Elizabeth Mosima
8 July 2009
Today, many do not see the priesthood as sacred but as a means of getting a job and living a better life.
The priesthood is the power and authority of God. It is a divine call from God to serve in his house. Priests are called to be forthright messengers of hope, strong community leaders and spiritual guides for both the lost and the faithful. Priests have the duty to tell Christ's story of hope. That story brings comfort to those who are weak and without a voice and encourages and activates those who have the power to make the world a better place. Once a person is called by God he gives up everything to be in service of the Lord.
Today, many do not see the priesthood as sacred but as a means of getting a job and living a better life. They believe while in the priesthood they are being catered for and they have no problems in life. However, such a conception is not right as far as the priesthood is concerned. Rev. Father Samuel Mbok Ewane, a Pallottine priest at Mvolye, Yaounde told Cameroon Tribune that the priesthood is a vocation and not a profession. "It is not a social promotion. We don't go to the priesthood because we want titles or fame. It is giving one's life to God and the joy of a priest is work well done," he said. According to him the number of priests is not enough even though there are many seminarians. He quoted the passage in the Bible in the book of Luke 10:2 when Jesus said to his disciples that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. "We need many more priests to work in the vineyard of the Lord," he said. He used the opportunity to call on Christians to pray so that God himself will send workers to work in his vineyard. The man of God said it is God who calls priests as servants in his house. "The person who accepts the call of God should be like a servant," he said. To this he made allusion to the Last Supper when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as narrated in the book of John 13:4-5 in the bible. He said the person who responds to the call of God runs for it because he has the privilege that God has chosen him among the lot. "He runs to answer the call of God and to show the way to salvation for others to follow," he said.
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