African Goodwill Network

Kinyarwanda is also known as Rwanda (Ruanda) or Rwandan, and is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language spoken by some 12 million people in Rwanda, where it is the official language, and adjacent parts of southern Uganda. (The Kirundi dialect is the official language of neighbouring Burundi.) 



The Great Invocation in Kinyarwanda  - RWANDA

ISENGESHO  NGANJI
Umucyo ukomoka mu Bwenge bw’lmana
Nusakare mu bwenge bw’abantu
Umucyo numanuke kw’isi
Urukundo ruturuka ku Mutima w’lmana
Nirusesekare mu mitima y’abantu
Kristo nagaruke kw’isi
Umugambi w’Abazi Ubushake bw’lmana
Abakurambere bazi kandi bayoboka
Nuyobore imigambi y’abantu
Inshinga y’Urukundo n’Umucyo
Nisugire iganze mu bantu
Irembo ry’I Rubi risibame
Umucyo n’Urukundo n’Ububasha nibigarure lngamba kw’isi.

This month we highlight The Great Invocation in Ibo.

Ibo also spelled IGBO is one of the most prominent languages in modern day Nigeria. It belongs to the Benue-Congo subgroup of the Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, and Igbo language family. 
 
The Ibo language is found primarily in Nigeria, specifically in the south-eastern part of the country where an estimated 20 million people speak it. A variety of dialects exist within the Ibo language.  A
standardised version of the Ibo language was not developed until 1972.
 
It is well-known for its literary contributions, thanks to the success of the Ibo writers such as Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi. Chinua Achebe gained global recognition and praise for his novel “Things Fall Apart”, which portrayed pre-colonial Ibo life.

Ekpere Aririọ Uku
Site n’isi Ihe nime echiche Chineke,
Ka Ihe kwoputa ba n’echiche umu madu,
Ka Ihe ridata n’uwa.

Site n’isi Ihunanya nime obi Chineke,
Ka Ihunanya kwoputa ba n’obi umu madu,
Ka Christ we ridata n’elu uwa.

Site n’etiti ebe amara ọchichọ Chineke,
Ka ezi uche duzie umu ọchichọ nike umu madu,
Ezi uche ahu nke Onye-new-ayi mara ma nome.

Site n’etiti ebe ayi nakpọ agburu umu madu,
Ka nkwadobe nile nke Ihe na Ihunanya puta,
Ya biko rachie ọnu uzọ ebe njọ bi.

Ka Ihe na Ihunanya na Ike doghachi,
nkwadobe n’elu uwa.

This month we highlight the Great Invocation in IBIBIO.

Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of southern Nigeria. It is the official language of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria in the Cross River State region. It is a language of the Niger-Congo family. The name Ibibio is also used for Ibibio-Efik. The 60 Cross River languages are situated around the Cross river in south eastern Nigeria and westward towards the Niger Delta. The largest of  these languages is Ibibio, which with its written cousin, Efik, has some 3,500, 000 speakers. (Britannica Online Encyclopaedia)



Akam
Ke ibuot Unwana ke ekikere Abasi
Yak Unwana owok oduk ke ekikere ndito owo
Yk Unwana osukhore ke ison.

Ke ibjot Ima ke esit Abasi
Yak Ima owok ke esit ndito owo
Man Christ akpakan osukjore ke ererimbot.

Ke ufot emi edionode uduak Abasi
Yak udon akpakara nkpri uduak owo
Udon emi Etubom odionode onyon okponode.

Ke ufot emi nuin ikotde oruk ndito owo
Yak udon Ima you Unwana owut
Man akpakam  esiri usun emi idiok nkpo odunde.

Yak Unwana ye yelma ye Odudu afiak odori uduak ke ererimbot.
Copyright © Lucis Trust.

This month we highlight the Great Invocation in Ga

The Ga language is a Kwa language, part of the Niger-Congo family. It is  spoken in south-eastern Ghana, in and around the capital Accra.  It has a  phonemic distinction between 3 vowel lengths. Ga is one of 16 languages in which the Bureau of Ghana Languages publishes material. 
Some 600,000 speaks Ga  (2004). (Wikipedia, 1 Nov. 2012 modified)
 
The Great Invocation in Ga

La ni tsoo kedseo Nyonmo dfenmo mlin le
Aatedse abote gbomoi afenmoi amlin
La le atso ye daelen

Kedse Nyonmo taui na Suomo le
Suomo aadusi ye adesai tsuian
Kristo skuse aba daelen ekon

Kedse heni Nyonmo he nile yo le
Yosemo abu gbomoi anile bibii ahe
Yosemo noni Nuntso le le ni edsa

Kedse kpokpai ano ni wo tseo gbomoi abii
Aha ni la ke Suomo he nito atse ke dsekpo
Nii etsi Sinai negbei ni efon ete

Aha ni la ke Suomo ke hewale an
Nyonmo yinto gbe ye daelen

This month we highlight the Great Invocation in French.
African French is the generic name of the varieties of French spoken by an  estimated 115 million (2007) people in Africa spread across 31 francophone  countries.  (“La Francophone dans te monde 2006 – 2007.” Published by the  Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie: Nathan. Paris, 2007). Africa is  thus the continent with the most French speakers in the world. (Ibid).

The francophone countries in Africa had a population of 355 million in 2012.  (United Nations. “World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision”). In each of  the francophone African countries French is spoken with local differences in  terms of pronunciation and vocabulary.
 
LA GRANDE INVOCATION
Du point de Lumière dans la Pensée de Dieu
Que  la lumière afflue dans la pensée des hommes.
Que la lumière descende sur la terre.

Du point d’Amour dans le Cœur de Dieu
Que l’amour afflue dans le cœur des hommes.
Puisse le Christ revenir sur terre.

Du Centre où la Volonté de Dieu est connue
Que le dessein guide le faible vouloir des hommes.
Le dessein que le Maîtres connaissent et servent.

Du centre que nous appelons la race des hommes
Que le Plan d’Amour et de Lumière s’épanouisse,
Et puisse-t-il sceller la porte de la demeure du mal.

Que Lumière, Amour et Puissance
restaurent  le Plan sur la Terre.

This month we highlight the Great Invocation in Fanti.
FANTI also known as Fante and Mfantse, is one of the three formal languages (literary dialects) of the Akan language.  It is the major local language spoken in the Central and Western Regions of Ghana as well as in settlements in other regions from mid to southern Ghana.  Notable speakers include Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. Maya Angelou, John Atta Mills, Cardinal Peter Turkson and Kofi Annan. (Wikipedia)

MPAAYI  FOFOR
Kan mfi N’adwenm’ “Kanbean’”
Mpem mbehye nyimpa adwen m’
Kan nsian asaase do

Odi mfi Nyame n’ akoma mu “Do bean’”
Mpem mbehye adasa hon akoma m’
Christ nsan mbra asaase do.

Mbre Nyame Ne pe kokorokon’ taaen’
Ne tairimpow mfi ho nkyerskyers nyimpa nepe – 
Tsirimpow a Noara nyim na oma oba mun’

Dsa yefren “adasa mba mu.”
Ma Do na Kan nhyehyeen’ ndsi dwuma
Na ontow mbre mbusu biara won’abow mu.

Ma Kan na Do na Tum mma nsiesie
Nsan mbra adaso do.

When using The Great Invocation we invoke the light that flows from the mind of God, the love that radiates from the heart of God, and the purpose that animates the will of God. 

As the purpose of the Will of God seeks to influence human will, it is expressed in human terms as goodwill, as living determination or fixed intention to bring about right human relations.  

Goodwill does not only refer to our intention to bring about right human relations, but we can extend it to right relations with the other kingdoms on earth, such as the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms.  It is the will aspect which drives our love and understanding for the earth and its resources.  It is the will aspect we use to express and manage our loving stewardship of the great bio-diversity of our home, planet earth.  

This month we highlight the Great Invocation in Ewe.

EWE, also written as Evhe, is spoken by the Ewe people located in the southern Republic  of Togo, southern Benin, the south-eastern parts of the Volta Region of Ghana, and parts of Nigeria. Native speakers of Ewe are approximately 3.1 million.  (1999 –  2003).

There is a Christian legend of St. Francis, who in midwinter called out to an almond tree, “Speak to me of God!” and the almond tree broke into bloom.  It came alive. There is no other way of witnessing to God but by aliveness. Thich Nhat Hanh, a  Vietnamese Zen master, poet, bestselling author and peace activist, is a Buddhist monk heading the  meditation community of the Plum Village Monastery in the South-of France. He recognised that aliveness is what the biblical tradition calls the Holy Spirit; that it is the breath of divine life; the ultimate source of all aliveness. Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, “If we touch the Holy Spirit, we touch God …as a living reality.” (Thich Nhat Hanh, The Living Buddha, Living Christ, Rider Books, Random House, UK. 1996)

How can we show our aliveness in the Holy Spirit on a daily basis?  By living an invocative life. Invocative living means living a simple rhythmic life, focused on the essentials; just taking time to sit in quietness generating goodwill and love to all around us; by living a purposeful life where our motives are pure and spiritual; taking time to be alone with the still quiet voice within rather than constantly running away from ourselves and hiding in the distractions and non essential activities of life.  We are urged to have a spiritual goal in life, and to let go of everything standing in the way of our view of that goal. Spiritual quality is the true constant in life that never dies, for it is the Christ force and only grows more beautiful and profound as the heart is steadily opened up to it.

The Holy Spirit is the energy of love and understanding. Mindfulness is like  the Holy Spirit. Both are agents of healing.  When we have mindfulness, we have love and understanding, we see more deeply, and we can heal the wounds of our own minds.  When we touch deep understanding and love, we are healed. When mindfulness is in us, the Holy Spirit is in us, and our friends will see it, not just by what we say, but through our whole being.

Let us invoke, “The point of love within the heart of God” in order for “love to stream forth into the hearts of men,” and “may Christ return to earth.”
(Second Stanza of The Great Invocation.)

The African Goodwill Network invites you to visualise lighted lines of loving energy flowing from yourselves to other people and places in Africa where there are tensions between people; lighted lines which cross boundaries and bridge chasms between us and our neighbours.  As we send light and love into our continent, we invoke the “closing of the door where evil dwells,” and the restoration of “the Plan of God on earth”. (The Great Invocation)

There are many interpretations of what light is.  The scientist has one interpretation, the mystic another, but to all life on earth, light is important, figuratively and literally;   it has many meanings and aspects.  By day we see the light of the sun, by night the light of the stars and the moon.  We light up our houses and cities at night and satellite pictures of the earth at night shows how lit up the continents with their large cities are. 

Pause and think about the many aspects of light.  We find there is the light of matter, which is described as dark light.  It is the destiny of humanity to redeem matter and imbue it again with light. Then there is the light of consciousness, which indicates the awakening light within humanity, powerfully in evidence these days.  The light of the soul is the all encompassing light of love, which is shining with great intensity into the world as individuals and groups tread the lighted path of service to the whole.  The light of the spirit is so wonderful and has been described as “a centre point of such brilliance that everything else fades out.” (Simon Marlow, in a talk given at the Cancer Festival Meeting in London, July 2009)  There is also the light of intuition.  The Intuition is the organ of synthesis.  It has been described as “that universal love … which is the in the nature of an identification with all beings.” (Ibid)
  
When this happens, true compassion is known; criticism becomes impossible; 
then the divine spark is in all forms. “Intuition is light itself, and when it is 
functioning, the world is seen as light and the light bodies of all forms become 
gradually apparent.” (Ibid)  When that happens we are then able to contact the 
light centre in all forms, and the sense of superiority and separateness 
disappears.

Let us keep using the Great Invocation while sending our lighted lines of love 
across this continent we live.

This month we highlight the Great Invocation in Efik:
  
EFIK is the language spoken in south eastern Nigeria in the Cross River State 
region, where it is the national language of the Efik people.  The name Efik is 
also used for Ibibio-Efik.  (Wikipedia) 

Akwa Akam 

Ke itie Unwana ke Ekikere Abasi
Yak Unwana owok oworo oduk mme ekikere owo.
Yak unwana osuhode ke ilson.

Ke itie Ima ke esit Abasi 
Yak ima owok oworo oduk mme esit owo.
Christ akpakam afiak edi ke ison.

Ke ufot emi efiokde Uduak Abasi
Yak udon ada mme nkori uduak owo usun –
Uduak emi mme Etubom efiokde enyun enamde.

Ke ufot emi nnyin ikotde oruk ndito owo
Yak uduak Ima ye Unwana oworo usun.
Man akpakam esin usun emi idioknkpo odunde.

Yak Unwana ye Ima ye Odudu enam efiak enyene uduak emi ke ison.
Copyright © Lucis Trust

Monday June 4, 2012 is World Invocation Day, also known as the Christ’s Festival.  A gigantic group meditation is going on in many different phases upon our planet.  All the meditating units and the reflective groups are related to each other through the unity of spiritual motive, which is the use of the Great Invocation, a world prayer expressing truths central to all the major religions; the spiritual co-operation of men and women of goodwill of every faith joining in a united act of invocation to divinity and the distribution into human consciousness of the spiritual energies evoked during the Festivals of Easter and Wesak.

The Easter Festival is the great western festival and spiritual high point of the Christian year, and has the keynote of love and is always fixed by the date of the full moon of Aries, the first full moon after the vernal equinox.  The Wesak Festival is the great eastern festival of the Buddha expressing the keynotes of wisdom and divine purpose, and follows one month after Easter at the time of the Taurus full moon. The Christ’s Festival and World Invocation Day is the festival of the Christ, and is celebrated at the time of the full moon of Gemini.  It has the keynote of humanity, aspiring to God and blending many different spiritual approaches in one united act of invocation.  It has been observed since 1952 as World Invocation Day.  Lucis Trust

Events in the world leave us perplexed as we witness the contrast between light and dark, between truth and falsehood and between freedom and ‘imprisonment’ play itself out in the world, and in the human mind. The kaleidoscopic interplay of energies directed towards the human family has been palpable.  “It is encouraging to see the right response of humanity to these challenges.  The march for freedom and human rights, good governance, a growing international co-operation and the proliferation of serving groups are just some of the visible developments which are indicative of the struggle towards spiritual emancipation.”
Triangles Bulletin, No. 179, March 2012.

Preparation by men and women of goodwill is needed to introduce new values for living, new standards of behaviour, new attitudes of non-separateness and co-operation, leading to right human relations and a world at peace.  Please join us in observing the World Invocation Day through the united use of the Great Invocation, and aid us in creating a new world based on spiritual values and a reorganised social structure.


Arabic
This month we feature the Great Invocation in Arabic. Arabic is spoken in the following countries in Africa: Algeria, Chad, Comores, Djibouti, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and South Sudan, Tanzania - widely spoken in Zanzibar, Tunisia and in the Western Sahara Moroccan Arabic is in use.

Click here to see the map of Africa where Arabic is spoken.