Bits of the Gospel

Lent kicks off with that evangelical call: Repent and believe the Good News. Lent is really a time to renew one's life. The things to be done emerge from the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday: Pray, Fight evil by fasting, and offerings. Then, we have Ashes calling us to the reality of our humanity. We are "made of clay", simple earthenware which should by all means "bring us down" to our senses. That act of imposition of ashes right on our foreheads makes us reflect [moreover when we see ashes on the foreheads of our brothers and sisters]. We are not only reminded of our precariousness but also of the need to rely on God. That cannot be possible unless we are humble enough to take seriously the call to repent and believe the Good News! The image of sackcloth is very touching. We are not dressed in "purple linen". Nothing close to that. We dress in the rough sackcloth [made of sisal threads!] to remind us of our duty to fight the evil. What evil? The evil wi...

Patience is the open attitude of expecting the best regardless [or is it through?] the defects, slow-paces of others. It is the capacity to retain the openness of mind in order to notice the small things of life which, in the frenzied speed of our world, tend to skip our notice. In a world like ours, everything is fast-paced and people are even more impatient. There is a clear contradiction in that. While in the past things were slower, people were more patient. Now in this fast-tracked world, we seem to go ahead of the speed of our own gadgets. One would expect us to be more patient since we know that things will surely come at their own pace. Impatience is a way of being absent-minded. The patient person is aware of details and tends to let each detail unfold completely. The rhythm of life for a patient person is found in nature itself. There is no that terrible urge for a faster process for everything. Even in the spiritual sphere, patient people are not impatient with God, who...

I have many lessons to learn just as I have learned many. For instance, young people love to predict what s likely to happen in an encounter. predictability reduces the fear of the unknown. knowing what's going to happen allows young people to prepare themselves for it, and perhaps to be predisposed to find enjoyment in it. In this way, successful self-fulfilling prophecy is built into the experience. This principle applies to youth ministers in many ways. Let's talk about my recent experience. We have organized a prayer day which was meant to have some guests present. I told some of the participants before hand that some guests would be present and that they were supposed to share with them freely during the "sharing break". Those who knew this already were very enthusiastic since morning. They arrived earlier than the rest, were well dressed, brought their Bibles and notebooks. The difference was obvious. Some of those who knew nothing came dressed "not very ...

Abortion is an issue that evokes, from all parties, very strong feelings and judgments, and even very heated debates. Abortions are done round the clock in clandestine clinics and sometimes in the most unexpected places. Here, abortion is to be understood as the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus, resulting in death. I know I am not saying everything here. I'm just thinking around. Lack of love is at the root of all evils, and especially the evil of abortion. If love were to be freeing as its nature is, then one cannot try to eliminate another in order for her to feel free from the supposed "burden" of a pregnancy or child. These days I'm planning a seminar for young people wherein I intend to share with them the fact that love is above all sacrifice for another. It is death to the self in order to let emerge another. I want to share with them the fact that abortion is violation of the sanctity of life. I si...

Easter is a period full of meaning for the believer because besides the many times that we hear the "doubting Thomas" syndrome, we also hear the consoling "they saw and believed". I've been rethinking my choices in these days. Resurrection does not mark the end of suffering. If it does, it also marks the end of suffering for Pilate too! Pilate was not free: conditioned from without and yet from within truth echoing, he suffered. He was troubled. But the Risen Lord gives the Pilates of this world freedom to choose the truth, the voice echoing within. That choice must always involve some suffering. Believe me then, Easter does not mark the end of suffering. Resurrection is the end of the rule of pettiness, the inability to see beyond. The human heart is a courtroom wherein truth can be exposed and embraced or veiled and ignored. The fact is like in every courtroom, if justice is not done, if truth is not embraced, people will fuel hatred. Yes, because justic...

Lenten Reflections: Holiness as our Mission Statement (Acts 4:32-37). Introduction Today, I propose a reflection a little different from yesterdays. What are the characteristics proper to a Cottolengo Missionary? And on the other hand, what are the ideals of a Cottolengo Missionary? The following, I am convinced, are some of the essential characteristics of a Cottolengo Missionary: - One called by the Love of God to follow Christ in the Little House of Divine Providence, also called Cottolengo, and sent by her into particular missions. When Cottolengo started sending sisters to the provinces of Italy, he chose to enter into official agreements with dioceses and parishes. He demanded that the priests respect the particular life of the sisters. This was to safeguard their identity from influences that would water down their particular formation and spirituality. Today, this kind of risk is always high. Our duty as Cottolengo followers is first of all to be a different presence for ...

Centered on Divine Providence (Mt. 6:31-34). Introduction This evening our series of reflections will be a look into our activities as people called to live charity as a witness to the love of God the Provident Father. I know we all will see that we want to focus on Divine Providence as the Key to Cottolengo Spirituality but also as part of Christian living. What aspects should be reflected in our work so that all our institutions, our activities and our plans appear as the work of Divine Providence? In other words, what are the characteristics proper to Cottolengo institutions, to people who live a spirituality centered on Divine Providence? Let’s try to analyze some. 1. A Cottolengo institution that is founded on the Divine Providence recognizes God as the principle cause and the human person takes the role of “the manual labourer”, in terms used by Cottolengo Himself. This does not mean that the human person is untrained while God is the absolute expert. No. It rather means t...

Introduction Recently, Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, the Archbishop of Dar Es Salaam, called Christians to repent and review their ways of life. His homily, preached at “Pugu Martyrs” pilgrim site, was taken up by several media houses. The reason why they focused on it might not be so obvious but his call was clear. “God is inviting us for the safety of our souls so that everybody is involved directly in hearing His word and change his ways for us to be saved,” he said. He has earlier insisted, “I will continue to denounce every evil done by leaders [politicians] who are in the government now, even if it means I have to die fighting for the truth, I am ready.” This call to change, together with my previous reflection on penance and reparation calls for this question: how shall we “change our ways”? How to Practice Penance and Reparation We have come to the third and, in a way, most important part of our subject: How? I say it is the most important because we could talk for hours about t...

Penance and Reparation: A Lenten Meditation Introduction It is lent. Lent is a period of penance and reparation, made visible in deeper prayer, more sacrifices, and a sense of responsibility shown in alms giving. Lent is also a period of many other forms of mortifications which are our own way of getting into terms with the fact of our faith. In order to better understand the meaning of penance and reparation, let us have a look at what happens whenever we sin. Several things happen but I will focus on two: • First: we bring upon ourselves guilt before God for the self-will that caused us to sin. We become more or less at odds or estranged from God, depending on the magnitude of our sin. • Second: We deserve punishment for the disorder we cause by our sinful conduct. We become liable to suffering pain, again more or less pain, depending on how seriously we have done wrong. What is the meaning of Penance? What do we mean by the term reparation? • Penance is the atonement we must...

Hallo my dear reader, I know you are now saying to yourself, "Finally! He has remembered his blog". Very true. It has been ectic, to say the least. I have been literally taken into bondage by duties that I have had no time to write and post here. I have this post titled "Outgrowing my to do list" because that is what I have gone through in these days. First, the year began with the visit of our General Superior, who was here with us for the Consecration of the Altar and the blessing of the Church of St. Stephen the Martyr, Kisarawe. Then, it goes without saying that such an occasion needed thorough preparations. Secondly, I had been asked by my community to represent them on the Priestly ordination of Nicholas Mukembu, SSC, just a week after the inaugural events in Tz. That was to be so soon that I had no time to update my blog. The third reason why I have been away from this page for long is the departure of Form 6 students of Minaki High School, Pwani. Thes...

Prayer is a theological meeting place where our spirituality is nourished and deepened. Yet, prayer, like all the other elements necessary for a healthy living, is affected by various diseases. Eight viruses have proofed to be a threat to prayer. I enlist as follows: 1. The habit of wordy prayers. 2. Fear of silence. 3. Prayer that is void of the encounter with God. 4. Superficial prayer that does not reach to the problems within. 5. Prayer that does not accept decisions. 6. Lack of enough time for prayer. 7. Little or no word of God in our prayer. 8. Praying without prior preparation. To the question, what is wrong with my pra yer? we have to find out which virus is eating into our lives. Love must be put in everything for anything to make sense, even prayer. Do you really pray?

I begun my "one-month annual holiday" yesterday. Since this is a time to rest [not to idle around!], I've chosen to draw a "budget" for myself. And I present it for my pals to shape my vacation. A FEW POINTS TO WORK ON - The certitude that I’m called to witness the love of God regardless of whatever feelings I may have. - Suffering is part of the art of loving the poor. How else can we explain that God stays on the part of the suffering poor? - Luke 8:18, be careful how you listen! - Share more personal vulnerability: this clears the image of a perfect person that people may have of me. - Express gratitude more openly and enthusiastically. It bespeaks of joy and satisfaction in life. To do …. - Rest more often and let the fatigue died out. - Pray and pray with my life. - Visit my family, friends, and relatives for easy moments and catching up. - Help my brothers and sisters where need be. Deo Gratias!

“I feel at Home”: Building a sense of Belonging and Responsibility Introduction I have entitled this reflection, “I feel at Home”, for personal reasons. I will not need to explain that because it will slowly dawn unto you why I chose it as we go on with the reflection. I feel that talking to Cottolengo followers about feeling at home is like talking about my own nose. I do not see it unless by use of a mirror, and obviously the best mirror is my brother/sister. Regardless of how much I try to do it, he/she will see better than I do. Anyway, I will attempt to make you believe that I know the shape of my nose. In this reflection, we will be guided by Matthew 24:45-51, it is about preparedness. Let us read it. A quick look at this passage shows that Jesus is particularly interested in [i] self-awareness—which I will call the concern for one’s well being now and in the life to come; [ii] sense of responsibility—in other words, the consequent maturity when one is aware of his dignity an...

The elders might not be wise, yet they command respect by their age, and achievements of course! The adage "Old is gold", is always true for the old, not at all for the new. Those who live longer today, have a right to talk proudly, not of their age but achievements! Oops! All what my grandma wanted, was the feel of things of today, using her old feelings! Let them be!

Nothing is as effective in building people's self-esteem as success. It even has the power to begin reversing negative self-image. Self-esteem cannot grow healthily without some success to nurture it. A sense of success grows slowly in children, since they are prone to feeling inadequate around adults. To help children [and those who are adult-children] succeed, create situations where failure is least likely. It also helps if you can be alert to their fear, embarrassment, and likely areas of failure. You will learn to notice their hesitancy in such areas. Rather than pushing them or forcing them, follow their lead, support and encourage what they want to do, use whatever motivation is present. Instead of trying to change their focus of interest, you might look for ways of supporting that interest. often that very interest will supply a way to the desired successful learning and growth. Then assure them that you pray and long for their success!It works well every time, and best w...

Let's smooth our lives, scrub off old and dead skin, it might be the right action, for this time outlives, every man and woman. We're already facing the word, the contact must be felt, for by nature is silent, and silently shapes the world, giving new life first. Let's make ourselves ready, today, not tomorrow my friends, because the Word is God's and you can only be happy, to get by it moulded. This is purple time, yes, it's advent season, if you want to listen, now, God's promises in rhyme, and you can with him reason. In and out, we all go, but what matters is shape, get yourself a proper shape, before He sets all on the go, with Him in a timeless shape.

Is death really to be feared? Does death speak the last word? Without pushing far a reflection, the last word is from God's Son. You, being a son, or daughter of God then, you speak the last one. Is death to cause a scare, or push us towards overcautiousness? Even though it's not rare, death hasn't the last words, you know it, though not aware? It should be understood, not as a terminator of life, but as a passage to God, who stands as true Life, where joy and not strife, laden all who it ruled. It is transfiguration, in fact, a change for better. And so I should say as a christian, "I'm not afraid of death bitter, because I know I will be risen, by Him who promised life." "Eloi, Eloi!" we cry, a feeling of aloneness. yet, He's there as we cry, to cry with us and wipe our tears. He's God with us, saviour! Deo Gratias! Fr. Nick

Well, let me alert you that this is an emotional and personal confession. I did not want to write this. I did not feel like penning this post. In fact, as I key in this article, I have mixed feelings. I feel as if something big has suddenly dropped off my bag. I feel as if someone has snatched away my golden case. Yes, there is sorrow connected to detachment. Yet, I have another feeling of anxiety which is actually more pressing. I have this feeling that I am about to begin a truly exciting adventure. Yes, these two feelings are alternating frequently. I have been slowly persuaded to write this by my four friends, now mentored learners. I did not want to bid them farewell by they brought up the topic so frequently that I had to give in. When I celebrated a farewell mass on Thursday evening, I realized then that I was not alone in feeling that my imminent departure had caused pain to majority of pupils and staff in the school community. The announcement was taken by many as a conspira...

I think several people have had the trouble of putting up with a lazy or uncooperative staff member or even a family member. This particular staff is a very intelligent lady but had not energies at all. She would not do more than clearly stated and when she had to do what has stated, she did it annoyingly slowly and without any motivation. Due to this attitude, anybody would have sought to eliminate her [read: retrench her!]. While I was pondering the possible ways of getting out of the quagmire, I landed into the book "the power to influence people" by O A Battista. He has given very practical tips on how to handle people. I thought of trying it. If I failed in changing the whole situation, I would grow in patience at least, I told myself. I began the journey one fine morning. I had just come entered my office and I received a call from another priest. This lady was there already preparing files for work. As I answered the call, I saw the perfect timing for the surprise ...