Considering the busy schedule of parish life and activities during Holy Week this past Spring, the notion of travelling to Arlington, Virginia immediately following Easter Sunday was exhausting. However, I had also been looking forward to attending the CICM US province assembly—taking place the week after Easter—so to Arlington I went. As soon as I arrived, I was energized by the joyful attitudes of all my confreres. Our US Provincial (Fr. Charles Phukuta, cicm) opened the assembly on Monday, April 21st with a morning prayer. Afterward, the assembly business began with his State of the Province address, in which he clearly articulated our CICM calling both in the past and at present. He concluded by presenting a vision for the future: a vision that had been expressed and composed by several confreres who participated in the preparations for the assembly. Then there were presentations regarding the province finances, our Internship program, and also various aspects of promotion. The amount of thought, planning and coordination involved with this assembly were evident. We’re all grateful to the provincial office, assembly committee and facilitator (Brother Paul) for their effective input and leadership.
Our sessions followed the themes: Discover, Dream, Design and Destiny. The participation was very active and our discussions, both in small groups and as the whole assembly, were informative and inspiring. It is always a joyful occasion to be able to meet with and listen to other confreres. It’s rewarding to appreciate both the wisdom of the older confreres, and the enthusiasm of the younger ones—especially when we have a chance to share these attributes and collaborate with one another.
During our discussions, I noticed that the concept of having a dream caught our attention and interest throughout much of the assembly. Obviously we are not the first to begin the work of achieving our goals by articulating and defining our “dream.” Dreams are commonly the catalyst for action; they can inspire us, help shape our intentions, and provide meaningful direction to our work. There have been many times throughout history when the dream of what was possible guided and lead to the realization of important and wondrous things. Our assembly brought three such examples to mind…
First, there is God. After what happened in the Garden of Eden, God did not abandon His people. He had a dream to restore the corrupted humanity by bringing salvation into the world. In order to realize His dream, God our Creator sent His only begotten son to become man. We believe that when Jesus suffered and died on the cross, his death and resurrection made salvation possible for us all. God sacrificed His son for us. “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Because of God’s plan for salvation, people from every nation, culture and race enjoy the opportunity to coalesce as one family: we are the children of God united in our Christian faith and in the sacraments. God’s dream for us to live free from the burdens of sin must surely be considered the first and most important dream for the world!
Then we thought of our founder, Fr. Theophile Verbist. It was in 1865 that Fr. Verbist’s dream of evangelizing and caring for the poor and abandoned children of China was finally realized. But his missionary vision in the Far East was many, many years in the making. His first proposals were deemed impractical, and he had difficulty gaining the necessary support and approval needed to carry his dream forward. Though there were many obstacles and many moments of demoralization, Fr. Verbist’s mission to China was finally approved by the Pope and, together with a small party of fellow missionaries, the CICM Missionary Congregation was born. In the winter of 1865, they arrived and set up a base operation in what is now Inner Mongolia. They organized small Christian communities and attended to an orphanage and school, and also trained seminarians. Though he would die from Typhoid fever only three years after arriving in China, Fr. Verbist’s dedication and sacrifice paid off. Today we are nearly 900 members strong, and our presence spans the globe. All because there was a dream…
Finally, we thought of this country’s own Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His “I Have A Dream” speech has been quoted and praised around the world. Though his dream for racial equality seemed practically impossible, and he faced opposition and threats, Dr. King stood up and spoke up for his dream. He even lost his own life while trying to make his dream come true. Today I enjoy being accepted as a black, African priest ministering to various parishes made up of more than 99% white and Hispanic parishioners, largely because there was Dr. King’s dream.
The members of the CICM US Province also have a dream. Our dream is the result of days of reflections and prayers during the assembly. In our various mission locations from the East Coast to Texas, our goal is to respond effectively to today’s new challenges, with our motto “One heart, One soul” at the center of our varied endeavors. In examining God’s, Verbist’s and King’s dreams, we realized that they all took a risk. They succeeded because they took risks and made sacrifices. We strongly believe that we too need to be willing to take risks and make sacrifices for our dreams to come true.
Of course during our discussions there was some disagreement on certain issues. But we understand that, just like others whose ideas and dreams have met with disagreement, this can be an opportunity to make adjustments and find new ways to communicate our visions and compromise for the common good. During an advertisement for a political opinion show on CNN, I heard the announcer say: “Great minds don’t always think alike.” Based on that premise, I believe I can say: we are indeed great minds!
Toward the end of our sessions, I happened to glance at our assembly’s “arrivals and departures” log, and noticed that most of our confreres’ flights were booked with United Airlines. It made me smile because, in my humble opinion, that name coincidentally reflects our Spirit. United we came to the assembly: United we left to go back in our ministries. And I personally wish that United we can support the implementation of our dream, in order to make it come true. We are grateful for your generous participation in supporting our missionary goals. The CICM dream is not about us: it is about God’s glory and the salvation of His beloved people, to whom we are sent to minister. God’s people deserve nothing less!
Fr. Pascal Ngboloma, cicm, is a native of Kinshasa who joined Missionhurst-CICM in 2006 and was ordained in 2013. He has been working in the Us since 2010, and is currently serving in the diocese of Raleigh, NC, at St. Eugene parish in Wendell, NC.
