ACWECA PLENARY: “Our Vocation is to Serve with Love, Joy, and Humility”, AMECEA Secretary-General to ACWECA Delegates
AMECEA Secretary General Fr. Anthony Makunde
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
Fr. Antony Makunde, the Secretary-General for the Association of Member Episcopal Conference in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), while celebrating Mass to the delegates of the Association of Consecrated Women in Central and Eastern Africa (ACWECA) on Wednesday, August 21, reminded the sisters that they need to serve “with joy, love, and humility”.
In his homily, Fr. Makunde linked the Church to a vineyard where all are laborers, regardless of when each one was called to serve.
“My dear sisters and brothers we need each other in the vineyard whether you were recruited in 1974 or you were recruited yesterday we need each other. The wage is the same and we ought to stop complaining aware that the contribution of everyone is vital for the success of the vineyard”.
Fr. Makunde acknowledged how God has been generous to the Church in the AMECEA region with the gift of vocation. He explained referencing an African proverb loosely translated, “If a cow cage, is without calves it does not last” and said the Church, the family, the congregations, the ACWECA if these don’t have the little ones, it will not last.” In this case, he encouraged the congregation to keep nurturing vocations for continuity and thanked the Novices who were animating Mass that day for responding to the call of the Lord.
The Secretary-General called on the novices to pray for the Church and political leaders so they may not succumb to the temptation of selfishness. “We ask you to pray for us, pray for the bishops, pray for priests, pray for the sister, pray for the brothers and indeed pray for the parents, pray for our political leaders and their community leaders, yes, pray for us so that we may not fall into that temptation which prophet Ezekiel refers to, the temptation of selfishness and greed and to become role models.”
Fr. Makunde stressed that vocations are meant for the mission and service to others, not for self-gratification or personal gain.
“Yesterday in the presentation we were reminded that vocation is for the mission, for the service of others not for self-glorification and not about feeling our stomach,” he said.
On the other hand, Fr. David Niwagaba in his 20th Tuesday homily reminded the sisters that “with success, pride may rise, if we let pride in, we must be sure that failure is close.”
Fr. Niwagaba, a member of Montfort Missionaries reflected on the virtue of sacrifice required in pursuit of the Kingdom of God and noted that one must be prepared to give up smaller things to attain greater rewards.
“You must be ready to give out smaller things to hold bigger ones, we have left everything and what shall we have, you have left worldly things to pick up and inherit the Kingdom of God, these sacrifices we make, God will not be blind not to bless us”.
Drawing inspiration from St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who abandoned worldly things to embrace monastic life, Fr. Niwagaba who is the director of Luntha Television in Malawi, underscored the need to prioritize spiritual over temporal gains.
“St. Bernard of Clairvaux gave up worldly things and he went into the monastery because he saw that this is greater than smaller things of this world”.
He added, “There are challenges of ministry and work, every day may God give us the grace to know that what we fight for is a greater one”.
