Christians asked to be humble and honest

Most Reverend Mathias Kobina Nketsia Archbishop of the Cape Coast Archdiocese has urged Christians especially Catholics to live humble and honest lives so as to achieve the purpose God created them for and also to be a blessing to others.

He said it was unfortunate that Christians were not leading humble and simple lives, stressing that a life of humility was the surest way for Christians to serve God and humanity.

Most Rev. Nketsiah said this in a sermon to commemorate the Religious Profession of Perpetual Vows of Sister Helen Amparo-Ampah and the Silver Jubilee celebration of Sister Francisca Ama Damoah and Sister Margaret Mary Ama Dadzie of the Society of the Infant Jesus in Cape Coast on Tuesday.

The day, which coincided with the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was attended by more than 60 catholic priests, Reverend Sisters and Brothers and a cross section of the public.

Sr Helen who has been a reverend sister for nine years, took the perpetual vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, which makes her a full member of the Sisters of the Society of Infant Jesus, while Sr Francisca and Margaret Mary who have been reverend sisters for 25 years also renewed their vows as sisters of the Society.

Archbishop Nketsiah asked the sisters to emulate the Blessed Virgin Mary who led a humbled life and was chosen by God to bear his son and asked that the “fruitful virginity” of Mother Mary should not be taken for granted.

He said through grace and obedience of faith the Blessed Virgin Mary was used to bring God’s son to the world to save mankind and urged the sisters to use their long years in the convent to increase evangelism and the perfection of the church.

He said Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus without losing her virgin and regretted that the same could not be said by young girls of today who get involved in pre-marital sex even at the age of nine and described the situation as very worrying.

Archbishop Nketsiah also expressed concern about the fact many young girls of today were not prepared to sacrifice their lives to the service of God and mankind, he in this regard tasked the reverend sisters to be up and doing so as to inspire more girls to become reverend sisters.

He said like the Blessed Virgin Mary, they have also accepted to lead life of poverty, chastity and obedience and this should give them the freedom to serve God and their neighbours.

He urged them to remain holy since they were the temples of the lord and asked the congregation to continue to pray for them.

The society of Infant Jesus, a local congregation of Religious Women was established by late Most Rev. John Amissah Archbishop of Cape Coast, to open the way in the Church for indigenous women to lead dedicated lives of services to God and share fully in the pastoral and evangelizing ministry of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast and beyond.

In a broader vision of its establishment the society was to address some of the basic needs and challenges of the local Church in the provision of education, healthcare for poor needy people and the aged in the most deprived areas of Ghana.

The society has trained her sisters in the areas of nursing, teaching, office practice and secretarial work and accounting. They work in schools, hospitals and church offices in the Cape Coast, Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi and Sefwi -Wiaso dioceses.