Goma, DRC – As we do always say that the patient man eats ripen fruits, so it is my great and big pleasure to borrow such a statement and implement it within the context and circumstances of life that I willingly and freely I have embraced.
I would like to share my feelings on the wonderful occasion of my final commitment to God in our dearest family of the Clerics Regular Minor. For sure it is not a result of my personal efforts or merits, but the effect of God’s unfathomable love and mercy poured forth on me through all that I have gained from my formators, family, friends and all those other people who assisted me in various ways throughout the eleven years of formation.
Personally, I may say that I really noticed a very huge difference and a very deep meaning between what I did on June 28, 2015, and what I performed in Goma, on June 21, 2020.
In fact, while recalling that Baptism is the door to the other sacraments within our Church, so we could also consider my temporary vows as the door towards a more rooted and profound religious life’s experience since there is not perpetual vows without the temporary ones. Moreover, the way I was in 2015 is no longer the same as I feel I am at this time, after five years. I have really under- gone a very huge and considerable transformation, whereby I do understand perpetual vows as the completion of what I vowed earlier. Also, perpetual vows are a very big opportunity which has been given to me to deepen my understanding of what it means to be a definite follower of Christ, in the light of the lifestyle left to us by our saint Founder as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. In addition to that, it looks like that professing may just be an exterior show, yet, it is not, because it requires a lot of seriousness through which the candidate makes proof of a certain maturity that needs to grow more and more.
This makes me think, first of all, to the eve of our commitment, whereby before fully committing ourselves as Caracciolini, our Constitutions and Rules require from us some important practical gestures, such as swearing with one hand put on the Holy Bible as a sign of a total belonging to our Religious Family; writing a will which contains the acknowledgment that anything that the candidate will acquire in his service should be for the total benefit of the Order. While performing such acts, I really felt some fear since they were not easy words, they need to be interiorized and concretized within my journey after perpetual vows.
As we recall, we know that this great event has taken place in a very difficult moment of the Covid19 pandemic, with all the challenges related to it; however, despite such a crisis, I would say that the most essential thing was to make my final commitment as willed by myself and my superiors.
Furthermore, as Holy Mass started around 10:30 am and ended up at 02:30 pm, with some few invited people to represent our families, I got very much impressed by some crucial and wise words that the Bishop, his Excellency Willy Ngumbi, addressed to us during the homily.
He reminded us of three dangerous attitudes that we, as religious people should avoid. These are: thinking that we are to follow Christ as slaves; that we are superior to the rest of the People of God and, lastly, that everything that we are supposed to do, ought to be guided by the Laws which we have made for ourselves.
After congratulating our religious Family for its charism and the noble ritual act of washing the feet on the example of Jesus our humble Master, the next and very striking word that he said was to emphasize more on the big significance of what it means to be a Caracciolino for life. He urged us to remember that we are expected to be true witnesses of God’s Love and Mercy towards humanity, especially towards the less fortunate, the marginalized, in short, the little ones. He also invited us to be true witnesses of Christ through the daily practice of adoration of the Holy Eucharist. Therefore, as a perpetual professed member, I considered that the Bishop invited me to cultivate within me a deeper spirit of prayerful life, sensibility, compassion, availability and humility. That is why, as I went to receive the towel from the hands of our Delegate Superior, I recalled the very same words of his Excellency as merging with those contained in our rituals, that, through the washing of feet, I am expected to desire to serve instead of being served. This, surely, is not an easy task if not sup- ported by God’s grace and an intense prayer and meditation over God’s Word. In fact, as human beings, we have always the desire to be served than serving, especially the little ones as Jesus did.
At last, I thank God and ask Him to strengthen me more and more, to be able to act according to his will, despite any challenge of life and my shortcomings. May our Blessed Mother, together with our main Founder san Francis Caracciolo and Saint Joseph, do intercede for me in such a way that I may try all my level best to unceasingly say “Yes” to God’s call. May I still keep in my heart the words of Saint Paul as recorded in Philippians 3:12: Not that I have already obtained all this or have me.
Bro. Justin Kambale, CRM