VALENTINE HAS COME AND GONE

Yesterday was quite eventful, wasn’t it? Valentine’s Day is about love and it’s so real. It’s hard to ignore love, you know. That’s how we are wired. We are created not of clay but of love. And that’s why a day like this really leaves no one indifferent. For some of us, it was quite memorable sharing quality time with that special one. For some others it was rather nostalgic. With all the red colour everywhere, they could not but recall to mind those good days when valentine was valentine. Some just had fun observing others do their thing. And to some others, like my old friend Bassey, it was a bitter cup of disappointment. Mine was kind of an anticlimax. God has his way of reminding us that every love here below is but a shadow of True Love. Anyway, valentine has come and gone and we are not even sure of marking the next one since we will all be before polling booths voting for the next president of Nigeria.

You sure know the story of St Valentine, the guy behind this tradition. He is as old as Santa Claus, I guess albeit more real. It was during the reign of the great Roman Emperor Claudius II, in a time when war was the primary means of conquest. The Emperor needed a strong army to pursue his course but men were not readily joining the military. He thought they were being ‘distracted’ from the gallant adventure of war by their wives and so decided to forbid marriage in the Empire. He reasoned that if men couldn’t get married, they will be more disposed and available to fight wars. But Valentinus, a middle-aged Priest, had a different opinion. He thought and taught that marriage was a higher good than war and loving was nobler than fighting. So he went about secretly and illegally wedding couples. It wasn’t long that Claudius discovered this and Valentine was caught and imprisoned. Few hours before his execution, he sent a short note to all the couples he had wedded: “Let your love for each other be genuine and remember your Valentine”. He died on 14th February 270.

What a strong testimony of life! He believed in love and died for love’s sake. In his honour, we have a day we can rightly call, World lovers’ day. But love is not a matter of a day. Love is an attitude. Love is life. So let love flow, show love. It is better than showing off. Simply let love flow... That’s all.   

EVEN THOUGH SCHOLASTICA IS NO MORE FASHIONABLE

There was a time when Scholastica was a popular girl name but nowadays it’s quite rare to find girls bearing the sweet-sounding polysyllabic appellation. I am not sure the reason for this but I hope to be able to convince at least 33 persons who read this article of the beauty of this name and encourage them to propose it to any ‘unnamed’ baby girl they find.

First, the name sounds quite musical, skó-lá-sti-kà. Plus one can make out very fanciful pet names from it. SCHOLA for one will encourage the bearer of the name to live up to it by becoming a great Scholar. STIKA is another possible derivative; it will thrive based on the curiosity it will arouse.

Secondly, the name is beautiful because the person to whom it generally refers was actually beautiful. I am talking about St Scholastica. She was twin sister to St Benedict and was ravishingly pretty.  Their parents were really wealthy and they had a good and pretty rosy upbringing. However the twins decided to give themselves totally to God as a monk and a nun. Scholastica, with all her beauty went to the monastery. Wow! What a testimony that the Lord’s gift to us must be used to glorify Him.

I think the major reason why I like the name is that there is monastery in south-eastern Nigeria that is named after this saintly lady. I used to retreat to the St Scholastica Abbey where about a 100 women, following the example of St Scholastica, have decided to spend the rest of their lives in seclusion, prayer and penance. It’s beautiful to behold and makes one optimistic about living a holy life.

St Scholastica is an example of holiness and will be really glad to help anyone who goes by that name to gain heaven. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that she is the patron saint of nurses. So, what are you waiting for? Lets have more Scholasticas in the house.

St Scholastica, Pray for us. 

SEL DE LA TERRE, LUMIERE DU MONDE

Homélie, 5^ème Dimanche du temps Ordinaire de l’année A

La seule condition pour le triomphe du mal dans le monde c’est que les hommes et les femmes de bonne volonté ne font rien.

Il ne suffit pas simplement d’avoir la bonne volonté, il faut que ta bonne volonté se traduise en bonne action

Il ne suffit simplement « d’être bon », il faut que ta bonté soit visible.

Il n’est pas suffisant d’avoir la foi et de porter le nom de chrétien, il faut que ta foi soit visible et agissante.

J’ai comme impression que nous les chrétiens ne faisons pas assez d’effort ; on se contente de faire le minimum. On ne brille plus.

Sinon,  comment peut-on expliquer le fait qu’il y ait plus de ténèbres que de lumière, plus de mauvaise nouvelles que de bonnes nouvelles.

Notre monde perd petit à petit la saveur de la vertu et se noie progressivement dans le vice.

Regardez autour de vous et voyez : les fils de ce monde sont plus habiles entre eux que les fils de la lumière.  

Voila pourquoi la parole que Jésus nous adresse aujourd’hui nous concerne à plus d’un titre. Frères et Sœurs, il est l’heure de se réveiller de sommeil, de notre inactivité, et de prendre vraiment en main notre mission de témoignage au sein d’un monde qui en perte de repères.

Cette mission consiste effectivement à être le sel de la terre et la lumière du monde. Le Seigneur nous dit, il nous rappelle et interpelle : VOUS ETES LE SEL DE LA TERRE, VOUS ETES LA LUMIERE DU MONDE. Quelle belle image qui nous révèle à quelle hauteur le Seigneur nous estime. Il n’avait autour de lui que le petit groupe de ses disciples, mais il voyait déjà dans ces gens ordinaires, ces paysans sans grand importance, {sans influence, sans éducation, sans formation} le sel de toute la terre, la lumière du cosmos. Imaginez ! Mais c’est quand même audacieux de dire une chose pareille, de regarder un tout petit groupe en marge de la société, et de voir en eux le levain qui ferait lever toute la farine. Heureusement, ces premiers disciples ont cru vraiment la parole du Seigneur, ils l’ont pris au sérieux, et ils ont pu malgré  leur énorme limitation, apporter la Bonne Nouvelle aux extrémités de la terre. Donc, en fait, ce n’est pas le grand nombre qui compte, c’est la présence de l’Esprit de Jésus en nous. {C’est lui la vrai Lumière du monde qui nous transforme en lumières du monde}. Ce n’est pas la quantité qui importe, c’est la qualité de notre témoignage.  

Le sel ne vit pas pour lui-même mais pour la sauce ; la lumière n’existe pour elle-même mais pour son environnement. Notre vie ne nous appartient pas, elle appartient à Dieu pour le service des autres. Nous serons vraiment sel à la mesure où nous nous mettons au service du prochain. Notre lumière doit briller pour montre au monde le chemin qui mène à Dieu.  Ne laissons pas le démon dénaturer le sel du Christ en nous, ne laissons pas le diable étoffer notre lumière.

  

SAVED ON THE CROSS

You remember the two thieves who died with Jesus on that Good Friday afternoon? They had a number of things in common: they were guilty of the same crime, suffered the same sentence and had exactly the same opportunity of grace, one at His left the other at His right. But one simple detail separates these two men: One asked to be saved from the cross, the other preferred to be saved on it; one wanted to be taken down from the cross, the other wished to be taken up to heaven.

Many Christians of today are pretty much like that thief on the left. We often pray the same way he prayed. We want a Christ without the cross and a Christianity of roses and glory only. We like to lay claim to our position as sons and daughters of God with the reasoning that the Son of God cannot be on the cross. “If you are the Son of God”, we often say to Him, “save yourself and save us”. “If You know You are God enough bring me down from this cross of pain and sickness, misunderstanding and embarrassment, loneliness and lowliness”.

Of course He has the power to bring us down just as He had the power to come down from the cross Himself. But if He decided to hang on there and die, it is because there must be certain situations where coming down from the cross is directly opposed to going up to heaven, where our material comfort and temporal satisfaction is detrimental to our spiritual good. In such cases, it is infinitely more profitable to be saved on and by that cross than to be saved from it.

This truth may sound strange to some people because it supposes that there are instances where suffering and unpleasant situations are more beneficial than their removal. Well, it may be better to look at it this way. Our Lord Jesus saved us by His life and love which incidentally involved suffering and death. And since that day when He died on the cross, suffering, disappointment and even death have gained an additional meaning. By dying on the cross, the Son of God gave a new status to the crosses of men. That which was formerly and purely an instrument of suffering and shame and death, can become in Christ a means of salvation and exaltation.

Now don’t think I am proposing that one must do nothing to alleviate suffering and inconveniences in oneself and in others, or worse still that one should go in search of sufferings. No! What I’m saying is that if there are certain troubles you must bear, then bear them profitably by bearing them in union with Christ just as the Good Thief did. We often speak of offering them up to Christ. It’s all part of carrying our crosses after Him.  

Lord, if my being taken down from this cross will cost me my being taken up to you, I prefer to stay and die on it. Amen.

Have  a good day and God loves you.

FROM JERUSALEM TO NICAEA

Thursday, 5^th Week of Easter, Year C (Memorial of St Athanasius)

Act 15:7-21; John 15:9-11

It was a huge issue in the early Church whether non-Jews should be allowed to become Christians. The first Christians were all Jews and, following Jesus’ mandate to them, they felt the compulsion to preach the gospel to other nations. But what they were not sure of was how to accommodate the new converts into a new religion that was still very much like a sect of Judaism. The normal way to become a Jew was to be born so, but this new light brought by Jesus, how can one become part of it? To resolve this problem, the Church had to call a meeting of all the Apostles and other principle actors in the early Church. It was the first of its kind. It held in Jerusalem under the chairmanship of James who was then Acting Bishop of the Jerusalem Church.

In the First Reading of today, we hear Peter presenting his argument in favour of the position that Gentiles who wanted to become Christians didn’t need to go through any Jewish ritual or be made to observe purely Jewish customs. This position was supported by Paul and Barnabas and in the end James gave his ruling: We should not trouble Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write a letter telling them not to eat food offered to idols and to keep themselves from sexual immorality.

300 years after, the Church was faced with a different kind of problem. This time around it was not a question of new converts but a more theological issue regarding the person of Jesus. There were some who believed and taught that Jesus was not God as God Almighty was God. They held that Jesus was a righteous man specially chosen by God and endured with so much power that made Him above all other creatures but yet subordinate to and lower than God. It was an appealing doctrine which got many sympathisers. It major proponent was a brilliant priest called Arius. On the other hand, there were those who upheld the divinity of Jesus. They said that Jesus is God as much as He is man. He is truly God and truly man. He is of one nature and substance with God and is equal to Him in majesty and glory. Jesus is in essence, God made man for our salvation. St Athanasius whose feast we celebrate today championed this position which was more in line with Scripture. The Council of Nicaea was convoked so that the two parties can present their argument. At the end it was Athanasius’ position that prevailed.

From the council of Jerusalem to the Council of Nicaea, it is the Holy Spirit that is leading the Church. As the society evolves through the ages, the Church grows with it and the Spirit who is the principal animator of the Church continues to guild her along the way to understand God’s will concerning contemporary challenges and issues. We trust the Teaching Office of the Church because we trust that the Holy Spirit that guilds Her will never make a wrong turn or decision.

Good night and God loves you. 

HUMILITY IS SINCERITY

Monday, 5th Week of Easter, Year C

Acts 14:5-18; John 14:21-26

It has been said that humility is the mother of all virtues. This is very much true in the sense that humility attracts and beautifies all other virtues; the lack of it spoils even the noblest of gifts. It is not without reason that Scripture says that God accords His favours to the humble (1Peter 5:5). It is a garment that all Christians (regardless of how highly placed or spiritually gifted) need to wear constantly. Humility is sincerity; the opposite of it is pride and pretension.

I think the first reading of today is quite instructive in this regard. Paul and Barnabas were now preaching the good news of Jesus Christ in Lycaonia. In the hall was a cripple from birth who was listenning to the Apostle with rapt attention. When Paul noticed that the young man had developed enough faith to be healed, he said to him in a loud voice, "Get to your feet". Immediately, the cripple jumped up and began to walk. It was a miracle and those around were so astounded that they thought to themselves "Surely, these guys are gods; they have only visited us in human form". They named Paul Hermes and Barnabas Zeus after the gods they worshipped and were even ready to begin offering sacrifices to them when the apostles had to vehemently oppose it. "We are mere humans like you", they said in vexation and embarrassment, "why would you want to do such?" And they siezed the opportunity to even talk more on the greatness of God.

I wonder how many Christians or even pastors today will be able to act in like manner. How many of us will have the strength to refuse being exalted above our head? Ours is an age and society where there is so much craze for recognition and prestige and popularity. Many have been caught in the web and have begun to assume the place of God consciously or unconsciously. Usurping the glory that belongs to God alone, we have often sought to satisfy our egos with vainglory. It is evidence of lack of humility. Oh, how much we need this vitue today.

So let us pray, throug the intercession of St Catherine whose feast we celebrate today, that God will remove from us any gift that will make us proud and help us to use the gift we have in grateful acknowledgement of the Source.

WORK IS BOTH MISSION AND BLESSING

Wednesday, 5^th Week of Easter, Year C (Memorial of St Joseph the Worker)

Genesis 1:26-2:3; Matthew 13:54-58

Do you know why they say “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”? It is because idleness is a sin and one sin disposes one to commit more sins thereby making the person some kind of factory where sin is reproduced by the devil. But why do we say idleness is a sin? Idleness is a sin because to work is a divine mission, and idleness violates that mission. Where did you get the idea that work in a mission? The Bible makes it clear.

As we read in the first reading of today, God was the first person who engaged in work. He did the work of creation in 6 days and rested on the 7^th day. Then He hands over the whole of all visible creation to man giving him the mandate to maintain and sustain it by the work of His mind and hand. This was one of the first mission man received and it was a privilege to so partner with the Creator in the business of sustaining creation.

Along the line, man fell from grace through the sin of disobedience against God. As a result of this man was driven from paradise and part of the sentence was: “By the sweet of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground from which you were made”. Work then became a punishment due to sin but Jesus was to come to redeem man from sin and from the curse that resulted from it. So when the Son of God took the likeness of men, He willed to work as a carpenter so as to sanctify work and bring it to its original purposefulness. His redemptive work made work once again a mission to the glory of God and a source of blessing and fulfilment to us.

If we are able to appreciate this understanding of work, then we will be more disposed to have the right attitude towards work. Work, we must work because the opposite, which is idleness, is not an option but a sin. How do we work? We must work dedicatedly having in mind that it is for the glory of God that we work. Then we must work in such a way that we serve others through our work. That way we will gain the blessings and fulfilment that comes from a work well done.

Happy workers’ day and God loves you.