P A G E 1

“To catch the reader's attention, place an

interesting sentence or quote from the story

here.”

CELEBRATION DE LA FÊTE DE SAINT JEAN DE DIEU A NGUTI

Cette célébration tant attendue par la grande famille hospitalière a été pour nous un profond moment de

nous abreuver encore à la source de notre fondateur tant admiré par le monde médical et les laissés-pour

-compte.

Pendant neuf jours, nous avons cheminé avec Lui en sculptant ses lettres et en visualisant des CD room

sur sa vie. Suite à quoi, chaque participant à partager ses émotions après ces projections ciné-

matographiques. C’était merveilleux d’écouter les témoignant venant de la foule.

Le vendredi 08/3/13 : Les dons furent offert aux malades et nécessiteux.

Le samedi 09/3/13 à 16 heures précise, la célébration Eucharistique fut dite à son honneur dans l’hôpital

et présidée par le Père Edwin OKONKWO. C’est avec tant d’éloquences qu’il exposa sur la bibliographie

de Saint e Jean de Dieu.

Comme toute fête africaine, nous terminions par un cocktail. Cette célébration fut appréciée par tout.

Visualisons à présent les photos marquantes la cérémonie.

UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUALITY (HAVE I A SPIRITUALITY?)

P A G E 2

Spirituality is a term that sounds simple when pronounced, but very complex if it is to be defined. A real and clear

definition cannot be found for the word spirituality. However, some theologians have tried to give it a meaning that can be

of help for the understanding of the term. According to Pablo in his article (what is spirituality?), it is an ongoing endeavor

to grow in our relationship with God. Looking at this definition offered by this friar, one will realize that, spirituality is all

about human endeavors and so he adds that it is not simply a set of concepts or beliefs to keep in our head. So spirituality

is active and not passive which demands our efforts and entails life experience in order to establish this relationship with

God. Spirituality is a process which involves our daily life experiences and actions. Thus, our spirituality has a communal

aspect which is establishing the relationship between God and man.

Peter Ruseil looked at it from a psychological point of view. He defines the term as the search to know our real self,

to discover the true nature of consciousness. In addition he says throughout the history, it has been said that the self we

know, the separate individual self is a limited form of what we truly are. Unaware of our true self, we identify with our

thoughts and feelings, our memories and our personality. Here also, the idea of relationship with one’s self is stressed.

Searching to know one’s self is to enable the person to know others better and to relate with them in a more dignified way-

that is the spirituality.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is “the quality of being concerned with religion or the human spirit”. I will

like to stress on the spirit; there are different kinds of spirit that move us into action: the human spirit is animated either by

the Holy Spirit or the Evil Spirit based on the disposition of the human person. Any of these spirits can trigger the individual

into action, to relate in a proper or non proper way with the self, God, and others. So one’s spirituality is the madness or

that fire that is burning in the human heart which moves him/her to act either positively or negatively. Therefore, spirituali-

ty has to do with the desire. We are fired into action by a certain madness that comes from our incompleteness; so over-

charged with desire that it is difficult to come to simple rest. What a person does with his/her madness is his spirituality, no

one has a choice, and all of us have spirituality, because the human person is no other but a spiritual being “the Lord God

formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and so man became a living be-

ing” (Genesis 2:7). To breath (spiration-breath forth) is the giving of life, and so God gave life to man through spiration. In

Hebrew, ruach is the word for Spirit (also breath, life). Therefore, life is given to man by the ruach of God; hence man is a

spiritual being. It all depends on how we direct our madness (spirituality): either to life giving or in a destructive way. And

so, we act in ways that leaves us healthy or unhealthy, loving or bitter. Therefore, from the above view, spirituality ulti-

mately is what we do with our desire, how it is being directed to the various actions in order to relate with our self, with

God and others. The definition of Aumann Jordan in his book Spiritual Theology completes our discussion. According to

him, Spirituality proceeds from the truths of divine revelation and the religious experience of individual persons, defines the

nature of the supernatural life, formulates directives for its growth and development, and explains the process by which

(souls) Christians advance from the beginning of the spiritual life to its full perfection.

Br. Terrence T. Tita

P A G E 3

On the 31st August, 2013, the Brothers from

the three communites in Ghana joined the

Hospitaller Sisters in Assin Fosu to celebrated

the joy of receiveing another Sister into their

community, Rev. Sr. Claire Bamana WAMA, a

togolese. The ceremony was presided by Rev.

Fr. Isaac Ebo BLAY, the Vicar General of the

diocese of Cape Coast, and the vows were re-

ceived by the Provincial Superior of the Hospi-

taller Sisters, who was accompanied by her

secretary.

It was a joy for us to be together. This was in

view of breaking the silence that the two con-

gregations have reduced their recreational

meetings. Congratulations to all the

Hospitaller Brothers in Ghana.

Caption

describing

picture or

HOSPITALLER FAMILY MEETS IN ASSIN FOSU

N E W S L E T T E R T I T L E

HOSPITALLER ORDER

OF ST. JOHN OF GOD

BR. JACOB KETCHEN TAMBE

“You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and

summoned from its far off places. You whom I have called my

servant, whom I have chosen and will not cast off– fear not, I am

with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you,

and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice”.

(Is. 41:9-10)

It was on Saturday, 24th

August, 2013, when the

Brothers in Ghana from

the other two religious

communities joined the

community of Accra to

celebrate joyously the

name day of the Provin-

cial Superior. Present on

this memorable day were

the Holy Spirit Fathers

community at Pantang

hospital, the Provincial

Superior and Br. Viadero

from Spain, Rev. Fr. Peter

Mansaray from Makeni

The day was marked with a holy

mass celebrated in the morning

and a dinner fraternal night during

which we shared with the Provin-

cial his joys and challenges for the

great leadership he has given us in

the Province. In his short address,

he noted that he has celebrated

his feast in Koforidua(2010), Asafo

(2011), Lunsar(2012) and now Ac-

cra, his own legitimate community.

He thanked all the brothers pre-

sent and those far.

PROVINCIAL CELEBRATES HIS NAME DAY on 24th August, 2013