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!

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.

Nobody

2014 Resolution

The Year of Faith showed me very clearly how difficult is the situation with our families in Kiabakari, both - the couples and extended families. You would assume before the Year of Faith started that it would be a time of reconciliation, healing, acts of faith including the sacrament of marriage and so forth. To the contrary. The Year of Faith painfully displayed all the problems couples and families face in the modern world. I was able only to bless a few marriages in 2013, the lowest number in all my years in Kiabakari.

Holy Father puts it precisely, pinpointing these problems:

"The family is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these bonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to belong to one another; it is also the place where parents pass on the faith to their children. Marriage now tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. But the indispensible contribution of marriage to society transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple. As the French bishops have taught, it is not born “of loving sentiment, ephemeral by definition, but from the depth of the obligation assumed by the spouses who accept to enter a total communion of life”.

The individualism of our postmodern and globalized era favours a lifestyle which weakens the development and stability of personal relationships and distorts family bonds. Pastoral activity needs to bring out more clearly the fact that our relationship with the Father demands and encourages a communion which heals, promotes and reinforces interpersonal bonds. In our world, especially in some countries, different forms of war and conflict are re-emerging, yet we Christians remain steadfast in our intention to respect others, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships and to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2). Today too, various associations for the defence of rights and the pursuit of noble goals are being founded. This is a sign of the desire of many people to contribute to social and cultural progress." (Evangelii Gaudium, 66-67)

It is obvious that we as a parochial community must react and respond to this challenge.

The Holy Father explains:

"The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”. This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.

Other Church institutions, basic communities and small communities, movements, and forms of association are a source of enrichment for the Church, raised up by the Spirit for evangelizing different areas and sectors. Frequently they bring a new evangelizing fervour and a new capacity for dialogue with the world whereby the Church is renewed. But it will prove beneficial for them not to lose contact with the rich reality of the local parish and to participate readily in the overall pastoral activity of the particular Church. This kind of integration will prevent them from concentrating only on part of the Gospel or the Church, or becoming nomads without roots." (Evangelii Gaudium, 28-29)

That is why this year is going to be a Year of the Family in Kiabakari. The comprehensive pastoral program which will include special seminars and retreats, Small Christian Communities revival and communal reflection on the issues bothering our society and families.

I entrust this year to the guidance, light and power of the Holy Spirit and to the intercession of the Holy Family. I ask also all of you, my esteemed readers, to pray for us, pray for the couples and the families, pray for our parochial family.

May this year be happy, fulfilling and successful in all aspects to all of us. God bless us all!

Happy Moment

I'm extremely grateful to His Eminence, Stanisław Cardinal Dziwisz, Archbishop Metropolitan of Kraków, for his kind consent to grant the diocesan shrine of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari the Relics of Blood of Blessed John Paul II. This morning, His Eminence officially handed over the Relics to me in archbishop's palace at Franciszkańska 3...

World Youth Day 2011- Madrid

Just a quick post with link to the 26th World Youth Day celebrated in Madrid, Spain, with the Holy Father Benedict XVI. From Tanzania we have approx. 250 youth representing Tanzanian youth, led by two bishops. This is an official delegation, but there are several individual pilgrims who traveled to Madrid, some of them are my friends, who share their experience on Facebook and Twitter. Praying for all the youth of the world, may the grace of this special encounter with Living Christ through the presence of the Holy Father, His Vicar on earth, bring showers of special blessing on all the youth of the world. May they truly be “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). The message of the Holy Father for the World Youth Day in Madrid can be read here. And the special page of the Vatican website dedicated to the World Youth Day 2011 is here. Let us all pray for the success of the World Youth Day in Madrid!