New Beginning

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of Holy Mary, Mother of God - Theotokos. On this important day, our Holy Father Francis will open the Door of Mercy in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome - the largest Catholic Church dedicated to Our Lady in the world. 

The ancient Basilica enshrines the venerated image of Salus Populi Romani, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary as the health and protectress of the Roman people, which was granted a Canonical coronation by Pope Gregory XVI on 15 August 1838 accompanied by his Papal bull Cælestis Regina. The image is particularly dear to the Holy Father as he customarily makes his personal pilgrimage to Our Lady every time he comes back from the international voyage. Not only him, but also Saint Pope John Paul II requested that an oil lamp burn day and night under the icon of the Salus Populi Romani, as witness to his great devotion to the Madonna.

One of my major disappointments in my missionary life in Diocese of Musoma in Tanzania was the termination of the process of spiritual affiliation of Holy Mary, Mother of God Cathedral in Musoma to the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica - caused by my transfer from Musoma Cathedral back to Kiabakari. Musoma Cathedral would become the very first Theotokos church in African Continent affiliated to the Basilica. I initiated the process back in 2003 after the lengthy conversations in Rome with prelates responsible for the Basilica who suggested and encouraged me to pursue this goal. The then Bishop of Musoma - Rt. Rev. Justin Samba - showed some interest in this idea and took the documents for his perusal and involvement. His premature death and my subsequent transfer to Kiabakari terminated the process.

In this Year of Mercy the urge to restart the process has become more vivid in my soul and - though I am no longer affiliated with the Musoma Cathedral - nevertheless I will go and see the Bishop of Musoma - Rt. Rev. Michael Msonganzila to suggest the reopening of the process.

I strongly believe that this spiritual affiliation would be of major benefit to the People of God in Musoma Diocese and beyond.

What is special about this affiliation with the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore?

This basilica holds the relics of the crib where our Lord lay when He was born from the Virgin Mary. This same basilica is the oldest church dedicated to the holy Mother of God as a fruit of the Council of Ephesus in the year 431. According to Catholic pious tradition, the site of the basilica was personally chosen by the Blessed Virgin when during a summer month in Rome, snow appeared over the hill where the present basilica now stands. For some periods in church history, the popes also lived in this basilica. This is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. 

We must realize realize that Musoma Cathedral would have been deemed worthy to be linked to this rich history and immeasurable value of the papal basilica of the Mother of God! And to be a part of that historic papal basilica. How can we not be proud! How can we keep quiet when the grace of God is so admirably and incredibly shown to us! Also, we would not have to go to Rome to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica to obtain privileges, blessings and indulgences proper to that sacred place. We would obtain them right here, in Musoma Cathedral!

What would the affiliation of the Musoma Cathedral with the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore mean for us?

The Holy Father assures all the pilgrims who come to the spiritually affiliated church - his apostolic blessings and the spiritual graces of the Church. In Musoma Cathedral the voice of Our Lady - as in Santa Maria Maggiore - would always be heard “Turn away from sin and return to my Son”. In Musoma Cathedral - as in the Basilica in Rome - the voice of the priests saying over our offerings of bread and wine “This is my Body...This is my Blood” would be heard, constantly inviting the faithful to receive the Lord in Holy Communion. In Musoma Cathedral, the rosary would be prayed with same graces and blessings obtained as in Santa Maria Maggiore when rosary is recited in front of Salus Populi Romani image. 

In Musoma Cathedral, the Holy Father could always count on his spiritual warriors praying that the mission of Peter may continue in the church with loving children faithfully obeying him. In Musoma Cathedral, we - the People of God of Diocese of Musoma - would commit to be proud of our Catholic faith, to defend it, to preserve it, to share it, to live it.

As you can see, our Cathedral in Musoma spiritual affiliation with the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore speaks more of duties than privileges. This affiliation demands from us greater fidelity to the Lord and to the Church. It calls on us for more heroic obedience. It challenges us to be more vigilant against the attacks to our faith, to be more humble and to be more repentant, to be more zealous and to be more loving and merciful. Truth to tell, the real indulgence is really when all of us live as faithful disciples of her Son. 

As we come to Holy Mary, Mother of God Cathedral in Musoma to enter the Door of Mercy in the Jubilee Year of Mercy and meet our loving, caring and merciful Mother, the spiritual affiliation with Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome would be a priceless gift of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy, for the Church in Musoma and Tanzania at large.

Thus, we would always - generation after generation - come to Musoma Cathedral to meet Our Lady - Theotokos - and Her Merciful Son - for the blessings and for the indulgences and privileges proper to the Basilica in Rome which we could gain in Musoma, but also to renew our faith, to strengthen our hope and to increase our love. This is the real fullness of grace! This is how our Lady, full of grace, wants us to be!

Let us pray that this process is reopened and successfully finalized in the Year of Mercy! Let us hope for the new beginning!

God IS Love

"All I can do is remind you of what you already know deep within your True Self and invite you to live connected to this Source. John the Evangelist writes, "God is love, and whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him [and her]" (1 John 4:16). The Judeo-Christian creation story says that we were created in the very "image and likeness" of God--who is love (Genesis 1:26; see also Genesis 9:6). Out of the Trinity's generative, loving relationship, creation takes form, mirroring its Creator.

We have heard this phrase so often that we don't get the existential shock of what "created in the image and likeness of God" is saying about us. If we could believe it, we would save ourselves ten thousand dollars in therapy! If this is true--and I believe it is--our family of origin is divine. It is saying that we were created by a loving God to be love in the world. Our core is original blessing, not original sin. Our starting point is positive and, as it is written in the first chapter of the Bible, it is "very good" (Genesis 1:31). We do have a good place to go home. If the beginning is right, the rest is made considerably easier, because we know and can trust the clear direction of our life's tangent.

The great illusion we must all overcome is the illusion of separateness. It is the primary task of religion to communicate not worthiness but union, to reconnect people to their original identity "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). The Bible calls this state of separateness "sin." God's job description is to draw us back into this primal and intimate relationship. "My dear people, we are already children of God; what we will be in the future has not yet been fully revealed, and all I do know is that we shall be like God" (1 John 3:2)."

Fr. Richard Rohr, Gateway to Silence

The Door Of Mercy In Kiabakari Registered on Vatican Official Website Of The Year Of Mercy

Happy day today as our Door of Mercy in Kiabakari Shrine has been officially registered in The Jubilee of Mercy official website. And it is the very first Door of Mercy registered from the entire Tanzania. We feel very proud!

Here is the link to the description of our Shrine (click here).

Link to the Doors of Mercy worldwide (click here)

Make Time For What You Love

Gaudete!

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is called also "Gaudete" Sunday due to the joyful message proclaimed by the Mass formula and the Liturgy of the Word.

We have several reasons today for a very joyful celebration. The Holy Father has opened the Door of Mercy at St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday. On Wednesday our Bishop of Musoma did the same in Holy Mary, Mother of God Cathedral in Musoma. Us did the same on Friday. Today another Doors of Mercy will be opened my the Holy Father in Rome's Papal Basilicas, in particular at his own cathedral at St. John  in Lateran.

In all dioceses of the world and indeed in every parish in the world the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy will be inaugurated and Doors of Mercy will be opened all over the world.

I have yet another - personal - reason to celebrate in gladness, gratitude and joy. This morning I have received the shipment of my new books and publications which I prepared for this Year of Mercy. A new book on Divine Mercy, a guidebook for readers of the Word of God, the examination of conscience for adults, the examination of conscience for the youth, the Jubilee prayer and the checklist of corporal and spiritual deeds of mercy during the Jubilee Year.

Immediately after we finished offloading the truck and stored books securely - the heavy downpour came all of a sudden and it still rains as I write these words three hours later. We were lucky, otherwise the shipment would get soaked in rain.

Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo! Thanks be to Merciful Father for the safe transportation of the shipment. Thanks be to Merciful Father for these first couple days of the Year of Mercy and extraordinary blessings and graces we have already received.

Live Feed from Vatican TV

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the Inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy

The full text of Pope Francis’ prepared homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the Inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy can be found below:

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy

8 December 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In a few moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace. Again and again these readings make us think of the words by which the angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which was about to enfold her: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1:28).

The Virgin Mary was called to rejoice above all because of what the Lord accomplished in her. God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of Christ. When Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and impenetrable of mysteries became for her a cause for joy, faith and abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception expresses the grandeur of God’s love. Not only does he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every man and woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God which precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the history of sin in the Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving love. The words of Genesis reflect our own daily experience: we are constantly tempted to disobedience, a disobedience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at people’s lives, setting them in opposition to God’s plan. Yet the history of sin can only be understood in the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy. The word of God which we have just heard leaves no doubt about this. The Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of this promise and its fulfilment.

This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.

Today, as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a great advance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey. It was the resumption of a journey of encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes, in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel. After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with the same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council. May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan.

The Ends of the Earth Have Seen His Mercy

From Zenith agency website:

The Ends of the Earth Have Seen His Mercy

HM Television and Apostolic Penitentiary: program on Confession for Jubilee Year of Mercy.

HM Television, in collaboration with the Apostolic Penitentiary, present “The Ends of the Earth Have Seen His Mercy,” a documentary on the Sacrament of Penance, on the occasion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. 

Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza; Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Archbishop Krzysztof Nykiel; Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop Arthur Roche; the penitentiaries of the four major basilicas of Rome and other experts on the subject help us to enter more deeply into the unfathomable mystery of God’s mercy.

The program opens with a glimpse into the Old Testament to discover “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin” (Ex 34:6-7).

What follows is a presentation of Jesus Christ as the Revelation and Incarnation of the Father: “We see the closeness of God our Heavenly Father to us through the Incarnation, through His Son becoming flesh like us, living amongst us” (Archbishop Arthur Roche).

The central part of the program is dedicated to a reflection on the Sacrament of Penance, the instrument God uses to administer His mercy in the forgiveness of sins. The program offers a commentary on the basic requirements for making a good confession as well as an explanation of the needs and effects of reconciliation with God: “When a confession is made with faith, everything falls back into place, because the Lord is always ready to receive us, like the father from the parable of the Prodigal Son. With arms wide open, He awaits us in the confessional. All we have to do is be sincere and have contrition in our hearts” (Cardinal Mauro Piacenza).

The program concludes with a brief reflection on how priests should dedicate themselves to this ministry and a look at the indulgences the Church grants penitents.  

The program includes interviews with:

-Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary

-Archbishop Arthur Roche, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

-Archbishop Krzysztof Nykiel, Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary

-Fr. Fr. Ján Ďačok, SI, Theologian of the Apostolic Penitentiary

-Fr. Pedro Fernández, OP, Penitentiary of the Basilica of St. Mary Major

-Fr. Ciro Stanzione, OFM, Penitentiary of the Basilica of St. John Lateran

-Fr. Kevin Hanley, OFM, Penitentiary of the Basilica of St. Peter (Vatican)

-Fr. Roberto Dotta, OSB, Penitentiary of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls

"The Ends of the Earth Have Seen His Mercy” has a running time of approximately 30 minutes and is available in Spanish, English, and Italian.

Click the following link to view the trailer: 

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1yaue44E8
 Italian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqbdFJ20OeM
Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhU0nVQfMYU

Click the following link to view the program in its entirety:

English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxFH0GegR5w
Italian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPnQFOBmAbw
Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ijzACCQl_Y

The DVD version of the program (in all three languages) is available for purchase on the EUK Mamie Foundation website: http://www.eukmamie.org/en/catalogue/dvd/specials/2266-his-mercy

It can also be downloaded free of charge, with the possibility of making a donation to HM Television to help support future productions.

“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?” (Ezk 18:23) 

Poland Is Beautiful

Polish Legends. The Cracow's Dragon.

Dark Grace - Honesty

"Moral scrutiny is not to discover how good or bad I am and regain some moral high ground, but it is to begin some honest "shadow boxing" which is at the heart of all spiritual awakening. Yes, "the truth will set you free" as Jesus says (John 8:32); "but first it will make you miserable," as many others have said. The medieval spiritual writers called this defeat to the ego compunction: the necessary sadness and humiliation that come from seeing one's own failures and weaknesses. Without confidence in a Greater Love, none of us will have the courage to admit our failures. Self-scrutiny merely becomes neurotic scrupulosity about non-essential moral issues (Colossians 2:16-23) rather than mature development of conscience, human love, or social awareness. I know this from years of hearing Catholic confessions.

Shadow boxing, what Bill Wilson called a "searching and fearless moral inventory," is for the sake of truth and humility and generosity of spirit, not vengeance on the self or some kind of victory over the self. None of us need or expect perfect people around us, but we do want people who can be up front and honest about their mistakes and limitations and hopefully grow from them.

Apparently that's what God wants, too: simple honesty and humility. There is no other way to read Jesus' stories of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) or the publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). In each story, the one who did wrong ends up being right--simply because he is honest about it. How have we been able to miss that important point? I suspect it is because the ego wants to think well of itself and deny any shadow material within itself. Only the soul knows that we grow best in the shadowlands. We are blinded inside of either total light or total darkness, but "the light shines on inside the darkness, and it is a light that darkness cannot overcome" (John 1:5). In darkness we find and ever long for more light. I would call this dark grace. But most of us have only been taught about light and pretty grace, and so we miss at least half of our opportunities for encountering both God and ourselves." (Richard Rohr, Gateway to Silence)

My City

Shaping Humanity: Six Million Years In One Minute

Operacja Tanzania 2016

The Scissors For You

This is Eveline, a bright student in our Blessed Maria Teresa Ledóchowska pre-school in Kiabakari Catholic Parish. Her dream is to be able to continue her studies in our educational institutions up to Form Six class in High School. She knows too well we have pre-school completed only, while the primary school is still under construction since August 2007 with only six classrooms ready and the school kitchen to be completed in the next month or so. A secondary school and a high school are still in the planning phase only. But she is full of hope that her dream will become reality some day and the ropes of limitations coming from the place of birth and scarce opportunities of proper and continuous education in this area to develop her skills and talents and obtain the best education possible in Kiabakari - will finally be cut through with the help of Fundacja Kiabakari and the people of good will worldwide. Here are the scissors for you from Eveline. Come and take your part in cutting through those bonds enslaving dreams of our children and the youth in Kiabakari.

Missionary Of Mercy

Please, pray for me!

Bitter Reality

The idea of wiriting this post came up after listening to opinions and beliefs of many people - including my relatives, friends, benefactors and volunteers - on how our health center in Kiabakari operates and survives.

The common presumption is that our facility operates financially on Tanzanian government / Church / NGOs donations and support. That is why people think that the medical service we provide in Kiabakari should be offered on free-of-charges basis.

Yes, I would love to see this happening. This is our dream and vision. But the bitter reality is far from this wonderful desire.

Not only we do not get any support from the above mentioned sources, yet still we are obliged by the Tanzanian law and Catholic Church practice in Tanzania to make various payments and contributions, apart from the regular expenditure as in any other facility of this type elsewhere in Tanzania and in the world.

Our income in the health center comes from these sources: firstly, out- and in-patients - from their payments for medical services and medicine they are administered or prescribed; secondly, National Health Insurance Fund payments for services and medicine we offer to the members of the insurance scheme (we treat them for free and the compensation comes a few months later in the form of a bank cheque - they deduct any discrepancies and mistakes the doctor-in-charge of the facility makes while filling them, thus causing losses for us); thirdly - any donations in kind (bandages, water for injections, gloves etc) in and outside of the country. Fourthly - volunteers work which helps to attract more patients and hopefully to generate much needed income for the struggling facility.

Last year alone, I personally had to find extra six million plus Tanzanian shillings to help see us through the end of the year. This year already more than two million went in for the same purpose - to help to make ends meet. This money I had to find somewhere somehow and this not comes easy, believe me.

Today, despite having three volunteering doctors in the health center, my manager came to me to ask for help so he can pay social security and income tax payments. He was short half a million shillings.

We are surrounded by bush private labs, pharmacies and medical mini-facilities run by local people, who in most cases do not bother to register their businesses, do not pay taxes and all required by law - payments and contributions. The same people wage war on us, spreading black PR to discourage people from using our services and to go to them. Obviously, all their smear campaing is entirely false and is a pure lie. But this is how the world goes and how people fight for income, not only here, but I believe - everywhere else.

Since the opening of the health center in January 2008, the administration of the facility went from hands to hands and since two and half years I was left alone with the help of my secretary - whom I made a manager of the facility - to run the show. Since its beginnings till this day noone came up with the valid and workable plan and vision - how to run the facility and keep it financially safe and stable in the long run and the foreseeable future. People came and went, struggling to run it, then walking out seeing it is extremely hard, stressful and frustrating. I am not an exception. This is not my job to run the medical facility. I see clearly that my good will and desire to see this important helth center survive financially and to be safe in the long term - is not sufficient. We need organizations, people, something to make it secure and working. Who and how? I do not know at this point of time. I feel most of times so much left alone. Occasional donations, development projects and volunteers are missing the point and may even fool the public to think that things are going well. The daily running of the facility and keeping its finances in black and succeeding in fulfilling the challenges of the payment list below is a daily nightmareish reality for Amon and myself.

I am dreading the moment when I will hit the wall and be forced to raise my hands up in defeat and close the health center due to a bancruptcy. This would be a disaster to everybody involved in the conception, construction and running of this facility - Polish government, Diocese of Musoma, NGOs and private benefactors, volunteers and donors. But most of all - it would be a death sentence for many Tanzanians whose lives might be saved here.

Below is the list of the payments, expenditure and contributions we do here in Kiabakari in our health center. I hope this will be an eye opener to many of you - what we are facing here and how hard it is to survive in this environment. And hopefully it will be a wake up call to all of you who think that in Kiabakari the health center is a neverending story of success and easy-peasy money-making machine.


LIST OF PAYMENTS AND EXPENDITURE
BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI HEALTH CENTER - KIABAKARI

1. Salaries and allowances of the employees 
2. Holidays and other benefits of the employees 
3. End / Termination of contracts - financial packages 
4. Medicine and drugs procurement 
5. Social security of the employees - NSSF 
6. Income tax of salaries - PAYE 
7. Tanzania Revenue Authority tax (SDL) 
8. Health Insurance of the employees 
9. House allowances for the employees 
10. Land rent annual payment 
11. Fire safety inspection annual fee 
12. Fire extinguishers inspection fee (2-3 times a year) 
13. Goverment licence fee and income tax of the facility 
14. 5% of annual income - contribution to the Diocese of Musoma 
15. Annual contribution to the Health Department of Diocese of Musoma 
16. Annual contribution to the Health Department of the Tanzanian Episcopal Conference 
17. Hospitality (guests, inspections, visitations - food and drinks) 
18. Health center board members meeting allowance (quarterly) 
19. Servicing and maintenance of the medical equipment (batteries, paper, gel, needles, gloves, perishables for lab tests and lab samples etc.) 
20. Uniforms and boots for security guards and uniforms for employees 
21. Staff canteen costs (breakfast and lunch) 
22. Electricity bills 
23. Water consumption bills 
24. Office stationaries 
25. Printing of health center perishables - files and various forms for departments of the facility (reception, pharmacy, lab, doctor etc.) 
26. Minor repairs (infrastructure, pump house, furniture etc.) 
27. Service of the generator 
28. Fuel for the generator 
29. Official travels of staff members for meetings, workshops, seminars etc. 
30. Transportation costs 
31. Communication (post office box, mail, internet, phone credit etc.) 
32. Cleaning and laundry department equipment and cleaning agents 
33. General cleaning of the premises and garden caretaking allowance 
34. Dogs’ food 
35. Dogs’ caretaking (drugs, vaccinations, bathing and allowance for the person in charge of dog care) 
36. Gifts and funeral donations and contributions 
37. Other occassional payments, donations and contributions.

Please, pray to Almighty God, to Whom nothing is impossible, to make possible a dream of so many people of good will, mainly our people in Kiabakari and the area, that our health center survives, is in good professional and capable hands. May Divine Mercy uses this facility as its favorite channel to touch lives and bodies of God's children and to heal them.

Official Hymn Of The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - the homily of the Holy Mass of the Carmelite Rite of the Perpetual Profession at Monastery of the Queen of Carmel in Bunda - Tanzania

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel today. A day of utmost importance to the Monastery of the Queen of Carmel in Bunda (some 35 km from Kiabakari). For the very first time in the short - just fourteen year long history of the monastery two sisters of Discalded Carmelite Congregation made their perpetual profession. I had a priviledge to be a main celebrant and the preacher (on behalf of Bishop Renatus Nkwande of the diocese of Bunda who got sick and asked me to stand in) in this unique solemnity. Let us pray for the newly professed sisters!

Migration In Serengeti

Emily And Maria Go Serengeti - Images

Huruma Cup 2015

Many years have passed since we held Huruma Cup in our parish for the last time. Many factors contributed to this fact, including some biased judging in the past which made the youth disenchanted with efforts to prepare and perform well. This time I made sure judges are picked by me personally and there is no undue influence on them. I do hope this will be the opening of the new chapter in the history of our parish. Engaging all - children, youth and adults alike - in sports and arts competitions. This year we begin humbly with five categories in arts - choir, debate/ngonjera, sung poem/shairi, drama/igizo and traditional dance/ngoma.

On Saturday, July 4th, we had the first day of the competition - the elimination of art groups from Kiabakari town. The judges did a good job, uninfluenced by anyone and I guess everybody agrees with results. We were enjoying the performance of the groups together with our volunteers from USA - Emily and Maria.

The second stage will be on Saturday July 25th with groups from all over the parish. The best groups in each category will perform in front of the Bishop Michael Msonganzila and the parochial community on Sunday July 26th, on the parochial feast day, which will include Confirmation for our parishioners, 60th birthday of Fr. Godfried Maruru (my friend and helper whenever I am away or in need of extra hands), Jubilee of 60 years of work of our catechist Boniphace Kisunda and my Silver Jubilee as missionary in Tanzania.

Here are some images from Saturday competition. Enjoy!

How Can I ?

There so much to be grateful for to Merciful God, His Angels and Saints and to His people in the first half of this year which ends today. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude to God's Mercy and to love and care of so many great people I have been blessed to meet and interact with in the past six months. Thank you!

"How can I repay the LORD for all the great good done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD". (Ps 116:12-13)

Left Hand On The Word Of God. Right Hand Signing Laws Violating Word Of God.

Best Ad Ever?

Living In An Artificial Internet Bubble Tailored Just For You

Bądź solą (Moving Works)

Pope Francis: The Encyclical - The Trailer

Serengeti National Park - June 2015 Safari - Images

Corpus Christi In Kiabakari 2015 - Images

All images by Ewelina Kościelniak.

Pre-School And Primary School Birthday Party - Images

Here are some images of the birthday party, traditionally held in our schools twice a year. First - for those whose birthdays fall into first six months of the year, and the second for those in the latter part of the year. It was a wonderful day of smiles, fun, plays, laughter and good food. Enjoy the images!

27th Anniversary Of My Ordination To Priesthood

On the day like today, 27 years ago, His Eminence Franciszek Cardinal Macharski, ordained sixty six new priests for the Archdiocese of Kraków, Poland. One of them was me. Please, join me in a celebration of this special anniversary to our ordination class of 1988. The recollection day, the Holy Mass, silent adoration of the Eucharist. A day of gratitude and penitence. A day of joy and meditation. A day of opening up anew to the Holy Spirit and inviting Him anew in my life. A day of reflecting upon the motto of my ordination card (souvenir) -

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." (Is 61:1-2)

Please, visit the the following links to read more about that day, to see the pictures and sing with us the song we sung in the ordination Mass on May 22, 1988 in Wawel cathedral, Kraków, Poland.

http://kiabakarisnippets.blogspot.com/2010/05/catch-22.html
http://kiabakarisnippets.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-wonderful-day-today.html

Please, pray for us to the Holy Spirit!

Septena To The Holy Spirit

For the swahili speakers - you can use this text (which copyright for swahili edition I own) freely for the sake of your community, liturgy or your private use.

Veni Creator Spiritus!

The Last Dance Of David And Irene In Our School

Graceful Dance By Little Ones

Girl Power - Kiabakari Style

The Master Of Working Out Perfect Relationships

St. Joseph the Worker feast day today. St. Joseph, a shining example for all workers worldwide. This is what we hear and are told and taught in numerous homilies, articles, posts, books. We tend to focus on him as a carpenter and try to imagine how good he was in his profession. And rightly so.

Yet, today my focus shifts towards his amazing ability to work out his relationship with others on so many levels. Just a few thoughts on this:

1. St. Joseph’s relationship with God who chose him to be a spouse and husband of Our Lady and the foster father and a protector of Jesus. It amazes me how Joseph was able to work out this peculiar relationship with demanding God who spoke to him in dreams, urging to underatake an immediate action in absolute obedience, like firefighters or special forces commandos who do not ask questions but go and do the mission. Joseph was totally silent and obedient servant of God and because of this attitude he was able to excel in his role and position as the protector of the Holy Family making sure God’s Will is done to the fullest. 

2. St. Joseph’s relationship with his wife, Our Lady. I try to figure out how he felt when he learned she was pregnant with the child who was not of his own blood. How he worked out this relationship from falling in love with Mary through the rejection of her because of the pregnancy to full acceptance of the situation and embracing it in an active role - is truly a masterpiece of perfection of human relationships of spousal love and total dedication and inclusiveness. How gentle and loving he was not to make a public scene with this scandal of Mary’s pregnancy. And how he excelled in his role as Mary's loving husband, protector and provider.

3. St. Joseph’s relationship with Jesus. We know too well how difficult to many men is accept and love a child who is not their own blood. To bring up a blood which is not yours with love and utmost care is a genuine heroism and perfection of the guardian-son relationship to the level of genuine father-son relationship. Joseph did just that. And he was able to put aside his need to have his own child and continue his bloodline - for the sake of Jesus and total committment to His case. 

4. St. Joseph’s relationship with his own family, clan, folk, neighbors. He managed to keep these relationships at bay, not giving in to obvious natural demands of family life at the expense of Jesus and His Mother. Even when he ordered to leave immediately at night to save the family, without even saying goodbye to relatives, he did so without hesitation. 

5. St. Joseph’s relationship with other nations - when Jesus, Mary and himself were in Egypt, apparently he was able to settle well among neighbors and citizens of that country and work out relationships with them. It seems these relationships were normal as we don’t have any accounts of that period in Egypt, And perhaps the Holy Family felt comfortable enough there, without any hints of rush to go back, maybe because of fear of Herod, maybe because they have blended somehow in that society, without losing their faith and customs of course, yet still God had to come back to Joseph to tell him to go back home.

May St. Joseph help us to work out our own relationships with God, spouses, relatives, coworkers, neighbors, friends, strangers and enemies. St. Joseph, pray for us!

Rainy Season In Kiabakari

New Arrivals To Our Health Center In Kiabakari

Thank you Mons. Jan for your kind donation to our health center in Kiabakari which allowed us to purchase a line of much needed lab equipment for - among others - the antibiogram tests. On behalf of the benefactor this morning I have handed the gifts over to the manager of the health center and the lab technician. The gift consists of micropipette, digital colorimeter, digital thermal incubator, autoclav, water bath machine, digital scale for reagents and tissues, plus other small items. The list of lab services on offer in our health facility has gained yet another valuable item.

Indian Ocean Coral Reef - Explosion of Marine Life

A bunch of screenshots of underwater video camera footage of the Indian Ocean coral reef off Zanzibar shore. Apologies for a poor quality of some of the screenshots.

Impressions From Tanzania

Lent 2015 - Leading Tune - Wishing You All A Blessed And Happy Journey Through The Desert Led By The Holy Spirit

I Will Follow

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

Shop And Help Us

A new initiative of FaniMani can make a huge difference in charities efforts to render better and more effective services in the world. You can help charities by shopping in listed shops and outlets and some of the revenues go to the charity you choose to help.

I encourage you all, my dear readers, to try this service by registering at FaniMani and picking us up as a charity of your choice (click here).

Together we can do more for those we serve and light a brighter candle of hope where the darkness of despair prevails.

Winter Pilgrimage To Mariazell Shrine In Austria - Photos

Continuing with my recovery program after the surgery on January 13 this year, I am deeply grateful to my classmate and best friend - Fr. Wiesław, pastor of Ulmerfeld-Hausmenning-Neufurth parish in St. Pölten diocese in Austria, for his invitation to come for one week to his place to rest and visit our common friends, especially from the Mission Team. Yesterday I had opportunity to see Linz and the area with our dear friends - Maria, Herbert, Maria and Brigitte. Today another dear friend - Franz - took me to Mariazell for prayer and Holy Mass. I am so happy and grateful to him personally, to his wife Brigitte for a lovely welcome at their house, for breakfast and lunch and good chat, same as I was grateful to Fantastic Four yesterday on the way from Linz and in Maria's house. Here are some images I took on my mobile on the way, in and back from Mariazell. Austria is magnificent in winter! It is such a blessed time here in Ulmerfeld. Deo gratias! Thank you, Wiesiek! Thank you, Mission Team! God bless you much!

Don't Give Up

Falling Plates

70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp - Short Documentary

On Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Oświęcim (Auschwitz). The somber commemoration of the liberation of the concentration camp was underway. I recalled my last visit there with my friends from Ireland. Today I found this short documentary by Steven Spielberg with narrative voice of Meryl Streep. It hit me hard and made me sick again same way it was last year while visiting... Yet, there is a ray of hope in the documentary message. Maybe we are not doomed after all, maybe there is a chance for us to become humans and Children of Merciful Loving God again?

Watch.

At Last!

First day of real winter since I touched down in Poland. Beautiful!

I Believe In One Holy Catholic And Apostolic Church

This Pope Francis important gesture somehow escaped my attention back then. At the closure of the Year of Faith Holy Father displayed publicly for the first time the relics of St. Peter, the first Pope and Francis predecessor. I don't care if some scientists contest the 'originality' of the remains. It is the matter of the faith and the foundations on which the Church of Christ was founded. I love these images. They speak volumes about the Apostolic Succession and the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. More on relics here.