Today feast of Pentecost the regional superior of the Consolata Missionaries in Ethiopia, Fr. Tamene Asaro Safato has celebrated the solemn Holy mass of the Holy Spirit in Weragu mission. The occasion of the celebration was the invitation by the Sisters Servants Missionary of the Holy Spirit and the parish priest, Fr. Yohannes Michael Haro to give a day retreat to the Christians and the youth of the mission.
By Marco Marini *
The church was packed with Christians who came to celebrate Pentecost. Fr. Josphat Mutunga and Fr. Marco Marini were the concelebrants, while Fr. Yohannes went to celebrate the mass in the next parish Minne.
The Mission is one of the farthest and difficult to reach from the capital Addis Ababa. Of late travelling to the mission has become more difficult not only for the precarious condition of the road, but also due to the presence of bandits, called locally Shenee, who kidnap people for ransoms.
The Sisters have been working in the mission for very many years. The three sisters who make up the community come from Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines. They are running in the mission a clinic that serves a wide area, the only place for a large population to have access to medical attention. For a number of years both the Consolata Missionaries and the Sisters have tried to find donors to replace the forty-plus years old main building of the clinic made of compressed earth, grass and cement, without success. One of the prayers and requests to the holy spirit was to enlighten generous donors to come to the help of the people of Weragu by building a new clinic.
During his preaching Fr. Tamene invitated the people to pray the Holy Spirit, and asked them to name the seven gifts of the holy spirit. He recalled them they revived the Holy Spirit in baptism and confirmed with the sacrament of Confirmation. At the very beginning of the sermon, Fr. Tamene called the three sisters to come in front of the altar and on behalf of the Consolata Missionaries and the whole Christian community thanked them for the work they do in the mission, and wished them happy feast of Pentecost, being the Pentecost Sunday the day they celebrate their congregational feast.
As is the norm on feast days, after the mass both fathers and sisters joined together to enjoy a very nice meal prepared by the sisters.
* Father Marco Marini, Consolata missionary, Ethiopia
