March 25, 2022, First profession of four sisters
After the Novitiate, by their first religious profession, the young professed become members of our religious family. They received the cross, which explains two meanings: • The great love of Christ for them and for all of us. The acceptance of the cross expresses their free choice to follow and walk each day in the footsteps of Christ. • Their belonging to the religious family of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, which they have freely chosen. During the offertory procession, the four young sisters presented to the Lord four symbols: Bread and wine: so that their lives may be an offering, pleasing to God at all times. The “canary” (an earthen vessel filled with water): symbolizes the life received and given freely from the Lord as their lives to the service of their brothers and sisters. The map of Africa: symbolizes the place of our mission in…
Final vows of Sister Scholastique Makita Mutanda
“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.” [Ps 127:1] Sharing from Sister Scholastique These words spring from my heart today, in thanksgiving for the work of God in my life. Without his mercy and his infinite love, I could never have reached such a commitment with my own strength. The Lord will remain faithful to me and I know that without his grace, I could do nothing on my own. This is why I am grateful to the Lord for the gift of my religious and missionary vocation within the Church in the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa. Truly, Jesus is faithful to anyone who trusts him. When I think of my vocational journey, I see that the Lord has been a faithful companion in my vocation.…
4th Sunday of Easter, Year C – 2022
A theology lesson in 4 Bible verses – this is what the text of this Sunday’s gospel offers us (John 10:27-30). Such a short text and so rich is the reality it describes. This 4th Easter Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday as it focuses on Jesus, the Risen Lord, as our Shepherd. What the words describe, what the text affirms, is really amazing. It offers us a promise of belonging, of security, and a gift beyond what we could imagine: eternal life! “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Christ knows us, yes, just as we are, deeply, truly… He gives us eternal life, his own life, the very life that he shares with the Father. That is, of course, if… We listen to his voice…
Vocation “is about making God’s dream come true”
Pope Francis released a message on Thursday for the for the 59th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which this year will be on 8 May, and has as its theme “Called to Build the Human Family.” Pope Francis says that when we speak about vocations, we are speaking about making God’s dream come true. He encourage every person in the Church to give the very best of themselves. In his message, the Pope reminds us that we are called: to be protagonists of the Church’s mission; to be guardians of one another and of creation; to welcome God’s gaze; to respond to God’s gaze; and to build a fraternal world. Here is the full message: Dear Brothers and Sisters, At the time when the cold winds of war and oppression are blowing and when we frequently encounter signs of polarization, we as a Church have undertaken a synodal process:…
The formation of the sisters in the spotlight
“… It is necessary to continue our training. The times of spiritual and professional deepening will only bear fruit if they are linked to a continuous personal effort, which knows how to exploit the means, even modest ones, within our reach. (Constitutions No. 86)” From the beginning, our congregation has been very attentive to the study path of the young people who wanted to join us. Alongside doctrinal studies, there has always been a mandate to form us in professions that could enrich our apostolate with specific methodologies and tools for our mission. First and foremost there has always been the study of local languages and dialects. At the beginning it was Arabic and the dialects of North Africa and some sisters had acquired such a mastery that they became teachers and professors. As for the professions, at the beginning they were all provided with practical courses to face the…
3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C – 2022
Reading the gospel texts, each one is inspired by them in his/her own way. Any given text, at different moments, may open up new perspectives and offer new messages. Today the long gospel text presents us with two different scenes (John 21:19-31). In the second one, we see Jesus with Peter – a scene quite special indeed and rich in insights. I read it again and… an unusual idea comes – the title I would give to this scene: ‘What God knows but… wants to be told again!’ Not once, not twice, but three times, Jesus asks a question from Peter. A searching question, one that is very personal, and… evocative… Every time Peter answers repeating the words: “Lord, you know that I love you.” The third time, Peter adds the words: “Lord, you know everything…” Peter is right: Jesus knows it but wants to hear it, he wants…
Final vows April-May 2022
We thank God with and for our four sisters who will soon make their final vows: Sr Pascaline Katungu from Goma DRC appointed to Arusha Tanzania. She will make her vows on 30th April 2022 in Our Lady of Africa Parish, Katoyi in Goma DRC Sr Scholastique Makita from Kinshasa appointed to Malindi in Kenya. She will make her perpetual vows on 30th April 2022 in Saint Gabriel Parish Yolo Kinshasa DRC. Sr Priscille Nisubire from Burundi appointed to Butare in Rwanda. She will make her perpetual vows on 8th May 2022 in Kiganda parish, Archdiocese of Bujumbura, Burundi Sr Anna Wójcik from Poland appointed to Lilongwe in Malawi will make her perpetual vows on 29th May 2022 in the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul and Our Lady of the Rosary in Kanie, in Poland. We wish them to be a good instrument in God’s hands for His…
Awakening the family Spirit
Collaboration is a process that enables people or individuals to work together to achieve a defined and common objective. Our Ukusijoni Common Project at the service of the refugees from South Sudan is a great and challenging mission. To accomplish this, we are privileged to be part of the team that consists of three Missionaries of Africa and the three of us MSOLA. We were sent together to achieve a common goal in participating in the Mission of Christ among our brothers and sisters now known as refugees. To be able to live this mission in a life-giving way, we got the opportunity to come together as the two institutes to spend some time together in Nairobi and to get some fundamentals that would help us in our ministry. Indeed, we treasured this time of formation. It gave us an occasion to see as a team the vision and the…
‘Come and see’ at the MSOLA house in Malawi
This article is an extract from MVA/MSOLA Network Letter n° 25 “Come and see” is a stage when a young woman who is interested in religious life comes to stay in our community. Just as Jesus did with his disciples when they asked Him “Master where do you stay,” He told them to “come and see” (John 1: 39). Here is a testimony shared by young Sphiwe Gervazio who stayed at our house in Lilongwe with three other girls, from 17th to 20th December 2021. Dear sisters! Receive our greetings from the warm heart of Africa! We are very grateful to God for the warm welcome we received from the sisters, the joy and peace we have experienced, the kindness and openness they showed us during our stay in their community. We came to the sisters and witnessed how they live their religious life. This increased the desire to join…
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…