Wrapping Up

The time has come to wrap up this year of 2011. It has been my custom for many years now (after my late parish priest who used to do the same on the last day of each year) to present a report to the parochial community of the passing old year and projection of the incoming new year. Looking in retrospect with the grateful but also contrite heart, and looking ahead with hope in the heart and prayer on our lips - all wrapped in the form of the expose or the annual report of the state of the matters and our plans for the imminent future... 

Nativity Of Our Lord

All of us here in Kiabakari wish you, our Friends and Supporters, a blessed and joyful Christmas and a prosperous and satisfying New Year 2012! God bless us all!

Smile

Moments like these today brighten my weariness as we close on the Nativity of Our Lord. This last week of Advent has been extremely challenging and loaded with important matters and took its toll on me. The oral individual examinations of all catechumens and those receiving their First Communion which lasted for five days altogether gave me imminent insight in the quality of the religious education done by my catechist and pastoral Sister, and the direct look into the world of faith of the pupils (school children and adults alike).

I was very happy to notice that teachers in general did a good job, and the most of examined passed well. The class of Sister Jennipher stood heads and shoulders above the rest. This speaks volumes of a great work Sister did. Respect to her!

Today was the day of the Sacrament pf Reconciliation in the parish. I started with the penitential rite together, then after the liturgy I proceeded with individual confessions. The first group was First Communion class of Sr. Jennipher. I had special mystagogical classes with each group after exams - on Sacrament of Reconciliation (I gave each student a special booklet - a guide to correct confession, which I prepared and printed) and the Most Holy Eucharist, with practical sessions on how to confess well and how to receive properly Holy Communion - both on tongue and on hand. This certainly helped children to prepar themselves for today's confessions as all of them confessed very well, without any problems.

I was extremely pleased and happy to see this happening, and most of all - to witness innocent happiness, relief and bright angelic smiles of my penitents as they were leaving the confessional, as if on wings of the Holy Spirit.

Surely, moments like these brighten my life and wipe away all tiredness! Thanks be to God!

Waiting now for last penitents as they come one by one, as the main wave passed since 9am till 4pm...

Tomorrow repetition of exams for those few who failed, then I will remove myself from public and pray and focus on what lies ahead starting with the Midnight Mass of Nativity (which actually starts at 9pm here because of security reasons and lack of street lights) with Baptisms and First Communions. It will take some solid three hours to finish the Mass. My friend, Fr. Godfried from Makoko seminary, will go the outstation tomorrow night, then on Sunday he will stay in Kiabakari (the will go to one Mass in the outstation) and I will go to outstations for Baptisms and First Communions in five villages (but combined in two major Masses).

I will pray for all of you who sent lovely cards, messages, emails, phoned me or wished directly Merry Christmas! Especially during Midnight Mass which is my custom since I was ordained.

God bless us all! Very happy and blessed Christmas to you all!!!

Where Are You?

This very first question, asked by God in Eden after our parents committed the original sin, echoes throughout the history of mankind ever since. We are getting lost from tike to time and God is looking tirelessly and patiently for us. 

Reading Carefully The Signs Of This Time

As we travel along the Advent paths, cutting through the thick of our problems, weaknesses, vortexes, to get to Jesus and allow Him to come to us freely with full saving, cleansing, merciful power, I find myself focusing more and more on careful reading and decoding of the signs of this time, they it unfolds events and challenges right here in my own little corner of the world...

The Most Holy Trinity at work in three-dimensional pattern. And myself, a poor worm in the Lord's vineyard, trying my best to address the challenges of God's activity at this time...

Spiritual and pastoral responsibilities of Advent season mixed with ongoing intensive work in the educational and medical fields - preparing ways to follow in the next year for the benefit of my people in Kiabakari, writing and submitting various projects which, I believe strongly, if accepted and funded, will improve immensely our effective translation of Divine Mercy message in real life terms, embracing the whole human person in Kiabakari in Divine Mercy - spiritually, intellectually and corporally...

I ask all of you, my dear friends of this blog, to kindly say a prayer for us here and for the successful cooperation with God's grace in all three dimensions of His Divine care for the people of God in Kiabakari... Rest assured that we pray for all of you as well here all the time...

Blessed Advent to all!!!

Dividing The Time By The Spoon

Since my comeback to Kiabakari at the beginning of October, I have this prevailing feeling that the time has become densely congested, packed with numerous activities and challenges, all thrown at us at once. It feels like if the time has become a jelly which is so thick that one can divide it by the spoon...

Gratitude

It has been an action packed, blessings loaded period of my life in Kiabakari. The challenges of the past two months kept away somehow from blogging. And now as I try to wind down the rollercoaster of high emotions, stresses and withdraw a bit from the thick of the past matters and to focus firmly on Advent invitation of St. John Baptist to open up avenues for the coming Lord to our souls and hearts - I recall with immense gratitude the Lord's generosity and firm help He gave us all here in Kiabakari as we pursued simultaneously various projects at the same time. Our Foundation Kiabakari volunteers' project 'Perfect Health' supervised skillfully by our volunteer Agata (the project has been a success so far and I am amazed how mature, calm and dedicated Agata has been for the past two months) intertwined with the construction of the second classroom at our primary school with desks and chairs and school books for the standard one and teo students (books were purchased owing to the educational adoption program supported generously by people of tender hearts from Poland, Canada, USA, Croatia and Slovenia). Apart from this, it was a time to work on new development projects in Kiabakari, the construction of a bathroom needed in one of the guest rooms. All this happening while working spiritually and pastorally in the parish...

Truly, the Lord has blessed us greatly and led us safely through all these challenges up till now. What I feel I need to do is to kneel down in front of the tabernacle and with all my grateful heart to tell the Lord - 'Thank You, Jesus! Praised be Your Holy Name!'

I know too well that the Lord works through people. I embrace all my friends and benefactors who made all this possible and keep my spirits high with a grateful hug and want to tell you that I appreciate everything you do for us here in Kiabakari and especially for the little ones and the sick. Thank you so much! May the Merciful Lord grant you peace, health, faith, happiness and prosperity in the Holy Spirit...

Happy and truly blessed Advent to you all, my friends and supporters! God bless us all!