He continued: “Let us pay more attention to the people with disabilities, then indeed we will see the face of Christ in them. Reach out to those in marginalized areas in ways that you can; don’t pass by. Let us be there because Christ calls us to reach out to our brothers and sisters.”
In an interview with Kenya Television Network (KTN) News posted on YouTube Jan. 16, Father Mithamo King’ori traced his priestly vocation to the grace of God and expressed his gratitude to Archbishop Muheria for giving him the hope he needed to remain focused on his dream vocation.
“I can’t forget Archbishop Anthony Muheria, who has really journeyed with me,” he told KTN News shortly after presiding over his first Mass on Jan. 15.
He added in reference to his local ordinary: “He has really encouraged me; at those times when I became sick and fell down as if my vocation, my life, [had] come to an end, he didn’t leave me. He held me very well with his fatherly love that I still remember, words of encouragement, and he even dared to give me work to do because he believed that I had something that I could offer.”
“I am dedicating everything to God himself because I believe in giving God the best. He is the one who has given me the best I have to give, the best, and that is the best; I’m offering myself,” Mithamo King’ori said.
Asked about what kept him focused on his priestly vocation, he said: “It is that spirit of God that really kept me discerning my vocation because I believe that having lost my eyes does not mean that I have lost my dream.”
“Through prayer I was convinced that there is a difference between the problem that I’m facing … and the vocation that is within me, that which God is calling me to serve,” he said. “I convinced myself through prayer that loss of eyesight doesn’t mean loss of my vocation.”
He encouraged persons living with any form of disability not to lose sight of the presence of God in their lives.
“To those people who may be disabled in one way or the other, that doesn’t mean the end of life. It is important, it is imperative to know that God is already aware of it, and having God aware of it is enough,” he said.
He continued: “To the disabled, to the physically challenged, my dear brothers and sisters, all is not lost; focus on the strengths you have. If you don’t have one hand, you have a leg — walk; if you don’t have a leg, you have a hand — work. If you don’t have or if you have lost your eyesight, you have your brain — use it [to the] maximum.”
The new priest cautioned against discrimination, adding: “To those people who sometimes discriminate against those who are physically challenged, my dear brothers and sisters, you … forget that you discriminate [against] your brothers and sisters, because we all belong to the same family.”
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This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s sister news agency in Africa. It has been adapted by CNA.
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