“A blessed opportunity”: Facilitators on Synodal Encounter with Nuns at Kenyan Monastery

They recall the move that Sr. Chiara Therese Mbom, the OCD Superior of Kisii community, made to Ms. Kavita, ASI Programme Coordinator.

"We are Contemplatives and have limited contact with the outside world. We know the synodal process is ongoing, but we would really like to know what it is all about, the aim, and how we as Contemplatives can be part of it," Sr. Chiara has been quoted as saying in the report shared with ACI Africa on August 29.

The workshop therefore “aimed at giving the Nuns a comprehensive understanding of synodality so that they can fully and prayerfully participate in the process,” the facilitators say.

They add, “By deepening their knowledge and clarifying their role, the workshop sessions were intended to assist the Sisters to align their contemplative mission with the needs of the Church and the world, to truly be in communion.”

Ahead of the workshop, ASI that is a partnership between the Jesuits Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM), the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), and the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) availed synodal documents to the Carmelite Nuns “familiarise themselves with the process and some of its outcomes,” Ms. Kavita and Ms. Mung'ala says in their report.

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One of the workshop sessions discussed of the contributions Contemplatives can make to the synodal process.

The 28 August 2021 letter, which the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Mario Cardinal Grech, addressed to “all brothers and sisters called to monastic and contemplative life” was one of the documents the workshop facilitators shared with the OCD members.

Cardinal Grech’s letter focuses on “listening, conversion, and communion”, the three key words that define monastic and contemplative life, and underscores the value of prayer the synodal process.

“The Sisters were very touched by these letters that remind them of the vital role they play in supporting the Church and her mission,” the facilitators say, adding, “Despite the fact that they belatedly received the letters during the workshop, they want Cardinal Grech to know that they deeply appreciate them and they requested ASI to give him their sincere thanks for remembering them.”

"It is not too late because the process is not over; it is a journey and it needs our prayers still," Sr. Mary Joyce Sagwe, a member of the OCD community is quoted as saying.  

On her part, Sr. Marie Therese Nangole is quoted as remarking, "By listening and accompanying those who come to us, we realise that their visitations are more for deeper spiritual needs rather than the material needs they first talk about."

The ASI facilitators employed “the Spiritual Conversation Method in small groups” and had the OCD members reflect “on their vocation and role in synodality, through prayer, discernment and providing their contemplative lives and traditions as support and direction, especially as inspired by their foundress, St. Teresa of Avila.”

During the two-day workshop, the OCD members “were concerned too with sustaining the momentum that has been built in the last two years of the synod. It was evident that they are firmly anchoring themselves on the presence and action of the Holy Spirit,” the facilitators note in their report. 

They quote Sr. Catherine Muchemo as sharing feedback from her group, “Through prayer and contemplation, there's an extension of the tent; our hearts expand. We are then able to accommodate others. Through silence, the Holy Spirit speaks to us, allowing for conversion, allowing us to journey together."

Praying the Synod prayer, Adsumus Sancte Spiritus, was one of the practical activities the OCD members promised to “do to promote synodality”, the ASI facilitators say in their report.

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Other practical activities OCD members in Kisii Diocese pledged to take up include “adding current synod processes to their monthly mass intentions; using the Spiritual Conversation Method in their weekly Gospel reflection and organising their own local prayer vigil in solidarity with the Church on 30 September 2023, as invited by Pope Francis, before the start of the 16th General Assembly in Rome.” 

The Cloistered Carmelite Nuns at the Kenyan Monastery also said they would discern together and formulate a prayer, which can contribute to the Pray for the Synod website. 

According to the report the Ms. Kavita and Ms. Mung'ala shared with ACI ACI Africa, the OCD members “pledged to be 'synodal Sisters', as encouraged by Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xmcj (Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops), through a renewed commitment to their vocation, their community and the Church.”

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