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| Giocare Jouer... |
A small red light
A few years ago a Capuchin missionary had an
old Renault R4 car. One day, he saw a strange red light on his
dashboard. It bothered him so he covered it with duct tape. It was the
oil warning light ... and after a few kilometers the car stopped, the
engine overheating ...
I've been thinking about this story these days. And I'll explain why.
From Friday 19th August to Sunday 21st I went to visit the most distant villages: Sinaforo, Yoro and Bayanga Didi.
I
left early, and in just under 2 and a half hours I arrived in Yoro, 75
km from Baoro. At about 8.30 am I left on foot for Sinaforo: the road,
already impractical in the dry season and now, in the middle of the
rainy season, it can only be covered on foot. I travelled the 7 km in
just over an hour, and here I met the Christians and the catechist (who
had a foot infection). We celebrated Mass, and I returned to Yoro in the
early afternoon.
Both in Sinaforo and in Yoro there was much
anticipation for a small, yet big event: the installation of the
tabernacle in Bayanga Didi. We have been preparing this for over a year
now. The chapel, without the tabernacle, is beautiful, but something
was missing: the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. In the afternoon I
went to Bayanga Didi to prepare everything.
Saturday morning I
did confessions for 3 hours, and then we began the celebration of Mass,
during which 5 small children received the sacrament of Baptism.
At
the end of the Mass I placed the hosts in the tabernacle, and I
connected the small red light, which will remain lit day and night, a
silent witness of the Presence of Jesus in this distant village.
I
try to explain the meaning of the tabernacle to the Christians: I said
that the chapel is like a granary (GOGORO, in Sango, the national
language). The granary is always a granary, both when it is empty and
when it is full of the fruits of the work of the earth. But if it is
full, the barn takes on enormous importance. Thus the chapel: even if
there is no tabernacle, one can celebrate and pray. But with the
Presence of the Eucharist, the chapel takes on another meaning and
another importance.
On Sunday I celebrated Mass in Yoro, and
afterwards I met the catechist and the community councilors. They shared
with me their dreams for the church and for the village: a well, a
house for the catechist, and a nursery school ...
We will see!
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| Bayanga Didi |
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| Sinaforo |
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| A piedi, da Sinaforo a Yoro En marchant, de Sinaforo à Yoro |
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| Battesimi a Bayanga Didi Baptemes à Bayanga Didi |
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| Yoro |
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| Riunione della Cassa di Risparmio di Bozoum Réunion de la Caisse d'épargne de Bozoum |
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