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• JAN / FEB

  This new year, make a point to awaken the giant within you!

  Everyone has a giant within them. It just needs to be awakened!

  It is a New Year and most of us have lined up a number of New Year resolutions. Things you want to accomplish this year.

  Maybe your new year resolution is to shed some weight, enroll for a course, drop that bad habit of drinking or smoking etc. or just change your life for the better.

  Let me assure you that you have the potential to do so.

  How do you do this? There are four things that you need to do in order to unleash your full potential, to awaken the giant within you.

  First, train your brain to learn new things by embracing uncomfortable situations. As humans, we tend to be comfortable with what we are used to, where there is less effort involved. Always strive to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and thrive in the uneasiness.

  Second, don’t believe what people say you can’t do. More often than not, you’ll find people in your life that will make you feel like you can’t achieve certain goals. The best thing you can do is to not listen to what people say and follow your passion. People will tell you that you can’t do this or that because you are young, incapable. Let your age not stop you.

  Third, hang around the right people. Sometimes, those around us hinder us from awakening the giant within us. You have certainly come across the expression, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” When you spend time with individuals who are on the path of unlocking their fullest, untapped potential, there is a synergy of energy that creates a momentum to assist you on your journey of self-discovery and unleashed potential. You need the help of others, as they can be mentors, coaches and a resource for you as you navigate uncharted territory.

  Lastly, set small goals. In order to start believing in your potential, you have to start by setting small goals. By changing your little habits, you start setting yourself up to achieve your goal. As medical student for example, if you know that your ultimate goal is to become a doctor, you need to take certain smaller steps to get there. Your small goals will be to pass exams, which will lead you to pass individual courses, which will eventually lead you to attain your medical degree. Small goals eventually lead to the big win.

  By adopting these habits, you can start reaching your full potential. And in the end, it all comes down to believing that nothing can stop you from achieving what you want to do: the only thing holding you back is yourself.

  This new year, make a point to awaken the giant within you!

• MARCH/APRIL

  It’s time to say goodbye…

  After nearly a decade serving you as the editor of this magazine, it is time to say goodbye! I am leaving The Seed to pursue my doctoral studies in communication.

  Of course saying goodbye is never easy. To say the truth, I feel emotional. The Seed has been home for me. It was my first love. As soon as I was ordained, I was sent to work here, hence the emotional attachment. This reminds me of a YouTube Video I watched a while back titled: Top 15 emotional farewell’s in football. Legends saying goodbye.

  It has been a great ten years as editor of this magazine, characterized by a steady stream of small victories, punctuated by occasional missteps which I used as learning opportunities.

  The other day I took time to flip through all the issues of the magazine that we produced in these ten years. As I did, I could vividly picture the entire production process of each issue, from the editorial meeting, to the fieldwork, to page layouts, to the cover design. I remember everything about each issue. As I looked at each issue, I felt joy in my heart and some sense of pride.

  I took over this job in June 2009. From then until now, I have produced a total of 89 issues with two special editions. I took over the magazine when the cover price was only KSh 80, now it is KSh 200!

  The ten years have been marked with some milestones for the magazine. The period saw the rebranding of the magazine in June 2011, when we came up with a new masthead, new page designs and new columns. This again, we did it in January 2017 to stay relevant.

  Some of the notable assignments I did were covering the Pope’s visit to Kenya in 2015, an event that culminated in the production of a Coffee Table Book, something that was appreciated by the Kenyan Church; a special edition in 2018 on the old and sickly priests: Why your Old Priest Needs You; a special issue to celebrate 25 years of the magazine in 2013, to mention but a few.

  I must say, it was fun doing this job. I will always remember my editorial team and I running around with cameras during events. Together, we crisscrossed the country in search of interesting stories from dioceses near and far.

  The Seed staff is familiar with my famous expression, Guys, we gotta run! When I used it, they knew that things were thick, and indeed they had to run to beat deadlines.

  It was fun working with the editorial team crafting catchy cover themes, and with the design team coming up with insanely great cover designs.

  I must admit that The Seed has changed my life in extraordinary ways, and opened doors to more opportunities than I ever have imagined.

  As I leave, I would like to thank The Seed staff, those still around and those who have since moved on, for their dedication and passion. You were my dream team as I always referred to you!

  I want to thank the leadership of Consolata Missionaries over the years - the late Fr Franco Cellana who brought me on board 10 years ago, Fr Hieronymus Joya, and now Fr Joseph Waithaka.

  I must thank Fr Eugene Ferrari, my collaborator with whom I have worked all these years. Fr Ferrari is the hand that you rarely see in The Seed. As the financial administrator, he works behind the scenes. He facilitated my work and I attribute my success to his advice, concerns and above all, his friendship.

  To all readers, it has been a great pleasure serving you. Time has come to pass on the editorial torch to new hands, Fr André Nzuzi Mabiala, the incoming editor.

  I wish him all the best in elevating the magazine to the next level.

  Thank you all. It has been a great ride!

  Fr Daniel Onyango Omondi Mkado

• MAY/JUNE

  Why We Must Learn to Forgive

  Sr Leonella Sgorbatti, the Italian Consolata Sister who will be beatified on May 26 lived and died like a saint.

  At the imitation of Christ on the cross, her last words were forgiveness for those who killed her -- the most authentic Christian testimony that a martyr can give, showing the victory of love over hatred and evil.

  Forgiveness is one of those things we easily talk about but find hard to do. We often say we have forgiven, when in fact we haven’t.

  It is normal that in life, we find it hard to forgive someone who makes us feel vulnerable and violated. Emotions of anger, fear, frustration, and resentfulness run high when someone wrongs us, or betrays our trust. We feel like we should revenge.

  The word ‘forgive’ literally means “to send away, to let off.” To forgive means to surrender your right to seek revenge. Simply put, forgiveness is letting go of my right to hurt you for hurting me.

  As human beings I know that forgiveness is hard, even the disciples struggled with forgiveness. That’s why Peter in Matthew 21:18-22 asks Jesus, Lord, "How often must we forgive?

  I would like to invite you to ask yourself this question: Are you currently holding a grudge against another person? Is there someone who has hurt you so bad that you have not been able to forgive? Does the thought of that person raise your blood pressure; cause you to feel depressed, or angry?

  As hard as it often is to forgive, remember the words of Jesus as he hung on the cross, when he said “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what it is that they do.

  Jesus is telling us that the hardest, most torturous thing on earth is to bear an attitude of hateful un-forgiveness.

  In the Gospel of Matthew 5:43-45 he tells us “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

  To love our enemy we must learn to forgive them first.

  Who are your enemies? Pray for their well-being. Pray also for God to give you the supernatural ability to love them as he does.

  Holding on to grudges can leave us with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness or even revenge. Therefore learn to forgive. There is joy in forgiveness. There is peace in forgiveness. There is contentment in forgiveness.

  When we are not able to forgive, we are the ones who pay the price. Joyce Meyer, a Christian author once said, harbouring grudge is like drinking poison and hoping your enemy will die.

  According to health professionals, forgiveness can lead to: healthier relationships, greater spiritual and psychological well-being, less anxiety and stress, lower blood pressure, fewer symptoms of depression, a stronger immune system, improved heart health, and higher self-esteem.

  Forgiveness needs courage. It is the most adult act there is, but it is essential to our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health.

• JULY/AUG

  Fake News! The New Evil in our Society

  A day after the Vatican announced the transfer of Bishop Norman King’oo Wambua of Bungoma diocese to Machakos, another ‘news’ circulated online, that Fr Peter Maingi Mutune had been appointed bishop for the catholic diocese of Kitui.

  The news caught many by surprise, I included. It was a Sunday night; I called my editorial team and planned how we were going to run the news the following day as breaking news.

  Turned out it was fake news!

  The social media is today flooded with fake news stories. Whether it is a falsification about an archaeological discovery, an allegation of criminal activity by a company, or a ploy to demean a political figure, it is amazing the lies people will tell – and believe.

  These fake stories, often with very convincing details, spread like wildfire.

  Ideally, fake news, is a term is used to refer to fabricated news, which can be found in traditional news sources, social media or fake news websites. These kind of news have no basis, but are presented as factually accurate. This term came into fashion after U.S. President Donald Trump used it to describe any news he found unfavorable to him.
  Many have fallen victims of fake news, the Catholic Church included.

  In April this year, Archbishop Romulo Valles, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines fell victim to fake news, which quoted him as warning priests and nuns not to interact with politicians. Monsignor Dario Edoardo Vigano resigned earlier this year as head of the Vatican communications office over a fake news controversy.

  Fake news is detrimental. This kind of news have already brought down families, associations, governments, and even destroyed many innocent lives.

  Out of this concern, Pope Francis made “fake news” the focus of this year’s World Communication Day, marked on May 13 under the theme: “The truth will set you free’ (Jn 8:32). Fake news and journalism for peace.”

  In his message, the pope compared the use of fake news to the Bible story of the devil, who, disguised as a serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. He said she was fed wrong information by Satan.

  Fake news is here with us, it is the new evil in our society.

  Governments and private institutions should come up with laws to curb fake news and come up with ways to unmask what could be called the 'snake-tactics' used by those (purveyors of fake news) who disguise themselves in order to strike at any time and place.

  There should also be initiatives by the media and technology companies to verify the identities of people who are hiding behind these digital profiles.

  As we use social media we need to confirm that what we are sharing or consuming is credible. As Christians we must refuse to be purveyors of fake news whether on social media, by word of mouth, or through any other form of public expression.

  ***

  The news of the transfer of Bishop Norman King’oo Wambua from Bongoma diocese to Machakos, threw our editorial team off balance. It came at the time we were getting ready to go to press for this issue.

  We had interviewed him earlier in May and there was no clue he would be transferred.

  It would be worthwhile to note that he still remains the bishop of Bungoma until he sets foot in Machakos.

• SEPT/ OCT

• NOV/DEC