“Karibu CMF....
“At the end of s successful Annual Retreat....
“Entrance Procession....
Seeking God's grace.....
With the Major Superior....
“The Final YES...
“Delivering the message.....
“Presenting the human needs.....
“The First Step towards the Altar.....
“The Second Step Towards Altar.....
“Children are great imitators. So, give them something great to imitate” so goes the ancient saying. Our students along with Fr. Maxwell Chacha, arranged a camp for the children of KPF, Magereza on December 30th Friday, 2022 in our Formation House campus. A few children participated in the camp which featured activities like, games, meals and mass. A few snaps of the camp are given below.
Do the Good You can!
As we continue preparing for
the coming of the Emmanuel, God with us,
the readings of today specially the Gospel pericope that the Mother Church
presents us in this table of the word, it gives us a direction to irrigate our
eagerness in waiting for our savior. We are all invited to follow up Mary’s
wonderful example of kindness, affection and generosity in set out of our
comfort zone to do good to others.
Edgar Cabral
II Year Theology
As
we continue to await the nativity of Christ, there is no doubt that we have
already passed through a lot of experiences in life. Some of them might have
been great experiences that we wish could repeat themselves, yet some might
have made us to doubt God and perhaps ask for some signs. St. Claret himself at
one point could say, “Humanly speaking, I see no hope, but you have the
power to make it happen, if you will” (Aut.40). In his desire to dedicate
himself day and night to the Lord as a priest, he at one-point lost hope. He
however kept his confidence and trust in the Lord.
Today’s
first reading (Is.7:10-14) is someone interesting. God himself asks the Prophet
Ahaz to ask for a sign. The prophet confirms his confidence and trust in the
Lord by not asking for a sign. He however prophesizes the coming of the
Emmanuel. He foretells the great mystery of the incarnation where the God-man
comes to be with us, hence Emmanuel, God with us.
Our
response to the Psalmist (Ps.24:1-6) “Let the Lord enter, he is the King of
Glory”, echoes John the Baptist’s cry, “Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” (Lk.3:4) thereby reminding us to make our hearts
pure for the Lord.
In
that regard, our Gospel text presents us with a Lady who was so noble and pure
to the point that the Lord found her worthy to be the one to bring the promised
Emmanuel to us. The annunciation account invites us today to be ready for the
service of the Lord. Perplexed by angel Gabriel’s greeting, Mary finds
confidence when she is told her cousin Elizabeth has been saved from the shame
of barrenness and is with Child. This is the sign given to her by the Lord.
Brethren,
as we await the nativity of the Lord, we are invited to be well disposed to
receive the Lord. No matter the situation, trouble and confusion that you are
currently facing, we are invited to humbly and obediently say like Mary,” Let
it be with me according to your Word” (Lk.1:38). As we approach Christmas,
let us with great faith accept God’s plan and will as Mary, our model did.
Akwiri Harrison
II Year Theology
On December 9, 2022, the Martyrs of Barbastro Formation community went on a community picnic to Bagamoyo, a historic coastal town founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much older (8th century) Swahili settlement, Kaole. The German colonial administration chose it as the capital of German East Africa, and it became one of the most important trading ports for the Germans along the East African coast west of the Indian Ocean in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is now the capital of the Bagamoyo District in the Pwani Region. The picnic was designed to provide ample time and space for community bonding and relaxation. As a result, it was influenced by visits to the rich variety of historic monuments ranging from slave trade to the spread of Christianity. It was also an opportunity for the community as a whole to have fun together away from home. The picnic was concluded by a holy mass celebration on the beach.
On 20th September 2022, Br. Carlos Horacio Antonio Verga CMF, General Prefect of Youth and Vocations and Fr. Gabriel, Delegate Superior, Mother of Africa Independent Delegation, Angola paid a visit to the community. Rev. Br. Carlos engaged the students in a lively interactive session and invited them to work zealously among the youth. The community was also delighted by the visit of the Superior General Very Rev. Fr. Mathew Vattamattam CMF in company with the Prefect of Apostolate Fr. Pedro Belderrain CMF on 26th September 2022. During their visit, they animated the community on the General Chapter and the First-Year students were officially welcomed to the community. The community was also privileged to receive a new member, Fr, Maximillian Maxwell CMF 0n 7th October 2022 as the new Econome replacing Fr. Jones Chellapan CMF who was the Econome until then. The community bid farewell to Fr. Jones on 2nd November 2022 and thanked him for his generous services.
During the annual holidays period, students were assigned to a variety of missions for pastoral exposure. From September 1 to September 21, 2022, a group of five students visited the Missionaries of Charity in Dodoma, where the Missionaries of Charity Brothers and Sisters were engaged in serving and caring for abandoned, mentally and physically challenged people. From 20 July to 20 August 2022, a different group of students travelled to the Don Bosco Missionaries' vocational training centre in Iringa, where they worked in the sewing, plumbing, and electrical sectors. Another trio of students spent a month, from July 18 to August 18, at the SJS Organic Farm-EOA Center for Excellence in Kwanyange, Diocese of Same, receiving instruction in organic farming and the manufacture of food free of chemicals. The Claretian Parishes of Tanzania received a second crew from 21st August to 21st September 2022. The students had the chance to learn new things and experience different realities outside of the Formation House.
The
readings of today presents pious couples through whom we can say that God is in
the process of preparing people for himself. From these couples we have Samson
and John the Baptist who were really dedicated to the service of God. Both of
them were consecrated to God and filled with the Holy Spirit and have brought
many people to the true worship of God.
Moreover,
in the gospel as we have heard, the angel’s appearance to Zechariah reminds the
reader of the appearance of an angel to the mother of Samson in Judges 13. She
was also barren when an angel of the Lord (Yahweh) appeared to her and told her
she would conceive and give birth to a son. This son should be dedicated to the
Lord, and even while he was in the womb his mother should drink no wine or
fermented liquor.
The
same scenario is found with Abraham where an angel of Yahweh promises that his
baren wife Sarah would bear him Isaac (Gen 18). The purpose of these stories is
not merely to relate miraculous happenings. First, it is to underline that God
furthers the history of his own people with tireless watchfulness, sending his
own Spirit on his chosen leaders. Secondly, God does not rely on human ability,
skills or achievements, but chooses the most unlikely person to his envoy and
further his purposes.
In
a special way, the readings give us the glimpse of consecrated life, the life
we are embracing now. It is a life involving living a virtuous life, purity in
holiness and the crown of the royal priesthood (cf. 2 Kings 11:12). That is why in the Old Testament context we
speak of Nazirite who is devoted to God. According to the customs of the Old
Testament, Nazirite persons vow part of their lives, or their entire lives to God
(cf. Numb 6:1-21). We need to be like Samson
who was not only consecrated for a certain period of his life, but he was
consecrated all his life. Now let us continue asking God to be with us in our
vocation journey as Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Zephrine Superius
III Year Theology
Today
the prophet Isaiah reminds us of the totality of creation based on our prospect
of faith. The creative act of God manifests the beauty of his will toward
humanity. His wonderful creation gives an objective continuity of carrying the responsibility
of taking care of his creation. Psalms 8:4, “when I see your heavens, the works
of your fingers”. Mighty deeds of God go beyond comparison, for he is the only
fashioner of the earth and all that belongs to it. Our faith based on the
‘practical responsibility’, brings the sensibility of what we profess in the
creed during the baptism and on the solemn celebration on the day of the lord.
We firmly acknowledge the superiority of God over his creatures, “maker of
heaven and earth” (CCC. NO.325). this form of continuity calls our attention to
serve God by taking care of his creation diligently. Pope Francis takes the
same call to humanity to conserve and preserve mother earth, bearing in mind
how important is the creation of God. This responsibility for God’s creation
means that human beings endowed with intelligence, must respect the law of
nature and maintain the equilibria that exist between the creatures (Laudato Si, No.68.) We are living in the perspective of distortions and destructions;
humanity no longer values the goodness and creative ascent of God. Currently,
we are facing a long-term crisis on the earth; that is climate change which has
a severe effect on both the terrestrial and celestial of mother earth. Rise in
temperatures, droughts shortage of food, the distinction of different species
of animals, and other defects in the long run of different environments. We
take care of God’s creation for the common good.
GOSPEL:
LUKE 7:19-23
The expectation of the messiah becomes a different notation from the gospel of today (Lk 7:19-23). Here comes the question from the disciples of John, are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? This brings an introspective question that needs self-analysis in this season of advent. In our own context, we expect a messiah who will reunite our relationship with God and fellow humanity, bring our uncertainty of life to the prospect of hope, and open our blind conscience hence, to realize our moral defect. We pray through saint John of the cross whom we commemorate his life today to enhance our spiritual growth in this season of advent, to make a step of newness in faith as we look forward in celebrating the mystery of God who became man.
Victor Ohiambo
II Year Theology
The Gospel of today captures some elements
that are worth noting. Jesus is teaching and among the audience are pharisees
and doctors of the law who had come from every village in Galilee. Some men
come carrying a paralyzed man, the crowd make it impossible for them to reach
Jesus and finally they succeed to lower him in front of him through the roof.
Here there are three categories of people engaged with Jesus: pharisees and
doctors of the law, the crowd and men carrying the paralyzed, let me call them
friends.
Perhaps, the friends of the paralyzed had
gotten the glimpse from prophet Isaiah, “Strengthen the weary hands, steady all
trembling knees and say to all faint hearts, courage! Do not be afraid” (Isa
35:3-4). “Look your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God,
he is coming to save you” (Isa 35:4). And for that reason, they take the
initiative to save one of their own, by presenting him before Jesus. The faith
they possessed is indeed encouraging, having a paralyzed man they opted to
directly present him to Jesus. They come across the barrier of the crowd, but
this does not stop them either. They still find means to reach him by lowering
him through the roof.
Many at times we do find ourselves
complaining of the blocks that we encounter in life, for instance, while
processing documents. I have heard people speaking of the line being long,
people being many, the processing being demanding, and so on and so forth. Once
in a while I have told my colleagues that they are among the many people in
such circumstances just to encourage them while at personal level I also find
it very difficult to comply. Such may happen to any of us to an extent of
formulating excuses for failure to attend to our spiritual needs, such as
personal prayers noting how engaged we are. The friends of the paralyzed finds
an alternative which leads to deliverance over his sickness. Which kinds of
friends are we having? Are they helpful one’s or the ones who disappear once
in need and appear during good times? Let us be at the service of one another.
It is interesting that the learned
pharisees and doctors of the law also sit down and listen to Jesus. These days
pride has entered many of us to an extent that we do not see anything good to
those who are subordinate to us. We feel we are mighty, learned, superior to
the less privileged, and so think that there is nothing they can offer to us.
Divine knowledge surpasses all that the world offers us as the best. All these
learned men of the time find something useful in Jesus. Let us learn to listen
to others as well and learn from them in as much as we may have wonderful
ideas.
The issue of faith ought to be underlined
from today’s Gospel. It is the faith of the paralyzed and his friends that
leads to his deliverance, his sins are forgiven, and he gets up, picks his
stretcher and goes home. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that,
“By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God” (CCC 143).
“It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe
absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a
creature” (CCC 150).
So, let us entrust all our worries, sorrows
and needs unto the Lord and not on fellow human beings. It is only God who will
redeem us, and he does not disappoint. Let us endeavor also to carry with us the
mentality of the crowd who act as a barrier to block the paralyzed and his
friends from accessing Jesus. “Jesus Christ restores morality, nourishes
virtues, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak. He proposes his own
example to those who come to him that all may learn to be, like himself, meek
and humble of heart and to seek not their own interests but those of God” (Pope
Paul VI, The Mystery of Faith).
Thomas Ooko Owino
III Year Theology
Imagine
someone who dreams to be a medical doctor but does not study at all! It is very
clear that the dream might not be realized. So, whenever we aspire something,
extra effort is needed. In today`s Gospel Matthew presents to us a scenario of
two blind men who shout at top of their voices to Jesus asking for forgiveness.
This explains how sicknesses were understood in the Jewish context (most of the
diseases in Jewish understanding were immediate consequence of sin). Therefore,
crying out as presented in the Gospel shows the desperate situation these
people were passing through and how much they needed healing because blindness was a very
terrible condition and among the worst of its negative effects was that there
was very little or even no work available for the blind to
do in order to sustain themselves. Leviticus 21:18-23 lists forbidden defects
that prevent a man from approaching the altar or offerings to the Lord and blindness
is the first to be named. Without work, blind men were often
reduced to roadside beggars.
The start of this encounter is in
public. There are crowds round Jesus, and the blind men are caught up in the
general emotion. Jesus waits until he is in the house, where he can meet the
blind men in person, and question their faith.
No one is perfect, each one of us in
one way or another is blind. The blindness presented here is a symbol of
ignorance. And Rev. Fr. Marandu will define ignorance as a lack of
knowledge which was not supposed to there considering the age. Most of the
times we fail to recognize our spiritual ignorance. He needs us not as a group
but as individual to present to him our weaknesses. But the question which each
of us can ponder is: do we believe in Jesus? So, let us pray that God may
increase our faith!
Geremias Armando Carlos
III Year Theology
We
began a new Liturgical Year and Season, that is (Advent), which is a time of
celebrating the virtues of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace, it’s a time of
watchfulness, it’s a time of mutual and self-reconciliation, it’s a time for
inner preparation for the Nativity our Lord Jesus Christ, it’s a time as well
to welcome in our hearts the one who comes to reveal us the Father as we heard
from the Holy Gospel.
Beloved
brothers, there is a very practical method of Cognitive Psychology or
Behaviorism which says that if you want to know what the parents of a child do
without asking her, observe what she does when she is playing with other
children. Because children have that tendency of imitating what their parents
do and they aspire to be like their parents. For example: a child of a farmer,
she may play with others in a way of cultivating something; a child of a
pastor, she may play with others in a way of preaching to other or collecting “Sadaka” from other children, as well; a
child of a drunker, she may play with other in imitating the drunkenness of one
of her parents, and so all.
Likewise, Jesus in today’s Gospel through his Thanksgivings’ Prayer to the
Father for the Revelation, presents the vertical relationship between Him and
the Father, he shows that He, himself is the Revelation, Mediator and Revealer of
the Father and that, He is in full and total communion with the Father. And all
that we know about the Father, we know it through his Revelation. However, this
thanksgiving Prayer, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” is
an expression of joy, that Jesus manifests to the Father by the good
performance of Missionary work of the Disciples, and that is why in (Lk 10:24)
Jesus tells them: “blessed are the eyes that see what you see, because many
prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear
what you hear, but did not hear it”.
Today we are also reminded by this Gospel how blessed we’re for
everything that we have by God’s grace in our life; we are blessed for having
an opportunity to encounter the Lord in our daily life especially in the Mass
and Adoration, there may be having people who do not have that chance of
meeting the Lord.
On
the other hand, in the First Reading, Prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of
the Messiah, the Christ, who will be anointed by the wisdom and understanding
of the Spirit of the Lord. The one who will judge with justice, and not by
hearsay. Additionally, dear friends, the prophet announces the unity and peace
that Christ will bring on earth, and that the creation will in total fraternal
communion among themselves and with God, because the one who is coming will
come with flames full of Unity, Love and Peace.
In
accordance with today’s Readings, we are reminded as well, dear friends, to
have full and total communion with God through Jesus Christ, and we are called
to reconciliation, to the true fraternal love which is the foundation of our
community life towards Christ; and we pray that, God may continue to help us to
recognize his Revelation in our midst and that through Jesus, we may also be
light and revelation to others.
Antonio Lohoca
II Year
Theology
We
are at the beginning of the liturgical year, and we have begun the season of
advent where we are preparing ourselves for the nativity of our Lord Jesus
Christ. As we start this season, today the first reading from prophet Isaiah is
full of hope and saint Luke the evangelist presents to us a centurion whose
character have to be pondered. See the words of the Centurion “I am not worthy
….” We utter these words every time we
participate in the Eucharist. The question remains between you and me; do we
really mean it? If yes thanks be to God.
Friends,
let us remind ourselves who is a centurion. The centurion is not an ordinary soldier, but he is an
officer of the imperial army. He is a man with
power and status at the same
time he was very concerned of his servant that he went to Jesus with faith and
asked for his servant healing. Considering his stature, the centurion could have
simply sent some of his subordinates to Jesus. But he went personally to Jesus.
Imagine a man of this status begging a favour from Jesus and declares himself
unworthy even to welcome Jesus in his house. What kind of faith did this man
had on Jesus that even Jesus was amazed. Probably, what touched Jesus was not
only this faith of the man but also his love for his servant. This is the
mission which Jesus wants us to continue with, that is, to cut through all the
barriers of rank and race through love and faith.
What
can be said here is that the centurion had a profound awareness of his
unworthiness. My dear brothers at times we pray as if we merit God’s favour but
before reaching this stage, like the centurion, we need to recognize our
unworthiness, approaching Jesus with faith and humility without forgetting that
love to one another is a command (Jn 13:34). As we continue to prepare for
Christ’s coming during the Advent season, let us make these words of the
centurion our own. Let this man become our inspiration and our
modal of prayer because the world is experiencing difficulties in matters of
faith and love to each other.
III Year Theology
The St. Claret Volleyball Tournament kicked off officially on 5th November 2022 in the campus of Martyrs of Barbastro Formation House, Tungi, Morogoro. The theme of the tournament is: "Cooperation for the good of the ecosystem" To highlight the theme, a seedling was planted by the chief Guest. There are seven teams participating in the tournament. Below given are the glimpses of the opening ceremony of the tournament.
The spiritual reality which touches the truth of our Christians faith is
that, daily in our lives, we are engaging ourselves in a search. We are people
who are searching. We are people who are looking for the one who has already
found us (cf. Jer 1:5). He is not far from us because in the history of our
salvation, God always takes an initiative in seeking men and women towards the
fulfilment of their faith that they may experience the joy of that wedding,
for, God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth” (1 Tim 2:4). What gives meaning to our lives is remaining united with
Christ. In the first reading of today, the churches of Sardis and Laodicea who
declared themselves to be materially well-off are criticized, for they did not
realize that at a deeper spiritual level they are wretched and pitifully poor.
This is the same scenario with Zacchaeus, in the gospel of today. He was a
chief tax collector, wealthy and had good fortune, yet he was aware of his
poverty. That is why he went above the crowd, above the mob to see who Jesus
was. In his quest for Jesus, Zacchaeus found more than he could possibly have
hoped for, which is salvation. The figure of Zacchaeus reminds us that there is
a deep restlessness of spirit within us which can only be satiated by the Lord.
The episode of Zacchaeus assures us that if we persevere in seeking the Lord,
in spite of the obstacles that may come our way, through the grace of God, we
will discover more than what we are seeking. Jesus is always seeking us with
deep passion than we are seeking him. He offers himself to us more than we can
imagine or conceive, especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
The original plan of
God was that all of us should be holy and blameless before his sight, “He chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before
him in love” (Eph 1:4). However, our human nature was corrupted, and this has
made us unholy. We are not meant to be where we are right now; we were made to
be clean. God wants us to go back to the original innocence. Each new day is an
opportunity to amend our lives, and turn back to him, who is our love and
fortress. We are summoned to climb the tree of our vices. We cannot change if
we decide to remain where we are. Like Zacchaeus, we need to transcend
ourselves and take a small step towards the Lord and give him an abode in our
hearts. There is nothing that cannot change when we allow Christ to come into
our lives. The presence of Jesus corrects us and makes our lives more
meaningful. Like Zacchaeus, Jesus approaches us with eyes of mercy and love,
and this love changes everything. When God does that, he does not choose whom
to show his love. He just needs our effort, cooperation, disposition and
availability for us to achieve much in our lives.
Kudzai Tonganai
IV Year Theology
Today we are presented with the character of a blind man who deep within his life needed the divine attention from Jesus.
This man was rebuked but he never gave up he kept on shouting at the top of his voice so that Jesus could hear him.
Similarly, the world today is filled with a lot of blindness. This blindness could be physical or spiritual. It can be in form of faith which affects our relationship with God, it could be a friend in the society or in our community, it could be from our families back at home. Each of us is blind in his own way. In other words, I mean things which make our spiritual and physical life very difficult for us.
All these types of blindness can hinder us from doing our responsibilities, whenever we try to come out, we are rebuked by the society or by our blindness which we can call weaknesses. Today our take home messages from today’s reading are:
Persistence in prayer. However much we face difficulties and oppositions from the society or from we ourselves we should never give up on prayer. In all our difficulties and opposition, we should see Jesus instead of problem this will keep us going.
In conclusion, we should learn how to pray. Like the blind beggar he was straight forward, he knew what he wanted from Jesus. For instance, he would ask for more money from Jesus, but he didn’t, instead he asked for sight so that he can be able to see well. We pray that the lord Jesus the revealer of God may open our spiritual eyes to see clearly and grow more in our Christian life. Amen.
James Kanakulya
IV Year Theology
The Claretian Missionaries have been associated with the KPF, Mageresa, Morogoro since long time. We regularly offer Sunday Mass at the KPF Centre and engage the people in evangelization. The below given pictures provide a glimpse of our activities.
 |
Br. Edgar Cabral Vila Nova teaching kids a song |
 |
Br. Akwiri Harrison engaging the youth in a discussion |
.jpeg) |
Rev. Fr. Maxwell Chacha CMF , the priest in charge, conducting a Seminar for the people |
The gospel tells us that we do not know when will God come to us or simply, we do not know when is the end of time or when are we going to die. We should always live our life to the fullest. The material possessions will not go with us when we die, but happiness will be always with us up to heaven. Happiness and contentment are the most significant things to keep in life. Having faith in God is a must because He is our savior and creator. He is the only one who knows the best for us.
These verses
depict the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. A great event in which
things are seen immediately happening. There is a fearful image given by the
Lord. We are told that as it was in the "days of Noah and Lot", so
shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." In those days,
men were entirely taken up with worldly things, enjoying themselves. The flood
came at last in Noah's day and drowned all except those who were in the ark.
The fire fell from heaven at last in Lot's days and destroyed all except Lot
and his family.
In the day
of Christ’s coming, wickedness and worldliness will prevail in the world. There
will be many unbelievers and unconverted but few believers and the godly. We
must escape for our lives like Lot and flee to the ark like Noah. This alone is
our safety.
Let us
serve Christ for His own sake and we should never rest until we have the true
grace of God in our hearts, with no desire to look back to the world. The day
of Christ's second coming, the good and the evil, converted and unconverted,
shall be divided into two distinct bodies. The visible Church shall no longer
be a mixed body. The wheat and the tares shall no longer grow side by side. The
good fish and the bad shall be separated. The angels shall come forth, and
gather together the godly, that they may be rewarded; and leave the wicked
behind to be punished. The Lord calls us for Vigilance
as he says, "Remember
Lot's wife".
Like
Abraham pleading for the lives of the righteous people living in Sodom and
Gomorrah in Genesis 18:16-33; St. Martin, a man of peace, a soldier and Bishop,
pleaded for those who were to face death penalty. He did it out love as it said
in the first reading. St. Martin remained firm in the Lord and obtained his
great reward. Friends, where do we belong? Are we
from the time of Noah or the time of Lot? It is the better moment to introspect
ourselves and find out. J. Nedumaan said, “No Virus will warn you and no
antivirus will damage you”. Brothers, remember that Prevention is better than Cure.
Desire Bushiri
IV Year Theology
“A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with God’s love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set everyone on fire with God’s love. Nothing daunts him: he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander, rejoices in all the torments and sorrows he suffers, and glories in the cross of Jesus Christ. His only concern is how he may follow Christ and imitate him in praying, working, enduring and striving constantly and solely for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humankind.” - (Constitutions No. 9).
We, the members of Martyrs of Barbastro Seminary, being forged in the heart of Mary, as the Servants of the Word, desire and strive constantly for conformity with Christ, in pursuit of divine wisdom and fraternal communion with everyone through a life of daily martyrdom, in the style of St. Claret.
In one day, a person can pray our father in a number of times. In
our situation, as religious, it is normally more than three times, considering
the morning prayer, evening prayer and in the eucharistic celebration. Do we
live what we pray? In the fifth petition of Our Father we pray that our sins be
forgiven as we forgive those who trespass against us. The outpouring of God’s mercy
cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have
trespassed against us (cf. I John 4:20). It is “in the depths of the heart,”
that everything is bound and loosed, where forgiveness is actualized (CCC
2843).
Forgiveness is a high point of Christian prayer (CCC 2844). From
the Gospel passage of today Jesus teaches us that there is no limit or measure
to this essentially divine forgiveness. To forgive seven times (Lk 17:4) is a
symbolic way of saying every time. Such is an attitude that an offended or
scandalized follower of Jesus needs to have. To correct a brother who is a
stumbling block for others is an act of love. Whenever there is a false
tolerance, the disciples can keep moving but, in a way ward path. Today, Jesus encourages
his followers to correct and forgive one another whenever one is offended. This
teaching on forgiveness remains one of the cornerstones of our Christian faith.
As Paul writes to Titus, he enumerates a number of qualities
required of a presbyter. (Author of Pastorals equates presbyters and Episcopoi
=Overseers) (cf. Wild, R. A.: The Pastoral Letters). There are qualities such
as moderate, just, devoted and self-controlled (Titus 1:8). As religious we are
the “leaders by example” in matters to do with our faith. We expect these
qualities from whoever that takes leading roles in our faith such as priests
and religious, but at times we find the opposite. In this way, we become the stumbling blocks to
the people of God. In such a situation the Gospel has given us the way forward,
we need to avoid false tolerance “If
your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him” we have
to correct and forgive one another. Even more, whenever we realize that we have
been a stumbling block for others we need the humility to ask for forgiveness
with hope that we will be forgiven as we do forgive others.
O Lord, open our hearts so that we may forgive one another. Give
us the necessary graces to overcome stumbling blocks that we face in our Christian
faith. May we be quick to regret our offenses whenever we have become a
stumbling block.
Aristede S. Amani.
IV Year Theology Student
They are 51 Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians) killed in hatred of the faith in August 1936 during the Spanish Civil war. They all belonged to the Community of Barbastro. It was a large community, composed of 60 persons, dedicated to the formation of the missionaries; it was a Seminary of the Congregation. Nine were priests who had charges of responsibility in the house and in the Seminary. Two had received priestly ordination a little more than two months earlier. Of the 12 Brothers of the community, only 5 received the palm of martyrdom, because they did not kill the elderly nor those that were very sick. The rest of the community (39) were seminarians who were in the last years of theology. One was a subdeacon and 11 had received minor Orders. Two Argentinians were saved from death: they were freed at the last minute because they were foreigners. It is good to highlight the youth of the great majority of these martyrs, since it was a Seminary Community. Only 9 of these martyrs were over 25 years old; 36 of them had not reached that age, and three were only 21 years old.
There were 25 from Cataluña, 9 from Navarro, 6 from Castilla-Léon, 5
from Aragon, and 3 from Valencia. There was one each from Cartegena, Asturias
and La Rioja. Those martyrs were from 16 Spanish dioceses: Asturias (1),
Barbastro (1), Burgos (before they were from Osma-Soria or Segovia) (6),
Cartagena-Murcia (1), Gerona (8), Huesca (1), Lérida (4), La Calzada-Logroño
(1), Pamplona-Tudela (9), Sao de Urgel (3), Solsona (2), Tarazona (1),
Tarragona (3), Valencia (3), Vio (6) and Zaragoza (1). Their families were of
humble social condition; the majority of them were farmers.
St. Pope John Paul II beatified the Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro in
1992; their feast day is celebrated on August 13. In his beatification homily,
the Pope said, “Had these young men of Barbastro not received adequate
religious formation and been trained in solid piety, they would not have
merited the grace of martyrdom. Faithful to Christ, they triumphed with Him.”
In the ancient animal kingdom, a sheep was
passing and saw a lion crying inside a trap cage. He begged the sheep to save
him with a promise not to eat him. After a persuasive argument the sheep opened
the trap, however, the lion did not keep to its promise, it quickly grabbed the
sheep to eat it. The sheep shouted out repeatedly of the promise that was made.
A group of animals was moved by the noise but they took side with the lion
because of fear. Among them was the tortoise who had listened carefully to the
narrations. He asked the lion to demonstrate what had happened. Having entered
the cage trap, the tortoise locked the trap. He explained that if the lion ate
the sheep, any of the other animals would likely be the next meal. All the
animals around were amazed at the wisdom and prudent action of the tortoise.
The Gospel brings to us another kind of a prudent judgment. Our key focus is not the dishonesty but the prudence of the steward (Lk 16:1-9). I wish to bring to your attention the Jewish tradition concerning lending.
Vicent Abigaba
IV Year Theology Student
