Nearing the finish ...

I will leave Caritas Nebbi in just under 72 hours!  It is hard to believe that I have been here for 10 weeks as the time has passed so quickly.  Today (Wednesday 12 October 2016), I joined the staff of Caritas for my last "team meeting" with them.  The team meetings here take the form of Mass followed by announcements.

My first team meeting was the morning after I arrived and so it is great that my time here at Caritas has started and is closing with the Sacrifice of the Mass - the centre and summit of my Catholic faith.

We gathered in the small chapel to celebrate Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross, His Passion, His Death and His Resurrection.  We were also celebrating (a little belatedly) my birthday!

Father Denis

The Holy Eucharist - Christ truly present Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity in the form of bread and wine

The Caritas Nebbi team

After Mass, I said a few words of thanks for all that the Caritas team has given me during my time in Nebbi.  I reminded them of my Benedictine life and said that at Caritas I had been reminded of the Rule of St. Benedict as being lived in action everyday.  The first word of the Rule is "listen".  At Caritas, all they do starts with listening.  The staff listen to the needs of the people of the Diocese of Nebbi and from there the work starts to meet the needs.  This is all undertaken supported yes by donors but most importantly by prayer.

I presented the team with a cross showing an icon of St. Benedict and a small plaque made by one of the sisters of St. Cecilia's Abbey on the Isle of Wight (my Abbey).  The plaque carries one word "PAX" (peace).  So often in life we say that certain things go together perfectly (salt and pepper, fish and chips, bacon and eggs, etc.).  I also believe that Caritas (charity or love) is perfectly matched with Pax.

Presenting gifts to the Caritas team

Father Denis blessing my gifts