In a remarkable, special and memorable way, St. John The Evangelist Chapel-Erankau, hosted the celebration of the Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus which was attended by the Parishioners of Erankau and the members of the St. Daniel Comboni Missionaries. It was a joint celebration organized by the Comboni Missionaries of The Heart of Jesus. This event enabled all the priests, fathers, religious brothers, sisters and the members of the society to participate in a spiritual union and celebration of faith through their devotion to the Sacred Heart, which plays a vital role in the spirituality of the Comboni Missionaries.
The Eucharistic celebration was attended by the Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries in Kenya, Fr. Andrew Wanjohi. Fr. Malata, a Comboni missionary from Zambia, led the mass in the remarkable celebration. This celebration gifted the missionaries a special chance to once again reaffirm their faith and commitment to the work assigned to them by Jesus Christ, as envisioned by St. Daniel Comboni.
In his sermon, Fr. Malata emphasized on the importance of the celebration of Sacred Heart of Jesus since it greatly impacts and plays a key role in life and work of each Christian. He in specific pointed out that the wounded Heart of Jesus is the main symbol of the love of God towards mankind. He as well cited the biblical phrase “God is love,” to support the truth that the love of God was fully embodied in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
St. Daniel Comboni gave himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, finding inspiration in the infinite love of Jesus Christ. Father Malata as well recommended and pointed out that it’s important to follow this example of St. Daniel of giving his whole life to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Fr. Malata appealed to missionaries to conduct themselves well through introspection- turning inward to examine your heart, thoughts, motives and actions in lights of God- in order to strengthen their ministries. In this connection, he urged them to think about how many times they demonstrate genuine love to those whom they come across during their ministries. “How do we share the love of the Sacred Heart?” he said. “Will people remember us because of the love we have demonstrated, or because of bad experience?” He added. Such questions, according to him, should be a must for every missionary who wants to live in Christ’s love.
He encouraged the Christian to faithfully take the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ to their homes, to their families and community at large by showing compassion, forgiveness, and charity.
Fr. Andrew Wanjohi, Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries of Kenya, during his speech extended his gratitude to both the missionaries and faithful Christians for taking part in the occasion. He added that it was essential that the promise that was re-affirmed by the missionaries on the Feast Day of the Sacred Heart should always be relying on the love of Christ, continuing to inspire them even in their work.
Finally, the parish priest and the elders gave their vote of thanks to the Comboni Missionaries for working together with them and supporting the events of the celebration making the feast a remarkable one and making it even a special important feast day.
