Outreach Magazine

OUTREACH MILL HILL FORMATION HOUSE JINJA COMMUNITY MAGAZINE 2020

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NILE BRIDGE

COVID 19 COMMUNITY PRAYER Table of Contents

God our Father we thank you for the gift of life

Message from the Editorial Team ……....3 Members of the Editorial Team ………...3 A word from the Rector…..…………….4 Co-curriculum Activities and

and for the gift of your son, our Lord and Healer of all illnesses, known and unknown to us .

Jesus Christ, come to our aid and heal our World from the COVID– 19 pandemic.

Formation……………...………………..6 Pastoral and Human

May your Holy spirit inspire , guide and protect all medical

Formation ………………………….…...7

personnel and researchers in their efforts to

Formation Invites us to be Good……… .8

care for the victims of this virus and to find a

Vocation ……………………………….10

lasting solution.

Is Marriage a Burden?............................11 The Value of Life…………...…………12

Grant all political and religious leaders the

Love Changes Everything………..…....13 Pictorials……………..…………………14 Support Staff………………..………...17

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

The Joy of Living in the Past

may COVID– 19 not separate but bring us closer PASTORAL FORMATION

HUMAN FORMATION

Generation……………………………..20

Quotes…………………………………..22 Who Could Ever Imagine?.......................24

Jokes ……………………………….…...26 COVID 19 Community Prayer…………27 2

to you, to ourselves and to others.

God of mercy, have mercy on those who have

The Last White Mill Hill Missionary in

Uganda...……………………………......23

at this difficult time to support the people they are called to serve. Through their efforts , Lord,

Gratitude………………………...…….18 My Song of Wishes!!.............................19

wisdom of working together and the strength

died during this challenging moment, receive INTELLECTUAL FORMATION

them into your kingdom and grant consolation to their families, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

St Raphael, Pray for us Our Lady Health of the sick, Pray for us.

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QUOTES

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM

"I have decided to stick with love.

Dear brothers and sisters, we present to you this edition of our magazine expounding on the four pillars of our formation: spiritual, pastoral, intellectual and human formation. As students in formation, we ought to balance all these aspects in order to attain proper growth. Just like one cannot walk with only the body and leave the soul, one cannot fully grow in only one aspect of formation. But rather, they need full integration of all these pillars.

JOKE…

The child and his mother

A curious child asked his mother: Hate is too great a burden to “Mommy, why are some of your bear." Martin Luther King JR hairs grey?”

The mother tried to use this occa- “Be faithful in small things besion to teach her child: “It is because it is in them that your cause of you, dear.

Every bad action of yours will strength lies.” Mother Teresa turn one of my hairs grey!”

The child replied innocently: “God never tires of forgiving us; “Now I know why grandmother we are the ones who tire of seeking has only grey hairs on her head.” his mercy.” Pope Francis

In incorporation of all this, the spiritual aspect fosters the relationship between oneself, others and God. Likewise, it also goes hand in hand with a pastoral aspect which enables us to reach out to people at our pastoral placements, sharing in their joys and sorrows. Additionally, our intellect also enhances the way we relate and interact with one another. We therefore encourage our readers to enjoy this magazine with various experiences on formation pillars and how they help us to grow holistically. We wish you a Happy Easter filled with God’s blessings.

Joseph O. Okoth

Joseph Tusiime

Ferdinand Ikofo

A JINJA FORMATION HOUSE COMMUNITY PICTURE 2019/ 2020 26

Chief Editor

Javan Brouz

Kidemba Landus 3

WORD FROM THE RECTOR

time to send it out as an Easter gift. Little did we know that Easter would be celebrated in isolation – in quarantine. In the formation community we had all programs well laid out for a smooth finish of the formation year 2019/2020, little did we know that all these would just come to a halt with the lockdown on all “non-essential” services in the country.

As members of the Philosophy Centre Jinja, famously known as the PCJ family, we religiously followed the government directives. One of them was suspending classes. Back in our formation house communities we upheld basic hygiene; washing hands, using sanitizers, some wore mouth-nose masks and observing social distance. In a nutshell, we adopted new behavioural strategies to deny COVID-19 a chance to spread.

minded us of our common belonging; ignited untold charitable gestures throughout the world; made us realise that we are fragile creatures who are in direct need of God. There could be no better consequent of this exercise of selfquarantine than turning back to God, not only as the Source and Sustainer but also as the Summit of all that is and will be. This was also true of the Biblical quarantines during the days of Noah and the Passover of the Jews from slavery to freedom. In their quarantines, the Jews remembered, regretted, renounced, repented from their sins, paid heed to and reflected on the Word of God and were saved by YAWEH.

The Risen Christ, the Bearer of the Crown of Life, not only destroys the crown of death but also promises eternal life to us all who believe his promises. By the same token, he transforms us from being victims to being victors, from being fearful to being faithful as he invites us to hope more, believe more, love more and live more by reaching out to one and all in a kind word, an encouraging word and in a smile of hope.

Much as the lockdown was the most suitable measure in the effort to curb the spread of COVID19, it cannot go without mention that many people suffered a lot from its effects; some pregnant women and sick people died because they could not reach health facilities due to the restriction of We had plans for publication of public and private transport, and this little OUTREACH magazine if at all there was, the process of way back in March 2020, just in getting a clearance for travel from

As he keeps us safe and consoles us, may our Risen Lord heal those battling in hospital with COVID19 and bring home with him all our brothers and sisters who have been ravaged by the sting of this endemic corona virus; may He For us Catholics, it is significant wear on them the Crown of Life, to underscore the season in which Eternal Life! this unintentional quarantine ef- Christ lives and because he lives fectively started: the Lenten sea- we are hopeful! son. It is so significant because Lent is a season that invites us to a Fr. John Akain Kwa ‘holy quarantine’ of self- Cameroonian , Formator. examination and repentance; a time to go home to our real selves as we encounter God through His ‘Word,’ our protective and saving mask, saving us from the reward of sin, death. Over and above all, Lent is a time when the Prince of Life is wearing ‘the’ crown; this time, not a crown of misery but the crown of mercy; not a crown of darkness but the crown of light; not a crown of death but the crown of life.

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“Man proposes, God disposes,” is an old saying that illustrates the principle of the supremacy of God over human life and everything.

Human beings may come up with a number of ambitious or ingenious plans or ideas – which is not bad at all, but, at the end of the day, forces beyond our control determine whether we fail or succeed.

We have all been shocked and overtaken by COVID-19 pandemic that brought the entire world to a lockdown; millions of people were infected, hundreds of thousands died, plans and dreams have been halted, world economies will take years to repair and all of us are affected.

WHO COULD EVER

rus’!

IMAGINE?

Who could ever imagine that the world super powers could be powerless? Who could ever imagine that the rich could be as helpless as the poor? Who could ever imagine that highly industrialised cities in the world with deafening noises could be brought to a deadening silence? Who could ever imagine that the Holy Eucharist, could not be celebrated with and for the congregations throughout the world for a month and counting? Who could ever imagine?

Who could! Who? Certainly not me. But why? Why all these unimaginable happenings? The answer to these questions is one but in different appellations: Coro, Corona, Corona virus, COVID19, and others in some parts of the world have termed it ‘toyota vi-

‘Corona’ is the Latin word for circle, ring, wreath, or crown.

Thus Corona virus or COVID-19, as experts have beautifully abbreviated, is called corona because it packages and displays itself in a crown-like shape. It is indeed a crown; a crown of misery; a crown of darkness; and a crown of death that has befallen us all. The architect of this deadly crown is the unguided and untamed human intelligence. When our intelligence is not tamed by an authentic morality of doing good and avoiding evil; when it is not guided by a spirituality of true love, love of God and love of neighbour; when it lacks the virtue of intellectual humility, humility that makes us wise in knowing how little we know; this intelligence only breeds intellectual arrogance whose natural consequences are nothing less than COVID-19 and its cognates.

This virus has generated trending phrases such as: stay at home, self -isolation, and self-quarantine. In this self-quarantine, COVID-19 has given us a chance to sit back and to reflect on the quality of our relationships with ourselves, with others, with environment and with God; it has humbled us all; brought us back to who we are, human beings and not just human ‘doings’ or human ‘havings’; re-

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the authorities was more difficult peace which no one or nothing than “a camel passing through the else can give us. There is hope for eye of the needle!” new life in Jesus. We will be back to normalcy after COVID-19.

My dad, Catechist Antonio With Jesus, there is hope even in Okanya died within that period the darkest hour visualised in the (on 11th April 2020) and that symbol of the light of the Paschal forced me into a first-hand experi- Candle. ence of the effects of COVID-19 lockdown. I thank everyone who Many thanks to the editorial team supported and prayed for me and of this magazine, all students, the my family members during that support staff, fellow team member difficult time. Dad was buried on Fr. John Akain Kwa, Fr. Michael 18th April 2020. May his soul and Ochwo who was caught in the all souls of the faithful departed lockdown within our community rest in eternal peace! and he was very companionable and supportive to us.

Back to the main topic after that brief digression, in our communi- It has been a long wait for this ty we managed the lockdown pe- magazine. I am hopeful that by riod by devising a new timetable, the time you hold it in your hands, individuals took on new responsi- the situation will have improved. bilities like cooking and routine So read and enjoy it, and let us sanitisation of key places. Key continue to pray for the healing of events planned earlier would wait our world from COVID-19 and its until the storm of destruction has effects. passed by. One of those events is Peace be with you! the celebration of the Temporary Oath of our seven, third year stu- Fr. Charles Okata, MHM, dents. The event normally takes Rector, Ugandan. place on 1st May. As I mentioned earlier, this is the Easter edition of our little OUTREACH magazine. At Easter, Jesus moves from the darkness of death into the light of the resurrection. Jesus overcomes all those things which bring hopelessness and death. He brings new life and 5

CO-CURRICULAR

about fostering individuals’ holistic development. This takes into account the dimensions like Spiritual, Human, Pastoral and Intellectual Development. Each of these aspects has got certain essentials that enhance formation.

Co-curricular activities therefore, come in to foster the achievement of some of these goals of formation.

ACTIVITIES AND

FORMATION

Besides enabling a person to explore and discover their talents, co -curricular activities are also instrumental in enabling one to relax from different tasks that might have transpired in the course of the day. This in turn helps us to re -energize ourselves for other tasks ahead of us. We cannot fail to notice that the different games impact positively on the pillars of formation.

Several of my acquaintances have inquired about the things involved in our formation programs. Some of them, upon hearing that we engage in different co-curricular activities, have seemed puzzled and ended up posing many questions.

Such as "Why co-curricular activities yet you are aspiring to be priests? "What have games like football, drafts, scrabble and de- People's levels of thinking can bating got to do with what you are greatly be boosted by engaging in being called to?" Such questions have always left me pondering about the best way I can make them understand the correlation between the two.

Formation is first and foremost 6

THE LAST WHITE MILL HILL MISSIONARIY IN UGANDA

citizens in the country. In my two years with him in the Mill Hill Formation House, Jinja, these are some of the simple, yet important 50 years things I saw in him which might ago, a be inspiring to you too.

Mill Hill He is always smart and tacked in a Mission- shirt ary man arrived at He makes physical exercise by walking to Rubaga Hill.

Rubaga hill, Jinja- He is a fluent reader.

Uganda. He drives a simple car.

His fame spread all He is always a happy man. over the He is always on time for commucorners of the country like a wild nity activities. fire; Kamuli brass band was the topic over the press. The band was He informs the community memalways played on major functions bers on the journeys he makes of the country in the 1970s and He is fluent in Luganda .

1980s. He trained many young boys and girls. Today his idea of He communicates in time. the bands is vivid in Entebbe, Greeting when he finds anyone Iganga, and Mbikko among other whenever he is walking. places.

He is ready to listen to anyone I met Fr. Wijnand two years ago who approaches him. and I am sure many people have met him too. Did you know! He I must confess that the above are was the first man to bring and play only a handful about him. Perhaps a guitar in the Church in Uganda. another question to ask goes to He played the amazing grace in you and to me, “what do you learn Dutch and the youth flooded the from Fr. Wijnand?”

Church; both Christians and non- Henry Osara, Christians. In the month of October 2019, he appeared on the front Ugandan. page of one of the Ugandan newspapers, as an icon of the upbringing and a great inspiration to many 23

long time without meeting each who hoped to harvest in the fuother would meet. When it came ture. It was a sign of love among to picking grasshoppers, everyone community members. had different abilities; some Mourning was a communal activwould pick more, and others few ity and when a community memdepending on their skills and ex- ber died, we would not go for garperience. After picking, we would dening until the second day after go home to feast. Grasshoppers burial. We would gather at the were used as sauce preferably eat- place of the deceased from the en with sweet potatoes and it was time when she/he died, to at least a very delicious meal. However, the first day after burial. This was the activity was also associated to give consolation and support to with risks of snake bites because the family of the deceased. lemon grass was a habitat for A drum was used as a means of snakes. communication with different Christmas was a big celebration where all relatives came back home to enjoy. Christmas was a day when meat could be eaten in a year. After prayers, family photos could be taken by camera men.

The camera men were so interesting because they had two things in common that would make someone think they had been trained for that work. They touched our heads as a way of organizing someone for a photo and they squatted several times looking for a better position to magnify the image of the person. Photos were meant for memories of different occasions.

styles of drumming which portrayed different meanings. The worst sound was “Kanga Baije” which means “scare them to come.” This was for emergencies concerning death. It either meant that a dead body was discovered or someone was murdered. The way of living in the past was the best because community and social life were regarded as the most important aspects.

Tusiime Joseph 2nd Year, Ugandan.

The spirit of sharing was high.

After hunting, we shared meat with our neighbours and the first person to harvest maize, beans and other food crops would share with other community members 22

games. This happens as one tries to exercise around in a bid to get the best scores in the game. This, in the end is a great contributor towards intellectual development.In addition to the above, collective games like basketball, volleyball and football are very helpful as far as building up collaborations and dealing with teamwork are concerned. They still help us to understand better each other’s varied personalities.

This lays a fertile ground for accepting them the way they are. It further facilitates a way of handling the challenges that come with group dynamics. In the end, being able to patiently work alongside one another is a great sign of human development.

Therefore, co-curricular activities play a vital role towards holistic formation.

Vicent Mugewra 1st Year, Ugandan .

PASTORAL AND HUMAN FORMATION

I would like to share with you some insights on how human and pastoral formation are related. Far from obstructing, pastoral and human formation enhance the spread of the gospel. We are able to have relationships with everyone in the communities we live and the places we are sent to preach the gospel. Through these experiences, we grow as healthy individuals. In addition, healthy interactions help us to live an integrated life. This formation engages us in the process of selfdiscovery and self-acceptance.

We also come to know and accept our weaknesses that help us to develop that inner love and the giftedness within us.

Pastoral formation culminates the 7

FORMATION INVITES US TO BE GOOD

entire formation process. In pastoral formation, we engage in different ministries of the church such as hospitals, schools, and Small Christian Communities. All this help us to appreciate God’s providence and care. In all these we see the presence of Christ.

Pastoral formation enables us to take on personal responsibility following the example of Christ the good shepherd which prepares us for future pastoral ministry. It calls for pastoral zeal, humility, positive attitude and openness to learn from this very experience.

Through journaling and group sharing, wisdom is shared that widens our scope of ministry.

Through reflections and evaluations, we develop skills on how to interpret the experiences we encounter. Prayer and reflection remain the life- long tool in pastoral formation and formation in general.

Dear brothers and sisters, we acknowledge that we are not perfect human beings even though we are in the Formation House.

We are good at the same time bad, just like any other person.

But, the formation programme invites us to change towards becoming good. It is not a one-day deal but a continuous process which requires a lot of effort.

Change may not happen by ourselves but through listening to others, praying for God’s grace to transform our hearts and lives.

This is what I believe and what gives me hope. At this point I can say, we are not yet done at the level of salvation. God continues his work to mold us into the image of Jesus.

Tumwine Tumusiime, Edgar 1st Year, Ugandan.

I believe that we all make personal choices in life and I am convinced that everyone would want to make good choices. In every 8

THE JOY OF LIVING IN THE PAST GENERATION

up, he or she would be punished because it was a sign that one delayed playing at the well. Food was the common trap for punishments such that whoever was disobedient would be denied food.

Mothers could serve food and whenever one sat to eat, he or she would be punished before eating.

A saying was developed out of this trap that “food is the trap used by the elderly.” One would be punished as soon as he or she came back irrespective of the time spent away from home.

Availability of different and nutri-

I am always impressed by two things.

These are: growing up from the vil- tious food stuffs was another joy. lage with my grandmother and being Some food stuffs were cultivated a born of 1990 which enable me to while others were just gathered

experience some of the social and from the bush. The interesting cultural ways of life in the past food was grasshoppers whose seaamong the Banyoro culture. They son was November every year. also give me courage to opt for life in the past generation compared to the present.

The community was responsible for discipline and proper growth of children. Any member of the community would administer punishment to any child even if it were not his own, and that was not questionable!

Children were taught to manage time by enforcing different punishments to whoever failed to. As we went to fetch water, we were told to spit on the ground and whoever came back when his or her saliva had dried

They landed on the grasses of hilly areas and every morning a man would go to survey whether the grasshoppers had landed the previous night. If found, he would blow the whistle “Akarenge” to alert the neighbouring communities to come and pick grasshoppers. This was a social event where people who had taken a

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MY SONG OF WISHES!

I will not wait to impress an Africa where unemployment is no longer the song but where we import more labor from other continents.

Ooh Africa, the beauty of the world.

You have all that we need; you have lakes, rivers, forests, minerals, parks and mountains, Your greenness keeps me truly alive,

Ooh Africa, I need to see us singing the same song after the crown When I dream about a new Africa of victory has been enthroned unto us, I imagine to be in an Africa where there is plenty of what I so much I will be pleased when our song shall be; desire to see and have.

I need to see Africa without tor- Oh Africa, especially Africans, mostly our brotherly and sisterly ture. journey I dream to be in Africa which is Divided we fall, united we shall distant from kidnappings stand, come together socially to I long to see an Africa where mur- solve each problem der is being told in the days of For our better development in the old. region of Africa I am optimistic to dwell, in an Africa where nobody is a refugee in We need to create peace and unity any country, where corruption will for all. only be dwelling in everlasting Kidemba Landus purgatory, with no hope for life 3rd Year, Ugandan. after.

I will be proud of an Africa where secularism and ignorance do not appear in both our dialects and dictionaries.

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choice we make, God is always with us and accompanies us. If we choose God, He Himself will take the initiative to call us. As we read the various instances in the Bible, Jesus indeed is the true echo of people’s feelings; he is in union even with the underprivileged. He is set as an example of fraternal love, to inspire us with the spirit of witness and service for the glory of God and for the good of humankind.

In addition, being good is a call for everybody; to be responsible, to mature and to use our giftedness or talents in order to create an environment of peace, harmo-

Just like Archbishop Desmond Tutu said “Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

We should not wait to become great people in order to do good. Even the little good things we do can be more important.

This is to bring into our awareness that another way to have good luck is to always do good. This is clearly stated in the golden rule: “Do to others what you would want them do to you”. There is value in doing to others, what we expect of them to us. It is just like none of us would not want to be given food if he is hungry. Indeed, this is a common vocation to all that of being and doing good at all times. My dear brothers and sisters, let us live in such a way that people may indeed experience God’s love through us.

Ikofo Ferdinand

ny, right relationships with each 3rd Year, Congolese. other and to help one another in every day struggles. Nevertheless, each one of us has a specific disposition to a particular calling.

This cannot prevent us from doing good to others. We are invited to do good in the little ways we can in respect to our capacities. What is good remains good; the grandeur is not important in goodness.

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VOCATION

quick to make judgements. But God seeks the good attributes of our lives. As St. Paul echoes in his first letter to the Corinthians, “God purposely chooses what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and the weak in order to shame the powerful…” (I Cor.1:27-28).

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, it is our obligation to accept

In most of our societies, vocation has been branded as a slave of social background. This may be family background or the lifestyle of an individual. Nevertheless, all of us are called to different vocations depending on our capabilities, weaknesses, talents, and skills of which, we have to respond with humility to God’s Christ’s call and strive to transform our lives into what He calls grace. us to. Our lives should become Referring back to the founders the epitome of His mercy, humiliand pioneers of our Christian faith ty and love. Like St. Anselm of such as Sts. Peter the apostle, Canterbury who asserts that our Matthew, Paul, Augustine, to reason helps us to seek God in our mention but a few, we realize that works. This can be realized in the society had branded them as how we contribute towards the “sinners” because some were conversion of our own lives and fishermen, tax collectors, and per- of others. secutors of the church. Christ still called them and used them as ves- Okumu Alex sels of His mercy and love to the 1st Year, Ugandan. world. We should always acknowledge that our ways are different from God’s ways. As human beings we are sometimes 10

to be like an egg in our hands that if we choose to take good care of it, thereafter, life will start. However, if we choose to release or crush it, that will be the end of life.

With gratitude one is able to realize the mystery of life and how precious it is. Sometimes we are blinded by external forces not to see the opportunities we are given every new day. Self-examination to know these forces that are always pushing us to act the way we do is very healthy and makes us able to be grateful, loving and caring among others.

others by treating them with dignity, love and being grateful to them.

Gratitude is the ticket to happiness and happiness is being grateful for what we have; friends, material things and everything we can think of.

We have come to this world not just by luck but each of us is willed and loved into existence by God. Many children die at birth, many mothers die during child birth, many children are aborted and many pregnant mothers are killed day and night. On the other hand, we have calamities in the world; floods, diseases, attacks by terrorists, and road accidents among others. Despite all these, we are alive. It is high time we become good companions to each other and helping those who are less privileged.

A grateful person is always able to love the people around him/her and to recognize their importance.

Where we are today is not because of our effort; it is by the Grace of God. Why do we treat each other like aliens? We are all God’s creatures. We should bring joy in peo- Petererick Mwenda, ple’s life and not sorrow. The chil2nd Year, Kenyan. dren in the streets, the orphans, the mentally ill people, widows and widowers; it is not their choice to be where they are or who they are.

Let us all create a better place for all sorts of people wherever we go.

We are blessed to be a blessing to 19

GRATITUDE

with the past, there is always a reason for everything that happens.

The Oxford dictionary defines gratitude as a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. Each day for you and for me may seem to be so normal that we may forget to be grateful but all in all we are because of the Grace of God. As Socrates says “unexamined life is not worth living.” I find it a good practice to always get time to examine our conscience and discover the joy of paying gratitude to God and to others. Our past bad experiences should not be an excuse for being ungrateful. Our past maybe painful but the lesson lies deep in our hearts. We cannot define ourselves

Our future cannot be defined basing on our past or present experience for all lies in the hands of God. Psalms 31:15 says, “my destiny is in your hands….” Despite the fact that our life is in God’s hands we do not cease to have a role to play. We have the freedom to choose what to do every new day. As Jean Paul Sartre says “man is condemned to be free;

because once thrown in the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” If we choose, we should be ready to face the consequences of our choices.

Our lives are so fragile at times that we fail to hold on to what comes on our way. I tend to take it

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IS MARRIAGE A BURDEN?

Dear friends, I have heard some people saying that marriage is a burden. What an absurd conclusion! When they say this, it means that they are drawing conclusions from their own past experiences and of others. But the question is, what does it take to sustain a marriage? There is no such a thing as expertise in marriage. It is simply the Grace of God that sustains a couple to register a number of years. I really admire couples that have stayed together for over twenty-five years. One would sarcastically ask which formula they applied to stay in their marriage to such admirable time frames.

In some of our societies, when a marriage has issues of any kind, the woman is in most cases blamed for it. Even in cases where the man is engaged in extra-marital affairs, you hear declarations like "you pushed

him to.” When in-laws expect a certain behavior or gesture from the husband and they do not get it, they are quick to blame the woman for not influencing him. When children do not turn out as anticipated, they become that of the mother while the good ones are daddy’s children. Infertility cases are always blamed on women as either being wizards or having had a series of abortions that prevents her from conceiving.

Looking at my society of the ‘Itesots’ this loop-sidedness in marriage puts a lot of pressure on women and hampers their progress in their careers.

This injustice to women should be discouraged.

In the book of Genesis 2: 18, God said, "It is not good for a man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him…” This biblical reference reminds married couples to be companions to one another by sacrificing whatever they have for the sake of their partners. Therefore brethren, before we think of marriage, we should value more the positive aspects of a partner which can help couples to stay in mutual love and togetherness. Just like Saint Pope John Paul II reminds us that love is love only when it is lived through the lens of self-sacrifice.

Ebulu Emmanuel 1st Year, Ugandan.

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THE VALUE OF LIFE

I would wish to relate the value of human life to a new shilling note.

If I take it and squeeze it within my fingers, its value will not change. It will remain the same note. Actually, I can still buy what I could have bought with the note before it was squeezed.

lenges and tribulations does not define who we are. We are bigger than our challenges, tribulations and circumstances. Therefore, we should not allow challenges or tribulations we go through to define who we are. We should be strong enough to overcome the challenges we encounter.

Psalm 30 puts it this way: “Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.”

So when we are pinned down in life, we should remember that a time is coming when God will deliver us. God’s time is the best and He will turn everything to our favour. Whatever makes you cry today; you need it to testify tomorrow. God will pick you from grass to grace. Whatever challenge you meet in life is to prepare you for (the mission of ) tomorrow. Therefore, dear brethren we should be ourselves, treasure our life and live it to the fullest!

The same applies to our lives. At times life can be hard to bear to an extent that we are being pulled down and squeezed by the challenges we encounter. We should remember that we have not lost Otieno Evans, our value. The true value of our 1st Year, Kenyan. life is not in what we are going through but what lies in us. What we are facing in terms of chal12

MR. MATHIAS - GROUNDSMAN MADAM ROBINA - HOUSE KEEPER

MADAM FLORENCE- CHEF

MR. ROY - GROUNDSMAN

MR. RONALD - CHEF

MADAM ROSE-CHEF 17

to live but they help others to live too. This true love is greater and better than any material gift. I have come across people who do not need much from us other than love.

LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING

SR. MAGRET KUBAANZE (LSOSF) PART TIME FORMATOR

MR. GEORGE KYEMBA BURSAR

PCJ CULTURAL DAY

SUPPORT STAFF FR. WIJNAND HUIJS, FAREWELL PARTY 16

I believe this because I have seen so many families who, without much live a joyful life just because they love each other and are ready to help one another in time of difficulty. They are happy and appreciate their status of life. This clearly shows that material things In Mathew 22:39, Jesus invites us have nothing to do with joy in the to love our neighbours as we love community. ourselves. We always feel happy when we are loved and when we It is therefore, a challenge to you love back. Love makes everything and to me to embrace love so as to to change for the betterment of transform this universe and make human beings. We have seen that it the best place to live in. May we those people who love their work change how we perceive things tend to do it with care and end up and love one another as Christ being very successful. Pope Fran- loves us. cis is a vivid example of this. The Javan Brouz Muganda care and love he puts in his apostolic work have made him unique. 1st Year, Kenyan.

At times, things do not go on well as expected due lack of love. People are killing each other because love does not exist in them. But with love people not only desire 13

PAUL MASEREKA THIRD YEAR, UGANDAN.

PAUL MAGERO FIRST YEAR , UGANDAN.

JOSEPH O. OKOTH THIRD YEAR, KENYAN.

PETER GINYIERA FIRST YEAR, UGANDAN.

FR. CHARLES’ GROWTH GROUP

EZEKIEL KHISA FIRST YEAR, KENYAN.

DANIEL BWIRE FIRST YEAR, KENYAN.

IGNATIOUS N. OGEMA FIRST YEAR, UGANDAN.

EPHRAIM LOOKO THIRD YEAR, CONGOLESE. 14

BOWEN E. CHIRCHIR THIRD YEAR, KENYAN

JUDE KYEYUNE THIRD YEAR, UGANDAN.

FR. JOHN’S GROWTH GROUP

15