Newsletter – Missionaries of Africa – Southern Africa Province (SAP)

Greetings! We are still in the Christmas Season and, hopefully, in the Christmas spirit! But this Newsletter will be short because, as you read in my special message “A FREAK ACCIDENT”, I am now reduced to the use of only one hand; it is an awkward way of typing!

One good positive point, following that unfortunate accident, is that I have a very good “private driver and helper”. Indeed, Justin Ramde, a Burkinabe, going into his third year of theology in Cedara and living at our House of Formation in Merrivale, has been here since last Friday. He takes some weeks from his holiday to come here to help me. He has been very good, not only driving me safely here and there for different pastoral commitments, but also helping me during Mass (like holding the ciborium so I may distribute Holy Communion with my healthy hand), and showing himself very much of service for doing various things requiring both hands!

He was very happy to take part in the Christmas Eve Mass at Mother Teresa’s Home; the small chapel was packed with surely more than 100 poor and sick residents, adults and children, together with the Sisters. They sang wholeheartedly for the birth of Jesus and everybody was in a festive mood. After Mass, each one received a present from the Sisters. On Christmas day, we were at City Deep for the francophone community. The church was full and the choir was really good.

After Mass, four doctors from the congregation gave me a free medical consultation! They told me that the healing seems to be taking its course well. Thank you also for all your prayers!

I want to wish you all a very good Christmas Season and a Happy New Year!

Fr. Michel, M.Afr. Vocation Director.

Newsletter South Africa No 69 – 29th November 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On November 29, 2016

In Publications

Greetings! I hope you are well and that you have fully entered into the beautiful time of Advent! Yes, this is an occasion for each Christian to prepare to receive the Lord in a missionary way. Which means to involve others in this great hope and expectation of Jesus who is coming at Christmas. On the first Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis reminded us that “The Gospel is not trying to frighten us, but to open our horizons to further dimensions, giving meaning even to everyday events.” This is an invitation to open our hearts and minds to others, thus to live as missionaries wherever we are. The Pope adds: “we are called to enlarge the horizons of our hearts, to be surprised by the life that is presented each day with its newness. In order to do this we need to learn to not depend on our own securities, our own established plans, because the Lord comes at the hour which we don’t expect.” He concludes by saying that this time is “an invitation to vigilance, because, not knowing when He will come, we must always be ready…” On 14^th November, I went to Malawi. The first night, I stayed at Mua Parish where I started as a young missionary in 1970; a long time ago! As part of the Parish life, Fr. Claude Boucher, M.Afr, from my home diocese in Canada has established an art school and a museum to help keep the Malawian culture. I suggest you visit their website at kungoni.org. You can see the museum and different aspects of his work with his team of artists. Then, from 15^th to 21^st, I was in Salima, on the shore of Lake Malawi. There, I did my yearly retreat in the house of retired bishop Rémi Sainte-Marie, bishop emeritus of Dedza Diocese and archbishop emeritus of Lilongwe arch-diocese. He welcomed me warmly and respected my times of prayer and silence. It was a good spiritual experience.

From the 22^nd to the 26^th in Chipata Pre-Formation Centre (Zambia), we held our meeting of Vocation Directors of the Southern African Province. We were from the four Sectors of Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and South Africa.

This new Centre in Chipata currently has its second intake of 18 aspirants from Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia (nobody from South Africa!). From October to May, they are spending time discerning their vocation, exploring their self-knowledge with psychological assessments, in order to understand better their deepest aspirations and desires in the light of God’s call. They also study the Bible, Church history, liturgy, the missionary dimension of our lives as Christians, and how to reach out to people, especially the poor, and how to share with them the Good News. They also have activities such as manual work, sports, etc. After this intense period, if they are still decided and if they are accepted, they will be called to go to the First Phase of their formal training: three years of philosophy in Balaka, Malawi.

This month, our aspirant Patrick Kadima wrote an article for our Provincial blog. To read it, go to our blog at mafrsaprovince.com.

Wishing you all the best for a blessed Christmas! Fr. Michel Meunier, M.Afr

Newsletter South Africa No 68 – 27th October 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On October 28, 2016

In Publications, Vocation animation

Greetings! Surely, a very important event which took place on 1^st October is the ordination to the diaconate of 6 of our students in Merrivale. Being at the end of their third year of theology in Cedara, they were ordained deacons. They are Alfred and Daniel (both Rwandese), Amorain (Togolese), Anthony (Ghanaian), Eric, (Mexican) and Theophile (Burkinabe). On the same day, eleven candidates of second year received the order of acolyte, their first step toward priesthood. They are Philippe (Malian), Christopher (Zambian), Martin, Robert and Victor (all Burkinabe), Éric and Pierre (both Congolese), Ryan (Filipino), Silas (Burundian), Dominic (Indian), and Francis (Nigerian).

Our deacons ordained last year – now in their fourth and last year of theology – will, in the coming weeks, go to their respective home-countries to be ordained priests and take a well-deserved holiday with their families. After two or three months’ rest, they will go to the missions where they have been appointed. They are Robin (Zambian, appointed to Tunisia), Damian (Ugandan, appointed to DR Congo), Alphonse (Rwandese, appointed to Burkina Faso), Albert (Burkinabe, appointed to Tunisia) and Konrad (Tanzanian, appointed to South Africa). CONGRATULATIONS to all! We place you all in our prayers that you may be good and faithful missionaries. These are really good news to celebrate Mission Month!

As we prepare to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of our foundation (1868-2018), we rejoice in having so many young Africans joining our ranks! At present there are 492 students in our formation programme (all in different African countries); 90% of them come from within Africa. During the first hundred years of our existence, our candidates came from Europe and North America. In Africa, our priority was to promote the diocesan clergy, and not our own missionary Society; we wanted first to establish a strong local Church. Only in the last 30 to 40 years have we started to recruit in Africa for our own. At present, 284 of our members are African. Our new Superior General and 2 of his 4 assistants are from Africa. Thus, we are starting to fulfil the wish of our founder: the initial work of evangelisation would be done by European and North American M.Afr., but it would be continued by the Africans themselves! Yet, we are still waiting and hoping for some South Africans to join us!

This month, Patrick, our only candidate, wrote from Ghana. Here is a short excerpt from his email (in the box to the right). As you can see, we put a lot of emphasis on the learning of the local language, so we may be closer to the heart of the people we work with. Also, I had a chance to visit Pascal (see last month’s Newsletter) on 13^th October in Assisi; he is really working hard on learning Zulu! Keep it up, Pascal! In Henley, they are waiting for you!

God bless you as his missionary. Fr. Michel Meunier, M.Afr

Newsletter South Africa No 67 – 27th September 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On September 28, 2016

In News

My dear Friends, Greetings! I hope you are keeping well. Spring is in the air, and it is time to revive ourselves also! Every month, I read with great interest the reports of the KwaZulu Natal Vocation Team; they are a group of more than fifteen Seminarians and Sisters studying in Cedara; they belong to different congregations, and they meet regularly (mostly once a month). They also go to various parishes where, after the Sunday Mass, they interact with the youths on the theme of vocations: some of them have started to show genuine interest in discerning their own vocation. Bravo to the KZN Vocations Team! Keep up your good work!

Indeed, many young people are questioning themselves on the meaning of life and their own place in this pretty mixed up world. Last Sunday, 25^th September, a very interesting Vocation Retreat was held at Bosco Youth Centre in Walkerville. Eighteen young men and women actively participated. They had attended most of the monthly discernment meetings at the Johannesburg cathedral during the year. The highlight of the retreat was surely the “Way of Mercy” we did while climbing a mountain and keeping a prayerful and reflective silence; at one station, we had the chance to have confessions; the two priests were kept very busy, as everyone came to the sacrament. On top of the mountain, near a big cross, we recited the chaplet of mercy. Then we came down for Mass. At the end of Mass eight of them received a special blessing, as they had decided where to go next year: either to the seminary or to the convent.

Last month, I mentioned our new-comer, Pascal Sambi, from Burkina Faso. On Monday, his community drove him to Assisi, near Port Shepstone, where he is starting his Zulu course. Good luck, Pascal!

In a few days, we shall enter MISSION MONTH (October). The theme Pope Francis gives us this year is: MISSIONARY CHURCH, WITNESS OF MERCY. Read below a quotation from his letter for World Mission Sunday (23^rd October). God calls everyone to be a missionary. Maybe he calls you to be a missionary “ad gentes”.

“The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which the Church is celebrating, casts a distinct light on World Mission Sunday 2016: it invites us to consider the ‘missio ad gentes’ (Mission outside our country) as a great, immense work of mercy, both spiritual and material. On this World Mission Sunday, all of us are invited to “go out” as missionary disciples, each generously offering their talents, creativity, wisdom and experience in order to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family. By virtue of the missionary mandate, the Church cares for those who do not know the Gospel, because she wants everyone to be saved and to experience the Lord’s love. She “is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel” and to proclaim mercy in every corner of the world, reaching every person, young or old.” Pope Francis

newsletter-south-africa-no-67-september-2016

Protected: Motomoto Echo magazine, September 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On September 25, 2016

In Missionaries of Africa

Newsletter South Africa No 66 – 28th August 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On August 28, 2016

In Publications

Greetings! I hope you are well. I just received this letter here, on the right) from Patrick who explains where he is now and where he will stay for the coming two years. Enjoy reading it.

Dear Brothers and Sisters Greeting from afar!!! Ghana, Tamale in Nyankpala, where I am appointed for pastoral experience. I arrived in Ghana on 19^th July, and so far I am just observing. Let me give you first an idea of what this period of pastoral experience is all about and then update you with what I have been doing so far, and what I will do, before I start swimming fully in these two years of pastoral experience.

The aim of these two years is to train me and prepare me for missionary life. These are years when the apostolic and pastoral components (working with youth, community development, various visits to the local people, catechism classes, to mention but a few) are predominant. The main task is for the apostolate, as well as a time of discernment. It will be a time of test to see if I have the necessary qualities to live a missionary life. This is by being a disciple of Jesus in the society of the Missionaries of Africa. Moreover, it is still a period of confirmation of the choice I made during my spiritual year. Briefly, those few lines give you a picture of what the period of pastoral experience is all about.

So far I have been assigned to a community in Tamale, Nyankpala. It is made of four members, two confrere-priests, John Amona (Ghana) and Gazena Haile (Ethiopia) and one who is in his second year of pastoral experience, Martial Kedem (Burkina-Faso). The four of us, from different parts of Africa, form a community of Missionaries of Africa in Nyankpala.

From September 4^th I will be going for my cultural classes (to learn the culture of the local people). This will last for a month. Thereafter, I will be sent to one of the families in the village, to learn the local language and to deepen my knowledge of the local culture. Last Sunday I went to the Ordination of Fr. Mathew Benze in Bolgatanga. This is where initially I was appointed (my appointment was changed to Nyankpala when I arrived in Accra). I was so happy to meet the big family of the M. Afr. I met Serge Boroto and Amani Dieudonné (who both did their theology in South Africa), and Timothée Bationo (who is in charge of Formation in Chipata, Zambia).

I will update you more as time goes by. I ask for your prayers that I may constantly listen to God’s voice and continue trusting Him in my life. I too, will keep you in my prayers. Happy new month of September! May Christ’s peace be with you all. Your Brother in Christ. Patrick Kalonji Kadima.

Here, we just received a M.Afr student, who will be in South Africa for two years as well, for his pastoral experience. He is now with us in Edenglen, but next week he will go to KwaZulu Natal to join his community in Henley. But before starting to work there, he will go spend at least three months in Assisi, near Port Shepstone to learn IsiZulu. He is from Burkina Faso, and his name is Pascal Sambi. He spent one year with Patrick in Kasama, Zambia, for his novitiate. Welcome, Pascal!

On Saturday, 27^th, in St. Patrick’s Parish, Larochelle, a Lay Leaders’ Conference gathered more than 200 people from all parishes of Johannesburg Archdiocese.

Our Missionary Group was given a chance to explain that we must be missionaries not only “ad intra” (among ourselves), but also “ad extra” (outside our own country). I gave a talk in that sense, and also Bishop Jan DeGroef, M.Afr spoke abundantly in this same line. The people were very interested and promised to do their best to foster missionary vocations in their parishes.

We continue to pray for missionary vocations. Our Lady of the Assumption, (whom we just celebrated last Sunday) please, pray for us and with us for more young men to answer generously the call your Son. Amen! Fr. Michel Meunier, M.Afr

Newsletter South Africa No. 66 August 2016

Newsletter South Africa No 65 – 31st July 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On July 31, 2016

In Publications

My dear Friends, Greetings! I just arrived from my leave in Canada on Thursday noon. Two night flights with only 2 or 3 hours’ sleep, and the jet lag (6 hours’ difference) make me feel very sleepy and I often doze off at any time of the day. Then I wake up in the middle of the night without being able to sleep again until the morning hours! Those two long flights (6 hours and 11 hours respectively) and 12 hours in Paris, took me back here without major incident or accident. Thank God! In this day and age of terrorism, one never knows what might happen! In Paris, I had the chance of meeting Fr. Didier Michon, who was here in South Africa for a good number of years. He just turned 81 and seems to be quite well. My 2 months’ holiday went by very fast! I met very many people, first my family then many friends. At the Provincial House, I met a young man from my home town who shows some interest in joining the M.Afr. He has worked in various well-paying jobs, but he wants to do something deeper with his life. He is soon going to one of our missions in Africa to build up an experience of being a missionary.

Newsletter South Africa No 65 B One day I went to a Trappist (1) Monastery for a short visit and a quiet time of prayer. There, I met a former neighbour of mine (Brother Bruno). He is 8 years younger than me, therefore I did not know him very well when I was young. But when he was 21 years old, after some years playing the drums in different rock bands, he joined the Trappists, wanting to give his life to God in a deeper way. He is now 64 and, with a permanent smile, he looks so happy and serene! We had a good chat together. I was hoping to rest after my arrival, but there were so many requests for Masses and Confessions! All three of us (Fr. Christophe Boyer, Fr. George Okwii and myself) have been fully busy replacing Priests who are gone either on holidays or to the World Youth Days in Poland.

Patrick Kadima wrote some short messages saying that he had arrived in Ghana, diocese of Tamale in the north, for his 2 years of pastoral experience. I presume he is now starting to learn the local language. Hopefully, he will send more news for the August Newsletter.

I wish you a very good month. Do not forget the important feast of Our Lady of the Assumption (15^thAugust, but celebrated here the following Sunday, 21^st August). She is the Patron Saint of South Africa. Pray Mother Mary to help our country, especially to foster more peace and understanding; let us ask her to intervene to God on our behalf for a quiet and peaceful election day. Also, ask her to enlighten you on your vocation.

God bless you all! Fr. Michel Meunier, M.Afr

(1) The Trappists are one of the most strict order of monks; they spend most of their time in silence, praying and working.

Newsletter South Africa No. 65 July 2016

JCTR Newsletter – June 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On July 21, 2016

In Publications

2016 1st qtr newsletter -June

Mafrwestafrica lettre du 30 juin 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On June 30, 2016

In Missionaries of Africa, News, Publications

Aujourd’hui, les Missionnaires d’Afrique de l’Ouest vous proposent de visiter de nouvelles pages sur leur site http://www.mafrwestafrica.net.

Actualités

« Le nouveau maire de Ouagadougou » un article publié dans le magazine « Jeune Afrique » (lire la suite)

« Le développement plutôt que le sécuritaire » un article publié le 24 juin à propos de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. (lire la suite)

Témoignages

« Contempler les paraboles » un texte proposé par le père Herman Bastijns pour un temps de retraite. (lire la suite)

« Boko Haram au Niger » le texte reçu d’un étudiant Missionnaire d’Afrique qui vit son stage de formation à Niamey. (lire la suite)

« Formation chez les SMNDA » un article écrit par une « Sœur Blanche » et qui nous parle de la formation au sein de cette congrégation missionnaire très proche des Pères Blancs (lire la suite)

Dialogue interreligieux

« Ramadan, Dialogue, Coran » : trois articles récents pris sur le site de l’A.R.C.R.E. (lire la suite)
« Quel dialogue est possible ? » Une question qui se pose d’une manière de plus en plus forte dans la situation actuelle. (lire la suite)

Justice et Paix

« A l’aube d’un nouveau moyen-âge » Même si nous vivons en 2016, de nombreux signes préoccupants de notre société nous renvoient loin en arrière (lire la suite)

« Magistrats en colère au Burkina » un article datant du 16 juin, sur le site « Afrik.com ». Les magistrats remettent en effet en cause l’action des autorités politiques au sein du conseil supérieur de la magistrature (lire la suite)

Vu au Sud – Vu du Sud

« Où en est le Mali suite aux accords d’Alger ? » Ces accords datent du 20 juin 2015. Des informations prises sur le site de Radio France Internationale. (lire la suite)

« Le chef d’Ansar Dine menace les forces internationales » Toujours sur le Mali, des informations à la fois très récentes, et des explications plus anciennes au sujet des divers groupes islamiques s’y trouvant (lire la suite)

Newsletter South Africa No 64 – 20th June 2016

By Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP)

On June 20, 2016

In Publications

This Newsletter comes to you earlier than usual, because in the next ten days I will be on a long trip with some friends in a part of Canada that I have never visited: we will be touring the Magdalen Islands, in the far eastern part of the country, between the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Look on the map!

As you can see, this Newsletter is also quite short. I am out of the South African context and also I am kept quite busy with my relatives and friends, without mentioning many M.Afr confreres whom I am meeting here after many years; we have so many stories to tell one another and a lot of news to catch up on. The most important piece of news this last month has been the election of our new General Council in Rome. Last month, I already told you about the new Superior General, Fr. Stanley Lubungo. This time, I simply send you an attachment introducing all five members of the new General Team. You surely will notice that they are men of great experience, having lived in different countries and worked in various fields. This is what we expect of Missionaries of Africa. Hopefully, reading about the background of each one will inspire you.

I just want to add one remark about Pope Francis’ approach to people during this JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY. I am so struck by his very down-to-earth way of interacting with people, just like Jesus who went about, meeting people where they were. Pope Francis visits people, especially the poor and unsophisticated. And he invites them to come celebrate the Year of Mercy at the Vatican, whoever they are, whatever work they do, the sick and healthy alike. Recently, he met with people working in circuses and encouraged them to continue bringing joy through their entertainment. He often focuses on joy (see his beautiful exhortation The Joy of the Gospel); a Christian is someone who lives in the joy of the Risen Lord.

In the midst of our unsettled and struggling society, may we give more joy and hope to the people we meet! This is surely a very good way to be a missionary!

God bless you all! Fr. Michel Meunier, M.Afr

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