UP AND DOWN

Mbi bala ala…
Greetings to you in Sango…
Here also begins Lent… prayer time!
Listening to Combonis stories one of the problems of Central African Republic is that it does not exist! It is not in the news, it is confused with Congo or it is thought to be a LAND in Africa not well defined, nevertheless it exists and it is a LAND with clear limits and a history. When I have been told, although myself had to search for information in the atlas, because I did not know of its existence, it seems strange, but in this globalized and technological world we discover in the SKY new planets similar to EARTH, but in EARTH there are corners of HEAVEN ignored!… we do things UPSIDE DOWN we look at the SKY… and we forget the EARTH…
For two Sundays I went with Fr. Gabriele to Mass in the convent of the Benedictine Sisters where we celebrated in Sango (local language), and as we can imagine it was a party with drums, guitars, songs, as a concert, but during the Our Father’s Prayer is sung a cappella, clapping hands, almost out of place in the midst of everything else, is like a lament, a heartfelt prayer of a people dwelling in this EARTH and that it will not be forgotten by the Father who is in HEAVEN … a cry that goes from DOWN to UP… and a bread that descends from ABOVE to DOWN…
On the first Sunday of Lent, on the other hand, I went to Mass in the Cathedral of Bangui, where Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy. Here, also the heavens (roof) and the earth (the ground) have the same color… almost like a sign of UNITY… RED LAND of Africa! In the cathedral there are no paintings, no gold, no picture frames, no luxuries, very simple (see photos)… the House of HEAVEN like the houses of the EARTH, built with red clay, a sign of communion between EARTH and HEAVEN…
“Today Bangui becomes the SPIRITUAL CAPITAL of the WORLD”. The Holy Year of Mercy has advanced on this Earth. A LAND that has suffered for several years from war and hatred, misunderstanding, lack of peace. Bangui becomes the SPIRITUAL CAPITAL of PRAYER for the mercy of the Father. All of us pray for peace, mercy, reconciliation, forgiveness, love. For Bangui, for the Central African Republic, for the world, for the countries that suffer the war and seek peace, and together we ask for love and peace. “Doye Sirirí!” (Pope Francis at the Opening of the Jubilee of the Mercy on November 29, 2015 in Bangui).
Even here, tomorrow is women’s day… on the grass in front of the cathedral they have placed a stands (I heard that will remain for some days), to raise awareness about the plight of women in the Central African Republic… They also ask not to be forgotten in this EARTH … where even the moon grows from UP to DOWN …
A greeting, a hug, a kiss, a prayer and a thank you … (in particular to women in their day).

Simone CLM Central African Republic