Kenyan bishop lauds courage of seminarians choosing dangerous missionary work

ACI Africa, Sep 18, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Members of the Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM) go to lands where they risk their own lives for the kingdom of God, Bishop John Oballa Owaa of the Diocese of Ngong in Kenya said in his homily Sept. 13 at the diaconate ordination of nine MHM members.

Oballa lauded the young members of the congregation for not allowing anything to stand in their way of spreading the Gospel.

He narrated a conversation he had with a MHM member who he said was eager to embark on mission in Pakistan, where Christian persecution has been shown to be rising.

“I remember a young parishioner who became a Mill Hill missionary telling me without any voice that seeks sympathy, without any voice that is afraid, that he had been assigned to Pakistan,” Oballa recalled at the event, which was held at St. Joseph Cathedral of his episcopal see.

He added: “With all the challenges and the difficulties that I knew about the place, the young missionary was not apologetic to anyone. He was not seeking anybody’s sympathy.”

“I said to myself, ‘Here is a missionary spirit, ready to throw deep, ready to be sent wherever and to whomever for the salvation of souls, for the kingdom of God,’” the bishop said. In Pakistan, more than 96% of the population is Muslim and only 1.9% is Christian.

He said the late Father John Anthony Kaiser, a Mill Hill missionary who was murdered in Kenya and whose 25th death anniversary was marked on Aug. 23, provides a good example of the readiness of members of the congregation to pay the ultimate price for the salvation of souls.

Regarding the American-born Kaiser, who served in the Diocese of Ngong until his death, Oballa said: “Missionary work confronted him with situations of injustice, of exploitation, of abuse, and he would not stand and watch. That cost him his life.”

Oballa said missionary work demands sacrifice.

“Some of the terrain can be pretty hostile, can be oppressive, can be unjust, and yet the work of Christ has to be done in obedience to his commands. Missionary experience exposes one to all sorts of terrain,” he said.

Since becoming a bishop in April 2012, Oballa has encouraged missionaries who choose to serve in hostile environments and rely on divine protection. “Always remember that even if the nets should break, no fish will escape because the Lord himself will preserve his own amid persecutions,” he told the seminarians.

“And if in the process of witnessing to his Gospel you lose your life, know that you will find it. Because that is the logic of the Gospel. Whoever loses his life will find it. Whoever denies himself [will] not have to end up in physical death [and] will find his life,” Oballa said.

Lauding the nine MHM members who were ordained deacons for having been found “worthy,” the bishop said: “You have been found serious and dignified, that you are honest men, not deceitful, and not addicted to drink.”

“You have been tested and found worthy, not to be greedy for money… whatever you do, that you will carry out the mission of Christ without asking what material gain… [you] have been found to be above that,” he said.

In his homily, the bishop urged the deacons-elect to be faithful to their prayer life, from where he said they would draw strength to serve amid difficulties.

He further called on them to preach the Gospel with joy, cautioning them not to be “deluded” that everyone would receive their message.

“Not all will embrace the message of the Gospel of salvation that you preach. Just remember the Lord’s assurance that he would be with you,” Oballa said, adding: “May the patron saint of your Mill Hill Society, St. Joseph, and his spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary, always intercede for you and fill you with hope as you carry out your mission and as you carry out the mandate laid upon you by the Lord, faithfully and perseveringly to the end.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266623/kenyan-bishop-lauds-courage-of-seminarians-choosing-dangerous-missionary-work