{"id":2535,"date":"2010-10-08T15:13:36","date_gmt":"2010-10-08T13:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/site2020.marieauxiliatrice.eu\/english\/echoes\/africa-why-do-i-love-you\/"},"modified":"2010-10-08T15:13:36","modified_gmt":"2010-10-08T13:13:36","slug":"africa-why-do-i-love-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/echoes\/africa-why-do-i-love-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa, why do I love you?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A missionary returns from Cameroon.<\/p>\n

These five years of missionary life were for me the supreme gift for my 60
\nyears as a Sister of Marie Auxiliatrice.<\/p>\n


\nAfrica, why do I love you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the radiant beauty of your sun
\n
your luxurious forests, trees, flowers and fruits
\n
for the irrestible charm of your women
\n
for the bewitching smile of your children.
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"preparing

preparing the meal<\/p><\/div>_ For the warmth of your welcome,
\n
your simple joy in living
\n
your freedom from the constraints
\n
of time and regulations.
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the life you share,
\n
for you are first of all a mother,
\n
giver of life and nourishment;
\n
when there is enough food for three
\n
there is enough for six.
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"funeral

funeral procession<\/p><\/div>_ For your inclusive celebrations
\n
the dancing and singing
\n
to mark birth and baptism
\n
death and funeral rites
\n
anniversaries and invitations
\n
always something to celebrate.
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are the artistic colourful costumes
\n
created and worn solemnly
\n
for every important date in the calendar
\n
the special hairdo sculpted
\n
carefully, patiently, lovingly
\n
That is why I love you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"welcome\"

welcome<\/p><\/div>_ Because no one is a stranger in your home.
\n
You are at home in our home
\n
What is mine is yours.
\n
You will always have a roof.
\n
There will always be food to eat
\n
You will always draw kindness,
\n
which is another name for friendship
\n
because you are a mother,
\n
we are all brothers and sisters
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"suffering,

suffering, a school of wisdom<\/p><\/div>_ For your hidden suffering,
\n
for your boundless courage
\n
for your deep aspiration to open up
\n
all the hidden treasures of your history,
\n
your culture, your philosophy,
\n
tradition and modernity hand in hand
\n
in the constant struggle
\n
for a more humane society for all
\n
in spite of all the ills that beset it.
\n
In your poverty often the source of deep suffering
\n
the seeds of infinite wisdom are already germinating.
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\"Marie

Marie Claire visiting a family<\/p><\/div>_ Because five years ago, I came to you
\n
Was welcomed into a community,
\n
peaceful, hardworking, joyful
\n
Then I was able to come close to you
\n
to your people who were sick
\n
to your children,
\n
to those who were suffering.
\n
Then I was able reach down
\n
into the heart of your life.
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because I lived these years
\n
in your Church, young and vigorous
\n
evangelical and enterprising
\n
announcing the infinite gift
\n
and joyful hope
\n
That is why I love you<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"hibiscus\"

hibiscus<\/p><\/div>_ I thought I was coming to give
\n
and I received much more
\n
I have only one word to say: thank-you
\n
one sentiment to express: gratitude
\n
one prayer to offer: thanksgiving
\n
one wish to make: let us go forward together
\n
answering the call of the Lord
\n
faithful in the day and in the night
\n
in the morning and in the evening
\n
opening up to new calls.<\/p>\n

\"the

the call of the night<\/p><\/div>
\nA poem by Sr. Marie Claire
\n(Translated from the French)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A missionary returns from Cameroon. These five years of missionary life were for me the supreme gift for my 60 years as a Sister of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-echoes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marieauxiliatrice.catholique.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}