Full Circle

Today is the seventh anniversary of the death of my classmate, Father Piotr Wrona. I will have honor to visit his parents in Krowodrza district of Kraków and present to them a special photo album of the pictures taken during the very first Mass celebrated in St. Gemma Galgani convent in Kiabakari on April 11 last year, the day after the official blessing of the convent, in which we used for the first time the chalice and patena which once belonged to Father Piotr and were offered to me by his parents. I wrote extensively on this topic in my previous posts (see here, here and here), so I won't repeat myself. It will certainly be an emotional moment later today and I am looking forward to it. The whole story will make the full circle, since the day I was presented the chalice, then the Holy Mass and now reconnecting with his parents to present this special album. I think Father Piotr in heaven and his parents in Krowodrza will be happy to see the way we honored him and commemorated that very special day. May his soul rest in peace!

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...

On The Mountain

We spent the whole day on the mountaintop with the Lord in the Mystery of His Sacred Heart. Challenging day for me pastorally as a retreat master and the only confessor available for today. Thanks be to God, everything went as planned, people attended very well the second day of the peregrination of the Jubilee Cross in the parish.

First Mass

Yesterday evening my fellow Polish priests and myself celebrated the very first Holy Mass in the chapel of the new convent, just the day after the official opening of the convent done by Bishop of Musoma, Rt. Rev. Michael Msonganzila. It was a solemnity of St. Gemma Galgani, the Saint Patron of the convent. And a very emotional moment for me as I kept saying to Gemma in my heart that my dream of preparing a religious house for her came true, and that first Mass was a great proof of the fulfillment of that promise, because we celebrated the Mass on her feast day in her convent in Kiabakari. And more so, using the chalice and patena of my late classmate, Fr. Piotr Wrona, on the day of his death six years ago, the chalice and patena, which were given to me in December by his loving parents. Here are a few pictures from yesterday's Mass...

TJ

TJ - a very pleasant abbreviation. TJ - Tumbo Juu - means in kiswahili 'belly up', resting, unwinding, lying down... This is what I've been doing for the last half an hour or so already as all guests left the house and I'm alone, happy and satisfied that today's blessing and opening of St. Gemma Galgani convent in my mission went well, with no glitches nor problems. Everybody is happy and me as well! Here are some pictures from today...

Peas And Cabbage

This is a typically Polish expression when there is mix of different events, things, usually not matching and happening at once. The suitable expression for what is going on this weekend and beyond...

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Woke up this morning with a strange feeling as if not has happened in the passed 15 months when I was hosting six sisters in my house, due to the unfinished convent which was built by the deceased bishop of Musoma, Justin Samba (unfinished because of his premature death in 2006). Upon my comeback to Kiabakari from Musoma Cathedral in November 2006, I found this building in a poor shape. Had no money to continue the construction, neither new bishop who said that he found no money in the construction account of this project...

Miracle

Today we have witnessed a miracle. In the morning, before we set off to Musoma for shopping with sisters, I called a manager of Tanesco in Musoma, reminding him of our conversation and my request to connect the convent with the power line. I paid in full last week, but the manager told me that normally it takes time for them to react as the demand is growing and their manpower not capable of responding to demands as fast as they wished...

Movement

Sitting in the living room and listening to strange sounds of sudden mobility and movements... My housemates became agitated for the last few days, spending more and more time in their new house... On their knees scrubbing the floor, cleaning the house after last worker left... Moving things from here to there... I reckon a day, so long awaited by all of us, a day of saying farewell to my housemates and accompanying them on their way down there to the proper housing, is coming near at last... What a happy day it is going to be for all! Keep moving, ladies! Suddenly this song came to my mind...

The Last Three Things

"At last St. Gemma got her house she was waiting for for so long..." said Sr. Mary, the local superior of my sisters' community, smiling broadly and clapping hands. I have never seen her so jovial and happy. No wonder, I was ballistically happy and wanted to jump with joy, relief and satisfaction... Today is a day I have been waiting for far too long...

Closer

Getting real close now to the moment my sisters will move to their new convent. It will be the very day they will spend outside of my rectory since they came on January 3, 2010. The very first day and the very first night in their new house. It took us fifteen months to accomplish this task. A huge relief to them and to me as well. Today we finish all construction works outside the house, in their plot (mainly in the gates and fabricating spare keys to all doors so I keep spares at home, as this is my policy in this mission that every door in all buildings must have its spare key in my safe), do the general cleaning of the house and put all things that are ready to go (most of the donated by me and my foundation Kiabakari) - like set of sofas, gas stove, automatic washing machine, deep freezer etc. Once Tanesco fix the service line to the convent, the house will become fully operational. This - I hope - will be done in a couple of days, so before we open the house on next Sunday, sisters will there already. My mood is more and more jovial!

Towards The Liberation

The last day of March. A month that brought a lot of mixed emotions and turned out to be a hectic time for me... The dominating agenda was, obviously, the final stages of the construction and finishing works on St. Gemma Galgani convent in my mission...

Mistake

Yes, I have to admit, I made a mistake in preparing the inscription on the entrance wall at the main gate of the new sisters' convent in Kiabakari. I feel bad about it, to be honest. Just one word in wrong place, but to repair the mistake we have to take off the whole plastered piece on which we put the complete text as any attempts to change the sequence of words will destroy the balance and centrality of the inscription... aaaahhh!

Restorer Of Ruined Homesteads

Looking at pictures taken at the beginning of the re-construction of sisters' covent and these taken today as we close in on the day of the completion of this project, I officially declare myself 'A Restorer of Ruined Homesteads' as today's first reading of the Saturday after Ash Wednesday puts it: < they shall call you, “Restorer of ruined homesteads.” > (Is 58)

Countdown

Since the day bishop of Musoma passed by shortly before Christmas and we were able to set the date for the opening of the St. Gemma Galgani Convent in Kiabakari (which I've been 'doing' since I returned from my North American fundraising trip, the time I live in now is nothing but a countdown to that day, April 10th. Living under one roof with a multitude of sisters is difficult enough for anyone, living with them for more than a year is a heroic feat, believe me. I am aware this time was difficult for sisters themselves as well. I hope Merciful God has pity on me and help me to finish this project as soon as possible and make sisters move to their new house. I hope too He considers this time spent together with sisters in my house as a sufficient equivalent of Purgatory and grants me a straight access to Heaven after being able to withstand the pressure and challenge of living together with this flock. Countdown continues... The day of freedom is coming...

The Flower of Lucca

I woke up this morning, ready to tackle the present piece of time in two different ways simultaneously. Firstly, to continue celebration of the mystery of the Nativity of Christ through the liturgical Octave till the New Year and then in days following the Octave till the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Secondly, to get on energetically with three projects at once - the finishing of piping of the water tank, the finishing and furbishment of first grade pupils classroom in John Paul II Center for Education and Formation, and the construction of service buildings and the repair and finishing of St. Gemma Galgani Convent for my sisters...

Three Years

Three years ago, on the same Feast of the Holy Family day, but on a different date (December 30, 2007), we had a special celebration that ended 17 almost years of my personal wait for the completion of the second pillar of Divine Mercy Vision in Kiabakari. The official opening of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Health Center in Kiabakari... Today, while reminiscing the huge relief and satisfaction I felt on that day, I looked forward though, as today was a day I asked Merciful God for a special blessing and protection so that the construction and finishing works of the St. Gemma Galgani sisters' convent in Kiabakari - which will start tomorrow - may be concluded safely and expertly in due time. The date for the official blessing and the opening has been set already, when I met Bishop a few days ago - April 10, 2011. And the very first Holy Mass in the Sisters' convent chapel - the next day, on the liturgical feast of St. Gemma Galgani, the Patroness of the convent...

The Deadline

I'm extremely glad that my bishop, the bishop of Diocese of Musoma, Rt. Rev. Michael Msonganzila, took his time to come and visit us here in Kiabakari this afternoon, while on his way back from the meeting with priests who formerly belonged to the Diocese of Musoma, but now will become a part of the presbyterium of the recently announced new diocese of Bunda. When they announced the creation of this new diocese, I thought initially that Kiabakari will become a part of the new diocese as we are neighbors with Bunda parish which has become now a capital city of the Diocese of Bunda (some 30 km only from Kiabakari)...