Fr Sivuyile Wani: God is Still Calling Young Men to Priesthood
By Fr Sivuyile Wani – In the midst of the busy world, with all its advances, God is still calling young men to Priesthood. It is often sad when we see the world running very fast, technology developing, and people becoming too dependent on the things they create themselves.
It’s even sadder when we see material gain distracting us from a life that leads us to Him. We see the world being governed by all sorts of career positions, leading both young and old to not realise that God still needs to be given a chance to do His work, especially by those whom He calls.
The office of Vocations, in the Diocese of Queenstown, led by Fr SivuyileWani, gave an opportunity to the young boys and young men in the diocese to come and explore and listen to God’s call to consider the priesthood as a vocation.
Fr Sivuyile and the team, hosted the workshop in Ntaba Maria Convent, in the Glen Grey deanery, where a good number attended and participated in this exercise. They explored and learned a lot about the differences between a vocation and a career and how God called His people in the times of the Old and the New Testament.
In between the sessions, the participants had many questions with which they engaged the team and there was a spirit of excitement to see that the knowledge about this kind of life was given to them.
We would have done injustice if we had not dwelt on the sacrament of Priesthood, which was the whole purpose of the workshop. The vocations director gave a good presentation on what this vocation is all about. How does it start, and what a person who feels called should do when God comes and knocks on the door of his heart? He further explained all the necessary steps that are to be followed by those aspirants who feel called or drawn to discern their vocation to the priesthood. Questions arose from the participants and the team gladly gave clarity and a positive response.
The time for the team to share their vocation stories came, and those who did it, (Bros MG Nojekwa and VL Mtirara, together with Fr T Gubula) did it exceptionally well. They highlighted a lot of important aspects which most people overlook when it comes to vocations, that when God calls, no matter where you are, what you are doing, you will leave everything and follow Him. They also stressed the important factor of relying heavily in the providence of the Lord, and to trust in Him especially when you are called to sacrifice your life for the sake of the Gospel. These stories and the comments and questions from the participants gave a clear indication that God is still calling and that we need to emphasise the issue of being good examples to those who are looking at us (Priests and Religious) to say Yes to Jesus’ calling.
Time was also given to seminarians to share the programme they are following in their formation, and how they live as a community in the institution they are learning at. Fr Wani also went very briefly through the way that the SACBC formation works to accept aspirants who want to enrol themselves in the formation system. Some senior priests of the diocese also came and gave their support to this endeavour, and they encouraged the young lads to give God a chance to assist them as they discern their future.
We hope and pray that the spade work that was done by the Vocations team will yield some good fruit for the diocese. We also hope that the people of God, especially parents, will also encourage their children to consider choosing this way and allow God to journey with them as they may find challenges to choose the right way to serve God and His people. The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the labourers are few. Let us continue to pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send labourers to do His work.
Let us encourage our youth to dedicate themselves entirely to the Lord. Let us encourage them not to be discouraged when they feel that the Lord is calling them. In their hour of confusion, and uncertainty let us be there for them and help them to discern more carefully what the Lord is saying and to agree to the mission they are called to fulfil.
Fr SivuyileWani
- Pope Francis’ Message for World Day of the Sick - February 11, 2025
- May We Scatter the Ashes Of Loved Ones? - February 11, 2025
- Our Lady of Lourdes - February 11, 2025