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MY Ph.D JOURNEY: REFLECTIONS AND LESSONS ACQUIRED...

Brother Doctor Tendayi Lemeyu CSsR

Conferred Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Psychology on the 4^th of November 2022.

Introduction

My main reason for pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree was that I had successfully completed all the necessary qualifications on the ladder and I only had one step to climb to achieve the highest qualification in the education field, and that would be the Ph.D. On September 23, 2022, my Ph.D. journey came to an end, for it was the day I successfully had my viva voce in the morning and completed a programme that took me a good four years. My degree was officially conferred on Friday, November the 4^th 2022. Now, I officially carry the title ‘Doctor.’  However, this journey was not easy. It is not for the weak heart, hence I always believe in completing what I have started, even if it takes me time to do it. I started at the very bottom of the academic ladder and I wanted to complete the circle by achieving the PhD. 

Motivation to Undertake Ph.D

The motivation to undertake a Ph.D in education, particularly in educational psychology was to understand the quality of education and support services received by orphans and vulnerable children in primary schools in Harare. I was prompted by the challenges and experiences I encountered in teaching, caring for, and supporting orphans and vulnerable children aged 8 to 12 years, who had never been to school. Mavambo Trust provides these children with an accelerated literacy and numeracy programme. Learners at Mavambo Learning Centre may spend 12 to 24 months at Mavambo before being placed in mainstream schools, where they receive further support from Mavambo Trust to remain in schools. Consequently, I have worked with these children for almost 14 years, and I observed that after graduating from Mavambo Learning Centre, the academic performance of these learners was being compromised. It is against this background that I developed an interest in carrying out an empirical study in this area to recommend strategies that may improve the situation of orphans and vulnerable children in schools. 

Read more: MY Ph.D JOURNEY: REFLECTIONS AND LESSONS ACQUIRED...

Provincial's Letter 30 March 2024...

Read in full here...

Pope Francis and St Alphonsus Maria de'Liguori...

In the reflection offered by the Holy Father in his Audience to participants in the XXXIV Course on the Internal Forum promoted by the Apostolic Penitentiary, held March 4-8, 2024, Pope Francis said:

“In the context of Lent and, in particular, in the Year of Prayer in preparation for the Jubilee, I would like to propose that you reflect together on a simple and rich prayer, which belongs to the heritage of the holy faithful People of God, and which we will recite during the rite of Reconciliation: the Act of Contrition.

Despite the somewhat old-fashioned language, which may even be misunderstood in some of its expressions, this prayer preserves all its validity, both pastoral and theological. Besides, its author is the great Saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, master of moral theology, a pastor close to the people and a man of great equilibrium, distant from both rigorism and laxism.”

Following this, the Pope dwelt on the three attitudes expressed in the Act of Contrition that offer us help in reflecting on our relationship with God’s mercy: repentance before God, trust in Him, and the resolve to never again fall into the sin we have committed.

The full text of Pope Francis’ address can be read on the Holy See’s website.

CSsR Scala News

EASTER GREETINGS FROM FR GENERAL CSSR...

Dear Confreres, Formandi, Lay Associates in our mission, and the whole Redemptorist Family. As General Government, we wish you all a happy Easter!

With Easter, we want to celebrate our inner renewal. The Resurrection of the Lord invites each of us to be born again and to sing a new song of hope. What new song can we sing in the face of such a challenging world, with so many social inequalities? Despite the dark horizon, the Resurrection is the light that guides us, because Christ has conquered death. We are men and women of hope! We cannot keep the doors closed out of fear. We will recognize Jesus by his greeting of peace and the traces of his passion. And when we receive his Holy Spirit, we will come out of the prison of fear and doubt to proclaim him (cf. Jn 20:19-29).

In the strength of the Risen Christ, we join in prayer with our confreres and the people of West Africa, the Middle East, Mozambique, South Africa, Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba and other places where there are wars, terrorist attacks, conflicts and violence. In spite of this suffering and pain, we are

“Missionaries of Hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer”. 

This hope, which flows from their humanity and kenosis, sustains each confrere in these places and helps them to encourage the people who are also suffering.

May the Risen Christ, Redeemer of the world, transform the hearts of human beings in order to build a peaceful society.

HAPPY EASTER OF THE RESURRECTION TO ALL OF YOU!

Fr. Rogerio Gomes, CSsR
Superior General

The Journey thus far...And now we must sit and wait...

The Sacred Triduum thus far - 

The Mass of the Lord's Supper...

Read more: The Journey thus far...And now we must sit and wait...

Friday of the Passion of the Lord...

Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Consider how Jesus, after three hours’ Agony on the cross, consumed at length with anguish, abandons himself to the weight of his body, bows his head, and dies. 

O my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the cross on which you died for love of me. I have merited by my sins to die a miserable death; but your death is my hope. Ah, by the merits of your death, give me grace to die, embracing your feet, and burning with love for you. I yield my soul into your hands.

Read more: Friday of the Passion of the Lord...

Holy Thursday 2024 Homily - St Mary's Clapham CSsR Church...

Holy Thursday The Mass of the Lord’s Supper

St Mary’s Clapham, Served by the Redemptorists since 1848

Some of you will know that I was in Zimbabwe for just under two years. It was a wonderful experience and at the same time a hellish experience! Nonetheless, I have grown to love Zimbabwe and that beautiful country has left me with many great stories and all of them are true! I was a millionaire in Zimbabwe, that is how crazy our currency was, so crazy that I soon became a billionaire! Without a word of a lie, I then became a trillionnaire - the largest bank note that was printed was 100,000,000,000,000 dollars and that bank note could not buy you a loaf of bread!

Today I have been thinking about Zimbabwe because we did something strange on this day - when I say we, I mean the Redemptorist community. We were a close community. There was about 30 of us - one white and 29 black men and those words are the ones they use! The community is quite a young community, there were two in the community older than me, and everyone else was much younger than me! We all gathered in the refectory and all the tables were put around in a U shape. We had our meal as normal with talking and celebrating - because we were celebrating the priesthood - but then at the end of the meal, the confrere older than me and myself got up and we moved to the the two ends of the table - we got down on our knees and we washed everyone’s feet in the community. It was a very humbling experience. Most of the young men in the community were students and so I was in charge of their formation - and for that reason I knew their goodness and their badness - I knew what they were struggling with and I knew what they were champions at. With every brother, I knew that I was on the floor and they were sat on their seat - washing their feet is the ultimate act of service. Jesus knew this and this is what he teaching us.

When each of us gets to heaven - there may be a number of things the Lord will ask us - he might ask us to define the Immaculate Conception, explain the reciprocal pericoresis of the Holy Trinity, or speak of the Infallibility of the Pope. Who knows!? I do suspect that one question the Lord will ask, will be something like this, “did you follow my example and wash other peoples’ feet?” If we say YES, then the Lord will know that we definitely built his kingdom.

Read more: Holy Thursday 2024 Homily - St Mary's Clapham CSsR Church

Fr Gerard Muligan CSsR RIP Funeral...

Click here to see the full Funeral Booklet...

It was both a sad day and a happy one as the Redemptorists, the Mulligan Family, and many other religious, Priestly and Lay People gathered on the 25th of March to say a final farewell and to pray for Fr Gerry's eternal, happy and peaceful repose. 

Sad - Fr Gerard CSsR death has left a hole in so many peoples' lives - more than we might actually appreciate.

Happy - Fr Gerard CSsR lived life to the full, straining to be a servant to his Master, the Lord.

It is only right that we should rejoice in the knowledge that

Fr Gerry has gone home to the Father's House.

Vivat in aeternum! Requiescat in pace!

Read more: Fr Gerard Muligan CSsR RIP Funeral

Saint and Doctor - Alphonsus Liguori CSsR...