Undergraduate Projects/Long Essays
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Item The Sick and Their Experience of God, Based In the Slum of Kibera.(Tangaza University College, 2002-02) Garcia, Miguel Angel Posadas"The sick are the poorest people among the poor." This is what I have seen in the "slum" of Kibera. I started to do my apostolate in Kibera in September of 2000. At the beginning, I began by accompanying one of my Religious Brothers in visiting the sick. I felt "lost" because of the language. I felt a great challenge facing me because I saw many sick people and I could not say anything to them neither I could understand them. When I was able to express myself in Kiswahili, I faced yet another challenge: How do I express to these sick people that God is a Father to them? Many of them had been suffering for a long time; and it was not easy for me to tell them "God loves you". Sometimes I saw them suffering very much arid I could say nothing to help them. I felt that my prayer at those times was dry. As I was getting along, I started to discover something: I found many sick who really trusted in God. They started to talk about God in the midst of their suffering. I said to myself: "These people, in spite of their suffering, can experience Goa." But one day, I asked myself a question. "Is it in spite of or because of their suffering that sick people experience God? This question moved me to want to become closer to the sick in order to find an answer. I have discovered that many sick people experience God simply and clearly because of their suffering. They undergo a process of purification through questions and feelings that they ask themselves about their situation. They find that they have a need to depend upon someone outside of themselves to endure their suffering. The sick have taught me in my life to believe in God in a stronger way. They helped me to talk about God in the midst of suffering. Now I am able to remind the sick that God loves them and that He is accompanying them in their struggles. This experience which I have had with the sick is the motivation for this written Essay. Here I want to present my experience of the suffering of these sick and their experience of the presence of God in their lives. In the First Chapter, I present some of the history of Kibera and the situation in which the sick people live as well as my own lived experience with some of them. In this Chapter I conclude that poverty has a lot to do with the illnesses of the people. In the Second Chapter I reflect upon what the Scriptures and some scholars say about the sick and their suffering as well as the way in which they experience God in their lives. God is very much present in them and to them. In Jesus' suffering they find meaning for their own suffering. In the Third Chapter I present the challenge for us all in living with and ministering to these suffering people. We Christians are called to be Good Samaritans. We cannot be indifferent in confronting this suffering; and we must ask ourselves how it is that we can respond to this reality.Item Jesus the Giver of Life and the Hope of Resurrection In John's Gospel: It’s Relevance To the 'Sick' Today.(Tangaza University College, 2006) Otieno, Oyugi JacobPeople have been engaged in rhetoric questions like; what is the meaning of Life? Is there life beyond this earthly life? In every day life you hear people lament about life: Life is hard, Life is boring, and very few people would admit that they enjoy 4fr. When I was first introduced to the Gospel of John as a student of Theology, I was captivated by the optimism of the evangelist. This drew my attention to have interest in the theme of life in John's Gospel. Unlike the synoptic Gospels that postpone the gift of life in future, John brings the fact that life is to be lived and enjoyed here and now. When I was doing my pastoral work in Kadem Parish' I was so moved by the many sick people who used to come to the dispensary. I realized that besides the medication given, they lacked someone to give them pastoral guidance. I took it upon myself to do this task, to talk and share with them despite their conditions I would wind up my sharing with the word of God. We would read the word of God and especially John's Gospel where Jesus says: "I am the Life and the Resurrection."2 We would offer our petitions to God and leave for home. For the two months duration I was there, the nature of the faith that the patients had acquired was an unimaginable. I left the Parish to go back to School convinced that what people need is the assurance of their lives in Jesus. This experience is what motivated me to choose on the theme of Life in John's Gospel in relation to the sick. It beats all doubt that the whole of the Bible is concerned with life, but it is in the fourth Gospel that the notion of life comes prominently to the fore. It is the gospel of life. It significantly begins and ends with the declaration of the life-giving mission of Jesus as the Son of God. 3 John assures us, in his gospel, that Jesus gives life here and now. All one needs is to have faith. This paper intends to impart into the reader's mind the precious gift of life that Jesus gives. Even though many times we feel God is far away in our sufferings or sickness, one thing this study will help us understand is the presence of God in our lives all the time. A believer who trusts in Jesus has life in abundance, either in this life or the life after. What we need to do is to have faith. In overview, the theme of life in John's Gospel can be categorized into three main divisions: Chapters 1 - 6, could be entitled 'Announcement of Life.' Here Jesus proclaims the gift of Life under various images and symbols; new wine, new birth, living water, bread of life among others. Chapters 7 - 12, the heading could be 'Life Refused by the World' Jesus is opposed by the leaders of the people and there are plans to kill him. Jesus' death will bring life to all (Jn. 12, 31-36). In chapters 13 - 21, we could talk of 'Life given to those who believe." This part is a dramatic presentation of Jesus death and resurrection as the source of life for all (in. 20, 31).Item African Traditional Healing: A Challenge To Pastoral Care of the Sick in Ghana(2011) Adu Yaw, SamuelThe Akan community of the Southern Ghana is very traditional in nature. For several years, the lifestyle, thinking pattern, worldview, and cultural practices of the people has not changed much in spite of formal education and western influence. Although a lot has changed over the years as viewed from the periphery, the typical Akan knows that people still maintain their traditions and observe their customs. This research is something we have longed to do over the years. In the culture in which we grew up it was common that some Christians consulted one traditional healer, witch doctor, diviner, etc. during difficult times such as sickness, calamities, etc. It is also out of observation during my pastoral year experience in Ghana in 2008,2009. In our pastoral work, we visited the sick people at their homes, gave them Holy Communion and shared the word of God with them. My observation during that period was that some would visit one traditional healer or the other from time to time. As an African Christian, we would like to research in this area so as to understand this phenomenon to equip me in my future ministiy as a priest.