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Our Christian and missionary efforts is to hand down the Gospel of Christ, its saving message, for which like Paul we should be able to become “all things to all men and women” (1 Cor 9:22). It is our calling to take everywhere the message of the God who came in Christ to redeem those of every society primarily on the basis of their faith relationship. This faith relationship is to be worked out within the primary form of life meaningful to a people, namely their culture. Today the battle is for faith in the Gospel in a culture which is fast changing and is influenced by the ever penetrating currents of materialism, consumerism, and relativism in matters of faith.
Having had the privilege to come to know in limited ways the movement of the Spirit in the hearts of God’s faithful children, I can with conviction say that the Holy Spirit, the true protagonist of the mission of Christ today in the Church and the world, is raising a new generation of African Christians who will be truly Christians and truly Africans. God never lets down His people. He is ever-faithful to His word. I state this with conviction because I meet regularly many committed and genuine African Christians every where – in the confessionals, in the work places, in the professional world. They are proud of their culture, but they value more than anything else the gift of the Gospel in their lives. That gives me great optimism and joy.
“Woe to me if I do not preach Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 9: 16-17). Could these words of Saint Paul reverberates in your heart too, leading to a serious commitment to your Christian formation and apostolic life? Could you give your self to grow in the knowledge and love of Christ and spread that in the hearts of your brothers and sisters? Could you contribute your God-given financial, material and other gifts to make grow this “mustard seed” for the glory of God?
Invoking God’s blessings on you,
I remain,
Fr. George Kocholickal, sdb
Spiritual Director – Philothea Missionaries
[Fr. George Kocholickal is a Catholic Priest and a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Fr. George has a Doctorate Degree in Dogmatic Theology from the Salesian Pontifical University (Rome) and has taught theology for many years in Nairobi. Currently he is the Director and Parish Priest at the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians. He founded the Philothea Missionary Society together with Florence Kabala , who is a consecrated Philothea Lay Missionary, from 2004]
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