To mark 5 years since the inception of the Center Trafficking Office of LCCL/SACBC a conference was held at Good Shepherd Centre, Hartebeespoort. Its main purpose was to update ourselves on human trafficking and plan a way forward. The Conference gave an opportunity for participants to share all that had been done in the fight against trafficking.
Human trafficking is regarded as the third most lucrative business in the world and victims from sub-Saharan Africa account for a large number of those trafficked and South Africa the main destination in the SADC region. They are used for prostitution, domestic servitude, agriculture and multi purposes. Women and children are used mainly for purposes of a sexual nature. East Asian victims are regularly found in South Africa. Participants at the Conference reported that often very poor people sell their children to traffickers believing that they will be educated and looked after.
The Conference included a ‘TRUCKERS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING’ campaign. We congratulate ‘FRUIT SPOT’ for being the first Trucking Company to join campaign. A huge truck and driver were blessed during the ceremony. Truckers can play a big part in the campaign safeguarding potential victims and reporting offenders.
The role of the Church is in the pastoral care of Truck drivers who face long, hazardous journeys. Our Church should be seen as the CHURCH ON THE MOVE, with the truckers.
Mr. Rob Riedlinger of Mariannhill Press and the 15 Police Units on the border of the Northern Cape are highly appreciated as a source of strength in our fight against Human Trafficking. Representatives from different African countries, the National Prosecuting Authority, the National Freedom Network and the US Embassy and various other agencies are central to success, in the fight against this evil of our time.
Sr. Melanie O’Connor.
 
A BOOK REVIEW BY MARY DOYLE
When Melanie asked me if I would read her book and give her some comment, I must admit I felt most reluctant. Sometimes I just can’t face any more of the horrible things people do to each other. I could not very well refuse. Now I am glad she asked!
THE CHURCH AND HUMAN TAFFICKING
This book is part of a Series, but it is way more than that! Melanie, has written from the heart of the fight, as the leader of the SACBC’s campaign against Human Trafficking.
Human Trafficking is a “highly organized, lucrative and hidden business”, whose tentacles reach to the remotest corners of the world.
Through real life stories, Melanie raises our awareness of what is involved. She shows us the plight of countless persons, deceptively recruited, coerced or abducted and held against their will, under conditions of slavery and exploitation.
She describes and analyses the predisposing factors in society for this appalling trade. She has suggestions for further action at all levels of society and Church.
A glance at the contents, the summary the copious notes, this book shows how thorough an exposure this is.
For me the heart and core of the book is Melanie’s call “May your knowledge of the reality of human trafficking compel you to follow Jesus into the dark corners of the earth, to rescue His lost and scattered ones, and to know that to do so is to collaborate with the One whose fierce love for the powerless is stronger than the evil hands into which they have fallen.”
In my opinion this book earns a definite place on the lists of compulsory reading for all priests and religious, for all committed Christians.
I wish there were a prize for which I could nominate it. Well done Melanie!
 

The Water of Life and Joy 
The Mokolo Dam which collects water from the mountains.
In our Delegation we live in two different situations.
South Cameroon which has two rainy seasons each year;
North Cameroon and Chad which have one rainy season that lasts from June to September.
The people await the rainy season with impatience because it enables them to cultivate the land and give better care to their animals. It is the time of the year when everything breathes and lives.
During the dry season in North Cameroon and Chad, everything is dry, the animals are without pastures, and families who live in villages where SNEC (The National Society of Cameroonian Water) does not supply water have to travel long distances to get it.  Water then becomes a precious commodity and a real talking point.  During this time, the wells, the boreholes and selling points for water are invaded and we have to wait a long time for our turn to draw water or to buy it.  Many people suffer from a lack of water.  Those who live in rural areas, especially, have to make long journeys to buy water and it is even difficult to find water sheets to draw water from the wells or the boreholes.
In urban centres, water can be cut off for days and then the people have to go to nearby neighbourhoods to buy it.
From North to South, from East to West, water means life; it gives life, gathers the people together and is the cause of a lot of discussion about how to survive during the dry season in Chad and North Cameroon.  It is a sign of welcome and friendship;  it is a symbol of purity and innocence but it is also the place where evil spirits dwell.
O water, you enable my people to live;
Nothing can be done without you …
Neither cooking nor washing and many other things besides.
You enable our animals to live too
By the greenery which covers our soil
And produces food for humans, animals, birds…
 
It is you that fill the rivers that give us fish…
Sister water, when you withdraw, we have beautiful sand to beautify our houses and land…
You are the best thing we have,
Because it is you that we offer to our guests when they arrive.
You enable us to welcome and open our houses to passers-by.
Strangers become friends when they stop by to ask for a drink.
 
Sometimes you cause us to despair
When you flood and take everything from us,
Knocking  down our houses with your power, and destroying our crops.
Dear water, do not be so cruel.
 
O water, source of life and source of joy…
You who are our companion on our journey
Let us find you;  let us see you.
Be calm, gentle and loving!
The Delegation of Cameroon Chad

 
Youth

Yearning, orderliness, understanding, truthfulness and honour
Come forward to make a group of people called YOUTH
They are the energetic and generative power of the entire world
They are fragile, fragmented and vulnerable to handle
 
Some say that they are the strength and hope of a country
Others say that they are the destructive force of a country
Constructive criticism brings new energy and life to the youth
Destructive criticism brings destruction and death to the youngsters.
 
Their energy flows like a current in the deep sea
Their thinking capacity makes new discoveries
Their power brings voice for the voiceless
On the whole the massive potentials can do wonders
 
Modern culture is not an enemy of faith says,
The energetic hands and the brains of the youth
We are capable, devoted, dedicated and idealists
Our language of faith is silent desires and stillness
 
A person who discovered the inner yearning of this group
He is the hero and spiritual star of this driving force
Do you know the travelling companion of this driving force?
Yes, he is the friend of youngster Pope Francis
 
We swim in a different sea, with confusion and cross current
Our road to Christ will be more personal and more spiritual
Our transmission of faith is the beam of this journey of life
Where the losers always think that failure is final
The winner’s always think that success is never ending and failures are never final.
 
Eugene Barthelot
 
 
 

 
I was asked by Maristella of the Communications Team in Rome to write an article on St Joseph, whose feast day is marked with great devotion throughout the Catholic Church on 19th March. 
First of all I wondered how I could possibly have enough information on St Joseph to write an article, and then I was then amazed in my reflections and recommended reading, by the amount of information and insight that came to mind. 
Firstly, the two main themes which came flooding back from my childhood were our family’s devotion to St Joseph as Protector of the home and Patron of a happy death. 
Praying to St. Joseph as Protector of the Home, we as a family, way back at the beginning of the 1960s benefitted greatly from a swift answer to a novena recommended to my Mum to be able to buy a much needed, better conditioned home near to parents’ work and schools.  In those days, because of discrimination towards Catholic families in the North of Ireland, it was difficult to procure a suitable house.  Mother was not deterred by this and we as a family began a Novena to St Joseph on 10th March that year.  Our prayers were answered in a surprising and generous way before the end of our Novena and we were very grateful to St Joseph. 
All of us in the Catholic world and Holy Family Association are very well informed that Joseph was the spouse of Mary and foster-father of Jesus, and was of the royal line of King David.  He protected the Holy Family when they had to flee from Herod and find safety in Egypt.  He worked to provide for Mary and the Christ-child, teaching the boy Jesus the trade and skills of carpentry.  He is often depicted as an older man, as he was evidently not alive when Jesus began his public ministry with his first miracle at Cana in Galilee. (Saints and Patrons by Joanna Bogle) Catholic Truth Society.  In another CTS book ‘Saints of the Roman Calender by Fr Nicholas Schofield it says for the Solemnity of St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 19th March: ‘Not a single word of his is recorded in Sacred Scripture and yet St Joseph is one of the greatest and most popular saints, largely because of his humility and his closeness to Our Lord.  He died before the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and, since he probably died in the presence of Jesus and Mary, is venerated as the patron of a good death.  Blessed Pius IX named him patron of the universal church and Blessed John XXXIII added his name to the Roman Canon. 
Christopher O’Donnell, O. Carm. in a Lecture on SAINT JOSEPH: A Saint for our Time gives some insight into the relevance and role of St Joseph through the ages.  I will quote some of his insights as follows: “The image of Saint Joseph in the Church has changed from one age to another. This need not surprise us, as the figure of Blessed Mary has likewise been differently perceived in different centuries.  Theologies reflect their times, and devotional patterns arise and are fashioned by the historical and cultural situations of diverse epochs.”  In the Scriptures: “Joseph was a common name in both Old and New Testaments. However, Joseph, the husband of Mary, is named only fifteen times in the gospels.  In John’s gospel Jesus is called the son of Joseph by those unaware of the mysteries of Jesus’ origins (John 1:45; 6:42).  The other references are all found in the infancy gospels of Luke and Matthew.  The concerns of these evangelists are quite different.  It may be said that Luke tells the story of Jesus’ origins from the perspective of Mary, whilst Matthew sees it from Joseph’s point of view.  They have some important points in common: the virginal conception of Jesus; the birth at Bethlehem; Jesus’ membership of the house of David through Joseph; the Nazareth home of the Holy Family.” 
Over the centuries devotion to St Joseph varied and many of the Saints and Founders of Religious Orders had great devotion to him. 
“A new era for the Church opened when Leo XIII became pope.  In 1889 he wrote an encyclical on St Joseph (Quamquam pluries) in which he invited Catholics to prayer to Joseph along with Mary in the needs and concerns of the Church.  He proposed Joseph as a model for fathers, husbands, virgins, the wealthy and the nobility, and above all of the poor as well as workers in general.  He stressed St Joseph’s commitment to manual work.  This encyclical also had the idea of consecrating the month of March to St Joseph” 
In the 20th Century Pope John Paul II proposed St Joseph as ‘Guardian of the Redeemer: On the Person and Mission of St Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church’. 
From a Liturgical perspective the texts of the Masses for the feasts of St Joseph before Vatican II stressed the powerful intercession of the saint.  They called him the spouse of the Mother of the Son.  After Vatican II, the revised preface of the Mass on the feasts of St Joseph reads: ‘Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks as we honour St Joseph.  He is that just man that wise and loyal servant, whom you placed at the head of your family.  With a husband’s love he cherished Mary, the virgin Mother of God.  With fatherly care he watched over Jesus Christ your Son, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. ‘ 
It is also important to remember that John XXIII inserted the name of St Joseph into the Roman Canon (now the First Eucharist Prayer) before the names of the apostles. 
In our modern liturgy we see the main themes of devotion highlighted: Joseph is husband of Mary, Guardian of Holy Family, foster father of Jesus and model of the Church which relies on his intercession. 
“By far the most important teaching on St Joseph to date is the apostolic exhortation of John Paul II (Redemptoris custos (RC).  The occasion was the centenary of the first encyclical on St Joseph by Leo XIII (Quamquam pluries 1889).  The apostolic exhortation takes up many of the points traditionally made in writings about St Joseph, in the liturgy and in previous teachings. He repeats the papal teachings for the last one hundred years to the effect that Joseph is the greatest of the saints after Mary, but not of course her equal (RC 4,7)” (Christopher O’Donnell, O. Carm.). 
While we have received many affirmations of the importance of St. Joseph from the Papacy we also have a lovely opportunity to reflect on St Joseph, the person of character, trusting in and obedient to God when the angel spoke to him in a dream.  Referring to the PILGRIMAGE OF THE HOLY FAMILY  (Updated in accordance with the spirit of the Venerable Pierre Bienvenu Noailles by The Spirituality Team of Britain and Ireland in 2012), we see particular references to St Joseph in the  Second Station: St Joseph’s doubt and how,” after the angel appeared to him in a dream, he got up, and did what the angel prescribed and took his wife to himself. (Mt 1:18-24).” This station is worth reflecting on for the feast of St Joseph as are the Third, Sixth, Seventh  and Twelfth Station.  Having singled out these particular Stations for the feast of St Joseph, I am in no way undermining the other Stations in the Pilgrimage of the Holy Family. 
Finally, let us remember each other in prayer, through the intercession of St Joseph as we celebrate his Feast on 19th March.  May we be inspired by St Joseph in all our decisions and difficulties in life and may we always be aware of his protection. 
Anne Connolly, 
President of the Lay Associates, Britain.
 
 
 

The Patu Woman (The Muyombe Mother)
It is just a month since we arrived at Patu and we have discovered the following from the limited experience we have had of the women.
The life of the Patu woman takes place on two levels: the spiritual level and care of the family.  The language spoken in Patu, is kiyombe and the people are called muyombe.

 
The Spiritual Level
The Muyombe woman is well rooted in the faith, hard-working and very involved in parish activities. Throughout the week she sings in the choir and directs it, plays the djembe – the tom-tom – and joyfully offers the Lord some of the fruits of her labour to support the priests but, above all, to thank God who gives her the strength to work in the fields. Prayer is a priority in her life.  She begins the day with Mass and, after the Eucharistic celebration, she goes to the grotto to pray to Our Lady. After her devotions she goes home to do a multiplicity of tasks.    
Care of the Family
The Muyombe mother travels at least 16 kilometres each day to work in the fields.  She cultivates various types of bananas, cassava, peanuts, maize …
In the evening she arrives home late.  She is tired and on her back she carries a well-filled basket of bananas, cassava leaves and tubers and firewood. As soon as she arrives she goes to the borehole to get water for cooking. It is the woman who provides food for the whole family from Monday to Saturday. That is why she goes to work in the fields; each day she brings back the food for everyone’s supper. She mixes the cassava leaves, the unripe bananas and the soft-boiled cassava with a sauce called mwamba.  These are things which are easily found and which cost almost nothing because they grow in her field.  But the Sunday meal is different from the other days and the man is in charge of this. He has to give his wife money for the Sunday meal; it is a feast. On Sunday the woman has to prepare rice, beans, cassava leaves and salted fish.  If the man does not give the woman the money for the Sunday feast it can cause a problem in the home which can eventually end in divorce.
Part of the produce from the fields is sold at the market which takes place on Tuesdays and Fridays and, with the money earned, husband and wife plan the family budget together. The Friday market is more important that the Tuesday one because it provides the money to buy the food for the Sunday feast.
In fact, life in Patu depends on the woman. If she is not hard-working, her children will not develop properly.

The Young Girls of Patu
Like her mother, the young Patu girl s very involved in the parish and in the work in the fields. She is joyful and apparently full of ambition.  But the reality is that, because of all the difficulties of life, most of these girls become mothers between the ages of 14 and 16. However, some of them, even though they are mothers, return to school because their parents are prepared to pay for their school fees. Those whose parents are unable to pay remain with their mothers.  Very few who study have not already had children, and some young girls who have not had children leave school because of lack of money.
Attached to this you will find photos of women in the choir, at the grotto, returning from work and at the Friday market.  
The community of Patu.

Every Lent the Church in Brazil launches “The Fraternity Campaign”. The theme chosen  this year for reflection/conversion/action is Fraternity and Human Trafficking.  The slogan is, “Christ freed us so that we could remain free”.  (Gal 5:1)
The choice of this theme was the result of proposals made by various groups who fight against human trafficking and slave labour and had the agreement of the Conference of the Bishops of Brazil (CNBB).
There is an alarming amount of human trafficking both in the country and throughout the world: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has declared that the number of victims of slave labour and sexual exploitation is on the increase.
According to the United Nations Organisation (UNO),   2.5 million people in Brazil fall victim to these practices each year.  These include men, women and children.  The victims are mainly vulnerable poor people.
The year of this theme coincides with the year during which the World Cup 2014 takes place in Brazil.  This is a time when crowds of visitors come to the country and this can work to the traffickers’ advantage.  The Campaign will intensify its work of conscientisation in an attempt to minimise this criminal practice.
According to the UNO, human trafficking is quite lucrative: it has an annual turnover of 32 billion dollars throughout the world.  85% of this comes from sexual exploitation.  The main countries involved are Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.
These victims are the new poor – a disastrous consequence of globalisation where the ever-expanding market economy puts profit before human dignity and life in general.
When we celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus we are invited to commit ourselves together to work and care for the victims of this injustice which violates human rights.
Manual of the Fraternity Campaign 2014.
 
 
 

 
He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (cf. 2 Cor 8:9)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As Lent draws near, I would like to offer some helpful thoughts on our path of conversion as individuals and as a community. These insights are inspired by the words of Saint Paul: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). The Apostle was writing to the Christians of Corinth to encourage them to be generous in helping the faithful in Jerusalem who were in need. What do these words of Saint Paul mean for us Christians today? What does this invitation to poverty, a life of evangelical poverty, mean for us today?
1. Christ’s grace
First of all, it shows us how God works. He does not reveal himself cloaked in worldly power and wealth but rather in weakness and poverty: “though He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor …”. Christ, the eternal Son of God, one with the Father in power and glory, chose to be poor; he came amongst us and drew near to each of us; he set aside his glory and emptied himself so that he could be like us in all things (cf. Phil 2:7; Heb 4:15). God’s becoming man is a great mystery! But the reason for all this is his love, a love which is grace, generosity, a desire to draw near, a love which does not hesitate to offer itself in sacrifice for the beloved. Charity, love, is sharing with the one we love in all things. Love makes us similar, it creates equality, it breaks down walls and eliminates distances. God did this with us. Indeed, Jesus “worked with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, he truly became one of us, like us in all things except sin.” (Gaudium et Spes, 22).
By making himself poor, Jesus did not seek poverty for its own sake but, as Saint Paul says “that by his poverty you might become rich”. This is no mere play on words or a catch phrase. Rather, it sums up God’s logic, the logic of love, the logic of the incarnation and the cross. God did not let our salvation drop down from heaven, like someone who gives alms from their abundance out of a sense of altruism and piety. Christ’s love is different! When Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan and was baptized by John the Baptist, he did so not because he was in need of repentance, or conversion; he did it to be among people who need forgiveness, among us sinners, and to take upon himself the burden of our sins. In this way he chose to comfort us, to save us, to free us from our misery. It is striking that the Apostle states that we were set free, not by Christ’s riches but by his poverty. Yet Saint Paul is well aware of the “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8), that he is “heir of all things” (Heb 1:2).
So what is this poverty by which Christ frees us and enriches us? It is his way of loving us, his way of being our neighbour, just as the Good Samaritan was neighbour to the man left half dead by the side of the road (cf. Lk 10:25ff ). What gives us true freedom, true salvation and true happiness is the compassion, tenderness and solidarity of his love. Christ’s poverty which enriches us is his taking flesh and bearing our weaknesses and sins as an expression of God’s infinite mercy to us. Christ’s poverty is the greatest treasure of all: Jesus’ wealth is that of his boundless confidence in God the Father, his constant trust, his desire always and only to do the Father’s will and give glory to him. Jesus is rich in the same way as a child who feels loved and who loves its parents, without doubting their love and tenderness for an instant. Jesus’ wealth lies in his being the Son; his unique relationship with the Father is the sovereign prerogative of this Messiah who is poor. When Jesus asks us to take up his “yoke which is easy”, he asks us to be enriched by his “poverty which is rich” and his “richness which is poor”, to share his filial and fraternal Spirit, to become sons and daughters in the Son, brothers and sisters in the firstborn brother (cf. Rom 8:29).
It has been said that the only real regret lies in not being a saint (L. Bloy); we could also say that there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ.
2. Our witness
We might think that this “way” of poverty was Jesus’ way, whereas we who come after him can save the world with the right kind of human resources. This is not the case. In every time and place God continues to save mankind and the world through the poverty of Christ, who makes himself poor in the sacraments, in his word and in his Church, which is a people of the poor. God’s wealth passes not through our wealth, but invariably and exclusively through our personal and communal poverty, enlivened by the Spirit of Christ.
In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it. Destitution is not the same as poverty: destitution is poverty without faith, without support, without hope. There are three types of destitution: material, moral and spiritual. Material destitution is what is normally called poverty, and affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity: those who lack basic rights and needs such as food, water, hygiene, work and the opportunity to develop and grow culturally. In response to this destitution, the Church offers her help, her diakonia, in meeting these needs and binding these wounds which disfigure the face of humanity. In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ. Our efforts are also directed to ending violations of human dignity, discrimination and abuse in the world, for these are so often the cause of destitution. When power, luxury and money become idols, they take priority over the need for a fair distribution of wealth. Our consciences thus need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing.
No less a concern is moral destitution, which consists in slavery to vice and sin. How much pain is caused in families because one of their members – often a young person – is in thrall to alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography! How many people no longer see meaning in life or prospects for the future, how many have lost hope! And how many are plunged into this destitution by unjust social conditions, by unemployment, which takes away their dignity as breadwinners, and by lack of equal access to education and health care. In such cases, moral destitution can be considered impending suicide. This type of destitution, which also causes financial ruin, is invariably linked to the spiritual destitution which we experience when we turn away from God and reject his love. If we think we don’t need God who reaches out to us through Christ, because we believe we can make do on our own, we are headed for a fall. God alone can truly save and free us.
The Gospel is the real antidote to spiritual destitution: wherever we go, we are called as Christians to proclaim the liberating news that forgiveness for sins committed is possible, that God is greater than our sinfulness, that he freely loves us at all times and that we were made for communion and eternal life. The Lord asks us to be joyous heralds of this message of mercy and hope! It is thrilling to experience the joy of spreading this good news, sharing the treasure entrusted to us, consoling broken hearts and offering hope to our brothers and sisters experiencing darkness. It means following and imitating Jesus, who sought out the poor and sinners as a shepherd lovingly seeks his lost sheep. In union with Jesus, we can courageously open up new paths of evangelization and human promotion.
Dear brothers and sisters, may this Lenten season find the whole Church ready to bear witness to all those who live in material, moral and spiritual destitution the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ. We can do this to the extent that we imitate Christ who became poor and enriched us by his poverty. Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.
May the Holy Spirit, through whom we are “as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Cor 6:10), sustain us in our resolutions and increase our concern and responsibility for human destitution, so that we can become merciful and act with mercy. In expressing this hope, I likewise pray that each individual member of the faithful and every Church community will undertake a fruitful Lenten journey. I ask all of you to pray for me. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady keep you safe.
From the Vatican, 26 December 2013
Feast of Saint Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr
HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
 
 

 
“As we seek to build the world we want, let us intensify our efforts to achieve a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable development path built on dialogue, transparency and social justice.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the 2013 World Day of Social Justice
 

The General Assembly proclaimed 20 February as World Day of Social Justice
Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.
Observance of World Day of Social Justice should support efforts of the international community in poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all.
 
 
 
 
 

The concern is to find ways of helping the people to gather rain water.  Another thing that we think is urgent is to begin working with the mothers and young girls of the village. We help the people according to their needs. 
With regard to the problem of water, we would like to have permanent access to drinkable water so that the life and health of the people Patu could be improved. This would also mean that the children could go to school again and that the women could do more than collect water, a chore which sometimes takes several hours.
Given the above-mentioned difficulties, we organised a meeting with the mothers in order to encourage them to cultivate land so that they could have a greater variety of food.  Now our concern is to find a piece of land so that we can work with them.
At Patu, the local language is Kiyombé and we will have to learn it quickly if we are to be able to communicate easily with the people. 
We want to live with the people by being part of the different groups of the parish and finding out with them what to do for the best.
We want to be close to the people, to live with them and to move forward together according to their needs. 

THE MEANING FOR MY LIFE OF
THE MIRACULOUS BENEDICTION OF FEBRUARY 3 1822
 

What
does this date mean for the Family of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles? On that day, we
remember and give thanks for a very special gift.
On
February 3 1822, in the poor chapel of Loreto, we find the seeds of what has
become a big tree:  sisters, young
orphans, lay people …
They
had gathered for Benediction.  This
little group was in a very difficult situation. 
 Their project was vast but they
had few means to carry it out.  So they
felt poor and uncertain.  They had begun
to ask themselves whether the plan was God’s will or just an impossible dream.
The
response was clear, simple and addressed to the whole community. Jesus appeared
to the small group who had big plans for about 20 minutes and gave them his
blessing.  Everyone either saw him or felt
his presence.  That blessing was a clear
response.  Today it continues to sustain
the mission which began in such a humble way and was then given new life and
strength by the Miraculous Benediction. 
Carmen
Leach – Rome
 
THE MEANING FOR MY LIFE OF
THE MIRACULOUS BENEDICTION

For me, the commemoration of the Miraculous
Benediction of February 3 is a sign of the presence of Christ in my life. It
encourages me to work in communion and in collaboration with the other
Vocations.
Every time I participate in the Eucharist, I feel the
need to work for unity, love and charity. Under the influence of the Holy
Spirit, I try to live this communion in my family, to serve those who are
suffering, those who are marginalised and the young people who are in my care.
This Benedicaiton is a grace for me as a Lay Associate
of the Holy Family and enables me to become an apostle of Christ in the various
milieux of life in order to spread the faith and strengthen it for others…
Delegation
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Léonard MBEMBE, Lay Associate
 
THE TESTIMONY OF JUANITA –
AN APOSTOLIC SISTER
 
The
Eucharistic Miracle has a very profound meaning for me.  It is a confirmation that Jesus continues to
be present among us and we need to believe, to have faith, if we are to
recognise this silent presence.   If we
truly enter into that silence he will speak to us.
This
event has marked my life and supports me during difficult times.   I feel
that the Blessing which the first Sisters received continues to be given to us
today as members of the Holy Family.
I
feel blessed also and this is what often supports me. It was this very
experience which led me to seek my vocation in the contemplative life and I now
see that I can also live this Eucharistic dimension of life as an Apostolic
Sister. 
 
THE TESTIMONY … 
 
Firstly, I would say that the
Miraculous Benediction forms an intrinsic part of my life and of my vocation as
a Holy Family Contemplative Sister.  I could say that this Benediction shapes the
whole of my life which is a response to what our Founder said, The Divine
Master miraculously blessed the Association from the moment of its birth and we
therefore owe him continual thanksgiving for such a great favour and continual
intercession that he will pour out the graces necessary for the various Works. It
is natural that some Associates, blessed in the persons of our Foundresses,
should carry out this double service on behalf of the whole Family and this is
the mission which we entrust to the “contemplatives”. 
As
Contemplatives, we prolong the memory of this Benediction through Adoration
before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, something to which the faithful feel
strongly attracted.
 
THE MIRACULOUS
BENEDICTION …
 
The
miracles of Jesus had the aim to affirm the faith and to increase the faith of
the people. Likewise the Eucharistic miracles which take place all around the
world have increased the faith of the Christians to a great extent. The repeated
apparitions of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection are clear signs to
show their lack of faith. But once they believed Jesus they began to bear
witness to the extent of sacrificing their own lives. The transfiguration of
Jesus was a foretaste of heavenly glory which would become a reality after the
passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The curiosity or an anxiety to see a
miracle is in our human nature. Jesus demanded faith before performing
miracles. Every miracle is a call to a deeper faith.
For
me the Eucharistic miracle is a daily event. The bread is changed into the body
of Christ. My faith is increased because of the Mass I offer. Perhaps we
consider it as an ordinary miracle and we are tempted to ask Jesus for
extraordinary miracles to believe in him. The sign of Jonah mentioned by Jesus
makes it clear that we need to break and share ourselves as the Eucharistic
Lord. The Eucharist calls us to suffer and die for others in order to bear
witness to our faith. The Eucharist calls us to a life of communion with the
suffering and the poor. The Eucharist calls us for a life of sacrifice. The
miraculous benediction is a gentle reminder that we are the living signs of the
hidden Christ who is buried in the globalised culture of the present world.
Fr.Jacob
Nicholas
 
THE TESTIMONY … 
I experience it
as an act of faith.
It provides me
with a very positive and satisfying guarantee that the work of our Founder was
God’s will. 
The word benediction  means “to speak well of” something or someone.  We speak well of good things, especially of
what we LOVE.
   God blesses us.  For me, the benediction is a reflection of his LOVE.  What does this mean for my life?    It
means being aware each day of his LOVE and his loving presence, knowing that he
blesses me and that, in spite of all my faults, he continues to bless me
because he loves me  unconditionally.
The fact that
Christ appeared at the beginning of the Holy
Family as a sign of his approval of our Founder’s work helps to confirm me
in my vocational choice.  I give thanks for that and I renew my act of
faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  
SECULARS