Confirmation Celebration in Swahili

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Unintentionally, today began very early with the crowing of a rooster right outside my window----literally.  He began "cock-a-doodle-doo-ing" at 4:00 a.m., and continued every 10 minutes (just like a snooze alarm, without having set one) until....I have no idea when he stopped.  So, in light of the oppressive heat that made for a relatively sleep-less night and the cock-a-doodle-doing of the rooster, I was up very early and ready for this new day.  We joined with the Guadalupe Fathers for Morning Prayer at 7:00 a.m., followed by Breakfast.  The 9:00 a.m. Mass to celebrate Confirmation was also a Mass to celebrate the Solemnity of the Parish Patron, All Saints.  Bishop Dominic gave permission to transfer the upcoming Feast just five days away to be celebrated for this special occasion.  Even though the Mass was scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., I have been helped to realize that Kenyan time is a "more-or-less-precise" kind of thing.  In fact, the Guadalupe Fathers told me that there is a Kenyan tradition that says as long as the event starts somewhere within the hour of 9:00 a.m., it is considered to be on time.  However, we began our 9:00 a.m. Mass around 9:20 a.m.  We didn't finish until almost 1:00 p.m.   So, you can see that there was much to celebrate. 

Processions are a very big deal in African/Kenyan Eucharistic celebrations.  There is the pre-Mass procession and singing/dancing; then there is the Entrance Procession in, and then the Entrance Procession back out again; there is a procession that goes on during the Penitential Rite.  Following the Opening Prayer, there is a very joyful Procession to bring in the Scriptures for the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word, culminating in joyful applause when the Priest holds up the Scriptures for all to see.  There is a Procession for the collection; there is a Procession with the Preparation of the Gifts; there is a Procession of Thanksgiving following Holy Communion; and of course there is the Closing Procession at the end of Mass.  Each of the processions are accompanied by much singing, dancing, clapping, jumping and whistle-blowing. It is all quite festive, and yet at the same time, so deeply respectful. 

Today's Mass was celebrated in Swahili, with parts of it (for example Bishop Dominic's Homily) being translated into Turkana (the local language for those who don't know Swahili, let alone English).  Because of that, I simply con-celebrated, though I had the great privilege of being able to actually confirm (in English) half of the 35 Confirmandi, with Bishop Dominic, of course, confirming the other half. 

After the Prayer after Communion, there was an hour's worth of acknowledgements/talks/speeches, including Msgr. Mike and I being able to offer our "two shillings worth" as well.  Finally the Mass was concluded.  Once again, no one left in the middle, or right after communion.  The faith of these people is quite inspirational.

After Mass, we had a nice lunch, and a little rest.  Bishop Dominic was taking advantage of his Parish Visit to meet with the Parish Council.  Toward the end of that meeting, Msgr. Mike and I joined the meeting and spoke a bit about our Diocese and the similarities, and differences, we face.  I was quite impressed with how well they have entered into the Parish Council process.  At the end of the meeting, a group of young children from the parish known as the Pontifical Mission Society Children entertained us with a number of their native songs and dancing. 

When the meeting was over, Bishop Dominic, Msgr. Mike, and one of the Guadalupe Fathers, Father Riccardo, and I stopped to visit the three Sisters who are stationed here at the parish:  two of them teach in the Catholic-sponsored primary school (which is quite large---about 300 students; there is also another Catholic-sponsored school ----a secondary school----here at the Parish which is equally as large; the 3rd Sister does Pastoral Work for the Parish.  These Sisters are Sisters of Nazareth whose motherhouse is not far from Nairobi.  After our brief visit with the Sisters, we came back to the Rectory to have a nice dinner, joined by two young women from Mexico who are Guadalupe Lay Missionaries, and found a good bit of our dinner conversation focusing on the similarities and the differences of Mexico, Kenya and the United States.  If nothing more during this trip, I have found, I hope and pray, that there are far more similarities between the various nations of the world to unite us than there are differences to divide us.