From the time of the first baptism (May 14, 1871), the Mission of Mahanoro reveals its features gradually. One might say that it no longer is a child, but has not yet attained an adult maturity. Thanks to the blessings of the Holy Spirit, it looks younger, day and night.

We Oblates, who continue the work of evangelizing this mission, endeavour to immerse ourselves deeply in the evangelization completed by our predecessors.

Our method of evangelizing is uniting our strength, for the glory of God. What is our strength? It isour Oblate charism, and the help of the Holy Spirit, who has worked everywhere in our region. What this means is that we ought to perfect ourselves as good Christians and be evangelized by our Christians.

1. To form into good Christians : We must form our co-workers that they study the Word of God and the social teaching of the Church. We must live, within our communities, in the light of the Gospel, sharing with others. In this pastoral year, we had two sessions with the catechists and with the inspectors. The first was organized on the level of the central mission (Mahanoro), and the other was in our bush sectors.

2. Allow ourselves to be evangelized by our Christians : We use methods balanced in thought and in action. We listen to their inspirations of lasting values of their forefathers and customary traditions which are in accord with the Gospels. Based on these values, we can make decisions. Example: In our Betsimisaraka tribe, they annually celebrate the reorganizing of the clan. This feast is called “bathing of the word” (zakam-pandrona). This means a time for settling family rivalry. Often, they do this in the month of June (the end of harvesting). After reconciling themselves, each family then brings food to the central house in the area (trano be) and then they mutually share the gifts. This is a sacred and joyful occasion. We had studied this custom of theirs, and we were under the impression that it is in accord with the Gospels.

We decided that we could introduce this custom into the evangelizing our own way. Over the past three years we have introduced this tradition and have observed great joy in our Christian community. We christened their custom. It is true enculturation. “We chose the month of June and we introduced this custom in our churches. After invoking a prayer to the Holy Spirit, we read the Word of God and then we sing the psalms”- the chief inspector speaks. His words emphasize love and reconciliation. Towards the end of his speech, he turns to the cross of Jesus in order to beg for true love of Him, who was crucified for our Love. (Often, the cross is placed at the East of the church.) When he ends his speech, the inspector turns to the west (to the setting sun) so as to expel the evil one who divides us. Then the entire Christian community shakes hands in a gesture of reconciliation. Each family brings food and we all share this together.

It seems that we are always the minority in comparison to the number of inhabitants, but thanks to the blessings of the Spirit we can change our community. We see that the Christians feel good in their church. This is not only the missionary church, but our church as well. A sense of responsibility is slowly emerging. The Word became Flesh.

Despite our new initiatives we always retain the usual pastoral work which had been accepted long ago – the meetings of all the groups/movements (Young Farmers, the Eucharistic Crusade, and Daughters of Mary, Altar Servers, Vocation Promotion and the Formation of Future Spouses).

3. District pilgrimage : Each year in September we organize a pilgrimage to Manakana, which is about 80 kms away from our mission. The death of Naboto Martiale is recorded here. He was an inspector who worked in this area and helped the missionaries evangelize the inhabitants. He was well known and lived a wise and holy life. He is like a spiritual godfather for our Christians. The pilgrimage is Marian in style. There are conferences on various themes and the Way of the Cross. It is estimated that there were about 868 pilgrims this year.

Father Jean DIDIER, omi
Pastor