Fr. Gabriel Basuzwa, s.x.
During all difficult times in Burundi the Xaverian Missionaries have remained in solidarity with local people facing the same difficulties and enduring death (1995 and 2014 = three Xaverian Sisters). The evangelization method they use in search of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation consists in not taking part for any side while raising the awareness of local people on equal dignity of all God’s children.
The year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis invites all Christians and people of good will to reject any kind of violence and retaliation. We are all invited to be merciful, forgiving and loving as Jesus continues to love humankind. The year of mercy invites all people in Burundi and in the world to avoid inciting more atrocities since the suffering of local people here is truly unbearable. Poverty is becoming more and more rampant in the country.
As a missionary in the context of Burundi crisis, I believe that it is better not to take side but to encourage powerful leaders worldwide to consider the suffering of simple people. It is better to find some ways of alleviating the unbearable suffering of innocent people. We need to forgive and to love even guilty individuals. Today, people do not want to enter an uncontrollable process of discrimination and rejection of any brother or sister for whom Christ continues to die every today through the death of innocents and even guilty individuals.
The Lord Prayer in Kirundi
God’s loving forgiveness has no limit. Our evangelization continues to educate people on the necessity of respecting the life of any person. The Lord’s Prayer, especially in Kirundi, emphases the fact that God’s merciful love is indeed addressed to everyone: “Dawe wa tesse”, literally means: “Our Father of us all.” Never before my ministry in Burundi, have I met this kind of insistence in any other language I know throughout many countries. Kirundi language expresses wonderfully the all-embracing and forgiving love of God. We promise to forgive to others since God forgives us always.
Therefore, in my ministry in Burundi, especially in this difficult time, I will continue to remind local people the richness of their culture; a culture that greets everyone and everyday by calling peace - “Amahoro” - upon all human beings; a culture which considers that humanity - “Ubuntu” - consists in being good and compassionate to everyone no matter the immensity of grievance one endures. When a Murundi says: forgive me - “Mbabarire” - he or she will be certain of being forgiven since everyone is called: “Umuntu”- a human being, which means a person made out of God’s merciful love.
I do not give up hope on the coming back of peace in this country because I believe that the Father of us all - “Dawe wa twesse” – will continue to educate us and to give us enough grace of loving forgiveness. Truly I have met many people in Bujumbura who have humanity – “bafise ubuntu”. People who are committing atrocities in Burundi are much less than those who sincerely endeavor to honor Ubuntu culture: the civilization of love and compassion.
Education for peace and true humanity
In the Formation House of Xaverian Missionaries in Bujumbura, we intend to build a Multiple-Purpose Hall where we will be giving conferences each year on the respect of all human lives and the dignity of all God’s children in order to instill within youngsters the mentality of peace throughout the present generation and many other generations to come. Where the Gospel is proclaimed with faith, there will always be hope and merciful love.
About the Author
Gabriel Basuzwa, s.x. is from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is a Xaverian Missionary priest since 1985. He has an Ecumenical Doctorate in Cross-Cultural Ministry with Concentration in Justice, Peace and Reconciliation since 2010 from Catholic Theological Union (CTU) at Chicago, Illinois, USA. From 2010 to the present (2016), he works in Bujumbura, Burundi.
During all difficult times in Burundi the Xaverian Missionaries have remained in solidarity with local people facing the same difficulties and enduring death (1995 and 2014 = three Xaverian Sisters). The evangelization method they use in search of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation consists in not taking part for any side while raising the awareness of local people on equal dignity of all God’s children.
The year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis invites all Christians and people of good will to reject any kind of violence and retaliation. We are all invited to be merciful, forgiving and loving as Jesus continues to love humankind. The year of mercy invites all people in Burundi and in the world to avoid inciting more atrocities since the suffering of local people here is truly unbearable. Poverty is becoming more and more rampant in the country.
As a missionary in the context of Burundi crisis, I believe that it is better not to take side but to encourage powerful leaders worldwide to consider the suffering of simple people. It is better to find some ways of alleviating the unbearable suffering of innocent people. We need to forgive and to love even guilty individuals. Today, people do not want to enter an uncontrollable process of discrimination and rejection of any brother or sister for whom Christ continues to die every today through the death of innocents and even guilty individuals.
The Lord Prayer in Kirundi
God’s loving forgiveness has no limit. Our evangelization continues to educate people on the necessity of respecting the life of any person. The Lord’s Prayer, especially in Kirundi, emphases the fact that God’s merciful love is indeed addressed to everyone: “Dawe wa tesse”, literally means: “Our Father of us all.” Never before my ministry in Burundi, have I met this kind of insistence in any other language I know throughout many countries. Kirundi language expresses wonderfully the all-embracing and forgiving love of God. We promise to forgive to others since God forgives us always.
Therefore, in my ministry in Burundi, especially in this difficult time, I will continue to remind local people the richness of their culture; a culture that greets everyone and everyday by calling peace - “Amahoro” - upon all human beings; a culture which considers that humanity - “Ubuntu” - consists in being good and compassionate to everyone no matter the immensity of grievance one endures. When a Murundi says: forgive me - “Mbabarire” - he or she will be certain of being forgiven since everyone is called: “Umuntu”- a human being, which means a person made out of God’s merciful love.
I do not give up hope on the coming back of peace in this country because I believe that the Father of us all - “Dawe wa twesse” – will continue to educate us and to give us enough grace of loving forgiveness. Truly I have met many people in Bujumbura who have humanity – “bafise ubuntu”. People who are committing atrocities in Burundi are much less than those who sincerely endeavor to honor Ubuntu culture: the civilization of love and compassion.
Education for peace and true humanity
In the Formation House of Xaverian Missionaries in Bujumbura, we intend to build a Multiple-Purpose Hall where we will be giving conferences each year on the respect of all human lives and the dignity of all God’s children in order to instill within youngsters the mentality of peace throughout the present generation and many other generations to come. Where the Gospel is proclaimed with faith, there will always be hope and merciful love.
About the Author
Gabriel Basuzwa, s.x. is from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is a Xaverian Missionary priest since 1985. He has an Ecumenical Doctorate in Cross-Cultural Ministry with Concentration in Justice, Peace and Reconciliation since 2010 from Catholic Theological Union (CTU) at Chicago, Illinois, USA. From 2010 to the present (2016), he works in Bujumbura, Burundi.