Embrace Humility as Religious: Kenyan Catholic Bishop to Sisters at Perpetual Profession, Jubilee Celebrations

Nairobi, 31 August, 2025 / 9:20 PM

Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega in Kenya has urged members of Congregation of Sisters of Mary of Kakamega (SMK) who were making Perpetual Profession and others celebrating Silver and Diamond jubilees to embrace humility.

In his homily at the Thursday, August 28 event that saw 14 SMK members take Final Vows, seven celebrate their Silver Jubilee, and one other member mark her Diamond Jubilee, Bishop Obanyi told the Sisters that every stage of their Religious Life is “only the beginning.”

He urged the Jubilarians and those making Perpetual Profession to fix their gaze on the person of Jesus Christ so as to “gain that crown of righteousness that everybody seeks.”

“You have not actually arrived at your destination. You’re not even in the middle of your journey. You are only beginning,” the Local Ordinary of Kakamega Diocese said at the event that was held at Mukumu Grounds in his Episcopal See.

He added, “We are all beginners because we strain forward until we reach God. We have not achieved yet.”

The Kenyan Catholic Church leader urged the Sisters to remain focused on their apostolate, and not to be swayed by worldly distractions such as material things.

He encouraged the SMK members to remain humble in their vocation to Religious Life, adding that the Sisters did not call themselves, but only responded to God’s call. “This work is not by their own willpower, not by their own strength. It is purely by the grace of God…When you put God’s grace first, everything becomes possible,” he said on August 28, the Feast of St. Augustine.

Reflecting on the life of St. Augustine, Bishop Obanyi reminded those making Perpetual Profession that Consecrated Life is a continuous search for God. Drawing lessons from the saint’s own transformation, from a reckless life to a spiritual one, he urged the Sisters to cultivate the same restlessness for God in their vocation to Religious Life.

“As a Religious person, you must have restlessness and the search for God. Develop restlessness in listening to God’s word,” he said.

The Catholic Bishop emphasized that the call to Consecrated Life is a journey within the person, urging the Catholic Sisters to search for God in their hearts rather than in external possessions.

“We must look within the heart to encounter God. God speaks gently to our hearts. We must develop an interior disposition of listening to God. In our interior disposition dwells the truth,” he said, reminding the SMK members that God has called them to prayer and meditation that takes the form of self-examination.

The Local Ordinary of Kakamega Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in March 2015 also highlighted the teaching of St. Augustine on grace, reminding the Sisters that no one can overcome sin or achieve true conversion without God’s help.

“Without God’s grace, we cannot even overcome that which we think we are capable of,” he said, and added, “St. Augustine had to realize that he needed God's grace for him to overcome his past life and change into a new life. That is the spirituality of St Augustine.”

The Catholic Bishop also reflected on St. Augustine’s writing on unity, reminding members of the SMK to remain dedicated to community living, sharing all they have with each other. He also urged them to embrace community prayer life, surrendering “everything so that God takes charge.”

Bishop Obanyi also urged the 14 SMK members, who made their Perpetual Profession to see their lives as a pilgrimage towards God, as described by St. Augustine. He noted that St. Augustine talked about “a Church that leads us as pilgrims to God, finally to receive the crown of righteousness that is eternal life.”

St. Augustine, the Kenyan Catholic Bishop said, talked about a journey from earthly desires to eternal union with God. “That is why we called it the spirituality of St. Augustine.”