The confinement did not prevent the Comboni missionaries from celebrating the gift of the missionary vocation of scholastic Maurice Malema who, on Saturday 18th April 2020, made his perpetual vows in the chapel of the community of Kingabwa, Kinshasa. Taking part in the celebration were the fifteen people - eleven confreres and four visitors - who live in the community of Kingabwa. Since the DR Congo is in a state of health emergency due to the coronavirus, Fr. Léonard Ndjadi, provincial superior, invited a representative from each community of the Kinshasa area to join in the celebration: Fr. Ferdinand Sito, formator of the scholasticate of Kintambo, Fr. Elio Farronato of the community of Bibwa and Fr. Luis Filiberto from Kimwenza. The family of Maurice was represented by Mrs. Véronique.
The celebration began at 11.00 a.m. in a festive atmosphere, typical of the Easter Octave. In his homily, Fr. Léonard congratulated Maurice for his perseverance during the thirteen years of basic formation: "We congratulate Maurice because he has been persevering. At the same time we thank the Lord because he has been faithful at his side." He also explained the meaning of each of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience which, according to him, are meaningful only if they are lived in view of configuration to Christ and the fulfilment of God's will. Citing the Rule of Life of the Comboni Missionaries (n. 98.2), Fr. Leonard added that this configuration is animated by an unfailing fidelity and made visible by the free and spontaneous desire and ability to live with serenity and decision the evangelical counsels, community life and the demands of the Comboni missionary vocation.
Addressing himself directly to Maurice, the provincial superior, he asked him to maintain a deep relationship with Christ, to take care of his spiritual life and to dialogue unceasingly with his frailties, since the Lord wants him to do good: "The Lord wants you to do good, much good. And your vocation is the expression of God's gratuitous love for you. The gift that the Lord gives you today, accept it in the condition of perpetual fragility. So you have the responsibility to work every day so that your limitations do not prevent this gift from radiating." At the end of his intervention, while wishing him the best in his missionary service, the Provincial Superior advised Maurice not to neglect anyone because, he said, God is deep and can manifest Himself in the form of a light breeze.
Born in Isiro on 30 October 1986, scholastic Maurice Malema made his first vows in Cotonou in May 2013. In 2017, he completed his theological studies at the scholasticate in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He is doing his missionary service in the community of Bondo and a few weeks ago the General Council assigned him to the Province of Congo.
In his special word during the celebration, Maurice shared with the assembly that, during his formative and missionary process, he has learned to accept suffering as an integral part of human and Christian life, to give more value to forgiveness and to accept his personal history as a gift. His total consecration to the mission and to the service of the poorest and most abandoned is for him a reason to thank God for the gift of mission and a prayer that the Lord will give him strength for the future: "I ask the Lord to show me the same love and trust that he has shown me up to now, especially during my thirteen years of formation. He has been a guide for me. I also ask him to dispose my heart so that I may always be at the service of the poorest and most abandoned". Maurice also entrusts his consecration to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, St. Daniel Comboni and to the members of his religious family, the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus.
After the Eucharistic celebration, which ended at 1.05 p.m., a fraternal meal was shared in the refectory of the provincial house.
Lwanga Kakule
The celebration began at 11.00 a.m. in a festive atmosphere, typical of the Easter Octave. In his homily, Fr. Léonard congratulated Maurice for his perseverance during the thirteen years of basic formation: "We congratulate Maurice because he has been persevering. At the same time we thank the Lord because he has been faithful at his side." He also explained the meaning of each of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience which, according to him, are meaningful only if they are lived in view of configuration to Christ and the fulfilment of God's will. Citing the Rule of Life of the Comboni Missionaries (n. 98.2), Fr. Leonard added that this configuration is animated by an unfailing fidelity and made visible by the free and spontaneous desire and ability to live with serenity and decision the evangelical counsels, community life and the demands of the Comboni missionary vocation.
Addressing himself directly to Maurice, the provincial superior, he asked him to maintain a deep relationship with Christ, to take care of his spiritual life and to dialogue unceasingly with his frailties, since the Lord wants him to do good: "The Lord wants you to do good, much good. And your vocation is the expression of God's gratuitous love for you. The gift that the Lord gives you today, accept it in the condition of perpetual fragility. So you have the responsibility to work every day so that your limitations do not prevent this gift from radiating." At the end of his intervention, while wishing him the best in his missionary service, the Provincial Superior advised Maurice not to neglect anyone because, he said, God is deep and can manifest Himself in the form of a light breeze.
Born in Isiro on 30 October 1986, scholastic Maurice Malema made his first vows in Cotonou in May 2013. In 2017, he completed his theological studies at the scholasticate in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He is doing his missionary service in the community of Bondo and a few weeks ago the General Council assigned him to the Province of Congo.
In his special word during the celebration, Maurice shared with the assembly that, during his formative and missionary process, he has learned to accept suffering as an integral part of human and Christian life, to give more value to forgiveness and to accept his personal history as a gift. His total consecration to the mission and to the service of the poorest and most abandoned is for him a reason to thank God for the gift of mission and a prayer that the Lord will give him strength for the future: "I ask the Lord to show me the same love and trust that he has shown me up to now, especially during my thirteen years of formation. He has been a guide for me. I also ask him to dispose my heart so that I may always be at the service of the poorest and most abandoned". Maurice also entrusts his consecration to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, St. Daniel Comboni and to the members of his religious family, the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus.
After the Eucharistic celebration, which ended at 1.05 p.m., a fraternal meal was shared in the refectory of the provincial house.
Lwanga Kakule
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