Photo above - lnga, 16 June 2024, final commitments to Prado in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
From left to right: Christophe MANANGA UMBA, Bonaventure NKIAMA BOBAZOLA, Ferdinand MAKOKO MVUMBI (coordinator), Roger Ndelo MADIELA, Roger Dumbi MUANDA and Antoine LUKOMBO TOKO TSASA.
In the background, Luc LALIRE (Assistant to the priests of Prado General).
Every year, the Pradosians of the DR Congo get together. They come from 2 neighbouring dioceses in the Bas-Congo region: Boma and Matadi.
After the national assembly of 2023, this meeting was placed under the sign of the pradosian vocation which manifests itself through the commitment within the Institute of the priests of Prado. 4 of them celebrated their definitive commitment, and one of them celebrated his temporary commitment. The event took place in the parish of Inga, close to the famous hydro-electric dam which is halfway between the 2 capitals of these dioceses. It was a day devoted to exchanges between pradosians who, using the 5 fundamental pillars as a starting point, were able to review their year of ministry. Knowing Jesus Christ, proclaiming the good news to the poor - what Fr Chevrier called "doing one's catechism" - "having the spirit of God is everything" and fraternal life are the pillars of our vocation.
During Sunday Mass in this parish, our 4 brothers took their vows to commit themselves definitively to living out their vocation to follow Jesus Christ more closely, to become poor like him in the cot, stripped like him on the cross, and given like him in the Eucharist.
- Roger Ndelo MADIELA Becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ is the reason for my perpetual commitment. A commitment to take Jesus Christ as my Master. To follow Him, to give Him all my trust, with the desire to serve and love Him. Conscious that this call comes from Jesus Christ to me the duty of obedience. To follow him in his passion, death and resurrection. May Prado help me, through its charism, to live my conversion so that I may be the priest according to the Gospel: priest of the cot, priest of the cross and priest of the Eucharist. May the Spirit of Jesus Christ, our Master, enliven us so that we may be bearers of life-giving sap to the poor.
- Roger Dumbi MUANDA I, Father Roger Dumbi MUANDA, having come to know Prado through the testimony of a confrere, I joined this family as a sympathiser in 1998, and on 10 December 2017, I made my first commitment to the association of Prado priests. As a follower of Christ, following the example of Father Chevrier, I found the spirituality of Prado interesting. It allows me to serve the poor with a joyful heart. Having at heart the desire to follow and get to know Jesus Christ better, on 4 May 2023 I put in a request to make a definitive commitment.
Today I give thanks to God. And aware of my fragility, I ask for his help on this day when I commit myself forever to this secular priestly Institute. I know that the road to perfection to which Jesus Christ is calling me passes through the cross. There can be no holiness without self-denial and spiritual warfare (cf. 2 Tim 4). May the Lord help me to practise charity, for "charity never passes away". (1 Cor 13:8). - Christophe MANANGA UMBA We need only look around us to see the misery of the People of God, oppression and captivity... "Come to me," says Jesus, "all you who labour under a heavy burden, and I will give you rest. Come to me," says Jesus, "all you who labour under a heavy burden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).
Lord, here I am, I've come to do your will. May your YES be YES. May the Holy Spirit come to the rescue of my weaknesses so that I may remain faithful to my commitments in proclaiming the Gospel and accompanying the poor. - Antoine LUKOMBO TOKO TSASA I am the Vine and you are the branches (...). Apart from me, you can do nothing," Jesus said. Knowing Jesus Christ is enough for me. I will then be filled with the Spirit of God. I will then be able to proclaim Jesus Christ to the poor.
On this day of my definitive commitment to the Association of the Priests of Prado, I pray to God, our Father, through the intercession of Blessed Antoine Chevrier, to make me ever more available to the poor and to help me to follow Our Lord Jesus Christ more closely in order to work for the salvation of souls. Amen.
After this wonderful fraternal meeting, a new stage began for 4 others who had already started the initial formation process: the mid-term retreat after a year of formation. "Follow me": this call from Jesus to the disciples was the main theme of these days, which, through a sustained reading of the whole of Mark's Gospel, enabled each person to see themselves as a true disciple. A night-time meditation will follow Jesus from his triumphal arrival in Jerusalem to his passion. The following morning, the resurrection of Jesus made us understand that the first effect of the resurrection is to "resurrect" the disciples too, so that they become apostles, filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. The mission of announcing this good news to the poor seems to have its source in this Paschal event, which constitutes the disciples-apostles in a fraternity that goes beyond ancient rivalries, and forms the Church.
A few visits to those who were unable to attend one of these meetings enabled me to catch up with some of the confreres. Taking the pulse of the vitality of parish communities, but also the concerns of the confreres who are pastors of these communities, is important for understanding how much the charism of Prado takes flesh in a particular local clergy, in the midst of poverty and spiritual richness. One priest showed me around a very simple neighbourhood church the groups of young people who guided the younger ones in learning the choir, the liturgy, catechesis or even the scout groups... each one taking his part as a disciple-apostle.
Luc Lalire
Prado priests' assistant, visiting DR Congo in June 2024
