| Author |
Message |
    
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 3219
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 03:45 pm: | 
|
Sudanese Model
Clara Aker Benjamin
http://www.geocities.com/jubians/
The only Black Woman to become
a "SAINT"--a former "slave" from
DARFUR, SUDAN
SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA
Mother Josephine Bakhita was born in Oglassa, Darfar, Sudan in 1869 and died in Schio (Vicenza) in 1947.
This African flower, who knew the anguish of kidnapping and slavery, bloomed marvelously in Italy, in response to God's grace, with the Daughters of Charity.
Mother “Moretta”
In Schio (Vicenza), where she spent many years of her life, everyone still calls her “our Black Mother”. The process for the cause of Canonization began 12 years after her death and on December 1st, 1978 the Church proclaimed the Decree of the heroic practice ofall virtues.
Divine Providence which “cares for the flowers of the fields and the birds of the air”, guided the Sudanese slave through innumerable and unspeakable sufferings to human freedom and to the freedom of faith and finally to the consecration of her whole life to God for the coming of his Kingdom.
In Slavery
Bakhita was not the name she received from her parents at birth. The fright and the terrible experiences she went through made her forget the name she was given by her parents. Bakhita, which means “fortunate”, was the name given to her by her kidnappers.
Sold and resold in the markets of El Obeid and of Khartoum, she experienced the humiliations and sufferings of slavery, both physical and moral.
Towards freedom
In the Capital of Sudan, Bakhita was bought by an Italian Consul, Callisto Legnani . For the first time since the day she was kidnapped, she realized with pleasant surprise, that no one used the lash when giving her orders; instead, she was treated in a loving and cordial way. In the Consul's residence, Bakhita experienced peace, warmth and moments of joy, even though veiled by nostalgia for her own family, whom, perhaps, she had lost forever.
Political situations forced the Consul to leave for Italy. Bakhita asked and obtained permission to go with him and with a friend of his, a certain Mr. Augusto Michieli.
In Italy
On arrival in Genoa, Mr. Legnani, pressured by the request of Mr. Michieli's wife, consented to leave Bakhita with them. She followed the new “family”, which settled in Zianigo (near Mirano Veneto). When their daughter Mimmina was born, Bakhita became her babysitter and friend.
The acquisition and management of a big hotel in Suakin, on the Red Sea, forced Mrs. Michieli to move to Suakin to help her husband. Meanwhile, on the advice of their administrator, Illuminato Checchini, Mimmina and Bakhita were entrusted to the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice. It was there that Bakhita came to know about God whom “she had experienced in her heart without knowing who He was” ever since she was a child. “Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: Who could be the Master of these beautiful things? And I felt a great desire to see him, to know Him and to pay Him homage...”
Daughter of God
After several months in the catechumenate, Bakhita received the sacraments of Christian initiation and was given the new name, Josephine. It was January 9, 1890. She did not know how to express her joy that day. Her big and expressive eyes sparkled, revealing deep emotions. From then on, she was often seen kissing the baptismal font and saying: “Here, I became a daughter of God!”
With each new day, she became more aware of who this God was, whom she now knew and loved, who had led her to Him through mysterious ways, holding her by the hand.
When Mrs. Michieli returned from Africa to take back her daughter and Bakhita, the latter, with unusual firmness and courage, expressed her desire to remain with the Canossian Sisters and to serve that God who had shown her so many proofs of His love.
The young African, who by then had come of age, enjoyed the freedom of choice which the Italian law ensured.
Daughter of St. Magdalene
Bakhita remained in the catechumenate where she experienced the call to be a religious, and to give herself to the Lord in the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa.
On December 8, 1896 Josephine Bakhita was consecrated forever to God whom she called with the sweet expression “the Master!”
For another 50 years, this humble Daughter of Charity, a true witness of the love of God, lived in the community in Schio, engaged in various services: cooking, sewing, embroidery and attending to the door.
When she was on duty at the door, she would gently lay her hands on the heads of the children who daily attended the Canossian schools and caress them. Her amiable voice, which had the inflection and rhythm of the music of her country, was pleasing to the little ones, comforting to the poor and suffering and encouraging for those who knocked at the door of the Institute.
Witness of love
Her humility, her simplicity and her constant smile won the hearts of all the citizens. Her sisters in the community esteemed her for her inalterable sweet nature, her exquisite goodness and her deep desire to make the Lord known.
“Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”
As she grew older she experienced long, painful years of sickness. Mother Bakhita continued to witness to faith, goodness and Christian hope. To those who visited her and asked how she was, she would respond with a smile: “As the Master desires.”
Final test
During her agony, she re-lived the terrible days of her slavery and more then once she begged the nurse who assisted her: “Please, loosen the chains... they are heavy!”
It was Mary Most Holy who freed her from all pain. Her last words were: “Our Lady! Our Lady!”, and her final smile testifiedto her encounter with the Mother of the Lord.
Mother Bakhita breathed her last on February 8, 1947 at the Canossian Convent, Schio, surrounded by the Sisters. A crowd quickly gathered at the Convent to have a last look at their «Mother Moretta» and to ask for her protection from heaven. The fame of her sanctity has spread to all the continents and many are those who receive graces through her intercession.
|
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1272
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 04:52 pm: |
|
THAT solves the mystery. She does look American to me. But I thought her skin was too flawless for her to have been raised eating processed foods like we do. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 556
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 04:54 pm: |
|
Benjamin, Sudanese Model:
I like the first picture provided in the link best. Black Black beauty should be as bare as decently possible. It does not need heavy airbrushing. Nor does it require alot of make-up or mounds of jewelry. Since it’s arguably the most splendid yet also the rarest, it’s an absolute sin to distract from it, IMO. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 558
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 05:22 pm: |
|
Oh, and Misty, my bad, you were 100% right. How could you tel?? I felt like Reneta & Abm did. She does look alot like Eve and her flawless skin and her being thin were the only things that seemed African to me. |
Moonsigns
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Moonsigns
Post Number: 1437
Registered: 07-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 05:31 pm: |
|
No surprise here! I wrote in the other thread that she looked more African than American! |
Moonsigns
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Moonsigns
Post Number: 1438
Registered: 07-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 05:31 pm: |
|
And I was right! |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 3224
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 06:37 pm: |
|
I was really happy that so many of you
thought the SUDANDESE "Dinka"
woman was American. 
Because most Black Americans still
really do look AFRICAN.
|
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 3225
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 06:38 pm: |
|
P.S.
Look good at the picture of
Saint Josephine.
There's plenty of Black
American women who look just
like her, too.
And OF COURSE---more than
HALF the AA women in this
country look very "similar"
to Kola Boof.
|
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1273
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:16 pm: |
|
Any pics of her looking ahead into the camera? Her eyes mesmerize me, and I don't even really see them. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 3226
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:22 pm: |
|
I don't have anymore pics of her.
She got married just as her career
was taking off and now she works
very rarely.
African women are really domestic.
She married a White guy
from Wales and I heard
she's had 2 babies already.
|
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1274
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:36 pm: |
|
OK....I did a little research.
In May of 1998 Ms. Benjamin appeared on Florida's prestigous Ocean Drive magazine, she was the only black model on the magazine that year.
I still didn't find any pics of her looking ahead.
As for Ms. Bakhita...sorry, SAINT Bakhita...I actually know a woman in Denver who could very well be her clone! |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 3227
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:36 pm: |
|
Renata,
Why didn't you click the link?
Here's photos of her from the
link web site:
|
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 3228
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:39 pm: |
|
Clara Benjamin never took off in
America.
She was HUGE, however, in London,
Paris and Milan.
Which is where...for models...the
real money and acclaim is.
|
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1275
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 07:48 pm: |
|
In those pics, she looks more like an Island girl. |
Yukio
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yukio
Post Number: 1491
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 09:22 am: |
|
well...she is foine! I don't know the origins of this dialogue. But sometimes, I think it is difficult to tell some Africans and West Indians from African Americans. In the dirty, dirty, you have some very dark folk w/flawless skin whom one would swear are African or West Indian. This is because in the lower South plantations were larger than the upper South, and enslaved Africans in the lower South also had less contact w/white folk than their upper South brethren...
|
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 6410
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 11:49 am: |
|
I'll bet this ain't the proper, politically correct sentiment. But this Clara chick is so sweetly chocolate you 'bout want to lick her to see if she TASTES as good as she LOOKS. |
Yukio
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yukio
Post Number: 1495
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 01:04 pm: |
|
from her profile, she looks like a softer version of sexy ass serena williams! |
|
Email This Page