12 August Optional Memorial
On the surface, Bakanja was a simple, unassuming boy from one of many Congolese villages. But he stood out for his goodness of character. Those who knew him, like Remacle Linganga, the labor leader of Coquilhatville, remembered him as a very affable and sweet person, who did not like unnecessary disputes, friendly with anyone regardless of color, and devoid of malice. However, he was by no means just an accommodating person. For he was intelligent and knew what he wanted, what was good to accept and what was to be avoided. He was loyal and of good character, a real man despite being still very young. Without getting lost in idle chatter he willingly dialogued with other workers from whom he learned many things. Above all he was sure to listen especially when talking about useful and interesting things.
There was one topic that particularly captured his attention, and that was when the talk refered to the God of Jesus. He would listen, reflect, and ask questions. So he learned that those speaking about this Jesus were men called missionaries, who had come from Belgium. Bakanja already had a faith of his own but it was somewhat confused. Wanting to better understand who this God these missionaries came to talk about is, he decided to go to them in Boloko-Nsimba, a village quite close to Coquilhatville. The missionaries gave quite satisfactory answers to his questions, answers capable of giving a new and decisive turn to his life.
It was no small point for him to learn that God, creator of heaven and earth and everything that exists, cared for human creatures, without exception, regardless of race or color, and that, moreover, he sent his Son Jesus for them. It was even amazing, almost unbelievable, that God even cared for him, just for him, and that God loved him personally, that Jesus his Son became man out of love for human creatures.
Soon Bakanja literally fell in love with Jesus and also with his Mother Mary. He was just delighted with everything he was learning. His state of mind was like that of one who had discovered a treasure. The treasure he discovered was greater-than anything he could have imagined, so it was worth striving for. It was Jesus himself who compared the Kingdom of God to a treasure whose discovery filled those who find it with joy to the point that they are willing to leave everything else behind in order to possess it. Then, and this was the best discovery, Bakanja was able to discover that he himself was God's treasure, because Jesus gave his own life even for him.
Isidore Bakanja lived his faith simply, but with great intensity and joy. He cultivated it with catechesis that made him discover on an ever more profound level the great things of God. Christianity, taken seriously, gives the right flavor to life. Isidore cared deeply about knowing God and also about praying to him. After all, praying, for Bakanja, is nothing more than being in a relationship as friend with his Lord with whom he knows himself to be heard, and with his mother Mary whose garment he wears. The faith of this adolescent seeps out from the serenity that pervades him and his desire to share it; he decided that the gift he received is not only for himself, but is for others as well, perhaps for everyone. The mother of Jesus, through her scapular, will be like a flag pointing to the treasure she carries in her heart. For, in truth, it is too great to keep only for herself.
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