“A Priest will achieve his salvation by being faithful and righteous in carrying out the work to which God has sent him. Goodness and faithfulness are what will bring us [Priests] into the joy of heaven,” the Bishop said in the Sunday, August 10 Homily at the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Geita.
“Therefore dear ones I plead with you to pray for your Priests; they are your children, they are human, not Angels, but they have been chosen for the divine work,” said the Tanzanian Catholic Bishop, who began his Episcopal Ministry in March 2010 as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam.
“This calling has great demands which we cannot fulfill by human strength alone,” he noted, and emphasized that Priesthood comes with many challenges, “and some of them can discourage us, therefore, pray for your Priests not to lose heart due to the difficulties in their ministry.”
Bishop Nzingilwa acknowledged the immense spiritual guidance and nourishment that Bishop Eusebius Alfred Kassala has provided to the people of God in Tanzania and beyond.
He said, “Dear Bishop Kassala in your 25 years of Priesthood, you have celebrated this mystery of the Eucharist and fed people with this bread from heaven for the life and salvation of their souls. You have also provided spiritual guidance and teachings of faith to lead people on the path that is pleasing to God. You have celebrated all seven Sacraments, I pray for abundant grace and blessings for you; may God continue to bless you in your priestly ministry.”
Reflecting on the day’s first reading which was taken from 1st Kings 19: 4-8, the 58-year-old Prelate reminded Priests that similar challenges to those Prophet Elijah faced are still alive today and called on them to draw encouragement from the Prophet.
“Dear Priests, even when you encounter difficulties in your Priesthood, know that God is very close to you. Even in our times, these things still happen. Prophet Elijah performed his ministry with great courage and diligence in revealing and proclaiming the true God, but as a result, he was sought after to be killed,” said the Bishop of Tanzania’s Geita Diocese.
He said, “If you ever feel like you want to die, call upon Prophet Elijah to pray for you. He went through such stages. After doing good, people did not understand him, he made great sacrifices, yet he was still hunted.”
The Bishop who was appointed to the Catholic Diocese of Mpanda on 13 May 2020, further advised Priests to create ‘peaceful environments’ for meeting with God, and that just as the angel gave Prophet Elijah the bread that enabled him to travel for forty days to meet God, to always remain close to “Jesus Christ who identifies Himself to us as the Bread of life."
“Let us receive Christ, the bread of life, and we, the Priests, will be assured of traveling day and night in the journey of salvation until we meet the face of God,” he said.
