International Bulletin of the Lay Fraternities of Charles De Foucauld
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INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF THE LAY FRATERNITIES OF CHARLES DE FOUCAULD Nº 102- 2020 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger” Lk.2, 12 Contents Editorial 3 Christmas Message 2019 5 News from around the World 6 Asia 6 Africa 8 Europe 19 The Arab World 30 Oceania 38 America 39 Prayer of the craftsman 67 Obituaries 68 Subscriptions 69 Marine psalm 70 Editorial January 2020 Despite any defeat We will remain solid in our faith In confidence we sing Sowing peace, healing and hope Together and forward standing by each other Let’s walk in hope together. Let us walk together in hope (Hymn for the 10th General Assembly of the Lay Fraternities of Charles de Foucauld) Lyrics: Fidaa Boutros Dear sisters and brothers. We welcome you to the International Bulletin number 102. We are united in hope, journeying with every fraternity in the world. Joyfully, we rejoice in a God who is with Us. Let us ask him to recognize him in everyday life and be blessed by his love We present the Christmas Message of Laurence Fernández, coordinator of the International Lay Fraternity Team. We also share news from the fraternities of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Arab World, Oceania and America; in each article we discover the life, faith, friendship, diversity and universality of the fraternity. In our different countries we are in the midst of so many difficult situations, and are a testimony to the power of prayer, commitment and the announcement of the good news, walking in the footsteps of Brother Charles de Foucauld: with joy, love and challenge. You will see an ancient text in the tradition of craftsmen of old: praying to work well and for the glory of God. And a beautiful meditation International Bulletin FSCF - Nº 102 January 2020 3 written by Gustavo Fernández Colón from the secular fraternity of Naguanagua, Venezuela. We remember Sister Margaret Magarey, who was one of the founding members of the Lay Fraternity in Adelaide, Australia. She left for the Father's house in September 2019. We end the year 2019, wishing everyone peace, love, joy and hope. United, we continue, walking in hope. Mayela Seijas y Willian Olmos Members of the International Team “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah and the Lord” Lc 2, 11 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2019 This year 2019, marked by revolts in the face of social injustice, massive migration, violence, distrust of politicians, and the degradation of our planet, leaves us full of distress. Yet there is the Christmas light, the one that shows us the way to go. God was incarnated in a fragile little being born in a cave in Bethlehem one winter evening. Shepherds, wise men, people like us all walked to this mysterious place full of hope and joy. Like them, let us marvel, bring joy and humanity to where we are, not by extraordinary acts but by deep and sincere attention to those around us. Let us share this joy, this divine light, open our door and our heart. I wish a wonderful Christmas to all of you and your families! Fraternal friendship Laurence Fernandez International Team Coordinator International Bulletin FSCF - Nº 102 January 2020 5 NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ASIA PHILIPPINES JESUS CARITAS LAY GROUP PHILIPPINES REPORT MAY 2019 – OCTOBER 2019 MAY 2019 - Our Nazareth Days. Theme: Jesus A Jewish Youth in Nazareth A. Nazareth in Biblical times was a small agricultural town, settled by few dozen families. It was too small to be noted in the list of settlements of the tribe of Zebulon. It is not included in the 45 cities of Galilee mentioned by Josephus the historian. Its name is missing in the 63 towns of Galilee mentioned in the Talmud. It was isolated in ancient times because no trade routes ran through the city, therefore, it had no economic value. The origin of “Nazir” – a person who was dedicated to special sacred service through a vow made by the person or by his parents. B. Jesus learned to reflect on the actions of God in the life of his community. His Parables teach the Kingdom of God which was culled from his reflective observation of small things. A “journalistic” view of the world aspires to anexact description of events. A “prophetic” view looks more deeply to see the presence of God in everything that is happening. We can start to achieve a sense of prophecy by reflecting on our own small story (History). And prophecy gives birth to Hope. C. Jesus’ gaze penetrates into home and family life. The manner in which Jesus contemplated ALL that he saw and heard and used it in order to present his observation on God’s action in history. He goes BEYOND the incident itself, though He REMAINS CLOSE to it. He goes beyond it to decipher God’s plan which, though hidden, is very much present in the little history of his village. It is not just a matter of taking interest in village life – but of taking an interest in order to let village life transform him into a contemplative. It is a meeting place. D. Parables are his teaching about God, his theology, the way he spoke about God his Father and his manner of being present. Today’s big problem is not a lack of information about events taking place on this planet but a lack of prophecy concerning their meaning for those who search for the God of Jesus of Nazareth. Myrna Aquino Member of International Team International Bulletin FSCF - Nº 102 January 2020 7 AFRICA TANZANIA A NEW METHOD OF INTRODUCING JESUS OF NAZARETH BY THE PRAYER OF ABANDONMENT Introducing the Lay Fraternity of the Br Charles can be very difficult especially in an environment where no western missionaries have preached about the spirituality of Br. Charles. This is the situation in the Southern part of Tanzania. It is, however, interesting to see that mentioning the name of Br. Charles attracts many questions of hope especially among the young people. It is for this reason I have been inspired by the few occurrences when I talked about the life of Br. Charles, especially with my workmates and my family. I remember the first time I talked to my staff about Br. Charles and his love of Jesus of Nazareth, I could see that they were very interested but I realized that they would not have much time to regularly meet to implement the traditional Lay Fraternity group method. It is for this reason that, on different occasions, I talked about the life of Br Charles and how he inspires me in my work in the community in which we meet different people with different social and health problems. I remember in one of the meetings with the staff, I distributed the Prayer of Abandonment to the eight staff. I told them that this prayer was not only a powerful source of the virtue of humility but also a tool that could help one work even harder for the poorest of the poor. I am not sure about the impact of this way of spreading the way of life of Br. Charles but I was happy one day to see that one of the staff was keeping the Prayer of Abandonment in her dairy. Some of the staff who received the Prayer of Abandonment at UZIMA Project Ndanda In my family, praying the Prayer of Abandonment has become one of the prayers before we have dinner. Our 11 years twin girls recite the prayer by heart and their 5-year-old brother is following their footsteps. It is my prayer that this is a growing fire that will burn brighter in the life of my staff and the family and who knows, this is a seed being planted in the desert. Elvis J Miti "To practice the love of God, practice the love of men" (Letter from Charles de Foucauld Louis Massignon 1916) International Bulletin FSCF - Nº 102 January 2020 9 BURKINA FASO BALANCE SHEET QUARTERLY MEETING 2018- 2019 For the year 2019, the national team of the secular fraternity Charles de Foucauld of Burkina Faso, scheduled quarterly meetings, in addition to ordinary meetings of fraternities. The objective was to encourage the participation of the fraternities and decide what to do to encourage better involvement by individual members. The meetings took place at the Little Sisters of Jesus in Ouagadougou. Here is what we shared during these times together: First quarterly meeting: March 30, 2019 Theme: Fraternity Opening your heart to your brother or sister is a challenge. To welcome all human beings like a brother or sister to love is proof of charity. You must have a poor heart; to be able to empty one’s heart so that the other can have room. The heart of fraternity is in our own heart. Being a universal brother or sister requires a deep respect for others. What promotes fraternity: the Holy Spirit: - Accepting one's own weaknesses - Developing the ability to empty oneself - Showing respect for the other despite the differences - Cultivating forgetfulness and self-sacrifice - Living forgiveness and mercy The evil spirit in each of us annihilates fraternity: - Non-respect of others -The spirit of self-sufficiency, contempt, vanity, and gossip - Retreat into oneself - Anger without limit Brother Charles is a model of fraternity for us. We must be brothers and sisters capable of living fraternity. There is always good in the other, it is what must bring us closer.