From 23 to 30 June, almost all the Daughters of the Holy Spirit in the Vice-Province of Cameroon came together for their annual spiritual retreat at the Procure des missions in Garoua, under the theme “Being at peace with God, with oneself and with others”.
As part of the celebrations marking 70 years of the presence of the DHS in Cameroon, Jesuit Father LINDJO Joseph Alpha, who led the spiritual retreat, began by reminding us of the biblical meaning of the jubilee. For him, to celebrate a jubilee is to give thanks, on the one hand, for the years of fidelity of God towards us and of us towards God and, on the other hand, it is to renew personally and all together our yes to the “Sequela Christi” (following of Christ). This is what justified his choice of source of inspiration, using the book by his confrere Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, Archbishop of Milan: “Je joueai pour toi. A meditation on religious life”. Following the example of Saint Paul, for eight days we were invited to re-read our lives each day, giving thanks to God for our vocation, for our work (mission), for our community, for the trials in our lives and for the time spent in prayer. This time of intimacy with Christ really shook each of us up inside. Throughout the retreat, I became more and more convinced that it is the Lord who fulfils what we ask of him every day in the Jubilee prayer: “Help us, Lord, to accomplish our common mission with love and zeal… Open us to other cultures… Grant us a spirit of creativity and daring to respond to the needs of our society”.
The teachings of Father Joseph, the personal meditations, the Eucharistic celebrations and the spiritual accompaniment were intense moments of intimacy with God and felt all around us: each and every one of the staff at the guest house did their utmost to foster a prayerful and peaceful atmosphere. On the Saturday evening, when we broke the silence, we joyfully celebrated Sister Julienne MATCHOU’s birthday and expressed our gratitude to Father Joseph for having nourished us spiritually throughout this time, without forgetting the whole team at the guest house. -Our thoughts also went out to Sister Monique TAÏKAO, who was unable to share this retreat with us due to illness-.
Slowly but surely, we are carrying out the activities planned for this jubilee year. Thank you to everyone for supporting us in so many ways. May the Spirit of the Lord always go before us!
Sister Vedette NDAOKAÏ, novitiate community – Ngaoundéré. Published on 7 July 2024
Photo 1: Sister Julienne cuts the birthday cake
Photo 2: Simone thanks Father Joseph
Photo 3: end of the retreat
