Paul writes: “In this conversation I will share with you and introduce who we are as Melanesians and our spirituality, distinct from Polynesians and Micronesians. I will look mainly at the Melanesian spiritual experience in Papua New Guinea where I come from.
The core is that Melanesians have a spirituality that permeates the whole cycle of life with its web of relationships. What their ancestors experienced has been passed down orally from generation to generation.
Melanesians do not hold the secular belief that [the human person] exists of her/his own power and for her/his own ends. Thus, s/he is born into a spiritual and a religious order. The Melanesian is born with the knowledge that s/he lives and works within a spirit world.
I hope that my presentation demonstrates the link between the Melanesian indigenous knowledge and their spirituality. The link is that the living is aware of their relationship to the spirit world. For Melanesians, life is one and the knowledge of it is an intimate part of it. Essentially, one emphasises the oneness with both the living and dead. Most of the traditional Melanesian societies try to maintain a harmonious relationship with the cosmos, that is, they have to maintain a good relationship with the spirit world as well as the world of the living.
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About the presenter: I am a Melanesian and come from the beautiful Manus Island, north of Papua New Guinea. This year I will celebrate my 19th year of Ordination. This year too will be my 7th year as a full-time college chaplain at Whitefriars College. A chaplain to Whitefriars College is a joy to experience with a big community of students and teachers who share the same ethos and living the Carmelite charism. I enjoy being involved in the various liturgies and college events. It is a peaceful environment and “belong, believe and become” as part of the community.
Dates and presenters for remaining first Wednesdays in 2024
2 October – Daryl Moresco – St Titus Brandsma on the Mystery of God’s Nearness
6 November – Gabrielle Fogarty and Bernadette Micallef – Sharing the experience of the International Congress of Carmelite Laity in Rome
4 December – Patricia Greene – John of the Cross
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