By the Office of Communications
The youth of the Catholic parish of St. Magdalene of Canossa (Koche) in the diocese of Mangochi have been advised to listen to God as they try to respond to the call of God to serve Him in various ways. These youth were spoken to on 30th April, 2023 on the day of praying for Vocations in the Catholic church.
Speaking to the congregants who came to attend Mass on this day, Fr. Francis Kachere who led the Eucharistic Sacrifice at this parish said that by listening to the voice of God, we get the message which He has when calling us. “In fact, God calls us daily, but we don’t listen to Him because we are mostly found in a busy environment. As such, we have to withdraw from such a disturbed environment and be alone with God. This is done through discernment.”
He further said that every vocation can be sustained by life of prayer. He finally advised the youth to handle themselves carefully in the world of today, whereby there is a lot of interference due to much use of technology.
Mr. Chinumbi, the Moderator of St. Magdalene of Canossa (Koche) Catholic parish, advised the youth to like going to small Christian communities as one of the ways of developing life of prayer. He also advised them to find relevant people to help them understand the way of life which they may decide to follow in trying to respond to the call of God, just as Samuel in the Bible did.
The word Vocation comes from a Latin word Vocare which means “to call”. In the Catholic church, it refers to the call by God to salvation which comes to him or her after glorifying Him. Vocations Sunday which falls on the Fourth Sunday (also known as Good Sphered Sunday) of Easter, was established in 1964 by Pope Paul VI with an intention to set apart a day to pray for vocations in the Catholic church. It is a day in which the Catholic church prays for those called to priesthood, religious and family life. The church also takes an opportunity to promote vocations by explaining to the youth about the goodness of following these vocations and how they can reach their destiny.
At St. Magdalene of Canossa (Koche) Catholic parish, there were diocesan priests, a Montfortian brother, Servants of Blessed Virgin Mary (SBVM) sisters, Presentation sisters, a Teresan sister and a blessed couple who came to to this parish to promote vocations on this Sunday.
