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| Logo of the Jubilee of Mercy |
You can only give what you have, says Rev. Dr. Charles Kyallo the Chaplain at Catholic University of Eastern Africa CUEA.
Speaking to AMECEA Online News in his office at the University’s main campus in Langata, Fr. Kyallo said that it is important to first tap the Mercy of God and then go out and distribute it to others.
Speaking to AMECEA Online News in his office at the University’s main campus in Langata, Fr. Kyallo said that it is important to first tap the Mercy of God and then go out and distribute it to others.
“The main channel and avenue through which one taps the Mercy of God is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By going to Confession, one embraces God’s mercy and therefore, he/she can go out there and experience God’s Mercy with others,” says Fr. Kyallo.
“We at the Catholic University are emphasizing on the need to go for Confessions as frequently as possible in order to benefit from this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.”
CUEA launched Year of Mercy on 10th December 2015, with the unveiling of a special banner showing the Mercy of Jesus towards a sinner and the verse “blessed are the merciful for they shall receive Mercy” Mat. 7:7.
Fr. Kyallo explained that by emphasizing on the Sacrament of Confession, the University has scheduled that Monday at three o’clock for priest to be available for confession. “We have over 100 priests in the University and therefore we have put up a roster for that purpose of listening to confessions.”
To encourage more people to go for confessions, the University has invested in a good confessional and the priest on duty has to sit in the confessional way ahead of time such that neither he nor those going for confession see each other. “This is important because we have come to realize that people often shy away from confessing to someone they are acquainted,” Fr. Kyallo explained.
“The confessional is where the hurt and the oppressed come to meet the soul of Christ and that environment in which this happens need to be conducive for openness in order for one to receive the outpouring of God’s mercy,” he added.
The prayer for the Year of Mercy by Pope Francis have also been adequately distributed at the University and are collectively recited five times daily during the five daily Eucharistic Celebrations at the University. Holy Trinity University Chapel usually has three masses daily; at 7 am, noon and at 5 pm. While St. Bakhita Hostel for women religious students and St. Clare Hostel for lay female students both have daily Eucharistic celebrations at 6.45 pm.
The university plans to erect a 16 ft. statue of the Divine Mercy in our compound. Last year during the Year of Faith the University erected a grotto of Our Lady whose foundation was blessed by the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya Most Rev. Charles Daniel Balvo, and unveiled by Rt. Rev. Paul Kariuki Njiru, Bishop of Embu Diocese.
“To mark the Year of Mercy, on the Divine Mercy Sunday, which is the Second Sunday after Easter, the University will unveil the statue of Divine Mercy led by the Bishop of Lodwar Diocese Rt. Rev. Dominic Kimengich,” Fr. Kyallo said adding that these activities are the “External manifestations of our internal convictions. We want everyone entering this university to notice that it is a Catholic Institution not just by name.”
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News