MALAWI: Archbishop Ziyaye Urges Catholics to be Active Members, Taking Part in the Church’s Mission
ARCHBISHOP ZIYAYE
By Demetria Banda
Catholic Christians in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe have been called upon to express their faith as Christians by preaching the Word of God and responding to His call to “go to all nations and proclaim the gospel” as this is the sole purpose of their consecrated life in the mission of the Church.
Archbishop Tarcizio G. Ziyaye said this during the Archdiocese’s cerebration of the day of World Mission Sunday on 18th October 2020 at St. Vincent Palloti Kaphatika Parish in Ntchisi District.
“This is a special day for evangelization in the Church, a day when we express our faith as Christians in the Catholic Church, in the universality of the Church and our solidarity. Our mission is to go and preach the Word of God, to make sure people are converted so that they may be baptized and follow Jesus Christ. As you can see, we are baptized and sent,” he said adding, “Being baptized is not enough but you have to show in your life that you are there to evangelize.”
Most Rev. Tarcizio Ziyaye further reminded all the Religious men and women in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe and beyond to continue praying for the good of the Church as they all have the work to draw people closer to God for their salvation.
“There are so many people out there who have not yet known Jesus Christ, the Gospel of our lord and his life. This entails that in the first place, we pray for missionaries, those who are engaged in evangelization, taking part in the activities of preaching the Word of God.”
Archbishop Ziyaye also encouraged all Catholics to be active in the Church by joining different devotional groups and movements.
“There are many ways of being active in the Church, it’s not about being baptized and then doing nothing. We ought to participate in missionary activities for we are being sent to do something. We have different devotional groups in our Church and we have different activities for the youth, children and the elderly and many more. I encourage you all to join,” added Archbishop Ziyaye.
He also asked Christians to be generous in their offerings because the work of evangelization needs financial resources.
“I ask everyone to be generous in your offerings today because evangelization work needs money. It’s not only here in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe but it’s for the universal Church, the entire Catholic Church. This money is sent to the Holy Father who decides where the money is mostly needed for the work of evangelization,” said Archbishop Ziyaye.
Most Rev. Ziyaye further said that the World Mission Sunday is a very important day for everyone to renew his or her faith and commit to spread the Gospel by responding to God’s call, “Here I am, send me.”
