REFLECTIONS OF A KENYAN PRIEST

By Fr. Casmir Odundo New Abbot: Rt. Rev. Fr. John Baptist History was made in Kenya today when Rt. Rev. Fr. John Baptist Oese Imai was finally blessed as an abbot. He becomes the first Benedictine Abbot in Kenya. History has it that some years past, we had an abbot in Kipkelion Monastery in Kericho who belonged to the Cistercian order.  His elevation is a consequence of the fact that the Conventual Priory of Prince of Peace, Tigoni Kenya of the Benedictine Missionaries of St. Ottillien was in the month of September elevated to an abbey-the full form of a Benedictine monastery.   The   Benedictine Missionaries were invited to Kenya in 1972 by three Bishops, Servant of God Maurice Micheal Cardinal Otunga then, Archbishop of Nairobi, the Late Bishops Emilio Njeru and John Njenga of Eldoret.  In Nairobi they are basically in Tigoni and Ruaraka, in Nyeri they are in Nanyuki where they run the Bible on the Ground animation and retreat centre and finally in Eldoret the...

By Fr. Casmir Odundo   " The one who has not used the tool, does not know its depth." Remarked Archbishop Emeritus Peter Joseph Kairo as he thanked God for granting him 50 solid years of priestly ministry. The Archbishop Emeritus said this while delivering his homily on the occasion of the ordination of  4 priests and 7 deacons for the Archdiocese of Nyeri and also to celebrate his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood. " There is no life without challenges, even priesthood has its own fair share of challenges ,"continued the Archbishop. He encouraged the 11 men who were to be ordained as deacons and priests  to always follow the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He cautioned the young men not to aspire for the priesthood because of  money or riches. " The Priesthood , " he said, " is a vocation and a life of sacrifice." He thus encouraged the young men, soon to be ordai...

By Fr. Casmir Odundo Yesterday we celebrated the Memoria of St. Barnabas, as apostle and one of the greatest collaborators in the Pauline Ministry. A lot has been said and written about this great man. However, today I would like to reflect on an aspect about him that is often overlooked. The fact that he was a collaborator of St. Paul. Though he calls himself the least of the apostles (1 Cor 15: 9) we know that in certain terms, St. Paul was one of the greatest. His greatness is of course first and foremost the work of the grace of God. For we all know that apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15: 5). Secondly we can account for the greatness of St. Paul from his apostolic zeal for souls. However, his success was also mainly influenced by the fact that he had many collaborators and the Pauline Ministry was largely a collaborative ministry. Pope Benedict XVI summarized it beautifully, “ St. Paul is an eloquent example of a man open to collaboration: he did not want t...

By Fr Casmir Odundo One of the remarkable moments of the Pontificate of Benedict XVI was when he visited Auschwitz, the place of the massive holocaust of the Jews by the Germans. It was difficult for the German Pope to express himself. " To speak in this place of horror, in this place where unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man, is almost impossible - and it is particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a pope from Germany ," the then 79-year-old pontiff said. He went on to utter a spontaneous prayer to God " In a place like this, words fail; in the end, there can be only a dread silence, a silence which itself is a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent? " It is this same silence of God amid the Covid-19 pandemic that has prompted me to write this reflection.   Why Lord, do you remain Silent? It is now over six months since the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China reported the first case of ...

By Fr. Casmir Odundo Believe it or not, for most people today including many Christians, The word "crucifixion" means little today other than to turn our thoughts to Jesus.   This is perhaps because we Christians have grown too familiar with the cross of Jesus, with the crucifix that we've sanitized it, tamed it, domesticated it,   probably because we have become overly familiar with it as we wear it on our bodies round our necks, on our clothes as jewellery, have it as an ornament, part of the furniture in our homes. Perhaps we've blunted and dulled the force of the crucifix. This Friday, being a Good Friday, when we venerate the cross in all our Churches, we have an opportunity to meditate and reflect deeply on it. We need to look at it again to grasp all its sordid horror and butchery. See it for what it really was. A disgrace and shame it was. it is only then, that we can appreciate what it is and it means for our Christian lives. Etymology T...

Dear Francis,* It feels nice to no longer call you a deacon, i.e. a servant, but a friend, a brother priest and a co-worker in the vineyard of the Lord. (Cf. John 15:15). I hope you will forgive me for missing your priestly ordination. But as I told you, I was with you in spirit and I placed you on the Paten that day during Holy Mass. I thank God for calling you into His service. I know that you will realize as you celebrate Mass during the Easter Vigil that indeed, the Lord has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. (I Pet 2:9). Thanks to you too for responding to God’s Call. It is a sign as Pope Francis wrote in his Letter to Priests last year , “ that in a society and culture that glorifies the ephemeral, there are still people unafraid to make lifelong promises.” “ Priesthood, ” as St. Josemaria Escriva always insisted, “is the greatest thing.” Please try your best with the grace of God to guard it jealously and zealously. Thank you for yo...