The Volunteers of the Works of Mercy of Ngozi | First part
The first meeting of the Volunteers of the Works of Mercy of Ngozi for the Re-evolution of the Works of Mercy was held
On Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Ngozi, Burundi, Sister Marie Assumpta Ndiragabanya, of the Bene Mariya Congregation and ambassador of the spazio + Spadoni Works of Mercy, gathered the volunteers of the Ngozi Works of Mercy for their first meeting to get to know each other, define the mission and goals.
These volunteers, both lay and religious, who alleviate the spiritual and material suffering of the sick in Ngozi Hospital, met on the premises of the General House of the Bene Mariya Sisters after attending the first Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Ngozi.
They were happy to share their common experiences in serving the poor and the sick, as well as to explore the theme of the Works of Mercy.
The Works of Mercy: a spiritual experience
The common prayer intention for the day was “the nascent group of Volunteers, that they may become a leaven in their living and working environment and in their families, for the Re-evolution of the Works of Mercy.”
Led by Sister Marie Assumpta, they read the Gospel passage of the seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time: Luke 6:27-38. “This Word of God is a beautiful coincidence for us, because the Works of Mercy make us like our heavenly Father…be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful. We are called to turn our gaze and our attention toward those who are fragile and suffering because they have only us to live: the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the afflicted, the imprisoned, the ill-loved…We cannot leave them alone.”
“The Works of Mercy,” Sister Marie Assumpta continued, ”make us children of God. Let us always pray for one another, let us pray for our common Mission, which we share with many other brothers and sisters in numerous countries in the four corners of the world. We pray in a special way, with much gratitude, for Luigi Spadoni, founder of spazio + spadoni and promoter of this initiative of the Re-evolution of Works of Mercy.”
Then, together with Sister Generose, he explained the works one by one.
Who are the Volunteers of Works of Mercy in Ngozi?
Sister Erine Kambere tells us that “in truth, members of this new group of Volunteers of Works of Mercy existed before, but each acted alone, on their own, moved by their spirit of compassion in the face of the suffering of many of the Hospital’s sick.
For the most part, they are the parishioners of Ngozi Cathedral.They are trained by the paramedical staff of the same hospital, women religious, family ministry leaders, some teachers and traders. In short, all these volunteers know the environment and its countless sufferings very well.Moreover, most of them are natives of Ngozi.”
Our Superior invited all the sisters in Ngozi and prompted Sister Marie Assumpta, after her Italian experience with spazio + spadoni in Loppiano, to bring this group together.
As a Burundian proverb says, “Kamwe ni ubusa”: “union is strength.”