Two clerics ordained deacons on the feast of St. Luigi Orione
On 16 May 2022 the feast of St. Luigi Orione was celebrated in Kenya in great style, with the ordination of two clerics to the diaconate.
Hundreds of faithful took part in the lively celebration: people from Kagwe parish, the home parish of Deacon Peter Karanja; the Filipino community, who came to attend the ordination of Antero Cisneros Mejos Jr.; and Christians from the Orionine parishes and friends.
In his homily the main celebrant, Mgr. David Kamau, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Nairobi and at that time Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru, spoke of the parents of the new deacons as greatly blessed. He expressed his joy, joined to that of our Founder St. Luigi Orione, who is very happy in heaven to see the charism he began being carried on.
Do not imagine you are starting from zero
He said the hope of the Church is in the hands of young ministers. On a lighter note, he reminded the newly ordained to look to the older ministers and to know that the Church has always been there — not to entertain the false idea of starting from scratch.
The bishop spoke of how God begins the call as a gift to a human person and a mission to be carried out. No one should be proud of this call, because it is never one’s own initiative but God’s. Every vocation is qualified by the response of the individual. He told an amusing story of a newly ordained priest who asked for holidays as soon as he had reported to his first assignment, and urged the new deacons to be enthusiastic about their ministry.
Towards the end, Fr. Anthony Njenga, Regional Superior, gave a vote of thanks to the Christians who had come in such numbers, and expressed his gratitude to the bishop, long a close friend of the Congregation in Kenya — this being his third visit to the community within one academic year.
To the newly ordained the Regional Superior said: do not be discouraged by the cross. Service is not a walk in the park; it has its ups and downs, and, as Don Orione encourages us, Christ is truly served on the cross. God bless the Orionine family in Kenya.
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