A workshop report

YOUTH MINISTRY, MENTORING AND ACCOMPANIMENT WORKSHOP
Intra Africa Hotel,  Juba
May 17-19, 2016

Narrative Report

From May 17-19, 2016, we were privileged to be able to conduct a three full-day workshop in Juba, South Sudan on the topic of Youth Ministry, Mentoring and Accompaniment.  This event was to build upon the workshop of last year which examined the Discernment and Accompaniment of Vocations to the Priestly and Religious Life.  Following last year's workshop, the vast majority of participants expressed the need to have further training.  Upon reflection, it was decided to choose this year's theme as a way to not only offer more assistance to those engaged in the initial formation of candidates to the religious and priestly life, but also to assist those engaged in the general formation of young people.  Our rationale was that all Catholic youth ministry should aim to assist young people to discern their path in life in the light of their Baptismal calling, and this in turn directly impacts on discernment of the more specific vocation to religious and priestly life.

As we did last year, we again invited participants from all religious congregations in South Sudan along with representatives from each of the Dioceses.  The response actually exceeded our expectations so that over the three days, we were able to accept 48 participants coming from every diocese of South Sudan:  Juba, Tambura-Yambio, Wau, Torit, Rumbek, Yei and Malakal.  In total, the 48 participants were comprised of 34 men and 14 women, or 15 Diocesan Priests, 32 Religious and 1 layman.  Not included among these numbers were our two facilitators: Fr Augustine Sellam SDB, a member of the Salesians, and Mr Nelson King.  Fr Augustine was the main presenter and was present for the whole three days, while Mr King attended the first morning only for his presentation.

The program schedule is at the end of this report and the following is a brief outline of each day:
Day 1:
The morning was devoted to the theme of The Situation and Challenges facing Young People in South Sudan Today.  It was presented by Mr Nelson King who has acted as a youth advisor to the Archdiocese of Juba.  Mr King is currently engaged in counseling, specifically in the area of HIV-AIDS.  He helped to set the stage for our workshop by outlining some of the major challenges facing young people from his own experience.  He also offered some ways in which he believed these challenges need addressing.  Following his presentation, there was an ample period for questions, clarifications and discussion among the participants.  Several raised their own concerns from their experience of working with youth which helped to clarify the expectations and needs of our participants when it came to ministry with youth.

In the afternoon, our main presenter, Fr Augustine Sellam SDB began by looking at the topics:  New Wine in New Wine Skins - Youth Ministry in Perspective  and Principles, Components and Models of Youth Ministry.  Using a combination of Powerpoint Presentations, an animated style of delivering his material, handout questionnaires, and interaction among the participants including through the use of games, Fr Augustine covered the above topics and what followed over the next two days.  He not only offered us useful material, but modeled a style that would be attractive and conducive to working with youth.

Day 2:
In the morning of Day 2, we continued with the topic of Models of Youth Ministry, using as a paradigm the journey of the two disciples to Emmaus in Luke 24.  We then moved on to the topic of the Qualities of a Youth Minister in which we were offered a chance to reflect on ourselves in terms of how we may or may not be developing the sorts of skills and qualities that are essential for effective ministry with youth.  The tips offered by Fr Augustine were helpful in that they were practical and possible to do by most of us.

In the afternoon we then moved to the topic of Youth Mentoring.  Again, Fr Augustine used an example from Scripture, namely that of St Paul in 2 Tim 1:ff.  Among much material, he spoke of the types: Upward and Downward Mentor and helped us to reflect on our own experience of being mentored by each of these, both necessary and helpful for the young.

Day 3:
On the final morning of the workshop, we began looking at the large topic of Accompaniment in Formation.  Part of this was to again look at the characteristics and trends, both positive and negative which are shaping our world and therefore our young people.  The question was then asked, "What type of formation are we giving to our candidates in religious and priestly life that will allow them to be at the vanguard of what is happening in our world?"  Fr Augustine challenged us by getting us to think in different categories in relation to our candidates and stressing that we must offer them a true perspective of religious and priestly life and not just a dream.

The final session of the day was devoted to the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator.  We were each given an opportunity to complete a questionnaire to assist us to identify our type and then we looked at some of the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of each type as time allowed.  This was helpful in that it made us alert to not only our own different working styles and preferences, but to those of our candidates.  This enables us to view them according to their differing gifts rather than as simply not fitting in with our own style or personality.

Finally, after some concluding remarks by Fr Augustine, we closed the workshop with the celebration of the Eucharist.  Fr Augustine was the main celebrant and led us in prayer using some ways that again might be attractive and helpful for young people.  All in all, the whole workshop proved to be most informative, practical and enjoyable.  Evaluation forms were distributed to the participants, and all those who responded gave a high score to the helpfulness of both the material and the presenters of the workshop.

Fr Mario Debattista ofm
for the Organizing Committee

Laudato si... And we are planting a tree

Following RSASS General Assembly recommendation, during our Parish feast today we have planted a Mango tree at the presence of many  parishioners.
A simple moment, an important sign to take care of our common Home

Commments on Holy Trinity Sunday readings

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

by Fr Mario De Battista ofm

This feast of the Holy Trinity we celebrate today is clearly a celebration of who God is. We Christians, unlike other world religions, say that God has revealed himself to be one God, but that this God is three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each Person is wholly and totally God and yet there are not three separate Gods, but one God.

Brothers and sisters, this God of Christians that we believe in and worship is we say, a mystery. When we call God a mystery we are not saying that God is so far above us human beings that we cannot know anything about him. No, if we could not know anything about God, then our faith would be something strange, even useless. Rather, when we call God a mystery and put our faith in Him, we are placing our trust and hope and lives into the hands of a God whom we can know more and more about, but without ever reaching the end of our knowledge. This is God as mystery, a being without end, a being we can never know completely, a being who shows Himself to us without end.

It is perhaps for this reason that in today's Gospel, we hear Jesus say that he still has many things to say to the disciples (and to us), but that they would be too much for us now. The knowledge of the mysterious God that Jesus himself knows completely cannot and should not be known by us completely, at least not at once. Rather, we must wait for the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, who will lead us to the complete truth, to the complete knowledge of who God is and what God is like.

Brothers and sisters, God knows us infinitely better than we know Him and certainly better than we even know ourselves. God knows that even if he were to give us the complete truth about himself (and about ourselves), we would still not be able to receive it and understand it. As St Augustine once said, for us to know the total mystery of God, it would be like a boy trying to empty all the water of the ocean into a small hole he has dug on the seashore.

So today's feast is not one in which we pretend to know or fully understand the mystery of God as Trinity. More important than this is to celebrate this feast as part of the slow journey of the human family to know more of the truth of who God is. We are on a journey of knowing God, a journey that will only end when we ourselves are one with the God who made us; one with the God who is three Persons but One.

As we travel this journey led by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth who is given to us by the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ, we are also on a journey to know ourselves more and more. I say this because one of the first things we know about God is that He created us. He created us from His own desire that we exist and have life, and He created us from His own desire to love us as His very own children. We, each and every one of us, only exist because God himself wants us to exist and because God loves us enough. Without God wanting us and loving us, none of us would be here at all.

And this is why we can say that each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God. Each of us is made from God's desire and love. Each of us comes from and out of the God who is and the God who is love itself. This also is the truth that Jesus wants us to learn through his Holy Spirit. This truth is one that we each need to learn and understand and take to our hearts in how we live with one another. Because this truth teaches us of the infinite goodness and worth that we each have in the mind and heart of God.

Brothers and sisters, our parish theme today is "Living the Truth as God's Family." Living the truth means at least that we know the truth of how precious and loved we each are to our God … that we know we are not important or valuable to God because of the things that we human beings tend to value in each other, such as our wealth and possessions, our power and influence, our physical attractiveness or personality. No, we are valued and loved because of God's loving desire that we exist, and everything we do and how we live should be to give thanks to God for so great a gift.

Finally, it is when we try to live this truth, is then that we live truly as God's family. To live as God's family means we live as God made us to be – his beloved sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to one another. Living the truth as God's family, as the Spirit of God teaches us, means there can be no place in our Christian communities for the sorts of divisions that affect our nation. I do not need to name these I think.

God is three Persons but one God. We are many persons, but because we are made in God's image and likeness, we too are called to be one. Let us continue the journey to become one, placing our hope and trust in the God we profess as Trinity.

Evening Agape

As you can see we ended our Wporkshosp with a nice meal by the Nile River.

 

The atmosphere was very good; all of us enjoied the Workshop and now it's time to put into practice what we've learned.

 

It was also very nice to have a good number of diocesan priests with us!! Thank you all

 

 

Stay tune for future activities

 

May the Lord give you Peace

 

RSASS

 

enjoy the pictures

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

and this is the cake we all deserved!!

 

 

Final Mass

and here we are, our final Mass and getting ready for some more time together tonight with the wish to meet all again next year!!

And we are preparing ourselves to be better formators..... :-)

Pictures will speak by themselves....

Christian shall not be Social Climbers, says the Pope

Pope: No to social climbers, money and power harm the Church

2016-05-17 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Saying Jesus' path is serving others, Pope Francis urged Christians on Tuesday to overcome the lure of worldliness and human ambition and warned against social climbers who are tempted to destroy the other in order to reach the top. His remarks came during his homily at the morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence.
The gospel reading where Jesus’ disciples were arguing among themselves over who was the greatest was used by the Pope for his reflections about the dangers of power, money, ambition and vanity. He noted that whereas Jesus was warning his disciples about his coming humiliation and death, they were concerned with worldly matters such as who would become the most powerful among them.
Christians must overcome the temptation to be social climbers, seeking power
In response to the apostles’ arguing, Pope Francis reminded of Jesus' warning to his disciples that "if anyone wishes to be first he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
“Along the path where Jesus shows us to journey, the guiding principle is service. The greatest is the person who serves most, who serves others most, not the person who boasts, who seeks power, money… vanity, pride. No, these people are not the greatest. And this is what happened here with the apostles, even with the mother of John and James, it’s an event that happens every day in the Church, in every community. ‘But which of us is the greatest? Who’s in charge?’ Ambitions: there is always this desire to be a social climber, to have power, in every community, parish or institution.”
No to bad mouthing others in order to rule
Pope Francis went on to stress how service is still the Church’s message to us nowadays. Whilst the world speaks about who has more power to be in charge, Jesus reminds us that He came amongst us “to serve” and not “to be served.”
“Vanity and power …  and how and when I have this worldly desire to seek power, not to serve but to be served and spare no efforts to get there: gossiping, speaking ill of others… Envy and jealousy create this path and they both destroy.  And we all know this.  This occurs in every institution of the Church: parishes, colleges, other institutions, even in the dioceses … everywhere. There’s this desire for worldliness and this is all about wealth, vanity and pride.”
Worldliness is the enemy of God and divides the Church
Reiterating that Jesus came to serve, the Pope said Christ has showed us the true path of Christian life: service, humility. He explained that when the great saints spoke of being very sinful,the reason for this was was because they had this worldliness inside them and they had many worldly temptations.  None of us, he stressed, can say ‘I am a holy and pure person.’
“All of us are tempted by these things, we are tempted to destroy the other person in order to climb higher. This is a worldly temptation but one that divides and destroys the Church. It is not the spirit of Jesus. It’s wonderful, we can imagine the scene: Jesus who says these words and his disciples who say ‘no, better to not question (Him) too much, let’s go ahead,’ his disciples who prefer to argue among themselves over who will be the greatest. We’d do well to think about the many times that we have seen this in the Church and about the many times that we ourselves have done this and ask our Lord to show us the way, to understand that love of this world, namely worldliness, is an enemy of God.”
(from Vatican Radio)

Youth ministry workshop

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We're now running our workshop on youth ministry organised by the RSASS vocational group.

There are many partecipants from all South Sudan and abroad.

Here some pics

Pope Francis and the questione about female deacons

2016-05-12 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis led an in-depth discussion on Thursday about the role of women in the Church, saying he wants to set up a commission to study the possibility of reinstating female deacons. His conversation was part of a question and answer session with some 900 heads of female religious orders and congregations who form part of the International Union of Superiors General, or UISG.

Pope Francis spoke off the cuff during his closed door encounter with the sisters, who are currently holding their General Assembly in Rome this week, marking the 50th anniversary of the foundation of their organisation.

During the hour and a half long conversation about the mission and ministry of women in religious life, the Pope responded to several delicate questions, including one about the history of female deacons. He said understanding about their role in the early Church remained unclear and agreed it would be useful to set up a commission to study the question.

Women deacons in the early Church

Up to the 5th century, the Diaconate flourished in the western Church, but in the following centuries it experienced a slow decline, surviving only as an intermediate stage for candidates preparing for priestly ordination. Following the Second Vatican Council, the Church restored the role of permanent deacon, which is open to single and married men. Many experts believe that women should also be able to serve in this role, since there is ample evidence of female deacons in the first centuries, including one named Phoebe who is cited by St Paul in his letter to the Romans.

More women in leadership positions

Pope Francis reiterated that he wants to see an increase in the number of women in decision-making positions in the Church, saying women's perspectives are very important for both the elaboration and the carrying out of such decisions. 

Asked about the possibility of women preaching the homilies during Mass, the Pope said it's important to distinguish between other types of liturgies, where the sermon can be preached by consecrated or lay women, and the Mass, where the homily is connected to the role of the priest serving "in persona Christi".

Changes to Canon Law

Questioned about the prospect of changes to Canon Law which would facilitate the reform process being undertaken by many women's congregations, the Pope said such changes could be possible, providing they were the result of a process of discernment by the competent authorities.

Service not servitude

Finally Pope Francis spoke about the vital work of the sisters who care for the poor and marginalized. He said this is a vocation of service to the Church and must never be confused with servitude, which is sometimes still asked of them. They should not fear being labelled as 'activists', in their service to the needy, he said, but they should also find time for rest and for listening to older or sick members of their communities who are a precious source of wisdom and memory. 

Comment to Pentecost Sunday Readings - year C

Pentecost's Readings Reflection – Year C
Acts 2: 1-11; 1Cor 1: 3-7, 12-13; Jn20: 19-23
"To be mysteriously Fruitful"
Evangelii Gaudium # 280

When Pentecost day came…. As this Pentecost celebration arrives, let us ask ourselves: how will the Spirit find us today?  Enclosed in the room of fear like the disciples? Disappointed for not seeing the striking results we were expecting? Struggling to understand and to be understood like the people assembled in Jerusalem? Restless in search of that peace that the world cannot give us? Trying to remain impassioned with Jesus' mission? Let us recall what Pope Francis considers the secret of every missionary endeavour: "Keeping our missionary fervor alive calls for firm TRUST in the Holy Spirit, for it is he who "helps us in our weakness" (Rom 8:26). But this generous trust has to be nourished and so we need to invoke the Spirit constantly. He can heal whatever causes us to flag in our missionary endeavour.
This Pentecost let us entrust generously ourselves once again to the Spirit of God. Let us allow him to come anew into our lives. Let us nourish our personal relationship with the One who knows how to lead us in a mysterious but fruitful way. Let us TRUST in Him! This is the secret!
They were all amazed and astonished….How does it happen…? We continue quoting Pope Francis while he describes the experience of being led by the Spirit:  "It is true that this trust in the unseen can cause us to feel disoriented: it is like being plunged into the deep and not knowing what we will find… YET, there is no greater freedom than that of allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit, renouncing to the attempt to plan and control everything to the last detail, and instead letting him enlighten, guide and direct us, leading us wherever he wills.
Letting go our securities, disoriented before the newness, amazement, surprise, freedom….all these happen when we trust and allow the Spirit to do in and through us. Yes, He makes us mysteriously fruitful!

Nobody is able to…., except in the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit knows well what is needed in every time and place. This is what it means to be mysteriously fruitful.
With this assurance and inner certainty we move freely, fearless wherever the Spirit wishes to lead us. Sharing the many different gifts and through many different ways of serving but always in the same Spirit!

Peace be with you! Receive the Holy Spirit!
Empowered by the Spirit we are able to go forth from ourselves and turned ourselves into courageous sharers of the Gospel in every time and place. In this very special moment in South Sudan, let us remember the definitive, deepest and greatest motivation, the ultimate reason and meaning behind all we do: the glory of the Father which Jesus sought at every moment of his life, the glory of the Father who loves us.

As the Father sent me, I'm sending you! In the Spirit we can do it, we become MISTERIOUSLY FRUITFUL!
      
Sr. Nancy Noguera, Missionary Sister Servant of the Holy Spirit (SSpS)
Catholic Diocese of Yei, South Sudan.

Amoris Laetitia - Apostolic Exhortation on the love in the family. Pope Francis

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

below you find the link to “Amoris Laetitia”, Pope Francis Apostolic exhortation on love in the family.

It is a very long document (240 pages in pdf format), but worth reading especially for the ones of us involved in family issues.

you can also dowload the document from the same page of the Vatican link here below. Just click on the title:

 

 

AMORIS LAETITIA

 

 

have a wonderful time!!

 

God bless you all

Congregation website link

Dear Brothers & Sisters,
 

Please not that on the left hand-side sidebar named

"Religious Order and Congregation Web-site"

I have added a new link for the "Missionary and Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit".

 

You can also click here to be redirected to their website

That Congregation in...

THE BEGINNING

In response to the call of the Holy Spirit and the needs of peoples where the services of women are crucial, on 08 December 1889 in Steyl in the Netherlands, Arnold Janssen, the Founder of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), together with Mother Maria, Helena Stollenwerk, and Mother Josepha, Hendrina Stenmanns, lays the foundation of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS), as a religious-missionary community dedicated to the life-giving Spirit. In 1896 he establishes yet another congregation, Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration (SSpSAP).  Initially the two foundations for Sisters are one Congregation with two branches depending administratively and financially on the SVD.

 

Name of the Congregation Mission Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit 

 

Arnold Janssen’s personal dedication to the Holy Spirit, made in Vienna, Austria on 3rd October 1887, is a concrete expression of his desire to come to know the greatness of the Spirit’s love. This desire is born of his deep rootedness in the Trinity.
Two years later when he gives the new women’s congregation the name Servants of the Holy Spirit, he confirms his dedication to the Spirit, and acknowledges the Spirit’s central role in the Church.
In his faith journey, Arnold comes to understand the Holy Spirit as the Father of Love; and the life-giving and unifying love of the Holy Spirit as the true source of the Church’s missionary dynamism.
Our Founder’s ultimate desire is that the Spirit’s love be an inspiration to others. He describes the special aim of the Sisters as follows: “to love the Holy Spirit as the Father of Love and the Dispenser of graces, to adore and glorify Him, and to try to spread love and devotion to Him in others.” He even calls the Holy Spirit the Father of the Congregation.
In 1914, for various reasons the name ‘Society of the Servants of the Holy Spirit’ (in Latin SSSS) which was customarily in use, is changed to the ‘Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit’ (SSpS). When the revised third edition of the Constitutions are submitted for approval in 1925, the Congregation, which is now distinct from that of the SSpSAP, is referred to for the first time as ‘Mission Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit’. By the time of the definitive approval of the Constitutions in 1938, ‘Mission Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit’ has become the Congregation’s official name.

RSASS Executive Body visits the Minister of environment.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Tuesday this week as executive body of RSASS we had the opportunity to visit the new elected Minister of environment, honorable Josephine Napwon.
The Minister welcomed us in her private house where we had a small talk and fr. Daniele Moschetti briefly told her about RSASS and our recent meeting on "Laudato Si". We gave her a copy of the encyclical and a copy of our final communique.
Honorable Josephine looked pleased as she is very close to the Church and hopes in further cooperation.

Peace to you all
Executive Body RSASS

Final Communique of RSASS General Assembly

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

few days ago we ended our Annual General Assembly of RSASS. It's been a nice time we'd spent together and we all agreed on the final statement we have already handed to the Minister of Environment hon. Josephine Napwon.

Here below a copy of our final document:

Religious Superiors’ Association of South Sudan (RSASS)

LET US TAKE CARE OF OUR COMMON HOME, SOUTH SUDAN

Workshop on the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si - Final Statement – Juba, 30 April 2016

“Let us read the signs of times” (Cf. Mt 16:3)

We came together in Juba from the 27 to 30, April, 2016, as representatives of the more than 500 religious present in South Sudan to reflect on the message of the Encyclical letter of Pope Francis “Laudato Si” (May You be praised) and its implications for us today.

While the country is trying to come out from the violence, death and destruction of the civil war and implement peace, we are called to overcome our anxieties and fears and not to lose hope. We ‘raise up our heads’ (Lk 21:28) and read the signs of the times. We don’t want to react to any kind of challenge we have to face but to interact with one another and with all people of good will and live our universal call of being co-creators of the world we live in.

Looking around at our reality in South Sudan, we SEE some worrying signs: pollution of the water, of the land, of the air; deforestation and cutting of trees without replacement, burning the forests, overgrazing; oil exploitation as the major income for the country but as a grave polluting agent.

Exercising our JUDGMENT, we see a breaking of the fundamental relationships that make us men and women created in the image of God. In the long years of war we lost the relationship with our brothers and sisters, becoming like Cain who killed his brother. We have lost our relationship with God who has entrusted to us, as stewards, his creation, and making ourselves lords of creation we put in danger our sacred home. We have lost sight of the common good because of greed and thirst for power.

As the prophet Micah (6:8) said we feel called to ACT justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God. Education of children and youth and formation of leaders is a priority in our parishes and schools. As a Church we feel the need to be a prophetic voice towards those who are decision makers in the political arena through our commitment to Justice, Peace and the Care of Creation. By using the media, particularly radio, we intend to spread the message of Laudato Si in our communities. Liturgical celebrations and international days of observance can be the chance to sensitize our people on the importance of planting trees, keeping the environment clean, particularly in urban areas, and improving and practicing agriculture.

Finally, we cannot avoid making a personal reflection on our life-style, being self-critical and open to change, aware that the resources at our disposal are limited. Our spirituality has to be translated into our actions.

Together with Pope Francis, Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope. (No. 244)

Best regards to all of you
Executive Body RSASS