Blog & Pastor Letters

Building Up Your Faith

06-28-2020Weekly ReflectionRev. Victor C. Yakubu

Christianity has to do with building up your faith in Jesus. There are many things you can learn from the Catechism class, from your parents and from your peers. But it all depends on your disposition to translate this information into your spiritual life. It is said that “you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink,” this applies to our lives as human beings in the sense that we have all the tools necessary for our spiritual growth, yet we take many things for granted.

I remember the story of a man who was traveling in his car. All the tire bolts on one of his tires fell off. The three other tires were intact. He stopped by the side of the road and was lamenting that one of his tires had no nuts due to rough terrain. It was a lonely road. He saw a man sitting by the road and engaged him in a conversation. He lamented his situation and cursed his vehicle. The man sitting by the side of the road advised him to loosen a nut on each of the three good tires and tighten them on the one without nuts. It worked and he continued his journey until he reached the city.

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Models of the Church and Catholic Renewal

06-21-2020Weekly ReflectionRev. Victor C. Yakubu

It is over forty years now since Avery Cardinal Dulles, S. J. published his wonderful treatise on the Church. He considered six models that help us better understand the workings of the Church. His publication Models of the Church (Doubleday, 1974) became an instant bestseller for many reasons. For me, the first reason is the significance and importance of the Second Vatican Council.

From 1963 to 1965 Church leaders discussed the position of the Catholic Church in the modern world. After the beautiful discussions, many theologians began compiling the resolutions into simpler forms for Catholics to comprehend. Cardinal Dulles is among the first group of theologians to capture the proceedings of the Council in simpler forms using his theological expertise. My second reason is that his book appealed to Catholics as well as non-Catholics eager to learn the position of the Church on many topics such as ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, the universality of the Church, etc. Cardinal Dulles used his experience and gave us these models to assist us in our spiritual growth.

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Help at a Time of Need

06-14-2020From the Parish Administrator’s DeskRev. Victor C. Yakubu

A day before I traveled for my vacation, the Knights of Columbus at St. Paul Phoenix gave me a beautiful gift. Would you like to guess what the gift was? If you said a chalice, then you got it right. What better gift can you give the priest than that of a chalice? I love this gift and I will cherish it. The gift is a reminder of my priestly commitment in the service of God’s people. I am sure the knights do the same for many other priests who serve across the United States and beyond.

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The Roles of Three Persons in One God

06-07-2020From the Parish Administrator’s DeskRev. Victor C. Yakubu

 The teaching of the Church on the Most Holy Trinity is clear. The Trinity is a tripod of three persons in one God. They are not three gods but three persons in one God, undivided in unity and equal in majesty. The history of this teaching goes back to the promulgation of the Council of Nicaea in 325 A. D. when Emperor Constantine called an assembly of bishops and leaders of the Church.

The challenge was posed by the Arian heresy which taught that Jesus was not begotten but caused to exist by the Father and thus possessed the divinity of the Father. The relationship of Jesus to the Father was under serious question as taught by the Arians. The Nicene Creed retained Jesus as begotten by the Father just as we say it today. The Council Fathers agreed that Jesus is equal to the Father and that He was begotten and not made as he existed with the Father right from time immemorial. Other resolutions of the Council are setting the date for Easter, the structure of the episcopate and the formulations of canons to guide church leadership.

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