Témoignages

“Hello everyone, I would very much like to share my retreat with you. The first teaching I attended on Wednesday morning upon my arrival was given by Papa Henri, and he said that we should not content ourselves with the memories of the time when we had just met Jesus, when we were crazy about Him and could do anything for Him. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and we could relive that relationship. This shook me greatly, because I spent my time looking at the past and envying it, and it allowed me to ask Jesus for forgiveness and to tell Him that I still wanted that friendship and intimacy with Him, and that it be even better. Then we were told that recognizing oneself as a sinner is the beginning of a great therapy. Maman Judith afterwards told us that confession is like an intravenous drip that we receive and that heals us without our even realizing it. My greatest fear when I arrived at this retreat was not being able to keep silence, knowing that the day of confession was generally a day of chatter, but great was my surprise when I saw the organization, the rosary, testimony and Stations of the Cross that took place during confession and spiritual accompaniment, and I gave glory to the Lord for that. I was also touched by the priest's homily that evening, which spoke to us about radical change; I will not write here the word he gave us because I do not have full command of it, but he exhorted us to pass from sadness to joy, from lying to truth, in short to pass from a vice to a virtue, and to do so before leaving the retreat. Another teaching that touched me at the retreat was the one on love, which must be organized and planned, and this teaching was reinforced by the bishop's homily on the last day. One would say he had attended this teaching, as if to show that the Holy Spirit is truly at work in His Church. This teaching on love also shook me, because I did not plan acts of love, and even when I did do them, it was when the exercise on the sheet asked us to. And I realized that when I do not plan, I forget many people who need my love, and so I planned acts of love. If there is one thing I liked at the retreat, it was seeing many members of the Douala cathedral, who are for the most part newcomers, and my joy was more than great when I saw them receive the blessing of the active members. Thank you Lord!!! Many other things marked me, but here is the essence of what brought something more to my spiritual life, and I wish to thank the Lord and all those who took part in organizing this retreat. Be blessed! Stella Deutou (Cameroon)”

November 21, 2016

“For me, my most beautiful Great Retreat had until now been my first great retreat in 2008. However, this 2013 great retreat satisfied my dearest hope: to live in silence throughout the retreat. I was deeply struck by the organisation. Everything was planned so that silence would be kept, even during the confessions and the spiritual accompaniments. This allowed me to make the most of this great retreat. Moreover, the fact that there were only 2 times of jubilation also helped to maintain the silence. As for the teachings, each one in its own way was edifying. First of all, I was touched by papa Henri's teaching on listening. It taught me to listen to the Lord during my prayers and to stop acting like a spoiled child who wants something without knowing whether it is good for them or whether the parents can give it to them at the moment. Furthermore, when papa said ‘the distractions during prayer reflect our priorities’, it made me realise the things I put ahead of the Lord (problems of all kinds, clothes…). From then on I made resolutions and, by the grace of God, I am gradually coming out of this sin. Moreover, Tata Mirabelle's teaching laid bare my ingratitude towards God. ‘We always look at what we do not have, and we neglect what we possess’; during the meditation that followed this teaching, I realised that when I dwell on what I do not have, I suffer and become depressed, whereas when I begin to give thanks to God for what I have, it makes me lighter and stronger to face difficulties. This teaching taught me to pray a little more for others and to ask the Lord to multiply the graces of those who possess what I do not have. In addition, the teaching on adoration allowed me to renew good habits, weekly adoration as in my beginnings. Also, papa reminded us each time not to let ourselves be carried away by the services we hold, but to use them as an oil pleasing to the Lord in order to live our retreat better. Finally, there was the teaching on love. Papa said ‘we plan sin, why not plan love?’, ‘we innovate in several fields, why not in love?’; since then I strive to swap my bad thoughts for plans of love. I also give thanks to God for the specific teachings for men and women, which are bearing much fruit in my household since the return from the great retreat, such as the firm decision to attend the Kribi 2014 retreat, the redecorating of my home which I had neglected because of my bouts of depression, and this with the financial help of my husband, the purchase of basic necessities for the kitchen, to name but these. And as I said above, I give thanks to God because everything was made possible thanks to the silence and the 30 minutes of meditation after each one or two teachings. Sandra Dizeu (Cameroon)”

November 21, 2016

“Before going to the great Bamenda retreat of 2013, I felt somewhat disconnected from the Lord. So I told myself: «I must restore this connection with him at all costs; when I return, I want to be able to say, like Mary Magdalene, ‘I have seen the Lord’». I even decided, despite time gripping me by the throat, to take part in the pre-retreat. I told myself «that will surely please Jesus and he will let himself be seen». I was truly empty of him. I missed his burning presence in my life. I greatly loved the pre-retreat of the second retreat; it was in fact the first time I had taken part in it. The zeal of the pre-retreatants encouraged me to multiply my acts of love. But up to then, I still did not feel well on the inside. I did not feel the fire of Jesus' love burning within me as I had often felt it before. Everything was mechanical. The retreat proper found me in this state of mind. The first teaching did not touch me at all, which worried me greatly and saddened me all the more. I was all the more saddened because Papa Henri said, speaking of listening to God, that when we listen well to the Lord, not in a distracted way, we will necessarily be touched and transformed by his word, and that it is inadmissible for a person, after a retreat such as this one, to say that they were not touched. So then, alarmed, I began to say to Jesus «Lord, here I am, become insensible to your word. An active member of my rank, when I am asked in the sharing what touched me, I shall say lukewarmness». Everything began to improve after the 2nd teaching. My heart began to renew itself. Maman Judith said, in the teaching about the disorder of our life, that «we do not have much joy and we know a great deal of suffering because of the chaos and disorder that we have brought into our lives». She said that our life can find itself disturbed by little things that we neglect. That these small aspects can be the key pieces of our flourishing in life. To illustrate this, she took the example of an aeroplane that had crashed, and later it was discovered that this accident was due to the faulty fastening of a bolt. This touched me profoundly; so I began to revisit all the small unpleasant aspects of my life that I was neglecting. I understood that during these last years, these recent times, I had attacked the big sins of my life, notably those linked to impurity, and I had neglected the others (too much idle chatter, mockery for example; which in many cases even sometimes prevented me from living out certain exercises of the sheet and made me feel guilty at the end of the day). From that moment on, I began to live intense moments with Jesus. It was as if I had diagnosed my illness and was gradually finding the right medicine. I had therefore understood that the source of these upheavals in my spiritual life, and hence in my everyday life, was linked to the fact that I did not listen enough to the Lord. I understood that I must listen to God even in my situation of failure, cease complaining and grieving. Each time I had failed a resolution I had made, instead of listening to the Lord who granted me his forgiveness, even after a confession, I would grieve and concentrate instead on my failure. This retreat also enabled me to rediscover God's love for me. More than ever I understood that Jesus was a true friend, my intimate friend, the one to whom I must tell everything, the one to whom I must speak with my heart without troubling myself over style, over the quality of my language. That when I pray, I should not seek to arrange fine words in my head. I must also be sincere in my prayer. If I am hurting, tell him so and not the contrary. Since my return from this retreat, each day I experience this, and it enables me to remain connected to Jesus. My intimate prayers are longer and I feel more concentrated. I no longer think about what I want to say to Jesus, I no longer choose my words to impress when I pray. Whatever feeling I experience, I no longer hide it from him. That is not all! I particularly loved the organization this year. This helped me to remain in silence, even interior silence, and to meditate better. The testimonies were poignant. They gave me back the strength to keep fighting against sin, against impurity. I also lived a moment of intense adoration. The confession I made freed me greatly. In short, I came back from there with a brand-new heart; I came back from there full of joy because I too «have seen the Lord»! Michèle Kouam (Cameroon)”

November 21, 2016

“The great retreat of 2013 was a special retreat for me. For it is one of the retreats of which I see a special fruit directly at the end. In fact, for this retreat, as the theme was 'I have seen the Lord,' I prepared to tell him all my problems because I was convinced that after having seen the Lord what should follow would be an attentive ear on his part. I had already prepared a load of supplications and complaints. But the first teaching of papa Henri first cooled me down. He called us to listen to God; I realized that even in my daily life I no longer even take the time to listen to people, how much less God! I took as a resolution to have a well-opened ear and to learn to speak less, something I am now struggling to observe. Also, through this teaching I decided to spend a retreat in silence despite my ministry which is open to many people. The general silence of the two retreats despite the numbers surprised and greatly pleased me. Also, maman Judith urged us to be orderly, first in our physical life and also in our spiritual life, starting already from my room. This was reinforced by papa Henri who said that we must plan our acts of love and be inventive in love, develop technologies for loving. And through his examples, I understood how simple this was. The testimonies made a great impression on me; in some I read perseverance, in others abandonment to God. In general, a great conversion despite what one had done in the past; like that young girl who went as far as abortion but who is now completely transformed and the Lord has filled her with many graces. I said: 'Lord, grant me to be a striking testimony of perseverance, abandonment and total commitment to God.' The cherry on the cake was the meal, well prepared and varied! The Evangelization on Stage was filled with every type of dance; the one that made the greatest impression on me is the one from Obala, "I have seen the Lord and I love him." Union of prayer Ivan TCHOFFO (Cameroon)”

November 21, 2016

“Hello everyone, I took part in this wonderful retreat at the Abbey of Maredret near the city of Namur! Thank you, Lord, once again for this grace. The place of the retreat struck me greatly at first. We were nearly 60 participants, that is to say almost twice as many as last year. The welcome was magnificent. To see all these people in search of God in this European society that extols self-love and the frantic pursuit of profit was a great joy for me. Even the journey to the place of retreat was a grace, despite the hassles! On arrival, we were welcomed by sisters with a big smile on their lips, then by the other members who were in the midst of the preparations. I had the opportunity to see again people I had not seen for such a long time. After the introduction, there was silence! For me this was the first sign of my personal retreat. Thanks to the silence, I had a great deal to meditate on, for I was going through a period in which I felt, as Mama Judith said in one of her teachings, that I was "functioning" rather than acting. The songs taught this year were so beautiful and so profound! Thank you to the composers, and may the Lord bless them. The teachings were so touching, each one as much as the others. I remember Papa Henri telling us: "Holiness is not lived only in Africa, it is everyone's business" and "we must be examples in our society", and Father Alex illustrated this for us through the example of a European woman who had struck him by her regularity in prayer. Mama Gisèle also struck me greatly by her words and her example after deciding to serve God! Also, Jérémie and Mama Louise struck me greatly by their change. Adoration was a very powerful moment of this retreat. I felt so close to God at that moment. Contrary to how I normally am, I was filled with emotion at that moment. It was magnificent. As for Friday, the sacrament of reconciliation once again rekindles the flame. And on that day, I renewed my regularity in the prayer of the rosary. Saturday was superb! The visit to the place of pilgrimage of Banneux was great! The story of the apparitions of Mary, the life and humility of Mariette struck me greatly! The evangelisation on stage was a success, glory to God, with Italian rappers, great dancers, outstanding actors and an exceptional audience. Thank you, Lord, for this retreat. Bless the efforts of Your children and guide our steps! Brice Ngoko (Germany)”

November 21, 2016

“Good evening dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it took this retreat to shake me up a little; after so many years of silence, I feel called to express my joy at having taken part in this year's retreat. To think that my leave almost got cancelled at the last minute. God be praised for the gift of this Retreat! One of the first things that struck me is the record number of participants (~60 people)! It was magnificent to spend 5 days there far from all distraction, in silence; I did not miss my phone at any moment! Papa Henri reminded us at the very beginning of the importance of taking part in a retreat (similar to the Sunday Mass), saying: "...knowing the taste of a food is not enough, one would for that reason want to eat it...", the retreat being the ultimate moment to take stock of one's life and to make new resolutions. Each of the teachings given by mother Judith, mother Gisèle, Papa Henri, as well as the homilies of Father Alex, were very profound: the importance of being attentive to our Lord, of putting order in our life, of finding enough time daily to converse with our Lord and friend Jesus, of loving God, the inadmissibility of not finding prayer time for one's creator, of developing one's spiritual values along with the technological advance in our being.. to name only those. The coming of Monsignor Remy Vancottem, Bishop of the diocese of Namur, was a special moment during this retreat; his homily, where he said, among other things, to avoid choosing the biblical passages that suit us and omitting those that do not suit us; the confession with such a Great Man of the Church was unprecedented. The testimony of Mother Louise (Prof. Tchamanbe), who had waited about a quarter of a century for her wish to be married in the Church to come true, was quite simply profound. I could not fail to think of the marvelous pilgrimage to Banneux, that place where the Virgin of the Poor had appeared to Mariette, that young girl of 11 years old in January 1933. I could not fail to tip my hat to Manu and to his whole team for the organization of this Retreat, successful from beginning to end and holding the record for the number of participants. I feel called to add my stone to the edifice for the organization of the 2014 retreat in Germany. Union of Prayer Eric Bouendeu (Germany)”

November 21, 2016

“Greetings to all, For my first Word of God retreat, I had many expectations. On Tuesday, when I arrived, I was already regretting it and I was wondering how I would manage to hold on until Sunday. As soon as Papa Henri gave his first teaching, all my regrets vanished. All the teachings touched me; but the one that struck me the most was the one that spoke of the love of God. I thus understood that when we love God, we no longer feel obliged to follow His commandments, but we do so out of Love. When we love God, most of our thoughts are dedicated to Him, which makes Him very present in our life and our actions. My prayer was therefore that God would help me to grow this Love for Him. At the end of the Retreat, I was fulfilled and I felt God present more than ever. Lauretta Fondop (Germany)”

November 21, 2016

“Hello, I did not merely see the Lord, but I spoke with him, I felt his presence. It was as if his hand were resting on my shoulder during the adoration. And to think that I was hesitating a few weeks before the retreat. As for these 6 days, each of us knows what he was able to feel. It is in a way inexplicable. I felt challenged during all the teachings, and in particular the one by papa Henri before confession. It was as if the Lord had whispered this sentence to him: "There are some who do not go to confession because they say they cannot confess before men". That was me a few years ago. I had promised myself never to go to confession again. That I would do it in my room and that under no circumstances would I kneel again before a priest. It was unacceptable to me to do so, knowing that I should bow down before only one person, who is God. I said to myself: 'they are men like us, so why do it?' When papa Henri spoke of confession, I said to myself inwardly "everyone can do it except me", but after the sentence quoted above and this one: "It is not before men that you confess but before the Lord. Jesus himself said to his disciples: 'Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven'. The Lord simply takes them as intermediaries." That was the slap of the evening. Even more moving was my confession. May God bless that priest. During the confession I said to myself "I hope we don't finish quickly". Right after, I felt like going to confession again. That priest gave me back the desire to go to confession. The spiritual accompaniment with mama Judith was a boost in my spiritual life. I saw the leaders talking with the other members and wondered what they could possibly be talking about. After inquiring with Eric, I said to myself "I'll go and she will tell me whatever she has to say". Concretely, I was only going because I saw the others doing the same. In the end, I found myself talking to her endlessly. Thanks to mama Louise's testimony, I realized that no matter how long it takes, God will always answer our prayers. Personally, I don't know whether I would have waited 25 years. That represents an eternity for me, just for one prayer to be answered. We always believe that the Lord has forgotten us, yet he is simply taking his time and answers our prayers when it pleases him. If there is one thing I did not know, it is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. For me, to adore amounted to singing praises to the Lord. During the adoration I had so many things to say to the Lord that when papa Henri would begin a song I would say to myself inwardly "I haven't finished yet". At the end of the adoration, I said the same sentence to myself. I saw the Lord leaving, yet I still had much to say to him. Mama Judith spoke to us about conversing with the Lord as if we were doing so with a friend. Our prayers are generally recitations. It is as if we had read them in a book and memorized them. For those who have not yet had this experience, you will feel more liberated and closer to the Lord when you do it. At a certain point you get the impression that he is simply sitting at the bedside of your bed. Try it! I no longer spend a night without doing it. For me, otherwise, my appointment with God is a failure. The pilgrimage to Banneux was the most difficult for me. After the testimony of the lady concerning her husband, I realized the importance of the gesture I was about to make. "To forgive", one of the most difficult acts for us human beings to accomplish. But when I placed my hands in the water the first time, I did it merely with the intention of obtaining healing and the answering of my prayers. After getting up, I felt this need so strongly to place my hands back in the water. I do not know how to describe what I was living at that moment. It was a mixture of pain and relief. It was so difficult for me to think of that heavy burden I have been carrying for years, and the hardest thing was to forgive. I did not want to get up from there without having this inner peace. And I can assure you of one thing: a few hours after getting up, I felt light inside. I can dwell on that difficult period without holding it against that person. "Forgiveness sets us free". Ghislaine Nguemeni”

November 21, 2016

“Hello, Like everyone else I am continuing the sharings from the great retreat in Belgium. I was struck by the number, which was almost double that of the Lourdes retreat (57), and then also by the very beautiful decoration. I was in the martyrs' dormitory (it's true that this name made me jump). Then the word on my bed also struck me: « Give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances » 1 Thess 5:18; I came laden with worries but I already had a roadmap even before the retreat began. That pleased me. I greatly loved the life testimony of Jérémie: he tried several times to kill himself and it did not work, and he even underwent therapies for depression and that did not work; but once anchored in the word of God, he felt much better. Also the fact that he integrated among us, being the only white person, he wanted to take fright, he wondered how he was going to dance in our midst, but he followed a voice which said to him: « I will make of you a man ». That showed me the power of God and how precious we all are in his eyes. He strongly recommended to us the exercises of the prayer sheet and I understood how much I must take them even more seriously. Papa Henri also spoke to us about sin and made us understand that when one goes to a nightclub, one does not come out holier than when one went in. First everything that the eyes see; then often you even dance and when someone takes hold of you to press against you, you say Lord let it be him, and there in the early morning on the way back you go home and you start saying a prayer to the Lord to help you get out of it. In short, we go to a place where anything can happen and we tell ourselves we will pray if it is bad. I understood again how important it is to flee temptation and the places of falling. It also reminds me of the Pope's words which reminded us to flee before temptation because we are weak. The priest's homily as well, which told us that we must be careful about thinking that holiness in Cameroon is not the same as here. We often say « Those things you do over there, keep them there, here it is different ». He addressed the aspect of the mini-skirts that we wear here, that this exists in Cameroon too, or again the torn trousers. And how here he came to know a young girl who went to adoration every day and he approached her to find out why she was so devoted. She told him that she had met Christ at the World Youth Day in Madrid and for a year she had not gone without adoration and she had set aside her «mini…» As if to tell us that seeking holiness is not something where one adapts the efforts and the rules according to the context. Papa Henri also emphasised the fact that living chastity for students in Cameroon proved even more difficult because of destitution… Papa Henri said that if something is beyond us to truly live out, we must say I am like a rooster, I cannot control myself; but not to generalise by saying no one can live like this or no one can do like this. The bishop during his Homily also told us that we often pick and choose the word of God, in short we live what suits us, and yet that should not be the case. I understood that I must not adapt the word of God according to my own will, saying that such a thing cannot be accomplished, but live it in its entirety. Maman Judith spoke to us about the wonders of adoration and how she decided to adore each time a child has a birthday. She offers them this most beautiful gift: an hour of adoration, she brings the person to Christ who can give them everything. That gave me ideas. She also said that when she has difficulties she stays there a long time until she feels at peace. I saw again how much I needed to take my day of adoration and my hour seriously. The evangelisation on stage had a particular touch, each country took the trouble to prepare: it was truly beautiful. Benjamine Boaye (Germany)”

November 21, 2016