Saturday, October 24, 2015
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 28th 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.
Friday, October 23, 2015
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 22nd 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.
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)
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