Religious Life, AN African Perspective
The Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa (IHSA) is a Catholic religious congregation focused on education, evangelization, and empowering vulnerable women and girls, particularly against harmful practices like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriages. The cover photo shows a member of the IHSA congregation playing joyfully with children in the Gerald Goldin Memorial Day Care and Nursery School, which they opened in 2022 in Kisarawe, Tanzania.
MISSION IS FUN
A STORY THAT REVEALS A SILENT CRISIS
BY REV FR CHARLEMAGNE SITOU DOSSAVI MCCJ
ONCE, A young man was walking along the banks of a mighty river. The torrent was so strong that it carried away everything in its path: people, leaves, branches …. The young man looked at the water and thought, “If I don’t enter now, I will be left behind.” Without reflecting, he dived into the river. At first, he felt safe, because everyone was swimming in the same direction. After a while, he realized that he was being carried away by the water. He tried to swim against the current, but failed—not because he was weak, but because he had never learned to stop, listen, and discern.
Scholastic Ramos Alberto, a Comboni missionary studying theology in Pietermaritzburg, recently had an encounter with the youth of Saint Charles Lwanga, Bronkhorstspruit. In his presentation on religious vocation, the meaning of life, and inner calling, the youths raised one concern. They wanted to know what the best vocation, guaranteeing, wealth and financial freedom, would be. This experience revealed something more significant than a simple pastoral conversation: it exposed a vocational crisis that is not only religious, but existential. The conversation with the young people after Mass brought to light something worrying: many of them had never been invited or prompted to think deeply about themselves. Contemporary society offers constant distraction, but rarely offers meaning. Silence frightens, because in silence important issues about life come to the fore and disturb one.
When young people do not reflect on their own existence, they begin to live reactively rather than responsibly. They react to the demands of the market, to family expectations, and to social pressures, but they do not respond to the inner call that gives meaning to life.
Consequently, religious, priestly, or consecrated vocation appears distant and unappealing, because it cannot be measured in terms of immediate profit. It is imperative to help young people to discern, not to merely choose future vocations thoughtlessly. Discernment means learning to listen – with depth and freely -to God’s voice, to one’s conscience, and to reality.
Keys to the Heart, a story of harmony and reconciliation
Jay sat in front of the piano and started playing a piece of music, and Joma, his estranged brother, was once again stunned by the talent that his little brother displayed. His mother said, “Even though your brother is a PWD, he’s good at music. Once he hears a tune, he can play it exactly as it is.” Jayjay was, in fact, on the Autism Spectrum. (Keys to the Heart, a Netflix movie, 2023).