MALAWI: Catholic Men Urged to Emulate the Example of Their Patron
Stella Zulu
Credit: ECM Communications
Catholic men under the Catholic Men Organization (CMO) and all men in the country have been called to live a life of commitment, obedient and selflessness, following the example of Saint Joseph in fulfilling their mission in the Church and society.
This was said during the organization’s National Election of the newly established Organization, organized by the National Lay Apostolate in the Pastoral Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM). The meeting was held at Msamba Catholic Centre in Lilongwe and was aimed at putting the organization’s National Executive Committee in place.
Speaking during the meeting, outgoing Pastoral Coordinator Rev Fr. Henry Chinkanda said men in the country face a number of challenges including lack of participation in Church activities as compared to women, irresponsible parenthood, alcoholism and drug abuse, just to mention a few. These, he said, reduce their commitment to Christian and family life.
He advised the Catholic men to aspire to live their faith through communion and participation in the Mission of the Church following Sr. Joseph as a model of being a Man and a Father.
“A person becomes a good Christian when he or she makes a decision to participate in Church activities, live in communion with others, just like what you intend to do by initiating this Organization, and having a clear Mission. A shining example, from whose life we can be inspired as Catholic men, is St. Joseph. He was obedient to God’s Will throughout his Life, he was selfless as he was always serving Mary and Jesus, he was a worker who provided for the Holy family and he led an exemplary Christian life. In order to achieve your aspirations, St. Joseph should be a model of Christian living as men in the Catholic Church,” said Fr. Chinkanda
He therefore said CMO should form a strong sense of collaboration through participation, communion and fulfilling its mission in the Church which is what the Synod of the Universal Church is celebrating and calling them to do.
“As Catholic men, we have a responsibility to be convinced Christians, loving fathers and husbands, selfless leaders in our parishes, good stewards in the community and humble followers of Christ. Let’s look to St. Joseph, the patron saint of men, fathers, workers and the Universal Church for his obedience, humility, selflessness, courage and the love he showed to Mary and Jesus. If we can emulate St. Joseph even a little each day, we will be that much closer to becoming the men we are called to be”. He continued
On his part, the National Laity Chaplain, Rev Fr. Vincent Mwakhwawa said the creation of the National committee is very important in ensuring coordination of CMO activities in the dioceses.
“CMO is new in many dioceses in Malawi, the establishment of the National Executive with the guidance from the ECM Laity chaplain and the National Pastoral Commission will facilitate its growth in fulfilling the mission of the Church in Malawi. I urge all of you to create awareness activities in the dioceses to Catholic men and people of good will so that they understand the crucial role of men in the Church,” said Fr. Mwakhwawa
Catholic Men Organization is a lay apostolate in the Church of Malawi which started in 2009 in the archdiocese of Lilongwe. Its patron is St. Joseph and its watchword is “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).
