Posts by Diocese of Manzini

"Sicknesses and temptations" (by Pope Francis)

“Sicknesses and temptations” (by Pope Francis)

LentDear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Last year before Christmas, Pope Francis addressed the Roman Curia and presented some “sicknesses and temptations that weaken our service to the Lord.”

Some people pointed out it sounded more of a Lenten message than an Advent one.

Being one or the other, it certainly can help us all (bishops, priests, religious, laity) in our journey towards Easter because as Pope Francis says at the end:

“these sicknesses and these temptations are, naturally, a danger for every Christian and for every Curia, community, Congregation, parish, Ecclesial Movement, etc. and they can strike at the individual as much as at the communal level.”

That is why I thought of sharing his words with you all. Last month one bishop in Rome said in his homily: “I found most of these things in my own life…”

Another exercise we could do is to ask ourselves: are there any other important ones missing in this list?

Wish you all a blessed Lenten journey.

+ José Luis IMC

[gview file=”http://dioceseofmanzini.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Pope-Francis-151.pdf”]

Hope House - Indlu Yelitsemba

Hope House – Indlu Yelitsemba

1Hope House is a residential faith based hospice center and is part of Caritas Swaziland’s suite of HIV and AIDS support programmes. It was officially opened in 2001. HIV AIDS clients & all terminally ill people, regardless of their religious affiliation, nationality, or age are able to utilize the services of Hope House. Accommodation is provided in individual furnished units.

It is centrally located in Manzini, which is virtually in the middle of Swaziland, making it accessible to clients from all four regions of the country. It is the only known center of its kind in Swaziland and Caritas Swaziland is the only known organization within the country that provides the full range of HIV and AIDS interventions from prevention and impact mitigation through palliative care.

The vision of Hope House is to offer the nation a sanctuary and peace of mind in their hour of need by striving to alleviate the pain and suffering of those living with a terminal illness, and assisting them to lead comfortable and productive lives to the fullest extent possible.

The year 2014 was a successful year for us. We are very thankful to Tinkers, Manzini meat Market, RekhaParamount tailors, Mr. ThwalaManene, John Creamer, Mr. MdzinisoMilton ,SWD Roof Masters , Mrs. Jenny Armitage,AlfredMdzebele, Patraciagininza, Mariayna Pullen, The Seventh day Adventist, the Angilican church Women’s group, Catholic Cathedral Church Manzini&MoseKumalo, SWD Airlines , MTN, SPTC, SWDEC, Water cooperation, banks, Schools ,Churches, sodalities, many other individuals etc.. that are the regular donors of Hope House , their contribution makes a big difference in the day to day running of Hope House. 2014 was indeed a great year of blessing for Hope House, through hard work and dedication Hope House was able to attain the Government Subvention. We thank the good God for this great blessing, we are ever thankful to Dr. Simon Zwane and his team for making this possible.

We hope you will agree with us that we cannot live in the past but in the present. We hope for the future. Our source of hope is the trust we have in you as an individual or group. We believe that with your support and donation, 2015 will also be a great year for us and our loved ones, the termainally ill. Donations in kind can be sent directly to Hope House or to Caritas Swaziland. Remember every cent counts!

Thank You.

Sr. Elsa Joseph
Hope House

"Wake up the world" by Bishop Barry Wood OMI

“Wake up the world” by Bishop Barry Wood OMI

1Pope Francis announced that 2015 will be a year dedicated to the promotion of consecrated life, and is asking the church’s religious sisters, brothers and priests to “wake up the world” with their testimony of faith, holiness and hope.
During the plenary session of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bp Barry Wood OMI, auxiliary bishop of Durban, linked Marks’s Gospel to the year of consecrated life.
He said that in today’s Gospel we see that Jesus “irritated his relatives and friends … Pope Francis has told us that the purpose of consecrated life is to wake up the world, shake up the world … Many don’t like to be woken up…”

Clicking below you can listen to Bp Barry Wood’s homily on Mark 3: 20 – 21

“Jesus went home, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.”

Presenting "Renew Africa" to Swaziland

Presenting “Renew Africa” to Swaziland

1No time to rest! On the second day of the new year I sent an sms to all the priests calling them to an “extraordinary meeting” at the Bishop Ndlovu’s Hall (Bishop’s House) on January 12.
It all started when last year I attended our “Metropolitan Meeting” which gathers the dioceses of Klerksdorp, Witbank (both of them in South Africa) and Manzini (Swaziland) under the archdiocese of Johannesburg.
Fr Duncan Tsoke, vicar general of Johannesburg, told me about “Renew Africa” and how well it had been received in the archdiocese. The following morning Mr Duncan and Mr Odilon came to see me, explained as much as they could in a few minutes and gave me plenty of material to read.
Back in the diocese I shared the information with the consultors who felt it would be very good to present it to the clergy of our diocese. We have just finished our centenary celebration and it is a very important time as we discern our way forward. It might not be regarding the next hundred years but at least our immediate future…!
Two priests and two lay people came to Manzini to present “Renew Africa”. They might have been a bit surprised when I told them we had allocated the whole meeting to present it and much more then they saw that practically all the parishes and most of the priests attended the meeting. It was our way to show our appreciation to the time they were given us, coming all the way from Johannesburg.
For three hours they presented how it started in the archdiocese, what is being done, the material being used, the successes and challenges being experienced together with what could be done if we decide to start it in the diocese of Manzini.
Everyone was grateful and enthusiastic. It was then decided to dedicate the first part of our next presbyteral council to reflect on what we have heard and make the final decision.

We then finished with the prayer below. Join us in prayer as we discern our service in the diocese:

 

For more information, go to:

http://www.catholicjhb.org.za/renew-africa/
Time for listening... (Catechetical training)

Time for listening… (Catechetical training)

1Slowly, people start to accept that I appear anytime… anywhere… unannounced! It is something I learnt from another bishop many years’ ago. He had just been appointed bishop of the Diocese of San Martin (outskirts of Buenos Aires) where I was living. One day he told the people: “let me know when you will be having a meeting. I cannot promise to be there but if I can, I will visit you”. We did. We were having a meeting of young people on the missionary dimension of the Church and he just appeared for a short while, listened to what the young people were saying and then continued somewhere else. By the way, his name was Luis Villalba and he has just been named Cardinal by Pope Francis.

Last Saturday (January 17) there was a training session for the catechists of the Hhohho region (St Peregrine’s, Regina Mundi, Mater Dolorosa and St Mary’s parishes). It was the first of this year and also the first organised by Fr Ncamiso Vilakati since he was appointed catechetical coordinator.

I was busy in the morning but I made time to join them soon after lunch at Piggs Peak (90 kms away from Manzini).

On the way I was wondering how many catechists would have been there considering it is somehow “early” in the year and the training had just been announced. Picture my joy when I found 60 of them in a quite packed hall. As I wrote that day on the social media, the attendance and the spirit was excellent.

After a session on the catechist himself / herself (have a look at the picture above) the rest of the day was dedicated to the material to be used, ages for the celebration of the sacraments and practical problems (we now call them “challenges”!) being experienced in the different parishes and outstations.

I quietly sat down at the back of the hall listening to what they were saying. Any diocesan catechetical policy needs to deal with these practical situations and with the fact that it is not the same to do this journey in a rural area or in town, in a small or in a big community.

People at the back smiled at the unexpected visit of the bishop. Just before the end of the day I spoke briefly (yes, bishops can speak briefly!) sharing with them what the first bishop I worked with in South Africa (Michael Pascal Rowland OFM) used to tell his catechists: “you are the hands of the bishop”. I also thanked them for their presence, service and dedication.

There are four regions in Swaziland. The next three will be having their training sessions in the next month.

#SACBC Pastoral statement on "the year of consecrated life"

#SACBC Pastoral statement on “the year of consecrated life”

PASTORAL LETT1ER OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN CATHOLIC BISHOP’S CONFERENCE
THE YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE
30 November 2014 – 02 February 2016
I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your generous will. (Matt 11:25)
Brothers and Sisters in the Consecrated Life, Priests and the People of God,
Speaking these words aloud, Jesus rejoiced immensely in the activity and wisdom of the Holy Spirit as he thanked and praised his Father whose mission he himself had come to accomplish.
We rejoice in a similar way in the lives lived and the wonderful activity and service carried out by so many consecrated men and women in our country and in our world. We welcome the invitation of Pope Francis to make this a year of thanksgiving and of deeper reflection on the calling of the consecrated men and women among us.
We think of all the consecrated men and women who have laboured in our countries, from Bishop Griffith, the first Vicar Apostolic of the Cape and Fr. George Corcoran, both Dominicans; the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, to mention a few of the first ones, up to the most recently consecrated persons from within our countries and those who have come among us from elsewhere. Consecrated men and women established the local church in our dioceses and most of our parishes, schools and hospitals, and still today they minister in the local church and outlying communities, serving people of every background in countless ways. We pay tribute to all deceased Religious who have served in our countries and are buried in our soil, sometimes in obscure or forgotten graves. We appreciate all those Religious who have grown old among us, who have given courageous witness and led exemplary lives.
We ask that in our dioceses and parishes we celebrate the precious gift of consecrated life together with the contemplative and active Religious among us, also by visiting and supporting the sick and aged among them.

SaveSave

Supporting our children & their families with the school fees

Supporting our children & their families with the school fees

1At the beginning of every year, people arrive at the bishop’s office asking when the bishop would be helping with school fees. Last year, I remember, due to the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) meeting, we had to wait until the end of January to do it. People spent the night outside my office to make sure they’d be among those who would be supported.
This year was no exception. The difference, though, was in the way we did it. I decided to ask “Caritas Swaziland” to help me. Already in October we met and spoke about how we could make sure we would be helping those who need it most. Many people are in need as two thirds of the population is considered to be poor. We cannot help them all so it was important for us to discern “who first”.
Unfortunately it would also mean that people would have to come twice: first to be interviewed by the “Caritas Swaziland”team and then again to receive some financial support.
Caritas Swaziland interviewing people requesting financial support
It was very demanding. We received 250 requests for help. We knew we would not be able to help them all. Caritas met and worked on the criteria to select some of them: double orphans, single orphans, people from rural areas, students from physically disabled parents and those who are chronically ill.  Selection was not based on religion, gender, culture or race.
 
The final list included 150 children requesting a total of half a million Emalangeni (around US$ 45.000). All of them in High School.
We had around one third of that amount. The money comes from our own Lenten Appeal (a special contribution done by Catholics during Lent) and from other benefactors. In other words, we prepare this day during the whole year hoping to be able to support children in need to continue their studies. It is a huge effort for a Church that is only 5% of the populationof the country.
Caritas Swaziland prepared a full report for me: name of the student, area, social situation, school, fees… I would decide how much would be given to each one.
The “tradition” is that fees are then given by the bishop himself. In other words, the bishop meets one by one. Being these days a bit tight with time and schools expecting to receive the fees as soon as possible, I took one day to see them all… one by one. From just after 8 in the morning until 7 in the evening. No break.
At the end of the day some things seemed to be clear (aside of the fact that I was tired!):
  • all the requests were towards the payment of High School fees;
  • High School fees are quite a challenge for families with many children,
  • the financial situation is very challenges: no income or little income, high unemployment and the risk of losing their jobs,
  • many of the children are single or double orphans in the care of relatives and guardians (who themselves have no or little income)

 

Though I was under pressure because I wanted to see them all and not make them come… for the third time!, I tried to take a minute to see the results they got last year. Every time I saw someone with an “A” in Mathematics and/or Science I encouraged him / her to keep it up as both Swaziland and South Africa struggls to find well prepared children in these fields.
One of the last ones had a report with many “A” and some “B”. Nothing less than that. I was deeply grateful to God and to all those who made it possible for us to help her. Her mother died, her father is unemployed, they are many at home… but she has never given up. On the contrary she is giving the best of herself and is building a brighter future for her and her family.