Catholic men encouraged to remain steadfast in faith

Blantyre, December 11, Mana: Father Superior for Saints Peter and Paul (Chilobwe) in Blantyre, Fr. Davison Salamba has challenged the Catholic Men Organisation (CMO) to remain steadfast in their faith amid a myriad of socio-economic challenges in life today.

Salamba was speaking on Saturday during an Advent Retreat/Recollection for the CMO at Chiolbwe Parish in the Blantyre Archdiocese.

The theme of the retreat was drawn from Revelations 3:20; ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.’

He said the current social and economic challenges may put one’s faith to the taste, noting that it is only through prayer and perseverance that one can navigate the tide in life

“We need to continue making efforts aimed at being identified by Jesus Christ because our Christianity is met with stiff competition due to our little faith,” Salamba said.

He added that the Advent season provides Christians with an opportunity to recollect on their spiritual life to stand ready and wealth at the coming of Christ Jesus during Christmas.

“Retreat or recollection can be likened to a war situation whereby soldiers pose for a while to examine how the fight is progressing; similarly, Christians need to find time to do introspection and renew their relationship with God every now and then,” he added.

Salamba observed that the Christian journey is quite often tiresome and challenging; hence, the need for the faithful to detach from any noise to discern the voice of God through prayer.

Quoting Luke 5:1-7, Salamba said just like Simon Peter and the other disciples, men sometimes also give up in life and feel frustrated when they cannot make it in life and meet certain obligations as a result of various economic hiccups.

“Statistics show that all the suicide cases being reported about men and young men as due to frustrations in life. However, when everything seems to be not working out Jesus calls on us in Mark 6: 45-61 that we should not be afraid because it is him who stands by us in times of need,” he added.

Salamba, therefore, encouraged the CMO to find time within their busy schedules to pray, saying a prayer has the potential of moving mountains, adding: “God respects us when we work but loves us when we pray; in fact, prayer is more powerful than a gun. We ought to pray to grow in our faith.”

In his remarks, Chilobwe Parish Council Chairperson, Harris Kachale thanked Fr. Salamba for conducting the retreat, noting that it would go a long way in taking on board the CMO as an active group in evangelisation.

“This is a very rare opportunity. In most occasions such retreats are conducted in large groups without necessarily segregating the faithful according to gender,” he said.

Kachale said the recollection was an important activity for the parish especially coming at a time of Advent when Christians particularly Catholics are awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ as Christmas.

Innocent Namwiri. Vice Chairperson of CMO at St. Agness Small Christian Community which is Chilobwe Parish, also commended the parish priest for holding the spiritual retreat and he encouraged men in the parish to be proactive and dedicate their time and resources towards the church.

Catholics are in the second week of Advent which started last week usually observed in most Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the second coming.