There were jubilations and celebrations at Zomba Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church on Saturday when the church ordained 12 Seminarians into deacons.
During the ordination ceremony, Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese urged the 12 deacons to submit their lives to God through prayers and an obedient life.
“There is no success among priests across the world in the absence of obedience and a prayerful life,” he said.
Bishop Mtumbuka advised them to live exemplary in order to attract other youth to the ministry of the Lord.
“I encourage the deacons to be exemplary and refrain from bad behaviour which can dent the image of the Church. Avoid misuse of church resources for personal gains which is mostly influenced by parents and relatives,” the Bishop stated.
Mtumbuka asked the newly ordained deacons not to give excuses when serving God.
He openly challenged the 12 to voluntarily surrender before becoming full priest if they thought they were not up to the task saying what they were to become was a challenging and demanding ministry.
The Catholic Bishop took time to warn parents and relatives of the deacons not to regard their children as investments.
“The Ministry is like a sacrifice to God, however other parents still think that when their sons join us, they will be depending on them financially,” he explained.
On a lighter note Bishop Mtumbuka expressed gratitude to the parents of newly ordained deacons for the support they rendered to their children and the church throughout the years and urged them to continue doing so.
One of the deacons, Gift Phiri of the Order of Fliers Minor (O.F.M) Capuchin, said that he was ready to preach the gospel anywhere within and outside the country since there were few priests.
He urged the youth to follow their calling as commanded in the Holy bible.
The ordination of the deacons was presided over by Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese and Archbishop of Lilongwe Archdiocese Tarcisius Ziyaye.
The 12 ordained deacons come from different dioceses of Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe, Karonga, Chikwawa and Dedza and have underwent intensive priestly training in both Philosophy and Theology and are almost one step to be ordained as full priests of the Catholic Church.
