“God does provide… Give your life to Christ”: Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya to Newly Ordained Spiritan, Redemptorist Deacons

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The Dutch-born Vatican diplomat called for moderation and contentment with the basics of life as Clergy. He said, “We should be content with food and vestment; that should be enough for us.”

“What else do you need? Do you need a big garden, a large house in your village where you will hardly ever be? No, you don’t need that. Live for the people and the people will live for you,” the representative of the Holy Father in Kenya told the new Deacons.

He emphasized, “Give your life to Christ; give your life to the Church. You are wedded to the Church; the Church will provide for you. Christ in His promise will provide for you.”

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“Take courage; put your hands on the plough; don’t look back. Look forward, because there is a great Christ waiting for you,” Archbishop van Megen told the 15 newly ordained Deacons, who are natives of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi.

He implored, “May God bless you in this new stage in your life, and the missions you are going to undertake.”

In his September 19 remarks at the Ordination celebration that Bishop John Mbinda of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar in Kenya presided over, the Apostolic Nuncio in the East African nation also cautioned against tribalism.

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He recalled his remarks on September 6 at Resurrection Garden of ADN, where he presided over the 22nd death anniversary of the Servant of God Michael Maurice Cardinal Otunga, Kenya’s first native Catholic Bishop and Cardinal whose cause of Sainthood began in 2010.

Towards the end of his life, Archbishop van Megen recalled, Cardinal Otunga “was disappointed about Kenya, the Church of Kenya, because he saw how tribalism was popping up again.”

“Do away with tribalism,” he said, and explained, “If you become a Deacon and later a Priest, you belong to a new tribe—the Levites. Therefore, forget about tribal identity … Do not say: I’m from Apollo, I’m from Paul, I’m from Christ. No. In Christ we are one family. We are a new family of God.”

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Meanwhile, in his speech at the Diaconate Ordination celebration, the Provincial Superior of the Spiritans in Kenya and South Sudan, Fr. Frederick Elima Wafula congratulated the 12 Spiritan Deacons and the three Redemptorist Deacons for giving their lives to the service of God and His people.

Fr. Wafula said that the Ordination celebration served as “a reminder of Christ’s presence among us.”

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Referring to the Spiritan Charism of availability to God and to others, especially the poor, he said the Ordination of the 15 is an opportunity “to keep alive the missionary spirit, especially toward remote places where the Gospel has not yet been heard.”

“Be ready to move. That is the heart of the missionary spirit: readiness, always ready to go anywhere, at any time, in service of Christ and His people,” the Nairobi-based Spiritan Provincial Superior said.

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He reminded the new Deacons that their Ordination is a “continuation of a lifelong journey of service in Christ the Savior. It is a call to humility, a call to generosity, and a call to fidelity.”

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On his part, the Superior of the Redemptorists in Kenya, Fr.  Titus Wambua, echoed Fr. Wafula’s call for humility.

Fr. Wambua invited the new Deacons to live out their vocation in humility and selfless service, placing the needs of God’s people first before their own.

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“Today you are sent forth not to be served, but to serve,” the Redemptorist Superior said, and referring to their founder urged the new Deacons to carry in their hearts “the fire of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori and the zeal of the Redeemer.”

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Fr. Wambua implored for the new Deacons, “May your ministry always be marked by humility, compassion, and unwavering dedication to the poor and the most abandoned.”