Father Feliz da Costa Martins: “Hope is the last one to die”

Now, let me quote here the Portuguese saying: “away from the eyes, away from the heart”. Just to let you know that as far as you are concerned, as a missionary friend that you are, this proverb is not true. Quite the opposite. In fact, the hours of my daily life guide my thoughts, transforming them into a prayer of thanksgiving to God for so many friends who, in different ways, share the mission with me. Be sure, you are one of them.

And speaking of the mission, I am pleased to inform you that our diocese of El Obeid (with an area about 15 times larger than Portugal) is currently celebrating 150 years of its foundation. It was with emotion that I heard our bishop in the homily of the solemn mass mention the giant missionary S. Daniel Comboni who, at the beginning of his missionary activity here in this area, wrote to his friends in Europe: “finally, we brought to this people the Bible, the Cross and the Eucharist. Now we have to help this small and humble beginning of Evangelization to grow”.

Since then, 150 years have passed. The small, humble seed has grown and is bearing its fruit. It is true that, in recent years, the number of European missionaries has been decreasing. However, St. Daniel Comboni's motto – save Africa with Africa – is clearly being realized. The local church is growing more and more in the number of baptisms and priestly and religious vocations. And on the 8th of this month, we will have another priestly ordination. It will be the young Mutawakel who, with his yes to Jesus Christ who called him, will give us this great joy.

Christians in Sudan are a tiny minority, a reality that sometimes hinders and jeopardizes the practice of the Christian faith. It is true that on the part of our Islamic brothers, negative testimonies of intolerance and religious fanaticism abound. But, fortunately, and as a matter of fact, there are also beautiful and rich testimonies to compensate for the mediocrity of the religious intolerance of others.

In this context, I thank God for having presided yesterday at the Holy Mass for the 1st anniversary of the death of a young mother. The church was full house. It should be noted that the initiative for this liturgical event came from the deceased's own (Muslim) family. A celebration that moved me deeply. Her name was Kaussar and she was the only Christian in a family where her parents and eight siblings are all Muslims. It was she herself who witnessed to her colleagues the freedom, respect, support and dignity with which she had always been treated by her family members.

After the Holy Mass, we were all invited to the traditional social lunch. At the same time, in the distant capital of the country, Khartoum, where she had lived with her husband and children, the same Eucharistic feast was being celebrated for her eternal rest.

This beautiful example of interreligious dialogue and conviviality that I described above is not an isolated event. For what follows I leave here another similar testimony. His name is Abdallah Hussein and he is the only Christian in a family of nine children, where all the other members (parents and other children) are Muslims. Abdallah is a diocesan priest and currently serves as vicar general of our diocese of El Obeid.

The small and humble seed planted by St. Daniel Comboni has grown and is bearing fruit. Thanks be to God!

Dear friend, it is worth living the mission to which the Lord Jesus Christ, the Missionary of the Father, invited us, you and me, each in his own way. Thank you for your friendship and help that I have felt and received from you so many times. We continue to pray for each other and for your dearest ones.

My sincere regards.
Fr. Feliz da Costa Martins
El Obeid
Sudan