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Sunday, October 28, 2018

Building



 
Building 

This week was a mixture of malaria, rebels and buildings. Occasionally malaria comes our way.  It is a disease that in most cases can pass easily but other times can be severe and oftentimes fatal. In December 2016 the WHO (World Health Organization) stated that "about half of the world's population is exposed to the risk of contracting malaria. In 2015, there were a reported 212 million cases which resulted in approximately 429,000 deaths.  Sub-Saharan Africa is unfortunately where a disproportionate amount of malaria is found and in 2015, 90 per cent of the cases of malaria were recorded here and so were 92 per cent of deaths caused by malaria ". Unfortunately, the missionaries are not immune, but usually we are able to cure the disease with some pills, although sometimes we may need injections or an intravenous, but most importantly a bit of patience.  During the week I planned to go to Bocaranga, 125 km from Bozoum, to begin planning and preparing for a project by Caritas that will allow the people in the communities to rebuild their homes, livestock and roads.  This was the plan I had made but the area was being watched by dozens of rebels who had occupied the neighboring villages of Tolle and Tataley (about 60 and 48 km from Bozoum).  So I had to postpone the trip, with a bit of exasperation because it just so happened that on Monday these rebels had just signed yet another peace treaty… Meanwhile, the building work for 2 classrooms for St. Augustine's High School continues.  Just today we finished the laying of the roof. Slowly (or yeke yeke, as we say in Sango), we are reaching the last leg of the work, financed in large part by the Embassy of the Czech Republic. Sadly, I have to end with some bad news. On September 22nd I was asked to baptize a child, Alphonsine, who was seriously ill. After a long battle with her illness, and despite the treatment she had received, yesterday she passed away. I entrust her to God, who certainly welcomes her with Him.














Saturday, October 20, 2018

October





October
For us Carmelites the month of October is very significant. In addition to being dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Rosary, October opens with the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, and continues, on the 15th with the feast of Saint Teresa of Avila, whom we call Our Mother (because she reformed and founded Carmel).
In Bozoum one of the 3 sector chapels is dedicated to Saint Teresa and at the end of last week a few days were taken aside for reflection and preparation. On Sunday we celebrated the feast right in this chapel. It was an opportunity to pray to Saint Teresa and ask her to be our guide for our Christian life.
Late that morning I left for Bangui. The road has gotten even worse!  It took over 3 hours to travel the first 80 km. The construction that began over a month and a half ago, has halted: only 10 km have been started, but without compacting or adding of any material, so it is very rough terrain.
Monday is the actual day of the liturgical feast of St Teresa, which I celebrated with the Carmel community in Bangui.  Saint Teresa founded many monasteries and every time she opened a new one she was happy to offer God a house that friars or nuns would have filled with prayer and fraternal life. I stayed in Bangui for three days, from Tuesday to Thursday, to work with the Caritas from other dioceses, and reflect on the work that’s been done and all that remains on the to-do list! There were bishops, priests, sisters and lay people, all committed to being "the hands of the heart of the Church", as Pope Paul VI said.















Saturday, October 13, 2018

A living Church






A living Church
Last Thursday and Friday all 12 parishes of the Diocese, met together in Bouar, for the Pastoral Session. It was a moment of fraternity and reflection, attended by parish priests, religious brothers, sisters and lay people involved in the various parishes. We were about eighty people: from the young brother who has just arrived, to the "old" missionaries (some of them in Central Africa from the 1950’s, and always filled with the same enthusiasm!). Seminarians, Central African priests, catechists as well young people were also present at the meeting. With the new bishop, Mirek Gucwa, we prayed, reflected and discussed how to share the Good News of Jesus.  Some parishes (6 out of 12) live under the presence and constant threat of various rebel groups. Yet, instead of an atmosphere of discouragement, there is an extraordinary vitality and desire to disregard this fear. These parishes continue to open up the doors of their schools, keep hospitals and dispensaries running, announce Christ Jesus in their lives and maintain a positive morale with the people with whom they live.  Despite the fact that this crisis has lasted for five and a half years, the love for God and for the people has not diminished. Actually it is quite the opposite! 
I went back to Bozoum very early Saturday morning, under a rain that made the road very slippery.
Monday morning I left, again early, driving towards Bocaranga. This town is only 125 km away, but it still took almost four hours, because the roads are getting worse. In Bocaranga on Sunday October 7th, we had a great celebration for the ordination of two young Central Africans priests. I arrived the next day to organize a project that, together with Caritas of the USA (CRS), will make a contribution in this area to help the people living here, helping them with the construction of houses, repairs of community infrastructure and creating farms to produce food. It was last year that this community suffered large attacks by the rebels that killed many people and left thousands displaced. 
Today, however, I went to Bouar. Here we are also getting ready to begin a project of support for 45 small dispensaries to improve jobs, and above all to take care of the children living in the most isolated villages. I wish everyone well and say “keep up the good work!”

Centro Oftalmologico in costruzione
le Centre Ophtalmologique en construction



Cattedrale di Bouar


Bocaranga


la chapelle de Tolle
la chiesetta a Tolle



la chiesetta di Boguera
la chapelle de Boguera



Saturday, October 6, 2018

The Parish St. Michael and surrounding areas…





The Parish St. Michael and surrounding areas…
The feast of St. Michael is a very important celebration for the Parish of Bozoum and the surrounding Christian community and city.
In 1927 missionaries arrived in Bozoum and established one of the first Missions outside the capital city of Bangui. The missionaries thought it best to put this fledgling Christian community under the guidance and protection of St. Michael, and so St. Michael’s Parish of Bozoum was born.
The liturgical feast falls on September 29th (the same day as the feast for the archangels Gabriel and Raphael). Here in Bozoum, September is the month when parish activities are starting up again; from the opening of the local schools to the starting of catechism classes.  It is for this reason, the celebration happens at a very interesting moment for the Parish as well as for the town.
On Monday, September 24th, we gathered with the catechists, the advisers and the people responsible for the various events happening in the Parish, for a morning of reflection and prayer. The theme was the personal call to sanctity (just as Pope Francis calls on us in his letter “Gaudete et Exsultate”) which is meant to be a guide to lead us in our everyday lives. On Tuesday, I met with the catechists and we prepared for the upcoming catechism course: every year, more than 500 children, young people and adults take part in our course which introduces them to the Christian life and the Sacraments. On Wednesday, I met with the councilors: in every Christian community there are chosen people who have taken on the task of advising, helping and encouraging those in their community. The councilors are the ones who identify the people in need (spiritual or monetary), the sick and the elderly. On Thursday we started the Triduum, 3 days of reflection and prayer in preparation for the feast. I invited Fr. Christo, a young Central African brother ordained in June. He will celebrate his first Mass in Bozoum on the following Sunday. I also was able to write an edition of the Bozoum paper, “Le Saint Michel”, (thanks to Paolo Silvestro).  Here is the link:
On Friday, Evariste Constant and Benjamin, 2 actors of the touring company “Les Perroquets de Bangui” (The Bangui Parrots) are arriving. They are excellent entertainers and have just won the first prize on a famous program that promotes the best comedians in the Ivory Coast at the level of French Speaking Africa. On Saturday morning they gave a short show at our high school. Afterwards, they worked with some of our students who were eager to learn about the art of entertainment.  That evening, in the church-square, those students prepared a sketch that focused on the difficulties that married women in villages face on a daily basis. It was a very thought provoking event! On Saturday afternoon we had a beautiful Procession that wound its way through a few neighborhoods, ending at our church.
Sunday was the day of celebration: at 8:30am we had Mass that ended just before noon.  There were seven infants baptized, at the same time, about 40 adults from the St Vincent’s society, promised God to help the poor. In the afternoon there were many games, unfortunately they were disrupted by a short shower. Escaping the rain, about a thousand people arrived at the theater for the last show of the Perroquets.
To LAUGH is healthy, to live with JOY is one of the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT and one of the signs of the TRUTHS of what we believe in.


I Perroquets de Bangui al Lycée st Augustin

 


I nuovi battezzati