25 Years of Missionary Life of Sr. Maria Carmen Ocón
On December 7, 2021 Sr. Maria Carmen celebrated 25 years of missionary commitment among the sisters, families and friends. Next day the celebrations continued with our brothers the Missionaries of Africa, Fr. Stephen Ofonikott, Fr. Stanley Lubungo, Fr. Stéphane Joulain who also celebrated 25 years of commitment with their missionary oath. The ceremony presided by Bishop Claude Rault took place at the Generalate. Here is an extract from an article on Sharing Trenta Aprile that Maria Carmen was kind enough to share with us. My vocation story begins with a spiritual experience through God’s words to Abram in Genesis 12: “Leave your native land and your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you”. Since then, it has been a journey in which the verbs “leave”, “go” and “show” have been an essential part of my life experience. LEAVING: I have always found it difficult and…
Easter wishes
This year, the spring time brings together the major festivals of the three monotheistic religions: – Pessa’h 5782, which reminds the Jews of the liberating exit from Egypt – Aïd al-Fitr 1443, which closes the Muslim Ramadan fast; – Christian Passover 2022, celebrating Jesus’ victory over death. Can we take this opportunity to wish each other happy feast and “to share our joys and sorrows” as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue invites us to do? We remember the suffering caused by the global pandemic. We all feel the violent tremors of war in the Ukraine and other countries. Natural disasters will continue. But all this must not extinguish our hope because Jesus has defeated evil and death. A hymn by Robert Lebel which can be found on the web carries this hope: Easter, spring of God! Easter, spring of the world! Easter, spring of the heart! Easter of Jesus-Christ.…
Easter Sunday, Year C – 2022
A stone rolled away… A corpse… missing… “Strips of linen lying there”… Cloth wrapping the body “still lying in its place”… All these are seen, noted, but… No body lying there, NOBODY present! Yet, the gospel text tells us that when John had witnessed this scene, “He saw and believed.” (John 20:1-9) Daily events… Regular meetings… Occasional encounters… Ordinary situations… Unexpected happenings… Unusual occasions… Overheard conversations… Surprising details… Which of these? All of these? At times… sometimes… could be… will be… the signs that could lead us to make the personal experience that John made. We will see and believe. We will NOT see any body – not ANYBODY – but we will perceive a presence. We will recognize the Risen Lord with us as surely as he was 21 centuries ago! source: www.image-i-nations.com
Palm Sunday, Year C – 2022
The following reflection is about the Gospel at the beginning of the celebration before the blessing of the palms (branches) (Luke 19:28-40). A meditation on the gospel of the Passion will be given on Good Friday. A day of jubilation. A day where acclamation and recrimination compete surrounding a man coming into Jerusalem on a donkey. With cries of joy, the crowd acclaims him as the descendant of king David. The man’s adversaries want them to be shut up. The scene is familiar but… What is less familiar is Jesus’ attitude – in the past, he has been avoiding attempts to make him king (John 6:15). And now, he accepts readily the glorious welcome that people give him – he seems to delight in it! He does not shut up the people shouting praises but those who want to silence them. None of the gospel texts tells us why…
5th Sunday of Lent, Year C – 2022
Our days are filled with messages sent and received on many platforms – computers, cell phones, tablets – these tools are available at our fingertips, literally. The more traditional media – books, magazines, periodicals – are still in use to contact people. But have you ever received a message written on… sand? This is surely not the usual mode of communication nowadays! Amazingly, we see this in today’s gospel (John 8:1-11) – we see Jesus writing in the sand. What did he write? What was the message he wanted to make known? No one can say… Did the Pharisees read it? Did they realize that the words were meant for them? Impossible to assert… Did the woman make out the characters traced by Jesus’ finger? Did this give her courage, hope to be spared the stoning prescribed by the Jewish Law? This, too, is unknown. It is after the…
Book review: THE DEY OF THE HOSPITAL An adventurer in Algeria
In her first novel, “The Dey of the hospital – An adventurer in Algeria”, Laurence Huard bears witness to the hope and courage of those who leave their countries. In a style that is both accessible and pleasant, Laurence testifies here to exceptional lives and journeys! She says she was overwhelmed by extraordinary encounters, which remain in her memory. It is these very strong links with Algeria that she wants to keep so that these lives are not forgotten, their paths are not erased, and that these adventurers are recognized and honored. She is totally transparent, so that these encounters that have touched her, in turn affect the readers. Here is what the media say: “In twenty years of life on the African continent, Laurence Huard, a young Angevin, full of dynamism and enthusiasm, has crossed paths with extraordinary men and women. By writing, she lends them a voice and…
A prayer for our earth
A prayer for our earth All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every…
Prayer for peace
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer! We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength…