A Journey of God’s Love
It is not how short or how long the formation years are. It is how we responded and cooperate with God’s Grace in our formation. Formation is indeed on-going. There is such thing as FOREVER in the formation! Remember, GOD’S GRACE is LOVE! Let us contemplate on this:
“In our daily lives we must see that it’s not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy. There is always, always, always something to be thankful for!! Your current position is somebody’s future expectation. Your life now is somebody’s prayer request. Don’t let the devil point at you that somebody is doing better than you. It is a strategy for ingratitude. Anything you celebrate multiplies, anything you despise diminishes. Appreciation is the vehicle for acceleration. Gratitude is the lift to great altitude.”
To see what God will do, you must acknowledge what God has done.
When God calls, He ordains and He will sustain. God did not call the qualified but rather He qualifies those whom He called. We were called to be Religious Priest and Perpetually Professed Brothers and Sisters by God through the inspiration of St. Peter Julian Eymard. May we always therefore remember our first moment of our journey in the religious life of formation. We responded to the hungers of the human family, and so let us allow ourselves to be true Servants and Shepherds of God’s Eucharistic Vineyard no matter how long the journey is. He is always with us.
Please Pray for Priests and Religious to persevere in holiness, be Marian, Eucharistic, prayerful, forgiving, humble, simple, loving and compassionate. God loves you po so much! Rev. Fr. Noman Anwar Nasser, SSS
Perpetual profession and ordination in Uganda
The year 2019 will remain a year to remember in the life and history of the SSS Uganda foundation. It is a year given to remember the marvels of the Lord in this Little Eymardian family. Indeed, for everything there is a season… a time to plant and a time to pluck what was planted (Eccl. 3:1-2). This year is a season of harvest for this little Eymardian family.
Together with the entire Congregation, the Province; Our Lady of the Assumptions-Philippines, we celebrate with joy the perpetual birth of three sons of Eymard in the Congregation by their perpetual consecration to religious life, ordination to deaconate and priesthood.
Three brothers; Zikusooka Simon Peter, SSS, Ssenkasi Denis, SSS and Nsambu Herbert, SSS, after their scholasticate formation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a successful period of preparation for perpetual profession in the Republic of Congo, they returned to Uganda and on the 23rd of February, 2019, made their perpetual profession.
Celebrating the Eucharist and receiving the Vows of his brothers on behalf of the Provincial superior, Rev. Fr. Ferdinand. S. Tomo, SSS, called on the Perpetualists to remain faithful to their chosen vocation and ministry. He asked the Perpetualists to pass on the charism of the Congregation in whatever they say and do, as they have now become the extension of father Eymard, bringing Christ closer to the people of God, so that Christ’s Eucharistic kingdom may reign in this troubled and challenging world.
Following the perpetual profession, the following day, Sunday 24th February, we celebrated the ordination to deaconate of the three brothers: Rev. Zikusooka Simon Peter, SSS, Rev. Ssenkasi Denis, SSS and Rev. Nsambu Herbert, SSS, and ordination to priesthood of Rev. Fr. John Muyingo, SSS. This was done by the imposition of hands by Rt. Rev. John Baptist Kaggwa, Bishop of Masaka Diocese, together with his priests at our very parish, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Kimaanya Masaka. The four newly ordained were joined by Rev. Fr. Tony Akena, SSS, who was ordained a week earlier in his home parish; Aduku, Lira Diocese, by Rt. Rev. Joseph Franzeli, Bishop emeritus of Lira Diocese.
Witnessed by people from all walks of life both in Lira and Masaka, this event has gone down into our history; three deacon and two priests at the same time in our little Eymardian family. It was also a moment of great joy and celebration with our families, collaborators, friends of the newly ordained and all those who have sacrificed whatever they could to see them through their journey.
After the Mass, the Bishop was hosted in our community as the festivities continued in the Parish compound, with the Newly ordained, their families’ friends and the parishioners of Kimaanya and other parishes, celebrating indeed as you would at the time of harvesting. And at this time a very rich harvest of deacons and priest.
Our brother; newly ordained have come at a wanting moment. We thank the Lord of the harvest for these wonderful gifts to the Church and the Eymardian family. We continue to pray that they continue to be men of passion, love, dedication and commitment; to bring people to the Altar of God, by making the Eucharist the center of their life, to love and live the Eucharist.
Rev. Fr. George SSALI, SSS
Diaconate and Priestly Ordination in Masaka – Uganda
24th February, will remain a day always to remember in the life of the little SSS Uganda Eymardian family. Together with our province; POLA, and the entire Congregation, the son of Eymard in Uganda celebrated the ordination to deaconate and priesthood of five confreres. Having fulfilled all the prescribed requirements for a valid attainment of these ministries, Rev. Zikusooka Simon peter, SSS, Rev. Ssenkasi Denis, SSS and Rev. Nsambu Herbert, SSS were ordained Deacons and Rev. John Muyingo, SSS was ordained Priest. Joining Rev. Fr. Tony Akena, SSS who was ordained a week earlier in Lira Diocese, Aduku Parish, by the imposition of the hands of Rt. Rev. Joseph Franzeli, Bishop emeritus of Lira Diocese.
The Eucharistic celebration during which these our brothers were ordained took place in our very own parish; Blessed Sacrament Parish Kimaanya, Masaka, by Rt. Rev. John Baptist Kaggwa, Bishop of Masaka Diocese. He was surrounded by his vicar, Msgr. Serverus Jjumba, together with a number of priests, religious men and women, our families and friends, and people from all walks of life.
In his homily, the ordinary of Masaka emphasized the duties of the office and ministry our brothers were to receive. Called out love, they are called to be servants. The call to deaconate and priest is a call to serve and not a platform for personal gains, honors and prestige. It a call to serve all God’s without prejudice. It’s a call of unity, bring people together in their search for God and not division, a call to serve all equally and always at the disposal of the faithful.
In the ministry they were yet to embrace, he called them to affirm the faithful in Faith. The faith in the One True God and His Son, whom He sent to save us. They are to do this work in the name and image of Christ, as he did in the Gospel of John: “I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they have recognized that all you have given me comes from you” (Jn.17:4-7 ). This also enjoins them to preach the word of God, amidst the many gods preached in our modern time.
Proclaiming the word of God and making his presence in the Word is a duty that the ministry of deaconate and priest calls for. Thus, the Bishop called on the called, that once this charge accepted, they must preach the word of God in all its clarity and simplicity, in season and out of season. The word of truth and in truth as it is and not as the people may desire to hear it. Not the word that bring excitement, but the word that changes, directing the people towards the Altar of God. And this work must be done with passion.
Choosing freely to follow Christ in the Religious life and accepting the different ministries in the Church, the Bishop reminded the candidates that this vocation desires a free response. A response out of freedom as also revealed in the rite to the ministries they were yet to receive. Thus, in the daily duties and assignments, each should act out of freedom, love, and with passion to fulfill the work entrusted to him.
“I urge the elders among you, as a fellow-elder myself and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and as one who is to have a share in the glory that is to be revealed: give a shepherd’s care to the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, as God wants; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it. Do not lord it over the group which is in your charge, but be an example for the flock” ( 1Pt. 5:1-3). Tending the flock of God with a willing heart and devotedness.
The ministry of deaconate and priesthood is centered around the Eucharist. The Altar of Christ is a major reality in a life of service and priesthood. Accordingly, the candidates should strive to bring people the Altar, give them the Eucharist and make them love the Eucharist. With high expectations from the candidates as for all the religious of the Blessed Sacrament,
we are charged to champion the people entrusted to us toward a wholistic eucharistic life. To make the people love the Eucharist, lead them to the Eucharist, consequently, making them live the Eucharist in all its dimension.
Recalling our reason of being in the center of Masaka as religious of the Blessed sacrament, the bishop reminded us that we have to remember that we are the light of the world…we are the salt of the Earth. Given the challenges in the city centers, we should always seek ways how to reach the people, how to be close to them and how to serve them devotedly. Hence, the responsibility given to the SSS religious in Uganda should be carried out to the maximum and with passion, working together, as a team with objectives to achieve.
Following the Mass, the Bishop was hosted in our community as the festivities continued in the Parish compound, with the newly ordained, their families’ friends and the parishioners of Kimaanya and other parishes, celebrating indeed as you would at the time of harvesting. And at this time a very rich harvest of three deacons and two priest.
Witnessed by people from all walks of life both in Lira and Masaka, this event has gone down into our history; three deacon and two priests at the same time in our little Eymardian family.
It was also a moment of great joy and celebration with our families, collaborators, friends of the newly ordained and all those who have sacrificed whatever they could to see them through their journey. We are very grateful for all the support we received from the Province,
lay collaborators and the entire Eymardian family.
Our brother; newly ordained have come at a wanting moment. We thank the Lord of the harvest for these wonderful gifts to the Church and the Eymardian family. We continue to pray that they continue to be men of passion, love, dedication and commitment; to bring people to the Altar of God, by making the Eucharist the center of their life, to love and live the Eucharist. Rev.Fr. George SSALI, SSS
“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations… To all to whom I send you, you shall go; and whatever I command you, you shall speak… Behold I have put my words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1,4-9).
Big greetings to you beloved brothers in Christ’s name. Our joy is immense because God’s mercy has been so great to us. May his name be glorified now and forever for his mercy endures all through life. We are so grateful to him for having appointed us to be workers in his Eucharistic vineyard, unfit though we are; he made us worthy to serve him amidst our brothers and sisters. We pray that he grants us the necessary energy just as he did to our Holy Founder St Peter Julian Eymard, to help the faithful place at the center of their lives, the Eucharist celebrated in the truth, internalized in a prayer of adoration and contemplation.
Special thanks to the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, the Province of our Lady of Assumption Philippines (POLA) for all the support. We are so grateful for having accepted us to join the eymardian family. May our Mother Mary, our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and St Peter Julian Eymard continue to teach and inspire us as we look towards the coming of the Eucharistic Kingdom. Rev. Dn. Ssenkasi Denis, sss
‘THE LOT DRAWN ON ME IS DELIGHTFUL INDEED MY HERITAGE IS BEAUTIFUL’ (PS 16:6)
Dear brethren of the Eymardian charismatic family, it was in 2009 that we officially started this journey of our Eucharistic vocation in this family. Today without hesitation we strongly affirm with the psalmist of the 16th Psalm that: ‘THE LOT DRAWN ON ME IS DELIGHTFUL INDEED MY HERITAGE IS BEAUTIFUL.’ While chanting this Psalm, we think of the greatness and goodness of our God which manifests itself unceasingly in the Holy Bread. It is this Bread that assembles us from all the corners and circles of the earth, just to be with Him simply in silence, to adore Him, celebrate Him and then minister for Him. This last aspect makes us delightful because when we turn back into our inner most selves, we are certain that we are full of unworthiness. And yet He has drawn his lot on us. He is asking us to do what may seem unpleasing or unrewarding to many. It is something just as we may try to look back in the mind of the Levite who chants this psalm, a separation from the majority. This poor Levite who depends only on generosity and has no room to accumulate wealth, cries out to God that he believes what is chosen for him is the greatest. It is great not only because he has the chance to stand in God’s presence and serve Him but also and above all, because his Master will not allow him to be corrupted in Sheol. He has something greater, something beautiful that awaits him after the service.
Dear brethren, after making our perpetual vows to God in this SSS family and then being ordained deacon, we will not cease to chant this Psalm because it is a living testimony in us. It is a result of grace. It is love. We then want to ask Him who has graced us, never to abandon us up to the day our bodies will be incapable of ministering for Him. That He may grant us our beautiful heritage. We thank this family for accepting us as full children of Fr. Eymard. We pray that the Eucharistic Kingdom may come. Rev. Dn. Zikusooka Simon Peter, sss
Unending Memories
Memories of my early childhood are almost unending. My vocation dates a longtime as I longed to serve the Lord. From my early days, I served during mass while at school. Of my childhood I remember the religious values that my family taught me notably the value of prayer, work, generosity and study. Already as a child, I remember contributing to the welfare of my family through working at the farm and some trade.
When I joined the congregation right after my advanced level education, these values became the praxis of my formation. It is also important to point out that given that my home is in the periphery of the parish administered by the SSS religious; my Eucharistic vocation was animated by theses religious with which I had numerous encounters.
Just after joining the congregation in 2010, I was sent to Jinja for formation. On my arrival I met an angel in the names of Fr. Wilfred Vallar SSS. This was the right man that God had put before me to deepen my religious calling. I did philosophy which excited my mind. Never did I regret for the time I spent in Jinja. It was a time of great academic awakening and growth socially, spiritually, morally and physically. While there, I developed my talents of leadership. In the first year, I was elected the house chairman coordinating the house schedules with the formator and representing the SSS house to the university council. The following year I was elected at the students’ council and all these experiences taught me a lot about leadership.
God makes the right choices through the people he calls. Indeed thinking of my un worthiness I never cease to thank the Lord for the Eucharistic vocation He endowed upon me. Just like David who was able to defend Israel against the philistines, by confronting Goliath, i too believe that despite fears and challenges of the received ministry God alone is there to empower me to reach out to his people. It should be noted that I have gone through different challenges that have affected and shaped me I can sight the rapid change of my formators form postulancy, novitiate and at the scholasticate never left me the same. I pray that after my perpetual profession I may become the living father Eymard and that through my ordination to the diaconate, others may see Christ in me. Rev. Dn. Nsambu Herbert, sss
No servant is greater than his Master
Rev. Fr. John Muyingo, SSS
I thank the almighty God for the gift of my Eucharistic vocation that he granted me despite of my unfaithfulness, I thank all my formators who have untiringly been there for me, mostly Fr. Willy Vallar, SSS and in a special way I thank my dear parents who grew me up a God-fearing person.
I will always stand firm to say that God is God because is God and continue to testify which St. Augustine that “ all is grace”, without as well doubting St. Paul that “God calls those who are weak to disapprove those who thinks that all wise… surely God’s ways are not human ways.
According to my past and to the present as well, I also wonder how God happened to choose me to be his disciple and Apostle of the Eucharist, this grace of course, communicates to me about his love and mercy, but it has challenged me to go and be merciful and loving. This I promise without any hesitation though with a lot of fear due to my humanity and personality which is constituted with anger, aggressiveness, etc. but with the grace of your prayers all will be possible. So that’s why I will always stand dependent of your prayers, and guidance, and also by consulting the elders, scriptures. I promise not to distance myself from the spring of life which is prayer especially before the Blessed Sacrament.
To you my brother I ask of you to pray for me that I may be faithful to myself, my congregation, to God and to his people, I also request you to pray that I reach to offer my personality to God, that I may never forget the gift God has given me on February 24, 2019.
Pray that I may love his people and my brothers in the Congregation that I may learn to say sorry and forgive.
If Fr. Eymard asked to celebrate at least one mass, yet me in two days I have already celebrated seven masses, so I can have a reason now to sing Canticle of Simeon (Luke 2:29) because no servant if greater than his master, and for sure my soul will be restful and at peace.
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME AND FOR THE GLORY OF YOUR KINGDOMAND SANCTIFICATION OF HUMANITY.
WALKING IN THE DESERT
Fr. Tonny Akena, SSS
Indeed it is true that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”! As the title dictates the long walk in the desert started on the 13th March 2003. Little did I know how long it would take; all I knew was that one day I would become a religious in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Just like walking through a desert, one is never sure about when one would reach his/her destination. This is practically true due to uncertainties that worries and weighs down any traveler in a desert. Nevertheless, a sense of direction gives that traveler a strong conviction that he/she will reach his/her final destination. In my case like any seminarian every year that passes by carried a deep sense of anxiety. Often times I felt the vastness of the desert, which led to many attempts to withdraw and take an easy way. But glory be to God that “no situation is permanent under the Sun”.
Living in a contemporary world: “global village” made the walk in the desert more and more intricate. This is because the question of “WHEN” became the order of the day from different people, and from different parts of the world. Faced with this reality, I had to adapt the best phrase for all situations; it actually became my “defense mechanism” as psychologists would term it. In other words, “in God’s perfect time” became the golden answer to anyone who asked me when I would be ordained a priest. This very answer will always (logically) remain unchangeable throughout my life as a Roman Catholic Priest in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. This is so because it is only God alone who with full individual human cooperation can determine one’s final destination in life.
Honestly, like any human being as I walked in the desert, I envied those who walked and bypassed me seemingly at a “supersonic speed” to priesthood. It is never easy to walk in a desert, and one doesn’t need to have a direct experience of journeying in the vastness of scorching Sun with barely any sense of life! But the retreat master (Fr. John Valero, MCCJ) beautifully put it that, “there are four irrefutable realities in a desert”: a blue sky, hot sand, a traveler(s), and the creator of the three (God).
The absence of dark clouds in the sky to shield off direct sunshine makes a traveler feels the pangs of hot sand in the feet, so that he/she may think of nothing else than the “unmoved mover” who moves all in the universe with full perfection in time and place. In all these I am fully convinced that I have been ordained a Roman Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament “in God’s perfect time” and place.
This, however, marks the beginnings of many new chapters in my life in the Altar of the Most High. I am filled with an immeasurable joy to have walked in the desert to the end while not alone. In this regard, I thank God for having carried me in the desert. And with inexpressible gratitude I am so grateful to the SSS Congregation for accepting “…me as one of its members…” (ROL# 102). I thank in a special way my parents: Mr. & Ms. James/Yakobo Okello (R.I.P) Lucy Anna Akello, siblings, and relatives. With gargantuan joy I thank all my SSS formators and spiritual directors who journeyed with me in the desert: Frs. Sebastian A. Luistro, SSS, Wilfredo G. Valler, SSS, Reynaldo R. Capili, SSS, Roel L. Dela Cruz, SSS, Victoriano A. Buyer, SSS, Joselito C. Hitosis, SSS, Dante S. Mejillano, SSS, Martin de Porres Ochola, SSS Miguel M. Garcia, SSS, Andres G. Malawis, SSS, Allen P. Peña, SSS, and Br. Reynaldo G. Acabado, SSS. Long live Eymardian family. I thank also all those who have been close refilling points as I walked in the desert, especially Frs. Robert Manansala OFM, Ian Anthony Espartero, AOP, Jay-Ar Babor, SMC, Romano Nardo, MCCJ, Luigi Generoso, MCCJ (R.I.P). Srs. Mary Abeja & Domotila Alobo, Mr. & Mrs. Emelita De Villa Levi, Ms. Edwina M. Manayan, Ate Neneng (R.I.P), Mrs. Elizabeth Joven, Mrs. Ann Baron Abeleda, & Dr. JM. Mordeno etc. Thank you all for being my great companions in the desert until the end. May God reward you all with what the world cannot give: Good health .
“Adventiat Regnum Tuum Eucharisticum”