Priestly FormationMy name is Br. SIMIONE VOLAVOLA MSC and I am a Seminarian. I was born on 9 April, 1967 at Suva, Fiji. I would like to share with you some recent experiences:During my fifth year of theology in the Pacific Regional Seminary, I was posted in the Parish of Ba in the western part of the main island of Fiji (i.e. Viti Levu) for pastoral experience and formation. Ba is a town which is made up of a population that is three quarters Indians and the Fijians making up the lesser group. Each village had a Catechist except the village called Navala, which had two, due to its size. It has 123 families with the total population of about 800 people and all Catholics. It was in this village that I was based. It is up in the interior and is the only village left in Fiji with all traditional houses (huts called bure). It takes a trip of 1 hour by bus from town to get there. 
In that village I lived with a family who adopted me as one of their own. The couple in whose house I stayed are Iniana and Basilio Nasara. They have three children: Lario, Rakai, and Naseka. Basilio and Iniana are subsistent farmers who plant root crops and yaaqona (kava) and other fruits which they sell at the market for some money which they use to buy the essential groceries like sugar, flour, cooking oil and salt.
They are blessed with malea (fresh water fish) and bote (dalo leaves) with the falo, yams and tavioka which they farm for their daily diet. 
My work mainly involved giving retreats and seminars. I had the advantage of knowing their dialect since my grandmother is from that area also. The first seminar was given separately to two villages of Navala and Toge. Seminars were aimed at gaining a better grasp of the Pascal Mysteries and how to meaningfully celebrate our redemption in the Easter liturgies using the rituals and symbols of their own culture. Pentecost was similarly attended to except that the two villages came to celebrate it together at Navala. It was a significant occasion of renewal by the Holy Spirit, spiritually and socially. The two villages have never come together like that before. After that, I did two rounds of retreats to all the villages in Ba. It was on the year of Christ as preparation for the Millenium. I also gave seminars to youths and retreats to catechists and Catholic teachers from neighboring parishes.
My mother's mother is from Ba and it is from her that came my Catholic faith. My father is a Methodist. So last year was a chance for me to really get to know the place and the people from whom my mother received the spiritualy she passed on to me. It really was a reaffirming and enriching experience. |
