At the level of song and dance, no one can doubt that the Roman Catholic Liturgy in Africa today, has a visible and irreversible touch of the African culture! So my thanks and gratitude to all those (musicians, composers, religious, laity, priests and Bishops) who have made this possible.
Another great breakthrough and landmark in the field of Africanisation in recent years has been the publication of the African Bible! Although the main text is the New American Bible translation, the introductions and comments place it in today’s African context.
But there is still another big, heavy and daunting task ahead, which deserves and demands all our attention, skill and energy, namely: The Africanisation of the Roman Missal! And this is much more than a mere good translation of the Missal into African languages like: Kiswahili, Luo, Luganda, Kikuyu etc! It should touch the soul and heart of the African people! In other words, it should reflect as much as possible all the essential elements and values of the African world view which are not contrary to the Gospel! It should also reflect the concrete socio-political and economic reality of the African continent!
The Roman Missal is the Church’s official document, which contains authorised prayers and texts for the liturgy of the Roman Rite. Therefore, this document plays a very important role in the life of the Church, and in the life of every catholic Christian! We use the document for the celebration of Mass. And the Vatican II document on the Sacred Liturgy (N°10) has this to say stressing the importance of the liturgy : The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power flow.
So given the centrality of the Roman Missal in the life of the Christians, to be as meaningful and effective as possible, it should be presented to the faithful within their cultural context! In addition, as I have mentioned above, in Africa, it should touch the soul, heart and concrete life of the African people.
The third and revised edition of the Roman Missal is already out and on sell! It is result of 10-years’ work! Mother Church in her wisdom leaves room for adaption and adjustments of the Roman Missal! And the Vatican II document on the Sacred Liturgy recommends and encourages such adaptations and adjustments! It thus says:
It is the goal of this most sacred Council to intensify the daily growth of Catholics in Christian living; to make more responsive to the requirements of our times those Church observances which are open to adaptation; to nurture whatever can contribute to the unity of all who believe in Christ; and to strengthen those aspects of the Church which can help summon all mankind into her embrace. Hence the Council has special reasons for judging it a duty to provide for the renewal and fostering of the liturgy. (Sacrosanctum Concilium No° 1).
And the document adds something very important saying : The Council also desires that, where necessary the rites be carefully and thoroughly revised in the light of sound tradition, and that they be given new vigor to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times. (Sacrosanctum Concilium No° 4) So with adaptations and adjustments to this new edition of the Roman Missal, the Church in Africa should be able to produce an Afro-Roman Missal acceptable to the Holy See.
I propose the following to be part of the adaptations and adjustments :
Inclusion of the ancestors in the Afro-Roman Missal. Ancestors are an essential and integral part of the African perception of reality! Their reverence and veneration is engraved upon the African soul! And they play an active and important role in people’s daily lives! Blessings, joys and curses in one’s life are generally interpreted and understood against the backdrop of ancestors!
In addition, ancestors provide the most powerful symbol of eternal life in the African culture! Africans have no need for philosophical proofs for the immortality of soul and for life after death which occupy a big place in western thought!
The ancestors also symbolise the union between the living and the dead! These are all good reasons for their inclusion in the Afro-Roman Missal! And it should be remembered that celebration of Mass, is celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. It is celebration of eternal life! And this celebration unites both the living and the dead. That is, the pilgrim Church on earth and the saints in heaven!
To the inevitable question: Where exactly should the ancestors be inserted in the Afro- Roman Missal? I proposed that they be inserted between the introductory rites and the penitential rite. And this part of the Mass should be called: The Ancestors Invocation Rite! This place fits them because generally in African traditional worship, ancestors are invoked at the beginning of the ceremony.
The prayer of invocation of ancestors could be formulated along the following lines : Almighty God, Lord of endless ages, without beginning or end, creator of heaven and earth, and all they contain, Ruler of the spirits in the skies above, in the waters below, in the forests, thickets and rocks, Lord of life and death, God of our great, great ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Moses; God of the ancestors our African continent : St. Augustine of Hipo, St. Monica, the Uganda martyrs (Charles Lwanga and his companions,) Bakhita, (other African Saints can be added), God of the ancestors of our clans, men and women, our grandparents, parents and relatives who a lived a holy life before your eyes, we beseech you to let them come down from the heavens above, bringing with them all your blessings; and join us in giving glory and thanks to your name. This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen!
The normal penitential rite should follow the ancestor’s invocation rite, but which in my opinion should be said when we are on our knees whenever possible! The symbolism of kneeling would make this rite more meaningful to the African congregation. For in Africa you cannot ask for forgiveness of your wrong doing from the king or chief while standing! You go down on your knees or prostrate yourself to do this! And God is the King of Kings, Chief of chiefs!
In the Afro-Roman Missal, a little adjustment could be done on formula one of the penitential rite. Its first part should thus read: I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, the living and dead, that I have sinned through my own fault. This will provide an occasion of reconciliation for members of the congregation who wanted to reconcile themselves with some people, but who unfortunately died, before this reconciliation could take place.
We should also have an Afro-Eucharistic prayer addressing the deep rooted socio-political problems of the African continent, namely : Tribalism or negative ethnicity, witchcraft, racism corruption and poverty. The 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 2007-2008 Kenya political and ethnic violence, and the independence of South Sudan from North Sudan, are all vivid reminders of these problems. Just a little adjustment of our usual Eucharistic prayer II can serve this purpose!
So after the prayer of consecration, the part that starts with, ‘In memory of his death and…..’ should be adjusted and thus read: In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. And we ask you Lord God of mercy and love to save and set us free from the dark forces of witchcraft, tribalism, racism, corruption and poverty. So that all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ and the rest of his children be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit. We should call this Eucharistic prayer II with its adaptations: The Afro-Eucharistic prayer.
I also propose that some of the great African Traditional Prayers be integrated into the Afro-Roman Missal as: opening, offertory or prayers after communion, etc! Here are some examples of those great prayers, all taken from the article: African Traditional Prayers – Love Peace and Harmony:
In the beginning was God,
Today is God,
Tomorrow will be God.
Who can make an image of God?
He has no body.
He is the word that comes out of your mouth.
The word!
It is no more,
It is past, and still it lives!
So is God. ( African-Pygmy)
Oludumare, oh Divine One! I give thanks
To You, the one who is as near as my heartbeat, and more anticipated than my next breath.
Let Your wisdom become one with this vessel as I lift my voice in thanks and love. (African-Yoruban)
To our Gods [God] of old, we bless the ground
That you tread in search of our freedom!
We bless your presence in our lives and in our hearts!
Take this offering to your delight,
And be filled with our prayers of thanksgiving!
May our lives remain as full as our hearts on this day! (African-Yoruban)
Praise ye, Ngai…Peace be with us.
Say that the elders may have wisdom and speak with one voice. Peace be with us.
Say that the country may have tranquility. Peace be with us.
And the people may continue to increase. Peace be with us.
Say that the people and the flock and herds,
may prosper and free from illness. Peace be with us.
Say that the fields may bear much fruit,
and the land continue to be fertile. Peace be with us.
May peace reign over earth,
may the gourds cup agree with vessel. Peace be with us.
May their heads agree and every ill word be driven out
into the wilderness, into the virgin forest.
Praise ye, Ngai…Peace be with us. (African-Kikuyu of Kenya)
With such adaptations and adjustments, the Afro- Roman Missal will speak to the heart of hearts of the African people! It will touch the greatest depth of their being!
Dominic Vincent Nkoyoyo
Monastery Val Notre-Dame, Canada.
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