Teachings on the Works of Mercy in the Goma Ecclesial Community
Sister Marie Francine tells how they spread OPERA M in a war-scarred territory
The city of Goma is one of the large cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the capital of the province of North Kivu. For more than three decades, this province has been going through a multifaceted crisis, including economic, political, administrative, cultural and social crisis.
The presence of war in this Region deeply affects the lives of the people. This city is home to many people displaced by the war who have left their respective environments due to clashes between different armed groups, unspeakable massacres, violence in all its forms, and many other suffering people.
As a result, many people lack food, especially children who need it most to grow, elderly people dying in their tents without any help, diseases that sometimes ravage their health without any cure. These people face bad weather, they are exposed daily to sun, rain, cold. Yes, the suffering is great, yes, it is indescribable, yes, it makes one burst into tears because human life seems to have no meaning anymore in the country in general and especially in this province attacked by neighboring countries and also by big international powers because of the natural wealth it abounds with.
Prayer restores the joy of life
What is surprising is that despite the heartbreaking suffering, this population continues to cling to, seek and rely on the Lord from whom all peace and comfort comes. They understand that beyond everything there is God and outside of Him there is no life.
The Word of God shared, meditated upon in large and small groups and even personally opens the way to inner joy that goes beyond sorrow. Now ambassadors of peace and forgiveness, these people have a transformed view of the realities they experience.
This in no way means that they deny the suffering they endure, but rather a life of surrender into the hands of their creator who can do everything. Detraumatization, psychotherapy and even medical sessions do not seem to answer all the anxieties of these victims but prayer, according to the testimonies of these people, spiritual care contributes largely to psychological consolidation because it strengthens their trust in an infinite Being.
The grassroots living church community and works of mercy
Christians gather in small communities to share God’s Word and share life events. Therefore, every Christian, before belonging to any parish, must belong to a grassroots community. It is composed of only forty families.
Its purpose is to enable Christians to get to know each other and share daily experiences around the Word of God.
It sows an atmosphere of closeness among members in times of joy and sorrow. It is because of Her that the parish evangelizes and reaches out to all people in difficult situations. This community means unity.
Our awareness has been heightened in the CEVB Santa Rita. Together we discovered the call that the Lord continues to address to each of us personally through the performance of works of mercy.
Prayer as works of mercy
Our first action at the parish level was to talk about the works of mercy in the Basic Living community of the Sainte Famille neighborhood, Mount Carmel Parish. We talked about corporal and spiritual works of mercy in the context of our country. From the spiritual point of view: giving food, water, clothes to those who are naked … it is a concrete reality.
There are many who starve for physical food. Physical needs are felt on a daily basis. And then questions arise: how can we help people in poverty? It is not enough to feed everyone but to help those who are in our way and to go further, pointing them to ways to become self-reliant: which is not an easy reality in the context of our country.
How can we move to the practicability of works of mercy today?
The first meeting made me realize that here the works of mercy are already practiced and are part of African values. In our country, no one can say they have nothing to give or receive from others, so life is about sharing. Hospitality is the pillar of kindness in our home.
However, even though people already share what little they earn or produce from the field, the situation seems to be beyond their capacity. A question arises: how can we help others if we are in such a situation?
Here are the knots of difficulty because works of mercy are based on gratuitousness. Since resources are limited, it is a matter of working hard to make people in war situations understand that we still need to strip ourselves to help others.
Photo
- Sister Francine Mave Ditsove
- spazio + spadoni
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