MALAWI: Catholic Religious Urged to Live a Life of Prayer
Most Rev. Tarcizio Ziyaye, Archbishop of Lilongwe leads Eucharistic Celebrations to Mark the day of the Mission Union and Consecrated Life at Maula Cathedral
Religious men and women in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe have been encouraged to always put prayer first in fulfilling their dedication and continuous worship of God which is the sole purpose of their consecrated life in the mission of the Church.
This was said by the Archbishop of Lilongwe, Most Rev. Tarcizio Ziyaye during the Archdiocese’s celebration of the Day of Missionary Union and Consecrated Life at Maula Cathedral in Lilongwe.
Sharing the reflection, Archbishop Ziyaye said consecrated people have to live a life of prayer, union with other pastoral agents and be humble following the example of Jesus Christ who called them all to serve in God’s Vineyard.
“Let us always remember, my dear brothers and sisters that the purification of Jesus Christ is a reminder that we have to be pure at heart having given ourselves to the church through consecration which is at the heart of the church. We are not social workers but the light of the world and more importantly, the light of the people of God that He entrusted us with for pastoral care,” Archbishop Ziyaye said.
The Archbishop also reminded all the religious in the Archdiocese to continue being united and work in collaboration for the good of the Church as they all work to draw people closer to God for their salvation.
“This day is an opportunity for us to examine our lives as consecrated people and to celebrate our Missionary Union. Let us be happy to be in Christ and long for more intimacy with Christ as we pray and meditate on God’s word. It is important to reflect on the encouragement of the Holy Father through Pontifical Missionary Union, who promotes oneness, collaboration and zeal in our duties as pastoral workers so that we inspire the Laity,” he said.
Meanwhile, in his talk on prayer, Rev. Fr. Misheck Banda inspired the group to challenge the world and change it for the better by showing where Christ is and also using the right weapon, which is prayer to overcome challenges since they are called as individuals to follow Christ and serve the world to have positive impacts.
“We are called to a radical following of Jesus Christ and therefore we must examine what we do in fulfilling our answered calls. The professions we have are just graces from God and our energy to serve people comes from God, this is why we have to put God first through deep prayer which without it, a religious person becomes materialistic and bitter because Christ is not the centre of their daily life,” said Fr. Banda.
He added that, a community that does not live in prayer does things without caring for others and therefore he asked the religious in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe and the country to be converted so that they can really follow Christ.
Day of Consecrated Life and Pontifical Missionary Union is celebrated on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ during which all the Clergy and Religious men and Women in the church reflect on their fulfilment of the mission that God called them to do in the church.
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By: Stella Zulu, ECM
