The Kenyan Bishop who has been at the helm of Ngong Diocese since his Episcopal ordination in April 2012 reflected on the words of St. Gregory of Nazianzen, one of the early Fathers of the Church and urged the people of God under his pastoral care to pray for him.
He also asked the people of God to pray for Priest to be holy so that they can make others holy.
“Even as I thank God, I feel challenged and my heart is in tribulation and fear as I listen to the words of St. Gregory of Nazianzen, first be purified and then purify others, first allow yourself to be instructed by wisdom and then instruct others, first become light and then enlighten others, first draw close to God and then guide others to him, first be holy and then make others holy,” Bishop Oballa said.
The 63-year-old Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Ngong said that prayers from others will strengthen him and his collaborators to uphold their duties without backsliding.
“What an invite, what a challenge,” Bishop Oballa said in reference to the words of St. Gregory, and added, “I ask you to pray for me to be holy so that I can make others holy. Pray for me, pray for your Priests that we may be faithful servants of God.”
Addressing the faithful who participated in his 10th anniversary event, the Kenyan Bishop said, “I assure you that you are always in my prayers that we may walk together to the home everlasting when the time comes.”
Bishop Oballa listed evangelization, charity and true worship as three pillars that have given him fulfillment during the 10 years he has served as the Bishop of the Kenyan Diocese. He thanked members of the Clergy, women and men Religious, and the Laity for holding the three pillars.
“At this juncture as we celebrate 10 years of being a shepherd, I cannot help but thank most sincerely our closest collaborators, the Priests for your commitment to see that those three areas are addressed in parishes, in small Christian Communities, reaching out to those who otherwise would have been left in the margins of life,” he said.
The Kenyan Bishop added, in his address to Priests, “I really thank you from the bottom of my heart for being close to the people of God because these are our employers and we are their servants.”
Speaking at the same occasion, the Local Ordinary of Kenya’s Eldoret Diocese, Bishop Dominic Kimengich lauded Bishop Oballa and all those under his pastoral care for the progress in Ngong Diocese.
