St. Joseph HBVM Narok
St. Joseph was the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus. It is believed he was born in Bethlehem and died in Nazareth. St. Joseph played an important mission in “God’s plan” of man’s salvation, by accepting Jesus into his family. This put Jesus into the line of David, which according to the prophets – the Messiah would be born. He was called to act as Jesus’ father and guardian. Most information about St. Joseph comes from the opening two chapters of St. Mathew’s Gospel, although none of his words are recorded. He is sometimes called the “Silent One”. There was no devotion to St. Joseph in the early Church, to firmly impress upon the minds of the faithful the Virgin Birth of our Lord. But later by the early Middle Ages, he became venerated as a great saint.
St. Joseph descended from the royal house of David, and was an ordinary laborer. He was chosen to be the Divine spouse of Mary, and bestowed on him as the most honorable gift – he was the “Foster Father of Jesus”. Sacred Scripture tells us that he was a “just man”, which indicates how faithful he was at protecting and guarding God’s precious Son. We know that some of his darkest hours may have been when he learned of Mary’s pregnancy, but even in this trial, Joseph showed himself to be a man of character. After Divine Inspiration and an angel appearing to
Feast Day
The Bible tells us nothing of his death, although indications show he died before the beginning of Christ’s public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, as he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary. How more precious and holy could one’s death be? He humbly passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten. He remained in the background through centuries of Church History, always there – but in the background, showing his willingness to help as a humble man. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, being fostered by Saints Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa did much to further veneration to St. Joseph as well.
The Catholic Church has two major Feast Days in honor of St. Joseph. On March 19, he is venerated personally, and to commemorate his “Part” in the work of redemption. On May 1, we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order. He is invoked as patron saint of many things.
Brief History of St. Joseph Hbvm Parish
The St. Joseph HBVM Parish Narok was officially inaugurated on the 13th April 2014 by Rt.Rev. John Oballa, Bishop Catholic Diocese of Ngong.The parish was carved out of the larger St. Peter's Parish, taking up the area West of Narok River, neighboring Naroosura Parish to the South West, Ololulunga Parish to the West, and Oloikirikirai Parish to the Nothernside. It has 7 Mass stations. Fr. John Nderitu assisted by Fr. Gerishon Lemayian were appointed as the first priests. Other priests who have served here are Fr. Paul Naikisi, Fr. Moses Gitau and now, Fr. Moses Munge.
Narok town is one of the fastest growing towns; therefore, there has been an increase in urban population and influx of people from other regions, due to the establishment of institutions of higher learning, such as Maasai Mara University, many schools in the area, good social economic environment, the hospitality and friendly nature of the community.
This has also led to the continued growth of the parish. Since its inception, now ten years, the parish has seen tremendous growth in the number of the faithful. So far, we have had a total of 229 catechumens, 1230 Baptisms, 482 Confirmations and 65 Marriages. The number of Small Cristian Communities has grown from 9 to 28 in the entire parish. We have witnessed God's grace working through the establishment of church groups, movements and solidarity groups such as, Catholic Men Association (CMA), Catholic Women Association (CWA), Young Christian Workers (YCW), Pontifical Missionary Childhood(PMC), the Youth, the Choir, Sts. Ann and Joakim, Region of Mary, St. Vincent De Paul (SVP), Catholic Justice Peace Department (CJPD) among others. We thank the Lord for the good, strong and stable leadershipso far enjoyed as parish. Sitting on this beautiful construction site is our parish church, is a sure testimony to this growth and many blessings God has endowed to us. Similar ventures are being undertaken in our outstations. St. Joseph the Worker, Kipangas has a similar venture of church construction being undertaken with an estimated 500 seating capacity, St. Luke's Polunga, expanded their church and the completion of St. Augustine Nchorra Eabori is underway. The opening of
St. Mark Ewaso Nyiro five years ago and the addition of an acre piece of land is a clear indicator of the Lord's doing.
We thank God for the gift ofmany learning institutions served by the parish, Maasai Mara University Catholic Community, St. Mary's Girls Boarding Primary and Secondary Schools, Fr. Ntaiyia, Jubilee School, Nkareta Secondary School, Blessed Academy, St. Peter's Primary, Ongata Academy, amongst others. We also thank God for the two Congregations that we have in our parish, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Mother of God and Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph. We look to the future for better things to come. Long live St. Joseph Husband of Blessed Virgin Mary, long live the Catholic Diocese of Ngong.