inform may 2016, issue
DESCRIPTION
Mill Hill Students Nairobi MagazineTRANSCRIPT
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In this issue:
Community living
Personal reflections and experiences
God’s mercy and Justice
Caring for our common home
Technological Gadgets: service or slavery to humanity?
Ordination as fruit of Formation
Light moments and poems
MAY 2016
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EDITORIAL
The scholastic year 2015/2016
has come to a close. As a for-
mation community we thank
our God the merciful Father for
His protection throughout the
year. It has been a year of hard
work in all aspects of formation.
The students
have had the
opportunity to
learn much
about living in
a home togeth-
er with broth-
ers from differ-
ent countries
and different
cultures. In the
larger commu-
n i t y t h e y
learned to re-
spect the time
table and to take on various
tasks with a sense of responsibil-
ity and accountability to ensure
the smooth running of the for-
mation program. A very large
portion of the time and energy
of the students has been dedicat-
ed to the academic formation at
Tangaza University College.
And now the time has come for
moving on. A number of stu-
dents will after a few months
holidays at home with their fam-
ilies proceed to the Mission Ex-
perience Program (MEP) for two
years, others will go to
different parishes or
institutions for a six
weeks pastoral expo-
sure. Before all this,
however, everyone
will take part in the
150 years’ Jubilee cele-
brations and the Per-
petual Oath celebra-
tion of four students in
Kisumu on 21st May.
The reality of separa-
tion causes sadness.
Depending on what
direction our journey takes us
some of us may not meet again in
this world. We wish each other
well and take with us the prom-
ise of our Lord : ‘I am with you
always.’
JAKOB KIRCHLER
15
SOME POINTS TO NOTE
.Did you know that that putting dry tea bags in gym bags or in smelly shoes will reduce the smell?
.Did you know that those who laugh often are healthier than those who don't laugh at all.
.Did you know that it takes just 17 muscles to smile and 72 to frown?
.Did you know that sleeping without pil-low reduces back pains and keep your spine stronger?
.Did you know that the youngest part of a man’s body is the tooth?
.Did you know that if a part of your body falls asleep you can almost always wake it up by shaking your head which has your brain?
.Did you know that a person’s height is determined by the fathers and the weight by the mother’s?
.Did you know that the most intelligent humans use only less than 10% of their intelligence while the dolphin uses up to 20% of theirs?
.Did you know according to Albert Ein-stein, if honey bees were to disappear from the face of the earth, humans will be death within four days?
.Did you know a man can survive for 5 days without water and food but a woman can do for 8 days?
.Did you know that learning a language is the most easy thing for a child?
. Did you know that it takes 144 yrs for a plastic bottle to undergo decay?
A PRIEST IS ALWAYS WRONG BE-CAUSE…..
The contemporary society has become too judgmental on priests, never the less some priests have also given reasons for this attitude to grow from time to time in the minds of the people, he is a priest yet he is human therefore liable to errors. But some times he his judged by the people without mercy such as
If he begins mass on time, they say his watch is advanced, but if he does a minute later they say he keeps people waiting. If he owns a car he is luxurious but if he doesn't have one he is said to be behind his present generation.
If he goes out to visit families, he is always out but if he stays in the office to do some work for the growth of the church, he has no time for the people. If he takes time in the confessional, he is too slow but if he does it too fast , he has no time for his peni-tents. If he is with the youth, he has no time for the old, if he is with the old he has no time for the youth.
If he is young, he has no experience, if he is old, he should retire. So long as the priest lives there is always someone better than him, but if a priest dies there is hardly someone to take his place. Lets love our priests and see Christ in them.
The criticisms however have helped priests to be aware of what people can be thinking of the them, therefore it sometimes acts as material for effective maturity. The work of the priest is to serve the people by bringing God to them through teaching of his pre-cepts, sanctifying them, celebrating the sacraments, blessing. He also takes their petitions to God during the celebration of the sacraments. In short the priest is hu-man phase of divine Compassion,
ALWAYS PRAY FOR THE PRIESTS
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tempt in our local environments to preserve nature, we should mind our ecosystem, we
should minimize the waste of resources by so doing we are taking care of the mother earth our
common home and making it a better place for all who live in it.
NKONGHO PAUL
POEM: DEATH!!!!!!
A. Oh Death! Who are you? Are you a friend? Are you an enemy? Are you a stranger?
Oh Death! Are you so irrational? Why take our friends and loved ones away?
Oh Death! Why? You even sweep our enemies too? Why? Even those who know you not?
Oh Death! I don’t want to think about you. Do I love you? Hate you? Think about you?
Don’t you fear God?
B. Oh Death! Aren’t you old enough to stop being so powerful? No one resists you successfully; why so?
Oh Death! Who are your parents? Do you have a family? Do you? Why? Who are you? Open up...
Oh Death! Kill your parents and family too, and friends; kill them; all of them. Do you have favourites?
Oh death! Do you have life? Do you know who loves you most? Who hates you most?
Why weren’t you aborted? The Maputo protocol should advocate for your abortion, not our unborn chil-dren. Who are you? What do you want? Don’t you fear God?
When will you be dead?
C. Oh Death! I want to be your lover; your comrade and companion. I have heard about you. Read about you for many years. I have never understood you.
Oh Death! What do you want? A lover? A friend? What virtues of a lover do you want? Who can love you? Who can shun you? Do you know this?
Oh Death! You make our lives appear worthless; we can’t stop thinking about you.
Oh Death! Who are you? Why do you do what you do? Always moving. Everywhere we see your foot prints; we are threatened by you presence but can certainly not point a finger at you. Don’t you fear God? Who is your Father?
D. Oh Death! Who are you? Answer me. Are you a friend? Are you an enemy? Answer me. Why? Who are you? You; your name, your identity? Is it love that brings you to us or detestation? I don’t know you, but I know you exist. Your paintings are far and wide.
From a surface look, everything ends in you. Who are you? A lover? A friend? An enemy?
NKINEN. U. NCHE
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EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
FAMBO ATHANASUIS
EDITORS
NKONGHO PAUL
MARK OWOR
SHIKANDER SOPHAPOTI
LAY OUT
NKONGHO PAUL
MODERATOR
JACOB KIRCHLER
TANGAZA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
The Knowledge House
Tangaza University College is one of the
brightest Catholic theology institutions in
Kenya. Many professors and students step in.
The professors come here to share the
knowledge they have acquired and stored.
Every year a number of students come to gain
knowledge. At the same time every year a
number of students depart from here after
receiving knowledge. The professors and the
students play the primary role in this house:
professors as the providers of knowledge and
students as the receivers of knowledge.
Tangaza is a source and treasure
house of knowledge. It has the ability and
capacity to provide sufficient knowledge. It
keeps the receivers busy and active both men-
tally and physically. The receivers fully engage
themselves on their assignments, research
works, CAT (Continuous Assessment Test),
personal studies and exams. Through their
committed involvement they form themselves
into effective learners and seekers of
knowledge. Seeking knowledge becomes their
central task. Tangaza motivates her receivers
to spare no effort in order to broaden their
minds and enhance their knowledge. The
virtues of curiosity and studiousness make the
receivers to be knowledgeable. The two vir-
tues are found and exercised among the re-
ceivers in Tangaza.
Tangaza stands as the source and
treasure house of knowledge. A lot of
knowledge is stored in this particular house in
order to be cultivated and utilised by the re-
ceivers. The house encourages the receivers
to grow
intellectu-
ally. It is
extremely
rich in
knowledge
and the
knowledge
is safely
preserved
for the
receivers.
The house
is always
a v a i l a b l e
and ready
to provide more knowledge. The preservation
of the knowledge and the knowledge of the
house identify the house to be “the
Knowledge House”.
SIKANDAR SOBHAPOTI
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HEARTFELT HOMAGE TO DEPARTED
MILL HIM MISSIONARIES
All come and go. These are ordinary
people who did extraordinary things but nev-
er won medals or got their pictures in the
paper. They show quietly prods at what it
means to be a hero and what it means to be
part of the St. Joseph’s Missionary Society. As
Saint Therese of Lisieux said “little things
done with great love”, is what makes us re-
member you today. A big part of what makes
life bearable is people who come alongside us.
There is time for everything.
Today, the St. Joseph’s Missionary
Society celebrates its hundred and fifty years
of existence. It is very important to remem-
ber those great minds and carriers of the
Good News of Christ to different parts of the
world. I call them our Heroes, the brave am-
bassadors of Christ. They witnessed to
Christ’s love. These heroes ventured into
dangerous territories carrying Christ to differ-
ent people in different nations. There are so
many of our departed Mill Hill Missionaries
who have lightened the load and sometimes,
even with just the smallest act, have made life
brighter and reaffirmed to us that we are not
alone in this Christ’s mission. Again St.
Therese of Lisieux said “Without love, deeds,
even the most brilliant, count as nothing”.
They were not overcome by the hardships of
the road, food, people, culture and weather.
Animated by the society’s motto “to love and
to serve”, they focused on the word of God
and tried to help people re-elevate in offering
them chance to re-discover themselves and be
of help to their community. Some of them
fought for the freedom and human dignity.
Others invested in education and
formation of local leadership and many other
great things done. The spirit of service, Dedi-
cation and commitment animated them to go
beyond themselves…Yes! We remember you
today as we celebrate one hundred and fifty
years. This dedication and commitment
pushed them to the point of pouring out their
blood in the defense of the gospel and integri-
ty of the people they served. Let their poured
out blood bless our soil and their broken bod-
ies fertilize our lands. It will look so ungrate-
ful if we do not acknowledge the great works
and ser-
v i c e s
t h e y
rendered
to the
n a t i o n s
and most
of all
t h e i r
s p a r e d
lives for
J e s u s .
They will
r e m a i n
f o r e v e r
in our memories; though the Society has
changed throughout the years, one thing re-
mains: our unsung heroes are the backbone of
this our society. We love you!!
GYLAIN AGBASOA
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my flight was cancelled because they asked the
information desk and were told that the passen-
gers of that plane were transferred to another
plane. But when that plane arrived, they no-
ticed that there was no Albert among those
passengers who came out. They asked again the
information desk and they said that my flight
was cancelled. What an “OMG” Oh My God”.
But it is good that the two of them had the pa-
tience of waiting for me there at the airport for
more than 5 hours. Also it is good that the in-
formation desk officers didn’t tell them that the
plane that I rode was missing.
Regardless of all those happenings of my jour-
ney coming to Nairobi, I thank God for every-
thing that I arrived in Kenya safe and sound.
For more than a day of expedition and having
not enough sleep, now I am here still kicking
and breathing. And here I am now still adjusting
in all matters of life.
Albert Silos
TAKING CARE OF OUR COMMOM
HOME
The supreme pontiff Francis stressed
in his encyclical Laudato si, in our care for the
earth which is a common home by doing all our
possible best to preserve nature. This is a call
for concern to all who live in the world, its not
for just the environmentalist and the govern-
ment officials but for all. Today we face the
problem of drastic climatic change and global
warming because we have failed to identify with
nature, the advent of modernity in most parts
of the world has really cause a conscious loss of
values which help to maintain the nature for the
well being of all. The danger is that most often
we see the effect of these things at a large scale
and fail to identify the small things which we
can do to stand as a great contribution to this
problem of nature which is plaguing the con-
temporary society.
Just learning how to properly dispose
waste, making use of the natural resources like
water, solar energy and understanding the need
for us to plant a tree of flower around our
homes can be of great contribution to our socie-
ty.
The human being has become so self-
ish some times in his thoughts when he sees the
earth as a place for him especially as his care for
the other organism is geared towards only his
consumption and comfort. But this of course
has so much adverse effect in our being in this
very world. Thinking about the massive cutting
down of threes without replacement to con-
struct houses and other centers for the use of
the human species. Think of the way we treat
our wild animals either by consuming them or
using some products from them to produce
things that will help man without thinking that
we are affecting the ecosystem and making
some species of organism endangered, think of
the number of machines produced for man’s
interest and the result they have on the ozone
l aye r , … ju s t t o n am e a f ew.
We are the co-inhabitants of the
world with other organisms, we should make
a n
at-
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very heavy and almost could not carry those
painful encounters.
But there were people praying, encouraging
and inspiring me not to lose hope and surren-
der. Thanks to them! They are God’s blessing
and instruments in
t o my vocation. On the
day of my flight to
Kenya I met other
memorable chal-
lenges. My flight
from Manila to
Bangkok, Thailand
was delayed for two
hours. That is why
arriving there at Bangkok International Airport
I needed to hurry just to catch my next flight. I
needed to run from end to end of the airport in
order to get onto my flight. Reaching the
boarding counter, I was asked for my boarding
pass and I went to the waiting area in hurry.
But the plane that I was to take also delayed; I
just whispered: What a journey! Then I needed
to wait. And I waited for almost 3hours,
WOW! Because the plane was from China and
I was on transit. Though I felt bad about what
happened I thanked God because I could rest
for a while just to give consolation to my tired
body.
When the airplane arrived, getting inside I
thought that only few passengers were there
because we were only few passengers waiting
in the waiting area. But I was wrong; it was
very crowded, lots of people. Then I tried to fit
myself in between two big people. Wow, it
looks like I am the ham of the two large size
burger sandwiches. As we took off, I noticed
that the airplane was quite hot. And I saw some
of the passengers using some of their things just
to make them cool. And the temperature be-
come high inside and I started sweating and I
didn’t understand why the air-conditioner of
the plane was not working. The people began
complaining to the flight attendant demanding
to know why it was hot inside the plane and
they didn’t seem to have answers.
After our takeoff from Bangkok airport, maybe
around 2 to 2 ½ hours of our flight, the plane
captain announced that the amount of fuel in
our plane was insufficient to reach Jomo Ken-
yatta International Airport. It made me feel
scared and nervous. I said to myself this is not a
good joke, how can a pilot announce a thing
like that. He should check everything first be-
fore taking off, while we were there at Bang-
kok, this is crazy, I said to myself.
Then the pilot decided that we will have a de-
tour or take another route and take emergency
stopover in Mumbai, India. No foods and
drinks were served at that time. We stayed
inside for more than 4 hours, just sitting or
sometime went to the washroom. That was the
only activity we could do inside while waiting
to fly again. But, I just diverted my mind not to
think negative about the situation; instead I said
this is an opportunity to see India, where one of
the Mill Hill Theology Houses is situated. After
long hours of waiting, everything was okay, air-
conditioner, fuel and engine were very okay.
After all I felt worried because I didn’t know if
there was someone who would meet me at the
airport when I arrived because I was delayed for
many hours.
Arriving in Kenya, Edson and Gerry, who
were to pick me from the airport, thought that
5
LIGHT MOMENT
My father is 6years old
A teacher asked a kindergarten kid
how old his father is, without any de-
lay the kid shouted “six years” and the
teacher took offence and asked again
“how is that possible ” then the kid
said he only became a father after I
was born and I am six years old, the
teacher smiled and gave his kid a lolli-
pop for thinking very fast, and the
whole class was filled waoooh
COMMUNITY LIVING
Throughout my years of formation, whenever
topics concerning community life have fea-
tured to be discussed, the common words
aired-out are flexibility, sensitivity, coopera-
tion, brotherhood to mention but a few. All
these words and other related phrases are
aimed at making a community where all
members living together feel at home.
Every year of my formation journey I have
experienced different individuals in communi-
ties where I have lived in. There is one com-
mon thing I have noticed which cuts across all
members of those communities: a desire to be
happy. My observations have been that when
new members meet to form a community
they are excited to be with each other. They
want to learn from each other and there is
always inevitable pleasing towards each other,
trying to show the kindest part of oneself to
the new persons. This is usually honey moon,
and it is necessary.
Once members know each other well in both
their strengths and weaknesses, each individu-
al strives to have his desired happiness uncon-
sciously fulfilled. Sometimes it does not mat-
ter how one seeks for this happiness. It hap-
pens that in this endeavor one interferes with
another’s happiness and freedom. It is from
here that many conflicts arise.
Living together in community in my discern-
ment journey has never been without conflicts
especially with my close colleagues. I have
come to believe that given that individuals
who make communities come from different
backgrounds, they have to behave and re-
spond differently to common situations. Con-
flicts in communities, when reflected upon
positively, become sources of strength to the
group and moments of learning. It is for this
reason that I feel privileged to live in a small
community which we call a home within a
bigger community. In these homes we receive
a counselor to journey with us in our house
challenges and joys. This has been and still is
an arena where I express my feelings and ex-
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periences on how I live with my home/
housemates. It is a moment I get to under-
stand what my housemates think and feel
about me. It is indeed a noble moment. The
counseling sessions have been of great help in
as far as my stay in Nairobi formation house is
concerned.
Diversity is beauty. It is through living togeth-
er as people from different backgrounds that I
have come to know myself and how different I
am. Community life is a mirror for I could
not know who I am if not in relation to oth-
ers. All in all sensitivity, flexibility, coopera-
tion, brotherhood and understanding among
others, still remain spotlights in promoting a
community which should be a home. In spite
of challenges which lead to conflicts, there are
moments of joy together as a community. In
the case of our formation house in Nairobi,
Friday social evenings stand tall as an example
of those joyful moments in the formation
house community. It is through community
living that we become the happy ‘we’.
COSMAS ONDARI
I BECOME WHAT I SEEK
In my mind I do. I see. I love some-
thing. I love someone. I fear to become what I
seek. Just like we become what we eat, so too
I fret becoming what I seek. I am certain that I
will become what I seek because to it I send
out my heart. I seek just what I love and when
I fall in love with what I seek, I become one
with it. I become what I love.
We find identification with the
things we love. Once we identify with the
things we love, we put our hearts towards
them. For them we crave with a longing so
deep. Our families and backgrounds may be
responsible for who we are, (my family is
responsible for my being Ultan Nche), but we
are responsible for what we become (not
becoming a sloth) so if one becomes a thief in
life, the family is not responsible because the
heart was constantly sent towards stealing.
Even situations should not be blamed because
to solve a frustrating situation in life is not to
aggravate it by becoming something worse.
The Scriptures tell us that we
should seek, and we shall find, knock and the
door will be opened to you, for all who seek
will find and all who knock will have the door
opened to them (Mtt. 7:7). Even in all these,
we should be careful with the things we seek;
with the things
we send our
hearts to. There
is a reason to
this.
L o v -
ing things is
dangerous. It
changes us. It
changes even
the look we give
to everything
that relates to
the thing or person loved. Loving changes our
lives. This is neither mere allusion nor fanta-
sy. The more we grow in love with palm
wine, the more palm wine we become. So I
am even more certain now that the more we
love Christ, the more Christ-like we become.
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Ngong diocese was evangelized by Mill Hill
missionaries but currently there is not even
one Mill Hill missionary left working there as
Philip Adede, the society representative, not-
ed in his speech. At the same time the local
church is growing, producing and sending out
missionaries. Lawrence is the first Mill Hill
Missionary from Ngong diocese. We pray and
hope that he has opened the door for many.
This surely was a fruit of education and for-
mation after many years of toiling. The joy
was evident in the smiling faces of the newly
ordained and the many intervals of ululations
throughout the celebration. As usual last on
the agenda was a sumptuous meal and enter-
tainment at the diocesan pastoral centre.
As a tree’s roots continue growing even as it
produces fruits, the roots that we have devel-
oped during formation too continue to grow
in order to nourish mission. Mission is not
without challenges. Even in mission we have
to remain rooted and as the roots grow we
may feel pain in the process. How deep our
roots are will
d e t e r m i n e
how stable we
will be in life
and in mis-
s i o n . W e
should remain
focused on the
goal. In this
case the goal
of mission
which is serv-
ing God and serving neighbor and rooted in
nothing other than the love of God. We pray
for all our ten newly ordained priests that
they may be rooted in Christ to overcome the
challenges and bear fruits that will bring joy to
themselves and those they will minister to.
MARK OWOR
UNEASY JOURNEY
To follow the footsteps of Christ is not always
like a bed of roses in which you may always
feel that you are in the seven stars hotel hav-
ing your whole life vacations. But it is a bed of
thorns in which you may encounter a lot of
painful moments along the way. I had this
kind of experience through my journey going
to the formation house in Nairobi. First, I was
stopped by the immigration officers in the
Philippines to fly to Kenya. This was between
July 31 and August 8, 2015. This not only
happened once but twice. Imagine my strug-
gles, trauma and the feeling of hopelessness at
that time. I almost surrendered and said it is
not my luck to go to Kenya and maybe this is
not the way of life Jesus wants for me. I felt
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come all who are present and find out how
their day’s activities were. It was so touching
that those whom society and very often me
too directly or indirectly reject are blessed
with what we spend lots and lots of money
and time to acquire-Silence. We are misled by
the many deceiving voices such that we pass
ourselves by. I wonder what I have been doing
because the formation program would not
always provide time for personal prayer, for
silence with God. It is my responsibility to
make an appointment to meet with my God
just like I would do when I miss a friend.
Finally, I was inspired by the re-
sponse given to me by one of the workers for
a question I asked her. I asked her what her
feeling is like whenever she is with these peo-
ple because it takes a lot of courage and hu-
mility I must say to deal with some of the
members of the L’arche Community. Some of
them cannot feed themselves. Before they eat,
they spread the food all over their body which
is very uncomfortable to look at. But it meant
nothing to those who were working and living
with them. And so when I asked my question,
she replied, “there are moments when I feel
like giving up, asking myself: ‘what am I do-
ing here?’ but there are moments when I feel
in a way that I cannot explain but it makes me
want to do more” With this response I imme-
diately referred to Mtt.25:31-46 (Matt 25:45
‘whatever you did not do for one of the least
of these, you did not do for me.') When I
came back to the formation house, I felt very
happy saying to myself, this was a midterm
well spent.
NGI MALVIN NKEBENYA
ORDINATION : A FRUIT OF FOR-
MATION
“The roots of education are bitter but the
fruits are sweet” is a phrase that was inscribed
on the walls of almost every building and class
room in my primary school. However the
first part of the saying seemed more true to
me since that was where I belonged. This was
because of my experience of being punished
for reaching school late, making noise in class,
failing a sum in mathematics etc. Looking
back now I wonder what kept me going. This
is analogous to formation. Prof Majawa de-
scribes formation as information, formation
and transformation.
The process of formation is not without diffi-
culties. Sometimes the difficulties may even
blind one from focusing on the goal. One of
the immediate goals of formation for Mill Hill
missionaries is Mission. We are prepared to
become missionaries to bring the Good News
of Christ to the poor. Therefore every step
one makes towards this goal is a success. The
climax of the formation process is perpetual
oath, diaconate, priesthood and finally mis-
sion. These moments are always characterized
with joyful celebrations. In the past few
months we have had 10 ordinations of our
brothers who completed their formation pro-
gram recently to the priesthood. We as a
formation community had the privilege to
attend and participate in the ordination of
Lawrence Otieno also known as “Mill Hill
Man”. This took place in Ngong cathedral in
Ngong diocese. Lawrence was ordained
alongside three diocesan priests and one dea-
con. This was a symbolic event because
7
He loved us first. In my mind, I don’t like to
verbalize ‘thanks’, especially to Jesus Christ.
The best way to thank Christ for loving us is
to send our hearts towards him. To love Him
back, even if we don’t know how well to love
Him back, we struggle to send our hearts
towards Him, and when we identify with
Him, we will become one with Him.
Loving without reason can become
addictive and senseless. Therefore we should
regulate the sending of our hearts towards
things. Too much of a thing can become a
disease. Addictive persons can become a dan-
ger to the society because they become un-
controllable, senseless and wasteful, what do
you think about being addicted to the person
of Christ who prior to today, was not known
to us, but today we know Him because He has
shown Himself to us in the person of Jesus
Christ.
ULTAN NCHE
TECHNOLOGICAL GADGETS: SERVICE
OR SLAVERY TO HUMANITY?
Today improvement in technology has made
life easier than ever before. Communication
has been made easier and the world has been
transformed into a global village. The phones,
internet, television among others have helped
in connecting people all over the world. One
needs only to be in the comfort of his or her
room to access something going on several
kilometers away. Family members can still
communicate with each other even if they are
far from each other. There is no doubt there-
fore that technology has been of great service
in enhancing the lives of humans especially
with the use of gadgets.
However this technology which has made life
easier has another side that is very prominent
today. This lies in the type of gadgets we seek.
Many people today wish to get sophisticated
phones, laptops and televisions among other
things. The prices of these gadgets are some-
times alarming especially for a middle class
citizen talk less of the poor people. The ad-
vertizing of these products makes us think we
need them when in actual fact we might not.
The features that many of these gadgets con-
tain, which makes them expensive, are hardly
ever used by those who get these gadgets. We
become excited to sacrifice a lot to get an
expensive gadget and soon after getting it we
find that the excitement fades away and we
want to get another one. Then we seek for
another and the process continues. Further-
more, concentration on apps such as face
book and whatsApp on smart phones especial-
ly has led many people to ignore those around
t h e m .
Sometimes
p e o p l e
h a r d l y
c o n n e c t
with those
a r o u n d
them but
are always
connecting
on their
p h o n e s .
Some peo-
ple even
#
walk on the highway and chat risking their
lives and one wonders is all this necessary?
We can sometimes be enslaved by these gadg-
ets.
We see therefore that technology especially
the gadgets can be of service as well as be
enslaving to humans. We have to continually
examine our attitude towards these gadgets to
see whether they enslave us or they serve us.
It is in this way that we will have been able to
use technology for the proclamation of God’s
word and for the enhancement of human life.
FAMBO ATHANASIUS
MERCY AND COMPASSION TRI-
UMPHS OVER JUSTICE AND REASON
Normally, we have the idea of jus-
tice being established for any act which is
wrong and by so doing we fail to take into
consideration many of the situations which
caused the person to perform the act. When
we go this direction then we are seeking for
justice in the light of reason. Reasoning is
good because it comes from God and we need
to use justice to organize our society for
peaceful co-existence.
Mercy and compassion are even
better and stronger to help us live peacefully.
It is for this reason that Christ expressed how
compassionate and merciful the heavenly Fa-
ther is to us who go against His commands
many times. This mercy and compassion give
another chance for us to repair our relation-
ship with the Father and with our fellow hu-
man beings.
From Dec. 8th 2015 the Roman
pontiff Pope Francis, declared the year of
mercy; we all are called to participate in this
celebration of mercy, not only to show it to
someone but also to show it to ourselves.
Mercy and compassion heal and give us the
operating ability to move on with life, check
the case of
Zacchaeus,
upon all
what he had
done as a tax
c o l l e c t o r
when the
mercy of
C h r i s t
t o u c h e d
him, he was
never the
same person
again and he
moved on with his life to another level.
As loving people of God we repre-
sent the visible face of the Father’s love. We
ought to show mercy and compassion to our-
selves and to others no matter what they have
done to us. Lent gives us the time to forgive
and show mercy and compassion but it should
not only end at that it should be part of us.
The psalmist says If God should keep a record
of our sins, who will survive; we need to do
same like God to continuously show mercy
and compassion in and out of the season of
lent.
NKONGHO PAUL
9
LIGHT MOMENT
PRISCA DISCOVERED AMERICA
During a geography class in a certain pri-
mary school, the teacher asked one of his
pupils to go to the map and point at the
continent America. Prisca went to the
map on the board and pointed at America
and the teacher asked the rest of the class
to give a hand of applauds to Prisca. In
the next history lesson the teacher asked
the class who discovered America and the
whole class shouted “PRISCA” the teacher
became furious and when he tried to find
out they reminded him when Prisca
showed them America on the
map….imagine
MID TERM BREAK IN NYAHURURU
I visited Nyahururu for my first
time during the midterm break. I was invited
by a friend who works with the L’arche com-
munity in Kenya. You may need to be enlight-
ened on what L’arche is all about; It is an
International Organization that takes care of
people who are mentally and physically chal-
lenged. They get them from either the streets
or from their homes (for those who have) and
bring them together, forming a community.
In Nyahururu, I was in one of such communi-
ties known as Effatha Home. I was greatly
touched in my spirit by the experience I had
while in this place and there were many strik-
ing things but I wish to talk about just three
things.
In the first place, I was touched by
the catching words on the door post, written
in Kiswahili: Karibuni Effatha (Welcome to Ef-
fatha). This was shown in practice by a very
warm and formal greeting from the house
members. Tears ran down my cheeks when
they all tried to welcome me, even those who
could not speak showed a sign that they were
glad I visited them. I felt just as Henri J. M.
Nouwen would say in his book The Return of
the Prodigal Son, “I was home after being so far
from it.” The smiles on their faces left me
thinking. Like the younger son in the story of
the prodigal son, I have been busy with other
affairs that seemingly appeared to be more
important, but that was not true. Yet I am in a
formation house which is a community. This
brings me to the second striking point.
Their activities like meals together,
clean up together and most especially praying
together struck me. I discovered that they all
had a day to lead community prayer which
usually takes place in their beautiful chapel
with the Blessed Sacrament. They pray ac-
cording to how the Spirit leads them as I can
say but they know they are not wasting time.
T h o s e w h o
c a n n o t
s p e a k
s i m p l y pray
in si-
l e n c e ,
which is s t i l l
a very spe -
c i a l form
of pray- e r .
S o m e b e -
f o r e they
p r a y , wel-