tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10685988558319061242024-03-05T05:18:38.762+00:00FR. JAMES A.Spreading the Good News!Refreshment of the soul! Upliftment of the spirit!Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-8391665821625810002020-09-26T20:15:00.007+01:002020-09-26T20:17:01.468+01:00The Plight of a righteous Mother<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS0F8sD9YLA7dS9Pa0oszjR3teesrHhx8kxadWQ4QHYalrTP8fft2uejZtdGBijLX8wL-JtoQqw6n4nBy7B8_Ek9_z9CmuHSnEafdOMGTmYN7kfW7Azj78mDM2mXD4uwC20I4sliR-2H_/s1280/22CDFD14-008A-4065-B31B-EC51E7E7979F.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS0F8sD9YLA7dS9Pa0oszjR3teesrHhx8kxadWQ4QHYalrTP8fft2uejZtdGBijLX8wL-JtoQqw6n4nBy7B8_Ek9_z9CmuHSnEafdOMGTmYN7kfW7Azj78mDM2mXD4uwC20I4sliR-2H_/s320/22CDFD14-008A-4065-B31B-EC51E7E7979F.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">One Sunday morning a young mother skilfully managed to steer her brood through the organised chaos of breakfast washing and dressing. The transfer from house to car do opposition even more determination, but eventually in the face of on from the smallest member of the household, she got the family to Mass in one piece. As usual, her face reddened on entry into the pew Why did they always have to be the family that arrived late despite all her good intentions? </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">On leaving the church she got chatting to an older couple who were selling raffle tickets for the church repairs. They casually suggested that she might like to impress upon her children the importance of the day by arriving that little bit earlier. Perhaps even saying a prayer with them in the car ensuring that the little darlings enter the church with the appropriate reverence. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Managing to bite her tongue she quickly left and vowed never to return to that particular church of old fogies who clearly were out to make life difficult for her and would not accept her children. It was obviously family unfriendly, and anyway, when was the last time they dealt with three of these little terrors? </p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Yet as the week wore on she began to reflect on why she made such great efforts. The answer was that she needed Jesus in her life. She thanked him for the gift of faith, a gift she wanted to pass on to her children. Some of the congregation might get on her nerves now and again but that should not stop her from coming to the Lord's table.</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> Arriving late the next Sunday she felt embarrassed. Yet somehow that familiar feeling reminded her that she was back in God's house and among friends.</p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1">God bless you!</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uoBxe62Z0XU" width="320" youtube-src-id="uoBxe62Z0XU"></iframe></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p> Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-14650490108906862542020-09-23T00:34:00.001+01:002020-09-23T00:34:14.424+01:00How to overcome Greed, Envy and Jealousy <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_0fztY1MaWE" width="320" youtube-src-id="_0fztY1MaWE"></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-62283584368410152592020-09-23T00:33:00.003+01:002020-09-23T00:33:18.108+01:00Whose Father is He? A Short story <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><br> Whose Father is He?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8StWu1mnXaubeHKlQzmFz46Zq98W1ImUPv-RxvcSY1QbgDbZqXv0xP1hwNybjfEl5XyeIvvNYPYjblTuf-ORYC7LqGxqmjBAMudkM6HqqSidCoJY9UdI53BZASb8eBRaagK6ooFgvv8l8/s2048/431455B4-8E58-4513-B553-707CFE4C6171.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8StWu1mnXaubeHKlQzmFz46Zq98W1ImUPv-RxvcSY1QbgDbZqXv0xP1hwNybjfEl5XyeIvvNYPYjblTuf-ORYC7LqGxqmjBAMudkM6HqqSidCoJY9UdI53BZASb8eBRaagK6ooFgvv8l8/w200-h200/431455B4-8E58-4513-B553-707CFE4C6171.png" width="200" id="id_421c_501_91d2_9060" style="width: 200px; height: auto;"></a></div><br><p><br></p><p> ```A beggar came to my front door asking for food. I told him to come around to the back door and asked him to sit on the floor while I went in to bring the left over food. </p><p><br></p><p>I brought him food & said, let us pray. Guessing he does not know the Lord’s Prayer, I decided to lead him through it. Now repeat after me, I said, "Our FATHER, who art in Heaven". He said, "Your Father who art in Heaven". I said."No, say OUR FATHER who art in Heaven". He again said, "Your Father who art in Heaven"!!! </p><p>This extremely Irritated me! I asked him, why do you say 'Your' father when I say 'Our' FATHER?' </p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbLQ1UgPCRrZcHz5d9TJJ_NbL1pDFsQ2u3MKh8HYwTwQ25dOdwRbNUaFclYvRKGLMpCGS-lavXst2Lml0B6ljhyphenhyphentazuivRwHZbIibbo_ewU4xFFdnIR-GLo4TqOed6GMvD_DhwhbN9R3c/s2048/28AD38D4-ED44-4B29-B77D-2B362401CAB2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbLQ1UgPCRrZcHz5d9TJJ_NbL1pDFsQ2u3MKh8HYwTwQ25dOdwRbNUaFclYvRKGLMpCGS-lavXst2Lml0B6ljhyphenhyphentazuivRwHZbIibbo_ewU4xFFdnIR-GLo4TqOed6GMvD_DhwhbN9R3c/w200-h200/28AD38D4-ED44-4B29-B77D-2B362401CAB2.png" width="200" id="id_94b5_eefb_c876_25cc" style="width: 200px; height: auto;"></a></p><p><br></p><p>To my amazement, he said, "Sir, it's like this. If I say Our FATHER, then we both become brothers. If we are brothers, you would invite me in through the front door and not the back; you would ask me to sit at your dining table not on the floor; you'd also not give me stale food! Sir, somehow it's not possible that we are sons of the same father"! He may be your Father, but he can't be OUR father! </p><p>Whose FATHER is He?</p><p>It took a beggar to teach me the truth!!!```</p><div><br></div><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -30px;">According to St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother) </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -30px;">‘It is not how much we give but how much</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: -30px;"> love we put into giving’.</span></p><p> *GOD becomes our FATHER when we treat one another as brothers and sisters.*</p><p>(Copied from a WhatsApp group) </p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4qh-pN_x_M0" width="320" youtube-src-id="4qh-pN_x_M0" id="id_7f64_abbe_5772_ec2e"></iframe></p>Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-25958638481082961882020-09-18T01:28:00.000+01:002020-09-18T01:28:32.478+01:00Honest opinions about FORGIVENESS <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Do you find it difficult to forgive? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Is the burden heavy on you? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">You are not alone! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This week we have gathered lots of individual opinions and experiences about forgiveness and the many reasons to forgive. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Listen, learn and be uplifted! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">#forgiveness </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FzHUQ_Fdl1A" width="320" youtube-src-id="FzHUQ_Fdl1A" id="id_a460_1ced_a290_c772"></iframe></div><br> <p></p>Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-2733435370478017062020-09-18T01:22:00.002+01:002020-09-18T01:24:36.773+01:003 Reasons why you should forgive even when it hurts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WZGAuSvldCSxcnm4N01FMkPjRUrnkWMhp99m_LGsaAbIYRnP7jNH8LyxEIpZGWZXhKLKAnc_xjxDARv35uaxBhtUHsdMEeJjcyx8ci51cwmuCJLdHCCDZFL1Zewn2SvJ2MSTBDOdxPCa/s2048/1640907A-3B93-4CAD-987A-DDACB1D0C525.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WZGAuSvldCSxcnm4N01FMkPjRUrnkWMhp99m_LGsaAbIYRnP7jNH8LyxEIpZGWZXhKLKAnc_xjxDARv35uaxBhtUHsdMEeJjcyx8ci51cwmuCJLdHCCDZFL1Zewn2SvJ2MSTBDOdxPCa/s16000/1640907A-3B93-4CAD-987A-DDACB1D0C525.png" /></a></div><br /> Are you still struggling to let go?<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Have you made efforts to forgive, yet you find yourself still at a particular place, bearing those grudges and unable to forgive? Try listening to this and see how it helps! </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Here are three things you need to consider before you hold malice!</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" id="id_d5c8_9928_4557_e42e" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ZJiSv14tNg" width="320" youtube-src-id="-ZJiSv14tNg"></iframe></div><p></p>Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-18748806140296622592020-09-17T20:25:00.002+01:002020-09-17T20:26:19.932+01:00Otedola’s Ferraris In Public Display By Fr. Kelvin Ugwu<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_zknKmDYMoUujcwaHrO2MuIqPJ5DFAvg1sSgJpd7JYL7EMjWOBL9ilOrk0c6KehmQTiFt38xoPqx3X-g1zP85tBJEOMDu8JVD623DX_aSgmNhfTZGFaHvudcprlpO9W8ZslAj44W_M97/s719/3641CC6A-DF7B-486C-A6CD-4FA23C2D6AC5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="719" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_zknKmDYMoUujcwaHrO2MuIqPJ5DFAvg1sSgJpd7JYL7EMjWOBL9ilOrk0c6KehmQTiFt38xoPqx3X-g1zP85tBJEOMDu8JVD623DX_aSgmNhfTZGFaHvudcprlpO9W8ZslAj44W_M97/s320/3641CC6A-DF7B-486C-A6CD-4FA23C2D6AC5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Why is it trending that Otedola bought Ferrari cars for his daughters? What is actually the big deal in it?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, it is a big deal. And the big deal in it is simply because it is not something 90% of us can easily afford. It is not something we see everyday. So, it is simply trending because we are looking at it from the perspective of poverty versus riches.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is why people have been making comments, I read one that says:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Otedola just bought his three daughters Ferrari cars each like he is purchasing clothes in the market. Tell me money is the root of evil again and I will block you."</div><div><br /></div><div>In the real sense of it, if more people can afford it, it won't make headline. Even the girls won't post it online, and even if they do, it won't catch much attention.</div><div><br /></div><div>We see this situation always:</div><div><br /></div><div>When phones newly came out, those that had phones in our secondary school days were looked at as though they were super humans with super rich dads until when everyone started having phones, then the attention shifted to the type of phone you are having.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those that had Black Berry phones were seen as Kings and Queens intimating everyone with their "pin codes" and "pinging" until when China decided to level everyone up with Android phones.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those that had Super Eagle Jerseys during the world cup when it was very expensive and scarce were making a big deal to snap and post online until when Aba people came to the rescue and even beggars started wearing the "almighty" jersey to beg on the street, everybody kukuma calmed down.</div><div><br /></div><div>To those Americans who use Ferrari for car race, they will look at Otedola Ferrari gifts and be wondering if his children are going for car race.</div><div><br /></div><div>And here is the point, where are the girls going to drive the cars to? From their house to somewhere close to the house for shopping. Then back to the house. Then to a saloon at the next street, and then to a party in their neighborhood. </div><div><br /></div><div>Will they drive it from Lagos to Abuja? I doubt! Where is even the road? When you use a speed car like Ferrari for house to house waka, are you using it because of its utility or for show?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXKpgKxnR2IuY2wH8_G24aMuTX-uIKv6BU3Wy6wRhDxgDNast08WeRTvVPn0xUOZeg31OHtBoXqk0_olFIfOUGGm_9LNRDBw9ncaQWYUth892iYgylrnBuO7b4SgJOe3XFSb_qHhBybY1/s1241/5CE53B59-6C3B-44AF-A148-FBB0AE404A06.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="1180" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXKpgKxnR2IuY2wH8_G24aMuTX-uIKv6BU3Wy6wRhDxgDNast08WeRTvVPn0xUOZeg31OHtBoXqk0_olFIfOUGGm_9LNRDBw9ncaQWYUth892iYgylrnBuO7b4SgJOe3XFSb_qHhBybY1/s320/5CE53B59-6C3B-44AF-A148-FBB0AE404A06.jpeg" /></b></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is why 97% of those I know carrying the latest iPhones don't even know half of what their phones are capable of doing. What someone with outdated Tecno phone will do, they can't do with all the latest apps in their phones. At the end, it gives the impression that their phones are more for show than for its utility.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is this thing in all of us that yearns to make us desire to have an edge over the other and to show we are at a higher class. If not, if I have an averagely comfortable car or a cab that can take me to where your Ferrari will take you to, I do not see why I will feel out of class. It is not what you have materially that should define your class? </div><div><br /></div><div>Dear friends, if a father who has One thousand dollars decided to gift his daughter with one hundred dollars, it is the same thing to me with a father who has 1Millon dollars and decided to gift his daughter with one hundred thousand dollars. The purchasing value of both monies ($100 and $100,000) may not be the same, but the givers both gave 10% of what they have, which simply means they gave the same. </div><div><br /></div><div>Don't despise your father because you came online and saw another father who bought Ferrari for his kids. If Ferrari or an expensive gadgets are what makes us happy, most of us won't have known what laughter truly is.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you get there and can afford a Ferrari, fine. If you can't, enjoy what you have. Everyone is searching for happiness including the Ferrari owners and if what you are doing is genuine, you have no reason to feel less happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>#FacebookTelevision</div> Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-84501406191829572672020-09-17T19:51:00.002+01:002020-09-17T20:26:40.543+01:00Outgrowing God? : Is Religion a Scam? By Fr. George Adimike<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUctcd8OwnWS8vkoAvt_ptrXUFOkPdbsb7vtB6OBDQbwCB85DgRfBlkEXYAd_hckwuNj3FN9PvElZJyU9RMxFHBfQrJl-Yf15xg1wmOCFo7xHKEDZkwrQUq_QI9oBndA6vP3YU6eXHXFEU/s1600/E794A6E4-1222-4BBA-BB2A-C5DDA3BEADB9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUctcd8OwnWS8vkoAvt_ptrXUFOkPdbsb7vtB6OBDQbwCB85DgRfBlkEXYAd_hckwuNj3FN9PvElZJyU9RMxFHBfQrJl-Yf15xg1wmOCFo7xHKEDZkwrQUq_QI9oBndA6vP3YU6eXHXFEU/s320/E794A6E4-1222-4BBA-BB2A-C5DDA3BEADB9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nowadays, it feels romantic to think of the banishment of religion. However, without religion, morality has no firm foundation, no supernatural content and context and can most likely produce mischief-making egomaniacs. Therefore, perhaps the most fundamental question for every living person is: what is the meaning of life? Answers to this question place God and religion in their proper context. Is the world from a Creator or by chance? If there is no Creator to whom we account, then anything is possible. Without an adequate understanding of the human person, the race to reach the pinnacle of possibilities could lead societies to self-destruction. As a result of a mistaken understanding of the human person, parameters for the measurement of human success fall short of reality. In particular, life stripped of the right purpose becomes vagabond, thus turning an existential journey into aimless and fatalistic wandering. As it advances, it breeds ethos without logos, and ultimately it misplaces priorities, leading to over-pricing of material progress as the sole measure of meaningful existence. This crisis gradually becomes the God-crisis whereby humans practically pretend to have outgrown God and bash religion as a scam. </div><div><br /></div><div>The accusations that religious people have been engaging in atrocities inform this disposition. Unfortunately, wars, injustice, marginalization, exploitation, witch-hunting, exclusion and corruption all have happened in the name of religion. These atrocities are revelatory of human nature, and they affirm Thomas Hobbes’ position that human life in the state of nature is short, brutish and nasty. With his mistaken ideas, Ludwig Feuerbach influenced Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud in adopting their inadequate positions. They held that religion is opium and wish fulfilment project of the unconscious mind in which man is both the subject and ultimate object of religious worship respectively. Despite all the imperfections in the practice of religion, its absence will undoubtedly spell doom. Napoleon recognized that it is the religion that stops the poor from killing off the rich. In their focus on the evils committed in the name of religion, people generally ignore its significant contributions. As it were, since sinners are harsher on fellow sinners (cf. John 8: 5-9), people bereft of perfection are the majority of the activists that criticize imperfect situations. There is no gain denying that from the beginning of human’s existence, there is never a time the praxis of religion has been perfect. Yet, any society that abandons the path to the supernatural is bargaining for destruction. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1Sz1SMt9y05Jk8pb7zlxMmrNgYFgdjMGmJgFeaZVT48OTK6oUsa0DJ-PYdVcSLn73rjXDUdRI1gCxZA6xY49FJKpj9jv6QuQjVJ5xay4e8qF9q5-I0ieWrDb76p0wkJcbWvPGlcXPn8L/s2048/3F3F6250-328A-4C7E-AB45-4E75E2989B3A.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1Sz1SMt9y05Jk8pb7zlxMmrNgYFgdjMGmJgFeaZVT48OTK6oUsa0DJ-PYdVcSLn73rjXDUdRI1gCxZA6xY49FJKpj9jv6QuQjVJ5xay4e8qF9q5-I0ieWrDb76p0wkJcbWvPGlcXPn8L/s320/3F3F6250-328A-4C7E-AB45-4E75E2989B3A.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>As human existence meanders through mediations of understanding and vision, faith in God becomes the motor of a purpose-driven life. And similarly, religion supplies the right values to the end-tailored existence. By so doing, faith in God and practice of religion become coefficient factors in life equation. Arguably, nothing harms countries and cultures as moral disarray in which ineffective, destructive or unreliable compasses compete at an equal plane. Without fear of exaggeration, Godless world would be a hell and a world without religion would be a jungle of beasts. Religious precepts help put in check the free-flowing instincts that can destroy us. </div><div><br /></div><div>Religion is a structure of a relationship through which people are bound by a collective search for meaning that gives an enduring orientation to life. It binds them together relative to the object of their search and journey. Religion informs and influences the pattern of behaviour of self and society, precisely because no one is religious alone. For Emile Durkheim, it is a social reality. Religion prepares persons to conquer themselves, develop their potentials and ameliorate their conditions by offering them a canvas to paint their life. Unfortunately, mass illiteracy and fundamentalist bigotry against other religious families have contributed to creating a wrong narrative about religion. Many intellectual descendants of Feuerbach that control social and intellectual megaphones lead the chorus of religion-denouncing choirs. Yet godless ideologies, materialistic atheism and anti-theistic politics have inflicted far worse menace to humanity that makes the ills of religious men pale in magnitude. On account of her “Adamic” nature, humanity continues to demonstrate a libidinous crave for evil. The world of human affairs is messy and would be even more brutish and nasty without faith. In the absence of a transcendental moral compass―objective standard―that transcends time and space, taste and caste, might becomes right and laws serve the overlords.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is easy to make a binary comparison between the so-called knowledge and religious economies, giving the impression that the so-called religious economies are underdeveloped while knowledge-based economies are super developed. Nothing is more deceptive than that. This kind of claim misunderstands religion and therefore misses the whole picture. Without exonerating the nuisance of religious charlatans, nations are generally poor because of multiple factors, including but not limited to bio-geography, bad policies, policy somersaults, lack of access to capital, corruption and poor policy implementation. It often escapes attention that the whole of Western nations without exception developed on the foundation of Judeo-Christian faith. Japan is founded on Shintoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, which are thoroughly pervasive in their culture and grounded their race to progress. Imprecise knowledge of the Asiatic religions of the Asian tigers warrants the claim that Asian nations are of no religion. China is often cited as an example of a non-religious country that excels. Frankly, this position is as wrong as it is ignorant of the real situation. China has both conventional religions and state religion. Chairman Mao (Mao Tse-tung or Zedong), recognizing that without religion no nation can make progress, offered China Maoism. The difference is the object of their religious allegiance. Similar to the pre-Christian Roman Empire, the object of Chinese religious worship is the state. China practices the religion of the state called communism. Moreover, the USA is a typical Western nation that is both very religious and highly developed. </div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps in a bid to rescue humanity from frying pan, unconscionable secularists are pushing humanity into a lake of fire. In actuality, nowhere is headache cured by cutting off the head, and so, we cannot solve the algebra of religion by burning the algebra book. The situation in the anti-theistic and secular nations is a necessary caveat for the religion-bashing choirs. For instance, the secularised developed countries have alarming incidences of suicide not prevalent in developing religious nations. Religion offers a powerful coping mechanism; it sells hope, which drives people into and sustains them in active engagement with the world. The value of this hope becomes very manifest at the moment of personal crisis when all the frivolous arguments against religion at the night of one’s experience disappear. Through faith, one rightly feels enraptured by the divine grace and finds no justifiable need to police mystery, which one knows by experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>A world without religion is a world that either claims to have outgrown God or reduces divine relationship to private affairs, which contradicts the interconnected, interdependent and corporate nature of human existence. Without God, the world surrenders to dangerous fatalism where everything follows the rubric of chance. The absence of supernatural context to life empties it of richness and significance and institutes arbitrariness as its norm. In other words, a world without religion would be full of despair, depression, frustration and suicides. It is a world in which humans become wolves to others without qualms of conscience, and nothing prevents the poor from killing off the rich. It is not that these evils do not exist in a religious context, but the scale will be tremendous. In such a world of might-as-right, the powerful can dispossess one of the valuable possessions at the whims. Due to the lack of supernatural reference point, there will be no fundamental basis for rights, liberty and possession. </div><div><br /></div><div>Without religion, charity and social action would be at the whims of the practitioners. Moreover, religion has become the whipping boy for the woes in many African nations, and wrongly this system dysfunction becomes the warrant for animus against religion. Granted, many religionists have grossly abused religion. There is no gain mentioning the havoc some religious fundamentalists wreck in the name of God. One has to think of the exploitation of religion for pleasure, power and wealth, and to achieve that, the perpetrators turn it to the opium of its adherents. Yet, the negligence of religion by some of the so-called developed societies spells doom and signals self-destruction in the name of freedom and pursuit of happiness. A demographic doom that threatens the existence of many of these societies, causing a few young people to sustain the elderly, is a bracing illustration of this fact. Thanks to migration, many of these societies survive and thrive. Without migration, their economies would crumble, and they will be overwhelmed by melancholy and death. Finally, religion with all the imperfections of its practitioners is still a force for good, while the consequence of its absence is unimaginable. No matter how the present-day disciples of Auguste Comte try to argue, humanity can neither outgrow God nor religion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fr George Adimike</div><div><br /></div><div>*findfadachigozie@gmail.com*</div> Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-35963813388529400712020-03-06T12:27:00.002+00:002020-03-06T12:29:38.113+00:00IS GOD ABSENT IN OUR WORLD TODAY ?<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3px;">
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">At a time during their sojourn, the people of Israel complained of God’s absence in their ordeals. (Exodus 16:1-4; Numbers 14:2).</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Certainly, we sometimes feel such abandonment or per se the absence of God in our lives or society. This may be due to some human conditions which proves difficult to contain like the new Coronavirus - (Covid-19); poverty; lack of some basic amenities; natural disasters and so on. </span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;"></span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">But does God really abandon His people? Or can God be absent in our lives? </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">Not at all! God cannot not be Himself. He is Emmanuel - God with us! He is always with us in all things and in all circumstances (</span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 16px;">Psalm 46:1-3</span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">; </span><span class="s3" style="font-size: 16px;">Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 34:17; Isaiah 43:1-3; Psalm 27: 1-3; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 27:10; Matthew 28:20</span><span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">). </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">However, we are the ones that could / have abandoned God. </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">There are actions that cause ripples of great consequences... what today you suffer may be the consequence of yours or another’s action. Sickness, poverty etc. </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">Today, we are experiencing a global epidemic - the spread of Coronavirus <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Covid-19). Of course this virus did not fall from the sky, someone, somewhere made it happen. Either voluntarily or unconsciously. Together we can fight it but the scars may not be taken away easily. The only solution to our human suffering is to go back to root - to go back to our creator - the One through whom we live; we move and we have our being! He has the key and in Him is the joy of living found. </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">Let us go, therefore, back to the root! </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">Let us seek only God through Christ! </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">Let us amend our ways and focus, not on our wellness alone but, on the betterment of our society! </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">‘In God is our soul at rest’ - St. Augustine </span><br />
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 16px;">Fr. James Anyaegbu </span></div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-73916731256426881892020-03-06T09:08:00.001+00:002020-03-06T09:08:19.597+00:00Be Human Be Holy <div dir="ltr">
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"Set apart" At baptism Christians are set apart with a mission : to know God more and more, to Love God, worship Him and to be with Him in eternity. This is our mission as Christians and it is not unachievable with faith and a life of holiness. <br />
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Here one may ask if holiness is achievable since we are mere mortals. of course God does not expect us to be Him but to be like Him. He is Holiness in person and we as created in His image are only but frail and human. </div>
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Our humanity has become a stumbling block to our struggle for Holiness but at the same time our humanity is the only way to Holiness. <br />
Ordinary human living is what is needed to achieve this life of Holiness. When God urged us to be Holy He is only saying let us live our lives like we ought to as humans. </div>
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To be Holy is to be set apart and here as Christians in the Gospel Christ is urging us to leave our lives going extra miles in doing good deeds. That means ‘doing ordinary things the extraordinary way’. We should not live as it is done in the world but as God wants us to. </div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiL3nqucRjCPknKm07DC5A" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiL3nqucRjCPknKm07DC5A</a></div>
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- Fr. James Anyaegbu</div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-67328764249596034502020-03-05T17:00:00.000+00:002020-03-05T17:32:44.645+00:00ALMSGIVING<div>
<b>Almsgiving: A thanks expressed in giving!</b></div>
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Almsgiving is a participation in the divine act of giving, not just from the abundance of one’s acquisitions, but of oneself – spiritually and materially.</div>
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It is a thankful virtue that manifests itself concretely through the extension of one’s arm towards another in view of uplifting the other. We are created as ‘being with the other’. Our existence becomes meaningful and joy-filled when we extend our hands towards the other; when we think more, not of oneself, but of the other: “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31).</div>
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Almsgiving is an act of love, a love that appreciates God’s gifts to us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life”. (John 3:16) It is a thanks that is expressed in giving – Thanks-giving.<br />
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Almsgiving is an act of reparation! When we give with love and gratitude, it is an expression of our deep sorrow for our many transgressions against God. Think of the tax collector, Zaccheus who upon his transforming encounter with Christ said to him: “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:8)</div>
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How do we express our appreciation, thanks-giving to God - invisible? Simply by giving back!</div>
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Jesus told his disciples: “whatsoever you do to the least of my people, thus you do unto me”. (Mat. 25:40) Jesus assures us of his presence in our neighbour. In those people we do not consider as belonging to our class; in those poor people leaving in poor conditions around us; in the sick whose hope of a better healthcare isn’t assured; in the hungry and the homeless roaming around our streets; in that neighbour of ours whose names we do not care to know. In these people, we find a way of reaching out and giving back to God.</div>
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In the Gospel of Matthew 25:34, Jesus identifies a group - the ‘Blessed of my Father’. These are people who, aware of God’s gift of faith in them, moved out of their own self-centred concerns to respond in love and care for the sick, the imprisoned, the hungry, the stranger and the naked. They knew that God had entered their hearts and that He would provide for all their needs. Out of a desire to see others receive this grace, they willingly gave, not just out of their abundance but also of themselves.</div>
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Many times we may have heard acts that are done “quid pro quo” – “something for something.” Does our gratitude come under this description? Are we giving because there is something to be received? This should not be the case! Our thankful-giving goes beyond the idea of giving in direct repay to what was received. We are called to give thanks in all circumstances whether good or bad for it is the will of God (1Thess. 5:18).</div>
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There are many benefits, however, that comes with giving alms. Most times when we give alms to the needy we do not see the effects immediately. Our alms bring joy not only to the recipient but also to our souls as well. Almsgiving relieves us of the excess burdens of having; it draws us ever more closer to the grace of being one with the Father who, for our sake gave His only Son. It confers on us the title, “Blessed of my Father”!</div>
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During this Lenten season, dear friends, Jesus invites us to take up the obligation of gratitude through almsgiving (Matt.5:42, 6:1-4, 25:35; Luke 14:13, 18:22) and the Church encourages us to do so. We are to look out for the needs of others (spiritual, psychological and material) and help them in any way we can. May we not fail in carrying out this noble act!</div>
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<br /></div>
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- Fr. James Anyaegbu</div>
<div>
(An article I wrote for the Scottish Catholic Youths (SCY) March, 2020 see link below)<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/417023772025675/posts/1018359471892099/?d=n" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/417023772025675/posts/1018359471892099/?d=n</a></div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-29903376262995448062020-02-07T08:42:00.003+00:002020-02-07T08:42:50.491+00:00<div>
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Exactly 21 days of being held hostage,</div>
<div>
We overheard our abductors speaking in hausa “an kamala tattaunawar” “an biya fansa” </div>
<div>
Meaning the negotiation has been concluded, and the ransom has been paid.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Although we haven’t been released, and stood completely oblivious of the one to whom those allusions were made, but this news does indeed strike in all 11 of us in captivity, sentiments of happiness and sighs of hope</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yet, I heard one of them saying something about sending a message- “amma har yanzu muna bukatar aika sako”</div>
<div>
But I couldn’t really make anything out of it until now, when I watch life fade out of my brother, friend and colleague Mike, who was bleeding profusely and gasping for breath. </div>
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<br /></div>
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A bullet had hit him on the neck.</div>
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I held him tight in my arms and put a pressure on his neck to stop the bleeding</div>
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Grasped with fear untold, I called out…</div>
<div>
Mike! Mikky! Stay with me, we are almost out of this bush</div>
<div>
While gradually fading out, he stretched out his hand to wipe my tears,</div>
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In whispers I heard him mutter </div>
<div>
“Pray for me”</div>
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I cried even more, and screamed for help, </div>
<div>
Hum… but just in a jiffy, I suddenly became conscious of Mike’s increasingly plummeting temperature</div>
<div>
Others; Pius, Peter and Stephen came back running</div>
<div>
Only to find him dead in my arms…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Remembering our shared hope of return to freedom, tears rolled down my cheek effortlessly</div>
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Lost in thought, I took the wing of reminiscence</div>
<div>
Recalling moments shared prior to our kidnap…</div>
<div>
it was around 10:27pm on Wednesday, January 8, just few minutes before light out</div>
<div>
I had gone to Mikky’s room to get the provision he promised to buy for me from outing</div>
<div>
I met Stephen and Mikky’s roommate Pius, soaking garri</div>
<div>
Mikky was also in the room, so I joined in the feast, even though it wasn’t a free night</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Then we heard a loud thud, it was the fence </div>
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But before we could phantom all that was happening, we heard gunshots simultaneously with the words, Ja su waje! Ja su waje!! Drag them out!!!</div>
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Our first line of action was to lay down flat, as the gunshot continued</div>
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We heard other been dragged out of their room, but we couldn’t hide</div>
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Our door gave way on a single heavy kick</div>
<div>
Two men, in military uniform entered</div>
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Heavily armed, with bullets across their shoulders</div>
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Stephen was the first to jump up from where we laid, he was slapped back to the laying position,</div>
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Then we were dragged out into the quadrangle of the hostel</div>
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We were the last to be dragged out</div>
<div>
To join the line of other seminarians already on a straight line in the quadrangle</div>
<div>
We were asked to submit our laptops and belongings, which we did.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
They packed it into their van and as they were about leaving they dragged us into their van, </div>
<div>
last four persons on the line which happens to be Me, Pius, Michael and Stephen and then they took Peter too.</div>
<div>
We were blind folded, chained and thrown into the van, </div>
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The van was on speed for about an hour before there was a turn</div>
<div>
Into a rather not too smooth road and the drive went on for about another 2 hours…</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
All I knew was that by the time they removed the blindfold we were already in a forest camp</div>
<div>
We were striped of our clothing and thrown into a cell, to join 7 others who were abducted at different times</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the cell, there we met a Pastor; Lawan Andami who we later found out to be the CAN chairman of Michika, A Doctor’s wife; Mrs Philip Ataga, An elderly Muslim couple; Alhaji and Hajia Bisiriyu with their first son Usman, who were alleged to have masterminded the escape of Christians in the past, and others</div>
<div>
persons whose name I would rather not mention.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Hours rolled into days</div>
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Days into weeks,</div>
<div>
We were fed once in 2 days.</div>
<div>
We kept on praying together with the pastor, who unwaveringly encouraging us not to lose hope in God.</div>
<div>
Then a day came they, that was like a week after we arrived</div>
<div>
They came to call the pastor, he followed them without hesitation,</div>
<div>
We never thought we would see him again, but to our surprise he came back, and when we asked him, he said they ask him to make a video telling people he is fine, and encourage his people to pay his ransom.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After some days, they came again and took Usman, the son of the Bisiriyu, </div>
<div>
we were wondering what they wanted with him, but still he followed.</div>
<div>
Moments later, we heard gunshots at some distance and we conjectured that he had been killed</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The Bisiriyu’s cried uncontrollably for days</div>
<div>
We mourned with them and prayed for his happy repose, </div>
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Why they killed him was unknown to us all</div>
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Then two days later, just before evening fall, </div>
<div>
There was noise and rage in the camp, we don’t know why,</div>
<div>
But we heard the leader of the group shouting </div>
<div>
“ Ja su waje! Jaa su waje! Alsaabiuwn…. Kafirai</div>
<div>
Drag them out… Infidels.</div>
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<div>
We were dragged out of the cells, lined on a queue. </div>
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Then they forcefully dragged Lawan, the CAN chairman out of the line,</div>
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They accused his people of not paying up to the amount requested and with that they felt much slighted.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And so he was going to die</div>
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He beg for his life, but they refused, </div>
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They dragged him out,</div>
<div>
forced his neck on stake they have prepared</div>
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Then the Dagger-like cutlass was revealed </div>
<div>
and so it was, with two strikes, his head rolled off,</div>
<div>
blood gushed out profusely, the sight was horrible.</div>
<div>
when we tried to look away, they slapped us to look at the horrific sight</div>
<div>
according to one of them, we were to witness it so as to serve as a motivation for us to ask our people to pay the ransom.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Caught up in immense sorrow and in pain, we were led back to the cell</div>
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again, we prayed for the repose of his soul</div>
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while we await similar fate to befall us,</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
on the morning of the 21st day</div>
<div>
we overheard them saying the negotiation had been </div>
<div>
concluded and the ransom had been paid.</div>
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Then I also heard one of them saying something about sending a message, well I didn’t pay attention to it as we were a midst the joy of been released.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Moment later, they threw the gate of the cell opened; four of us and Mrs Ataga, the doctor’s wife were let loose. </div>
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Then they ask to run for our lives</div>
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Initially we hesitated, then they fired some shots at a close range to our feet, then we started running through the direction we thought was the way out of the forest.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We had only run a few distance when we heard gunshots from behind, they were coming after us</div>
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We increased our pace and took to our heels, scattered in the forest,</div>
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Mike took the same direction with me, </div>
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The shots continued</div>
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They sprayed sporadically…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Then I heard one last single shot, </div>
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The very one that hit Mike,</div>
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I turned back to look, Mike was already on the floor </div>
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I rushed back to help him, but he was already gasping.</div>
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I looked back to see where the shot had come from</div>
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Then I saw him, few meter away, smiling...</div>
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<br /></div>
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Then he said “kai wannan gida ... wannan shine sakon”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Take that home… that is the message.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
©️The Confessions of a Seminarian</div>
<div>
Written in Honour of Michael Nnadi, Seminarian of the Good Shepherd Seminary, Kaduna</div>
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</div>
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And all those who have lost their lives in the hands of kidnappers and terrorists.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Eternal Rest grant unto them oh Lord… and let your perpetual light shine upon them</div>
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May the soul of Micheal Nnadi, Lawan Andami, Philip Ataga, and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen<br />
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-39194047079334182592017-12-01T16:04:00.000+00:002017-12-03T08:54:42.300+00:00TEAR THE HEAVENS OH LORD AND COME DOWN<br />
1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT<br />
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The many rejections God has faced in our world today, from both followers and non followers, directly or indirectly gives meaning to our first Sunday of advent's topic - "Tear the heaven O Lord and come down".<br />
Many public places have removed Christ from their existence, Churches have been sold out to pubs and market places, many are yet on the verge of being sold, could it be for lack of members or ministers? God seems to be far away and needs to be felt closely at this time. Isaiah in todays first reading, points to this very fact, when we keep God at a safe distance; when we have refused to acknowledge Gods abiding presence in our world; when we find no place for God in our lives, humanity experience great suffering. We need to have a change of heart and seek to find God deep within us. we need to reject the many distractions of the world and focus on Gods perfect plan for us. Isaiah's prayer for God to come shows how we really need Him, to make us be aware of His presence in such a way that we may no longer deny Him.<br />
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St. Paul in the second reading reminds us of Gods faithfulness and the impact of His grace keeping us faithful towards Him. We need this grace today, in both teachers/preachers and the people whom God has called. <br />
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In the Gospel of Mark we find a very somewhat scary lines of the coming of the master, however, it is not to make us feel scared but to alert us on the need for a constant awareness of Gods plan for us. <br />
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"Be on your guard, stay awake!" Advent is a time to stay awake in prayer and active service. It is a time to cleanse ourselves of our many sins; a time to go out and meet Jesus in the needy and the suffering society. A time to show love even while it hurts.<br />
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Yes Christmas trees and decorations makes the time joyful and ceremonious but let us not forget the essence of Christmas - the coming of the Messiah! <br />
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<br />Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-60282971822620687042017-07-25T08:04:00.003+01:002017-07-25T08:04:47.432+01:00 St James (The Greater - Son of Zebedee) <div>
25th July<br />
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St. James (The Greater – Son of Zebedee) </div>
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Join me in celebrating today the Feast of 'St. James the greater: one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ'. He was born into the family of Zebedee and Salome with his brother John (the Evangelist), both of them are popularly known as 'the sons of Zebedee'. James is called ‘the greater’ because he became an Apostle before James ‘the lesser’ son of Alphaeus. </div>
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There is one popular incident in the gospel of Matthew 20:20-28, Christ replied: 'the cup that I drink you shall drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptised, you shall be baptised.' Christ prophesied great blessings for them, they suffered great martyrdom and died a violent death for which they are now venerated all over the world. James was the first of the apostles to answer the call of Eternity. He was martyred by King Herod about the year 44 in Jerusalem, and is venerated especially at Compostela in Spain where there is a magnificent church dedicated in his honour, which has attracted millions of pilgrims from all over the world - Santiago de Compostela. </div>
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Like all men of renown, many stories grew up around James. In one, he brought back to life a boy who had been unjustly hanged, and had been dead for five weeks. The boy's father was notified of the miracle while he sat at supper. The father pronounced the story nonsense, and said his son was no more alive than the roasted fowl on the table; the cooked bird promptly sat up, sprouted feathers, and flew away.<br />
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I am honoured to have him as my patron saint. May God, through the intercession of St. James, bless your going and coming and may He never cease to be by your side in your time of need. Have a blessed day! Happy feast day to all that bears the name James!</div>
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Patronage</div>
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• against arthritis or rheumatism</div>
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• apothecaries, druggists or pharmacists</div>
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• arthritis and rheumatism sufferers</div>
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• blacksmiths</div>
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• equestrians, horsemen, riders</div>
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• furriers</div>
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• knights</div>
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• labourers</div>
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• pilgrims</div>
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• soldiers</div>
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• tanners</div>
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• veterinarians</div>
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• Spanish conquistadors</div>
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• Chile</div>
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• Guatemala</div>
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• Nicaragua</div>
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• Spain</div>
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• archdiocese of Seattle, Washington</div>
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• diocese of Bangued, Philippines</div>
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• 20 cities</div>
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Representation</div>
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• key</div>
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• pilgrim with wallet and staff</div>
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• pilgrim's hat</div>
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• pilgrim's staff</div>
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• sword</div>
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• cloak</div>
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• cockle shell</div>
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• dark-bearded man holding a book</div>
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• dark-bearded man holding a sword</div>
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• dark-bearded man holding a scroll</div>
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• dark-bearded man with a floppy pilgrim's hat, long staff, water bottle, and scallop shell</div>
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• elderly, bearded man wearing a hat with a scallop shell</div>
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• long cape</div>
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• man mounted on horseback, trampling a Moor</div>
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• man holding the long staff of a pilgrim from which a wallet or gourd of water is suspended</div>
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• man with a thin beard, and the hair parted in the middle and flowing down on each side</div>
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• man with shells around him</div>
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• pilgrim of Compostela</div>
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• scallop shell</div>
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• scallop shell on his flapped hat</div>
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• scallop shell on his shoulder</div>
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Remain blessed </div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbu </div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-24547267467141534752017-07-24T14:58:00.000+01:002017-07-24T15:02:07.328+01:00 Faith <div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11pt;">Have</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11pt;">faith:</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> Faith is the foundation of our Christian identity. In Hebrews 11:1 faith is the way of HOLDING ONTO what we HOPE for, BEING CERTAIN of what we cannot see. The history of faith began with Abrahams resilience in obeying Gods word which later gained him a great height in the presence of God that God made him great promises which today we reap as believers.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Whenever we express our faith in God, our attitude ought to change, because faith goes with good attitude which expresses itself in our daily activities. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">It was for faith that the apostles were able to receive the Holy Spirit 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus (Passover), their attitude changed. Their fears were conquered and they moved into the world and became conquerors. Some of them like Paul went and ministered even in the unexpected areas, places where he experienced great obstacles ( Acts 16:16-30) yet he became victorious. All the apostles were able to endure every obstacles of this world and at last were crowned with the crown of glory. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">It was for faith that in Luke 18:38 the blind man shouted Jesus, son of David: have mercy on me and Jesus heard him and healed him. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">It was for faith that Zacchaeus was able to experience Jesus in his house even in the midst of his sinfulness John 19.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">It was for faith that Mary and Martha were able to have their brother Lazarus back from the dead John 11:38-44</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">It was for faith that Mary said YES and today we are redeemed! </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I challenge you to a faith marathon. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Read the following verses at your free time</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Galatians 3: 6-9 and 26-27</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">1 John 5: 4b & 5</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">James 1:6</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">John 3: 16 & 18</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">You can find more for yourself about faith in God.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Fr. James A. </span></div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-79498129409629938592017-04-01T01:01:00.000+01:002017-04-01T22:49:39.277+01:00LIFE WITH JESUS Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Lent year A<div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; margin: 24px 35px 24px 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "microsoft sans serif" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="color: purple; font-size: small;"><b>LIFE WITH JESUS - LIFE FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;"><b>1st Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14 </b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;"><b>Psalm 129</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;"><b>2nd Reading: Romans 8:8-11</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;"><b>Gospel: John:11:1-45</b></span><span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "microsoft sans serif" , "sans-serif"; font-size: small; margin: 0px;">A child whispered, "God, Speak to me" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">And a meadowlark sang, the child did not hear</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">so the child yelled, "God, speak to me!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">and the thunder rolled across the sky</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">but the child did not listen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">The child looked around and said, "God let me see you"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">and a star shone brightly,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">but the child did not notice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">And the child shouted, "God show me a miracle!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">And a life was born but the Child did not know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">So the child cried out in despair, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">"Touch me, God, and let me know you are here!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">whereupon God reached down</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">And touched the child. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">But the child brushed the butterfly away</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">And walked away unknowingly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;"><i>(an old Hindu poem by Ravindra K. Karnani)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">I bet this may be your story! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">Many times God surprises us. He wants us to think of Him and life from a different perspective - Divine and not human, but we keep misunderstanding him. In the Gospel of John, we found some instances of per-se controversial statements from Jesus that should call for an inner - divine intelligence (understanding) but rather human understanding would try to prevail. Let us consider some of them: </span></div>
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Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) Those who were listening misunderstood and thought he was talking of the temple in Jerusalem. They said it took forty-six years to build the temple but Jesus was talking of his own body. When Jesus rose from the dead his disciples remembered and believed. (John 2:19-22)</div>
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Jesus said to Nicodemus, “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 3:3) Nicodemus misunderstood and asked, “How can anyone who is already old be born? Is it possible to go back into the womb again and be born?” (John 3:4) Jesus has to further clarify, “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit; what is born of human nature is human; what is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:5-6)</div>
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Jesus asked the woman by the well in Samaria for a drink (John 4:7). When she complained because he was a Jew he answered, “if you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me something to drink,' you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) She misunderstands and thinks Jesus will offer her running water like water from a faucet so that she won’t have to come to the well every day. So Jesus clarifies further, “whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again; but no one who drinks the water that I shall give will ever be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life. (John 4:13-14)</div>
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Jesus said, “Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) But they quarrelled among themselves saying “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” But Jesus reiterated, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (John 6:53-56) At this many of Jesus’ disciples abandoned him and returned to their former lives. (John 6:66)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">Jesus wants us to look at life with an eye of faith - beyond the physical - through a divine perspective and then to live life faithfully. In todays Gospel, Jesus said to Martha, "Your brother will rise." (John 11:23) Martha immediately professed her faith in the resurrection at the last day, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." (Jn. 11:24) That was a great answer ... isn't it? Yes she was right! but Jesus has some other agenda. He wants to show us His glory - the glory he shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He wants Martha and Mary to have what I may call "pre-resurrection" experience. He wants to take them to a new understanding of the resurrection, and Jesus said:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (Jn.11:25-26)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">Jesus wants Martha to know that it is through Him - Jesus that Lazarus will rise again <b>here on earth and on the last day</b>, "I am the resurrection and the life..." - Jesus is the resurrection. He also wants Martha and us to know that for anyone who believes in Him death has only the appearance of death because we live even after death, "whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live". In fact, if we believe in Jesus we will not die! this is in the sense that the life we live in Christ today will continue after death, "everyone who lives and believes in me will never die!". When we live as Jesus calls us there is a continuation from this life to the next. When we live as disciples of Jesus, it is as if we will almost not notice passing from this life to the next because spiritually we will never die. So the resurrection is not just something in the future, Jesus offers that Life now! The new life in the resurrection is for now. To prove his words to Martha, Jesus raised Lazarus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">(painting by Donald Shaw for <a href="http://stmarysbeauly.org/">stmarysbeauly.org</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">Pope Francis during one of his morning meditations earlier this year said: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">"life “is today”. It is “a today that begins and a today that ends; a today full of days, but it is today...It’s either “today or never. I think about this. The tomorrow will be the eternal tomorrow, with no sunset, with the Lord, for ever, if I am faithful to this today”. (Morning meditation in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae, Thursday, 12 Jan. 2017)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">We may now ask, how can we live this life of Jesus now? Jesus offers his life every time we come to mass, every time we receive the sacraments, every time we pray, every time we read the Sacred Scripture. The preface for Mass today, tells us, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">In his love for us all</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">Christ gives us the sacraments</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">to lift us up to everlasting life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "microsoft sans" serif;">(Preface 5th Sunday of Lent)</span></div>
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The sacraments are the special ways we meet Jesus. In the sacraments we touch Jesus and we are touched by Jesus. Jesus gave us the sacraments to lift us up to everlasting life.
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Continue to have a fruitful Lent! </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Fr. James Anyaegbu</span></div>
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(This sermon was inspired by <a href="http://frtommylane.com/">frtommylane.com</a>)</div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-16815949988714639302017-03-11T15:04:00.003+00:002017-03-11T15:16:00.622+00:00WITNESSING TO GOD'S MAJESTY: Reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Lent year A. <div class="homilyquotation" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1st reading: Genesis 12:1-4</b></div>
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<b>Psalm 32 (33): 4-5, 18-20, 22</b></div>
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<b>2nd reading: 2Timothy 1:8-10</b></div>
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<b>Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9</b></div>
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Sometimes we say, “It’s impossible.”<br />
But Jesus says in <b>Luke 18:27</b>, “Things that are impossible for men are possible for God.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I’m too tired.”<br />
But Jesus says in <b>Matt 11:28</b> “Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “Nobody really loves me.”<br />
But in <b>John 3:16</b> we read that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I can’t go on.”<br />
But Jesus told Paul, “My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness.” <b>(2Cor.12:9)</b></div>
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Sometimes we say, “I can’t figure things out.”<br />
But in <b>Prov.20:24</b> we read that God guides human steps.</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I can’t do it.”<br />
But Paul wrote in <b>Phil.4:13</b>, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I’m not able.”<br />
But Paul wrote in <b>2Cor.9:8</b>, “There is no limit to the blessings which God can send you – he will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance, and still have something to spare for all sorts of good works.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I can’t forgive myself.”<br />
But Paul wrote in <b>Rom 8:1</b>, “Those who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I can’t manage.”<br />
But Paul wrote in <b>Phil.4:19</b>, “God will fulfill all your needs in Christ Jesus as lavishly as only God can.</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I’m afraid.”<br />
But in <b>2Tim.1:7</b> we read, “God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I’m always worried and frustrated.”<br />
But Peter wrote in <b>1Pet. 5:7</b>, “Unload all your worries onto God since he is looking after you.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I’m not smart enough.”<br />
But Paul wrote in <b>1Cor.1:30</b> “God has made you members of Christ Jesus and he is our wisdom.”</div>
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Sometimes we say, “I feel all alone.”<br />
But in <b>Heb.13:5</b> God says, “I will never fail or desert you.”</div>
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(the arrangements were taken from <a href="http://www.frtommylane.com/" target="_blank">www.frtommylane.com)</a></div>
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<b>Faith: Witnessing to the Power and Immensity of Gods Majesty </b></div>
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In the first and Gospel readings of today we experienced with Abram, Peter, James and John the glory of what the future holds <u>in</u> God.</div>
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Abram was asked to move from his comfortable zone into an unknown (but only known to God) land for him to experience Gods majesty. He waited for about twenty-five years (for he was seventy-five years when God asked him to move from his land) before he experienced the fulfilment of Gods promise of great descendants, when Isaac was born. Even though it was a long wait but its worth it. Today we call him 'our father in faith'.</div>
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Sometimes our present suffering is in preparation for a well deserved place/joy in the future. Sometimes what it may take is for us to move from our present comfortable zone (It may be our pride, malice, wealth, friends, job or even food and this reminds us of our Lenten obligation to fast and abstain from certain things) into our promised land. The question now is: how long do we have to wait for this promised land? The answer can only be: <b>As long as it takes! </b></div>
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In the Gospel reading, Peter, James and John were given the opportunity to experience the glory/scandal of the cross through the transfiguration of Christ. What they saw was a sign pointing to the nature of Jesus as God-man and the exultation that awaits Him (and everyone of us) after his suffering and death on the cross. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfA2il1hC5FR0DIq46QBesuFDersejYJ5tlABy1m8PZV7uPphG_3_tlzqI9OqQXrpwC8rqaXbJVEZYj0xWw6wVHIUbOl3VrAQGFG654ChcUcQRlqfXlAj1DLYT7yVQBZgx77qFdl9q_p5/s1600/transfiguration1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfA2il1hC5FR0DIq46QBesuFDersejYJ5tlABy1m8PZV7uPphG_3_tlzqI9OqQXrpwC8rqaXbJVEZYj0xWw6wVHIUbOl3VrAQGFG654ChcUcQRlqfXlAj1DLYT7yVQBZgx77qFdl9q_p5/s320/transfiguration1.JPG" width="240" /></a>(<a href="http://www.stmarysbeauly.org/">www.stmarysbeauly.org</a>)</div>
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With faith we can experience beyond our natural eyes. Faith allows us patients and grace. Abram, with faith, saw beyond what he would not have seen with his ordinary eyes. He obeyed and his prayers were answered. On the mountain, Peter, James and John experienced beyond the human-appearance of Jesus. They saw his future glory and majesty. Let us, with faith, look beyond our present suffering through the mirror of our former blessings then we shall see that God is really with us, He will never leave nor abandon us on our own. </div>
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<i>"... bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy - not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace". (2Tim. 1:8-10)</i></div>
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<b>May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you!</b></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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Fr. James Anyaegbu</div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-68660328495179094372017-03-04T01:34:00.000+00:002017-03-04T01:34:52.718+00:00GIVE IT UP FOR LENT! My short Reflection on fasting/abstinence <div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG93BkyaPN1hK31SISJsiX4xdzIuaROjR7K3wZaCPIZ_FNTN9YVjtvJ77x9y6Yacc8lRGoLwjvTDTgGrSNi5IeQGgje2HoJAw6v8FaZVRQPQm_sRFxtFg_V2vru_As6gyb-nBk6lDoOESy/s1600/IMG-20170302-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG93BkyaPN1hK31SISJsiX4xdzIuaROjR7K3wZaCPIZ_FNTN9YVjtvJ77x9y6Yacc8lRGoLwjvTDTgGrSNi5IeQGgje2HoJAw6v8FaZVRQPQm_sRFxtFg_V2vru_As6gyb-nBk6lDoOESy/s320/IMG-20170302-WA0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: calibri;">Lent is a time to make new and refreshing our relationship with God. it is a time in which by Gods grace, we can grow and mature in faith. it is truly a God-giving moment of privileged grace; a divine opportunity, to enter more deeply into the mystery of faith. At the heart of our faith is the mystery of the cross through which God's love is supremely revealed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Describing the cross Pope Francis said "O Cross of Christ, symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For us to experience a fruit-filled lent this year, we must turn our full attention towards the mystery of the cross of Christ through which we are saved. We must give-up everything that will hinder our movement towards God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of the obligations of this season is fasting/abstinence. Jesus' answer when he was faced by the Pharisees with the question of why his disciples do not fast whereas they themselves fast? would be very ad rem at this time. He said "How can the guest of the bridegroom mourn/fast when he is still with them? There'll be a time when the bridegroom is taken away then they would mourn/fast"(Mat. 9:15)<i> (bear in mind, to mourn is different from fasting. We mourn for the loss of something/someone but fast from gaining something) </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here Jesus was talking about his death and resurrection. But why would Jesus not subject his disciples to fasting? Since he is God made man (Emmanuel), the disciples have no need of fasting. The Pharisees could still not see him as the Divine saviour and their fasting was as a camouflage. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We fast at this time from alot of things, especially the ones that will hinder us from approaching God. Today, many times, we have lost contact with God and have turned away from Him. So the aim of our fasting this season, no matter what we are fasting from, should be directed towards building a more closer relationship with God. </span></div>
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<b>Prayer</b>: Lord help me to cut loose every hindrances that will stop from having a more closer relationship with You. Amen! </div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-79831179367034771282017-03-04T01:07:00.001+00:002017-03-04T19:44:32.157+00:00Tempted to be trusted! Reflection for the 1st Sunday of Lent A.<div dir="ltr">
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1ST READING: GENESIS 2:7-9; 3:1-7</div>
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PSALM: PSALM 50 (51): 3-6, 12-14, 17</div>
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2ND READING: ROMANS 5:12-19</div>
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GOSPEL: MATTHEW 4:1-11</div>
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In southern Mexico lies the Cueva de Villa Luz, or Cave of the Lighted House. As you make your way to the cave you walk through a veritable paradise of tropical birds and lush rain forest. Underwater the cave is fed by 20 underground springs, beautiful watercourses which teem with tiny fish. The cave itself is home to spectacular rock formations and beautiful ponds, the environment is inviting. Yet accept the invitation and you’ll soon be dead. You see, the Cueva de Villa Luz is filled with poisonous gases.</div>
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Temptation is just like this. It presents itself to us as something inviting, attractive, lifegiving. Yet in reality it’s poisonous and toxic. Sometimes it is true that we may not know from where/how we are tempted but a self restrained attitude with a touch of love takes us far away from temptation and helps us to conquer if we find ourselves in the midst of temptation. </div>
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Our first reading today presents us with the biblical first fall of humanity through the hands of Adam and Eve. Eve was first tested and later Adam. but one factor here remains, they were caught up by their inner desire - always in search for more. The devil will always use our want for more against us. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOojuMQo08ILHDvy9kovgcRY0kOFWXhWrsqyn_yPzUBy3QIrvdFHzPxVwglKGmbmGqNGPaUvskGMVr16cQoYBNOUe8oRnkg4kHM5l7iuzoVfa0jc36pf2Cq-WXWMCLqjNzGNwKM-eArS-e/s1600/20170304_194127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOojuMQo08ILHDvy9kovgcRY0kOFWXhWrsqyn_yPzUBy3QIrvdFHzPxVwglKGmbmGqNGPaUvskGMVr16cQoYBNOUe8oRnkg4kHM5l7iuzoVfa0jc36pf2Cq-WXWMCLqjNzGNwKM-eArS-e/s320/20170304_194127.jpg" width="222" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;">(painting by Donald Shaw </span><a href="http://www.stmarysbeauly.org/" style="text-align: justify;">www.stmarysbeauly.org</a><span style="text-align: justify;">) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><i>The couple in the above painting (supposedly Adam and Eve) have turned their back on God (the light source). They are reaching for their desires/temptations from a source (the tree, which happens to be dead itself) which cannot give them happiness.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: sans-serif; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></span></div>
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Humanity remains insatiable and would sometimes turn their back on God when things seem difficult. We then start to seek for solutions where there is non thereby facing shadows. On the tree at Eden, Adam and Eve were tempted with an apple fruit, according to our biblical story, which they believed could make them more powerful like God and immediately they embraced it. Let us today remove the apple and replace it with something else that could make us turn away from God. It could be money, our quest for power, in search of a great status or something else according to our own selfish desires. </div>
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In the Gospel, Christ showed us a true way to live and fight these temptations. He faced temptations from the devil himself. Even the devil did not fear Him to have tested Him. But Christ showed supremacy and divine power. He dealt with the devil and paid him with his own coin. He has also given us that power over temptations and evil "I have given you the authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and to overcome the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you' (Luke 10:19). It may seem difficult sometimes to conquer but Christ has ordered us to remain steadfast in Him for with Him nothing is impossible. Even the most difficult cases has a solution through Christ! </div>
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The epistle of Peter(1Peter 5:8) admonishes us to remain "calm but vigilant because our enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring Lion looking for whom to devour" and in verse 9 he added, "stand up to him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering the same thing"</div>
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How can we, like Christ, conquer temptation? Even though Christ was/is Divine spirit, He did not count Himself equality with God. Therefore he faced that temptation as human and conquer as should a human being. </div>
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We have this season of Lent to make a total amendment and build ourselves for a better life in Christ. When we are faced with any temptation, Prayer becomes a great tool. Remember Christ was tempted after he prayed and fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. We too, with Prayer can defeat and conquer the power of the enemy. </div>
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REMAIN BLESSED </div>
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DO HAVE A FRUIT-FILLED LENT! </div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-63266004717992122102017-02-25T22:48:00.000+00:002017-02-25T22:48:15.910+00:00Laugh it off: Do not put God to test!
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<span style="font-family: "inherit","serif"; margin: 0px;">Once
a young man was eager to understand the reality of Gods goodness and might. He
went to church one day and during the sermon, the minister started talking
about how we can surmount every </span>evil and earthly powers through the
power of God in the scriptures. Many bible verses were quoted but the ones that
touched the young man most were Isaiah 43:1 and 2 ("Do not fear, for I
have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.<sup> </sup>When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the
rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will
not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze"), Psalm 23:4 (even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall not fear...),
Luke 10:19 (I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and
to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you), also
remembering Daniels ordeal in the Lions den (Daniel 6:16-24) and
many others. After the service, he went home filled with strength and
assumingly great faith and trust in God. During the night he decided to
practice his faith. He went in for a three days fasting and prayer with some
other bible verses.</div>
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Now this young man lived some miles not far
away from the zoo. he is one the zoo keeper. during his three
days fasting and prayer, he also let the animals fast with him among
whom were some wild tigers. After his fasting and prayers, he fortified himself
with some strong and faith lifting bible verses like those above then went
to work. At work he then tried his faith. He went into the
hungry Lion's cage, bearing in mind some scriptural verses,
especially Lk.10:19, but before he could say Go...(God) what remained
was his bones. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FVZ8mnlgaqD5vKbQHEJ9TBhh0eQ6VVUInAynWaMkXZKbEd3svZMCqUfP2A2vWl9jwu_SvYwjVfjRkA2pWZ98N_IWYlLQg76e9JZbW2CNxBeMdPJ3IK9Loq0aZIJUetO5d6OBsuwtPYI2/s1600/laugh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FVZ8mnlgaqD5vKbQHEJ9TBhh0eQ6VVUInAynWaMkXZKbEd3svZMCqUfP2A2vWl9jwu_SvYwjVfjRkA2pWZ98N_IWYlLQg76e9JZbW2CNxBeMdPJ3IK9Loq0aZIJUetO5d6OBsuwtPYI2/s320/laugh.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>God still cares for us but we should not put God to test!</b></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-25110607407814463802017-02-25T22:29:00.000+00:002017-02-25T22:54:01.412+00:00WORRY NOT! TRUST IN GOD! BE HAPPY! Reflection for the 8th Sunday in ordinary time of the year A.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A man just got married and was returning home with his wife. They were crossing a lake in a boat, when suddenly a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and any moment they were going to be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was happening. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The woman was trembling and she said, “Are you not afraid ?”. This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise death is certain. Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something? </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The man laughed and took the sword out of its sheath. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The woman was even more puzzled: What he was doing? Then he brought the naked sword close to the woman’s neck, so close that just a small gap was there, it was almost touching her neck. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">He said, "Are you afraid ?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">She started to laugh and said, "Why should I be afraid ?,If the sword is in your hands, why should I be afraid? I know you love me."</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">He put the sword back and said, "This is my answer. I know God Loves me, and the storm is in His hands </span><span style="font-size: medium;">SO WHATSOEVER IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS GOING TO BE GOOD. If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good, because everything is in His hands and He cannot do anything wrong".</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">1st reading: Isaiah 49:14-15</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Psalm: 62: 2-3, 6-7, 8-9</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">2nd reading: 1Cor. 4:1-5</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As human beings, we have a lot to think and worry about. We always think or worry about "What's next?". To many this question occupies their whole day, while some for months and others for years. Some are left with no choice but to keep worrying. some even die without achieving a dime out of their worries. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The first reading of today Isaiah 49:14-15 reminds us of the promise God made to us of his ever caring and merciful heart "...I will never forget you!". What an encouraging and soft feeling word from God! It goes a long way to make us feel at home at all times around Him, knowing that we are always in His heart. Here God uses the image of a mother : "does a mother forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb?..." the pride of a mother is her child, Mothers hardly give up their children remembering what they went through to bring them into the world. One of the most enduring part of womanhood is child birth and feeding. Women go through a lot to conceive and bear children yet some have abandoned theirs for reasons that may or may not be out of their control. "Yet even if these forget, I will 'never' forget you". We know the rate of abandonment of children today in our world. According to some statistics, there are an estimated 400 million abandoned children around the world today. If this statistics is true which I have no doubt it is, then the reading of today needs to reach each and everyone of them to give them hope. How these children survive ofcourse must be beyond our understanding but only in God is our soul at rest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Gospel (Matthew 6:24-34) comes with one of the great empowering words in the scriptures thus: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">"think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin;.... Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, ... so do not worry; do not say, 'what are we to eat? what are we to drink? how are we to be clothed?.... Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well." </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Dear friends, troubles and temptations must come but our attitude towards them either makes them more difficult or easy to surpass. When we spend time and energy worrying about 'what next' then we make God a second chance. God however wants us to keep him always close to our minds and allow him to do our worries for through Him all things are possible. Unlike the Trump - 'America first' slogan, we are called to place God above everything else. He holds the key to our past, present and our future. to Him we owe our life and activities. in Him we live, we move and have our being. Lastly, God cannot say what he cannot do, therefore, we need not worry but trust in Him. </span></div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-89549806060665656882017-02-11T08:59:00.001+00:002017-02-11T22:29:00.136+00:00Free to choose<div dir="ltr">
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I was searching for a good story with moral lessons and i stumbled at this beautiful one. I hope it makes your day.</div>
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Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"</div>
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He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.</div>
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Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."</div>
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"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.</div>
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Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business. He left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma centre. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.</div>
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I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he said, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man." I knew I needed to take action."</div>
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"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."</div>
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Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.</div>
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Attitude, after all, is everything.<br /><br /></div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-65394759684233322492016-12-24T07:19:00.002+00:002016-12-24T11:18:13.921+00:00 THE LIGHT HAS COME! ALLELUIA! Reflection for Christmas Eve/Day 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>READINGS (from midnight mass)</b></div>
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<b>Isaiah 9:2-7</b></div>
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<b>Titus 2:11-14</b></div>
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<b>Luke 2:1-14</b></div>
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God created the world out of love, but the world failed Him and plunged itself into misery, yet, out of love, God sent his Son to show us a way out. In anticipation for the coming of Christ the Son of God Isaiah prophesied:</div>
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"The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.... for there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulder... and his name shall be called: <b>Wonder-counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-peace.</b>" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+9%3A2-7&version=KJV" target="_blank">Isaiah 9:2-7</a>)</div>
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Man's failure to obey Gods commands brought darkness into the world. From the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God light disappeared and darkness became the worlds ruler. The world was left in misery, suffering and death. God, at the time, used Prophets to give hope to His people. From Moses to John the Baptist. The world started hearing of the coming of a saviour. Prophesies were made, announcements were heard - the redeemer is coming. The world waited, patiently they waited and today, God, not only fulfilled his promise but He chose to come in human form - Jesus, through human instrument - Mary and Joseph. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfcsrgLNWYyhHGZJLF5PQICWyM3ShTqdUfIvEortYbiGtcNf2Vj80rwqjAS-IkW-i_nZ5f_oyIww2VJgeosU2uoTjUcAte8Zf0eULfwqi61jasKI3rqGHYm0YC4CCRreOFbfMGvrRIqgN/s1600/IMG-20161224-WA0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfcsrgLNWYyhHGZJLF5PQICWyM3ShTqdUfIvEortYbiGtcNf2Vj80rwqjAS-IkW-i_nZ5f_oyIww2VJgeosU2uoTjUcAte8Zf0eULfwqi61jasKI3rqGHYm0YC4CCRreOFbfMGvrRIqgN/s320/IMG-20161224-WA0003.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="text-align: justify;">(painting by Donald Shaw for <a href="http://www.stmarysbeauly.org/">www.stmarysbeauly.org</a>)We heard this in the Gospel of </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A1-14&version=KJV" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Luke 2:1-14</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophesy, the angel appeared to the shepherds and said to them: "Do not be afraid! Listen; I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord." This was the first announcement made after Jesus was born and it was to draw witnesses to the reality of God's presence in the world.</span></div>
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A brief reflection on the personality and qualities of Jesus according to Isaiah will help us to understand more the reason for our Joy this season.</div>
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<b>He is the light</b>: Light will always overshadow darkness. "No one lights a lamp and hides it under a butshell" that means that Christs light will never be hidden. It will shine for both the good and the bad, Jews and gentiles alike and He shall remain unquenchable. </div>
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He shall be called: </div>
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<b>Wonder-counsellor</b>: Literally, "wonder of a counselor," and the word wonderful means "extraordinary, marvelous and beyond the normal capacity to perform." In other words, the counsel of this God-man transcends human wisdom. He doesn't need or want my counsel or any other's.</div>
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Mighty-God: Literally, this title is "the heroic, strong God." This child is God, the Second Person of the Trinity and possessor of all the power of God. In a word, He is omnipotent.</div>
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<b>Eternal-Father</b>: Could also mean "Father-Forever." Jesus will be a father to us in the best of ways - loving, self-sacrificing, always looking out for our best. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+103%3A13&version=KJV" target="_blank">Psalm 103:13</a>: As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Fatherly compassion from the king-Jesus will never come to an end. He is forever our Father! </div>
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<b>Prince-of-peace</b>: He will over-match all His enemies, He will conquer the hearts of His people, He will start something as a child that "...will never stop growing"( v.7)and He will do all this without brute force, but by disarming His enemies and bringing peace.</div>
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With the knowledge of these qualities and many more uncountable ones, we are therefore called to participate in Christs redeeming actions by "give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus!" </div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><b>MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><b>May our sorrows in 2016 turn to joy in 2017!</b></span></div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbu </div>
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I remember in my prayers all the homeless and internally displaced citizens in our world, for all the children suffering in Nigeria and the middle east and for the sick who are in need of Joy!</div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-8648648517424174132016-12-17T08:38:00.002+00:002016-12-24T08:00:42.213+00:00THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PREPARATION Reflection for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year A)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>1st reading: Isaiah 7:10-14</b></div>
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<b>2nd reading: Rom. 1:1-7</b></div>
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<b>Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24</b></div>
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I once heard a story of a married couple who were in a marital crisis to the extent of division. One early morning, they invited a priest to help them with their marital problems. During the process the priest started talking about the marital promises they made in the presence of God and their family and friends, also the promise of God to them before they were joined together. It was then shocking to the priest when one of them immediately said "Father, those were just words! I did not mean them!" </div>
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As we are now busy preparing for Christmas, let us reflect on the first biblical/historical Christmas preparation made by Mary and Joseph. <br />
After Mary was betrothed to Joseph and as was the tradition, if one is betrothed to another, they were not to live together until after one year then they are joined into marital union. During this period of waiting between Joseph and Mary, Mary received a message from Angel Gabriel that she'll conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary said "Yes"(<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A38&version=KJV" target="_blank">Luke 1:38</a>) and immediately she was found with child. This was in fulfilment of Isaiah's prophesy in the first reading of today: "A Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+7%3A14&version=KJV" target="_blank">Isaiah 7:14</a>). </div>
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Joseph, righteous <u>man</u>, on his own part, having heard that Mary, whom he has not had any marital contact with, was with child, according to the Gospel of today, made plans to send Mary away unnoticed by the people so that she'll not be shamed. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A18-19&version=KJV" target="_blank">Matthew 1:18-19</a>)</div>
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What suffering Joseph must have endured at this time. However, just like Mary, the angel appeared to Joseph at night and reassured Joseph that Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and when he woke up "Joseph did what he was told by the angel". He took Mary in and cared for her and the baby. </div>
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In Mary and Joseph we found a complete action of obedience which St. Paul talks about in the second reading "obedience of faith" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.1%3A1-7&version=KJV" target="_blank">Rom.1:1-7</a>). Unlike Eve who rejected God's commands Mary accepted them and acted accordingly even as it seemed difficult and Joseph, unlike Adam who chose to ignore the commands of God, accepted the very big challenge and obeyed what the angel told him. Mary and Joseph teamed together even at the most difficult moments to see that the mission of Christ was accomplished. They meant it when they said 'Yes' unlike the couple in our story above. They stood still in the face of trials and conquered, and now, both Mary and Joseph becomes the epitome of true familyhood and true Christmas preparation with all its challenges, all its ups and downs, even after the birth of Jesus.</div>
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Mary's "yes" and Joseph's compliance helped to make the Paschal mystery of Christ come true. At this period of waiting before Christmas may we, like them, say our Yes and comply to Gods messages, so that when Christ shall come, He will find a place of rest.</div>
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With St. Paul I pray <b>"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ !"</b></div>
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<b>Fr. James Anyaegbu</b></div>
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Let us continue to pray for those who may not find joy this Christmas and ask God to send them help and bring smiles to their faces through the people around them! </div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-68070136185720265552016-12-08T22:17:00.000+00:002016-12-09T21:36:22.337+00:00KEEP CALM, REJOICE, JESUS IS COMING! Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Advent A<div dir="ltr">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1st reading: Isaiah 35:1-6a,10</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Psalm: Ps.146:6-7,8-9,9-10</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2nd reading: James 5:7-9</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had one sad experience early this week. A former classmate of mine in the major seminary, who later chose a different vocation, got married and had two lovely kids. The first of them, his daughter - Favour took ill of leukemia I guess after her second birthday. The parents did all they could to save her life and give her the opportunity of a painless life but all their efforts seems to be a lost battle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She was hospitalised in November and since then has been surviving on oxygen. The only option they had was to fly her abroad for treatment but they had not enough fund. Many people, priests, friends and close relations prayed for her survival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">During this period I got a call from another former classmate who now is married and resides in England with his family, he expressed concern over Favour's condition. At this time, I had to contact a popular blogger in Nigeria lindaikeji, so that they can help to advertise the fundraising webpage formed for Favour by a concerned friend of the family in America. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/12/2-year-old-ugochi-lawrence-needs-your.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/OqshX+(Welcome+to+Linda+Ikeji%27s+Blog)&utm_content=FaceBook&m=1">http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/12/2-year-old-ugochi-lawrence-needs-your.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/OqshX+(Welcome+to+Linda+Ikeji%27s+Blog)&utm_content=FaceBook&m=1</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, all these efforts were not enough as God has chosen a better option. Favour returned back to God on the night of 5th Dec. Leaving many in tears and sorrow. In one of my messages to the Father I wrote "My friend, all hope is not lost! Remember Christ is still coming! He comes with Joy, He shall wipe away tears from your eyes; He shall take away your sorrows!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the 1st reading, Isaiah continues to give us some great insights on the power of Christ-who is God-who is coming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, </b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. </b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the Gospel we found the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophesy when Jesus told the followers of John: <b>"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, </b></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them."</b> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is what our personal experience of Christ will look like but it must not always come like magic. St. James in the Second reading made it clear that we ought to be patient until it comes <b>"Be Patient my Brothers and sisters until the coming of Christ"</b>. He gave us an example of the time interval between the planting and the harvesting. Then the farmers inner disposition - patience!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">BE PATIENT IN PRAYER</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Imagine having heard all these good news and yet you happen to experience the story at the beginning what would your faith look like?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRSXC42sfX-xpY6E9cxtBNY7Q_EY1nXteiYC3QB12g0932k0W2nnp6eAw789bijv9isjo0iKheBhy2G7imIg3anbC7PAfaaeSDWLtvkxDAM7DweXq-YfbfOaVzPdKXLfQQLElqioJNbCu/s1600/IMG-20161209-WA0041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRSXC42sfX-xpY6E9cxtBNY7Q_EY1nXteiYC3QB12g0932k0W2nnp6eAw789bijv9isjo0iKheBhy2G7imIg3anbC7PAfaaeSDWLtvkxDAM7DweXq-YfbfOaVzPdKXLfQQLElqioJNbCu/s320/IMG-20161209-WA0041.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">(This painting is a depiction of 1. Our world: filled with sin, hate and selfish attitudes which has led many nations to war, 2. Christian attitude: Prayer and patience. 3. Christ words and mission as He comes: by His cross and resurrection He shall set us free, He shall redeem the world. painting by Donald Shaw for </span><a href="http://www.stmarysbeauly.org/" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">www.stmarysbeauly.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We cannot loose faith even though it is difficult because it is only in God we can find our rest. Our hope lies in Him and in him we shall have an abundance of life and joy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As we continue to await with Joy for the celebration of Christ coming, let us pray for those who may find it difficult to see joy this Christmas - the homeless; the orphans; the sick and bedridden; those who mourn, prisoners and addicts, let us ask God to build a mountain of joy and happiness in them even through us and through the people around them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fr. James Anyaegbu</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">St. Mary's RC Church</span></div>
Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1068598855831906124.post-68929100945290350632016-12-06T13:17:00.002+00:002016-12-06T13:17:57.312+00:00THE LOST SHEEP! Gospel Reflection today by Bishop Robert Barron <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: initial !important; font-size: 13px; min-width: 100%; mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<a href="calendar:T2:Tuesday, December 6, 2016">Tuesday, December 6, 2016</a></div>
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2nd Week in Advent, Year I</div>
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Matthew <a href="calendar:T1:18:12">18:12</a>-14</div>
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Friends, <a href="calendar:T5:today">today</a>’s Gospel passage recounts the story of the shepherd finding his lost sheep. Let’s look at that lost sheep. A sheep is something more than a lost coin, which is to say, it has mobility, sense, appetites, and so on. Many years ago, when I was on retreat at the Abbey of Tamie in the Alps, I heard the desperate bleating of a sheep who had fallen into a pit. All night he cried, knowing that he was in trouble and hoping that someone would come to save him.</div>
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There are souls who are like the lost sheep. Spiritually compromised, unable fundamentally to help themselves, they are at least aware that they are in a mess. They are like people who commence the AA process by admitting that they have hit bottom and are out of control. They bleat, they cry for help.</div>
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And God finds them—and when he finds them, he carries them back, for they are unable to move on their own.</div>
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Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron </div>
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Fr. James Anyaegbuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242869343381293515noreply@blogger.com0