Poems and Stories of the Xaverians in Dem. Rep. of Congo

Xaverians in Dem. Rep. of Congo

Poems and Stories

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Jesus in My Village

Dear Jesus,
I have been told that you are going
to be born in my village.
That makes me very happy.
I will not give you powder milk.
It's too expensive here.
I will make a banana mix
that you'll like very much.
I'm looking forward to seeing you.
Give my best to Mary your mother;
I know that she will go
through a lot of pain.
See you soon.

(From a child in Congo)

Eucharistic Prayer

Lord, our God,
sin has come into our life
like a mosquito that sucks our blood on our skin.
Our life has become poor
and selfish.
Who will save us?
You are our Father, Lord, have mercy!

We praise you, God,
through your Son,
Jesus Christ.
He is the Word that gives life.
Through him you created the earth and the sky.
Through him you created
our forests and our rivers
and all the animals
that live therein
and the fish
that swim in the rivers.

Through Jesus you created
all things visible
and invisible.
You are Great.
We praise you forever!
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

(From the Eucharistic Prayer used in D. R. Congo)

Prayer for the Gift of Children

You are our Creator and Father
and you know the woman in our community
who waits to receive a child.
If she dies tomorrow
she will have no child of her own to mourn.
Grant her children.
If she gives birth to a son
his name will be like his grandfather.
If she gives birth to a daughter,
her name will be like her grandmother.
Grant her children.
wouldn’t you too, God, like to see
a baby joyfully crying in our midst?
If we die tomorrow,
who will remember our name on earth?
Grant us favorable dreams tonight
that we maybe able to leave behind
numerous children,
and abundant tomorrows. Amen.

The Birth of a Child

To the One who is greater than earth and heaven,
who is beyond the earth and the heavens,
who lives on this earth and this heaven,
who is above and below the earth and the heavens:
let us give thanks, praise, and cry out with joy.

To the One who has no father and mother,
who is the ancestor of all mothers and fathers
who does not belong to yesterday or today
who is never hungry or thirsty:
Let us give thanks, praise, and cry out with joy.

The invisible… who sees,
who speaks, and we listen to;
who makes the wind and water dance.
This Great God listened to my prayer:
come and see: a Child is born to me.

You who have no children, come
see how a child cries,
come and greet the king… who sleeps.
A rooster sings in my house:
it’s a pure rooster, like the heart
of our mysterious ancestors!

Agostine Ngongo

African Resurrection

May Africa know You, Lord God,
You who are the chief of all its chiefs,
Father of all its ancestors,
Wisdom of all the wise,
Love of all its children…
Gift your people, and every tribe,
with your knowledge, to see You
and to know that You only are a true God,
that those who approach You
will remain faithful to Africa.

Only then, a renewed Africa
will sing a new hymn
of praise and thanksgiving;
and all will rejoice and sing,
and dance to a rhythm so new and vast,
harmonious, young and powerful,
like the rhythm of the sea
or the wind of the forest.
Old and new Africa
will sing and dance with jubilation
to the God of Africa,
the only God of the world.

Jerome Bala

The Story of Regina, the Little Missionary Girl

There is a corner of the diocese of Uvira that roads cannot reach. Its high mountains, its rushing rivers, and its dangerous ravines make it impossible for traveling. Only some goats and a few huts are visible, and one never knows why some people would live in these isolated conditions.

The message of the Gospel arrived after the 1950. It took the missionaries two days of walking though dangerous forest paths, to reach the altitude of 6,000 feet where the village of Mulenge is located. But the first proclamation of the Gospel happened because of the efforts of a small girl. In Mulenge, in fact, a small Christian family came to live, even though they were not really practicing Christians, because too far away from any Christian community. Their Christian beliefs soon mixed with their native customs.

One day, a distant relative came to visit this family. He was impressed by this little girl of 8-10 years, and after some discussion with her parents, he had decided to give her into marriage for his son, when the time was right. This girl left then and there her family, to join her second uncle, and so live with him in his family, and acquaint herself with her future husband.

Regina, that was her real name, found herself at ease in her new family, and continued with her usual customs. One of them was that, before she went to sleep, she would kneel and pray the “Our Father.” This surprised her second uncle, so much so that he asked her to teach the whole family this prayer. And so Regina started: “Baba yetu uliye mbinguni… Our Father who art in Heaven….” It was a new beginning for him and his whole family. He asked questions, and guided by this little girl, he soon asked her to teach this prayer to the village people gathered in the evenings around the fire.

Who taught this prayer to Regina? The man went to Mulenge again, to talk to Regina’s father, and found out that the missionaries of Uvira, in their travels, taught this prayer to the family. And so he continued his journey to Uvira, met with the missionaries, and wanted them to come and visit the village. The superior of the community promised he would undertake the difficult trip in the future. “For now, just read this booklet” he said to him. “But who can read in our village?” thought the man on his way home. Actually, the village found someone who could read, a non-Christian like everyone else, who had taken some classes in Lemera. It was then, in the darkness of the village fireplace, that the villagers learned and studied the Christian faith. The missionaries finally came to visit the village, gave further catechism instructions, and were able to baptize a few of them… to their astonishment. It seems an African legend, but the villagers recounted this true story one evening, around the fireplace.

Service, mission, work, news, and presence of the Xaverian Missionaries in Dem. Rep. Congo