KENYA: Religious Life is Not a Personal Vocation, Kenyan Prelate Said at Nuns Perpetual Profession, Jubilees
Golden Jubilarians FSSA
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
On the occasion of perpetual vows for thirteen nuns and ten others for Silver and Golden Jubilees for members of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna (FSSA) congregation, the Archbishop of Kisumu Archdiocese reminded the celebrants that Religious life is a call to be a witness in the vineyard of Christ but not a personal vocation.
“Please be aware that your vocation is not just a personal career; it is part of our spiritual wealth as a Christian community. Your vocation is our concern as believers,” Archbishop Muhatia reminded the celebrants in his homily on Friday, December 8, at St. Peter Claver-Lwak Parish and asked them to “contribute positively to the growth of faith in the Church.”
While addressing the 13 candidates just before taking their perpetual vows, the Archbishop who is currently the Vice Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) asked the Sisters to be faithful to their Religious commitment.
“Today you are going to dedicate yourself totally to serving God in perpetuity, may you be fully committed to your vowed life of chastity, obedience, and poverty. May you stay faithful in this congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna. Don’t look back for you have committed yourselves to God,” the Prelate said while cautioning the finally professing sisters and jubilarians to keep in mind that they are God’s servants saying, “What you do affects us and what you don’t do affects us too.”
Explaining to the 13 Sisters who were to make their perpetual profession, Archbishop Muhatia said that the step they were taking is a sign of commitment to their congregation and the entire Church in the presence of God, therefore, “the witness by the Christian community should not be in vain.”
“It is very painful when a Consecrated man or woman, or a priest, leaves the vocation God gave him or her and goes back home. It is painful for this is not what God intended,” he lamented during the Friday celebration that was attended by thousands of congregants including Archbishop Emeritus of Kisumu Archdiocese Most Rev. Zacchaeus Okoth, and stressed, “Let us avoid blunders or mistakes in vocations and let us avoid making life difficult or impossible for us to fulfill our role and vocation as Religious women.”
Giving reference to the ten Jubilarians (seven for the Silver Jubilee and three for the Golden Jubilee), the Archbishop who was the main celebrant for the Eucharistic celebration noted further that Religious life is possible when embraced and lived faithfully.
“Ahead of you are those celebrating 25 and 50 years, this demonstrates that it is possible to live this life. These celebrations are to encourage all of us in our Christian life that God expects us to be faithful in the vocation we have chosen,” he told the candidates for the final profession.
The occasion was on December 8, when the Catholic Church celebrates the Marian Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is normally nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary in September.
In his homily, the Archbishop expounded four Marian dogmas that demonstrate Mary’s relationship with God and her role in human salvation, namely the dogma that identifies Mary as the Mother of God, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, and the Immaculate Conception.
“The Solemnity of Immaculate Conception does not celebrate the Conception of Jesus in Mary but celebrates Mary herself being conceived by her mother Anne,” Archbishop Muhatia said and explained, this feast therefore “celebrates the great work of God at the time of conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
He echoed Pope Pius IX’s message that “God by a special privilege and grace exempted Mary not to being touched by original sin because of the mystery of Jesus Christ, and the Lord by a special grace, prevented Mary from falling into sin.”
The Archbishop narrates that what happened to the Blessed Virgin Mary at Conception can be translated to what normally happens to Christians at Baptism “because at Baptism we are forgiven of original sin and any other sin that may be.”
In conclusion, the Archbishop reminded the Jubilarians that serving God in Religious life for 25 and 50 years is a beauty and a grace to share in the same grace with Mary the mother of God.
“We thank God for the gift of all of you for the services you have rendered to the Church, and for the witness in the religious life that you have given,” he told the sisters and continued, “Remember the Lord himself understands everyone; our actions, our thoughts, and our plans. Therefore, we pray you to continue being fruitful in this religious vocation and your witnessing.”
“Let God not look for you as he looked for Adam and Eve, let him not search for you and ask where you are but rather let him tell you as He said through Angel Gabriel, do not be afraid I am with you to guide you and lead you,” he said.
