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"A man who is well grounded in the testimonies of Sacred Scripture is the bulwark of the Church." This "bulwark" or defense wall as St. Jerome states, is an encouraging phrase showing that in the year 2004, the desire to know, to live, and to be proud of our Christian faith is still alive...very much alive and growing, especially in our rapidly changing and unpredictable times that seem to dictate in a negative way, the contrary.

I am here to testify to you the positive! We need to be reminded that we are now part of the new evangelization of the Church! The Holy Spirit is working overtime! The Church is very much alive. Great things are happening behind the scenes!! Permit me to give you now a "sneak peek" of the behind the scenes action. Through earlier SMA articles and reports, many of you have been reading of me and sharing in my personal journey to the priesthood with the SMA. My journey has not been easy, but it has been one so far, filled with the graces of God to make it a very unique and most enriching way of life. As you may recall, I spent some time in the Benin Republic, where I also participated in the Spiritual Year of Formation in Calavi with 12 other seminarians from 9 different countries. You also shared in my First Oath of commitment this past spring, and now, I warmly welcome you to Nairobi, Kenya where I continue, with many brothers of mine, the next chapter in my journey, finishing theology studies.

Why scripture study? Why in Nairobi, you ask?

Scripture Study is a training. This training helps us penetrate the true meaning of Sacred Scripture and equally defend it. In theological studies, we are taught to prove the integrity and authority of the Bible, how to investigate and ascertain its true sense, and how to meet and refute objections. This is an absolute necessity in our work as priests and as missionaries. We are to be images of Jesus Christ Himself, and, if we look closely at Christ's life on earth, we see that he customarily appealed to the scriptures. Our motive: to follow the example of our only model -Christ.

Nairobi is the home of one of the four SMA formation houses in Africa. We are many in priestly formation and since the majority of the new generation of the SMA are African, why not share the joy of training in her cultures, histories and friendship. And, just as important, since Africa is part of our rapidly changing world, not immune to or escaping its contemporary problems and challenges, it is better for missionaries in Africa to have first hand knowledge and experiences of evangelization from the African perspective. This is crucial for SMA and for the world and results in a much richer and more effective way of service.

I am among some great men who come from all over the world. In our home community of 31, we represent 4 continents and 14 countries. We are from as far as India, East and West African nations, Europe and the United States. We are so different yet we come together with one common ground - our faith, our love for Jesus Christ and a deep desire to make Him known to others. This common ground is the root of being a good SMA missionary. Our diversity is a great advantage - it teaches us flexibility, a greater sensitivity, a deeper appreciation and understanding of who we are and the acknowledgement that we need each other, need to learn from each other, forgive each other and laugh with each other - in order to be more effective servers of mission in the Church today.

Many of us attend Tangaza College. Tangaza, meaning "to proclaim" in Kiswahili, is a part of the Catholic University of East Africa. Men and women preparing for ministry here are trained not only in Theology, but also in education, youth ministry, social ministry, communications and spirituality to respond more fully to many of the present needs of Africa. All are molded in the context of the Catholic Church in Africa, for the service of Africa and also a service for the world . The programs are thorough. Professors are wisely chosen; great care is taken to find men and women of fitness and character proven by their sincere love of and familiarity with the Bible. This is serious business! Tangaza is home to nearly 100 religious congregations and an increasing number of laity which is a clear indication that The Holy Spirit's design of new evangelization is well on its way, preparing us to be better men and women in the service of the Church, allowing us to know what we are doing, to speak with conviction, and to be accountable and responsible. It is helping the continuously growing family of SMA to remain, in a new way, in the service of the church in Africa.

Presently, in Nairobi we (SMA) are 27 seminarians in various levels. 8 learning Philosophy and 19 of us are studying Theology here in Tangaza. And of these, 7 were ordained to the deaconate on November 20, 2004!

The SMA is truly blessed by the grace of God. We are the "new evangelizers". New evangelization is quite demanding everywhere. But as I say to you each time, we are nothing without God. Your kindness to me is not forgotten. But I am only one man in the great SMA family of priests. There are fine men here, from all over the world, still "behind the scenes" who are serious about their priesthood and the work of mission and will be the "bulwark of the church/" They need equally the support you give - that support my friends is prayer. Pray for all of us here in the priestly formation of the SMA, that God will continue to give us the grace to rediscover our absolute need of our personal sanctity and integrity enabling us to collaborate, to understand and to work with one another. Jesus says "Do not be afraid" - I tell you the same - great things are happening in the SMA; great things are happening in the Catholic Church. God Bless and Peace.