A Flood of Initial Thoughts and Experiences

There are so many thoughts running through my head as I begin my time in Sudan. As I shared below, today’s Gospel invites us to rediscover our relationship as children of our Father in heaven, and to live our lives rooted in that reality. As I prayed the Rosary under the stars last night, I experienced an overwhelming awareness of having been sent here by my Father. It was He who asked me to come to Sudan, to discover and serve my brothers and sisters here.

This morning I decided to walk into town early for Sunday Mass through the villages along the river. I first came on two young men walking ahead of me, speaking in a language I did not understand. It was amazing to walk along behind them, watching them interact like two young men anywhere, and yet surrounded by circumstances so different from those in the developed world. I walked along the path through the tall grass and by lots of grass-roofed homes where people were slowly beginning their Sunday. I passed many women carrying water and firewood, and people heading to the river to bathe. I was struck by the marvel that human life and culture is, how we organize our lives using the gifts that God has given us. I was reminded of the observation of Pope John Paul II that culture is the fruit of the effort of a people to understand the mystery of their existence, the meaning of their lives. Maybe it’s easier to see that in a culture different than one’s own, one so much more basic and simple, one unpolluted by so many artificial and mass produced substitutes for the authentic expression of human culture.

That awareness was renewed as I approached the parish church, where Mass was already well underway in the Latuko language. I passed by a small group of musicians with adunga harps of different sizes, waiting like me for the Mass in English which was to follow. I entered the sacristy to have some time of prayer before Mass in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament reserved there. I was really happy just to be there in that place, and happy also to see that the roof had been repaired! Again, it was amazing to me to listen to the words of consecration being spoken together by the several Latuko priests concelebrating that Mass, and to marvel at the way that Jesus chooses men of different cultures and languages to repeat His words and make Himself present to those people whom He loves so intensely.

Combined diocesan choir with adunga harp players

Altar servers and girl dancers

Congregation standing in rear outside of roofed shelter

Concelebrating the Mass in English was a real joy, warmly greeting priests whom I had met on my previous visit, and meeting others whom I hadn’t. The choir for the Mass was a composite of representations from parishes throughout the diocese who had gotten together that weekend to practice for the diocese’s silver jubilee in December. They sang songs in different tribal languages and were really spectacular. The entrance procession was led by a group of young girls with bells on their feet, dancing and swaying to the music. Fr. Joseph, the vicar general of the diocese, thundered like an Old Testament prophet as he preached a fiery homily denouncing the different abuses that are plaguing society in Southern Sudan. He was extremely direct as he railed against the abuse of alcohol and authority, violence and corruption, tribalism and nepotism. His remarks were so pointed that several times they evoked approving laughter and applause. At the end of Mass it was announced that an engineer from Uganda had met with the parish council, reviewed the plans and examined the site, so that the construction of the new parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption could begin in as soon as two weeks. The ruins of the present church will remain as an historical monument to the war and suffering of the Catholics of Torit.