyprien de la Marsa had collected non-perishable food items over the weeks, thinking of the poorer families in our working-class neighborhoods. The priest, Jawad Alamad, then proposed sending the young scouts on a mission to distribute to needy families the food collected during the Sundays of Lent. He contacted Caritas Tunisia to direct these young scouts towards the most needy families. The Caritas Tunisia team responsible for listening and…
The opening of a new foundation: The Ouarzazate community in Morocco
Sr. Maria Carmen Ocón Moreno, Sr. Rehema Toiwoki Kimesera, Sr Angela Kapitingana and Sr Maria Julia Alonso Martinez From Sr. Rehema Toiwoki Kimesera and Sr. Maria Carmen Ocón Moreno We are delighted to share with you that the official opening of the Ouarzazate community took place on Sunday 14 July. The ceremony took place in the only church that exists, St. Therese which is attached to the sister’s house. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero and, curiously, it was the only time since we have been here that there were no people other than the sisters, in this case our Congregational Leader, Sr Angela Kapitingana and Sr Maria Julia Alonso Martinez representing the NOUA leadership team and ourselves. It was probably a sign of how we are called to live our missionary presence in this place, with discretion and simplicity, but with great…
Collaboration with other Congregations
Ms. Marina van Dalen, coordinator of The Netherlands sisters, reports on the collaboration in the “Worldhouse” in Boxtel Since a few years we have several Medical Mission Sisters (MMS) living in our care home “the Worldhouse” and in the adjoining apartments of the Molenhof. This year they are 12 MMS Sisters and thus more numerous than we are, as three Sisters passed away in 2024 and only nine MSOLA are left. From the beginning we had a good working relationship with them. Our lay workers also take care of the MMS sharing in the cost of course. This is also to our advantage; we can keep our staff because of this collaboration. We also take care of 2 Assumptionist Fathers with the same conditions. Over the years we got closer with each other and got to know one another better. The MMS are also missionaries and many…
Resources for the synodal journey
The synodal process is first and foremost a spiritual path. On several occasions, Pope Francis has highlighted the risks of a synodal process that is not first and foremost a listening, a private and communal dialogue with the Holy Spirit. Below, we present some resources to take care of the spiritual and liturgical dimension of the synodal journey. Here us the link to the Synod website with resources in multiple languages Here is the link to download the INSTRUMENTUMLABORIS in PDF
Synodality and my MSOLA ministry
Sr. Francine Maas, first at the left, in a meeting of the parish council in Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Winooski For me, synodality means living and working together with other Christians to live our faith not only in words but in action. It means that the leadership is horizontal/circular and not vertical, thus the parishioners/community members have something or more to say about the running of their parish/community. Synodality in our parish In the 2 ½ years that I have lived in Winooski, VT. I have not heard or read a word about synodality in our parish or diocese. I go to Mass three times a week at the parish, including Sundays, so if it was mentioned, I would have heard about it. However, there is some progress. In 2023, our new pastor launched a request for people to be members of a parish council, which…
Synodality as Mission in mission
Our recently professed Sisters wanted to share with us how they understand the novitiate was an experience of lived synodality. For us, synodality means a journey traveled together through attitudes of listening and discerning the will of God. Walking together is the call that the bishops invite us to live. In this same sense, the theme of our general chapter of 2023 invites us to walk together without fear, to expand our tents in collaboration with others. Our journey together has been marked by several things. First, we all felt one day the Lord’s call to follow him in a radical way following the example of the first disciples. We have been on this journey on a personal level and as a group. We also did this discernment with our accompanists who helped us to better understand the Lord’s call. Then, during our journey through the novitiate, we learned…
Episcopal Ordination of Mgr Victor Ndione, Mauritania
The Nouakchott Community, shares with us some echoes of the episcopal ordination of Mgr Victor Ndione. Testimony by Mr Serushago Wellars (layman) Father Victor Ndione, Vicar General of the Diocese of Nouakchott, was appointed on February 10 by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, bishop of the same Diocese. He succeeds Mgr Martin Happe who retired due to his advanced age. On the first day of receiving the news, the entire Catholic Christian community, that of Nouakchott in particular, gave thanks to the Lord for the choice and the precious gift of the new shepherd. In general, Christians in the ecclesiastical region of West Africa as well as the Muslim Community and other religious denominations showed their joy with messages of congratulations and encouragement to the new Bishop. All the Christians of the diocese, priests, religious and laity were mobilized for this gigantic preparation through the various commissions: logistics,…
Lenten Retreat
Our Sister Justine gave a lesson on the qualities of good leaders In our Diocese of Moundou, all Christians go on a retreat in the bush every year during Lent. It is a time of contemplation and reconciliation awaiting the joy of Easter. At Notre Dame de la Trinité High School with all the students, we went to devote this time to prayer. The theme of this year is “People of God of the diocese of Moundou, let us work together for our Liberation”. This theme aim to see together what makes the population slaves and what oppresses them. These are among others: conflicts between farmers and breeders, lack of cooperation, lack of charity for one’s neighbor and betrayal. Together teachers and students, we have seen that for this liberation to be effective, we need solidarity, love for each other, transparency, mutual aid and always be guided by the…
Reflection of the 2023 Synod
Sr. Maria Cimperman is a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She participated in the first assembly of the synod on Synodality in October 2023 in Rome. Sr Maria offers our readers some particular perspectives from the Synod Assembly 2023 in light of the following questions. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share these reflections with you, particularly as I am aware that Conversation in the Spirit was a methodology used during your 2023 General Chapter. I imagine your General Chapter was your synodal experience. What made “conversation in the Spirit” (CIS) such a powerful tool during the Synod experience? First, CIS was a great equalizer. In the process, during round one and two each person has the same amount of time (and is kept to it) to speak and to be heard. The time was the same for a cardinal and a student, for women as…
A child’s prayer
From Sister Clémentine Mukampabuka in Oran, Algeria In my catechism class, there are around twenty children, aged 6 to 12. For the most part, these are children born in Algeria to parents in an irregular migration situation. For catechism, the most advanced join the youngest to form a single class. During a session, I offer them the opportunity to pray out loud. One of the prayers caught my attention: Lord, I ask you to release my dad from prison and give him a lot of money to come home to us!” A concrete prayer: I recognized this child. He is only 7 years old. He was born in Algeria to a Nigerian and a Cameroonian. I ask myself Where is home for him?” I visited his father in prison. I can list many things that I recognize; whatever, the Lord knows him. He answers our prayers, especially those…