Blog & Pastor Letters

Our modern society and wider world are places of extremes; we have the very wealth and the desperately poor. In our newspapers and on our televisions, we see the many stories of people who have more money, wealth and riches than they will ever need. We also see those who are struggling just to stay alive each day. We are told that our economies are recovering after the serious financial crash. Yet the number of food banks and charity shops are growing daily. Many churches and charities report that more and more people are looking for help and support with the basic necessities of life.

The gospel tells us that if we want to be Jesus’ disciples we must become like children and consider ourselves the slaves of all. The greatness of a Christian consists in serving others, particularly the poorest. In the Christian community who occupies the first place has to put aside all desire of greatness. The church is not a stepping stone to get to positions of prestige, to emerge, to gain control over others. It is the place where everyone complies with the gifts he has received from God, celebrate their greatness in humble service to others. In God’s eyes, the greatest is the one who most resembles Christ, who is the servant of all (Lk 22:27).

Today’s 1st reading (Isa 50:5-9a) a mysterious figure is offered to us. He is a man hit, humiliated, insulted, beaten (vv. 5-6), that God, however, has not abandoned in the hands of the enemy. He glorified him, giving success to his mission and showing everyone that he was a righteous person (vv. 8-9).

It is hard to say if the Prophet was referring to a real man or if he was talking, in a symbolic way, of the people of Israel, destroyed by the violence of the enemy. What is certain is that the early Christians saw in this character the image of their Master, Jesus of Nazareth, rejected by his contemporaries, opposed and defeated by the religious and political leaders of his time, but recognized by God, through the resurrection, as the real winner.

If we could see just a fraction of the graces available before the Blessed Sacrament, we would flock to the nearest chapel each and every day. When I visited churches to deliver a speech, I could often sense when that church had Adoration. I could sense it because there was a feeling of peace and unusually high Mass attendance.

The Blessed Sacrament draws people. It imbues the church with an aura of holiness. It also draws vocations. A young man wants to feel the Holy Spirit –and if he doesn’t, he is not going to aim for a life that is priestly. Period. It is time to bring back the Holy Spirit.

The 1st reading, (vv. 1-2), insists on the absolute value, the inviolability of the law that cannot be changed because it is not the work of men, but of God. Two temptations must be avoided: that of reducing it, rejecting provisions that are more challenging and difficult, and the opposite of adding new requirements dictated by the “wisdom” of men. This second temptation is particularly insidious because it considers the “will of God” those which are only rules of men. In the face of undue addition to the law of the Lord, Jesus invites his disciples to assume a free and serene attitude.

Excerpt from Michael Brown’s book “Secrets of the Eucharist”

If we could see just a fraction of the graces available before the Blessed Sacrament, we would flock to the nearest chapel each and every day. When I visited churches to deliver a speech, I could often sense when that church had Adoration. I could sense it because there was a feeling of peace and unusually high Mass attendance.

The first reading informs us about the choice made by the people of Israel at the great assembly of Shechem: they decided to choose Yahweh and to reject all idols. At Shechem Joshua exposes his proposal: choose your God. Do you want to go back and serve the gods worshiped by your ancestors? This request for verification is really amazing! It seems impossible that a people who has witnessed many miracles, can abandon the God who has fostered and protected them, indeed, who made them arise out of nowhere. Yet in all this there is nothing strange, it is our history.

THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY’S BODY INTO HEAVEN - With these few words, the Church gave its authoritative teaching to the millions who for generations had believed that Mary’s body was incorruptible but had waited for the declaration to be made by the Vatican. The doctrine of the Assumption was defined as a dogma of faith by Pope Pius XII on November 1st, 1950, in Munificentissimus Deus. While the bodies of the Apostles and martyrs could be preserved and venerated, whereas of the body of Mary, no relic should remain on earth.

In the first reading in 1Kgs. 19:4-8 Elijah denounces those who have abandoned Yahweh to follow Baal, the god of Jezebel. The queen is hunting him down and wants to kill him. He decides to run away, southwards, towards Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. He wants to go to where Moses met God. The feels that his faith needs to be strengthened and wants to repeat the spiritual experiences of the great liberator of Israel. The desert crossing is not easy. He feels too sad, tired, and alone that he can’t walk any further. He sits down under a tree and begs God to let him die.

The central idea that links the first reading and the gospel is the food that God provides for his people. In the desert Israel received manna, a food which could give strength to a perishable body. Now, God feeds his people with the bread of life, with his Word, Jesus Christ our savior.

I took a course a few years ago on multiculturalism. Apart from passing the subject as a requirement toward my master’s degree, I also studied it with a passion for the sake of my priestly ministry. The professor emphasized that the first step to integrating different cultures is by inviting friends to share a meal. When friends come together to share a meal, they can taste different dishes not familiar to them. And when people come together to eat, they begin talking about themselves. Thus, the people become more familiar, and they begin to laugh.

As I read the readings and reflected on them for this Sunday, the images of Pope John Paul II began to flash in my mind. For no reason, I began to replay the visits he made to Nigeria in 1982 and 1998. Even as I type this message, there is so much to say about him. Yet I am happy that I got to see him not in the bureaucratic enclosures of the Vatican but in my town of Kaduna and in Abuja. He gave me inspiration as a young man from Africa to strive to be like him. And the one thing I wanted to be was become a priest and shepherd the people of God. And indeed I made it by the power of God.

Flying fascinates me. Long distance flights are my best. I relax, read a bestseller, a news magazine, listen to good music and then smile at the beautiful air hostesses. I do so with respect but with a purpose: to get extra attention when I need it. Normally after eating I ask for extra red wine, continue reading and then fall sleep by dreaming my life away. See why I love flying? But that is not all. What fascinates me most about air travel is that every time I am at 36,000ft. Above Sea Level, I see visions of my life clearly like in a crystal glass and hear voices as audibly as my music. Mostly I hear topics related to what I do or what I should be doing with my life. I am serious about this.

The work of a messenger is to communicate the message of a superior power. The ability to deliver the message can either win you friends or enemies. This is the reason why we need to differentiate between the message and the messenger. The messenger is only doing his work, while the message is meant to save or improve our conditions. Ezekiel was a messenger chosen to deliver messages to the people of Israel. The Lord said to him, “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day. Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you.” He was condemned rather than praised for his work. Such is the sad tale that has followed the prophets of God down through the ages.