Yet, people work, sing, laugh, pray, bicker, marry and make plans. As if nothing is going on? Carefreeness, carelessness, superficiality, an effort to escape the present, resilience? Perhaps a bit of everything. But recently a reflection by Cardinal Martini on Psalm 6 suggested a different view to me. He says:

Praise in the Bible is an expression of life; today we would say that praise is an expression of being, it is wonder at being, at the fact of existing. The prophet Isaiah says: ‘The living praise you, O God, as I do today’.

            It is life that praises God, it is the living that praises. I remember the surprise of my first days in Burundi, when people explained to me that the morning greeting, our “good morning”, is “Bwakeye”, which literally means “The sun still shines for you”. Perhaps unconsciously our people, in the joy of existence, express a response of hope to the temptation of despair, a response of life to the threat of death.

            Of course, in the exultation of praise in the churches there is much exteriority, almost theatricality, but when this stage of life and history has passed, today's children and young people will remember the religious celebrations as moments of joy and not of boredom, of happiness and not of sadness, if not of high spirituality.

            And what about my missionary activity?

            The missionary prayer booklet in Swahili, with the Christian prayers in Kinande, is already out (here is the photo of the cover). The book you know, Heshimu mwili wako ni hekalu la Bwana, has already been translated and corrected into Kinande and is on its second reading: after Easter it will go to press. Of the four texts in our programme, the third - a kind of AM manual - is already halfway through its preparation.

            The best news is the opening of the Carpentry School-Workshop for young people in difficulty. The date, always postponed due to insecurity, is now set for the Tuesday after Easter. The image that identifies this school (reproduced below) is of a Combonian, Brother Duilio, who with Father Eliseo started the project some ten years ago. It is an important commitment that our province has taken on and of which, for now, I am the administrator, awaiting the arrival of a Congolese Combonian brother who will take over as director.

            Our visits to the parishes continue, albeit in hiccups because of the insecurity. Despite the power and internet outages, I continue to publish the monthly Justice and Peace newsletter in four languages, thanks to the collaboration of two former teaching colleagues in the seminary in Kanyosha (Burundi, 1969-70) and a former student from the University of Esmeraldas. From time to time I also write articles or projects for Cuore Amico, which supports our initiatives, and also for other institutions.

            One nice thing: a “lost” friend from my time in Esmeraldas (Ecuador), with whom I had experienced a very beautiful spiritual moment, managed to track me down thanks to today's media. A great joy! I hope that before the final farewell the same can happen for two more people, because it is up to them to look for me.

            This year there was a pleasant coincidence: Holy Saturday falls on the very day of my ordination to the priesthood, and Easter Sunday coincides with the anniversary of my first Mass in my village, in April 1968.

            Thanks to the good health of body and soul, I am able to maintain almost the same rhythm as always, which surprises many, as well as myself! So it was that I was entrusted with a conference for religious men and women on the Feast of Consecrated Life, 2 February, on the theme of the Holy Year: Pilgrims of Hope. And we are so in two senses: because we walk in this world full of hope, despite everything, and because, in a world so prone to anguish, anxiety and doubt, we carry with us that wealth so rare in the world market: hope. A hope that, for those who believe in the Resurrection, is none other than the Lord Jesus himself.

            Happy Easter to all!

            Gian Paolo,

Butembo, 4 April 2025

PS. I would like to remind you that my email, from which I am sending this message, is now jampypezzi@gmail.com  and my WhatsApp phone +39 328 732 6990 and my blog www.jpic-jp.org