PRE-CAPITULAR GROUP DYNAMICS

QUOTES FROM OUR PRE-CAPITULAR ASSEMBLY

“Mission is all about passion for Jesus Christ and his people.”

“Political election is not enmity but only a process to get good leaders.”

“In mission we construct and reconstruct.”

“Positive focus leads to positive action.”

“During this 28^th General Chapter, we ask for the openness of mind and heart filled with love, wisdom and courage.”

“How do we become apostolic community?”

“Lord grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot  change, Courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference” (AA).

“Love of Christ compels us and make us  his disciples.”

“The love of Christ enables us to consecrate our lives for proclaiming Him and his gospel.”

“Sit down and count your blessings instead of complaining all the time.”

“To have good and healthy community we need good community animators.”

“To love Jesus simply means detaching from ourselves completely and our material things.”

“Mega Provinces give provision for wider movements of confreres within the Province.”

“Great things still happens.”

 “The great miracle happening everyday is that aim alive.”

“Differences are accepted and integrated.”

“Our communities should be places of compassion and healing.”

“Using the ADT will help to understand individual projects positively  instead of fighting them.”

“Our Pastoral centers should produce prophetic voices.”

“Formation doesn’t end with ordination, but it begins with the first appointment.”

“Specialized studies today are not a favor but a need for every confrere.”

“For the care of  confreres let us create places of relaxation in each sector.”

“When we get wounded  in our mission then home is the best healer.”

“Sending a confrere home is not chasing him away, but a way of helping him.”

“The earth is, but the frozen echo of the silent voice of God.”

“In life  always learn how to land gently, slowly, but surely.”

“Meeting another person is stepping on holy ground.”

Compiled by Fr. Baptiste Regina Mapunda, M.Afr.

WISDOM FROM THE PRE-CAPITULAR ASSEMBLY

• “In life you must be able to embrace your madness.”
• “I have a dream.”
• “Lack of proper and genuine consultation breeds  resentment and anger  whatcout.”
• “If you cannot take risk just be prepared to fail.”
• “Let us trust ourselves as regards to income  generating projects.”
• “We  are  not serious and let us remove defense mechanisms.”
• “I feel attacked for expressing the truth.”
• “Enough is enough, we have spoken a lot on income generating projects now is time to act.”
• “If you only accept what you like and reject what you don’t like then it is not gospel” (St. Augustino of Hippo).
• “Mission is about love of Jesus of Nazareth and not about money”
• “To aim building a good church  without forming good families is like aiming to build a beautiful house but on sand foundation.”
• “We are like a neglecting father  who  distributes food  to  neighbor’s family but neglecting his own”
• “We need to establish a “karibu community” as care for the needy brothers  especially those wounded  with addictions.”
• “Proper care of needy brothers must begin in our own communities first.”
• “You need to hit the rock bottom to realize that you are sick and you need help.”
• “Let us listen to the hidden voice.”
• “Today we have enough money, tomorrow we don’t have, how come?”
• “We have no fund to support our apostolate, but we continue fishing money out what a contradiction.”
• “We need to open doors to our Christians,friend and family members who want to support us now.”

Cheers and be Blessed!

Compiled by  Fr. Jean Baptiste Mapunda, M.Afr.

INSPIRATIONAL WORDS FROM THE ASSEMBLY

Today Thursday 22^nd October 2015, we have continue with  our sessions using the Appreciative Discernment Theory. 

The morning session that was rather moving produced a lot of “Inspirational words from the Assembly” as follows:

• “What do you fear?”
• “ I managed to conquer my fears, and I went into the mission.”
• “ Being a missionary of Africa entails a risk.”
• They told me you cannot manage because you have no money, no car, you don’t have a Ph.D, but I believed in myselfI made it.”
• “The question you  need to ask yourself is “ What can I do for my society and not what can the society do for me.”
• “Let us give space to each other old and new.”
• “I heard a lot of negativity about Poland, about Katakwi  but I overcame and went forward.”
• “Mission is believing in God and in myself as well.”
• “I got support from confreres or community and the people I served.”
• “I took the drink as part of my integration into a cultural setting.”
• “I go into  the mission with God, and prayer is the engine of my mission.”
• “I believe in my giftedness”
• “We want to discern a dream or vision for the future that stretches us beyond the good that is already present.”
• “As missionaries of Africa we accept the responsibility  to be co-creators of our communities.” ( Pre-Capitular Doc from General Council  Rome).
• “What are we doing?”
• “We need to explore the world behind the image.”
• “You cant  ask your grandmother to run the marathon.”
• “As missionaries of Africa we are trained to discern,  to work, to pray and to live together like a family.”
• “Animals have no images but they organize themselves and work well.”
• “In order to relate well with one another in a healthy and mature way we need self-awareness.”
• “Without the sense of universality the church will be no longer a church.”
• “Without a cross the church become  a supermarket.”         

To all the members of the Pre-Chapter in EAP gathering in Kampala Thanks!

Compiled by Fr. Baptiste Regina Mapunda, M.Afr.

OUR DREAMS AND SETBACKS

The day started with the laudes at about 08:30 in the morning. 

Today the dimension covered was the SETBACKS in the area of Mission, Human Resources, Finances and Material Resources and Governance and Leadership.

After presentations in the area of Setbacks, each group dealt with the dimension of the DREAM, or suggestions of what is ought to be done. This was done by representation of certain images like the image of the "Pelican" or trees with interacting roots in an attempt to express an image of how things ought to function. Like going back to the roots.

PROCEDURE used was first individual work and then group work and finally reporting to the whole assembly. All the participants listened and follow closely and where invited to make additional remarks of criticisms in the positive sense. 

All there participants where happy with the power of the method used of APPRECIATIVE DISCERNMENT. Its a powerful tool. The day ended with the Chapter Prayer and the celebration of Holy Mass in the chapel.

FOR CHRISTIANS LIFE WITHOUT A CROSS IS MEANINGLESS

On Wednesday during morning session one member of the assembly  said that “Appreciative Discernment Theory (ADT) sounds  very good, but I don’t find a cross in  it.” So where is the cross? And for me I would like to ask each one of us “ Cant you live your life without a cross?

This question provoked a good discussion that produced all kinds of answers. Different kind disciplines came in such as spirituality, theology, Christology, sociology all trying to answer this question. But be may the most important point is that we need to discover what led to this kind of question?

Indeed it is true that this tool of which I name ADT (Appreciative Discernment Theory) is an absolutely a new tool to all of us. “ Newness is always frightening.” Even the disciples were frightened by the new experience in encountering the mysterium. So many of us wonder whether this tool will produce any good results in trying to address the Pre-chapter materials send from the General Council in Rome. Some members think ADT sounds like a superficial tool that doesn’t allow us to go “deeper into the real issues” and be critical to such  issues like  “handing over policy”  which process is being followed?But also issues like danger of nationalism and rascism,conflicts in our communities, how to detect and address addiction today,recruitment and formation,the fear of starting income generating projects,fear of genuine consultation in some of the appointments and handing over among others. How far can ADT address these issue which seem to carry crosses in our mission today?

But a CROSS what for? Do we need a cross to be happy in our life? After  a long discussion of about 45 minutes  we agreed “Yes” there  is a cross in the ADT. The truth is that “there is no mission without a cross.” As the saying goes that “a church without a cross is like a supermarket.” Why is this so? The cross is the universal sign of the presence of God in our life. It is a sign of God’s love in our life, it is a sign of life in the Spirit. It is a clear sign of our victory over the evil. Christ  who came to free people (Luke 4: 18-19) a cross  has won us new life through the cross. Jesus puts clearly that “ No one can come to me except through this  cross.”

“Christianity without a cross is a joke or a comedy,”  therefore a cross gives a deep meaning to our life as Christians  and missionaries as well. And after role  as missionaries we preach the “ crucified and risen Christ.”The suffering, death and resurrection of Christ is the whole point of our mission. Christ’ life is summed up by his death in the cross. ADT if  it has to make any meaning as a method of looking  at our mission and all what it entails must entail a CROSS.

Because we don’t like to be superficial that is why we  are looking for a cross in our ADT so that to make sure our mission makes sense. Missionary Africa is a human institution which is called to be divine, and to be divine means passing through the Paschal Mystery. We came to agree therefore that the whole theory of AD involves a Cross  that is from discovery, dreaming, designing and finally doing. It takes time, energy, patience, acceptance, to search for something worthy like gold what  about trying to discover the love of  God in our life as the driving force  for our mission? As human beings  sometime we have to accept that we carry with us some imperfections, and this is a cross as well. Let me finish by quoting a sentence from the Pre-chapter doc that says that “once we have learned to discern the Real, which is the dwelling place of God, we have embraced the Cross which is a reality in our life and mission.” So be happy now that we have the cross in the ADT. Cheers!

By Fr. Baptiste Regina Mapunda (M.afr)