FR. WILLY VALLAR:

After twelve (12) years and nine (9) months of service to the Ugandan people especially in the dioceses of Masaka and Jinja as community superior, formator and parochial vicar, Fr. Willy is coming back to the Philippines this July 1^st in order to assume another important responsibility. People who have known Fr. Willy as a very simple guy and very economical person are wishing that he will not be transferred soon but they are also open to such reality because they believe that it is God’s will. Surely he will be missed by our formands who see him not just as a superior, a formator but more as a father and a friend. He is a real source of inspiration because of his simplicity, faithfulness to the vows and commitment to prayer.

BR. ALDE BUREROS:

Uganda community members, parish leaders, community and parish workers, and parishioners have but one simple description for Br. Alde – he is a VERY GOOD PERSON. Their high regard for him is such that even as he prepared to leave, they are already hoping he will be reassigned to their community soon. Br. Alde has touched the lives of many people by his wanting to be a servant for all. He is a very good community person – has good rapport with the professed and faithful in prayer. In Masaka, he had closely accompanied the two Aspirants. His main contribution to the community life in Uganda was the financial structures he painstakingly endeavored to establish. His pastoral involvement was so commendable – he reached out to people by visiting them in their homes and accompanied a number of church groups as their spiritual director.

* * * (His reflection published in SSS International is reprinted at the end of this report.)

FR. MELCHOR CASTAŇEDA:

Fr. Choi will be the new member of the Ugandan community. We thank him for expressing his interest in Uganda mission thus when I approached him he right-away said ‘yes’. He will leave for Uganda this coming June 15.  Being a well-organized man, Fr. Choi will continue the efforts of putting and maintaining usable structures for community living. He will certainly help in the efforts of making more explicit our Eucharistic charism.

WHY ARE WE IN UGANDA?

Generally we are in good standing with the Diocese of Masaka and with its priests. However, this is not to say that there are no difficult challenges:  A number of diocesan priests are wondering why we are in Kimaanya (it seems we have not projected or shared well our Eucharistic charism); the parish is being eyed by many diocesan priests; the sub-parish of Kyabakuza is requesting to be a separate parish; friction with some leaders of the parish. All these brought the community into deeper reflection which all believed was the leading of the Holy Spirit. They realized that they need to emphasize, to make more explicit, our SSS Eucharistic charism in the life and activities of both the community and the parish.

1. Thus, in the community, fraternal life will be more improved – praying together, community meeting, common meals, etc.
2. Thus, in the parish, parochial life centered on the Eucharist will be emphasized: The church will stay open during the day for mass and adoration (when there is no mass, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed the whole day). The different religious groups will be in charge of a particular day for adoration. This means that each group will organize themselves in order to fill the hours of the day with adorers from their ranks.
3. The different religious groups from the different parishes in Masaka will be invited to go to our parish church for a monthly Eucharistic enrichment featuring Eucharistic adoration, Eucharistic talk, Confession, Testimonies and Fellowship.
4. The parish will also prepare for the possibility of a Diocesan celebration of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) in the near future.

DOCUMENTED FORMATION PROGRAM FOR UGANDA?

The program of formation known to our formators in Uganda by heart will now be put down on paper in order to be presented to the Formation Commission then later be approved by the Amplified Provincial Council and thus be inserted as part of the Formation Program document of the Province. This was not done before; hence, it is not included in the existing document on Formation by the Province. Now that there is this attempt, we will observe the many similarities and differences in the way we are doing formation in the Philippines and in Uganda.

Some of the obvious differences in the way things are done in Uganda are as follows:

• Must have an “A” Level (Advance Level) before being accepted – This means the person has already finished 3^rd year college in our system of education
• 1^st Period of Aspirancy (1 year in Masaka);
• 2^nd Period of Aspirancy (1 year in Jinja and 1^st year Philosophy);
• Two Years Postulancy (2^nd and 3^rd year Philosophy)
• On three years of Theology
• There is no Pastoral exposure

STRUGGLING BUT HAPPY FRATERNAL COMMUNITY?

In spite of some difficulties, our Ugandan confreres are happy with the fraternal life, which strongly indicates they still have passion for Eucharistic mission.  They love one another, and this is being shown by the way they communicate with each other, their flexibility in order to attend to the needs of each other, and adaptability to difficult situations. They challenge one another in order to help bring out the best in each other.

Unfortunately, the Uganda community is quite a complex community there being one canonical community but it has two houses that are very far from each other. In Masaka itself, it is an administration, a formation and a parochial community. It is also a composite of both old and young and of healthy and sick members, though they are improving quite steadily.

NOT YET BUT ON THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE LONG ROAD OF FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

Our Uganda community in two houses (Masaka and Jinja) and with formands in Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Philippines is depending on the Generalate for US$50,000.00 subsidy and additional thousands of dollars for tuition fees and board and lodging for those in Senegal and for Scholastics. However, the well will soon run dry, thus an effort to start thinking and acting towards being financially independent.

VOCATION IN UGANDA:

There are so many vocations in Uganda both male and female. Our very own Fr. Martin Ochola is the head of the Association of Vocation Directors in Uganda. He is very active in visiting schools and parishes. The seminarians are also helping in vocation recruitment especially when they are on their vacation. The printed materials are helpful but there is a need for them to be revised.

The community decided to limit the number of Aspirants to 7 every school year because of the limited space. Their place even needs immediate repair.

TWO ASPIRANTS IN MASAKA, UGANDA:

Mr. Kato Musaazi PETER is 26 years old. He completed his college diploma from Masaka School of Comprehensive Nursing. He joined the Masaka community as an aspirant last February 2015. So far, he is happy with his stay and enthusiastically looking forward to serving the Lord as a religious priest of the Congregation. The other aspirant is Oilimi PAUL, aged 21. He had finished “O” level and “A” level of study. He is from Lira Diocese in Northern Uganda. He joined the aspirancy on November 6, 2014. They serve at the masses and do community cleaning. The two are under the direct care and supervision of Fr. Martin Ochola.

TWO POSTULANTS IN JINJA, UGANDA:

There are two Postulants in Jinja – Byaruhanga Emmanuel from the diocese of Lira and Bugembe Fred from the diocese of Masaka. They are going to be 3^rd year in their study of Philosophy at the Philosophy Center Jinja (PCJ). Aside from their studies they are also engaged in catechizing people on the Teachings of the Church especially on the Eucharist. The two are under the direct care and supervision of Fr. Willy Vallar. However, Fr. George Ssali (a Ugandan), who was given formation training in the Philippines, will take over the Postulancy Directorship when Fr. Willy comes back to the Philippines.

TWO NOVICES IN THIÈS, SÉNÉGAL

We have three novices in Senegal, namely, Herbert Nsambu, Emmanuel Pinto Kigwange and Cesar Mutyaba. They go through the usual novitiate formation for SSS while still continuing their study of French. How they wish they can have another computer to use for their studies and reflections.

THREE SCHOLASTICS IN KINSASHA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Our three scholastics in Kinsasha, Democratic Republic of the Congo are the following: Br. Muyingo John, sss (3^rd year theology), Br. Ssenkansi Denis, sss (1^st year theology) and Br. Zikusooka Simon Peter, sss (1^st year theology). The have the following to say:

“After our novitiate experience in Senegal, the Lord consecrated us to himself and for himself giving us a chance to embrace fully the Eucharistic mystery (Rule of Life no.1) but this time here in the Congo with the province of Blessed Isidore Bakanja. We are formed in the inter-African Scholastic-Emmaus with 24 other brothers of four different nationalities; DRC, Congo Brazzaville, Senegal and Mozambique. Two of us are in first year and the other one of us is in the third year of theology.

We thank the Lord who created roses on thorns and that’s why despite the daily challenges, his grace overflows in our hearts and keeps us moving. Our experience here has made us learn new languages and encounter new cultures. It has given us a chance to live in different sss communities exposing us to different pastoral methods and above all sharing the Eucharistic life.

The roses flourish and represent God’s grace but the thorns are also created and we see in them the cross that we are to carry every day following Christ. We then acknowledge the challenge of studying in a foreign language though our doubled effort passes us through. The lack of scholastic materials however sharpens the thorn a little more. The Formation House has apparently one computer for the 27 brothers with inefficient internet for the academic demands. In response to this, different provinces provide portable computers for their brothers though still the lengthy load shedding becomes too big to solve. Except the Ugandan brothers who are never sure of when and where to spend their holidays, the rest of the brothers are well catered for on this subject.

This experience makes us look at our Ugandan community with critical eyes and we are always happy when beautiful ideas are shared for Uganda. We thank you Rev. Provincial for your communication to us, your projects for the province and above all your interest in our existence here in the Congo. Here, we request if possible that you may visit the two houses: the scholastic in the Congo and the novitiate in Senegal to encourage and share in the experience of the brothers in formation.

With fraternal Eucharistic greetings of the risen Lord“.

ONE SCHOLASTIC PERPETUALLY PROFESSED IN THE PHILIPPINES:

Bro. Anthony ‘Tonny’ Akena made his perpetual profession last March 25. This coming school year at Maryhill School of Theology he will be in his second year Theology.

BRO. ALDE’S REFLECTION AFTER HIS PASTORAL EXPOSURE IN UGANDA:

Mission Views: The Uganda, Africa Experience

The Holy Father Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel) has described a striking challenge for the church in our times. He wants a Church that “goes forth”. He said that the word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in him “to go forth” (20). Because it is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear (23). The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. These statements have become my stout foundation during my pastoral exposure (June 2014-April 2015) in Uganda, Africa. Over-all I would say, by the grace of God the experience was life-enriching and to some extent successful. There I realized that one does not need to be expert in theology in order to be effective in the mission. The mere presence of a missionary with a heart to be with the people is actually more than enough. As St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians rightfully exhorts: “and whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”(Col. 3:23). Moreover, this presence must be self-initiated and generous. In my experience the call was, I have to go and find them. Activate myself and move toward others, to involve people of all walks of life, which is inclusive and non-discriminatory. Having imbibed and worked in this context, significant mission successes were attained.

 As a theology student absorbed in theological perspective, at times I am confident and inclined to impose certain norms and practices in theology during liturgical celebrations and other religious activities in our parish in Uganda. Little did I realize that I am in a culture far different from what I am used to, and far from the western character of church liturgy – defined and standardized. John Paul II’s  encyclical Redemptoris Missio (#53) succinctly characterized that “Missionaries, who come from other churches and countries, must immerse themselves in the cultural milieu of those to whom they are sent, moving beyond their own cultural limitations. Hence they must learn the language of the place in which they work, become familiar with the most important expressions of the local culture, and discover its values through direct experience. Only if they have this kind of awareness will they be able to bring to people the knowledge of the hidden mystery (cf. Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:5) in a credible and fruitful way. It is not of course a matter of missionaries renouncing their own cultural identity, but of understanding, appreciating, fostering and evangelizing the culture of the environment in which they are working, and therefore of equipping themselves to communicate effectively with it, adopting a manner of living which is a sign of gospel witness and of solidarity with the people.” So without this respect and appreciation of the culture, it will be difficult to pursue your mission initiatives.

Typical African values are not “out-going” or extroverted personality. In my observations, unless I will approach them first with a greeting and sincere smile they will look at you as a threat or just snub your presence. Conscious to this dynamics of people and culture, I need to be sensitive and reassuring in my engagements with them. People, their feelings, culture, background, state of economic well-being are paramount. Every decision, program and activity must take into account these factors because their cooperation largely depends on how you deal with them. Thus, mutual respect and friendly attitude count most.

While gradually immersing myself into the African culture, I realized that the most effective path of mission is to become a Witness. I believe they put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories.  JP II’s Redemptoris Missio (#42) further explains that “the first form of witness is the very life of the missionary, of the Christian family, and of the ecclesial community, which reveal a new way of living. The missionary who, despite all his or her human limitations and defects, lives a simple life, taking Christ as the model, is a sign of God and of transcendent realities. The evangelical witness which the world finds most appealing is that of concern for people, and of charity toward the poor, the weak and those who suffer. The complete generosity underlying this attitude and these actions stands in marked contrast to human selfishness. It raises precise questions which lead to God and to the Gospel. A commitment to peace, justice, human rights and human promotion is also a witness to the Gospel when it is a sign of concern for persons and is directed toward integral human development.” The Eucharist, source and summit of our life, the beacon of our faith, has been my constant and sturdy foundation to stand as a true and faithful witness of Christ.

“The harvest is great but the laborers are few.”(Luke 10:2). True enough, missionaries of faith in Africa are rare. Understandably maybe because of the threat of malaria or ebola virus. Or maybe because of the massive discomfort of African environment and lifestyle which one could hardly withstand. But obedient to the call of our religious identity, we can’t help but to accept the challenge. “To go forth” with freedom from within is truly a joyful and fulfilling experience.

To God be the Glory!

PRAYERS FOR:

• The repose of the soul of Mama Eulalia (mother of Fr. Mark)
• More vocation to the priesthood and religious life, perseverance of seminarians and guidance of formators

Fr. Joseph Matitu, SSS

[MAY 25, 2015]