Despite all the violence, the Church continues to grow in Africa. The diocese of Maroua-Mokolo in Cameroon welcomes two new priests.
Foto: Vatican News
Newsroom (19/07/2023 20:00, Gaudium Press) The diocese of Maroua-Mokolo, in the Far North region of Cameroon, continues to celebrate. Following the inauguration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption on July 8, two deacons, one a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate and the other a diocesan priest, were ordained priests by Bishop Bruno Ateba of Maroua-Mokolo.
In his homily, Bishop Bruno Ateba recommended that priests, deacons and consecrated persons have no other mission than that of Christ, in a context marked by poverty and despair. “To proclaim the Good News, to announce God’s love and forgiveness, to heal broken hearts, to tell everyone that they are known and loved by God and that no one feels lost or excluded”, this is the mission of a priest by following the example of Christ.
He emphasized that it is about proclaiming the Good News not only with words, but also in deeds, “of kindness and closeness.”
“A priest does not become a priest on his own,” Bishop Ateba said, “it is the Lord who calls you. And after long years of preparation and discernment, you give Him your answer,” he added. The priesthood must be lived in a spirit of service: “Be close to people; welcome them wholeheartedly; share their joys and hopes, but also their sorrows and anxieties. Be close to those who come knocking at your door, to those who are in need”.
Bishop Bruno Ateba also encouraged the two priests to be humble: “By becoming too attached to the functions and services we provide, we run the risk of taking the place of God and hiding Him”. He also advised them to “always remain close to the Lord, for without him you can do nothing”. Following the example of Jesus, who “always sought a secluded place to pray,” the Cameroonian bishop invited them to give priority to prayer in their lives.
Bishop Ateba urged the new priests to be faithful to the two realities: consecrated celibacy and obedience. Celibacy makes God their only inheritance and the only trace they leave in the world. Through this choice, they give “witness not only with words, but also with that specific way of life of celibacy which was chosen by Jesus himself.”
For the Bishop of Maroua-Mokolo, obedience, the second “special mark” of consecrated persons, is the concrete translation of their self-giving to Christ and the Church. He emphasized that obedience is “a sign of detachment from oneself (…) in the manner of Jesus, who referred everything to the Father”. The bishop concluded his homily by recalling that “the obedience of the priest, the deacon, the religious is always a child-like obedience”.
With information from Vatican News.
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Compiled by Florence MacDonald
