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Let Children Pursue God’s Plan, “not your plan”: Archbishop in Tanzania to Parents

Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Tanzania's Dar es Salaam Archdiocese. Credit: Vatican Media

Parents and guardians have the mandate to bring up children, allowing them to discover and pursue the plan of God in their respective lives, Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Tanzania’s Dar-es-Salaam Archdiocese has said.

In his speech following the Ordination Mass of Deacon Emmanuel Patrick Mushi, a member of The Congregation of Pious Workers Rural Catechists (Ardorini Missionaries), to the Priesthood, Archbishop Ruwa'ichi faulted parents and guardians who discourage young people from giving their lives to the service of the Lord as Priests and women and men Religious. 

"Some parents have negative views. When their children inform them about their wish to be women and men Religious or Priests, they refuse," the Tanzanian Catholic Archbishop said during the Friday, September 8 ordination celebration at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Buza Parish of Dar-es-Salaam Archdiocese. 

He appealed to parents and guardians, “Learn to raise your children to obey what is God's plan for their life, not your plan for their life. Every child belongs to God, and every child is God's gift to his parents. The job of parents is to raise their children as God wills, not as they will.”

The member of the Order of Friars Minor, Capuchin (OFM Cap.) encouraged parents and guardians to bring their children to Church. “Raise them to be Priests”, he emphasized, imploring that families be "a nursery for nurturing holy vocations.”

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“The harvest is plenty but the workers are few,” Archbishop Ruwa’ichi said, underscoring his appeal to parents and guardians to be sources of encouragement for Priestly vocations.

In his homily during the ordination celebration, the Catholic Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in May 1999 as Bishop of Tanzania’s Mbulu Diocese lauded the Deacon he was to ordain a Priest for accepting the call to Religious Life. 

“Dear Deacon, you have come a long way; you have responded to the voice of God. We pray for you to continue to respond, to continue the journey of salvation, and to proclaim the name of the Lord,” Archbishop Ruwa’ichi said. 

He further implored, “We ask God who gave you the calling to be a Priest to fill you with His Holy Spirit, to give you the grace, strength, and spirit to be a good Priest, a just Priest, a Priest who works in God's Church.”

The Catholic Archbishop cautioned Deacon Mushi against indolence, and added, "The one who calls you is not calling you to be a Priest, is calling you to be a happy Priest, a Priest who is ready to live his Priesthood righteously."

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“Live your Priesthood with honor; live your priesthood by embracing holiness,” Archbishop Ruwa’ichi told the member of Ardorini Missionaries, and further appealed for vocations to Religious Life.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.