It is roughly over a month ago (15th March, 2020), when following the directives from the government of Ghana, St. Paul Major Seminary, Sowutuom (where our students attend lectures) stopped its academic activities and asked the diocesan seminarians to go home and be with their families pending when the situation of the corona virus pandemic will normalize. On our part (SMA), the idea of sending the seminarians home and especially crossing borders was not formidable for many reasons. Thus, we have been in our usual and normal “isolation house”. At the beginning, the atmosphere of 24 hours confinement was both shocking and boring for some people.
However, as we continued with our usual community life in the house with some important adjustment to the house programme, really much relaxed since there are no lectures in the seminary, many people became relaxed and cherished most of the activities. Basically, we come together for prayers, manual works, meals, sports, internal colloquium and indoor games. The pandemic has actually fostered and enriched our community life, our faith and trust in God remain unshakable, thanks to the additional prayer devotion we initiated as part of our spiritual warfare against the pandemic. We have equally discovered that cooking is fun by taking charge of the kitchen during the weekends. Ample time is also now available for students to do their private researches, prepare for upcoming exams and personal studies while SMA studies and French classes continue.
So far, we are all doing fine and happily going about with our internal programme. No one has got any symptom or whatsoever. Since the beginning of the lockdown, on daily basis, we check our temperatures to know the status of everyone. Our two cooks who come to cook during the week undergo the same procedures every day. Hand sanitisers, soap and water are provided in all strategic places in the house to maintain good hygiene. By God’s grace, we are all fine and happy. The Paschal celebration was a spirit filled and soul uplifting moment for us and some few Christians who follow us online.
Finally, there has been an incredible high sense of solidarity and generosity towards us from our lay faithfuls, SMA friends, some of my former parishioners and some SMA confreres. I really experienced in a concrete way the truth expressed in our prayer for our benefactors which says, “we are able to live our lives because others have sacrificed for us.” We remain grateful to them and may God richly bless them.
Thank you all and Union de priere!
written by MALONG Jonathan
posted by: Mark
