Vocation: “You Are Going to Be Our Family Priest,” Cousin who read the Heart of Fr. Clement.

 “Our life is in God’s hands; he does whatever he wants; by an irrevocable gift we have sacrificed our lives to him. Blessed be Him” St Daniel Comboni

Family Background

My name is Fr Clement Mutie Mbithi, a Comboni Missionary, born a Kenyan from the diocese of Wote-Makueni, Sacred Heart Parish- Mbitini. I was born in a Christian-Catholic Family and I am the sixth born in a family of ten. My mum is still alive and my dad passed on in the year 2020. My parents were/are business people as well they practiced farming. Growing up in a Christian-Catholic family which was a big blessing for me because as the first school of life, it played a fundamental role in my life especially in initiating me into the basic Christian virtues.

My vocation goes back to my family background where I was taught how to pray, to go to church, sharing and living together as brothers and sisters. Having elder brothers and sisters taught me how to respect, to listen and created in me a deep feeling of security, of being loved and cared for. Having young brothers and sisters also helped me learn how to care for others, to walk with the little ones and also the joy of being a big brother among them. In a nutshell, being the sixth born helped me to experience different dynamics of life in the family set up.

My late dad (who inspired me a lot as a child) was a generous and faithful man who served the church tirelessly. He loved us as children and opened the door for us towards the Catholic faith. He was a committed man who never missed the church any Sunday till his last Sunday in this world. He was an icon of the Catholic faith in our family. My mum too, who loves and cares in silence is a woman of deep faith. She is one person who taught us since our childhood how to trust in God always. Having a good family background initiated me well into the Christian Faith. I grew up with two of my brothers with whom I was very close and often we did many things especially attending primary school, Sunday school, peer groups and youth groups.

Educational and Vocational Background

I attended school at Kyemundu Primary School and later joined Kyemundu Secondary School which culminated in the year 2010. As a child, we attended catechism and Sunday school together. When I reached upper primary school, I joined the altar servers’ group in our parish. It is from this group that a deep desire of becoming a priest was born in me. At this particular moment, the desire was just to become a priest though I did not know the difference between the diocesan and the missionary/religious priest.

During high school, trusting in God and after having a deep conviction of what I wanted, I worked so hard in my studies so as to let this dream come true. I got a lot of encouragement, emotional and spiritual support from my family and friends. This dream I kept as a secret, I had not gotten the courage to express it to my family and my friends too. While I was in form three in the year 2009, my cousin, Jeneffer confronted me to find out why I had not attended the youth workshop which was going on in our parish.

After a short discussion, the topic changed and centered on my personal story. Jeneffer really wanted to know what I wanted to do after high school but I remained shy, I could not express the desire I had. She did not hesitate to tell me what she thought about my future, she noted, “you are going to be our family priest…” This statement was deeply coherent with the deepest desire of my life. I responded to my cousin with a smile and surprise, without stating that she spoke what was in my heart.

Two weeks before my Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education exams, a Comboni missionary (Fr Austine Radol- Currently in Germany but by then the Vocations Director) was visiting our home parish for vocation promotion. Luckily, he was sent by our parish priest to our school for our thanksgiving mass in preparation for our final exams. It was during this moment, for the first time in my life, that I came across a Comboni missionary. After celebrating mass for us, he spoke about Comboni missionaries and I was really moved by their commitment in spreading the gospel and their closeness to the poorest and most abandoned in the whole world. Filled with anxiety, fear and uncertainty, after the mass, I approached Fr Austine and promised to reach out to him after receiving the KCSE results which I did.

Mt 4:18-22; this passage, which indicates the call of the first disciples Peter and Andrew, has been very central for me throughout my journey. Jesus invited them to come and follow him and at once