A Priest is the messenger of God’s people

By Livinus Tal Bam

Priests of the Diocese of Kumbo have once more been exhorted to re-examine themselves so as to make themselves, the true messengers of God in the lives they lead. This call was made at the St. Theresa’s Cathedral parish in Kumbo recently at a concelebrated Chrism Mass which brought together all the priests of the Diocese to take part in the solemn rite of the consecration of Holy oils

Beginning his exhortation to the priests at this chrism mass, His Lordship Bishop George Nkuo felt quite uplifted for the first time to have all the priests of the Diocese around him and called for unity among them to form a one and strong presbyterium which will bear and share with the bishop, the pastoral responsibility and care of the Diocese. Thanking God for the gift of priesthood in the life of mankind and especially in the lives of the Christians of Kumbo diocese, he called on all the priests to always pray to God for perseverance in their priestly ministry.

Quoting examples of persevering priests in the diocese, the bishop greeted with great satisfaction, former Vicar General Emeritus of the Diocese of Kumbo; Rev Fr Peter Watson who will be celebrating 50 years in the service of the Lord as a priest in July this year, while thanking God for the energy and strength he has bestowed on him in the years gone by. He also congratulated the parish priest of the St. John the Baptist parish Elak; Rev Fr Hermann Guffler who has also persevered in the priestly ministry and will be celebrating 40 years as a priest in July 2007. Rev Fr Robert Tanto, the Parish Priest of Binju-Nkambe will be celebrating his silver jubilee on the 14th of April this year.

This and many more, the bishop thanked God for their lives as priests and jointly wished a happy anniversary to all the priests of the Diocese who will be celebrating their respective anniversaries with a great attention focused on the supreme love of Christ to them. Continuing his call to the priests, he reminded them on their position in the world. The priesthood he said is a ministry while the priests are the ministers. A ministry which is a service with servants, he cautioned them as the servants of the priestly ministry to stay loyal to Christ who is the one and eternal priest in their unceasing availability to the people of God while serving a link to join the people to God. He warned the priests to stay clear of all earthly pleasures and property while stating that although they are men in the world, they are not the men of this world.

Drawing inspiration from the scripture readings of the day taken from the books of Isaiah and Luke, the bishop called on the priests to continue in a courageous manner, the work of Christ which has been passed on to them. The priests then publicly renewed their priestly ordination vows at this mass and took home the consecrated oils to continue the work as servants of God to his people in their various parishes.