Reflections on Fatherhood

Members of BIA’s Holy Mass Association of Africa share reflections on fatherhood in honor of Fathers Day.

Father Jude: reflections for Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

Show-show for Jesus.

The Christian God and Culture in Africa – Part 5

Fortunately or unfortunately, most of Africa was evangelized by Latin rite missionaries. Which means that the way we worship God in the celebration of Mass and the sacraments is typically Roman, western or Latin. The church Catholic is made up of 21 sui iuris churches with 7 major rites (Roman, Byzantine, Alexandrian, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite […]

Father Zifac: I am with you always.

We are gathered here in prayer, with St. Joseph and with Our Lady. They are here with the legion of angels and saints in heaven and so no one of us here is wasting his time even if you came here because somebody forced you or bribed you to come or even if you came […]

Father Maurice: “I do not feel like praying”

Feelings are an essential part of what it means to be human. As it has been said before, one might not remember the exact details of a given incident, but one would remember how one felt about it. Human beings are feeling beings. And oftentimes, we act from our feelings. We even tend to make […]

Father Zifac: The Secret of Fruitfulness

To make plants, God spoke to the earth: “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants” (Gen. 1:11). To make the fish, He spoke to the water: “Let the waters swarm and abundantly produce living creatures…” (Gen. 1:20). To make man, God spoke to Himself. And the Lord said, “Let us make man in our […]

The Christian God and Culture in Africa – Part 4

At the crux of this dialogue is a theme which I evoked earlier on, the transcultural nature of Christianity. Pope Benedict XVI in the encyclical Deus Caritas Est captures this uniqueness of the Christian expression when he says: Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter […]

Father Ferdinand: My Parish in Pictures

The Flame of Easter – Lumen Christi, Deo Gratias!

“Brothers and Sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything. Well then, in the […]

Happy Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI!

Prayers and well-wishes for continued good health for our inspirational father, Jospeh Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, on his 94th birthday!

The Christian God and Culture in Africa – Part 3

Is African culture radically opposed to Christianity? The definitive answer is NO. But are there certain aspects of African culture which are opposed to Christian principles? Definitely yes. But this is not unique to African culture; each culture has elements in need of purification. It will be unfair to look at these opposing aspects and […]

Father Zifac: the stone is rolled away

Mary Magdalen and the other women, some of Jesus’ most devoted disciples, who followed Jesus in Galilee and provided for him as his benefactors, the same women who watched as Jesus was crucified and died on Friday, who followed and saw where his dead body was laid to rest, are not at the first moment […]

Father Paul: My Parish in Pictures

Father Zifac: Jesus draws all people to Himself

Jesus promises that when he is lifted up from the earth, he will draw all people to himself. This is his reply to the Greeks. He will not only be seen by them, but by the whole world. His outstrectched arms on the cross will be ready to welcome everybody. It is only when we […]

Father Denis: The Christian God and Culture in Africa, Part 2

Continued from Part 1 Many have thought, and I believe falsely so, that Christianity is foreign and radically opposed to African culture. With a lot of shortsightedness, they claim Christianity is a European affair, their way of relating with the divine. Thus, for them Christianity is just one option among a myriad, an option which […]

Father Zifac: forgetting and remembering

The words forgetting and remembering are very significant in the Bible. While forgetting is negative and destructive, remembering is positive and constructive and can be redemptive. Both words are important in Jewish and Christian life. In the first reading, we experience a typical case of forgetting. The people of God refuse to remember that God […]

Father Zifac: Courage, Do Not Give Up

“The Lord has forsaken me; my God has forgotten me. Where is God? Has be become so weak? Has he become so evil that he cannot save me?” At some point of our Christian faith and journey, the above conclusions and questions have crossed our minds. It has often led us to near despair and […]

Father Zifac: From Obedience to Total Commitment

Football has rules and regulations to be followed by Players in the field of play. The aim of this game is to put the ball into the net of the opponent. The central referee is the judge who evaluates the actions and reactions of each player according to the rules. He decides whether to give […]

Father Denis: The Christian God and Culture in Africa, Part 1

Man does not just fall from sky. He is a product of his environment. This includes his culture, religion, worldview. In other words, each man comes from a particular community, with its own unique history, unique worldview and its own unique approach to the supernatural. All the above constitute what we call a culture. Thus, […]