Present Magazine, December 2016 – A Newsletter for the Candidates and Students of the Missionaries of Africa, Zambia.

Greetings from Kolibo and may the Lord be with you always! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2017!

Christmas is a time for us Catholics to rejuvenate and gain more strength to follow Christ the Saviour and the Redeemer of the world. Jesus, the Son of God, has come to free the world from its bondage of sin and corruption. The Light has come into our darkened and broken heart. May this Light shine evermore in us throughout 2017!

2016 has been a very busy in the Office of vocation promotion in Zambia coinciding with the 125 anniversary of the Catholic Faith in Zambia under the theme: “Planted in our families!” It began with the coming of the Missionaries of Africa in Mambwe-Mwela in July 1891 currently situated in the Archdiocese of Kasama. The official opening of the 125 years commemoration took place on the 6^th August on the very same spot when the first Missionaries planted their tents.

This year has been a blessing for our Sector of Zambia with the perpetual Oath and Ordinations of Brother Sense Moses Simukonde and Brother Elvis Ngandwe respectively on April 30 in Nairobi, Kenya, and July 2 in Chingola, Zambia. From St Paul Nchelenge parish, Mansa diocese, Fredrick Mulenga together with Martin Kasongo from St Stephen parish Chingola, Ndola diocese were ordained Deacons on 10^th December 2016 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS:

On the 06^th August in the Cathedral of Ndola, Fr. Sylvester Chimenge was ordained Priest. He celebrated his thanksgiving mass on the 07^th August in Chibuluma Parish. The parish priest and his council made it a joyful lively celebration. A good number of Missionaries of Africa and a White Sister were present to grace the event. Fr. Chimenge is now in Tanzania for his missionary ministry.

On the 19^th November at St Monica in Kabwe, Fr. Robbin Simbeye was ordained Priest. The Bishop had combined the closing of the Jubilee Year of Mercy and the ordination. Many people came to attend the celebration. The following day, in the same parish, He celebrated his thanksgiving mass full of joy and jubilation. Fr. Robbin is going to Tunisia (North Africa), for his missionary work.

ON APOSTOLIC TRAINING (Pastoral): We have 4 zambian students who are on pastoral; Rodgers Mwansa (from Mazabuka) in Tanzania; Biness Chungu (from Chingola) in Niger; Emmanuel Banda (from Katete) in Niger and Grant Chansa (from Luanshya) in Mali.

SPIRITUAL YEAR (Noviciate): In July 2016, we escorted Leonard Katulushi from Sacred Heart parish, Kabwe to Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. He has received the habit on the 22 October 2016. Blessed spiritual journey!

OUR STUDENTS IN PHILOSOPHY: They are 10 who are studying philosophy in Balaka (Malawi). They are happy and are progressing well in their studies. 3^rd Years: Evans Mwila (Ndola), Horris Banda (Katete), Ivor Mutamba (Lusaka). 2^nd Years: Darious Mwape (Mansa), Kelvin Mutalala (Chingola), Louis Kangwa (Kasama), Sandram Mwanza (Mukushi), Vincent Mutale (Chongwe). 1^st Years: Enest Katema (Mansa), Peter Nkhoma (Chipata).

KOLIBO VOCATION CENTRE

The vocation and missionary animation is a busy office where correspondance with aspirants all over Zambia is done from. The address is still the same over 26 years now. We thank God for his grace of vocation in Zambia

THIS YEAR WE HAD 3 PROGRAMS OF COME AND SEE.

The group of April (1^st to 13^th) in Serenje, I was helped by Fr. Frederic, parish priest of St Lawrence (Lusaka): Embarking for a pic-nic, last day before the departure. They are from Lusaka, Mongu, Kasama, Kapiri-Mposhi, Chingola, Kitwe, Mpika. Extreme left, Fr Frederic, and Extreme right Fr Camillo.

The group of August (15^th to 27^th) in Lavigerie formation centre Chipata: From Kitwe, Chingola, Lusaka, Serenje, Kasama, Nchelenje; With Frs Jean Luc Gouiller and Henk van Kessel.

The group of December (16^th to 22^nd) in Serenje was a program for those who have completed Grade 11 and are now going to Grade 12. This is to encourage and journey with our
aspirants for a good period of time as they discern their vocation. I was helped by Innocent Majune Stagiaire in Serenje.

CHIPATA PRE-FIRST PHASE IS KNOWN AS LAVIGERIE FORMATION HOUSE CHIPATA don’t miss it when passing along the Chipata Malawi border, 6,5 Km from town. We have 07 students from Zambia. 

Wishing you God’s blessing!

OPEN HERE THE PDF FILE OF THIS NESWLETTER

Official Opening of the Formation House 18th November 2016

The official opening of our Pre-First Phase Provincial formation Centre of the Missionaries of Africa, called Lavigerie Formation Centre, will take place on November 18.

Under the jurisdiction of the Southern Africa Province (SAP), namely Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique and Malawi, the Centre welcomes young aspirants from those countries for their first experience in an international setup in view of sending them to Balaka, Malawi, for their studies in Philosophy. The formation Centre has a capacity of welcoming twenty aspirants.

The guest of honor, Lord Bishop George Lungu of Chipata, will preside over Mass.

Timetable of the day: 10:00 Mass – 13:00 Snacks and refreshments – 15:00 Entertainment

Venue: Lavigerie formation Centre, Malawi road, after Luthembwe Bridge, Chipata, Zambia.

Newsletter South Africa No 68 – 27th October 2016

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 61 – 28th March 2016

Greetings and Joy in the Risen Christ! I hope you had a wonderful Lenten journey. Yes, today, we celebrate Easter, the very core of our Christian life. “If Christ is not risen, then our faith is useless” (1 Cor. 15: 14). Therefore, it must show in our lives by the way we smile, help others, behave well, speak well of others, etc. Joy is contagious and can change our world for the better.

On 28^th February, about fifteen youths gather for the day at the Johannesburg Cathedral for a vocation discernment day. Many of them have very good intentions, but the difficult part is to take the plunge! To resolve to give one’s life totally to God is a difficult decision to make for most of them. It is much easier to follow the stream of ordinary life with all its worldly attractions than to devote one’s life to become an apostle. In a letter to young people participating at the 2015 European Meeting of Youth (August 2015), Pope Francis encouraged them “not to conform themselves to a mediocre1 life without aspirations.” One day, a missionary priest was asked why he had chosen this vocation; he simply answered “to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable”. And for this, he had left the comfort of a good family and many friends, and the possibility of having a very good profession and raising his own family. Most importantly, he always reflected the joy of the Gospel!

This month, most priests have been busy with the sacrament of reconciliation in many parishes around. We feel that there is a return of people to receive this beautiful sacrament of the mercy of God. Most people come with a real and sincere desire to improve their lives as regards their relationship with God and their neighbours. For us, priests, it is a very enriching experience allowing us to enter the hearts of our Christians. We really fall in admiration in front of the humility and honesty of the penitents. Each person is sacred and bears the image of God implanted in their inner self. On Wednesday 16th March, Fr. Christophe and I have the pleasure to receive a new member in our community in the person of Fr. George Okwi, M.Afr. Fr. George, a Ugandan, comes with a vast experience of different countries of Africa and Europe where he also did some studies. Welcome, Fr. George, we are happy to have you in Edenglen to help us share the work!

The Easter Season is here, and I would like to wish you all a very HAPPY EASTER! Surely, it is a time of renewal in the Risen Lord, a time to feel more and more how much he is with us and wants to transform our lives so we may bear his image in us and be a source of inspiration for others. Let us ask Mary – who surely was the first to receive her son’s visit after his resurrection – to inspire us in living as “resurrected people”. Let us “ask the Virgin Mary, the silent witness to the death and resurrection of Her Son, to make the joy of Easter grow in us.” (Pope Francis’ message, Easter 2015) The Holy Week was surely marred by acts of terrorism in many places in Europe and Africa, and violent demonstrations and crimes in South Africa; on the other hand, this month, there were five elections and referendums in different countries of Africa; this is a clear sign of hope: democracy is growing. Jesus came to destroy death and bring new Life. Let us be signs of this new Life of our Risen Lord in each one of us.

God bless you! Fr. Michael Meunier, M.Afr

Newsletter South Africa No 59 – 29th January, 2016

My dear Friends, Compliments of the season (as people say)! Happy New Year! Until the end of this month, I always take the liberty to wish people a Happy New Year; after all, there are still eleven months of it!

I hope you have entered gracefully (or in a grace-filled way) in this Jubilee Year of Mercy! Yes, as you know, Pope Francis has declared this year, starting on 8^th December last year until the 20th November this year (Feast of Christ the King), a special time to live by and with the mercy of God. “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy”, says the Pope. The theme he gives to this yearlong celebration is “Merciful like the Father” (see Luke 6: 36). Very interestingly for us on the African continent is that on 29^th November – 9 days before the official opening in Rome – Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Mercy in the Central African Republic’s capital before the beginning of Sunday Mass. He decided to open the Holy Door in the cathedral of Bangui as a sign of prayer and solidarity with the country and the rest of the continent. This is the first time in history that a Jubilee year is opened outside of Rome! This gave a lot of courage to the people of the Central African Republic – not only Catholics – to go and vote in the presidential elections, in spite of the threats received from militias telling them not to vote!

The people just ignored their bullets and these terrorists felt powerless in front of God’s power: this was a miracle, a sign from God brought through Pope Francis!

From 4^th to 7^th January, we had our Sector Meeting in Haartbeesport Dam, at the Good Shepherd Centre. We had a good time of reflection, prayer, discussion and planning for our work in South Africa.

Our new deacons who went to Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia during their Christmas holidays (see last month’s Newsletter), came back on different days around mid-January. You should have seen the joy beaming from their eyes as they explained all what they had been doing during this short pastoral experience in their respective parishes. It reminded us of the return of the seventy disciples after Jesus had sent them on their first mission (See Luke 10: 17-20). They were really thrilled to have been able to proclaim the word of God in their own way. This was surely a great experience for them, awaiting their priestly ordination after this last year of theological studies.

On 16^th January, in Pretoria Cathedral, with two of our deacons, we took part in the closing Mass of the Year of Consecrated Life. The Cathedral was full and the choir helped us wonderfully to sing the praises of God who has chosen so many Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests to work in his vineyard. As this event took place just before the annual Episcopal Conference meeting, thirty one bishops from South Africa and as far as Botswana and Swaziland were present. Many lay people also joined in the celebration.

As you see, this month, this Newsletter comes to you a few days late. The main reason is that I was busy conducting the annual retreat for some of our seminarians of Merrivale. Indeed, from 21^st to 27^th January our five new deacons – the sixth one, Douglas, is already home in Kenya awaiting his priestly ordination -, plus eleven of the students and two of their formators (Fr. Réal, the rector, and Fr. Luigi) were with me in John Paul II Pastoral Centre of Bethlehem Diocese (Free State). For six full days, they were really praying and meditating on God’s word and sharing the daily Eucharist in an atmosphere of silence and reverence, listening to the Holy Spirit speaking in their hearts.

On 10^th February, Ash Wednesday will launch us in the wonderful time of Lent. I therefore wish you a very good and fruitful time of following the Lord through his Passion, Death and Resurrection.

God bless you!

Fr. Michael Meunier, M.Afr

Newsletter South Africa No 59b2