CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

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2010-06-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

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THE ROLE OF GODPARENTS IN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

2010-05-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

To understand the role of godparents, we must first understand the purpose and effects of Baptism and Confirmation. In addition to the forgiveness of all sins (cf. Catechism, no. 1263) and the placement of an indelible mark on the person’s soul (cf. Catechism, nos. 1272-74), Baptism has two other effects that are social in nature: The person becomes an adopted son of God (cf. Catechism, no. 1265), and he becomes a member of the Body of Christ, which is the Church (cf. Catechism, nos. 1267-71). Confirmation completes Baptism (cf. Catechism, nos. 1303-04). Because it completes Baptism, the social effects of Confirmation are similar to those of Baptism. The person is conformed more perfectly to Christ as a son of God, is more perfectly united to the Body of Christ, and is strengthened to bear witness to the faith in daily life. The godparents’ role is directly related to these social effects of Baptism and Confirmation. When a person receives Baptism, God forgives his sins and removes all punishment due to sin. The Father grants him the gift of salvation. However, he can lose this gift

THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

2010-04-30T13:32:00.001-07:00

When you look at Christendom today, you would observe that whereas some Churches are folding up, others are expanding tremendously. Again one would observe that the quality and level of faith of Christians differ from one Church to the other. So clearly, some Churches are growing and others are dying. A Church can only grow when it receives the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. The last part of Acts 9:31 reads “encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they (i.e. the Churches) continued to grow.”) What is this encouragement of the Holy Spirit? From the two events (one at Lydda and the other at Jaffa) narrated in Acts of the Apostles 9:31-42 “the encouragement of the Holy Spirit can be said to be signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit (miracles) that boost the faith of those who witness it”. These concrete actions of the Holy Spirit in the early Church were possible because the Church built themselves up and lived in the fear of the Lord (cf. Acts 9:31). If we want to see miracles in our parishes, we must build ourselves up and live in the fear of the Lord. To build one’s self up is to live a life of prayer. To live in the fear of the Lord is to be obedient to the Word of God. So these two- Prayer and obedience to the Word of God – bring about encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Our parishes ought to be places of prayer and reverence for the Word of God. This will make us grow and not fold up.
“Come Holy Spirit and take control; we need you every hour, we need you every day. We need your encouragement in our times. Come in your own special way. Amen.”

WORKER'S MAY-DAY.(ST.JOSEPH THE WORKER).

2010-04-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

WORKER’S MAY-DAY (ST.JOSEPH THE WORKER).
We celebrate today, the memorial of St.Joseph the Worker. This memorial was established by Pope Pius XII. As we reflect on the life of St. Joseph, we also celebrate all workers and the role that they play in the growth of any economy. A striking element about St. Joseph is the fact that he was neither a priest nor a person consecrated to the service of the Lord in the strict sense of a religious. Joseph was a carpenter who practiced his trade. He, however, had a deep relationship with his creator and that relationship bore fruits in his relationship with Mary, Jesus and the whole of creation. The call to bear fruits is a universal call. In fact, it is mandate given to us by God as observed in the Acts of the Apostles (9:1-20). Our ability to bear good fruits is directly proportional to the depth of our relationship with God our creator. When one is in good relationship with God, one will not condone corrupt practice sat his/her work place. A person in good relationship with God cannot, in conscience, be lazy at his/her work place. There ought to be no dichotomy between our faith as Christians and our socio-economic activities. The memorial of St. Joseph the worker is a call for Christain workers to be Christians both in the Church and at their workplaces.
“Lord God, you raised St. Joseph to be a model for all workers in our quest to build a better society. Through his intercession, may we become more Christ-like in our dealings with the world, Amen”.

JUDGEMENT OF GOD,HOW WILL IT BE?

2010-04-30T13:26:00.003-07:00

Our God is a perfect God, so perfect that His judgment is altogether absolutely perfect. For this reason, the justice of God is dreadful as He punishes with extreme rigour even the most trivial faults that we commit. The reason is that these faults though light in our eyes are very serious in the perfect and faultless eyes of our God. A typical example is found in the words of Jesus that anyone who even looks at a woman lustfully is already guilty of the sin of adultery (Matt.5:28). It is for this that Eliphaz, a friend of Job, the servant of God, the Psalmist, the letter to the Hebrews and the Prophet Habakkuk say:
i. Job 4:17 “If God places no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth”.
ii. Psalm 143:- “Do not bring your servant to judgment for no one is righteous before you”.
iii. Hebrew 10:31:- It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”.
iv. Hab.1:13:- “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong”.

The same God is also abundantly merciful:
i. Psalm 25:6 “Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old”.
ii. Psalm 103:11 “for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him”.
iii. Psalm 116:5 “The Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is full of compassion”.
iv. Psalm 130:3 “If you, O Lord, keep a record of sins, O Lord, who will stand”.

Thus, the doctrine of purgatory contains the double mystery of God’s justice and mercy: of justice, which punishes and of mercy, which pardons.

HOW DOES GOD SPEAK TO US?

2010-04-30T13:22:00.001-07:00

Last time we arrived at the conclusion that, God speaks to his Church through the Bible and through sacred Tradition. To make sure we understand him, he guides the church’s teaching authority the magisterium so it always interprets the Bible and Tradition accurately. This is the gift of infallibility. Like the three legs on a stool, the Bible, Tradition, and the magisterium are all necessary for the stability of the Church and to guarantee sound doctrine. Then we saw that Sacred Tradition and the Bible are not different or competing revelations.
They are two ways that the Church hands on the Gospel. Apostolic teachings such as the Trinity, infant baptism, the inerrancy of the Bible, Purgatory, and Mary’s perpetual virginity have been most clearly taught through Tradition, although they are also implicitly present in (and not contrary to) the Bible. The Bible itself tells us to hold fast to Tradition, whether it comes to us in written or oral form (2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Cor.11:2). On the other hand we saw that Scripture, by which we mean the Old and New Testaments, was inspired by God (2 Tim.3:16). The Holy Spirit guided the biblical authors to write what he wanted them to write. Since God is the principal author of the Bible, and since God is truth itself (John 14:6) and cannot teach anything untrue, the Bible is free from all error in everything it asserts to be true. Today we are going to look at the Magisterium. (CCC 8587, 888892). Together the pope and bishops form the teaching authority of the Church, which is called the magisterium (from the Latin for “teaching”). The magisterium, guided and protected from error by the Holy Spirit, gives us certainty in matters of doctrine. The Church is the custodian of the Bible and faithfully and accurately proclaims its message, a task which God has empowered it to do. Keep in mind that the Church came before the New Testament, not the New Testament before the Church. Divinely-inspired members of the Church wrote the books of the New Testament, just as divinely-inspired writers had written the Old Testament, and the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit to guard and interpret the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Such an official interpreter is absolutely necessary if we are to understand the Bible properly. (We all know what the Constitution says, but we still need a Supreme Court to interpret what it means.) The magisterium is infallible when it teaches officially because Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles and their successors “into all truth” (John 16:12-13).

WHICH IS THE BEST WAY OF SHARING IN THIS SEASON OF LENT?

2010-03-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

The Church in her wisdom has given us a way of sharing in this wonderful season through prayer, fasting, repentance, renewal, alms-giving as well as special days of remembrance. She gives us Holy week which starts on Palm Sunday in remembrance of our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem followed by Holy Thursday to reflect on our Lord’s Last Supper and institution of the Holy Eucharist as well as his agony in the garden and betrayal of Judas (Matthew 26). Then we participate in Good Friday in remembrance of our Lord’s crucifixion and death on the cross for our sins (Matthew 27). Followed by Holy Saturday, a day to remember and reflect upon our Lord’s death. Later on tat Saturday evening at the Easter vigil Mass after sundown we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death by his resurrection and welcome the newly instructed into full communion with Jesus’ Church and the body of Christ. The new faithful are baptized and confirmed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4) during this special and most Holy Mass on Saturday night. We continue to celebrate our Lord’s victory over death on Easter Sunday (Matthew 28). What a beautiful way to remember our Lord Jesus and enter into the mystery of his Passion, Death and Resurrection.
In preparation of these events the Church—by her authority of the keys given to Peter (the first Pope and Vicar of Christ) to permit or forbid and lead Jesus’ one Church (Matthew 16:18-19) -- obligates us to practice Abstinence and Fasting. Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholic Christians age 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholic Christians who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. Fasting according to the law of the Church is having one full meal a day, it does not necessarily have to be in the morning.

CONFESSION TO A PRIEST WHY?

2010-03-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Jesus Christ communicated the authority to forgive sins on His Apostles on Easter night, when he told them “whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you shall retain they are retained” (Jn 20:19-23). In this way He gave the Apostles the power to give “peace” (v.21), which is nothing less than the reconciliation of man with God. The text even makes clear how Confession is to be conducted. Christ’s representative, the priest, must decide whether to forgive or retain. Therefore, the penitent must confess each and every serious sin, that is anything which separates him from Christ. If the priest judges he is truly sorry, He must absolve since Christ’s Passion merited forgiveness for every repentant sinner. Only if the person shows no willingness to give up sin does the priest retain, that is withhold absolution, as we “do not give what is holy to dogs” (Mt 7:6). In one form or another the Sacrament of Penance has been in continuous practice in the Church. Its existence in all the Churches of the First Millennium, even those separated from Rome, shows its apostolicity. The present Catholic discipline of secret confession dates to the early middle ages, though there are suggestions of an even earlier practice. Prior to that, confession of sins involved lengthy public penance for great sins such as adultery, murder and apostasy from the faith. Thankfully, it is much easier today. The point was, however, that serious sin is a horrendous offense against God that ought to be rare among the baptized but frequently is not. In the second and third century theological battles were fought over whether Penance could be received more than once after Baptism. The rigorists, like Tertullian, left the Church and their movements passed into history. Even the practice of the sacrament today is no encouragement to sin, as they thought. On the contrary it requires humility to confess your sins. It also gives great peace to hear the priest say in Jesus’ name “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It is Christ’s will that we hear those words. Although God CAN forgive sin directly it requires a perfect motive: love of him and sorrow over having offended such a good Lord. An imperfect motive would mean we have not fully turned from our sin back to God. Not every one can rise to the occasion, so rather than excluding the marginal person struggling with sins, perhaps even more a lifetime, Christ has given us the Sacrament in which He raises us up, even when the dependence of the sacrament on grace and mercy. As Jesus himself said, He came not to save the self-righteous but the sinner.

VATICAN REVIEWS SECURITYAFTER POPE KNOCKED DOWN AT MIDNIGHT MASS.

2010-03-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Vatican is reassessing its security arrangements after a woman dragged Pope Benedict XVI to the ground as he processed into St Peter’s Basilica to celebrate Midnight Mass.
But Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, the Vatican spokesman, said it was impossible to guarantee the pontiff’s safety completely and that security guards had reacted as quickly as possible to the incident.
“It seems that they intervened at the earliest possible moment in a situation in which zero risk cannot be achieved,” he told the Association Press news agency.
“People want to see him up close and he’s pleased to see them closely too. A zero risk doesn’t seem realistic in a situation in which there’s a direct rapport with the people.”
It was initially reported that the woman, Suzanna Maiolo, had tried to assault the Pope. But the 25-year-old, who holds dual Swiss and Italian nationality, told doctors she had not wanted to hurt the pontiff, La Repubblica reported.
The paper also quoted Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa, president of the Italian bishops’ conference, as saying: “Nothing serious happened. It was a woman who tried to greet the Holy Father.” The Pope was not injured, but the elderly French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray suffered a broken hip.
Miss Maiolo, who also lunged at the Pope at Midnight Mass last year, is receiving psychiatric treatment following her arrest and questioning.
The Pope celebrated Midnight Mass undeterred and delivered his homily in a strong, clear voice. He said: “God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love. How we could prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But his sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He has power, he is Goodness itself.”

WHY DO WE FAST.

2010-03-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

In the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are made to understand that we are blinded by many things in this life. We are blinded by inordinate desires (greed, envy, lust, gluttony,…) sins (sin makes us blind), bad habits (drinking, pornography, swearing,…), riches (money, talents,…), and pleasures. Therefore, we need to fast in order to see. Today we will see how fasting can protect us from our enemies: “The message was brought to Jehoshaphat: “A great multitude is coming against you from across the sea, from Edom; they are already in Hazazon-tanar” (which is En-gedi). Jehoshaphat was frightened, and he hastened to consult the Lord. He proclaimed a fast for all Judah. Then Judah gathered to seek help from the Lord; from every one of the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court, and he said: LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand is power and might, and no one can withstand you… We are powerless before this vast multitude that comes against us. We are at a loss what to do, hence our eyes are turned towards you.” All Judah was standing before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their young sons. And the spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaniah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the clan of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly, and he said: “Listen, all of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! The LORD says to you: “Do not fear or lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:2-12, 15). Again we fast to avoid the anger of God after we commit a grave sin: “Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish.” When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do them; he did not carry it out.” (Jonah 3:1-10). We fast before we go for the mission: Jesus fasted for forty days before he began his mission. You can fast before you set peace between your cousins or neighbors. You can fast before you bring peace and love among people.

WHAT IS LENTEN SEASON?

2010-03-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

Lent is a season of preparation for the coming and remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday. We begin this season of Lent, forty days prior to Holy Week and Easter, in remembrance of our Lord’s fasting for the forty days in the desert, the forty days of the flood, and the forty years of the Hebrews wandering in the desert to the Promised Land. This is a special time of deep inner repentance of our sins and inner renewal as well as our acknowledgment of our utter dependence on God our Creator and his love for us (John 4:9-10). This is a time to realize that apart from Jesus we can do nothing because he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). We realize how much Jesus loves each and every one of us, a love that went to the cross for our sin that destroyed our death by rising on Easter morning. He has giving us redemption and made possible our eternal salvation to those who follow Him. We share in his suffering and those of the whole world who are oppressed, poor, hungry, sick and in need, by self-denial and by charity (Matthew 16:24; 25:31-46). We begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday and receive blessed ashes on our forehead in the sign of the cross (Jeremiah 6:26). As the priest places the ashes on your forehead he says, “Dust you came and to dust you will return” or “reject sin and receive the Gospel”. This is to remind us that life is short and temporary in this world and that our time spent here should be used in the following God’s will for us so that we may receive everlasting life with him in heaven (Matthew 11:21; John 3:16). They also remind us that we will soon be renewing our baptismal promises at Easter. The ashes come from burnt palm leaves from the previous years Palm Sunday Mass which takes place the Sunday before Easter as a remembrance of our Lord Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11). The ashes are also an outward sign of our inner conversion of our hearts to our Lord.

SACKED MILINGO DEMANDS PENSION.

2010-03-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

Ex-communicated Roman Catholic archbishop Emmanuel Milingo has rejected the decision by Benedict XVI to unfrock, describing it as “invalid” and said he wanted the Roman Catholic Church to pay him pension for the 23 years he worked in Italy.
Speaking in Lusaka, Milingo said he did not accept the decision by the Vatican to strip him of his titles, which he had held for about 50 years, insisting he would always be a priest.
He also said the letter addressed to him is “not valid” because it did not have the emblem of and seal from the pope.
“I don’t accept that,” said 79-year-old Milingo, a Zambian national.Milingo demanded his pension from the Vatican. “The frontline of the Catholic church are the priests… let people not think I am going to give up, my dear lord,” Milingo said.
“I was assigned by the late Pope John Paul to work in Italy. I worked for 23 years and now the church wants to take advantage of marriage to deny me my pension,” Milingo said. Former Archbishop said his Vicar General in the USA would respond on issues pertaining to his dismissal.
The Vatican announced recently that Pope Benedict dismissed Milingo from the clerical state, the most extraordinary penalty that can be imposed on a bishop.
In 2001, Milingo shocked the Catholic establishment by marrying a Korean acupuncturist in a mass “Moony” wedding ceremony in the New York presided over by the founder of the Unification Church himself, Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
Defrocking entails dismissing a priest from the clerical state and prohibits such individuals from donning clerical attire and strips them of priestly rights and duties.Milingo also claimed that he was aware that the church had in the past executed clerics that came up with intentions of marriage whilst serving as priests.
“I know a lot about the church than those condemning me. The church twice executed those who came up with such intentions and I know where they are buried in Rome,” Milingo said.

FOUR CATHOLIC PRIESTS BAG TRADITIONAL TITLES IN CALABAR,NIGERIA.

2010-03-09T07:06:00.000-08:00

Four Irish Catholic Priests have been conferred with the highest Efik traditional title of Ada-Idahe Ke Efik Eburutu (Pillar) by the Obong of Calabar, His Eminence Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V.
Speaking while conferring the traditional titles on the priests during the first anniversary ceremony .Monarch Obong said the recipients were honoured in appreciation of their invaluable contributions to the development of Efik land, their teaching and spreading of Christianity for the winning of souls for Jesus, as well as self-less services in the field of education for many decades.
The Obong said unlike other traditional institutions, the Efik kingdom tradition was in tandem with Christianity, nothing that the Ekpe masquerade was used in the ancient times to check bad conducts and force people to go to church and worship God.
For such reasons, the Monarch said the acceptance of the title of Ada-Idaha Ke Efik Eburutu by the Reverend Fathers implied their full understanding of the Efik tradition and the kingship on issues of morality. The Catholic Priests include Rev. Father Dan Nolan, Rev. Father James Kellecha, Rev. Father Long Worth and Rev. Father Patrick Patrick Coren.
Aside from the Catholic Priests, the traditional ruler also conferred similar traditional titles on the representatives of Cross Rivers State at the National Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Bolaji Anani, a business mogul, Elder Bong Duke and Lady Elizabeth.
Chairman of the chieftaincy committee on the conferment of chieftaincy Titles on Deserving Men and women, Etubom Otu Efa explained that the Efik chieftaincy title was unique as it made the recipient honorary members of the palace of the Obong of Calabar who could be called upon to represent the monarch in any capacity commensurate with their ability and competence. He said the chieftaincy title was also of the highest quality in the country because the Efik kingship institution was one of the oldest in the country.
“Mbong of Calabar like the present Obong signed the treaties that established the Niger Coast Protectorate, the Oil River Protectorate, and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria with capital in Calabar as well as the treaty of Amalgamation of Southern and Northern Protectorates into one country, Nigeria with capital briefly in Calabar before it was moved to Lagos.
“Accordingly, the revered stool of the Obong of Calabar existed long before Nigeria and in fact, made Nigeria. Therefore, the difference between the chieftaincy title conferred by the Obong of Calabar as Treaty King/Natural Ruler and those by the numerous government created stools is clear”, the Etubom stated.

IS JESUS REALLY PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST?

2010-02-09T02:42:00.000-08:00

Recent years have seen a growing concern about Catholics’ understanding of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Some surveys show that a number of practicing Catholics are not clear about doctrine of real presence. Some think of consecrated bread and wine as only symbols of Jesus’ presence rather than a genuine change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, (transubstantiation) the long-standing Catholics understanding. The Eucharist is, for Catholics, both a meal and a sacrifice. The Lord gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper because He wanted us to share in the life of the Trinity, the loving communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We became united to God at our Baptism, and receive a further outpouring of the Holy Spirit at our confirmation. In the Eucharist we are nourished spiritually, brought closer to God, again and again. As Jesus says in John’s Gospel: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). This meal of fellowship and unity, though, also is understood as a sacrifice. Why is that? Because Jesus died for our sins. Human sin was so great that we could never share fully in the life of God. Jesus came to reunite us. At the Eucharist, we re-present the outpouring of Christ’s life so that our life can be restored. This gift of life is happening in eternity, always. We remember this in a special way when we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy at Mass, recalling the words of Isaiah 6:3, the hymn of the angels before God. We sing our praise before the “lamb of God,” slain to take away the sin of the world, all that separates us from God (see Jn 1:29).

HOW DO WE PREPARE THE UNBAPTIZED FOR THE RECEPTION OF BAPTISM?

2010-02-01T02:51:00.000-08:00

Preparation for reception into the Church begins with the inquiry stage, in which the unbaptized person begins to learn about the Catholic faith and begins to decide whether to embrace it. The first formal step to Catholicism begins with the rite of reception into the order of catechumens, in which the unbaptized express their desire and intention to become Christians. “Catechumen” is a term the early Christians used to refer to those preparing to be baptized so as to become Christians. The period of the catechumen varies depending on how much the step of becoming a Christian. However, the catechumenate often lasts at least 3 years. The catechumenate’s purpose is to provide the catechumens with a thorough background in Christian teaching. The catechumenate also is intended to give the catechumens the opportunity to reflect upon and become firm in their desire to become Catholic, and to show that they are ready to take this serious and joyful step (cf. Luke 14:27-33; 2 Pet. 2:20-22). The second formal step is taken with the rite of election, in which the catechumens’ names are written in a book of those who will receive the sacraments of initiation. At the rite of election, the catechumen again expresses the desire and intention to become a Christian, and the Church judges that the catechumen is ready to take this step. Normally, the rite of election occurs on the first Sunday of Lent. After the rite of election, the candidates undergo a period of more intense reflection, purification, and enlightenment, in which they deepen their commitment to repentance and conversion. During this period the catechumens, now known as the elect, participate in several further rituals. The three chief rituals, known as scrutinizes, are normally celebrated at Mass on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent. The scrutinies are rites for self-searching and repentance. They are meant to bring out the qualities of the catechumen’s soul, to heal those that are positive and good. During this period, the catechumens are formally presented with the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, which they will recite on the night they are initiated. The initiation itself usually occurs on the Easter Vigil, the evening before Easter Day. That evening a special Mass is celebrated at which the catechumens are baptized, then given confirmation, and finally receive the holy Eucharist. At this point the catechumens become Catholics and are received into full communion with the Church. Ideally the bishop oversees the Easter Vigil service and confers confirmation upon the catechumens, but often due to large distances or numbers of catechumens a local parish priest will perform the rites. The final state of Christian initiation is known as mystagogy, in which the new Christians are strengthened in the faith by further instruction and become more deeply rooted in the local Catholic community. The period of mystagogy normally lasts throughout the Easter season. For the first year of their life as Christians, those who have been received are known as neophytes or “new Christians.”

WHICH IS CORRECT: SUNDAY OR SABBATH WORSHIP?

2010-02-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

The Commandments speak of remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy (Gen. 2, 3; Exodus. 20, 8). The Sabbath is Saturday, so why do Catholics worship publicly on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday?”
This is a question normally posed by those – such as the Seventh Day Adventists – who regard Sunday worship as a mark of the Apostate Church of the Beast. Our Lord Jesus Christ declared that He was Lord of the Sabbath and that its observance was at His disposal: St. Matt. 12, 1-8; St Mark 2, 24-26; St. Luke 6, 5; St. John 5, 10-11. As a consequence, the early Church, in order to distinguish itself from the worship of the Synagogue, felt itself free from to depart from Sabbath worship and worship God on an alternate day of the week. This is evident from the words of St. Paul to the Colossians: “Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (2, 16-17). If Christ Himself had the power to “dispose” of the Sabbath, so too His Church which is His Body. The power of the Church to make such a change is specifically found in Our Lord’s words to St. Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (St. Matt.16, 19). From the outset of the Church’s history Christians would replace the Sabbath day with a new day of public worship in commemoration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead – the day of the Lord. This day is Sunday, the first day of the week: “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (St. Luke 24, 1-2); “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb” ( St. John 20, 1). The official “birthday” of the Church, Pentecost Sunday, also fell on the first day of the week: Acts 2, 1. The public worship of the Mass was celebrated by the early Christians on Sunday: “On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread…” (Acts 20, 7). Collections in support of the Church were gathered on Sunday: “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come” (1 Cor. 16, 2). St. John received his Revelation on Sunday: “I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution… was on the island called Patmos…I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day... “Rev.1, 9-10). It is important to note that in changing the Sabbath law the Church did not make a change in the divine law obliging men to worship God – a law which is irrevocable – but merely a change in the day on which it was to be offered, that is a change in the positive ceremonial law. All positive laws, including those of divine institution, can be altered or revolked according to changes in time, circumstance or place.

WHAT ARE THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT CONFIRMATION?

2010-02-01T02:47:00.000-08:00

At Confirmation, we learn the implications of our new life in the Holy Spirit.
All powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life.
Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence. (Rite of Confirmation).
This prayer names the traditional “Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” The biblical origin of these seven gifts is found in Isaiah (11:1-3) where he is foretelling the qualities of the Messiah.
But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.
(The ancient Greek and Latin translations of this passage read “piety” for “fear of the Lord in line six; this gives us our traditional seven gifts). These seven gifts are the signs that the Messiah will be guided by the Spirit. The relation of these gifts to the sacrament of Confirmation becomes clear when we remember that the word “Messiah” means “anointed.” Jesus was “anointed,” filled with the Holy at his baptism. At Confirmation we are anointed with the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Gospels we see how these seven gifts form Jesus’ personality. They are characteristic of his activity. Consider the wisdom expressed in his parables; his understanding of the poor and the sick; his right judgment when tested by the Pharisees; his courage to continue the journey to Jerusalem where he surmised what fate awaited him; his knowledge of God’s will; his reverence for his heavenly Father; his awe before the wonders of creation the lilies of the field, the birds of the air…The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are the manifestation of the Divine Power active in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

WHY DO WE EVEN NEED THE EUCHARIST?

2010-02-01T02:43:00.000-08:00

The Eucharist is, for Catholics both a meal and a sacrifice. The Lord gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper because he wanted us to share in the life of the Trinity, the loving communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We become united to God at our Baptism, and receive a further outpouring of the Holy Spirit at our Confirmation. In the Eucharist we are nourished spiritually, brought closer to God, again and again: “By eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Christ in the Eucharist we become united to the person of Christ through his humility,” write the bishops. They remind us of the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). This meal of fellowship and unity, though, also is understood as a sacrifice. Why is that? Because Jesus died for our sins. Human sin was so great that we could never share fully in the life of God. Jesus came to reunite us. The Bishop write, “Through his death and resurrection, he conquered sin and death and reconciled us to God. The Eucharist is the memorial of this sacrifice. The Church gathers to remember and to re-present the sacrifice of Christ in which we share through the action of the priest and the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the celebration of the Eucharist, we are joined to Christ’s sacrifice and receive its inexhaustible benefits.” At the Eucharist, we re-present the outpouring of Christ’s life so that our life can be restored. This gift of the life is happening in eternity, always. We remember this in a special way when we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy at Mass, recalling the words of Isaiah 6:3, the hymn of the angels before God. We sing our praise before the “lamb of God,” slain to take away the sin of the world, all that separates us from God (see Jn 1:29).

THE FALSE SECURITY OF MAN.

2009-12-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

There is this quest of the human person to institute procedures of security that guarantees his/her well being against the future and the unknown of the man existence. Security in this sense does not necessarily mean having a police guard or vigilante to ward off unscrupulous agents. It extends to economic buoyance stability in office, drive for the uppermost position and reorganization popularity in the community. The efforts at this quest for “man’s security” are done with every professional dexterity.
What crosses our mind is the story of the “Rich man who have harvested and stored in his ban as a security for the future” of Luke 12:15-21 his struggles and toils are being considered according to scripture as the efforts of a “Fool”. What is wrong and arbitrary in this wise labour of the man? After all, scripture says if you do not work, you should not eat. Cf 2 Thess.3:10. Again the Psalmist state “by the labour of your hand you shall eat”.
The obvious failure of the man is his banking on the security of his wealth as a guarantee of this success and triumph in life. By this way, he removed God from the “scheme of things instead of making him the primordial cause of his success and well-being”.
In the word of the Psalmist (127:1-2) unless the Lord builds the house, in vain does the builder labours, unless he watches over the city, in vain does the watch-man keep vigil.
In this case, we must make God as our priority, reposing our efforts and trust in him, such that our labours are fitted in the edifice that is imperishable, where it becomes a treasure that makes us rich in the sight of God.
In the wisdom literature of Ecclesiastes, he sums up the security of man as fake. He states “Vanity of Vanity. All is vanity” cf Eccle 1:2 the tilling, toils, sufferings and labours of mankind sometimes are turned in futile visions. Think about wonderful Master piece built in the past, and ask yourself the question, why is it that the generation want to pull them down, as they plan for a unique one. Let us consider the laurels of Academic qualification of some of our “Fallen heroes”, they tell us much about the vanity associated in the Psalmist (Ps 89:1) to re-choe our hearts desire. “O Lord you have been our refuge from one generation to the next”. This acclamation of ours goes a long way to illustrate that our attachment to pleasures of this world are illusive. The indulgence in fornication, impurity, greed, evil passions, titles, circumcision, freed-men syndrome etc are only portrayals of our emptiness and the falsity of our security.
St Augustine tells us “that our hearts cannot rest until they rest in God”. This is why we must look out for our maximum security on heavenly thing, pondering and contemplating the eternal values of God.
The security which the children of God must have is to build up themselves into the presence of God. It is also a development to build up faith in the childlike confluence and attitude especially as exhibited by the children.
In sum, the potentials, heritage and natural endowment of life are meant to enhance us, rather than causing divides that does not only separate us, but distance our union our report with our God.
Whatever we do in life, Jesus is there at our side, only turn to him, you will have and receive the maximum security that cannot fail. Man’s security can certainly fail even in the face of need.

MESSENGERS OF PEACE.

2009-12-15T02:09:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we saw the qualification that was necessary and the pre-requisite for would be disciple of Jesus Christ. It was a situation that was not attractive, though challenging because it calls for urgency in the life of those who are called and heeded this invitation to following Jesus Christ.
In the election, appointment and commission of the 72 disciples (Lk. 10:1-20), Christ sent them out in two’s as an affirmation that the witness of two sustains a charge.
In their mission they are to show a genuine approach of conversion, since they should consider themselves as “lambs among wolves”. It means that the instrument and value system of the Kingdom they were to proclaim are not violent but Christian and gentle dispositions that was to enter into homes of those that they were to evangelize, by declaring a salutation of “Peace be to this House”.
The salutation of peace is to elicit peace and convoke the author of peace in bringing this peace into the life of the home the disciples have entered into. But we must clearly point out that acceptance of the peace, or rejection of this peace proposal determines the effect of this peace in the life of the recipient.
Peace is always the content of the messengers of Jesus proclamation. The value system of these messengers of Jesus must be discovered in the humble approach of Jesus bringing all men and women into the kingdom of light and joy rather than previous empire of darkness and unperceived dungeon of slavery.
According to John of the Cross, “wherever there is no peace put in peace, such that whenever you come across that way you will meet the peace that you left behind animating the environment” cf Dark night of soul.
The theme of peace reflects also in the Paul address to the problem in the Galatians church (Gal.6:14-18), he instructs them not to make circumcision a norm that qualifies people as righteous but to accept JESUS as their personal Lord and Saviour. To make this decision is to live in peace and tranquility. For Paul “I want no more trouble from anybody after this; the marks on my body are those of Jesus” This are marks of the peace of CHRIST.
The prophecy of Isaiah (66:10-14) is the assurance of the return to the fugitive people of Israel, such that he has come to redress and relent their punishment which has kept them in such bondage of theirs. This assured peace is what has kept them in this august joyful situation.
Today we should ask ourselves this question, As Gods children and messengers what are the content of our personal encounter with others. Are they cauldrons of burning hot oil, or cooling waters that bring about changes for better rather than fighting.
We must put in mind that our messages are to be that of the messengers of Jesus Christ who are gentle as dove and not hostile and un-approachable agents.
In sum, our today’s world is in serious quest for peace makers, not ideologists of a new world order that is merely conceptual without concrete existential value to general good.

THE CHOSEN PEOPLE.

2009-12-15T02:08:00.000-08:00

Salvation is not an exclusive prerogative of any people, tribe or nation. It is a special and un-meritorious gift of God to mankind. Indeed there are no special or chosen people who are destined for salvation while others are a condemned and un-chosen people for salvation. The idea of a ‘chosen people’ springs from God’s election of Israel and subsequent extension of the tentacles to the whole of human race.
All men and women who do what pleases God, and are incorporated or granted unto him are to be seen and distinguished as a CHOSEN PEOPLE.
In the prophecy of Isaiah (66:18-19) “The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory….”
What strikes the mind, is that God is benevolent is extending his goodness/love to all mankind. The reason is that our eternal predestination is to live forever with him here in this world and in the life to come.
However to belong to a special group is a challenge to behave like unto a special people. This is what we must say about the CHOSEN PEOPLE. The chosen people are characteristically belonging to the Lord their God who has not only called, but chosen them. Scripture says “You did not choose me but I chose you and send you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last forever”. Jn.15:16.
The measure of bearing fruit and identically resembling one’s mentor/or God is an effort that is sacrificial. The letter to the Hebrews (12:5-13), states “the Lord trains the ones that he loves and punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons”.
What we want to elicit here is that the ‘chosen people’ are known for their ‘suffering’, though transient, but still a unique attribute of this category. We cannot remain the chosen Race and People, without passing through the NARROW DOOR. This narrow door explains the fact of our need for Mortification, Renunciation and Purification to be made worthy of the kingdom of the chosen people o God. The Christian who is on pilgrimage must realize that he/she needs a spirit of detachment from the externals, but a firm focus on the attainment of one’s goal; namely the kingdom of God.
We may begin the journey and sometimes begin to wane in spiritual strength; then the value of the prior discipline that we have received from God will prove effective in our defeat of fatique in faith.
Indeed “any punishment” most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness” cf. Heb. 12:11-12.
The emphasis that should be laid before us, is that though we a “God’s chosen people” we should work harder to justify it by good and honest living. To be chosen is to be challenged to work harder in justifying why we are called. To lazy away, on the foundation of the syndrome ‘we are Abraham children’, is next to an illusive dream of failure.
If we fail to become always God chosen ones, God himself will not delay to raise up, from the corners of the earth, those who will realize his dreams of a destiny for each of us. The exhortation left for us is “Hold up your limp, arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread; then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again. Cf. Heb. 12:13.

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING.

2009-12-15T02:05:00.000-08:00

To crown the liturgical year as it comes to a close, the Church celebrates a special feast instituted by Pope Pius XI (December 11, 1925): the feast of Christ the King. At the time of its institution, the feast was celebrated on the last Sunday of October. Since the liturgical reform of the Council of Vatican II, it is celebrated, more suitably on the last Sunday of the liturgical year: that is last Sunday. On this last Sunday, the Church intends to crown the entire life of the Mystical Body of Christ which the liturgical year symbolizes periodically, year after year. It is a crown of glory which is placed upon the Head of that great Body which is the Church: it is Christ in person, Head of the Church, who receives glory and honor in an ultimate crowning!
The greatest King of the Universe is crowned with glory and majesty by those who are his brothers and sisters in the Holy Spirit, so that He who redeemed them from their countless sins is forever honored by the holy and immaculate Body (cf Eph. 5:27)! Today, more than ever, the Church is here to render to Jesus Christ the honor which is due to him as King of the Universe. For the Church, in the name of Jesus, speaks the Truth to the entire word! Carrying on the work and mission of Christ, the Church proclaims to all men and women the message of salvation found in the Gospel: thus the Church renders to the King of the Universe the honor and the glory which belong to him. Each time, throughout the day, that we testify to our fidelity to the Law of God, it is the Kingdom of God we proclaim: to live a holy life, to exhibit exemplary conduct at work or at home, all of this serves to obtain for the Lord a Kingship that is ever more glorious!
Without question, the greatest honor that we can give to our King and Lord is to give thanks to him in his Eucharist. It is there that we say, through the voice of the priest: “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.” All of the Father fully reflects back upon the Son, and it even reflects upon us all, we who are sons in the Son! For, finally, if God claims for his Son the glory and honor of kingship, it is not for himself, for only God can obtain for himself a glory that is truly worthy of him.

REJOICE IN THE LORD.....I SAY REJOICE.

2009-11-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

In life there are times when we become resplendent with joy, which exudes in all ramification of our countenance because of the anticipation of a promise long awaited. Rejoice at the grant of freedom and liberation is equally a human way of acknowledging marvels of God in our lives. The emotional out burst of joy or rejoicing at the news of a future promise, is always a fascinating theme in the lives of the people of Israel and even among New Testament Christians.
For the prophet Zephaniah (3:14-18), he makes a hilarious call to all those who are largely in gloom, unhappiness and unexcited to wake to the “future fulfillment” of God’s restoration.
We ask ourselves this basic question, what is the root for this rejoicing. It stated that “the Lord has repealed your sentence”. The sentence in question here is the fact of the great fall of the human person in Adam and Eve. The consequence is the rape of original blessedness, justice, rapport and innocence with our God. The negation of these virtues in our lives leads to the social, political and moral insecurity that continues to plague our society at large.
The Christian basics for this REJOICE’, at this time is the grant of a “second chance”. An opportunity to redress the history and irregularities of the past times. This is only feasible in Christ, the promise of the ages. “a virgin is with child and she shall give birth to a son, whose name is EMMANUEL…… MEANING God with us” cf Is 7:14.
We must gladly note that the whole sense of our rejoicing is not in the here and now, but in anticipation of the future coming. The coming of Jesus we must try to hasten it, by our prayers, rectification of our lives and our Christian Vigil. Remember his coming is not to tolerate but vindicate the just and enthrone a kingdom of righteousness, peace, joy, love etc. In John 3:17-18, he states that “His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out”.
Just as the breaking forth or dawn of a new child brings joy to the human family, in the same wise expectancy of this coming of Jesus Christ brings not only but the freedom, liberation and God’s design to bore-enacted in the perfection of the human family and society.
The holy one of Israel is in our midst He is Jesus Christ, “Emmanuel”, God with us. We know and affirm with the Psalmist, “that he that is with God is with majority” that Jesus lives and dwells with us in the rectification of the course of human history.
Therefore, our joy today must know no bounds since our “salvation is near at hand” May this proximity of our salvation, draw us closer and closer to the eternal focus, design and original state Jesus will brings us.

WE AND THE HOLY SPIRIT........

2009-11-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

In the three readings of this Sunday, we have the evidence of the acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit actively involved in the life, existence and decisions of the early or apocalyptic church. In the church of Antioch, we see a kind of problem that erupted which had the capacity to mar the growth and Christianization of the pagan territories. But what is the riddle that was able to put an end to this malaise.
In the Acts of the Apostles (15:23-29), the apostles gathered imploring the assistance of the Holy Spirit (the inexpressible gift) to assist them in the resolution of this mis-understanding, adaptation and form of generalization form that was almost imposed on the gentile Christian. The general council was held under the auspices of the Holy Spirit.
This accounts for the final decision in which the college of apostles under the leadership of St Peter, could stand to declare before the congregation and general audience “we and the Holy Spirit”, have unanimously decided.
By virtue of this singular fact the apostles show us how we are to interact and deal with the Herculean crisis that could arise in the Christian community. We can successfully resolve this difference by beginning and counting on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bestows the wisdom for right judgment and decision.
In the same vein, it is obvious to say that the colleges of the consecrated elect “those in sacred orders” are divinely equipped for this great mission of reconciliation, conflict resolution and enhancing the unity of Gods people. We should not lose sight of this rare privilege of God in his ministers.
In our situations of today, how do we implore the intervention of God in the resolution of the common difference that continue to plaque our society. The table of dialogue and the wise counsel of God cannot be under estimated in the sure direction of lasting and true peace which our society of today is in dire need of at these material times.
In the apocalypse of John (21:10-23), the Holy Spirit guided John to the vision of heaven, such that this unique vision is a step towards realizing a form of enthusiasm for the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit to a large extent in this instance reveals the eternal goal of God to man and his vocation to dwell eternally with God.
The form of valedictory speeches of Jesus introduces us to his promise of the Holy Spirit. He says “I have said these things to you while still with you; but the advocate the Holy Spirit whom the father sends in my name will teach you everything”. Cf John 14:24-26.
Jesus makes the place of the Holy Spirit irreplaceable and indispensable in our lives. We cannot know, live and profess our faith in the mindset of God without the timely direction of the Holy Spirit. While we laud Jesus’ continues care for us, we must try as much as possible to seek the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
We today can lay credence that the church is sustained not true the action of anyone’s goodness but through the action of Jesus in the Holy Spirit. I make bold to say that the Holy Spirit is the radiant glory of God that enlightens the church and guides it on its way through the world in its decision. What about our physical existence?
May the promise of the spirit, comes speedily and wake our inactivity to activity, resurrect us from our death to life in Jesus Christ. Amen

SHOW A LITTLE COMPASSION.

2009-11-18T04:57:00.000-08:00

Enemies are usually considered as clogs in the wheel of progress. An enemy is one who continues to be obstacle to our general well-being and success in life. This is why we can consider people who have this quality of enemy as thorns in our flesh. The enemy definitely has a mischievous motive for his or her actions. This motive is to deny us happiness, or what leads to our general satisfaction, joy or happiness.
What should occupy us is, the attitude we put up as a form of defence mechanism against the enemy; or do we rather conclude that as an enemy of our well-being we should subscribe to the natural law of “tooth for tooth, eye for eye”.
In the first book of Samuel 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 we experience the encounter between David and Saul. It is the case that Saul never wanted to see the the success of David and was all about to kill him personally and exterminate his name forever. This plan did not succeed as God had chosen him and with his holy oil anointed him.
The opportunity of David with Abishai over Saul’s encampment and army was a clear opportunity for David to avenge his enemy Saul. But David rejected this offer on the grounds of the sacredness of life and that it was contrary to the faith in God to raise ones hand against the Lords anointed. Paying evil for evil, does not lead to a greater good, rather evil must be overcome with goodness. This was a form of compassion that David showed to his enemy Saul. Forgiveness granted to an enemy could to a large extent lead to his or her conversion. We must remember that those who sometimes play enemy to us are members of the household, such that reconciliation by way of genuine show of compassion could reinstate such a person to brotherhood and love.
Jesus in the gospel of Luke 6:27-38 calls us to be compassionate just as our heavenly father is compassionate. One of this show of compassion is love to our enemies; return non violence for violence; being of assistance even of those who do not merit our attention etc.
The nature of the human person calls today for a little show of compassion considering the plight and instability of our inconsistencies in both our moral and economic stagnation.
In John 8:1-11, when the woman was caught in adultery and presented to Jesus for his condemnation and the pronouncement of a mob action, he preferred putting the question to them “if you have no sin be the first to cast a stone”. Indeed he proved to the woman that he loved the sinner as a person but hated sin……I say sin no more. What can be more than this compassion of Jesus Christ.
In the same vein, today Christians must imbibe the virtue of compassion in all aspect of their life dealings. Rather than fault finding and condemnation we need to be considerate and put in understanding if we all can survive and live. Remember that vengeance is for God and our human retribution does not bear the fruit that is acceptable but displeasing to God.
Jesus remains full of admonition for us not to rest on the oasis of Karma law but give in love where it is not recognized, but from this endeavour love is capable of being transmitted and awakened in hearts and souls considered enemies.

WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE.

2009-11-18T04:28:00.000-08:00

Treasures are considered those precious things, which rarely come into people’s possession, such that attainment or achievement of these values is a source of happiness. Treasures oftentimes lead us into greater heights, because of the inherent capacity of enrichment and re-endowment. In the face of any treasure, the possessive attitude of the human person can be predicted, such that all attention is geared towards it. The quality of a treasure shapes our “Desire, hopes, commitment, anticipation and value system”. These accounts for the words of scripture “where your treasure is, there your heart will be” cf Lk 12:32-33.
However we must equally remind ourselves that sometimes we loose focus of what is really our treasure. Though they might be precious to us, but they may lack eternal value and deprived of proper orientation.
Another of such problems is that oftentimes, where we lay our treasures might seem not to be “worldly enriching”, thus attitude and spirit of Luke warmness, inactivity and derail from the initial point of our departure begins to wane upon such a person.
Christ in this way encourages us, to keep alive and alight the lamp of action in which we not only anticipate the master, but that his return is the treasury of our joy and eternal solace. His return is not predicted, but the certainty of his return is sure. Thus our interest shall be to bank in the treasure of faith in Christ, a treasure in which moth nor thief is in capable of destroying.
The treasure of the Christian is the goal of reaching heaven and to remain with God. This kind of treasure is not a visible thing, yet it is not an illusive datum of Christian truth. The life and testimony of our fathers in faith, explains this well for us. That Abraham was called and he left his inheritance and other earthly values, for an unknown value. This response today makes him our father in faith. Cf Heb 11:2. The faith reposed in God, has become for many a treasury in which impossible and cases without hope, only became things of the past and possible things with God. Sarah, who was past the age of birth, gave birth at old age, and the host of personal testimonies that we have around us.
Today the invitation is that we begin to lay and consolidate our “Treasure” in Jesus Christ, He is the best of all ‘treasures’. To be rooted in him is the source of our happiness, success and final perseverance. This should mean that we basically re-define our ‘desire, commitment, focus and root’ in him.
Jesus our treasure is not a God who cares less about us, but super-abundantly he justifies this positive anchor we have in him.
The treasury in God, demands from us a persistent anticipation perseverance, fidelity and love. It is this kind of treasure that we should learn to cherish and guide jealously. The jealousy here shows how much we attribute to OUR TREASURE JESUS.

WHAT IS MEANT BY THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST?

2009-11-16T02:59:00.000-08:00

The Liturgy of the Eucharist is the very heart of the Mass. Using one of the approved Eucharistic prayers, the priest prays over the gifts, ask the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon them, recites the narrative of consecration, elevates the host and cup for the faithful to reverence and proceeds to call to mind the passion, resurrection and glorious return of the Lord Jesus. In this sacred, sacramental action the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ and we, through our participation in this mystery of faith, share spiritually in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Saint Justine describes this great prayer of thanksgiving and then notes “when he has concluded the prayers and acclamation by saying: ‘Amen.’ In describing the liturgy of the Eucharist, the Catechism tells us that “We carry out this command of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he has himself given us: the gifts of his creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present” (1357).
Then comes the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. We read in the General Instruction that at this point in the Mass “the priest then shows the Eucharistic bread for communion to the faithful and with them recites the prayer of humility in words from the Gospels. It is most desirable that the faithful receive the Lord’s body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass and that, in the instances when it is permitted, they share in the chalice. Then even through the signs communion will stand out more clearly as a sharing in the sacrifice actually being offered”. If we turn to the Catechism we read that “Holy Communion augments our union with Christ.” The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (Jn.6:56). Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet: “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me” (Jn.6:57) (1391).

THE VISION OF THE FUTURE.

2009-11-16T02:57:00.000-08:00

What we read in the first reading (Daniel 12:1-13) is part of a vision of the prophet Daniel concerning the end of time. It is remarkable because it contains the earliest statement of belief in the resurrection of the dead, and the first mention in the bible of ‘everlasting life’.
Today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 13:24-32) gives us a timely message about the end of the world. Jesus tells us that nobody knows when the end will come except the heavenly Father. About the end of time, we should be hopeful rather than fearful. This is because God made us for salvation, not for damnation. The Lord says: My plans for you are peace and not disaster; when you call to me I will listen to you. (Jn 29:11, 12, 14). Many people in the world today have claimed to know when the end of the world will come. Some claim a special revelation from God and or Mary, and others claim to have calculated it from the scripture. All these claims should be ignored. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of St. Luke “The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation…and they will say to you, ‘Look here! Look there’! Make no move; do not set off in pursuit… Lk 17:20-23. However, Jesus did not announce his Second Coming to frighten people but to give them courage that is why he invites us to be watchful; ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come’ Mk 13:33. Again He invites us to rejoice and to hope, ‘When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand’. Lk 21:28. Jesus invites us to wait for him full of hope and joy, since our trails will soon be over. Let those who refuse the salvation that Jesus offers be afraid: they have good reasons to fear both, their own death and the end of the world. We should not be disturbed by whatever may take place when the world is destroyed, even if it were to take place within our own life-time. Let us only make sure that when Jesus comes, he may find us faithful at his service. The life of a Christian is a continuous waiting for Christ’s coming but our waiting should not be an idle waiting, each of us must be on the work God entrusted to us in this life. Our waiting should be a joyful one, since the Lord will soon be coming to give us our real reward.

GOD NEVER FAILS.

2009-11-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

Nothing great can be achieved without enthusiasm, little wonder then people say a man is known by what it takes to discourage him. A great obstacle to enthusiasm is discouragement. Discouragement brings about loss of enthusiasm, it makes every situation seems hopeless and every reason for living sounds unconvincing. A popular legend reveals that discouragement is the greatest weapon of the devil. A discouraged person is on the oath of losing hope. He also has a great temptation to give up faith in God. The Lord reassures us in today’s Gospel (Luke 18:1-8) that our God does not fail. He is always faithful, even though he may delay, he answers prayer. He may not give us what we ask for in prayer, but we will not lack what we need for survival.

THEY ARE MEANS NOT THE END.

2009-11-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

Familiarity breeds contempt goes the popular saying. In the time past, the beauty of creation was a revelation of the creator. Our fore fathers realized that the beauty of the world has a value. But today we live surrounded by extraordinary phenomena but do not see them, because we are too use to them; and even when we don’t observe. We are so much distracted that we do not see beyond the star in the sky. The resulting ill is that the world is taking charge of us. Contrary to the order and blessing we received from the creator at the beginning of creation we have become slaves to created things. In his message to the whole world for the 43rd World Communication Day, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI noted that the new digital technologies are indeed bringing about fundamental shifts in pattern of communication and human relationships. He therefore urged us to see it primarily as reflections of our participation in the communicative unifying love of God. We must realize that created things are not end in themselves but means to an end. They must direct to a higher being responsible for their existence.

THE CHRISTAIN HALL OF FAME.

2009-11-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

In November we celebrate two great solemnities which are necessarily part of Christian life. The first day of November is All Saints Day. On that day we remember all those Christians, our ancestors, who as much as we know, have lived a life of holiness and who can be recommended as a model for others. The second day of November, All Souls Day is dedicated to all those “who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith” as the first Eucharistic prayer proclaims. We love to pray often, “Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them”. There is a profit in praying for the dead for there is nothing which God cannot do in his mercy. When we pray for the dead we acknowledge our own mortality and need in the “De Profundus”, Out of the depths I cray to you Oh Lord {Ps.130).
November brigs us an opportunity for stardom, a chance to get back on the purpose-driven path, the path of holiness. Jesus makes us an offer: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). He does this so that our achievements do not end simply with material success. How empty, as we have seen, life has been for those who “lived by bread alone”! The saints we celebrate are human beings like us who have strived to attain perfection and that faith has changed their surrounding and society. In our world today, people who seek perfection are very few. If there is so much imperfection in the world we Christians must take our share of the burden. Why not dare to be a star and be perfect too (Rom12:1-2)? Is that not why God made us? The penny Catechism says, “God made us to love him, to know him and to worship him”, in other words to “be holy as your heavenly father is holy” (Leviticus 19:2). This November, examine yourself, O Christian. What is your attitude to perfection? Take the chance and your place in the spiritual hall of fame! Strive for perfection, if for nothing, to celebrate the advent, the Lord’s coming.

ALL POWER BELONG TO GOD.

2009-11-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Some great thinkers in the past believed and taught that there is no measure of justice, therefore, “might is right”. Even though our society does not teach this, the reality on the ground confirms that we believe in it. Everybody is struggling for power, acquiring wealth and seeking means of dominating others and have the whole world under their feet. The corruption and evil in our society today is the result of this attitude. We point accusing fingers to our leaders because, to whom much is given much is expected, but if those of us who have been given little are faithful to the little in our care, we can influence the much in the hands of the few individuals. The Lord teaches today that every responsibility will be accounted for, therefore we must learn that he is the source of all powers and total to him is the only way to success. Let us therefore pray for the spirit of humility and total surrender to God for ourselves and for all temporal and spiritual leaders. “Lord you are the source of all power; may we use everything you give us to your glory. Amen.”

BE SIMPLE; BE GREAT.

2009-11-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

Mark Link (SJ) shared a story in one of his reflections which I will like to share here. A man has driven a taxi around the streets for 35 years. One day he found an emerald ring in his cab. He racked his brain to try to remember to which fare it could have belonged. Having remembered the probable owner, it took him two days to find her. When he did, he returned the ring to her. She received it without giving any reward; she did not even utter a word of thanks for this effort. However, the taxi driver said “still I felt good because I had done what was right. What a great man indeed? Is this not the path Jesus placed before us in the gospel reading of today? (Luke 17:7-10) Greatness is not achieved by doing extra ordinary things but by doing ordinary things extra ordinary well. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Leo the great. We have only three saints that have the title great attached to their names and Leo is one of them. He did not become great by doing extra ordinary things, but just like that taxi driver, doing good was not just a duty but a reason for his existence. “Lord, you have revealed to me that the path to greatness is simplicity. May I work for the kingdom in simple and unassuming ways. Amen.”

THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY PLACE.

2009-11-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

Today we commemorate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. “The mother and mistress of all the Pope’s Basilica. It was consecrated on 9th November, 324 by Pope Sylvester and was later named St. John Lateran in honour of St. John the Baptist. This celebration invites us to a deeper reflection on the sacredness of our places of worship. Our whole world cannot contain God but he has chosen to dwell among us in a way that we can understand. This is an expression of God’s love that must be appreciated by all. Jesus ordered those who turned the house of God into a market place out of the temple, reminding them that the house of God is a place of prayer. This is a clear message to all of us to recognize God’s presence in our midst. The Lord is always in his dwelling place. “Lord you are always in our midst, open my eyes to recognize your presence always. Amen.”

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PREPARE ONESELF TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST.

2009-11-09T09:42:00.001-08:00

To respond to the Lord’s invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood, the believer must be prepared. Saint Paul urges us to examine our conscience. “Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11.27). Before we approach the table of the Lord it is important to reflect on our life, ask God’s forgiveness for our failings and if necessary, due to serious sin, to avail ourselves of sacramental confession. Recent polls indicate that a significant number of Catholics do not have a complete understanding of the Eucharist and specifically the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Whatever the cause of such misunderstanding of the faith, all who approach the table of the Lord need to recognize the significance of their action and the importance of their spiritual preparation. It sometimes becomes the task of older members of the family, especially parents, to review with the younger ones what is happening at Mass and who we receive in Holy Communion. Grandparents have in some instances a unique and privileged role as a teacher of the faith in an age where the awareness of the real presence seems to be diminished.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PREPARE ONESELF TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST.

2009-11-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

THE GIFT THAT COSTS.

2009-11-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

Today’s liturgy reveals some important facts about the poor. The poor are blessed because they have a greater recognition of their need for God. The two widows in the first reading (Kings 17:10-16) and in gospel (Mark 12:38-44) give up everything, totally trusting in the goodness of the Lord. What these two widows have in common is their willingness to give all that they have without counting the cost or consequences. The first widow gave her entire supply of food to Prophet Elijah while the second one gave her only small coins, but she gave from her want as Jesus observes. However, the test of any gift is not what it amounts to in itself, but what its loss means to the giver. Our gift must cost us something for it to be valuable. This is not just giving what we can live without, but what we can’t live without, or don’t want to live without. This type of giving hurts, this type of giving is love in action. When the gift is as desperately needed by the giver as by the receiver –that is true giving. This is the only time our gift becomes a sacrifice. The reading shows us this. It is story about two widows. On one level the story in the First Reading makes no sense. Indeed, it seems ridiculous and impossible. That is if we take it in in a literal sense. The widow had not much; all she had left was a handful of meal in a jar. Yet by sharing what she had with the prophet, it never ran out. The point being made here is: it is possible to give without losing. In fact, to give can be a way of gaining. In the Gospel reading, Jesus Christ commended the widow when he said, ‘others had put in what they had to spare; she instead had put in ‘all that she had’ literally taken, the words of Jesus meant; ‘she has put in all her life’ the little she had to live on. Our Lord’s lesson is clear: God does not count what we offer but the love and sacrifice we put in offering. Humility and love bring God to our side right away. The widow in the Gospel story gave her all. She let go of every shred of security and committed herself to God. Hence the story is as much about trust in God as about generousity.

AUGUSTINIAN BISHOP DIES IN CHINA.

2009-11-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

Bishop Nicholas Shi Jin Xian, 88, died last month in Shangqui, the last of the Augustinian Recollects to have worked in China before the take-over of Communism. According to the statement from his Order, it was Bishop Shi who “after decades of persecution and isolation, restored religious life in his diocese, and the Catholic Church’s relations with the civil authorities.”
Nicholas Shi was born in 1921, just three years before the Order of Augustinian Recollects arrived at the Henan Mission (present-day Shangpiu). He entered the Augustinian minor seminary in his native municipality, and made his profession January 16, 1940. After studying philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest on July 29, 1948.
Shortly after Friday Shi’s ordination, Spanish religious were expelled from China and native religious were dispersed or sent to concentration camps. His mission was thus closed. Father Shi was soon after appointed Episcopal vicar, until he was finally prohibited from exercising any pastoral action.
He first became an oculist, but later was consigned for three years to a brick factory to be “re-educated.” He was imprisoned for two years and lived in miserable conditions suffering the public contempt of the authorities. However, behind closed doors, he did not cease his pastoral work, undertaking constant visits to Christian homes and leading underground liturgical celebrations. His human qualities were appreciated even by those who guarded him.
Deng XIAO Ping’s coming to power and the 1979 Cultural Revolution enabled the priest to get a “rehabilitation letter.” He was assigned to teach English, a job he held until his retirement.
Soon after, he managed to contact the Augustinian Recollects through letters written to addresses in Manila he had memorized as a young man. The contact was unexpected on both sides: Father Shi was not sure if the order still existed, having been told during his psychological torture that it was gone; the Augustinians themselves did not know if any Chinese religious were still alive. Retired from his teaching tasks, he returned to Shangqui in 1980 to dedicate himself solely to pastoral work. He succeeded in having the civil authorities return to the Church all the goods they had confiscated since 1948. He re-opened the parish and contacted some of the Augustinian religious who were still in China after the dispersion. He also began to receive visits from foreign religious, once permission was granted for travel within China.
For years he engaged in negotiations with civil authorities, eventually gaining permission to have communities of religious in his diocese. In 1991, he was made bishop.
“Nicholas Shi deserves a place of honor in the history of the Order and in the Catholic Church in China,” the Augustinian statement affirmed. “His humility, discretion, ability to react and prudence led him to maintain a tense but respectful relationship with the authorities. His figure attracted many of his compatriots to Catholicism and the religious life.
“He was a In 1991, he was made bishop.
“Nicholas Shi deserves a place of honor in the history of the Order and in the Catholic Church in China,” the Augustinian statement affirmed. “His humility, discretion, ability to react and prudence led him to maintain a tense but respectful relationship with the authorities. His figure attracted many of his compatriots to Catholicism and the religious life.
“He was a son of profound spiritual life, deep faith and uncommon intelligence. Never having lived outside of China, he wrote in Latin, English and Spanish, and was able to translate official texts. When he made contact with the first Spanish religious, after almost 40 years without speaking, hearing or reading a word of Spanish, he had no problem writing letters and reports in this language with an astounding perfection.”
“His love for the Order of Augustinian Recollects in which he was formed, to which he belonged and which he re-established in his diocese, with a great vocational flowering, was a feature that all Augustinians recognize and thank him for.”

CURBING CULT ACTIVITIES.

2009-11-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

According to Mike Mudock, a great preacher, “the most fertile ground on earth is the burial ground” Why? “Many people have died in their prime with their dreams, goals and aspiration in life.”
When I remember these words, my heart skips a beat because, ordinarily, these people would not have died. Many people, particularly youths, have died for nothing while others have been maimed for life because of cult activities. Some are just a bundle of waste because, academically, they are no where. In fact, they are useless to themselves, there family and the society at large. They are perpetually in search of trouble and where there is none, they forment it. The most terrible aspect of the whole thing is that some parents know that their children and wards are involved in one cult or the other, but they turn their eyes to the other side. With the spate of cultism, one may be tempted to say that cultism is now institutionalized because both the young and old are now involved. In the past, we know that cultism was associated with undergraduates in higher institutions, but these days, we find pupils in primary school and students in secondary schools, what can we say. The world is in maze.
The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines a cult as a way of life, an attitude or idea which has become very popular. It is also a group of people who have extreme religious beliefs and who are not part of any established religion. So, a from-all indication, a cult is not an approved organization. It is practiced in the secret, therefore, it is illegal. From the word cult, we have “cultism” which is the act of engaging or involving oneself in a treacherous activity that can mar one’s destiny. It is a destiny destroyer.
Any cult has a god, which is against the existence of the Almighty God; because God said “you shall not have any other god beside me”.
It is common knowledge that cultism is now everywhere-motor parks, our neighborhood, and most, unfortunately, the Church. Different folks for different cults- that is what we have today. Different cults are back up by some power and entities which is known as their gods. These cultists all pay homage to their gods- and these gods are often appeased with blood. That is why they kill or shed blood.
The activities of cultists are alarming and have also assumed a worrisome dimension. In Delta State and in almost every neighbourhood, you find young boys loafing and idling away and when you go closer and enquire of them what you will hear is, “ah, that one, he is in a cult? I hear that people now pride themselves in their neighbourhood to belong to a cult. And people now engage them in battle, either for land dispute or family dispute. Girls are now in that world of cultism and they don’t hide it. I was told of a girls’ school in this State where cult activities even take place in broad day light.
Our society is no longer safe. People are afraid to go out because of these people. Parents, Churches, Mosque and individuals have parts to play in stemming this ugly trend. Then government should campaign against cultism, just as we have bodies campaigning, against HIV/AIDS.
If these seeds are bad, what kind of plant and fruits are we going to get because these youths of today are the supposed leaders of tomorrow, but if the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The government, both at the state and local levels should put up a measure to track down these boys and girls and mete out punishment that will serve as a deterrent to others.

YOU HAVE THE MESSAGE OF ETERNAL LIFE

2009-11-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

We go through life faced with different possibilities and options to make in furtherance of our good and the general welfare of the human person. Indeed the process of making choice is an inalienable must for every human being. Since human being has the capacity to make a moral choice though difficult, but distinction between good and evil must be made. It is also inevitable that choices about things are not left out in our human decisions.
Just as in the temporal and human way of life, we make choices, the same is to be found in our spiritual realm in which we are confined to make our moral decisions, since we cannot belong to every other camp; opposing and reinforcing at the same time. Among the son and daughter of Israel, they were called in Moses who received the covenant from Yahweh. They are sheep of God, while God was their shepherd. They have to distinguish themselves in a manner that approves they were living in consonance with God’s way of life; but just as my guess could be good as yours they ramified their actions with infidelity and insincerity.
In the book of Joshua24: - ff, the person of Joshua had to declare a public gathering of all tribes of Israel at Shechem. The reason behind this summon was not to boast his ego; rather it was an attempt to address the moral issue of the people of Israel concerning the allegiance of their soul. They were a people of God, but they lived contrary to this God of theirs. He Joshua proclaimed the loyalty of himself to the living God alongside his family. In the same vain, the tribes of Israel agreed from what they had known about this God who continues to lead them, they pledged their loyalty and lives to God all the days of which they will live. A problem that arises from this response which often times might have not been pondered over all the necessary recollection not adequately made before the all loud assent of WE SHALL DO.
St. Paul in his letter to the Church at Corinth (5:21-23) shows us the nature of our loyalty to God in the model of obedience to Christ shown between Husband and Wife. This loyalty must express itself in OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION. The submission and obedience in question here is to God in Christ as the one who has saved you and me. His place in our lives is not replaceable, because in him we move, in him we live and in him we have our being.
Jesus has the message of eternal life as we see in the concluding passage of the gospel of John 6:60-69. When he had taught this gospel of John i.e. Jesus, about the truth as we have it in the theology of the Eucharist, the people began to desert him by leaving him? It was here they declared their unflinching trust and confidence in God, when they said- Where shall we go to, you have the message of eternal life. What a great demonstration of faith in Jesus Christ.
Today Christianity of ours calls for this kind of re-assessment, especially with reference to whom we have decided to serve and how much effort we show in these religious professions we have made in our life. Jesus we understand is the message of eternal life, but how much penetrative are we to tap from this eternal ushered by Jesus. To know that something could help and assist us, but we do not want to avail ourselves of this opportunity is a form of crass ignorance, which ends in the spiritual realm in lost of the kingdom of God.
We must say again that knowledge is power. Jesus has the message of eternal life, to avail ourselves of this fountain; WE MUST YIELD OURSELVES TO WHOM THROUGH OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION TO HIS WILLAND DESIGN.

MASTER DO YOU NOT CARE.

2009-11-03T02:08:00.000-08:00

One mat want to liken the response of Jesus in our life situations as something of a slow pace and which is not commensurate with a caring and protecting saviour,when we consider that he allows this temptations and tragedies to come close to those who have reposed faith in him.
Why will God, allow his disciples become sick and impoverished only to be scorned by illness, before he raises this person to sound health of mind and body? Will it not be more heroic if sickness does not come close to this child of God? The situation of the Job of scripture, to a large extent explains what dilemma the righteous or Christian faces in the face of temptations that threaten faith.
In the Gospel according to Mark [4:35-41], we witness Jesus who embarked on a journey with the disciples. The Journey was a dangerous one since they were traveling on sea which is fraught with many dangers arising from the conceptions of the forces that plaque and dominate the waters. Not only that we have the outbreak of a mighty wave which already was sinking the boat and created scenario of great fright. But the surprising aspect of this account is that while all this readily come from the lips of many one, was Jesus insensitivity to the plight of these disciples of his?
Or was he faced with the human dimension that he could not sublimate into his divinity to recognize a threatening natural disaster.
These are not the true meaning or lessons we will derive from this gospel, otherwise why will Jesus after they had woken him rebuke their lack of faith. To put it straight, the seeming silence or what we might call his sleeping is the interlude to determine the faith commitment and orientations of the disciples in the face of the problems of life. Ones faith cannot be determined on the corridor of convenience but on the alter of difficulties and problems of life. In the case of the disciples, they called upon Jesus and demonstrated their faith in him when they said “master do you not care”.
I will want to think that, this dimension of faith is always required of us in our faith encounter and in the face of the problems of life. It is the recourse to Jesus who has absolute power to conquer and overthrow whatever dominion of evil that lies hidden in our world. The Christian must discover in Jesus the sovergnity to every form of darkness. This is principally the surprise of the disciples when in secret they questioned where he got the authority over forces of nature etc.
To every created individual, we must cross the sea of life and this goes a long way with frightening and threatening situations that we see around them. But what gives us the courage is that we have a master who is with us in the boat of life and he reclines quietly to see our response to him in the face of threats of life. Therefore let us take the courage and wake him up to the consciousness of whatever plaques us at any time.

SEASON OF PENANCE.

2009-11-03T01:27:00.000-08:00

The Lenten season begins with the administering of Ashes, on Ash Wednesday, which introduces you and me to begin to rethink our relationship with with God, especially our moral lives. This obviously obliges on us to a life of penitence in which we show contrition for our past lives, which we have lead. We necessarily have to accept season of discipline that must accord with a Lenten liturgy namely:
1. A return to God, as we have become prodigal, even like the prodigal son (Lk
2. 15:1-17).
3. A spirituality of reconciliation with one another and with God.
4. A period to conquer oneself and be master of ones action, never its slave.
The ash we have already accepted should continue to remind us that we are pilgrim people who must dedicate their lives to living as citizens of heaven, not those who become dangerously engrossed with the passing shadows of our times. The church and the scriptures give us a good guide to the season of penitence. They are prayer; alms giving and fasting. (cf.Is 58:1-12)
Prayer as a form of penitence for this season must show in our utter dedication and communion with him, in such a way that we draw closer to him. This means that if we are not a praying people, we should begin in earnest. Scripture warns that our prayer lives should not be a form of public acclamation or showism which is regarded as holier than thou attitude.
Alms giving must be done in such a way, that it is meant to assist the less privileged ones and those in critical situations of life. This must be done quietly, such that God rewards such charity. The alms we offer must be tangible and sacrificing in our sight, before it can make meaning even in the sight of God.
Fasting from food is recommended. But fasting from tendencies that lead us into sin must be primary, before that of food. When we fast, our facial looks should be welcoming not a perturbed and confused kind of appearance. What we pray is that, God gives each and every one of us the strength to persevere in this season of penitence. After this season our Lenten observance may God grant us the grace to be part of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He call to self-denial cannot be part and parcel of the true journey of the forty days of our preparation for our victory over the flesh, concupiscence and the additions or habits that makes us act foreign to the invitation of Jesus Christ. Self-denial is a form of self-control and mastery over the self-instincts that control us inordinately.
We must not fail to realize that the fact of our acceptance of the ash on Wednesday was the highlight that we are sinners who must necessarily seek to return back to God, remain contrite, humble and docile to God’s word.
The accompanying words of administering this Ash are “repent and believe in the Gospel”. Trust and faith in the gospel must be unquantified at this material time, since it is the basis for true knowledge and the pathway to moral, social rectitude.
One of the primary things we must endeavour to do at this time is to examine closely those temptations that lure us into sin, our cause of moral laxity and general failures in life.
The Liturgical and Para-liturgical services should be used for drawing close to Christ; namely daily attendances at masses, recitation of our prayers, stations of the cross, bible classes, adoration,quiet visits to Jesus in the blessed Sacrament etc. We therefore hope and pray that our efforts in this season of the discipline of lent will help us grow in all positive way.

HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER.

2009-11-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

Moses’ role as a leader and guide to the children of Israel is very prominent. He was the receptor of the ten commandments and as such he could be said to be a good or best interpreter to these precepts of God. In the book of Deuteronomy {11:18-32}, Moses called forth the sons and daughters of Israel to remind them that their heritage as Gods people is premised on the conduct of the keeping of the law.
We must state that prior the former presentation of the ten commandments, there must have been an ethical code, but because it was not codified it was possible to Feign ignorance of this laws of the community and of God. Perhaps this is the reason of the fragrant waywardness of the Israelites and their history being characterized with ups and down.
Moses unequivocally reminded them that the keeping of the laws was a means of salvation. To keep the laws was next to be in the corridor of those who do Gods will and found favour in the sight of God. However to disobey the commandment of God was to incure Gods wrath on oneself. This is what happened in the old testament times and has a big lesson for our today Christianity. The laws of God are eternal and they remain the values that will lead us into harmony in our human coexistence and our rapport with God. God’s precepts are meant to be a means of our return to the original path that God has mapped out for us.
In the gospel of Matthew [7:21-27], Jesus clearly pointed out to his disciples that it is not those who continually call him “Lord, lord that will enter into his Kingdom but only those who do the will of the Father”. Many at this time, where more interested in exhibiting spiritual tendencies but were largely among against the laws of God. This was the simple reason why Jesus had to tell them categorically in this manner.
Looking at our World of today we have many situations of people who prefer going against Gods will and subsequently think of appeasing God. I think this is not the best situation, because it is not always that we have the opportunity of a second chance. A culture of doing things in the right perspective is always far better to subsequent holocaust or amendment. The Nigerian society thrives in this kind of life-world such rather than keeping to the terms of agreement we tend to prefer subsequent re-negotiations that would have earned us in bad and immodest outlook.
The other kind of situation is the attitude of lip-service to ethical norms or those in place of authority. The tendency to pretend but behave ones own kind of way, does not lead us in any way forward. I think there is greater good to doing the right thing and following the right process.
Obeying the precept of the Lord has been reckoned as building upon solid rock, such that with the words of God imbibed, one cannot be tusked about by the winds of time. The keeping of Gods commandment creates the strength of character that makes us elude the wiles and deceits of our times. But above all, it makes us pleasing to God since obedience is better than sacrifice.
We must say here that it is never easy to keep Gods laws without his aid. But at the same time, God has created in each and everyone of us a longing for him, thus we could infer that he is the only one to give us that capacity to keep to his will and desire for us. Jesus is the revelation of the father; he tells us that any one who turns to him, he will in no wise cast away. This is the lot of those who have a yearning to be at peace with God and to reconcile with his commandments.
The summation of what we may say at this time is that those who will enter into the household of Gods kingdom are those who carefully DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER. To do his will is to reject every thing contrary to what his deeds demands.
We can begin today to change our orientation to Gods laws, submitting to remain docile to him. This can be achieved by remaining close to him in prayer and at the same time asking for his strength to do as such. On the other hand we must equally remember that keeping Gods commandments is to live out a life of love. Thus we say that love is the summation of the laws and the prophets.

BISHOPS CRITICISE POPE OVER LINZ APPOINTMENT.

2009-11-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

VIENNA-AUSTRALIA’S BISHOPS urged the pope to show more pastoral sensitivity when choosing bishops. The bishops said this recently in reaction to the resignation of a controversial priest whose appointment as auxiliary Bishop of Linz caused uprior.Following a historic crisis meeting held in Vienna, Australia’s bishops attempted to calm the Australian public with a pastoral letter admitting the Church’s error of communication and calling for “pastoral sensitivity” on the part of the Holy Father when making the final decision about Australian bishops.
Australia’s primate, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn called the emergency meeting recently after Benedict XVI Episcopal appointment of the outspoken Upper Austrian priest Dr Gerhard Wagner threatened to upset the delicate balance of the Austrian Church. Dr Wagner, the man at the heart of the row over the direction of the Austrian Church, announced soon after the appointment that he had asked Pope Benedict to withdraw his nomination following the uproar.
His appointment was to one of the country’s most liberal dioceses. The parish priest of the town of Windischgarsten caused controversy with his remarks about Hurricane Katrina-saying that it was a result of “Spiritual pollution”-his belief that homosexuality can be healed and his dislike of female alter servers among other things. The bishops’ meeting went ahead despite his resignation.
In the pastoral letter issued after the meeting the bishops said they owed the people an explanation for the past week’s events. They pledged their unalloyed support to the pope but also addressed themselves to the “crisis” that the appointment of Fr Wagner had unleashed in the Church. After dealing with the Society of St Pius X, they said: “The subject of appointing bishops is therefore so significant because it has been associated with a number of problems in Austria since the 1980s.
The controversies caused by the appointments of bishops were numerous, the conflicts and fissures in the Church too painful. Therefore it is precisely in this area that the most sensitivity must be applied. It is beyond question that the pope has free appointment of bishops. “The bishops desire no return to the times in which-as until 1918-the emperor chose the bishops in Austria. But also a bishop’s plebiscite would not avoid conflict and fragmentation.
We bishops are convinced that the procedure for choice and examination of candidates laid out in Church law stands the test, when the procedure is really followed. “For, before the Holy Father makes the final decision, there must be reliable and widely examined reasons for it, on which he can lean.” Addressing the fact that at least four new bishops are expected to be appointed in Austria in the next few years, the letter continued: “The faithful rightly expects that the procedure of the search for a candidate, the examination of the proposals and the final decision will be done carefully and with pastoral sensitivity. “In that way it can be ensured that the bishops are not named against but for a local Church. We bishops will do everything possible, in order to handle the appointments that lie ahead in the spirit of the procedural rules, in close work with the respective Vatican posts.”
Despite the apologetic tone of the pastoral letter the bishops not only praised the Diocese of Linz for its active work but expressed their concern about the tensions in the diocese. They said: “We bishops, however, have been troubled for years by the palpable tension, which has become once more acute with the recent appointment. We are not merely dealing with differing interpretations regarding structures and methods here, but ultimately a question of the sacramental identity of the Catholic Church. “In particular, this touches on the ordination of priests and deacons in relation to the general priesthood of all the baptized. The pastoral path can only be walked in unison with the universal Church.” Dr Wagner said he was relieved to have stepped down from the appointment on last month. Linz’s diocesan bishop, Ludwig Schwarz, made Sunday’s announcement on Dr Wagner’s behalf. He said: “In the face of hefty criticism, after prayer and discussion with the diocesan bishop, I have come to the decision with the diocesan bishop; I have come to the decision to ask the Holy Father in Rome to withdraw my nomination as auxiliary bishop.” It is as yet unclear whether Benedict XVI has accepted this request, but Dr Wagner spoke on the Austrian radio programme recently. He said: “This resignation has happened of my own volition. I woke up feeling very relieved when compared with the nights before the resignation. From the beginning, since I was nominated, I have felt the opposition; to be honest, often in unmerciful and unloving ways.” He said that he asked himself what he could do for the good of the Church while the controversy over his appointment raged.
Public pressure against Dr Wagner’s appointment had been mounting since it was announced on January 31, only 10 days after the storm over Society of St Pius X’s Holocaust-denying bishop started rocking the Church. The dioceses of Linz is divided between the liberal and conservative elements in the church, and the appointment of an outspokenly conservative priest exacerbated an already fragile situation. Earlier last month the leading regional priests of the diocese showed their dislike of the pope’s candidate in an informal meeting where 31 out of 35 voted against him.

CATHOLIC PRIEST SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IMPRISONMENT.

2009-11-01T03:35:00.000-08:00

RWANDA- The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in March this year sentenced Very Reverend Father Emmanuel Rukundo, a Catholic priest accused of Genocide, to twenty five years in prison. Trial Chamber II of the ICTR composed of judges Joseph Asoka Nihal de Silva,Taghrid Hikmet and Seon Ki Park, found Rukundo guilty of Genocide, murder as a crime against humanity and extermination. The judges wandered why a holy Catholic priest should be involved in such an act.
He is the second Catholic priest found guilty by the court.Fr Athanase Rukundo was sentenced to life in prison last year, while Fr Hormisdas Nsengimana is still on trial. Dressed in his full priesthood attire, the nonchalant Rukundo was called to the dock by the presiding judge, from where he was sentenced.
“Considering all the relevant circumstances and having ensured that the accused is not being punished twice for the same offence, the chamber finds Emmanuel Rukundo guilty of Genocide, murder and extermination as a crime against humanity, to a single sentence of 25 years of imprisonment,” judge Silva read from the verdict. The Chamber found the priest guilty of having participated in the killings of Tutsis, together with former Rwandan soldiers, at St. Leon Minor Seminary in the Southern Province.
He was also convicted for participating in the killing of a lady identified as Rudahunga and as well as severely beating and injuring her two children. The chamber also averred that prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Fr Rukundo was present during the committing of the crime and the soldiers acted under his authority.
A former highly respected military chaplain, Rev Fr. Rukundo was also found guilty of having assaulted a Tutsi girl at the St.Leon Seminary, an issue the chamber considered as a highly aggravating factor saying the priest abused his moral authority. “As an educated person, the priest should have appreciated the dignity and value of human life and the need for a peaceful co-existence between communities,” Judge Joseph Asoka Nihal de Silva said.
Speaking to The New Times news agent shortly after the sentence, ICTR Prosecutor Justice Bubacar Jallow said the prosecution was particularly happy with the findings, but could not readily confirm if they would appeal against the sentence.
“We have found the findings on genocide being a very important decision in that respect particularly. We shall not certainly appeal against the findings, we need to look at the judgment and review and analyze it,” he said.However, senior legal experts at the tribunal criticized the court’s judgment saying that since the priest was found guilty of Genocide, he should have been sentenced to life in prison.
In his final submission last year prosecutor William Egbe had requested for the priest to be given a life sentence arguing that he deserved no lesser punishment. The chamber finally ruled that Fr Rukundo, who was arrested in July 2001, shall receive credit for the time he has served at the UN Detention custody. The priest will remain in the custody of the tribunal pending a possible appeal or transfer to the State where he will complete his sentence.

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS (THE BEATITUDE).

2009-11-01T02:42:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we will hear the beatitudes, apparently to tell us about the feast of All Saints.Therefore,a look at them should tell us what a saint is. What are the beatitudes? Beatitudes is a spoken declaration or bestowal of blessedness on a person.Alright, what is blessedness? In plain words, it means a spiritual benefit. An example of a beatitude would be, “May the Lord bless you with a safe journey.” Or, “Blessed are those who show mercy.” Often there is a condition involved: “The people who keep the law will be blessed” (Proverb 29:18). Jesus gave nine of them in his inaugural talk (the sermon on the mount-Gospel!). But I ha e often been puzzled by the way he uses them and by the order in which they come. There is something strange about them. For instance, (a) the first four beatitudes seem to describe bad things as good. Blessed are the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry and thirsty. This is a reversal of an ordinary beatitude, which says, “Act right and you will be blessed”. Jesus seems to say, “Be weak and unhappy and you will be blessed.” Look at it this way: these first four beatitudes are actually assurances to people who suffer: the displaced, those who are left out. Jesus is saying that they too are blessed and much loved by God. (b) The next three beatitudes more resemble the ancient form: Blessed are the merciful, the clean of heart and the brokers of peace. These sound reasonable, they are a spiritual step upwards from the first four. They are incentives to those who want to take action in the world on behalf of the Kingdom. The blessedness consists of being at work with Jesus as a companion. (c) But then come the last two, which are stunning: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.” And, “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you…” These sound like curses, not blessings. Who could want such treatment? Yet these two are a step up from what precedes them. They presume that you might actually want to take up the cross with Jesus, participating in the ultimate act of love, a love which cuts through false honor, wealth, pride and security. Radical love often stirs hate and envy in others. But it is blessed because it comes from being so close to Jesus. Thus, there are at least three stages of ascent in the following of Jesus suffering, working for others, enduring persecution as a result. The saints are examples in each of the areas, because of their love for God. This is very basis and root of happiness, or “blessedness,” as we are saying.

WHAT DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACH ABOUT MARY,THE MOTHER OF JESUS?

2009-11-01T02:03:00.000-08:00

The question is a pretty broad one, but let me start the dialogue by saying that everything that the Church teaches about Mary is only in direct relationship to Jesus. As Catholics we start with the question Christ asked Peter: Who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16).As we answer that question we begin to see that Jesus Christ is a Divine Person with two distinct natures (one Human another Divine).We believe the Eternal Word became incarnate in Mary’s womb from the moment of conception. Mary provided Christ’s humanity; the embryo in her womb was the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. For this reason, in order to protect Jesus’ Divinity at every step of the Incarnation, the Church ascribes Mary the title, “Mother of God” (Literally Theotokos meaning, “God bearer”). As we continue to explore the nature of the Incarnation, we understand that God intended to include man in His plan for Salvation. So as we are “In Christ”, we participate, in some capacity, in Christ’s redemption work. As St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians: 3:9 “We are co-workers with Christ for the sake of the Gospel”. To that end, Mary’s role in our Salvation is unique.We, that is: you and I, says Billy Graham, brings Jesus to the world by preaching the Gospel in word and deed. Mary actually brought Jesus into the world, so in that sense, her free will, “Yes” to God, became a secondary cause of our Salvation.Nevertheless, this was all a work of Grace. We don’t worship Mary! Mary is an Icon of what we as Christians ought to be. She symbolizes total surrender to God. We also believe that, just as you and I can pray for each other on earth, those in God’s presence can also pray; and pray all the more effectively, because their position allows them to pray in God’s perfect will.Therefore,we ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us.

ARE WE TRULY CHRISTAINS?

2009-11-01T01:48:00.000-07:00

Do we really appreciate the fact that we are Christains,that we know, through Christ’s revelation, that the God of heaven, the infinite Creator of the universe, has designed to call himself our Father, and gives us the right to call him Father? Through that same Christian revelation we also know that he is infinitely merciful and cares for each single one of us more than any human father can care for his child. That he not only put us into this world and provides for us here, but that when our days here come to an end, he has prepared an everlasting abode for us, in his kingdom of peace and happiness.
Think for a moment what our world, or the people in it, were like before Christ came on earth. Ninety-seven percent of those then on earth. Adored false gods and offered sacrifices to idols made of wood or stone. Idolatry often made life on earth unbearable and gave no hope whatsoever of any-life. The remaining three percent was made up of the Chosen People who had a very limited knowledge of the true God. He had shown mercy and kindness towards them, but they feared him rather than loved him. With rare and notable exceptions, they served him out of self-interest, to get from him temporal gifts, rather than out of real gratitude and love. Their relationship to him was more like that of slaves towards their masters than that of children towards a kind and loving Father. Their life was earth entered and their ambitions were worldly. He had revealed little or nothing to them about a life after death. The prophets spoke of a great, happy and prosperous age which was to come, when God would send his Messiah, but the most they could hope for in the way of a future life or immortality, was to live on in their descendants, so that, to be childless was one of their greatest disasters.
Ours is a world which is in an all-out search for new idols. It is world which has left the path marked out by Christ, and forgotten or tried to forget, that man’s life does not end with death. To be a Christian and to have the light of faith to guide our steps in this neo-pagan darkness is surely a gift, and a blessing from God, for which we can never thank him enough. Than you, God, for this gift. Please give us the grace and the courage to live up to it and to die in the certainty that we shall hear, as we shut our eyes on the light of this light, the consoling words “come you blessed of my father, posses the kingdom prepared for you.

THE LIVING BREAD AND BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY.

2009-11-01T01:46:00.000-07:00

In the prophet Elijah of today, we come to understand the function of food for the human person and the aspect of nourishment that it brings to him in furtherance of the human goal which he wishes to attain, and the zeal for its mobilization.
Food is a necessary requirement of all men and women, who want or wishes to sustain the biological and bodily needs of human sustenance and growth. The outlook of workers, from day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year is simply to have food for the table and possibly for other menial purposes.
While Elijah was exhausted from the many persecutions of the prophets of Baal, he gladly delighted that God could take his life from him, as he went into the wilderness and slept.However, God miraculously brought him such kind of food and water that he ate and drank through the ministration of his angels .A second time he repeated his action, as Elijah ate and drank from this food that lay before him from God. This food became in him a kind of living food which was able to strengthen and vigour of a man who was exhausted in life.
In John 6:41-51, we see the complaint of the Jewish people against Jesus of blasphemy that he was the “bread that came down from heaven”. Indeed the truth is always cruel and bitter, but there is no other way to say the truth other than saying it. In the imagery of the one who came down from heaven, they construed him to mean the manna that Yahweh gave them in the wilderness. But in essence, Jesus was truly the one who humbles himself even to accepting the human nature which likened to that of a slave of Phil 2:4-9.
Going further, Jesus says categorically “Your father ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. The bread Jesus speaks of today is the sacrament and sacrifice of his body and blood confected by the words of consecration. This body and blood of Christ is the spiritual bread that brings nourishment for the soul and the physical body. We cannot say we have the life of Christ if we are not united in the body and blood of Christ. The bread of life is one of the central focuses of the Christian community of Acts 2:46-47.In the same way, we come together always to break this bread, the symbol of our communion.
Just as the food was the energizer for Elijah, the same is the Eucharist for the Christian as it provides the spiritual strength for the Christian vocation and mission. To be in communion with the living bread is the pledge of a future glory and it makes us conscientious of the dangers associated with being away from Jesus Christ who is antidote against death that we should receive sacramentally.Anyone who eats this bread will live forever and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.
At the Emmaus experience (cf Lk 23:7-ff), when Jesus had opened their eyes by the breaking of bread, they were astonished, but immediately they left to proclaim Jesus to others and what they have known of him. In this living bread for the journey. This is why the psalmist of today tells us to “taste and see that the Lord is good”. We cannot experience this Jesus unless we have a one to one encounter with him.

POPE URGES BISHOPS TO HELP PRIESTS.

2009-11-01T01:43:00.000-07:00

Being available for his people should not bring a bishop to diminish his availability for the Lord, says Benedict XVI.
The pope affirmed last month when he was visited at Castel Gandolfo by bishops who have been ordained over the last year. In his address to them, the Holy Father pointed to the Year for Priests and emphasized the need for prelates to support their priests.
“The imitation of Jesus the Good Shepherd is, for every priest, the obligatory path for their own sanctification and the essential condition for exercising the pastoral ministry responsibly. If this is true for priests, it is even more so for us, dear brother bishops,” the Holy Father said.” What is more, it is important not to forget that one of the essential tasks of the bishop is precisely to help priests, by example and with fraternal support, to follow their vocation faithfully, and to work with enthusiasm and love in the Lord’s vineyard.”
The Pontiff said that a particular mission for bishops is nourishing the spiritual life of priests, “to foster in them harmony between prayer and the apostolate, looking at the example of Jesus and of the Apostes, whom he called first of all to be with him.”
Benedict XVI acknowledged that priests, and even more so, bishops, face a “lot of work that tends to absorb them continually and totally.”
“Nevertheless,” he affirmed, “attention to the problems of every day and the initiatives directed to leading men on the way of God, must never distract us from our profound and personal union with Christ. To be available to people should not diminish or obfuscate our availability to the Lord. The time that the priest and bishop dedicate to God in prayer is always the best employed, because prayer is the soul of pastoral activity.”
In this regard, the Pope encouraged a profound Eucharistic life, as well as devotion in the Liturgy of the Hours,lectio divina, and the rosary.
He concluded with a reference to St.John Vianney, patron of the year for Priests, who “with the Word and the sacraments edified his people” and was thus able to plant the “love of God” in Ars.

WHAT KIND OF SHEPHERD?

2009-11-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

The place of shepherds from old testament times has been an irreplaceable position because of the primordial duties attached to them in the general welfare and guidance they render to their sheeps or flock. The Good shepherd in the Gospel of John {10} presents Jesus as the ideal shepherd who takes care of his sheep, protects his sheep, loves and nourishes them such that they are kept in the bosom of safety and well being. However in that same presentation we see the vivid description of the shepherd who is not genuine but largely interested in the exploitation of the sheep. If I may ask, what kind of shepherd do we have in our world today and what kind of shepherds are we turning out from the tent of our Christianity and places of responsibility.
In the prophet Jeremiah 23:1-6 he outrightly denounces the shepherds. The reasons behind the prophecy of doom against the shepherd are for the following reasons. They have allowed the sheep entrusted into their care to be scattered and kept wandering away. These shepherds were merely interested in the material and monetary gains that accrued from the sheeps.They lacked the care and concern for the sustenance and welfare of those entrusted into their care. It is in this depravity and lacks from among the shepherds that Yahweh God promised that he will raise up shepherds.
Jeremiah in his prophesy says “I will raise shepherds to look after them and pasture them; no fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost it is the Lord who speaks”.
Jesus is presented to us as the shepherd we must look up to in our day to day lives. One of the things he does is the unification and mending of the wounds of division among the lost sheeps.He brings them together under the umbrella of one shepherd and one fold. The letter of St Paul to the Ephesians 2:13-18 states “in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart”. The Psalmist in {23} states that the Lord who is the shepherd guides along the right path, provides fresh and green and leads by the restful waters.
In the Gospel according to Mark {6:30-34}, Jesus observes a pastoral evaluation with the disciples after their return from evangelization of the people. He instructs them on the basic need for rest, contemplation, meditation and reflection. This is to put the shepherd in touch with the master of the vineyard. However we still observe that the Jesus, who insisted on the disciples resting, is put to concern after seeing the pitiable situation of the sheeps before him. He goes after caring for them and bringing them help. Thus we could say, that the shepherd must learn to be untiring for the welfare of the sheep, no matter the circumstances around.
In these various instances, shepherds of today should learn to be more interested in their sheep and become instrument of the unification of their flock and wards. The shepherds who lack interest for the promotion and enhancement of their ward and flock explains the bane of the Nigerian situation and even the world in general. Let our profession of being shepherds be anchored in true objective of fulfilling our duties and doing this with all forms of dedication and sincerity without negative motives.

POPE APPOINTS BISHOP LONGLEY ARCHBISHOP OF BIRMINGHAN.

2009-10-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

In a surprise move, Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop Bernard Longley as the new Archbishop of Birminghan.The Vatican announced the appointment last month as Bishop Longley appeared at a press conference at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St Chad in Birmingham.
Bishop Longley, who is 54 and has been a bishop for just six years, and his appointment was unexpected. He said: “You can imagine I was quite taken aback. I was very surprised to be invited to come to Birminghan, thinking there would not be an appointment for several months to come. I was delighted that the Holy Father has asked me to be an archbishop here.
The archbishop covers a large swathe of England, including the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, where Bishop Longley attended university in the 1970s.He said: “Having been to university in the very south of the diocese in the 1970s I would say I have had a long and intermittent relationship with the diocese, and I hope I will continue to have a long relationship.”
He said that the papal visit in September and the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, expected at the same time, would be “a tremendous blessing, and a living proof of the faith”. Bishop Longley has been an auxiliary bishop at Westminster for six years and said it was “a wonderful experience”.
“I’m very grateful for the experience. One of the things which makes me think I will be at home here is that, having lived an east London, the tremendous ethnic diversity, cultural mix is also very much here in Birminghan.I’ve lived in Tower Hamlets, quite close to Hackney, and the problems which the local community have been facing there are similar to those faced here.”
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the previous Archbishop of Birmingham paid tribute to his successor’s qualities. “I welcome the news of the appointment of Bishop Bernard Longley as Archbishop of Birminghan,”he said. “I am confident that he will be warmly welcomed, right across the archbishop. The clergy, religious and laity of the archdiocese will appreciate the qualities he brings: his gentleness and sensitivity; his profound and joyful faith; his willingness to listen.
“I am sure, too, that Bishop Bernard will grow to love this fine archbishop, just as I did.” Bishop Longley was introduced at the press conference by Bishop William Kenney, the administrator of Birmingham archbishop, who said he was delighted by the appointment. He said: “We look forward to Bishop Bernard becoming a follower in the footsteps of Bishop Ullathorne, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Birminghan, and to his taking a lead in the preparations for the beatification of Cardinal Newman.”
Bishop Longley said that one of the factors in his appointment might be his appointment might be his experience of dealing with people from other Christian denominations and faiths.
“The ecumenical experience is something which may be significant.Wherevi live over 30 percent of the population was from Bangladesh. Maybe the family background helped, the experience of living in different parts of England was part of my life.” Bishop Longley is considered a moderate conservative although he was supportive he was supportive of controversial “gay-friendly” Masses in central London. This year, as the head of the Day for Life campaign, which focused on suicide, he also presented the Church as having a compassionate attitude towards people who kill themselves. Archbishop-elect Longley will be installed on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

POPE APPOINTS TWO NIGERIANS INTO PONTIFICAL OFFICE.

2009-10-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

The Roman Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, has appointed the Founder and National Coordinator of the Holy Family Society of Nigeria, Sir David Osunde and wife, Lady Mary-Joan Osatohanmwem, members of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
The Pope, who selected the due alongside nine other families from other countries to join the Pontifical Academies of Life and the Family, expressed his pleasure over the activities of the Holy Family Society of Nigeria, which he said has been instrumental towards the propagation of wholesome family practices in the country for the past two decades.
As members of the Pontifical Academies of Life and the Family, Osunde and his wife are expected to join other members of the body in advising the universal Church on the promotion of family and human life values in consonance with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
While the pontifical council for the family assists Roman Catholic Bishops around the world on family matters, the council for life constitutes of bishops, theologians and lay people who are committed towards protecting the culture of life.
Among the lay members of this council, is Dr Evelyn Billings, an Australian doctor who with her late husband, Dr John Billings, developed the Billings Ovulation Method of natural family planning.

FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION AMONG BRETHEN.

2009-10-29T05:35:00.000-07:00

The oxford English Dictionary defines quarrel as “angry argument; a reason for disagreement” It is natural to quarrel when circumstances necessitate it and it is man’s inalienable right to be angry when provocation arises. These are basic facts of life. But the questions are: shall we continue to yield to emotion and quarrel easily due to circumstances or get angry once provoked? Would such behaviour enhance our spiritual growth? Will our soul find peace in such be behavioural pattern? Must we allow our emotion to enslave us?
In organization as in several churches, members quarrel just as in any other human organization or society.Usually, quarrel is a product of disagreement over several things. It might be material, administrative or even spiritual matter.
The people quarrel to disagree among themselves does not really matter. What matters (mostly to Christians) is the handling or reactions to the situations of quarrel or disagreement. When the need to quarrel or disagree among people (especially brethren) arises, how should the situation be handled? It is always proper to make our feelings known when provoked without causing damages by our reactions.
This brings to mind a recent occurrence at a church where a member was said to have sued his parish priest in his personal capacity over a debt owed him by the church. This column is not interested in the righteousness or otherwise of the action. That is a cup of tea for legal minds to sip and ponder over.
Our concerns here is the spiritual import of such a situation.1st Corr.6:1-7 enjoins Christians to always try and resolve their differences among themselves and not allow any adjudication outside the body of Christ. Matthew 18:15-17 also admonishes every Christians on how disputes, be it on financial matters or otherwise should be settled.
This is exactly why in various churches; there are usually the leaders who take care of certain disputes among members. In the Catholic Church, for instance, you have the Catholic Men Organization (CMO), Catholic Women Organization (CWO), the Catholic Youths Organization of Nigeria (CYON) and several other groups or societies. At the peak of all these is the Parish Council. Given the composition of the parish council which is usually made up of representatives of all statutory groups, members can rightly be referred to as the wise “men” (and women) of the organization. In some other churches, you have the elders or leaders committee or council that oversees the activities of the Church. These are there to handle issues that may occur among member and settle them amicably.
It is expected that any aggrieved Christians should explore any of these bodies in seeking justice. There is no doubt that access to court is a constitutional human right of every citizen. But as a proverb in Yoruba Language says: “we don’t return from the court to be friends”.Literally,friendship is thrown to the dogs before people drag themselves to court and the basis of friendship having been destroyed before heading to court, it is often difficult to restore it back after the court session.
Besides, we are daily indebted to God through our sins and we seek forgiveness. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
If we tell God in our simplifications for forgiveness of our debts through sin we commit often knowingly, should we not ponder deeply over that owed us by our neighbours? As Christains, let us reflect over Matt: 22:35 where a debtor was forgiven for a huge amount he owed but yet he was unable to forgive another debtor who owed him a lesser amount.
In our life, there was this landlord whose fellow landlord friend complained to that a tenant who owed him five months rent was offering to make a part payment of two months only and seeking advice on what to do. This landlord rather than advise his friend to take the two months and give his tenant time to pay the rest; he simply told him to collect the two months rent and use the money to process court papers or pay a lawyer to eject the tenant since he could no longer pay his rent as at when due.
A month later, this first landlord’s younger brother in Lagos phoned him begging for financial assistant to enable him rent a new apartment as his former landlord threw his property out over a nine months rent arrears.
Surprisingly, in anger, this first landlord called his brother’s landlord so many unprintable names for not being patient with his brother who was owing for nine months. He no doubt has forgotten the advice he gave to his friends whose tenant owed just five months.
The lesson from all these is, that is in our quest to level up with people over an issue, we should always be mindful of our shortcomings before God who has the power to take an instant decision on our faith and lives. He, as God of justice, has given us the grace to rationalize our actions, mostly in our relationship with others as professed Christians.
We should always endeavour to show love and forgiveness towards each other as followers of Christ and as stated in Psalm 133:1-3.

PURGATORY IS IT IN THE BIBLE?

2009-10-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

Purgatory is it in the bible?
That is the question many people ask. After death comes judgement.Heb.9:27.The sentence that cannot be changed-the judgement.The reward must be heaven, purgatory or hell according to one’s deed. Yes many Christians do not believe that purgatory does exist. They believe that after death one goes to heaven or hell, but we Catholic believe that there is purgatory.
According to the Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary, it means the condition after death in which the soul is purified in preparation for heaven, a place of temporary suffering. The word “Purgatory” comes from the word “purgation” meaning to purge, removal of something bad or undesirable.
Invariably, purgatory means a place where souls of the dead are purified or assisted by the prayers of the living before they are fit to enter heaven. Souls in purgatory belong to the Church suffering, then the living or the faithful on earth are the Church militants while those in heaven are known as the Church triumphant. That is why we have the communion of saints for we are one body in Jesus Christ.
The suffering in purgatory is less or more intense proportioned to the penalty which souls must expiate, still it is a place of great hope where the love of God is so intensive and that the face of not being able to see the Almighty God face to face becomes the greatest pain.
In the first letter of St.John 5:17, we are told. “All wrong doing is sin, but there is a sin which does not lead to death”. It then means that there are sins that are not mortal; hence they do not lead to death. But there are sins that can destroy more than others, that is why we have two categories of sin mortal or grave sin and venial sin.
Then what souls go to Purgatory?
Those souls go to purgatory that departs this life is venial sins or that have not wholly paid the debt of temporal punishment due to those sins of which guilt has not been forgiven. (Catechism of Christian doctrine, question 107 page 18)
How do we prove that there is purgatory?
We prove that there is purgatory from the constant teaching of the church and from the Doctrine of the Holy Scripture which declares that God will render to every man according to his work, that nothing defiled shall enter heaven and that the same will be saved, yet so as by fire Mathew 16:23,1 Cor 3:15.
In 1 Jn. 5:16 it says, if your brother commits a sin that does not lead to death you should pray to God who will give him life. As we said before, there are sins that are mortal and can destroy more than others. For an example, a child who told lies to his father to escape being punished for his misbehavior committed a sin, also a man that stole another person’s car or out of jealousy destroyed a good name of his friend committed a sin. Looking at the above examples the later leads to death more than the former and since they have committed sins they would not enter heaven neither would the child who told lies enter hell. There is a place he has to suffer for those lies if not in this world it will be in purgatory after his death for nothing unclean will enter heaven Rev.21:27.The other fellow that has committed mortal sin has confesses his sin and do the penance given to him by the priest. The sins committed have to be atoned for either in this world or in the world to come.
Since the Holy Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit has, following the Sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Holy Fathers taught in sacred council, that there is Purgatory and that the souls there retained are aided by the suffrages of the faithful and chiefly by the acceptable sacrifice of the Alter, the Holy Council recommended the Bishops that they strive diligently to the end that sound doctrine of purgatory transmitted by the fathers and the Sacred Councils be believed and maintained by the faithful of Christ and everywhere be taught and preached (Decree Concerning Purgatory: The Council of Trent: Session XXV December 4,1563).
If anyone says that satisfaction for sins, as to that temporal punishment is in no way made to God through the merits of Jesus Christ by the punishment inflected by Him and patiently born by fast the priests or even those voluntary undertaken as by fast, prayers, almsgiving or other works of piety and that the best penance is merely a new life, let him be anathema Canon 13.
According to Rev.Dr.S.T.Umoh in one of his speeches, Purgatory is a temporary place like a hospital where the sick stays for sometime and becomes well. So for him it is a place the stained souls stay for certain period of time and are purified before entering heaven. The souls in purgatory have hope of seeing God but it is a matter of time and this hope softens their suffering.
The month of November is set aside for the suffering souls in purgatory. Since they can neither pray nor help themselves, they depend on our prayers. The pain’s they encounter vary according to the type of sins the individual has committed and these sins must be atoned for. As they are being prayed for by the faithful and when a soul experiences some relief in the torments that devour it, it gives thanks to God and does not fail to remember those that rescued it.
It is advisable to be praying for their souls for without you and I, they will remain in their painful state. Imagine our family members, relations, teachers, friends, classmates and those that have been effaced from human memory stretching out their hands asking for our help to prayers; are we to turn away from their pleading? If we really love them in their life time, nothing holds us to love and pray for them now that they are dead. It is therefore a holy and wholesome taught to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sin (2 Mac.12:46).
May the souls of the departed members of our families and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace Amen.

ENSURING PEACE IN THE FAMILY.

2009-10-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Introduction:
Some times, we hear of quarrels between husbands and wives with the children confused of which side to support. Such quarrels do originate also amongst the children and you see parents taking sides. This division of voices and preferences when of frequent occurrences lead to divoice.Divource is the breaking off of the union between husband and wife in the family. This situation is morally and spiritually reprehensible since God decreed that what he has joined together, man (or woman) should not divide or put asunder.
What is the cause of the quarrels in the family? How can these quarrels be minimized or eliminated in order to have peace in our homes? These issues are very important because if we want peace in the world, we must work for peace in the family.
Causes of Family Squabbles:
The scripture says,” Peace is to men of goodwill (Luke 2:14)” and again in some other place that “There is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22)”.Fundamentally,therefore,squabbles in the family arise from ill will, consciously or unconsciously on the part of the husband, wife or children or all of these constituents of the family. The will-to-good comes from divine grace and it is disposition, which is aided by discipline, humility, gentleness, kindness and compassion. On the other hand, ill will is a disposition boasted by pride aggression and fastidiousness.
The ‘will’is the faculty of the soul responsible for micro or macro decision-making and choice. If our will is disposed to harshness, bitterness and negativity, we often make choices, which afflict pains on our neighbours.Since the immediate neighbours in the family are wife, husband and children, these uncharitable dispositions begin immediately to take their tools on family members.Invariably,from the ill will of the soul, we begin to prioritize and choose domination,misunderstanding,deceit,suspicion,disputes,neglet,contempt,resentment,calumny,strive,maltreatment,anger,violence,partiality,unforgiving,deprivation,lack of commitment,discomfort,exclusion,in dealing with members of the family. The will that tend to decisions that produces situation of win lose is not conducive to family peace. Life positions adapted by family members that create cross-transactions promote family squabbles.
Our Christian heritage informs us that family wars should be avoided.Rancours in the family produces children who propagate the same attitude in the society. Experience shows that children from rancorous homes are the sources of cultism and inhuman behavioural groups in our institutions of learning and the larger society. The ‘strong’ parents of these ‘strong’ children inspire cruelty rather than love in the family environment. With an ego full of selfishness, selfcentredness and greed, the warlord parents and their children are always in search of opportunity to exhibit macho success in order to celebrate the victory of self-having their way rather than the triumph of goodness service. These tendencies for celebrations of victory of family in wars can only be truncated by divine interventions and God’s grace.
Avenues for Family Peace:
Apart from God’s grace, families should endeavour to remain in healthy and open communications at all times. Modern channels of constant dialogue and conversation are today more variegated than in the past. With Global System of Mobile (GSM) in handy form, what is required is for family members to be sincere and honest in their communications. Dishonesty creates doubt, suspicion and fear and destroys peace. Perfect love casts away fears. Making rational demands and weighing the disposition (perhaps pockets) of one another in the family before making demands is also very important to ensuring that outrageous expectations do not lead to disappointments and frustration in social relationship in the family.
Respect for the rights of all persons in the family is also essential to securing peace in the family. In this connection, the letter of Pope John xxii titled “Peace on Earth” is worth reading and meditating on. The Pope identified the following basic rights as essential for peace via rights to life, bodily integrity,food,clothing,shelter,rest,security,good reputation,freedom,expression ,education,employment,movement,to participate in public affairs.
In the family, peace requires forgiveness and pardon. Not just the forgiveness we seek from others but, the pardon we grant others whether solicited or not. In short, peace in the family is anchored on the courage/fortitude to avoid retaliation and revenges as well as recognizing the need to eschew self-righteousness and judgement, which stems from social/spiritual arrogance.Often, people think that absence of poverty otherwise called prosperity brings family peace. This is not supported by the experience of man. What bring family peace with or without prosperity are love, honesty and fear of God.
Also essential for family peace is the presence of justice and exemplary leadership and follower ship (communion) by all members of the family, fair and reasonable division of chore, tasks and duties must be self-evident in peaceful families. James 3:18 states that the fruit of justice is sown in peace by those who practice peace.
The defenses of peace in the family must thus be constructed in the minds, emotions and will of parents and children of the home. The mind of all in the family should constantly imagine, reason and memorize firmly the positive emotions and choices for harmony, love and well being of all rather than concentration on self. These minds in the family must be raised up together to God as often as possible in joint supplication to him for their needs and in praise to him who sustains them and is the source of peace. This underlines the importance of prayers as a veritable avenue of family peace.
Conclusion:
Peace is dependent on love, where love exists, peace will settle there. Charity begins at home, but peace begins at home and spread to the larger human family. Let us all work for peace at home and in the society. The Holy family of Nazareth has given us a perfect example of unselfish love in mutual self-giving and acceptance worthy of emulation in the mandatory work for family peace in the Niger Delta, in Nigeria and in the world.

REVEALED!CHURCH,WHERE PEOPLE STRIP NAKED TO WORSHIP GOD.

2009-10-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday Vanguard recently published to the surprise of its numerous readers of a Pentecostal Church where people feel comfortable worshipping God naked. The church, christened Christian Bible Ministry (CBM),is located in an obscure area on Dunamis Street behind Apakun Saw Mill, along Murtala Mohammed Airport Road,Mafoluku,Oshodi,not too far from ‘Reverend King’s CPA in such manner that it is ordinarily difficult to know if there was any building in that area.
There is neither banner nor signboard as is common with most churches today to depict that a church is located there. Reports said the church, which started over 20 years ago in a village in Imo state and was founded by one Reverend Barnabas who has since been allegedly edged out by other pastors who served under him for his alleged hard-line stand and is now fully enmeshed in absurdities.
Saturday Vanguard scooped that one Pastor Emeka Okafor who succeeded Reverend Barnabas died shortly afterwards following an alleged curse laid on him by the said aggrieved Reverend Barnabas.
However, a twist was said to have been introduced into doctrines of the church after the wife of the late Pastor Emeka, Prophetess Felicia Okafor, formed a separate ministry under the same the same church and named it “Ministry of Sacrifice”
This, she said, after she reportedly returned from a fasting and praying exercise on an unnamed mountain of God. The Ministry which underwent metamorphosis from the original ‘Sacrifice’ to ‘Separation’ and then ‘Raising the Dead’ was for specific members of the church who where ready to sacrifice all they had, including separating from their respective spouses.
Smarting from the mountain of God, the prophetess was said to have called all members of her ministry to tell them that God revealed to her that what could not be achieved by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden would be fulfilled in her.
She was reported to have told the congregation that members were now brothers and sisters and therefore, there was nothing to hide from each other.
To buttress her claims, she allegedly stripped herself naked before the congregation and instructed each member to follow suit. The implication was that all of them are now one. In addition, a married female member from that day on was barred from having anything to do with her husband sexually. She is subsequently ‘assigned’ to a brother in the Ministry.
If perceived to be having sexual relationship with her legitimate husband, she would be termed to have committed adultery. The punishment is 14 strokes of an armored cable and grinded pepper in her private part. Same thing goes with female members.
A sister named Chinyere was reportedly beaten to pulp and candle stick inserted into her private part allegedly on the instruction of the Prophetess for reportedly committing fornication with a male member of the church. She left the church without hesitation. Another sister, Mrs Stella Good news whose husband is a Pastor in the church also suffered similar fate. She was allegedly stripped naked as is the custom, flogged severally and grinded pepper poured into her private part for confessing that she fornicated with her husband.
After her ordeal, she reportedly suffered two miscarriages and a doctor later confirmed that she may not be able to bear children any longer as she had developed inflammation in the womb.
Seven members of the church who left on discovering the unethical practice there were said to have died under mysterious circumstances. However the bubble burst recently after a Pastor in the church, Friday Oforebgu, could no longer withstand the excruciating pains of 17 strokes of the armoured cable and peppery substance rubbed on his body that he had to run to the X-Squad at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for refuge.
Sources said Pastor Oforegbu’s grievances was further aggravated after his wife,Jocintha,was assigned to one brother Paul, which meant he could no longer relate with his wife as a husband .His report,therefore,prompted detectives who stormed the church and got its key members, including the General Overseer, Pastor Vincent Uzuegbu arrested for questioning.
But when Saturday Vanguard was able to locate the church on Sunday August 30, 2009 at about 4.30pm after a painstaking search and met Pastor Uzuegbu, he described the allegations as “lies, greed and quest for position.” The fair complexioned well built and handsome Pastor who was leaning close to his Hummer Jeep which has its plate number customized and marked Okenna 1,exclaimed and said,” My brother, God bless you for coming to know the truth.
I know those who gave you the story because they are those we sent away from this church because of their promiscuity. All they have told you are lies borne out of greed and unguided ambition for position.
“Yes, some of the questions you asked are true. But most are fabricated.Perhaps; you may want me to take you to the history of the church.
The Christian Bible Mission is an old church which started in a village in Imo State about 29 years ago. I came to join them about 15 years ago when the church was in a primary school in Amukoko in Lagos. The original founder was Revered Barnabas Iwundu who left in the face of glaring irreconcilable differences with key members.
It was after he left that Pastor Emeka Okafor and his wife, Prophetess Felicia took over the mantle of leadership of the church. But we still relate with Reverend Barnabas today as the founder of the church.
Even when we wanted to register the church, we approached him three times to tell him about the need to get the church registered but he drove us out of his house. But at the Corporate Affairs Commission, and of course, on certificate of registration, his name is there as one of the board of trustees. To tell you the truth, Reverend Barnabas left the church when it was discovered that he was not practicing what he preached he church headquarters was in Ogba under him but go there today, it has collapsed because he was fornicating with female members”.
But when Reverend Barnabas was called on a GSM number provided, a little girl’s voice was heard and she said,” My daddy is not around now, please call back around 8.00pm.”However, when the line was called back, it was switched off.
Continuing, Pastor Uzuegbu said,” Prophetess Felicia is one woman of God that is so blessed and filled with the spirit of God. She was the one that founded the ‘Ministry of Sacrifice’, a praying ministry in the church. What the ministry stands for is simple: detaching oneself from earthly things.’ Raising the dead ministry’ which they also told you also means resurrecting members from sins, it does not mean physically raising a dead person. We do not raise dead persons here.
The fact that brothers are assigned to sisters or vice versa, it also means that one person is acting as a watch dog to the other. My brother, the ministry of sacrifice is such a strong one so much so that many members clamour to join.If Pastor Friday is saying that he was flogged that is why he left, that means he has forgotten that he was the Provost Marshal of the church.
H was responsible for flogging erring members. In fact, when Pastor Austin Okocha confessed that he lust after a lady who exposed half of her breasts while on alms begging, it was Pastor Friday Oforegbu who flogged him before the congregation.
So, when Sister Hope confessed that she was fornicating with Pastor Friday, there was no option than to visit the corporal punishment on him too. It is the tradition! It may also interest you that Pastor Friday embezzled the church money and as I speak with you now, he is still has a case with the Satellite Town Police Station.
“The Sister Stella you are talking about, she came here with the disease, and I know the personal sacrifices I played to see that she was let off the grip of the disease. I prayed and prayed and became tired and resolved to seek orthodox medicine advice.
She has even infested her husband with the venereal disease. That we do something immoral here is like giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
“If they tell you that we beg for alms that is correct because we cannot go stealing. We suffered to get this building erected. There is nowhere we did not go for financial assistance to no avail. It was through personal efforts and sacrifices that we are where we are today.
So, if they say we strip naked and all that, I leave them to God to judge. The case is before the police and I am sure the truth will prevail.”
At the SCID Parti Officer-in-Charge(OC),Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Solomon Arase said the matter was still with his X-SQUAD Department,” I have asked the IPO to do a through investigation of the matter. The allegations raised are very sensitive. The police will not allow itself to be used to achieve a selfish end. But if the allegations come out true, then the law will take its due course.”

CATHOLIC BISHOPS INDICT GOVERNMENT FOR ISLAMIST KILLINGS.

2009-10-20T02:59:00.001-07:00

They reminded the government of its constitutional responsibility to protect the rights of religious minorities wherever they may be found in this country.” We have no democracy worth the name of the citizen. Failure on the part of government to secure life and property of every Nigerian is less than commendable.”
The bishops also kicked against what they call “the pervading culture of violence that prevails in Nigeria”, including kidnapping, armed robbery, dangerous driving, and killing in the name of religion. We condemn violence on whatever excuses or disguise, and from whatever direction. We condemn it, above all, when its perpetrators blasphemously claim religious justifications.” We wish to note that those who claim that they love God why hating their fellow human beings, even to the extent of killing them, are liars.”
The bishops, however, commended the Nigerian government for the general amnesty it has granted to militant in the Niger Delta, while advising that the amnesty be implemented with sincerity and sensitivity to justice and reconciliation. They advised the government to continue to improve the quality of life of the people of Niger Delta.” The situation in the Niger Delta is deeply rooted in injustice. It is simply unjust to impoverish the people who live on the land that produces the bulk of Nigeria’s wealth.”
The bishops also condemned the industrial action by teachers and other workers at higher institutions of learning over government’s non-implementation of their pay agreements.” But it is not just the strikes that have paralyzed tertiary education; it is also the failure of government to invest sufficiently in the education of the Nigerian citizen.”

TONY BLAIR REVEALS WHAT ATTRACTED HIM TO CATHOLICISM.

2009-10-19T05:15:00.000-07:00

Religion has a central and unique role in society and its development, according to the former prime minister of England. Tony Blair, a convert to Catholicism, spoke with L’Osservatore Romano about his faith in an exclusive interview.” My spiritual journey began when I started to go to Mass with my wife”, Blair said.” Then we decided to baptize our children in the Catholic faith. It was a journey that lasted 25 years, or perhaps more. In time, emotionally, intellectually and rationally it seemed to me that the Catholic home was the right one for me. When I left political office, and I no longer had the entire context connected with been prime minister, it was something I really wanted to do”.
Blair added that religion has brought him closer to his wife.” We did not meet because of religion, but it was very interesting to discover that my wife was very active in Catholic student organization and in other youth organization,” he recalled.” For young people 23 or 24 years old, when we met, it was rather unusual to discover a shared interest in religion.”
Blair affirmed that in addition to his wife’s influence, an experience with Pope John II helped him move toward Catholicism. He attended a mass celebrated by the Holy Father in his private chapel.” It is still a very vivid memory, an episode that impressed me very much,” Blair recounted.”Certainly,it is quite probable that, in any event, I would have come to my conversion but,undoubtedly,it was an important stage that ultimately reinforced my decision.
“One of the things that have most attracted me to the Catholic Church is her universal nature. If you are a Catholic, you can go anywhere in the world and attend mass. I was at Mass in Kigali, Beijing, Singapore…The fact that wherever you are, you are in communion with others is really formidable. The universal Church herself is an important model of a global institution.” The British politician is now dedicated to promoting the Tony Blair Foundation for inter-religious dialogue, which is especially active in Africa and the Middle East. As to whether being a Catholic is an advantage in his activity in the Middle East, Blair responded:”Honestly,I’ve never considered it a problem.Never.On the contrary, I often think that, in the modern world, the fact of being a person of faith enhances one’s capacity to relate to persons of other creeds. It’s true, sometimes the opposite happens—one meets with strong opposition. However, given that today, factors of secularization subject faith to a harsh and aggressive attack, in the end what happens is that people of different creeds sometimes become allies.”
Blair praised Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,”saying it should be “read and re-read.” He particularly highlighted the Pope’s affirmation that “the Christian religion and other religions can make mean that debates and confrontations will end. On the contrary, it will continue on many subjects in regards to which, probably, the church will be on one side and political leaders on the other.”However, I don’t think this is the main point: The point is that faith has every right to enter in this space and to speak. It must not be silent.” The voice of faith must not be absent from the public debate.
Finally, L’Osservatore Romano spoke with Blair about his personal experience as a father. He said it is a role that has to be taken “with responsibility and without arrogance.”
No matter how good or intelligent I thought I was, I always found that to be a father was something very difficult. And I still think so,” he reflected. Blair affirmed that fathers are “crucial” figures in the family,”essential”for children’s growth and formation. And he contended that “in certain aspects, the idea of family is being recovered.” Also in this area I believe that religious communities and the Church have a role to play,” Blair said.” It’s true, families have their problems, they disintegrate—something that I fear will continue to happen. How ever, I have always thought that the Church’s indications in the matter of the family were useful.
“Lets be clear: to make a marriage work calls for effort and, I believe, paternity also calls for it. But I really think that, among the great changes that are taking place, also in the social realm, it is necessary to rediscover that paternity is a responsibility and a necessity.

CATHOLIC BISHOPS EXPRESS SADNESS OVER NIGERIAN SITUATION.

2009-10-19T03:31:00.000-07:00

The Nigerian Bishops under the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigerian have in one voice condemned the deteriorating social situations in Nigeria, adding that the country has continued to suffer under the weight of corruption, and our people live in fear because of insecurity of life and property. The Bishops made this observation in a Communiqué issued at the end of the Second Plenary Meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the Centre of Transfiguration Kafanchan, Kaduna State between September 7th to 12th, 2009.The Communiqué which was titiled:”Conversion for Justice and Reconciliation” was jointly signed by its Chairman, Most Rev.Felix Alaba Job, the archbishop of Ibadan and Most Rev.Dr.Alfred Martin of Abeokuta.
The Bishops reaffirmed the observation they made on the distress of the nation in their communiqué at the conclusion of the 2nd Plenary in 1997 where they stated then:” The social ills of armed robbery,violent,official corruption, deteriorating infrastructure, falling standard of education and health care, have continued unabated to such an extent that the quality of life of most Nigerians has degenerated to a level that is below human dignity”, nothing that twelve years later, indices of distress abound in our country. Continuing the Bishops unequivocally stated.” The evil of corruption has made of us an improvised people inhabiting a land of immense riches .The level of poverty in our land and the problem of insecurity go hand in hand. Strike actions embarked upon by numerous associations and unions in the country, are further signals of a country in distress and in dire need of direction”. The bishops call on the leaders of the nation to formulate policies that would alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Lamenting on the level of unemployment among our youths, the Bishops noted,” The collapse of infrastructure has a negative impact on economic activities. When the economy is in turmoil, millions of young Nigerians cannot be gainfully employed. Perceiving their country, Nigeria, as a country that dashes their hopes, many of such young people end up on the payroll of people who arm them to be political thugs, kidnappers, or armed robbers. Many others are used by state and local government in this country to extort money from Nigerians such that traveling from one local government to another has become a nightmare, an adventure in paying sundry tolls”. The Bishops therefore appealed to the government to create employment for our youths.
Also, in the Communiqué, the Bishops recognize that corruption is not only at the higher levels of public life.” It is also found at the lower levels of our life: from the filling station attendant who tampers with the dispensing machines, the messengers or clerk who hide files, the stockbroker who manipulates the markets, the policeman or woman who extorts money from citizen, the banker who defrauds shareholders and customers of his bank, the judge who fiddles with justice, the lawyer who sells out his client, the politician who rigs elections, the teacher who solicits favours from students, the student who cheats while writing an examination, the religious leaders or preacher who manipulates the people in the place of worship for his own purpose, the farmer or seller of farm produce who hides rotten foodstuffs under fresh ones, the hawker in traffic who runs away with your change” and invite Nigerians to totally change their attitudes and such a change must be personal and collective for the good of the society.
The Bishops finally call on the citizens to submit to God from the depths of their hearts as the human heart is the sanctuary of the Spirit of God so that the human person can be recreated in the image of the Son of God.” When we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, our worship will please God, and our actions will be acceptable in his sight. Then shall we be just to God and our neighbor, and then shall peace and justice reign amongst us in our land”, the Bishops conclude.

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.

2009-10-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

In truth, the whole of humanity has the radical vocation to return to its source, to return to God, since in Him alone can it find accomplishment through the restoration of all things in Christ.Dispersion,multiplicity,conflict,enmity will be calmed and reconciled through the blood of the Cross and led back to unity. This new beginning has already started with the Resurrection and the exaltation of Christ, who draws all things to Himself, renewing them and enabling them to share in the eternal joy of God. The future of the new creation shines already in our world and despite contradictions and suffering, kindness hope for new life. The church’s mission is to “infect” all peoples with hope. This is why Christ calls, sanctifies and sends his disciples to announce the kingdom of God, so that all nations may become the people of God. It is only in this mission that the through journey of humanity is understood and attested. The universal mission should become a fundamental constant in the life of the church. To announce the Gospel must be for us, as it was for the Apostle Paul, a primary and impelling duty.
The universal Church which knows neither boarders nor frontiers responsible for announcing the Gospel to the whole people (cf Evangelii nuntiandi, 53).It is the duty of the Church, seed of hope by vocation, to continue Christ’s service in the world. The measure of her mission and her service is not material or even spiritual needs restricted to temporal existence, instead, it is transcendent salvation, fulfilled in the kingdom of God (cf Evangelii nuntiandi, 27).This Kingdom, although eschatological in its completeness and not of this world (cf Gv 18, 36), is in this world and in its history, a force for justice and peace, for true freedom and respect for human dignity of every human person. The Church wishes to transform the world with the proclamation of the Gospel of love,” that can always illuminates a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working…and in this way to cause the light of God to enter into the world” (Deus caritas est., 39).It is to this mission and to this service that I call, also with this message all the members and institutions of the Church to participate.

ANIOMA PEOPLE VOW TO PRODUCE THE NEXT DELTA STATE GOVERNOR.

2009-10-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

It was a gathering necessitated by determination and drive when the shakers and movers in Anioma Nation under the umbrella of the Anioma Political Forum(APF) met to express their views at Issele Uku,headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area of the state.
The occasion held at the Unity Hall on Friday October 9, 2009 attracted sons and daughters from the nine local governments in Delta North.
Speaking at the occasion, Professor B.I.C Ijeoma told the people that they should strive to unite, nothing that without unity they cannot achieve their aim of producing a governor come 2015.”Unity is strength”, he noted. He also emphasized that one of the reasons for forming Anioma Political Forum was to fight for the governorship of the state in 2015.
“The joy of planting is that people following you will benefit from the harvest”, he said. He added that some of those who started the fight were no longer alive, but acknowledged that a lot has been done. In his words, “the task ahead is great”.
He however stressed that they would honestly support Governor Uduaghan in his second tenure bid, but as soon as he steps down, Anioma must produce the next governor.
Hon. Victor Ochei, member of the State House of Assembly representing Aniocha North also corroborated prof.Ijeoma’s views, nothing that APF had agreed to support Uduaghan for his second tenure, but after that, the governorship comes to Delta North, stressing that anything contrary would result to the dissolution of the state.
He advised the people not to play to the gallery with the name of Uduaghan, stressing that they should unite.” No matter your different names, Anioma is bigger than all”.
Prince Uzor Idabor,in his view said that there was little work left to be done in the Aniocha North, but noted that with unity the goal could be achieved.
Barr. Fred Chijindu Ajidua also admonished the people to shun gossip and bad advice, stating that with patience and unity, Anioma must produce the governor come 2015.It took the black Americans many years to produce Obama,he said.
Giving a vote of thanks, the chairman of Aniocha North Local Government Area,Hon.Mike Jaunty Okwudi thanked everyone for making the occasion colourful.

THE CHURCH:A SYMBOL OF LIFE AND A SING OF UNITY AND CHRISTAIN FAITH.

2009-10-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

In November every year Catholic Church through out the world celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, mother and head of all the churches of the city of Rome and of the world, the Cathedral of the Pope, constructed by the Emperor Constantine and originally dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour and later, in the Middle Ages also to St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.
The Lateran Basilica with its adjacent palaces was for many centuries the usual seat of the Pope.There, five Ecumenical Councils were held among them in 1215 during the pontificate of Innocent 111, IV Lateran Council, considered by historians to be the most important Council of the Middle Ages. For a thousand years the history of Christian Rome gravitated around that Basilica which the Popes, Emperors, Kings and faithful gradually adored with precious gifts and splendid works of art, signsof their intense faith in Christ.
The feast of the dedication of the church is a feast of our Lord. That is the reason why this feast has precedence over an ordinary Sunday of the year.
In remembering the initial dedication of the cathedral of Rome to Jesus, the Saviour of the world, today’s liturgy invites us to one of the fundamental mysteries of Christian revelation: Jesus of Nazareth,Messiah,Lord,Son of God, he is the one who brought total and definitive salvation to men and women of all times and places.
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2, 19).Christ’s words proclaimed in the Gospel bring us to the very heart of the paschal mystery. Having entered the temple in Jerusalem, Christ shows his indignation that his Father’s house has been turned into a huge market. In response to this action of Jesus, Jews protest: “what sign have you to show us for doing this?”(John 2, 18).Jesus answers them by indicating the definitive sign:” Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2, 19).
We see the temple and contemplate the Church. We see the building and penetrate its mystery. With the beauty of its symbols, the building reveals to us the mystery of Christ and his Church. In the cathedral of the Bishop we discover Christ the teacher who, through the apostolic succession, teaches us throughout the ages. In the alter we see Christ himself in the supreme act of redemption. In the baptismal font we find the bosom of the Church, virgin and mother, who impacts the life of God to the heart of her children. And looking at ourselves, we can say with St Paul: You are…God’s building…God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple”(1 Cor 3,9.17).

WHERE IS THE DESTINATION OF THE DEAD?

2009-10-16T02:41:00.000-07:00

The question of the eternal predestination of all humans after their mortal existence is a nagging question which occupies anyone who is born into the world. There is usually association of the grace as a place of no life (nothingness) and complete void. In this case when we are confronted with the reality of death, we remember that there is a time when we are full and bulling with life, and a time when life ceases to be. In this case where does the soul of the decease one proceed to…..Is it to the mere soil and clay? This will be atrocious. Is it the case that after all the human achievements, one goes into oblivion?
The church uses this opportunity of the celebration to raise the hope of the faithful about the eternal predestination of all the faithful departed. In the Eucharistic preface of Christian death, it states “Lord for your faithful people life is changed, not ended when the body of our eternal dwelling lies in death we gain an Everlasting dwelling in heaven”. Death is the cessation of the mortal existence of the human person and the beginning of an immortal life of the deceased. It is taken by the study of eschatology that the eternal predestination of the soul of the human person is influenced by the kind of life one has lead in the course of his physical and corporate existence. The good, moral and ethical existence leads to an immoral life of eternal bliss and joy, while immodest and unexamined life is the introduction to the life of eternal perdition and punishment.
Our pre-occupation is where the soul of the faithful proceeds after their pilgrimage life here on earth. The Book of Wisdom (3:1-9) gives us a wonderful clue in this direction. “The souls of the upright are in the hands of God, and no torment can touch them. To the unenlightened they appear to die. Their departure was regarded as a disaster, their leaving us as annihilation, but they are at peace”. God desires and prepares a suitable and eternal wonderful home for his people. Therefore it is not necessary to begin to think of erecting a mausoleum mansion in which we will be buried in such that it becomes a home for us after death. Our attention should be drawn to the fact that our homes is created and made for us by God, eternal incomprehensive but a home to delight us.
Jesus tells us in John (14:1-3)”Do not let your heart be troubled. You trust in God trust also in me. In my fathers house there are many places to live in……I am going now to prepare a place for you and after I have gone and prepared you a place. I shall return to take you to myself”. In this way Jesus clearly points to us about the great preparation he has in store for those who follow him .There is a great reward that accompanies them after their heroic witnessing here on earth. No wonder St.Paul will exclaim (1 Cor.2:9)”what no eye has see no ear has heard what the mind of man cannot visualize all that God has prepared for those who love him……”
Upon these testimonies of sacred scripture, we know we have a homeland with God our father and his homeland belong to us if we live, move and have our being quite rooted in him. In the Eucharistic preface of the dead it states “he chose to die that he might free all man from dying. He gave his life that we may live forever”. Another of this preface says “Death is the just reward for our sins, yet when at last we die, your loving kindness calls us back to life in company with Christ whose victory is our redemption.” Indeed of our own merit we cannot ascend into a glorious eternal life that God has in store for us…..But by our unmeritous but God Gratuitous grace we are justified in the sight of God. Therefore our celebration is not far from having these departed ones in prayer so that, through their own human fragility they cannot be justified. But with our prayer for them God will tender mercy and grant them a place of joy and peace. As a militant church we must intensify our prayers for them and ask God to look on them with mercy.

WHY ARE SOME PASTORS DECEIVES THEIR MEMBERS?

2009-10-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

STHERE IS SOMETHING THAT BAFFLES ME WITH THIS NEW GENERATION CHURCHES WHICH I BELIEVE DISTURBS OTHER PEOPLE AND IS HIGH TIME THE SO CALL PASTORS PUT AN END TO IT.
DOES IT MEAN THAT PFN CANNOT FORMULATE A PARTERN ON HOW THEIR PREACHING OUGHT TO LOOK LIKE JUST LIKE THE ANGLICAN AND CATHOLIC CHURCH.WHAT BAFFLES ME MOST IS THAT ANYTHING THE PASTORS LIKE IS WHAT THEY PREACH, FOR EXAMPLE IS NOT IS PREACHED TODAY IN WARRI WILL BE WHAT IS BEEN PREACHED TODAY IN LAGOS.
I WAS IN A CHURCH FOR MY FRIEND'S CHILD DEDICATION IN ONE OF THE NEW GENERATION CHURCH IN WARRI, AS THE PASTOR WAS PREACHING HE STARTED MAKING COMMENTS AND REFRENCES THAT SOME MEMBERS HAS MORE THAT THREE DIP-FREEZER AND THAT HE NEED ONE NOT THAT HE SAID WAS WHAT SURPRISES ME BUT THAT HE WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT TO SAY IT.
MY QUESTION IS THIS,IS IT NOT HIGH TIME SOME OF THIS PASTORS STOP DECEIVING THEIR MEMBERS?

THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING.

2009-10-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

For many, if one receives this sacrament, he is already at the point of death and nothing will make that person to survive. For this reason, many are afraid to call a priest whenever one is sick because if the neighbors hear that they called a priest for that person, they will conclude that the person will die. Although the sacrament began as a ritual of healing, over time the emphasis shifted to the forgiveness of sins on the sickbed, when such forgiveness would be the final preparation for heaven.

The second Vatican Council returned the original meaning to the sacrament by emphasizing that it is not only for those who are at the point of death, but for anyone who is seriously ill, including mental or spiritual illness. It also helped move the Anointing away from a private service and back toward a community-based one.

Today we are all aware that tensions, fear and anxiety about the future affect not only our mind but our body as well. These illnesses can be serious. They can move the priest to ask for the healing touch of Christ in the Sacrament of Anointing. Persons with the disease of alcoholism or persons suffering from other addictions can be anointed, so also are those suffering from various mental disorders. The anxiety before exploratory surgery to determine if cancer is present is a situation in which Christ’s power can be invoked in the sacrament. In these cases the person does not have to wait until the illness is so grave that he or she is in the hospital or institutionalized to celebrate the sacrament.Sacraments, after all, are community celebrations. It is preferable to celebrate them in the context of family and parish even before going to the hospital. The sick person has a better opportunity to appreciate the prayers and symbols of the rite when in her or his customary worshiping community.

CATHOLIC WOMEN:NEED FOR AUGUST MEETING.

2009-10-10T01:55:00.000-07:00

The month of August has come and gone. This is the month in which Catholic women who reside in their home communities and those who reside outside their community hold a common meeting. This comprises women who are indigenes of a particular place by birth or by marriage. The reasons why such meetings are held in the month of August may not be farfeched.In the month of August, there is a short period of dry whether popularly known as “August break”. This makes August suitable for gatherings. Being the eight month of the year, it is well spaced out from the festivity periods like January of New Year, Easter and Christmas seasons. These festive periods attract so many persons to their towns and villages and in order not to travel too frequently, August seems most appropriate.

Reasons for August Meeting.
There are many reasons why women come together from their different places of abode to hold august meeting. It is a period of re-union for home and ‘abroad’ women. It is a forum for women who were married from outside the community to interact with and know more about his people, their customs and traditions. It is an avenue for women to rub minds together on various issues affecting womenfolk. Such issues include health matters, children’s welfare, marriages and family life. Spiritual matters are not left out as church leaders are invited to give talks on issues bothering on spiritual matters, church’s teaching on family planning, divource, abortion, temporary separation and so on.
During August meetings, women discuss and make inputs on sustainable development of the local church in particular and the community in general.Furthermore,it is a period of evangelization as many people are converted to the faith when they see different activities going on.
Apart from all these, other activities like recognition of men and women who have contributed to the growth of the local church are carried out. Improvement of the lots of women is another major aim of August meeting, and of course, fund raising for the achievement of goals and objectives.

Who Should Attend August Meeting?
As stated earlier, it is a meeting of Catholic women who reside within and outside the communities. It was originally carried out by Christian women from the eastern part of the country. It is therefore a borrowed culture which spread over Catholic faithful and to Anglican faithful.

Challenges of August Meeting.
So many challenges face the organization of August meeting. As earlier stated, it is borrowed tradition which was introduced to every part of Catholicism in the country. The objectives of the organization proper have not been fully imbibed. Many women do not know where to pitch their tent whether home parish or the residential parish, especially those who reside in towns very close to their home parish. The disunity and distrust among women have made the achievement of goals impossible. The abroad members do not see the need for the annual general meeting. What this means is that the women at home alone hold the meeting with very poor attendance from the abroad women. The economy of the nation is another obstacle militating against the attendance of annual general meeting by some women who find it difficult to make ends meet.

The Way Forward.
Since August meeting is a reunion of home and abroad women, all those concerned should endeavour to attend so as to make an input in the development of the church for as the saying goes east, west, north or south, home is the best. Be that as it may, it should not be a do or die affair. Women should unite and be their sister’s keeper at all time. Those who do not understand the concept of mass return should know that the August meeting is not the same as CWO meeting of the parish where one is domiciled.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PREPARE ONESELF TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST.

2009-10-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

To respond to the Lord’s invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood, the believer must be prepared.Saint Paul urges us to examine our conscience.” Whoever therefore eats the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1Cor.11:27).Before we approach the table of the Lord it is important to reflect on our life, ask God’s forgiveness for our failings and if necessary, due to serious sin, to avail ourselves of sacramental confession. Recent polls indicate that a significant number of Catholics do not have a complete understanding of the Eucharist and specifically the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Whatever the cause of such misunderstanding of faith, all who approach the table of the lord need to recognize the significance of their action and the importance of their spiritual preparation.

It sometimes becomes the task of older members of the family especially parents, to review with younger ones what is happening at mass and who we receive in Holy Communion. Grandparents have in some instances a unique and privileged role as a teacher of the faith in an age where the awareness of the real presence seems to be diminished.