SUNDAY CHRISTIAN?

By Rev. Deacon Samuel Nyonje 

Dear friends, have you wondered how this pandemic has caused the modern Church? Citing today's (25th July 2020) Saturday Standard paper on the columnist page 16, Arch- bishop Anthony Muheria- the Arch-bishop of the Catholic Arch-diocese of Nyeri and the interfaith chair. The Arch-bishop calls for the need of modern Church to use modern technology in evangelization during this difficult times caused by covid-19. 

Taking for instance the ages locked from attending Sunday's liturgy <13 & > 58 years. These are the most devout Christians and faithful, I don't mean others aren't devote. However all ministers should think of Sunday's Liturgy outside Sunday. The senior and junior Christians should be shepherd as well lest we lose them during and after this fight.

Look at the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, In the Gospel according to St. Mark 8:1-34, presents Jesus's ministry outside Sabbath, how he healed and tender to the needs of crowds. Even after he's locked / chased the synagogue, he used alternative means of proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

Citing examples, the healing f Centurions servant (Mark 8:5-13), healing of Simon's mother-in-law ( Mark 8:14-17), healing of demonic man ( Mark 8:28-34. This is encouraging, live ministry outside Sabbath, outside the synagogue. 

Much interesting, we shouldn't worry where we will get vocations to both religious and priestly life. Vocation promoters as well should not tire during this pandemic. Jesus called Matthew outside synagogue ( Mark 9:9-13).

But there should be an intense thought on Sunday's Christians, this might be dangerous for the future Church. It's been reported how lives are lost, especially to our young youths. How young families are in turmoil, how catechumens are lost into the world. The apostolate today should be extended outside Sunday liturgy, not only for Church needs but to sustain the Kingdom of God lest we lose many to the evil one.

"Let's look for new methods of reaching the elderly and those hombound due to sickness. Let us technology innovatively ..." ( Arch-bishop Muheria - Saturday standard paper July 25th 2020). To bring this to actuality, our Christians too should embrace the Church during and after this pandemic.

Like Peter, James and John, to whom we honor today St. James, their presence at Mt. Olives and Tabor was a consolation and strength to Christ our Lord. Like Mary Magdaline, Mary wife of Cleophas, Mary Mother of God at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, the Church is at the Cross today. Though Many have used this pandemic as an excuse to exit the Church ( Mathw 13:20-21), all people of Good will should remember their identity as Christians.

Similarly, it's a time too that the Church should reach out and feed the hungry flock, ...you give them something to eat ( Mathew 14:16), console the depressed flock, heal the sick flock. These the Father gave us and none of them should be lost, but our prayer that all may be ONE. Like Jesus's prayer, the Church of Christ should imitate this too and make it her daily prayer, "...I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled..."

Thanks all and God bless you abundantly.

Rev. Deacon. Samuel Muhanji Nyonje 

+254708607911

Samuel.nyonje@yahoo.com

nyonjes146@gmail.com

THE SAINTS AND CROSS

The Saints and the Cross

 

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, having lived close to the time of Jesus` earthly life, on his way to martyrdom, gives a literal interpretation to the words take up your cross, and writes to the Romans: “Beg only that I may be a Christian not merely in name but in fact…I shall be really a disciple of Jesus Christ if and when the world can hardly any longer recognize my body…I am now beginning to be a disciple: may nothing visible or invisible prevent me from reaching Jesus Christ. Fire and Cross and battling with wild beasts, their clawing and tearing, the breaking of bones and mangling of members, the grinding of my whole body, the wicked torments of the devil-let all assail me, so long as a I get to Jesus Christ…Believe what I am writing to you now. For alive as I am at this moment of writing, my longing is for death. Desire within me has been nailed to the Cross and no flame of material longing is left. Only the living water speaks within me saying: ‘Hasten to the Father.’”

The saints, who are fulfilled Christians, understood the secret, the value of the Cross. This is echoed by St. Grignion de Montfort when he assert, “While awaiting the great day of his triumph at the last judgment, wisdom wishes the cross to be the distinctive sign and armour of all the elect…in fact, he does not welcome any child without the Cross as their distinctive sign, nor does he accept disciples that are not wearing it on their foreheads without blushing, on their hearts without aversion, and on their shoulders without refusing it or just dragging it along…”

He accepts no soldier if he does not take up the cross as his weapon of defence and attack, to rout and flatten every enemy. To them he cries out: ‘Be courageous! I have conquered the world.’ ( John 16:33)…I your leader have overcome my enemies with the Cross, and you will too, by means of this sign!’ This is exactly what Emperor Constantine saw on the sky with the inscription, ‘ by this sign you shall conquer’.

If and only if our generation identifies itself with the Most Holy Cross of Jesus Christ, shall we conquer the evils in our time. 

Wishing you victory by this sign of our salvation.

By Rev. Deacon. Samuel Muhanji Nyonje

samuel.nyonje@yahoo.com

nyonjes146@gmail.com

samnyonje.blogspot.com

+254708607911

JOHN THE BAPTIST

THE BIRTH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

Have you ever wondered why the Church celebrates the birth of this noble servant? John the Baptist is part of an elite company (with Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary) whom the Church honors the births of in Her liturgical calendar. Typically, a feast day commemorates the entire life, work, and death of a saint (the Church celebrates the death of John the Baptist on August 29th). While in those feasts we honor the work that God has accomplished through a specific saint, celebrating a birth is somewhat different. We celebrate the gift that they are to the world before they have even taken their first breath outside the womb. We honor the power and providence of God, working through other individuals, which brought about such a figure in our world.

As a whole, celebrating birthdays is rather an odd idea. After all, no one has ever had any say in the matter of his own birth. It is a celebration of an unmerited event. We honor people simply for their continued existence. Furthermore, celebrating the birthday of someone who has died is a far stranger thing altogether. In the Church, “birthday parties” occur only when something decidedly different occurred in history. For the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we honor the first person to be born without the stain of original sin. At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our incarnate Lord and the salvation He came to bring. However, the birth of John the Baptist does not seem to be as directly significant.

Why is it then that we celebrate it as a solemnity, the Church’s highest category of feast day? I can think of three reasons that his birth is so significant for the life of the Church: the closing of the prophetic age, the miraculous nature of his birth, and his work of baptizing and calling to repentance. In these three ways, we honor a saint who neither chose to be born nor was conceived by supernatural means. His birth is a reminder of the great gift of all of our births and the life we have received.

First, John the Baptist is the last and greatest prophet to be born. It was Christ himself who marked that there was none greater born of woman than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28). He was the last man born who prophesied about the coming of the Messiah and the need for repentance. For centuries, God had prepared the world through the Israelites for mankind’s salvation. John is the last in line of these great men and women who sought to turn hearts back to the Lord. In honoring the birth of John the Baptist, we honor the work that God accomplished through all of his prophets until the birth of the Messiah.

Second, his birth was in some sense miraculous. An angel had appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of one who would be great in the sight of the Lord. Despite the age and barrenness of Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, a child would be born in order to help bring back many of the Israelites to the Lord God. However, unlike the birth of his cousin 6 months later, it seems that John was conceived by natural means. The miracle of his birth is in the Lord taking away Elizabeth’s barrenness and in the message of the angel to Zechariah. Yet, like us, John had no say in the matter. However, his birth is still a gift. Today, we honor the great power and plan of God in bringing about the birth of John.

Finally, the work of John the Baptist is indelibly linked with the greater idea of birth. He had called the Israelites to repentance and had baptized many, albeit in a way different than the Christian sacrament. His baptism prepared the world for the coming baptism and rebirth that Christ brought. In our own baptism, we are reborn into Christ. John prepared the world for this in his own work. While he himself could not bring about rebirth into Christ, in God’s plan one would come after him whom he was unfit to loosen his sandal. The fulfilment of John’s message was outside of his power, but points to our own rebirth.

In conclusion, it seems most fitting to celebrate the birth of such a man. In doing so, we honor the continued guidance of the Israelite people through the prophets, the miracle of John’s birth, and the new birth that he called the Israelites to embrace. While John the Baptist did not plan his birth or plan the work he would undertake, we can still honor the providence that ordained these things to be accomplished through him. In doing so, we are directed to honor God’s providence in the world and the person of Jesus Christ whom John the Baptist came to announce.

Prepared by Rev.Deacon. Samuel Nyonje 8th July 2020. 

0708607911 / nyonjes146@gmail.com

KOMUNYO YA KIROHO

Sala ya komunyo ya kiroho

Yesu wangu, ninasadiki kuwa umo kwelikatika sakramenti tukufu. Ninakupendazaidi ya vitu vyote na ninakutamanikatika roho yangu. Kwa kuwa sasasiwezi kukupokea katika sakramenti, uje ndani ya moyo wangu walau kiroho, ingawa tayari umekwisha kuja kwangu.Ninakukumbatia wewe na uungane nami kabisa, kamwe  usiniruhusu mimi nitengane nawe, amina. 

Mt. MIKAELI MALAIKA MKUU

Sala ya Mtakatifu MIKAELI Dhidi ya Shetani na Hatari

 

Ee Mt. Mikaeli, Malaika Mkuu, utukinge miili yetu pamoja na roho zetu kutokana na maovu ya adui shetani, kundi lake lote na yeyote atakaye tusogelea na nia ya kutaka kutudhuru. Utukinge, na miili yetu, vyombo vya kusafiri, wakatitunaposafiri sehemu mbalimbali katika shughuli za kilasiku.Ukinge miili yetu, nyumba zetu, mali yetu, na vyombovyetu vyote hasa wakati wa kimbunga kikali, hatari za umemeza radi, upepo mkali, mvua kuu, na mafuriko ya maji. Zaidi yayote, tuko he dhidi ya ndoto chafu na muovu anayetakakuharibu nyoyo zetu. Wewe uliyemshinda Shetani, nipiganienami nimshinde yule muovu. Amina

 

NOVENA KWA MTAKATIFU MIKAELI MALAIKA MKUU

 

Kwa jina la Baba, na la Mwana, na la Roho Mtakatifu...

Atukuzwe Baba na Mwana, na Roho Mtakatifu...

Ee Mtakatifu Mikaeli, Malaika Mkuu, Mshindi na mwaminifukwa Mungu na watu wa Mungu, Ninakuja mbele zako namatumaini makubwa nikiomba msaada wako wa haraka. Kwaajili ya upendo wa Mungu Baba ambaye amekujalia neema yanguvu zisizo na kifani, na kwa upendo wa Mama wa Yesu, Malkia wa Malaika wote, usiyakatae maombi yangu. Kwakuwa wajua jinsi moyo wangu ulivyo na thamani machoni pa Mungu Baba, nakuomba unilinde ili hata chembechembe zadhambi na uchafu za yule mwovu zisije zikaharibu umbo nzuri wa moyo wangu. Uniepushe daima na majaribu navishawishi vya shetani na mapepo wabaya. Ee Mt. Mikaeli, utiifu wako wa dhati kwa Mungu na Mama Kanisa takatifu, na upendo wako kwa Mungu na Kwetu ni wakutamanisha nawapaswa kuigwa. Kwa kuwa ndiwe mjumbe mkuu wa Munguunayetunza na kulinda watu wake, ninakuomba...

 

taja Ombi lako kwa Kimya kidogo

Ee Makatifu Mikaeli, kwa kuwa ndiwe muombezi na mtetezimkuu wa wakristu, Ninaamini kuwa kulingana na mapenzi yaMungu, Ombi langu litajibiwa.

 

Ninawaombea pia wapendwa wangu wote, utukinge kutokanana Hatari zote za mwili na Roho. Tusaidie na mahitaji yetu yakila siku, ili tuishi pia maisha matakatifu kupitia kwamaombezi yako ya ajabu, na mwisho tupate pumziko la furahambinguni, pamoja tumsifu na kumpenda Mungu wetu daimana milele Amina.

 

Kwa kutoa shukrani kwa Mungu kwa neema alizomjalia Mt. Mikaeli Sema: 

Baba Yetu ...1

Salamu Maria ...1

Atukuzwe Baba...1

 

LITANIA YA MTAKATIFU MIKAELI MALAIKA MKUU

 

Bwana utuhurumie- Bwana Utuhurumie

Kristo Utuhurumie, 

 Bwana utuhurumie,

 Kristo Utusikie,

 Baba wa mbinguni Mungu, utuhurumie Mwana mkomboziwa dunia Mungu -

Roho mtakatifu Mungu Mmoja -

Utatu Mtakatifu Mungu Mmoja -

Maria Mtakatifu - Utuombee

Malkia wa Malaika -Mtakatifu Mikaeli malaika Mkuu-

Msimamizi na mtetezi Mkuu wa imani na Dini takatifu-

Unaesimama upande wa kulia wa altari na ubani- Balozimkuu wa Paradiso- Mkuu wa majeshi ya Mbinguni-

Kiongozi wa Malaika wateule-

Ameri jeshi mkuu wa majeshi ya Mungu-

Mlinzi wa Neema takatifu, Mtetezi wa kwanza wa Ufalme waKristu-

Mwenye nguvu za kipekee za Mungu-

Jeshi mteule asiyeweza kuonekana kwa macho yakibinadamu-

 Malaika wa Amani- Muongozo wa Kristu- Mlinzi wa ImaniKatoliki-Mshindi wa watu wa Mungu-

Malaika Mlinzi wa Ekaresti Takatifu-

Mtetezi wa Kanisa-

Mlinzi wa wadhifa wa Baba Mtakatifu-

 Malaika wa amri za Kanisa katoliki-

Mwombezi wa wakristu- Mlinzi wa wote wanaomtumainiaMungu- Mlinzi wa Mwili na Nyoyo zetu-

Mponyaji wa wagonjwa- Mfariji wa wenye uchungu-

Mfariji wa Nyoyo zilizoko toharani-

Mhifadhi wa nyoyo zenye usafi-

Tisho dhidi ya mapepo wabaya-

Mshindi wa vita dhidi ya Shetani-

Mlinzi na Msimamizi wa Kanisa takatifu ulimwenguni-

 

Mwana Kondoo wa Mungu uondoae dhambi za Dunia- Utuopoe Ee Bwana Mwana Kondoo wa Mungu UondoaeDhambi za Dunia-Utusikilize Ee Bwana.

 Mwana Kondoo wa Mungu Uondoae dhambi za Dunia, Utuhurumie.

 

K. Utuombee Ee Mtukufu, Mt Mikaeli Mkuu wa Kanisa la Yesu Kristu;

 

W. Ili tustahili ahadi za Kristu.

 

 

Tuombe 

 

Ee Mungu Mwenyezi na wa Milele, Kwa wema na huruma yako ya ajabu umetaka watu wote waokoke, ukamweka Malaika Mikaeli kuwa Mkuu wa Kanisa Lako. Utukinge na adui zetu, wasitusumbue saa ya kufa kwetu, bali tuongozwe naye kwenye utukufu wako Mkuu. Tunaomba kwa njia ya Kristu Bwana wetu. Amina

 

samnyonje.blogspot.com

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