The Feast of the Body of Christ and Global Justice

Procession in our parish in the Philippines

As we approach the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ on Sunday, June 25, I thought recent words of the Holy Father was worth sharing:

"Thus the Eucharist, while uniting us to Christ, also opens us to others, makes us limbs of one another: no longer are we divided but a single being in Him", the Pope added. "Eucharistic communion unites me to my neighbour with whom perhaps I am not even on good terms, but it also unites me to my distant brothers and sisters all over the world.

Those who recognise Jesus in the consecrated Host recognise Him in their suffering brothers and sisters, in the hungry and thirsty, in the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned; they are attentive to everyone and take concrete steps to help those in need. From the gift of Christ's love arises our special responsibility as Christians to build a united, just and fraternal society. Particularly in our own time in which globalisation makes us increasingly dependent upon one another, Christianity can and must ensure that unity is not built without God - in other words, without real Love - which would only open the way to confusion and selfishness".

Benedict XVI continued: "The Gospel has always sought the unity of the human family, a unity not imposed from above or by ideological or economic interests, but based on a sense of responsibility towards each other, because we recognise one another as members of the same body, the Body of Christ, because we have learned and continue to learn from the Sacrament of the Altar that sharing and love is the way to true justice".

What does the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ mean to you? How have you felt Christ prodding you to reach out to others? Just click comments and let us know!

El Salvador Immersion

El Salvador Immersion, a set on Flickr.

Fr. Adolph Menendez, Xaverian Missionary who worked in Japan and Mexico, accompanied a group of college students to El Salvador for a mission experience. This program is organized through FOCUS, a Catholic Campus Ministry program. (www.focusonline.org) Take a look at the pics!

College Students of Different Faiths Come Together to Make a Difference

Students of all faiths and traditions are taking action together to change the world. Students from coast to coast have come together across faiths and traditions to make the world Better Together. Over 70 campuses have registered so far, working on issues ranging from homelessness to food deserts. Get trained at a summer Leadership Institute.
The Interfaith Youth Core is one expression of the wishes of Pope Benedict for good people of different faiths to come together in service to humanity. The big idea for IFYC came to our leading founder Eboo Patel in 1998 when he was at an interfaith conference at Stanford University. He and a small group of his peers realized they were the only young people at the conference, and they started asking each other two questions.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT FAITHS COME TOGETHER IN SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY AND WORLD BASED ON COMMON FAITH VALUES? GIVE A SHOUT OUT IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION. 

Xaverian Provincial Celebrates 25 Years as a Missionary Provincial

Two Xaverian Missionaries Pass Away

Fr. Aldo Rotini

Fr. Achille Figini

On June 9, 2011 Fr. Achille Figini passed away after many years of service in Mexico. He was ordained to the missionary priesthood in 1955 and from 1966 to 1972 he worked in Spain. From 1973 he spent the rest of his life tirelessly working in formation, pastoral work and in education.

On June 12, 2011 Fr. Aldo Rottini passed away at the age of 76. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1960. After working for some years as a teacher in Italy, he left for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1969, first studying French in Paris and obtaining a degree in Louvain University. From 1972 he worked in pastoral work in Kitutu, Kadutu and Cahi. He also worked in media in Italy from 1987 to 1999. After only working a few years in Cameroon, he became ill and suffered long from 2001 to the present.

We ask your prayers for these dedicated missionaries who gave their lives for the mission of the Church.

DR CONGO: The first hospital in Kamanyola inaugurated

Downtown Kamanyola

The Ruzzi River, near Kamanyola, defines the border between the
Congo and Rwanda.

”The Diocese of Uvira, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, inaugurated on Monday, in joy, in cheerfulness and thanksgiving to the Lord, its first hospital” Etienne Esube told Fides.

“The new structure the first of its kind, is located in the parish of Mater Ecclesiae Kamanyola 80 km from the episcopate of Uvira.

The hospital is a gift from Fr. Giuseppe Crippa`s family, of the Xaverian Missionaries of Parma, who died in October 2009, when they started work on building the future hospital. The inauguration ceremony was attended by His Exelency Mgr François-Xavier Maroy Rusengo, Archbishop of Bukavu and Apostolic Administrator of Uvira, father Crippa’s sister, the General Superior of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Mount, who returned to Uvira after being forced to leave because of the war in 1996 and employed in the hospital, the regional Superior of the Xaverian Missionaries of Parma, priests from Uvira and Bukavu and the civil authorities.

The new structure consists of five main buildings and seven secondary. The hospital is located at the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Given its importance, the structure received numerous donations. In particular, the Congolese government provided medicines, X-ray and ultrasound equipment and several wheelchairs. The Head of state offered a contribution to create a fund to support the healthcare structure.

After the opening ceremony, the delegations traveled 17 km from Kamanyola to visit the Center for the Community Development of Kiringye, another work of the Diocese of Uvira, where padi rice and peanuts is produced and in turn provide the electric energy to the workshop for the production of oil, which has recently resumed its activities after the losses suffered in the wars of 1996 and 1998.

“These events will form part of the rebirth that gradually affects the Diocese of Uvira, which is preparing to celebrate the golden jubilee starting from April 16, 2012,” concluded Esube.

A Day in the Life of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

The Fez Festival of Sacred Music 2011 in Morocco is the best opportunity for music lovers to attend this unique event and also explore the mystical city of Fez. The Fez Festival of Sacred Music is held in the month if June every year and it is also the best time to visit Fez. Browse through our website to find out more about Fez Sacred Music Festival and for information regarding Fez Sacred Music Festival 2011. For Catholics we understand the work of the spirit in different faith traditions and the music they produce.

Fes Festival Of World Sacred Music 2011 draws audience and performers from around the world. Regional as well as international artists participate in this festival which was founded in 1994. Fes Music Festival 2011 will have performers from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Brazil, North India, Senegal, Morocco, Spain, France, Italy and the United States.

Fambol Tok: The Power of Forgivenss

Fambul Tok (Krio for “Family Talk”) emerged in Sierra Leone as a face-to-face community-owned program bringing together perpetrators and victims of the violence in Sierra Leone’s eleven-year civil war through ceremonies rooted in the local traditions of war-torn villages. It provides Sierra Leonean citizens with an opportunity to come to terms with what happened during the war, to talk, to heal, and to chart a new path forward, together.

Fambul Tok is built upon Sierra Leone’s “family talk” tradition of discussing and resolving issues within the security of a family circle. The program works at the village level to help communities organize ceremonies that include truth-telling bonfires and traditional cleansing ceremonies—practices that many communities have not employed since before the war. Through drawing on age-old traditions of confession, apology and forgiveness, Fambul Tok has revived Sierra Leoneans’ rightful pride in their culture.  MORE...

HERE'S A STORY FOR YOU...
On a warm late-March evening, the sky still swirling with the after clouds of an unexpected storm, two young Sierra Leonean men stood before a bonfire, surrounded by their families, elders, and neighbors from surrounding villages. Once the closest of friends, Sahr and Nyumah had been brutally torn apart by the war while still in their early teens—one boy forced by rebel soldiers to beat his friend and kill his friend’s father.
The two came face to face that night, with each other and with their pasts. They stood to testify before the village bonfire in Gbekedu as a part of one of the first community ceremonies in the Fambul Tok process. Boyhood friends, the two were barely teenagers when the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) invaded their villages, which are located near the Liberian border. Sahr and his father fled into the bush, only to be captured by RUF soldiers. At the bonfire that night, Sahr spoke of how the rebels ordered him to kill his father and of his repeated refusal.  His close friend, Nyumah, had also been taken by the rebels and was there in the bush, Sahr testified. The rebels ordered Nyumah to beat his friend, under threat of death, for defying their orders to kill his father. Nyumah complied, beating his friend so severely that even today Sahr’s body remains misshapen, and he is able to walk only with great difficulty, supported by a cane.  The rebels then forced Nyumah to take the knife and slit the throat of Sahr’s father.
Living since the end of the war in villages just a mile or so apart, the former friends had not spoken about these events until this evening.  Acknowledging what he had done, bowing in a deep gesture of deference and apology, Nyumah asked his friend for forgiveness—which Sahr immediately gave. As was the case with each pair of testifiers that evening, villagers broke into song as the young men embraced and danced around the bonfire.
The next day, the men had the opportunity to participate in a cleansing ceremony, along with the others who had testified the previous evening.  They have since rekindled their friendship, frequently visit with each other, and Nyumah regularly helps Sahr with farming and meeting other basic needs.
“Before, we had no peace with each other.  There was no friendship.  It is only because of Fambul Tok that we have been able to come together. If this had stayed in our minds, it would have been bad.  It would still be in my mind.  I have forgiven him for whatever bad he has done to me.  It’s not easy, but it comes deeply from my heart.  I want this forgiveness to last forever and ever.” — Sahr J., victim, Kpekeledu, Kailahun district, following the bonfire and cleansing.
“Since Fambul Tok has come and my friend has said he has forgiven me, the guilt is still with me, but with time I will get over it.  As long as my friend has forgiven me, I will get over it gradually.” Nyumah B. – perpetrator, Kpekedu village, Kailahun district, following the bonfire and cleansing.