CATHOLIC MEN CHALLENGED TO RISE TO OCCASION
Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa says the church desires that Catholic Men in the country take charge of their families by protecting and setting good examples to children.
The metropolitan Archbishop of Blantyre said this at St. Paul’s Parish (Mwanza) in the archdiocese as the Catholic Men Association (CMA) celebrated Labour Day in honour of St. Joseph the worker, the patron saint for the association.
“…God created a man and a woman in his image and likeness and gave them the responsibility to multiply, subdue and care the earth….being in the image and likeness of God is not only a matter of being co-creators with him in terms of child bearing. It means taking care of the created universe including our children,” observed Archbishop Msusa.
He urged the faithful; men and women in the Church, to exercise responsible parenthood noting that many men have abandoned their role. “It’s a pity that many men in the Church have abandoned responsibility to teach and care for children. They have left this to women alone. This is something we must act on as Catholic men,” said the prelate in his homily.
The archbishop reminded Catholic men that when the child-Jesus took question from the elders in the temple, they were astonished and asked, ‘Is he not the carpenter’s son?’. “What kind of legacy are we associated with as Catholic men? Can people look at our children and say this is the child whose father is a hardworking farmer, good soldier, good Catholic? Or drunkard, a thief, his father abuses the wife?” he said advising “We must encourage each other to be good husbands modelling St. Joseph”.
Archbishop Msusa challenged Catholic men to love the dignity in work and be self-reliant “not wait to be employed but find something that we can do to support and protect our families”.
Chairman of the Catholic Men Association at national level, Mr. Gibson Mkanda, asked Catholic men to love the church especially by giving special attention to the sacramental life that gives meaning to their faith. “Christian faith without sacraments is like being a fish out of the water, it cannot survive. Be active and visible at all levels in the church,” he said.
National Communications Secretary and chaplain for Family and Life Apostolate, Fr. Francis Damaseke, on behalf of Monsignor Henry Chinkanda, (who is the CMA national chaplain) disclosed that plans are underway at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) to develop a spirituality hand-book that will be a guide to associations in the local church.
He also reminded Catholics in Malawi that 2024 is elections year in the church and the need for the faithful to “elect leaders who can foster our faith and enhance a self-reliant and self-propagating church…do not elect people simply because they have been in the Church for long…or became of tribal or political affiliation,” he said.
The Catholic Men Association is a relatively new movement in the local Church. It was formed to help Catholic men have a common ground for enhancing spiritual life while simultaneously enhancing their moral, emotional and economic well-being.