I Will Follow

Please, read this and watch the video below. Great!

You've Got To Move It, Move It!

Revival of the parochial family in Kiabakari in the Year of Family includes holistic revival of various apostolic groups and movements. Among those - vocation groups (altar servers and non-altar servers), youth groups and associations.

Our altar servers decided to get rid of laziness and started regular training before any serious attempts to check their skills with other football youth teams in Kiabakari and the area. Luckily, we have several sets of football jerseys, so their internal test matches can be played in full 'combat' attire. The older boys jerseys came to us through courtesy of our former German volunteers - Denise and Thomas. The younger boys jerseys I got years back, even before I was transferred to Musoma Cathedral in 2002. The pictures below I took before their training matches a couple of weeks ago. The little ones played in small teams on small pitch.

Girls' vocation groups is not forgotten either. I have just finished laying out of the netball court with professional goal posts, traced the lines and checked on the stock of netball jerseys. We have plenty of netballs courtesy of Australia, seven sets of netball jerseys. Some of them will go to our primary school, the rest will stay with parochial girls' teams. 

We plan to have a all-parochial tournament in football and netball starting in September with the climax and finale on the Feast of the Holy Family on December 28 this year.

The Abyss Of Silence

My blogging has become more and more difficult to me these days. No wonder why the pace of updating you with my life, work, thoughts, reflection, narration of the daily life in Kiabakari - has become a trickle instead of a river like steady flow of communication. It is not that I have run out of ideas or inspiration. Not at all. The real problem, as I see it and as I would like to phrase it, would be a growing need of silence in me. The more I get involved in the daily struggle in Kiabakari, parochial and spiritual life of my community, demands of various projects and challenges at hand, needs of my volunteers, groups, movements, parochial institutions and individuals - the more I desire to dive deeper into the abyss of silence and pure presence of the Real One. I know that I cannot completely detach myself from the demands of my active life, my duties and responsibilities, not yet at least, but the thought I had in me, persistent to the extent of consulting my spiritual director in my first year in the seminary to discern this spirit if it was good or bad (and he said it came from the evil spirit, because I was destined to the active service in the Church), is coming back to me in full force, thirty years after, pushing me to desire contemplative life in all its fullness and uncompromising nature. For some time, let's say - four years - this thought is ever present in me. And I wonder, if this is what will happen to me in the future, living the last part of my life in total seclusion and silence. I don't know, I will need real discernment and help from professionals in these matters, but I do not say 'no' upfront to it. I accept this notion and if God wants me there, I guess I will be ready. Please, pray for me so His Will be done, not mine.

Back To Where It All Began

Tomorrow morning, after the Holy Mass at Sisters' chapel (my apartment block is adjacent to Sisters' Provincial house), my journey to the place where it all began will commence...

In Retrospect

Friday was the second day of my short visit to Ireland. My hosts planned a full day of meetings for me. In retrospect I must say that I received more than I was able to give those whom I met in various places...

Wanawito

The title of this post is the term we use to call altar servers and all members belonging to so called Chama cha Wito in parishes - kind of vocational groups for primary and secondary schools, helping them to discover their skills, charismas, talents through sharing with their peers and also - through communal and private prayers - to discover their own vocation in life, be it priesthood, consecrated life, marriage or others vocation in their future adulthood...

Vocation Group

Had a lovely meeting just a while ago with my altar servers, the candidates for altar servers, the girls from their vocation group and the candidates to become members of girls' vocation group in our mission. They will come back later in the afternoon for the second session - a meeting, practice of the liturgy of the acceptance of candidates to altar servers and another one for girls to be admitted to their vocational group. The prevailing mood among all of us is of excitement and anticipation...

Courage

The Liturgy of the Word of today's Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time speaks to me about the courage. Though there is not a single word about the courage itself. But what is genuine humility spoken about in the Holy Scripture, the humility understood and defined by God Himself, if not our courage to trust God and go beyond our fear and need to stay in the comfort of the known world to us?

The Sea Of Grass

The picture I found accidentally today, while browsing through online albums of my photos, triggered emotions and heavy thoughts... I live among people I love, respect, cherish and serve to the best of my poor abilities...I am surrounded by caring hearts, loving souls... Yet so many times I feel lonely, abandoned by everyone, helpless... Don't get me wrong... I am not talking about relationships, friendships, feelings of unity and closeness...

Ur

On this day, exactly twenty years ago I left Europe and the world known to me - my personal Ur - and began my journey via Swissair from Rome to Dar es Salaam via Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, towards the Promised Land - Tanzania. I did not now what to expect and what God had called me for in Tanzania back then. I did not know if I manage to be a missionary in Africa. Twenty years later, the picture is clear and some answers to my questions have been already given...

No Sign

Looks like there is no sign of crisis in the Congregation of Little Servants of Blessed Virgin Mary Conceived Immaculate. Neither in local vocations in Africa, nor in their financial wellbeing. Tomorrow three young women will participate in a thanksgiving Mass in their home parish in Shirati in the northwestern part of diocese of Musoma, as they are the very first Tanzanian women who entered that congregation and just recenty made their first vows in Kasisi, Lusaka, Zambia - the headquarters of the African Province of the Congregation...

Personal Ur

On the day of the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, my thoughts always set on a pilgrimage to the little shrine of Our Lady of Graces in a small town of Janów Lubelski in eastern Poland, the area where most of my family from the maternal side, hails from...This unassuming place holds the same importance to me as the Wawel Cathedral where I received my diaconate and priestly ordination in 1988. That little shrine in Janów Lubelski is my personal Ur of Chaldeans...