Good Friday

No, it is not the Good Friday in the Holy Week I am thinking about. Today is Friday and it has been a very good Friday so far to me...


Fr. Marek Gizicki left in the early morning at around 5.30am on his way to Dodoma and tomorrow to his mission in Maasai land. So I had a very early start to the day... But it was ok, more time to think and plan ahead.

Today's recollection day was an important one for me, for all of us here in Kiabakari mission. It had a double meaning. Firstly, it was an excellent opportunity to come back to the Lord and say 'thank you' for the period which started with the coming of the sisters to Kiabakari on January 3, 2010 and ended with the official opening of their new convent last Sunday. It was, surely, one of the most traumatic, difficult and challenging periods of my life. And if I was able to survive and stay sane, it is only by the grace of God Almighty. I have no doubts about it...

The second meaning involved turning around our heads and focus on things to come, especially the coming two weeks. The Holy Week with Paschal Triduum, Divine Mercy Novena and the Divine Mercy Sunday on the Sunday following the Easter Sunday, which in our shrine means an annual pilgrimage with people coming from various destinations, including Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Bukoba, Kenya and Uganda.

Two challenging weeks that must be prepared carefully and thoroughly, never forgetting that at the end of the day it is the Lord who makes everything happen. So I sat this morning with a pen in my hand and notebook to make a to-do list for both weeks. Took me a few hours to finish the job, including several phone calls and a few ad hoc meetings in between sessions in the shrine during the recollection day.

I immersed all these things and plans in the Divine Mercy Ocean during the retreat day and especially in the Holy Mass and Divine Mercy chaplet concluding the retreat day.

Then in the evening, the Stations of the Way of the Cross gave me an occasion to open up to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as I put aside prepared text for the meditations and led the Stations with words that were flowing out of my inner self spontaneously as if guided by the Invisible One. It was one of the more powerful experiences of this year's Lent. And I am so grateful to the Lord for this cleansing moment...

And now I put these words together as the dusk turns into night, yet another night without power... Which means, standing up and heading to the store where generator is located. I will have to add some petrol as we used the machine yesterday as well before I pull the cord to start the engine...

Nevertheless, the overall impression and feeling of today is positive and joyous. Thanks be to God for the gift of a busy and blessed day filled with the presence of the Lord in the midst of the community of people I love and serve in Kiabakari...