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A reflection for Consolata Missionaries
as we prepare to celebrate 50 years of service
in South Africa
as we prepare to celebrate 50 years of service
in South Africa
For some time I have been wishing to get hold of books written by Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga, a Consolata Missionary who have been a bishop in Colombia for many years. I used to read them when I was in Argentina. I loved the fact that there was always a story introducing a topic and the way he would help us reflect on being a missionary church. When Fr Gustavo Gutierrez wrote a beautiful book on liberation spirituality called: “We drink from our own wells”, Archbishop Castro Quiroga wrote a book that could be translated as: “We drink from someone else’s well”.
If my memory serves me well, in his book on Blessed Joseph Allamano (our founder) he spoke about “myopia” saying (hope not to be wrong!) that the eye finishes by looking at itself. Never forgot the image and it has been with me as our diocese (of Manzini, Eswatini) celebrates an Extraordinary Missionary Year.
Doing a quick search on Google about myopia I found: “lack of imagination, foresight, or intellectual insight” together with other questions for those who want more information: “what is the main cause? Can it be cured? Is it a disease?”
In this journey towards the Golden Jubilee of the Consolata Missionaries’ presence in South Africa we thank God for the service done by so many missionaries in the diocese of Dundee and the archdioceses of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban. At the same time, as we have always done, we need to identify how our charism can be a blessing to this local church in this present moment.
Each one of us will probably identify something: an important point or dimension. It came to my mind that we might be serving in a Church that suffers from “myopia” or “nearsightedness”. I get the feeling - somehow - that we are unable to look beyond the borders of our country. We have been doing so every time we became aware of a natural tragedy (tsunami, tornado...) Here, though, I am talking about a very specific reality.
The Church in South Africa and Eswatini has received many missionaries, initially from Europe but now from the rest of our continent and from Asia. Irish priests and religious sisters could be found all over the country. Missionaries (Priests and Sisters) from India are now present in many dioceses. For some time the diocese of Manzini enjoyed the services of a Salesian priest from Vietnam!
Still, our local Church does not seem to reflect on sending missionaries beyond the borders of our country. Since I arrived in South Africa in 1994 until I left in 2005 and, again from 2009 when I was back, I cannot recall a single time when this was a topic of reflection, even during October which is... mission month!
I did mention it at my episcopal ordination hoping for the day when the Vicariate of Ingwavuma would be able to send diocesan priests to serve in other countries. Not sure how they felt when they heard me say so... and never asked them either!
We could easily say that there are enough “missionary realities” in our own country. True! The truth, though, is that each one of the countries we come from could say exactly the same thing but they still sent us to Southern Africa.
I still remember when in the early ‘80s my formator was sent to “Zaire” (DRC, today) friends would wonder: “why do you have to go when there is so much that still needs to be done here?”. Had the apostles followed the same approach, the Good News of Jesus would have never gone beyond Jerusalem or Galilee.
Our concern here is always to find more personnel to serve our dioceses but never or hardly ever about sharing with others. I am no exception. The diocese of Manzini (in the Kingdom of Eswatini) is blessed as Sr Florence Tsabedze has been serving in Mozambique for many years. As part of our Extraordinary Missionary Year we made sure that during her holidays in our country, she would visit some of our parishes as no one seemed to be aware of her.
Followin Google (!!!) we could reflect on“what is the main cause? Can it be cured? Is it a disease?”. Our identity is to be the missionary conscience of the local Church bringing down walls and building bridges.
