February 2008
My
dear faithful,
I
am forwarding you a letter from Father Gendron asking
some help for the mission of the Society of Saint
Pius X in Zimbabwe. The situation of our mission there,
because of political and economical reasons in the
country, needs an urgent help. I am sure that you
will know how to be generous.
Thanking
you in advance and assuring you of my priestly blessing.
Fr.
Arnaud Rostand
District Superior of Canada
************************************************************
Dear
friends and Benefactors of Zimbabwe
I take the opportunity presented to me by your district
superior, to tell you of some events, which have taken
place in our Priory of Zimbabwe. Operation “SOS
Zimbabwe” which was started a few months ago
continues while food parcels from a number of countries
have helped and supported our 400 faithful.
We have received 99% of the parcels sent! Thanks to
the goodness of the Catholic employees of the Post
Office, taxes were not charged and every Sunday we
were able to distribute the food to a hundred families!
Oh if you could but see the joy of parents and children
alike when they see the contents of these boxes! Truly,
all this food has come at the right moment. One can
find nothing anymore here in Zimbabwe, and if there
still are a few scraps upon the shelves the prices
are beyond reach!
It will not be surprising, if before the end of 2008
the UN deliver a report of the death of 4 million
Zimbabweans, unless things change drastically. I believe
it. The crisis is certainly not over!
Thanks to all these countries, we are also trying
to import food from South Africa. We are at the present
on the point of binding a contract with an importer,
which will assure an enormous quantity of food. For
this reason we ask you not to send any food parcels,
but rather funds to be sent through your district
superior to our superior in South Africa. This seems
now to be more efficacious.
Our mission at Tafara (30 km from the Priory), has
developed well. The origin of this mission is due
to a young girl, Lucy, of 15. It was she who invited
all the children of the village to catechism. This
was in 2006. Last year, one of these girls, Mary-Debra,
14 years of age, died of cancer of the brain. She
rendered her soul to God only one month after her
baptism. Since then, there are ever more and more
faithful. More than 200 people come now every Sunday
to catechism. Even the head of the village, filled
with admiration before this change amongst his people,
has now become a catechumen! Before the mission was
established, there would always be fighting (tearing
off of clothes before all the people!) as well as
jealousies and every other type of evil. Now, peace
reigns and at the strike of the 17h30 daily bell,
all come to recite the rosary in our little providential
chapel. What a joy it was last Christmas to baptize
31 children and adults, all of whom came from this
mission! Let us pray that one day we may be able to
build a real chapel at Tafara.
Notwithstanding this deathly atmosphere, our priory
continues to shine forth its rays over the country.
After the holidays, our catechism lessons began again
with more than 250 children, divided into 17 groups
around our 15 catechists. Oh how good the good God
is to have sent us so many innocent little souls to
be received and to grow in the holy Catholic faith.
Innocent souls indeed since the law here in Zimbabwe
still prohibits abortion, euthanasia, pornography,
prostitution, homosexuality, immodest dress and behavior
etc.... In a certain way we are here in a world still
well protected. Since most of our faithful are without
electricity there is no question of the television!
Because
necessities in mission countries are never exhausted,
we are praying to be able to buy the house next door.
School teachers are immigrating to South Africa since
they can no longer live on the salary they receive
here. Passports are no longer available and so these
people try and cross the border through the boundary
river infested with crocodiles. Not a few have been
swallowed up by these prehistoric beasts! So our children
receive no more scholarly education. Added to this,
our aged can no longer pay their rent or feed themselves.
For this reason we wish to start a school and at the
same time an old age home. This house next door seems
sufficiently big to accomplish these two aims. It
would also be simple to open the fence between and
so enlarge our property. The price of this house:
$170,000!
Please remember also in your prayers a young man by
the name of Pius who left mid February for our seminary
in Australia. If God so wishes it, he will be our
first black priestly vocation from Zimbabwe. This
priory has already given 11 vocations!
Dear friends, I hope that this news from our country
will give you the courage to help us. May God render
you a hundred fold, if not in this life, then in the
next!
To Jesus through Mary.
I bless you with all my heart+
Fr. Gendron +
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