By Arnold Namanja

Blantyre, December 9, Mana: Catholic Men Association under Saints Peter and Paul (Chilobwe) Parish in Blantyre Archdiocese have been encouraged to be persistent in prayer because prayer has the power to break the bondage of sin.

Fr. Christopher Nakhate gave the encouragement over the weekend when he facilitated a retreat for the Catholic Men Association at Chilobwe Parish as part of activities for the Advent Season.

Nakhate, who is Father Superior for St. Martin Parish in Chirimba, said men are supposed to draw lessons from Joseph, husband of Mother Mary who persevered amidst the dilemma when Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit.

He said prayer has proved to be a very strong weapon capable of overcoming evil as well challenges facing human beings including social and economic problems.

“Prayer is transformative; we should also remember to pray for others in different circumstances. Catholic men should be evangelists, taking people closer to God,” he said.

Nakhate said prayer is necessary to help Christians break away from the slavery of addiction, infidelity, gender based abuse and demonic influences.

“We should harbor the same question in our mind like the disciples had; do we need the savior today – do we need the Messiah. Christ should come in our life and speak to us in order to make meaning of our Christian journey,” Nakhate emphasized.

He said Advent which has been there before the birth of Christ is different from Lent because Advent is a joyous preparation for the coming of Christ the King at Christmas.

“Unlike during the Lenten season which is sorrowful preparation for the persecution, death and resurrection of Christ, Advent is a joyful period,” Nakhate pointed out.

Parish Priest for Chilobwe, Fr. Moffat Simon thanked Fr. Nakhate for accepting the request to moderate the retreat albeit on short notice, saying such spiritual recollections are necessary to make Advent meaningful.

Simon said retreats are equally crucial to priests because as they moderate they also gain important insights from the interaction with the laity thereby deepening their knowledge and spiritual needs of their flock.

Vice Chairperson for Chilobwe Parish Catholic Men Organization, Innocent Namwili, commended the parish pastoral team for considering men for the retreat during Advent.

“I would like to particularly thank Catholic Men Association for sparing your time to attend the retreat. We are usually engrossed with so many challenges ranging from financial to social and, therefore, we all need to be closer to Christ as our redeemer,” Namwili said.

The retreat was conducted based on the scripture from Mathew 3: 1 – 17 with the theme: ‘Jesus came to seek and save the lost.’

Meanwhile, Catholics are in the second week of Advent which is a Christian season of preparation and reflection that takes place in the four Sundays and weekdays leading to Christmas.