Experience of being Mission
Sr. Sylviane Rouamba, Dar es salaam community, Tanzania St. Charles Lwanga Parish and its pastoral team offer different activities to the people; among others those of the Salome Learning Centre. As our founder Cardinal Charles Lavigerie used to say: Be apostles, be nothing but apostles or, at least be nothing else except with this in view’’. This was his deepest wish for his missionaries. Dear brothers and sisters, it is with joy that I am sharing about two points: Being an apostle, being mission, and also, my mission in Dar es Salaam. Who is an apostle? An apostle is someone who is on pilgrimage or someone who is on a journey looking for holiness, a journey looking for God through people, a journey of imitating Christ and doing his mission. What is the meaning of mission? A mission is a service or a call we have…
It’s all in the gaze – Reflection for Lent
Shared by Gabrielle Lepage, Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa with a video of the song “L’Essentiel” and a video of the hymn “N’ai pas peur” with photos of sisters from yesteryears Is there anything in life more important than human relationships? I don’t think so! Everything else matters. And it’s fair to say that the way we look at each other plays a major role in our human relationships. The different facets of the gaze The way we look reveals our most hidden thoughts and feelings. It has been said that the main organ of vision is thought: we see with our ideas. We don’t always realise that our interpersonal relationships change according to the messages communicated by the way we look at each other. Glances that can be admiring, benevolent, approving, etc., but that can also be suspicious, accusatory or incredulous. I am in…
I am an instrument in the hands of God
Sr. Celina Natanek shares her faith with us Jesus came into the world so that we might have life and have it in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). These words are my missionary programme, but also our religious programme. For we serve so that those to whom we are sent may have life and have it in abundance. Before joining the congregation, I led a life similar to many other young people: studies, household chores, discos, working abroad. However, there were still questions in my heart: Who is God? What is the meaning of life? What is heaven? Even as a child I felt God’s presence, especially in nature, in the silence of the church and during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In my imaginings, God was powerful but also austere, which did not always match the experience of His nearness. My grandfather taught me to see beauty…
Three dimensions of Spirituality
From Sr. Iwona Cholewinska, La Marsa, Tunisia A deep conviction that has accompanied me since my novitiate is that we, the MSOLA, have a spirituality of our own. I would like to look at it in its three dimensions: interior, horizontal and vertical, by joining the definition of Delia Mamon. For her, spirituality is “the connection to one’s inner being, to others, to the whole, including to that which surpasses us.” Our MSOLA spirituality is first of all the spirituality of the personal relationship with the Lord. It is nourished by Ignatian Spirituality which leads us with its many means to the deepening of this relationship and leads us to a true experience of Life. Our MSOLA Spirituality is enriched by certain aspects of African Spirituality which recognize the sacred character of life and a deep connection with its source. The Ubuntu philosophy and its adage “I am…
The hidden depths of the Lord’ Prayer
Sister Gaby Lepage hels us to discover the hidden depths of the Lord’ Prayer In 1982, I was in Malawi, Africa, as a missionary. One day, we welcomed a Jewish family into our community, the father, the mother and a little boy. I loved watching this child, who, in his father’s arms, spent his time repeating ABBA, ABBA, with gentleness and tenderness. This scene reminded me of Jesus calling his father ABBA, papa, beloved father, the intimate secret of Jesus’ relationship with God his father and of his mission in God’s name. To his apostles, who had asked him one day: ‘Teach us to pray’, he had told them: ‘When you pray, say OUR FATHER who art in heaven…Luke 11, 1-4, Mt 6, 9-13 In the first three prayers of the Our Father, man is concerned about the cause of God; in the next four, it is…
Seniors’ meeting: learning to age well
From our sisters Jacqueline Piron and Monique Moret A meeting of 27 missionary fathers and sisters from Africa at the White Fathers’ Generalate, coming from 10 countries and representing as many African countries where they have worked. Integrating Past and Present: Lessons from the Butterfly’s Transformation Right from the 1st meeting, we were spread around a table in groups of 5 or 6. A butterfly, with all its mutations, was immediately projected onto a screen and became the focus of our various reflections. Like the butterfly, we had to learn to emerge from the egg and become a magnificent butterfly, a sign of our journey through life to become a radiant elder. Indeed, the aim was to embrace the present, integrate the past, in an attitude of openness and receptivity, trusting completely in the God who dwells within us. Building Real Fraternity From the 1st…
Provincial jubilee of consecrated people
Provincial jubilee of consecrated people: 125 years of Evangelization of Burkina Faso By Sr Pascaline Katungu Dear sisters, in Burkina Faso, we are in a joyful commemoration of the jubilee year of Burkina. 125 years of evangelization! On this occasion, the Church Family of God of Burkina, in particular that of the ecclesiastical province of Ouagadougou, bringing together four dioceses; Koudougou, Manga, Ouahigouya and Ouagadougou, celebrated on November 30, at the cathedral parish, the jubilee of Consecrated Life for this province. It was a thanksgiving mass presided over by Bishop Joachim, bishop of the diocese of Manga. The bishops of these four dioceses were present at the ceremony. There were many of us. The church was filled with consecrated persons, the majority being religious women. Before the Mass, each congregation had installed in the courtyard of the cathedral, presentation panels to do vocational animation. In his homily,…
The God I believe in is the God of the Wedding Feast at Cana
From Sister Gabrielle Lepage, Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa The first sign of Jesus Christ speaks volumes: the wedding feast at Cana. The wedding feast is a symbol of celebration, joy, togetherness and covenant. It is a happy God who gives us the pleasure of existing and being happy. There is a symbolic meaning to this first sign. Jesus goes to a wedding ceremony. The union he consecrates between the man and the woman is the figure of the union that God wanted to establish between Himself and the soul of each human being. In this first sign that Jesus gave, there is happiness, and it’s the same for his first teaching: Blessed are the poor in heart…, Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of justice…, etc. When we think of the wedding, we think of love, love that is the fire that…
Honoring the Charism of Cardinal Lavigerie: The Missionary Legacy in Northern Africa
From our Sr Zawadi Barungu on mission in Ghardaïa, Algeria In the majority of our mission posts in Norther part of Africa, the legacy of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and the Missionaries of Africa who lived the charism of our founder Cardinal Lavigerie remains alive. In many instances, we discover their footprints and fruits of their dedicated work. Remembering Sister Renée Guillermin: A Tribute to Her Life and Service It is with great sorrow that we learned the news of the return to the Father of our sister Renée Guillermin, this November 26. We lived with Rénée in Ghardaïa, Algeria. She leaves us with the memory of a sister who was always approachable, generous in her self-giving. Her simplicity and joy remain a treasure for us. Our neighbors remember her. Rénée lived 19 years in Ghardaïa, Algeria. She taught embroidery and sewing…
Christmas wishes 2024
Download the PDF Christmas wishes 2024