On reading...
Africae Munus...
an encyclical written by the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI with the collaboration of Laymen, Laywomen, African Bishops, Clergy such as Reverend Father Raymond GOUDJO of BENIN in Rome and signed in my native land, BENIN Republic, during the visit of Pope Benedict during his visit...
Fr Raymond GOUDJO is the founder of Chants D'Oiseaux (Birds' Song), a Beninese institute that was created to promote Justice & Peace (IAJP - Institut des Artisans de Justice & de Paix)...First in its kind in BENIN Republic by a clergy, this state of the art institute is made of hotels, conference & dining rooms, restaurant, St Christophe Cyber, and a Chapel...
Well, on reading this Encyclical, many a times, I found myself reflecting on certain passages such as, and I quote:
par 55. "...Women in Africa make a great contribution to the family, to society and to the Church by their many talents and unique gifts..."
par 58. "...You, Catholic women, carry on the Gospel tradition of those women who assisted Jesus and the apostles (cf. Lk 8:3)...."
par 59. "...Dear daughters of the Church, sit constantly at the school of Christ, like Mary of Bethany, and learn to recognize his word (cf. Lk 10:39). Grow in knowledge of the catechism and the Church’s social teaching, so as to acquire for yourselves the principles that will assist you in acting as true disciples... The Church will always support you... The Church counts on you to create a “human ecology”[97] through your sympathetic love, your friendly and thoughtful demeanour, and finally through mercy, values that you know how to instil in your children, values that the world so badly needs. In this way, by the wealth of your specifically feminine gifts..." par 60."...Young people make up the majority of Africa’s population... Is not Christ the secret of true freedom and profound joy of heart? Is not Christ the supreme friend and the teacher of all genuine friendship? If Christ is presented to young people as he really is, they experience him as an answer that is convincing and they can accept his message, even when it is demanding and bears the mark of the Cross..."
par 64."...The future is in the hands of those who find powerful reasons to live and to hope. If you want it, the future is in your hands, because the gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon each one of you, strengthened by your encounter with Christ, can bring genuine hope to the world..." par 65."...If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed ... Dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life..."
par 67. "...This being the case, how can we fail to deplore and forcefully denounce the intolerable treatment to which so many children in Africa are subjected?[107] The Church is Mother and could never abandon a single one of them. It is our task to let Christ’s light shine in their lives by offering them his love, so that they can hear him say to them: “You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you” (Is 43:4). God wants every child to be happy and to smile, and his favour rests upon them, “for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mk 10:14)..."
par 68."...Christ Jesus always manifested his preferential love for the little ones (cf. Mk 10:13-16)... What, indeed, is meant by these words: “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3)? Does not Jesus make the child a model, even for adults? ... Heaven is promised to all who are simple, like children, to all who, like them, are filled with a spirit of trusting abandonment, pure and rich in goodness... "
par 69."... In the African worldview, life is perceived as something that embraces and includes ancestors, the living and those yet to be born, the whole of creation and all beings: those that speak and those that are mute, those that think and those lacking thought. The visible and invisible universe is regarded as a living-space for human beings, but also as a space of communion where past generations invisibly flank present generations, themselves the mothers of future generations. This great openness of heart and spirit in the African tradition predisposes you, dear brothers and sisters, to hear and to receive Christ’s message..."
To be continued...
Your Imperial Highness, Princess Fanny Magnificat V of the Kingdoms of Danxome, FulBE, Savalou, and the Empires of NIKKI & OUIDAH, Benin Republic. Benino - Canadian Cooperant established in the Kingdom of CANADA.
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