From Thursday 23 to Sunday 27 October 2024, in Maroua, the town in Cameroon where the vice-provincial house of our congregation of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit is located, we met for our usual vice-provincial assembly. Indeed, at the beginning of each pastoral year, we look together for directions and strategies to live it better!
For this period 2024-2025, in connection with the celebration of 70 years of our presence in Cameroon, the orientation is defined as follows: ‘To revitalise and deepen our identity as Daughters of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of our belonging to the Body-Congregation’, with the support of two interventions: one by Sister Vedette NDAOKAÏ, (DHS and canonist) and the other by Father Christophe IDRISSA, vicar general of the diocese of Maroua-Mokolo and parish priest of Kongola – a town in Cameroon at the foot of the Mandara mountains, close to the border with Chad-.
In her speech, Sister Angèle HARANGA SILIKAM, vice-provincial, strongly encouraged us to continue to look to Christ, the Master of missions. She also invited us to always remain hopeful, whatever happens. During our assembly, each community presented its review of the year 2023/2024, which was: ‘The cry of the poor and the cry of the earth: everything is linked’ (Cf. art. 18 §2 of our Rule of Life). It was a moment of exchange, rich in experiences, invitations to greater prayer and fraternity between us to continue the missionary work of the DHS.
Sister Vedette NDAOKAÏ’s talk on ‘Sexual abuse, abuse of power and authority in the Church and in society’ reminded us that this topical issue, which concerns everyone, requires us to be vigilant in our behaviour. The abuse of authority and power also concerns us: each person always has a power, an authority that he or she uses more or less well… A day of updating in line with current world events! Abbé Christophe IDRISSA, for his part, tackled the subject of our 70 years of presence in Cameroon -1954-2024-, with this question: what kind of re-reading is needed to ‘revitalise our DHS identity and our belonging to the body-congregation’, reminding us that a jubilee is an action of grace willed by God. Taking up our origins as a Congregation (birth, charism and spirituality) to remind us of the missionary life of our first sisters in Cameroon and the vocation of each one, he drew heavily on the document of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life ‘Starting afresh from Christ’ and the book ‘Quand l’Esprit-Saint s’en mêle’ by Sister Françoise DUPONT, DHS. We are all convinced that we have received a beautiful human and spiritual heritage, that we are called to make it our own, to make it bear fruit and to pass it on to the next generation in an attitude of co-responsibility.
By pooling the reflections of the various groups, we tried to identify the focus for the year, which the vice-provincial and her council will pass on to us. We also shared the joys and difficulties of our missions and commissions: continuing education, aspirations, communication, sharing the training received in the Church during the year, 70th anniversary celebrations.
During the Mass, Abbé Christophe, who presided, in agreement with Sister Angèle, invited each of us to pray the ‘Kyrie,’ asking forgiveness, in one way or another, to the person we had hurt, because a jubilee also requires us to start afresh by forgiving debts – even for something we may not have done. At the end of Mass, each of us drew a little card with a virtue written on it, and Sister Angèle officially handed over the obediences to the members of the committee for the follow-up of the DHS works.
We then shared a fraternal meal before returning to our various communities, and we look forward to meeting again in December.
‘Lord, with the grace of God, lead us always on the path of humble service’.
Sister Denis MBAFI, DHS, Doukoula community. Published on 1 November 2024
Photos.
1. In the main hall during the community sharing
2. Sister Vedette during her presentation
3. Abbé Christophe during his talk.
4. During the Kyrie, ‘Remise de dette’ for a new start
5. Presentation of obediences to the members of the works committee.
6. Family photo after Mass, in front of the Marian grotto
7. Family photo in the vice-provincial chapel
