THESE MIDNIGHT DREAMS ARE TROUBLESOME

Adeladius Makwega-MBAGALA

 

“Lord God, restore my justice to me and heal me from the evils that torment me. O God, why have You abandoned me…”

 

The singers continued:

 

“I will approach Your altar,
My joy and my happiness forever;
I will approach Your altar,
My joy and my happiness forever…”

It was morning. The faithful had entered the church to attend Sunday Mass. It was a small church with very few worshippers. There had been no elaborate preparations, there were not enough singers, and there was no choir leader. The musical instruments were also very few—apart from one kayamba, a traditional shaker, which had been placed on the choir bench.

 

Mwanakwetu found the kayamba, picked it up, and began playing it gently while the Entrance Hymn continued.

 

The Mass proceeded as usual. However, Mwanakwetu could not understand the language being used very well. When the time for the homily came, the Bishop began to preach.

 

This Bishop was from the Catholic Diocese of Alexandria in Egypt. He was an Arab Bishop. He began preaching in Arabic, while a Sister provided the translation in English.

 

That was when Mwanakwetu began to catch a few words from the homily.

The Bishop said:

 

“When I was a priest, I received a phone call from a man who was a broadcaster with the local Broadcasting Corporation. He told me about a case involving sexual bribery at the workplace.”

 

The Chancellor of their country, who was a woman, had appointed a woman as the Head of the Broadcasting Corporation. Immediately after the appointment was announced, complaints emerged suggesting that sexual bribery might have been involved in the appointment.

 

Remember, the appointing authority was a woman, and the person appointed was also a woman.

I wondered:

“How is that possible? Could there have been a same-sex relationship?”

When I asked the man who had given me the information to explain further, he replied:

 

“No.”

He explained that the Chancellor’s adviser on broadcasting affairs was romantically involved with the woman who had been appointed.

 

At that point, I began to understand.

I asked him:

“Did the person who made the appointment know about this?”

He replied:

“I am not sure, because these are matters involving powerful people.”

 

I asked him again:

“How certain are you that this information is true?”

 

He replied that the Chancellor’s adviser and the woman who had been appointed had previously worked together and, according to the information he had, they had been romantically involved for quite some time.

 

He added:

“Everyone knows about these things, but no one wants to bell the cat.”

 

The homily continued.

The Bishop emphasized that in working environments, many things can be said out of jealousy, hatred, or an intention to tarnish someone’s reputation. Indeed, no one in this world is perfect. However, those entrusted with making decisions should be careful, fair, and committed to justice.

 

For in any responsibility, whenever allegations of favouritism or any form of preferential treatment arise, they can create divisions, discourage workers, and make it difficult for an institution or society to achieve its objectives.

 

An employee who becomes discouraged because he or she feels that justice has not been done may lose the motivation to work wholeheartedly.

 

Then the Bishop said:

“Any form of corruption is wrong and has serious consequences for society.”

 

Those words made Mwanakwetu think deeply.

 

According to the teachings of the Catholic Church, justice and integrity are fundamental principles in human relationships.

 

When corruption involves the abuse of authority, unfair favouritism, or persuading someone to do something wrong in exchange for personal benefit, it directly concerns the duty to respect justice and human dignity.

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2409, includes corruption among acts that violate the demands of justice in the use of goods and authority. This teaches us that a person entrusted with responsibility should not use his or her position for unjust personal advantage or to distort justice.

 

When it comes to sexuality, the Church also strongly teaches respect for the human body and human dignity.

 

Saint Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:18–20, warns Christians to flee sexual immorality and reminds them that the body of a Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Catechism, in paragraph 2353, teaches about the gravity of sexual intercourse outside marriage, while paragraph 2355 addresses acts that reduce a person to an object of sexual pleasure and thereby violate human dignity.

 

From this perspective, using employment, a position, grades, services, contracts, opportunities, or authority as a means of demanding or offering sexual favours is not merely a matter of sexual morality. It also concerns justice, human dignity, the abuse of authority, and integrity within society.

 

A human being should never be turned into a commodity.

 

The human body is not a commercial product.

Human dignity should never become the price of obtaining employment, promotion, a service, or an opportunity.

 

And anyone entrusted with authority should remember that authority is a responsibility—not permission to use another person for personal gain.

 

At the same time, the Church teaches that when assessing a person's moral responsibility, the actual circumstances must be considered. There is a difference between someone who makes a decision freely and someone who is pressured, threatened, or coerced by a person in authority.

 

Therefore, in matters involving sexual bribery, it is not appropriate to judge every person involved in exactly the same way without considering the circumstances and the degree of freedom each person had.

 

These teachings remind us of one important truth:

Justice cannot be built upon the exploitation of another person's dignity.

 

The service continued until the end. As far as Mwanakwetu could remember, the language being used had changed and was now German—a language he could not understand very well.

Finally, the Mass came to an end, and this hymn began to be sung:

 

“…Prepare His way,The Lord is coming with power to save us.
The Lord is coming, He is coming, He is coming to us…
(He is coming!)
He is coming with power; He is coming to save us…”

 

As the hymn continued, Mwanakwetu suddenly jumped up in shock.

He woke up!

He blinked his eyes!

He looked around.

He was asleep.

He had been dreaming!

There was no church.

There was no Bishop.

There was no Sister.

There was no choir.

There was no kayamba.

And there was no Mass!

His phone was switched off and charging. He reached for his watch and looked at it.

It was 03:33 at night—midnight hours.

He said:

“Oh my goodness! This old young man from Mbagala was actually dreaming! These midnight dreams are troublesome!”

 

Immediately, he began remembering everything he had dreamed about.

He remembered the church.

He remembered the Bishop.

He remembered the story about sexual bribery.

He remembered the homily.

But there was one thing he could not remember clearly.

The passage from Corinthians and the Catechism references had disappeared from his dream.

Mwanakwetu went online.

He searched.

He read.

He checked again.

And there they were.

While writing this article, he included those references accurately so that this story would not remain merely a dream, but could also provide an opportunity to reflect on justice, human dignity, the use of authority, and the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning human morality.

But now one question remains:

Was it just a dream?Or had the dream brought together things that Mwanakwetu had once heard, thought about, or reflected upon? I leave that answer to the reader.

Because sometimes dreams come at night, but their message can continue to be reflected upon in broad daylight—by me, by you, and by that other person over there.

 

Mwanakwetu, are you there?

Remember:

“These Midnight Dreams Are Troublesome.”

I wish you a blessed and wonderful day.

✉️ makwadeladius@gmail.com
📞 0717649257

NB: If this article has in any way violated or misunderstood any teaching or content of the Catholic Church, I, Adeladius Francis Fidelis Petro Makwega Kazimbaya of Mbagala, humbly ask forgiveness from the Church and from God for any such mistakes.