From the 11th to the 16th of September, this year, Tanzania celebrated her Fifth National Eucharistic Congress, in the City of Dar Es Salaam. This is a continuation of such conferences held every four years. Thousands of believers and various people participated. The conference slogan was ‘Fraternity, healing the world: you are all brothers’.
Seven topics were presented, and in a brief way, we share them to our readers.
By Paulino Madeje *
1. The Greatness of the Celebration of the Holy Mass (By Bishop Simon Masondole of Bunda Diocese).
The bishop emphasized on the importance of the Holy Mass in the life of the Church, stressing that it is a matter of responsibility to prepare it properly. Each celebration of Holy Mass is a unique act because of its holiness. It is our duty and obligation to celebrate it reverently.
2. Christian Fraternity as an important tool for developing human dignity (By Fr. Joseph Mosha of the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam).
In his main idea, the presenter explained that fraternity is a human act, especially due to our creation in the likeness and image of God, and Jesus Christ, who feeds us with his body and blood, is our brother. We have to recognize, accept and manifest Christian fraternity so that we can heal the many wounds that afflict man.
3. The Holy Eucharist and Small Christian Communities (By Fr. Benno Kikudo of Tanzania Episcopal Conference).
As the title suggests, small Christian communities should be Eucharistic communities. At its core and at the centre of it all, there is Christ. What should be done to make this viable? Plans and pastoral strategies should be prepared and implemented with the aim of strengthening families, communities, youth groups, children and mothers, in living a Eucharistic life. This has to be done through seminars, workshops and other pedagogical approaches.
4. The Holy Eucharist and Morality (By Bishop Christopher Ndizeye of Kahama Diocese).
The bishop emphasized that the Holy Eucharist is Christ himself. Accepting Christ makes one live as Christ lived. Jesus Christ did not do evil; he passed all his life doing what was good. Thus, it is the duty of every Catholic to love and desire to receive Christ regularly, by preparing oneself well.
He warned, however, that it is blasphemy of the Holy Eucharist if we receive it and continue doing bad things, because it can give the interpretation that Christ that we receive is the one who makes us do bad things, because we should be what we eat.
5. The Holy Eucharist and Healing in the Family (By Fr. Rogasian Msaifi of the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam).
Convinced by the Doctrine of the Church, he explained that the family and the world in general need healing, and Christ is the true healer as stated by other presenters. Every family should take steps to seek, receive and embrace Christ as true food and true drink.
6. The challenge of Pentecostalism and Catholics today (By Fr. Leonard Maliva of Iringa Diocese).
He grounded his approach based on the reality that, people (for various reasons including the difficulty of life) wander a lot, to the extent that they find themselves entering other sects to follow ‘miracles’ and ‘empty blessings’. Some of them go to buy false religious sacramentals such as oil, soil, leaves, that are believed to possess magical powers from such false pastors. Instead of being cured, they realize that they are cheated, robbed economically and shake their faith.
In order to face this challenge, the Catholic Church must make a deliberate effort to prepare a Strategic Pastoral Plan, which in turn, should focus on identifying and helping lost sons and daughters of the house of Israel.
7. The History of Evangelization in the Eastern Region (Retired Assistant Bishop Methodius Kilaini of Bukoba Diocese).
He emphasized on the missionary work done, and the fruits seen today including the Holy Eucharist Conference.
A lot can be said about this Congress. It’s topics were grounded on the Tanzanian and African reality politically, culturally, economically, religiously, etc.
Fraternity and healing are the most used words considering the situation that this nation is facing today. There is concern and fear in the Tanzanian society due to waves of human rights violations such as kidnapping, murder, abuse of the weak, bullying. That is why, at the close of the Congress, the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), issued a joint statement condemning such actions, stressing that our society needs healing. The true healing is found in Jesus of the Eucharist who calls us to the table of dialogue and communion.
As Consolata missionaries, what is our contribution to healing the world? What is our role in building a fraternal world with the principles of justice, equality? Do we live a fraternal life in our communities? May Saint Joseph Allamano, our founder, help us commit ourselves more and more to our Charism.
* Fr. Paulino Madeje, IMC, is the director of Enendeni magazine.
