Mass Offered on March 1, 2026 for Seminarians

A Mass was offered on March 1, 2026 for all seminarians that they will grow in holiness and lead us all in love. Every month, we have a Mass offered for this intention. As our seminarians will be the future shepherds and our children are their future flock, it seemed a beautiful way for the children to help with their prayers.  It is our goal to feature a different seminarian on the first of the month every month by inviting him to share something of himself and giving all our readers the opportunity to pray for him. This month, we are featuring Br. Gabin Brice Tayrou, a seminarian in Cameroon. Asher was able to meet Br. Gabin during his visit to Yaoundé, Cameroon (see picture below). Br. Gabin is a member of the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles. In addition to generously facilitating Asher’s stay in Cameroon, the MSA order has also helped to get Children’s Rosary groups up and running in and around Yaoundé. They are an Oder whose charism is the formation of priests, which they do for both dioceses and religious orders.

My vocation as I remember it 

It all started between 2001 and 2002 when my family moved to Mballa II, a neighborhood in Yaoundé. My mother quickly got into the habit of taking us to the 7 o’clock Mass at the nearest parish: Saints Peter and Paul of Mfoundi-Assi. It was during this Mass that I fell in love with the liturgy. At first, it was only admiration; until my mother took the initiative to enroll my older brother Daniel and me in catechism. From catechism, we were asked to join a parish group. That’s how the two of us joined the altar server group. What I admired, I could now experience. Shortly after beginning the Mass service, we left the initial catechism because the schedule conflicted with the group’s activities: we then dedicated ourselves exclusively to the Mass service. It was during those first years, more precisely in 2005, that I felt for the first time the call of the Lord. The triggering event was the funeral of the one who is today Saint John Paul II. I cannot explain how, but during that period I felt like a call to continue the work of the Holy Father, since he was no longer there. When I had to take the CEP and the entrance exam for 6th grade, I told my mother that I wanted to go to the minor seminary. But she explained to me that it was possible and preferable to first obtain the Baccalaureate and enter directly into the major seminary. She did not leave me much choice. I then took the entrance exam for Jean Tabi College, which I passed by the grace of God. It was also in that year, 2007, that my father began to express his reservations about our parish activities and my vocation. But with my mother's encouragement, I continued to attend the parish. When I got my baccalaureate in 2014, my father clearly refused for me to enter the major seminary. Not being of age and without his authorization for the major seminary, I resigned myself to pursuing studies in industrial robotics engineering for 5 years at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering in Douala (2014-2019). It was during my final year of study that I met the Society of Missionaries of the Holy Apostles, to which I belong today by the grace of God for already 7 years.

 

Children's Rosary Begins at St. Mark de Soa Parish in Cameroon

We are excited to share that a new Children's Rosary has formed at St. Mark de Soa parish in the Archdiocese of Yaoundé. Yaoundé is in the capital of Cameroon. Their first meeting was January 24, 2026. We welcome this new group to the Children's Rosary. The children pray in French. Br. Ulrich Gabriel Atsama founded the group at his home parish. He is a seminarian with the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles. We are grateful for his help. Tantine Therese Blanche is the group leader shown below with a pink shirt. 

Apostolic Nuncio from Cameroon Conveys Support for the Children's Rosary

 

Mgr. José Avelino Bettencourt, the apostolic nuncio to Cameroon, conveyed the above correspondence to Asher after Asher had returned to the United States. Mgr. Bettencourt is quite known and respected across Cameroon, and we were honored that he had been so kind as to express his support for our efforts there and around the world.

The Journey in Cameroon Continues

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. From Uganda he traveled by car to Rwanda on September 28. After a week in Rwanda there was once more a return for more travel in Uganda. On October 11 he arrived in Tanzania and on October 26 traveled to Kenya. A visit for three weeks to Madagascar followed on November 7 and then South Africa. He is now in Cameroon.

"As the Christmas season begins to come to a close, I thought I would provide another update on the Cameroonian visit since my last post.

On Christmas Day, I went to a local parish called Notre Dame du Lac (Our Lady of the Lake) for morning Mass. Initially, the attendance was quite subdued; that is to say, the Church was nearly empty.

By the time the second reading was read, some more people had made their way in. One might be inclined to think these people negligent and irreverent for showing up to Mass late on Christmas Day, but it must be pointed out that many of them are coming with very large families, and it ought to be considered that dressing eight young children in spotless tuxedoes and dresses in time for a morning Mass is not at all easy. Further, many of these people did not have cars, or if they did, driving conditions were so variable and difficult that one could easily end up ten minutes late because of an unexpected but all too common traffic jam.

After Mass, we went back to the novitiate house and had ourselves a merry little Christmas lunch. This included manioc (a local root plant that is quite nice when cooked to a tender almost pulp-like quality), pork, and plantain. The evening was calm as everyone was preparing to go home on break.

The next few days were calm, with minimal activity due to the Christmas holidays. On St. Stephen’s Day, there was a memorial service that we attended for the deceased brother of a member of the community. On Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family, I attended a Mass at one of the MSA parishes and met with the group of children afterward which will hopefully make up the Children’s Rosary there.

On December 30, I made a short tour with one of the brothers of some of the religious communities around us, including a house of Verbum Dei brothers and Oblates of Mary Immaculate, as well as the Marists.

For New Year’s Eve, after the evening Mass, there was a lively party that lasted until past midnight with the whole community, where I filmed a humorous video of a large bug, flat on its back, its legs waving helplessly in the air. The joke was that they were moving in time with the music playing on the loudspeaker that people were dancing to, such that he looked much like one of the merrymakers.

On January 3, I set out for Ebolowa, the very first place I had visited the day after I arrived in Cameroon, where the bishop had invited me back to try to start Children’s Rosary groups.

The chancellor, Fr. Arnold, had helped to arrange my visit, and he took me to his parish to begin efforts there. I spoke at both the 7:00 a.m. Mass and the 9:30 a.m. Mass. After the latter, the children in attendance (for it was a children’s Mass) went to the Grotto of Mary next to the Church to pray the Rosary together.

As it happened, the sun finally came out from behind the clouds just as everyone assembled there. The heat was quite strong, and I could feel the streams of sweat pouring off my brow and down my back underneath my undershirt. Nevertheless, when I would look up at the children reciting the prayers, unperturbed, with eyes closed, I realized that I was the only one who seemed to be in any distress. For this I was grateful.

That afternoon, we went over to a birthday party for a local priest that Fr. Arnold knew. It was at the rectory and a nice way to unwind in the evening. Everyone was very welcoming with food and drinks while a soccer game played in the background.

That evening, however, soccer did not remain in the background but became the focus of everyone’s attention across Cameroon as the national team was facing South Africa in the elimination rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations.

I went over to the local minor seminary to watch the game with the young men there. Having just been to South Africa before coming to Cameroon, my loyalties were a bit divided heading into the match, but the most important was just having the time to get to know the rector and seminarians there.

After the match, the rector walked me back to the residence I was staying at ahead of the busy day that was to come.

Originally, I was supposed to leave Ebolowa on Monday, January 5, but realizing that in so doing, I would miss visiting any of the schools, I decided to (and the chancellor graciously permitted me to stay another day.

This permitted me to visit four schools, Sts. Joachim and Anne school, Pope Benedict XVI school, and Our Lady of Fatima school.

As we were having lunch after visiting the last school, we ran into the nun who runs the local high school, and she wanted us to come there too, so we came that afternoon. That made in total four schools, which was certainly a respectable showing for one day.

I was satisfied that there was a solid start to work with in Ebolowa and a strong tie with the bishop’s office.

On Tuesday, I took the bus to come back, arriving in Yaoundé around 6:30 p.m. Br. Gabin was on hand to pick me up and bring me back to familiar territory, the seminary residence in Nkolbisson."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

Christmas in Cameroon

 

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. From Uganda he traveled by car to Rwanda on September 28. After a week in Rwanda there was once more a return for more travel in Uganda. On October 11 he arrived in Tanzania and on October 26 traveled to Kenya. A visit for three weeks to Madagascar followed on November 7 and then South Africa. He is now in Cameroon.

"Over this holiday season, I have had the opportunity to witness Christmas outside of the United States for the first time in my life. This was a chance not just to see Christmas outside the US but Christmas in Cameroon, and I definitely noticed some differences. 

In this post, I will share some of what I found to be interesting and distinct from my experience of Christmas back in the United States. 

To begin with, for anyone reading this who is American, it might seem natural to expect to be constantly surrounded by Christmas carols, décor, trees, reindeer, lights, candy canes, snowmen, ornaments, etc. from early November until Christmas day in a crescendoing marathon of Christmas energy and spirit and cheer until its culmination on Christmas morning. Then it all comes to a sudden end, and though we might mournfully continue playing some Christmas carols in the shelter of our homes for a few days after, once New Year’s is passed, Christmas quickly fades into the rearview, leaving little trace of its nearly two-month buildup. For many of us, this seems normal, even quite comforting. For all that people complain about the commercialization of Christmas and the creeping extension of the Christmas season practically until the end of Halloween, it is hard for many of us to imagine it any other way. Of course December should be overflowing with Christmas cheer; 

You may ask, “Why not?” 

And indeed, there is something quite consoling and cozy about the whole ordeal. Some of this likely has to do with how our brain categorizes memories; research has shown that certain tunes can become associated with moments in our lives or times of the year and their accompanying emotions. Thus, if we are accustomed to hearing Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “New York, New York” at the end of Yankees games, we might associate that particular tune with going into the city, the excitement of seeing the skyline, being in downtown, having a nice dinner, and then going to the baseball park, the lights, the pure green grass, the star players, the excitement, the corndogs, the common roar of delight at the much-needed home run or wicked strikeout, and the happy, limp feeling after a well-earned win. 

I think for many of us Christmas tunes probably bring along heavy helpings of coziness, delight, comfort, nostalgia, and perhaps even melancholy. We might think of the wonderful Christmas celebration coming up, the pleasure of seeing family again, of decorating the Christmas tree, of giving and receiving presents, of watching a family movie together, and of course, of attending midnight Mass together, reveling in the exceptionality of being up at such an hour and at church no less, singing our favorite tunes with the choir, and worshipping a mighty God so caring and full of love that He would come to us in humility on earth that we might come to Him in glory in Heaven. 

We might reminisce on childhood memories of family reunions of yesteryear, perhaps with dear relatives long since passed, of some of our favorite gifts or surprises, of the crackling fire, the twinkling tree, the dripping turkey sizzling with nuts and fruits, the vast spread of mashed potato, salted and greased by soft pads of butter, the pumpkin pie satisfactorily softened in our mouths by the gentle, cool touch of a generous serving of whipped cream, the tantalizing odor of a pot of hot chocolate warming itself to be served for a midafternoon snack with some plump marshmallows… 

These may be some of the happy thoughts that trickle into our heads as we hear our familiar Christmas tunes again. 

Thus, we might think someone a bit of a grinch, a Scrooge-like miser, if he comes along and suggests that perhaps we ought not to engage so fully in the Christmas tunes at least until the second half of Advent. Indeed, it may be hard to image the Advent season any other way, at least it was for me, until I spent my first Christmas in Cameroon. 

One of the first things I noticed upon my arrival here that was different from how many of my Advents were spent was that at this time of year in Cameroon it is not winter. In equatorial countries such as this, there are no four seasons as we North Americans would know them, but rather simply the rainy season and the dry season; that is, the hot season and the rather less hot season. I arrived in the hot season. Every day has reached above eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit, and the mosquitoes have been out in full force. Instead of a roast turkey, most of us fancied a plate of chilled papaya for Christmas dinner. 

Another difference between an American pre-Christmas and a Cameroonian one was that Christmas paraphernalia and tunes were much less common. I remember once hearing Christmas carols playing on the radio and Christmas trees on display in a large American-style supermarket where we stopped to pick up some croissants, and one other time I heard a loudspeaker playing carols in the street, but besides that, that was it. 

Even at Mass, Advent hymns like “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” were kept to a minimum in favor of other non-Christmas hymns. Even the Christmas decorations were scarcely to be seen. For me, used to Christmas trees, wreaths, cones, candles, lights, and more, I kept waiting for when all this would suddenly appear, but it never did. Gaudete Sunday came and went. The first days of Christmas week came and went. Christmas eve came and went, and only the presence of the manger scene in the chapel and some lights strung up outside gave evidence of the holiday. 

Seeing this rather subdued atmosphere about me, I decided to take the opportunity to experiment a bit. Since it was the first time I would not spend Christmas in the US, and I certainly did not know when my next Cameroonian Christmas would be, I decided to embrace these changes and try to a very stark, almost Puritan resolution, to avoid Christmas carols if possible until Christmas eve. I knew that the liturgy often likes to do this, deprive us for a bit of something so that its entry is that much more pronounced; for example, the absence of music on Good Friday makes the joyful Holy Saturday and Easter morning Masses all the more glorious. Just so, the Gloria is omitted from the Advent Masses to magnify all the more the jubilant “Gloria in excelsis Deo” we sing on Christmas morning. However, for most of us we hear the tune so many times on playlists throughout Advent that the punch is lost on us. We are like children who have spoiled their dinner by gorging themselves on sweets and now must sit through a redundant meal, knowing they are not deriving half as much pleasure from the consumption thereof than they are expected to. 

Perhaps some of you that begin covertly to revel in “Silent Night” and “Adeste Fideles” when the first nip of frost comes around in mid-October are thinking that you enjoy Christmas morning very much indeed, notwithstanding. I do not mean to deny this; I simply mean to explain my rationale. 

After doing some research, I learned that Advent, though not as strict a time of fasting as Lent, was still historically considered a time of penance and preparation for Christmas, so I tried to embrace this as well, albeit in the last few days. 

The result was quite positive. I did not feel my pre-Christmas season had been robbed of me; on Christmas eve, I had twice the emotional overload that one has when one begins listening to the carols that I usually did, and overall, I felt much more in sync with the liturgical calendar. 

I plan to keep my merry Christmas atmosphere going until Epiphany. In the old days, it was a custom to have another festive holiday dinner on Twelfth night before Epiphany, exchange gifts, and eat king cake (white cake with a small baby Jesus hidden inside; whoever gets the slice with Jesus gets the big gift). I don’t think I will get to do all that here (certainly not the king cake), but nevertheless, I will seek to truly keep the Christmas spirit alive through the twelve days by bookending them with the twin celebrations, Christmas day and Epiphany. 

Such has been Christmas in Cameroon; though next year I will be glad to spend Christmas with my family again, I am content to have had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in this special community."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

Arrival in Cameroon

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. From Uganda he traveled by car to Rwanda on September 28. After a week in Rwanda there was once more a return for more travel in Uganda. On October 11 he arrived in Tanzania and on October 26 traveled to Kenya. A visit for three weeks to Madagascar followed on November 7. Most recently he has been traveling in South Africa.

"Upon my departure from South Africa, my journey would be more indirect than was preferable, but not more than was avoidable. The itinerary included an overnight layover in Addis Ababa, a city which my eyes had glimpsed more than once in my repeated passages through Bole International airport, a buzzing hub of regional and transcontinental flights through which at some point any itinerary through Africa that involves air travel will likely pass. From Addis, one can go nearly everywhere on the continent, as a simple perusal of the flight board will reveal upcoming departures for Kinshasa, Juba, Bangui, Maputo, Pointe Noire, Nairobi, Bujumbura, and close to every other major capital in Africa. 

I had already passed through Addis on my way from Paris to Kampala and then again when going from Nairobi to Antananarivo. However, I had not actually stepped foot outside the airport itself. 

Very kindly, the airline provided a hotel room and meals at an institution not far from the terminal with frequent shuttles to and from. They also provided my transit visa to clear passport control without difficulty. This being the case, my trip on the afternoon of December 14 unfolded without hitch or difficulty. On the nearly five-hour flight to Ethiopia from South Africa, I discovered the selection of audiobooks that was available on our seatback screens. Settling on H. G. Wells’s The Invisible Man as having a fitting length for such a trip, I ignored the faulty audio input which only emitted sound through one of my two earbuds and had a very pleasant journey. 

The next morning, the shuttle left at 7:00 a.m. for my mid-morning flight. Thankfully, I did not need to check in as I had not picked up my checked bags the night before and already had my boarding pass from Johannesburg. This was good because what with the two security checks and passport control, the process of getting to the gate was already quite long as it was. 

My flight was not a direct one from Addis Ababa to Yaoundé, but rather it included a brief “refueling” stop in Libreville. The way in which it was designated as a stop for fuel, just as if this were a jet from 1965 and not 2025, made me chuckle a bit to myself, but in the end it did cause some significant delay. The “brief stop for fuel” ended up meaning that some passengers deplaned and some boarded, which then entailed multiple passenger counts and an army of cleaning personnel to vacuum, wipe, pick up trash, and replace pillows. By the time we left Libreville, we were an hour behind time and very unlikely to make it up on the brief 45-minute trip to Yaoundé. I felt bad because several priests and seminarians were waiting to pick me up at the airport, and I did not wish for them to be kept idly there for hours on end. 

Upon arrival at Yaoundé Nsimalen airport, however, it quickly became apparent that passport control would take quite some time. First, immediately after leaving the aircraft, there was a line of policemen to check that we had received valid pre-approval for our visas. Then, upon entering the main hall, there were a line of people from the Health department there to check we had valid cards for vaccination against yellow fever. After this, I naturally assumed it was time to get in line for passport control. I was wrong. Upon arriving at the front of the line, I was quickly told by the officer it was necessary to go to the back of the hall again and get my visa officially issued first and then to come to her. This I duly did, and after being fingerprinted and photographed, the visa was placed in my passport booklet. I then returned to the line I was in before, got my visa validated, proceeded to claim my baggage, clear customs without issue, and emerge into the Cameroonian late afternoon sun. 

There, sure enough, were the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles congregated by the arrivals hall in their distinctive tan cassocks, specifically instituted by their founder for missionary work. Fr. Peter Kucer, the American superior of Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, was also on hand; he was visiting the community in Cameroon and had graciously agreed to bring a whole bag of rosaries and materials from our house in Connecticut to Cameroon for me since he was going at the same time. I felt badly that they had been waiting about two hours longer than expected due to the various delays I have described. 

The drive back to their community house in the Nkolbisson neighborhood of Yaoundé took nearly an hour. It seemed long to me at the time; however, just a week later when taking Fr. Kucer to the airport to leave after taking many multiple hour car journeys around the region, I was surprised by how short the ride to the airport seemed. 

That evening, I was shown to my room in the guesthouse of the complex (guesthouse shown directly above). In the center of the guesthouse was a large multipurpose room that could be a living room or a dining room. On one side of this was my sitting room and bedroom, and on the other side was Fr. Kucer’s sitting room and bedroom. Everything had been so kindly arranged for my stay. 

The complex in which I was now living comprised not only our guesthouse but also the main residence building and a chapel. The chapel was completed earlier this year, and featuring prominently over the altar is a detailed image of Christ the Good Shepherd watching over the sheep. I like this image very much because the artist successfully manages to capture the masculine and powerful nature of Christ, as well as his loving tenderness as he gazes at his sheep. Across from the chapel, there is the main residence for the seminarians and priests, and it is in this residence on the ground floor that one finds the library, kitchen and dining room. 

All of what I have just described is for the seminarians completing their studies in theology; however, for those at the philosophy stage, their residence is down a small hill but within shouting distance of where I stay. They have their own facilities and routine, but their schedule seems quite similar to ours because on many an evening, as we finish the period of silent meditation, I can hear them, across the cool night air, through the open windows of the chapel, already chanting the psalms we are about to begin ourselves. 

The next morning, after waking up with the roosters for 5:00 a.m. silent meditation followed by 5:30 a.m. Mass followed by breakfast, I spoke with Fr. Pierre Ateba, the superior of the African mission of the order, who told me I was welcome to come with him and Fr. Kucer on their visits to various bishops around the region all of that week. 

Fr. Ateba had arranged these all in advance; what a blessing to stumble into such a situation on the first day of my being present in the country. 

Our first visit was to the Diocese of Ebolowa, in the south of the country, near to the borders with Equitorial Guinea and Gabon. Everyone here at the the MSA community seemed confident that one could get from Yaoundé to Ebolowa in two hours, but nonetheless, especially with traffic when leaving the city, it took nearly four hours to make the trip. The bishop, Msgr. Philippe Mbarga, was on hand to receive us for our meeting. 

After Fr. Kucer had concluded the business for which he had come to see the bishop, I was able to speak a bit about the Children’s Rosary and our interest in rolling out the movement in Cameroon. The bishop was very interested and invited me back to go ahead with efforts in their parishes. He also invited all of us back for a Mass that Saturday to celebrate the anniversary of his episcopal ordination there. The bishop’s interest was very encouraging to me. 

That afternoon, after circulating around the town looking for a restaurant for some time, we finally found a sign indicating a hotel a short distance away. We asked one of the taxi motorcycles to lead us there. After arriving at the out of the way place and coming in the gate, we found out that the hotel either did not have a restaurant or if it did, it had no food to serve, so rather chagrined at our frustrated efforts, we headed back into town with directions for a hotel that did have food. Upon finding our way there, we were able to have a nice lunch and then proceed on our way to Yaoundé. 

The next day, Wednesday, was the day when we had an appointment with Archbishop Jean Mbarga (no relation to the bishop we met the day before). Since the archbishop was in Italy, however, we met with the vicar for the diocese (shown above in the white shirt). He wanted me to have a chance to meet with the archbishop at a later date, when he returned from Italy. 

After this meeting, we stopped by the Cathedral, which had a very high tower with a balcony; Fr. Kucer went up with Fr. Celestin (the secretary for the province) and Fr. Ateba, but I stayed behind, having a prohibitive fear of heights. 

We also took the opportunity to visit the Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, one of the most important basilica in Cameroon, completed in 2006. Fr. Kucer was particularly gratified by this name as that was the name of the seminary chapel back in Cromwell. We walked through the Holy Door, toured the basilica, and then went back to the residence, having completed a very full day. 

On Thursday and Friday, we had more appointments. The first was in the Diocese of Bafia to meet Msgr. Emmanuel Dassi.

He seemed a rather young bishop who was generous enough to spend extra time with us beyond that of the appointment so we could have tea together. The next day’s appointment was in the Diocese of Sangmelina; this was quite a drive away, and unfortunately, upon arrival, we were told the bishop was not present due to an urgent conflict which arose and took him to Yaoundé (where we had just come from). Nevertheless, the chancellor(shown below holding a package) was very kind and took down all of what we wished to present to the bishop; he also took us around the Cathedral and the grounds. 

Well satisfied with how the appointment had gone despite having not seen the bishop, we returned on our way. 

The following day was Saturday, and you might recall that this was the day the Bishop of Ebolowa had invited us to the Mass and closing of the Holy Door (shown above). Accordingly, Fr. Kucer and I, along with Br. Gabin, a brother in the community here in charge of vocations, left early in the morning in order to arrive an hour or two before the Mass began. However, we only ended up arriving a half hour before; the bishop had had a whole breakfast prepared for us, so we had to consume it in expedited fashion before rushing back over to the Church. Fr. Kucer had been invited to concelebrate the Mass with the archbishop, so he had to vest as well.

Happily enough for us, we had no need of worrying about the Eucharistic fast because the Mass was long enough to outstrip the necessary one-hour period before communion. It was a Mass where the financial gifts for the past year for the archbishop’s appeal were presented parish by parish and apostolate by apostolate at the time of the presentation of the gifts. This whole process, with each parish’s representatives walking solemnly down the aisle and placing their envelope in the basket and announcing the amount, took nearly an hour itself. Therefore, in the end, the Mass took about three hours. Therefore, we were now pressed for time again because we had to be back in Yaoundé at 5:00. The bishop had again very kindly prepared a meal for us, however, so we did not wish to simply run out without first heading back to his residence. It definitely seemed apparent to me that this bishop was a very special man and very generous to organize as much for us as he did.

That night, at the MSA novitiate residence  (a few miles away from the compound for the philosophy and theology students where I was staying) there was a delightful evening of prayer and entertainment as a kind of pre-Christmas celebration. There were songs sung and dances danced, trivia games played, and a comedy sketch reenacted. It was a very fun time. 

The comedy sketch (shown above) was surprisingly funny as all of the brothers who were part of it seemed to have a natural gift for comedic timing and witty lines; even the small foibles they managed to turn into a laughable bit. 

The following day was Sunday, so we went back to the novitiate house for Mass. There Fr. Celestin preached a very interesting sermon that dove deeply into the historical and Biblical context of the first reading from Isaiah; I appreciated this and really found I had no trouble paying attention at this homily. 

In the afternoon, we all (Fr. Kucer, Br. Gabin, Fr. Celestin, Fr. Ateba, and I) went out to a local restaurant for lunch. It really was a nice time, with good food and a rather heated theological debate on the sacrificial nature of the Crucifixion and the exact division of the persons of the Trinity. Fr. Ateba is a Biblical scholar, having received a doctorate in the field from the Biblicum, a highly respected and elite institution set up by Pope Pius X to conduct studies and theological inquiry regarding the Bible. He has a very clear and calm way of delineating Bible passages and Church doctrine, and I learned quite a lot just from that one lunch we had together. 

That evening, it was time to say goodbye to Fr. Kucer, who was taking his flight back. I rode with some of the brothers to take him back to the airport. 

Thus, ended the first week of my stay in Cameroon; it had been busy, but in this, there was a feeling of satisfaction nonetheless. As for the next week, I will leave that to another post."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

777 Rosaries for Cameroon

Today we dropped off a duffle bag filled with Children's Rosary materials which will be hand carried to Cameroon on Thursday (December 11) by Rector Peter Kucer MSA. He is the Rector at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. We met Rector Kucer at the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference. He had heard from one of his seminarians that our son Asher, age 18, was planning a trip to Cameroon and he immediately offered to carry a bag to him. The timing was providential. After five months of continuous travel, Asher's supply of rosaries and materials has dwindled and replenishments were most welcome. Asher will be leaving South Africa on December 13 for Cameroon. He will be spending almost a month in Cameroon and he will be enjoying his first Christmas away from home. We are also most grateful to our rosary makers who continue to send us gorgeous rosaries, made with love. Thank you to Mary Ann Swain who helped pack the bag which also included 100 French Children's Rosary books and 60 color Children's Rosary informational booklets. 

As we were putting the bag together, a final tally of the rosaries that could fit and not exceed the airlines weight limit was made. To our delight the number came in at 777. We hope that these rosaries will help to start the first Children's Rosary prayer group in Cameroon!