In a Mass celebrated by Fr. Matthew Ouma, the general counselor for
Africa of the Consolata Missionaries, Br. Benoit expressed his commitment to fully dedicate his life to the service of God
and humanity, and hence to the service of the institute and of the Church in general. In the homily, Fr. Ouma invited not
only Br. Benoit, but also everyone present to offer his / her life to God in whichever vocation one has chosen, since that
was the greatest expression of gratitude that one could give to the loving Father for all the good things he had done for
them. Fr. Ouma was quick to point out that all Christians if they wanted to be perfect, had something to denounce for the
sake of Christ (Cf. Matthew 19:21). Taking Br. Benoit’s final profession as the point of departure, Fr Ouma reminded
us that evangelization was no longer primarily the act of standing in podiums to preach to crowds of people, but the
bearing of true witness to Gospel values in one’s daily life, hence making available in historical time and
geographical space, the salvation plan of God in Jesus Christ to all present and future generation.
As the Mass ended and some speeches were given, it was clear that Br. Benoit’s life had been an inspiration to many in Sagana, where he had been living and working since his first religious profession on July 15th 2006. A poem from children of a certain school nearby opened the floor of speeches. Although simply put the poem was an expression of gratitude for Br. Benoit’s life as a good example to the young, behind every word was an affirmation that evangelization was more than giving information or acquiring intellectual knowledge and Br. Benoit had clearly demonstrated that. As if to echo the children’s sentiments, speaker after speaker reiterated that Br. Benoit in his work of teaching at the technical institute had certainly shown that evangelization was an in depth transformation of individuals in all areas of their lives. In the period he had been at Sagana, Br. Benoit had gradually but surely helped transform the young people using Christian values and witness of his life as a consecrated person.
As people partook in the banquet that was prepared after the Mass, I was impressed to hear a number of the young people acknowledging that they had now realized that in the life of brotherhood was a new way of evangelization, which was not relegated to work merely in the sacristies or in religious functions. At last they were realizing that evangelization was not opposed to academic and intellectual training in human qualities of logic, leadership, communication skills and techniques, management and organization administration. As we dispersed after the beautiful celebration, it was clear that although there has been a lot of hulla baloo about the world turning secular by the day, God’s spirit was still touching more and more young people to dedicate their lives for the service of his people and for his greater glory. I had no doubt that God would certainly use the event of the day to inspire more and more vocations in our institute.
As the Mass ended and some speeches were given, it was clear that Br. Benoit’s life had been an inspiration to many in Sagana, where he had been living and working since his first religious profession on July 15th 2006. A poem from children of a certain school nearby opened the floor of speeches. Although simply put the poem was an expression of gratitude for Br. Benoit’s life as a good example to the young, behind every word was an affirmation that evangelization was more than giving information or acquiring intellectual knowledge and Br. Benoit had clearly demonstrated that. As if to echo the children’s sentiments, speaker after speaker reiterated that Br. Benoit in his work of teaching at the technical institute had certainly shown that evangelization was an in depth transformation of individuals in all areas of their lives. In the period he had been at Sagana, Br. Benoit had gradually but surely helped transform the young people using Christian values and witness of his life as a consecrated person.
As people partook in the banquet that was prepared after the Mass, I was impressed to hear a number of the young people acknowledging that they had now realized that in the life of brotherhood was a new way of evangelization, which was not relegated to work merely in the sacristies or in religious functions. At last they were realizing that evangelization was not opposed to academic and intellectual training in human qualities of logic, leadership, communication skills and techniques, management and organization administration. As we dispersed after the beautiful celebration, it was clear that although there has been a lot of hulla baloo about the world turning secular by the day, God’s spirit was still touching more and more young people to dedicate their lives for the service of his people and for his greater glory. I had no doubt that God would certainly use the event of the day to inspire more and more vocations in our institute.
