As necessary as food

Mongomo is a small town in Equatorial Guinea, on the border with Gabon. Sister Maria writes: “Living with the people here is a great gift for our community. They are so open to the Word of God.” Every month, the people in the nearby villages look forward to their visit. On Sundays, since there is almost never a priest to celebrate Mass, they meet with some of us to hear the Word explained. More than five hundred gather. On the other hand, only about fifty manage to take part in the parish meetings in Mongomo. It must be taken into account that they have no clocks and no notion of the date, so it is very difficult to arrange appointments, so their presence is not constant. Sometimes they have to travel (obviously on foot) ten or twenty kilometres to get there. It is moving to see that they never get tired of hearing about God. I would like you to hear them tell how they put the Gospel into practice: they are simple, concrete experiences… hearing them is enough to convert you. I have often heard some of them repeat that the Word of God is as necessary to them as food. ”

(Sister Mary – Equatorial Guinea)

Reconciliation

I was particularly struck when I heard the Gospel phrase “If you present your offering on the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go first to be reconciled with your brother…” I wasn’t on good terms with a certain lady. Summoning up my courage, I went to her. Unfortunately, not only did she not listen to me, but she shouted at me to go away. I felt demoralized and I didn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, my son had received a letter from an acquaintance who wanted to apologize to him because of a small misunderstanding between them a few days earlier. I was surprised: firstly, because my son is so young that he can’t read yet, so I had to read the letter to him; secondly, because an adult apologized so sincerely to him. This inspired me to write to that lady asking for forgiveness. A few days later I receive a phone call from her: “Please, you forgive me!” I went back to her, we cleared up all our misunderstandings and full of joy, we reconciled.

(H.B. – Germany)

compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta
Cover photo: © Saulo Leite by Pexels