蜜桃交友

By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ

Catholic women in South-Africa are encouraged to participate in an online Day of Prayer organized by the country鈥檚 Union of Catholic Women鈥檚 Organization (SAUCWO) on 24 August.

The initiative themed 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe,鈥� stems from 鈥渢he desire to bridge the sense of solitude and isolation experienced in lockdown, to support each other and to reinforce a sense of sisterhood in this time of global suffering,鈥� reads a poster released for the occasion.

In an interview with Pope, Mrs. Fikile Motsa, President of SAUCWO explained the idea behind the Day of Prayer and its importance for South African Catholic women. 

Invited guests at the occasion include Sr. Hermenegild Makoro, Secretary-General of the South African Bishops鈥� Conference who is scheduled to speak at the event. Mrs. Motsa will give the welcoming address at the event which will take place from 2:15 pm to 4:00 pm (South African time) on Monday. 

Day of Prayer

Motsa explained that the online prayer initiative was born from the desire to reach out and strengthen women despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the difficult moments of anxiety that have come with it. 

鈥淲e want to strengthen our women who are now scared. Some of them have lost their jobs, staying at home, their husbands without jobs, and the numbers escalating. We have lost a number of our women due to Covid-19,鈥� she said.

The prayer initiative, therefore, is 鈥渢o give them a word of hope, praying together, to show the sisterhood that we are together in this, and that we can conquer if we are together in prayer. To try and support each other though we cannot see each other physically.鈥�

August, dedicated to South African women

This prayer initiative is organized in the context of the month of August which, in South Africa, is dedicated to women. The country annually marks 9 August as National Women鈥檚 Day to commemorate 9 August 1956 when women participated in a national march to petition against pass laws (legislation that required black people to carry a document to prove that they were allowed to enter a 鈥榳hite鈥� area).

Mrs. Motsa pointed out that the month is dedicated to women in the country because they 鈥渁re special.鈥� And, as 鈥渨omen of hope, women of love working together,鈥� they 鈥渘eed to be strong鈥� and in turn, 鈥渟trengthen each other.鈥� Especially at this time of Covid-19, 鈥渢hey need our support, they need our love,鈥� she stressed.

She said that during August, she would love to see more attention brought to gender-based violence issues because 鈥渨e are losing a lot of women through gender-based violence, murder and rape鈥� she said, adding that it is her wish to see all women better protected.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe鈥�

Responding to a question concerning the theme 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe,鈥� Motsa explained that its use for the initiative is unrelated to the protests for racial equality sparked by the tragic death of George Floyd in May 2020. 

With us, she clarified, 鈥渨e have chosen this theme looking at the cases of Covid-19: a lot of our women have lost their jobs, they have their husbands staying at home, they have children out of school.鈥�

鈥淚t is just too much for us women,鈥� she exclaimed. 鈥淚t is just around our necks. We cannot breathe because there is so much happening!鈥濃�� And 鈥渁s women 鈥� mothers, the pinch is all on us.鈥�

The theme, therefore, refers to the growing sense of being overwhelmed by the deaths and other difficulties stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as other gender-related issues.

鈥淲e are asking God to just be with us because there is just so much death around and we want to ask God to just help us on this,鈥� she said.

South Africa has been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus crisis. As of Friday, it has over 90,000 reported active cases and is currently the fifth most affected country in the world.

Open invitation to all

Mrs. Motsa throws open the invitation to the online Day of Prayer to all Catholic women in the country, as well as all sodalities and organizations that can access the program through the online video conferencing platform Zoom.

This, she said, is so that they can 鈥渃ome together and pray together鈥� and also share some ideas on how to get through these trying moments.

Encouraging participation, she encouraged all women to 鈥渉old on to our Jesus鈥� and not be scared because He is the only one who can calm the storm of Covid-19 in which the world currently finds itself. 

Ending on a hopeful note, Mrs. Motsa expressed her desire that we will all be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel when the 鈥榮torm鈥� is over. And, to all women, she says: 鈥渓et us just hold on, let us not lose hope, let us not be scared.鈥�

Interested participants can find further information on the Day of Prayer initiative from the flyer shown above.