Gaborone Hosts Major Charismatic Course

By Sr Phatsimo V Ramokgwebana SC – International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services in Rome, in collaboration with Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) in Botswana, organised a week-long international training course on intercession in Gaborone.

The course, with 150 participants from ten Anglophone countries in Africa, started with Mass in Christ the King cathedral by Bishop Frank Nubuasah of Francistown, administrator of Gaborone diocese.

Six priests, including the CCR spiritual directors of Botswana’s two dioceses, Frs Camillus Ogaraku MSP of Gaborone and Gabriel Gaie of Francistown, attended, as well as several religious Sisters.

The theme of the training intercession course was “A call to prophetic intercession”.

Prophetic Intercession

“The Church has been teaching about intercession,” said Cyril John, director of the international training course. “However, we have been quite orthodox in our method of intercession, but right now through CCR the prophetic dimension of intercession is being highlighted.”

Prophetic intercession, he explained, simply means to listen to the Lord.

“We believe that the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of intercession,” Mr John said.

“St Paul in Romans 8:26 says, ‘We do not know how to pray as we ought but the Spirit helps us in our intercession’.

“Therefore, relying on the Holy Spirit, the faithful progress in intercession through the workshops. In the process, many people receive prophecies, relying on this message. In other words, it is listening to the Lord and then translating that into intercession,” Mr John noted.

He said “prophetic intercession is the highest level of intercession”.

As a way of marking the beginning of the course, an hour before the inaugural Mass, the praise and worship crew led the congregation in spontaneous prayers, praying in tongues and singing charismatic hymns of praise and worship songs.

The participants invited the Holy Spirit to take control and lead them in the six days of the training course workshops.

Part of the Tradition of the Church

“The intercession ministry is not a new thing that has just arrived in the Church,” said Alice Binny Modisenyane, national coordinator of CCR and organiser of the course.

“It existed right in the beginning of the Church as we see in the lives of the saints, founders of congregations, contemplative congregations coming up and interceding for the Church and nations. This has been part of the tradition of the Church.”

A day before the course ended, the participants were sent to different strategic locations in the city for prophetic intercession outreaches.

These locations included parliament, the high court, Gaborone Dam (to pray for more water), the A1 highway (on account of many accidents), the prison, the minor seminary and the university.

As part of the outreach, a group of 20 participants from ten countries went to the office of President Ian Khama to pray for 30 minutes for the president and the people of Botswana.