LAMPS ON FOR THE ETERNAL WEDDING

For the celebration of our jubilee of 25 years of Consecrated Life, we participated in the spiritual retreat in the monastery «Oasis of Peace» in the Diocese of Mbalmayo from 17 to 23 December 2021. Father Tommaso, a Jesuit, guided us in this time of spiritual grace, leading us to pray in a special way, listening to God who speaks to us in his Word through mental prayer. The central theme was "five days with Christ". Father Thomas, on the evening of our arrival, explained the route to follow. Every day he gave us the orientation of the texts on which to reflect and a scheme to make a good prayer and certainly also the time to redo the physical forces.

During the days we were exhorted to pray, meditate, discover and listen to what the Lord reveals to us in his Word. The theme proposed for the first day: "be attentive to the presence of God"; second day: "Learn to say thank you to the Lord for his plan of love for me, my family and my friends"; third day: "Make forgiveness and thanksgiving spring from the heart"; fourth day: "Reconfirm our YES in following our Lord Jesus-Christ and the «Yes of Mary»; fifth day: "Be witnesses of Christ in the world".

At the end of this time of intimacy with the Lord, we made a self-assessment that allowed us to become more aware of the focal points, those that marked us most both in good and evil; the inner movements that inhabited us; the deep experience of these days to give us the opportunity for a new spiritual impetus.

The sacrament of reconciliation was joyfully celebrated on the third day. There were very strong and significant moments that marked our lives and that are unforgettable. The memory is still very much alive in the heart.

The coming of God in this world of ours is a Good News, it is life that rises beyond pain, poverty, or uncertainty. It is God who continues to trust man, it is the joy of recognizing that our life has a meaning and a hope only in him. We rejoice and rejoice at the birth of Jesus who offers himself to the world as a fragile child.

On 28 December 2021, the feast of the Holy Innocents, in the parish of St Anne and St Joachim of Nkoabang, with an exultant crowd, we celebrated the Silver Wedding of our four Sisters: Sr. Anne Marie MBALLA NKOULOU, Sr. Elisabeth EDIMA, Sr. Marie Pierre OBAMA, Sr. Hortencie KOA LEBOGO. We also stress the absence of Sister Francisca Beeko LONKEKE, one of the Jubilee Sisters, who lost her mother a few days before the Jubilee. Although physically absent, we celebrated in communion with her and her family.

To this celebration we have also joined the commemoration of the arrival of our first four Missionaries in Cameroon-Africa. Already in the past 28 December 2002, on the occasion of our perpetual profession, Monsignor Girolamo Owono Mimboe, Bishop of Obala of venerable memory, saw on this date a wonderful coincidence: Perpetual Profession and the arrival of the FMSC Sisters in Cameroon - Africa, a sign of heaven, a divine Providence, the imprint of God that seals the mission in Africa. 19 years later, this prophecy is renewed! to celebrate the Silver Wedding; 25 years of fidelity to the following of Christ.

Yes, 25 years of Nuptial Alliance with Christ, in the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, at the service of the Church, lived on the steps of Providence and in trusting abandonment to his merciful Love, keeping the lamps lit for the eternal Wedding.

Today we want to make our own the Song of Thanksgiving of the Virgin Mary! "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit exults in God, my Savior!".

The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Monsignor Sosthène Léopold BAYEMI MATJEI, Bishop of Obala, assisted by about fifteen priests. He gave an exceptional seal to the Eucharistic celebration by invoking the Holy Spirit before the readings, and during the offertory, he himself sang this song: «Signs to thousands, traces of your glory, signs to thousands, God in our history...».

During his homily, he combined this thanksgiving with that of our Fathers in the faith: Abraham, Moses, Jacob, the Virgin Mary... with great paternal solicitude and humorous language, Monsignor Sosthène exhorted each one to feel himself the beloved son of God. He did not fail to offer his congratulations to the Jubilee Sisters, reminding each of them that it is a new beginning, a step towards the deep waters. Thank you, Lord, for joining your work of salvation!

Thank you for these blessed years consumed in your vineyard. Thank you for perseverance and fidelity. May our life be a continuous praise, a thanksgiving! To God every honour, every praise and every blessing and to our Religious Family a thanksgiving with gratitude to every sister who has preceded us on the way and to the sisters with whom we live.

Like the holy Innocents, we are called to be witnesses and to proclaim this hope in a world that thirsts for God, we are called to live in the church with joy and in a spirit of communion. On this day, how can we transmit to the world the great joy of God? Let us be touched by the silent but eloquent witness of the Holy Innocents!

Glory to God that doeth wonders for us;
God is Love, Hope and Joy!