tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60031355784547629502024-03-05T14:41:14.011+01:00The Credo Experience!!!From the Faith and Hearts of Young Catholics!
(Dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-47218796848077133032015-08-15T17:11:00.001+01:002015-08-20T18:05:12.347+01:00Thank You Jesus For Mary<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i>‘THERE WAS NOT ONE CRUCIFIXION ON THAT DAY, BUT TWO: A MOTHER’S HEART
AND HER SON’S BODY’<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQD5BflK24RRGMw21CLHoPmmIpMou2zeSVX6BrCnTWt08WzFXat" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQD5BflK24RRGMw21CLHoPmmIpMou2zeSVX6BrCnTWt08WzFXat" width="216" /></a>These words strike me
as I write this on this great day of Our Lady, Our Mother, on this day when the
whole Church marks her Assumption. Many people wonder at the way Catholics
venerate the Mother of God, well I hope they find the answer and join in
appreciating God for the gift of this woman, and so by extension, the gift of
our salvation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today I specially
want to thank God for salvation, and the manner which he chose to orchestrate it,
for creating a human-divine family, for being first of all part of that human
family for the purpose of divinizing it. He became part of our human history in
order to divinize it, to raise it up to heavenly heights. He simply took a sample,
a first fruits, himself leading on, divine as he is already, and then worked
the miracle with his own human family, and called us to be part of that family
by taking a position in him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This family consists
of the Divine Progenitor and the Human bearer, we all being human are not
figuratively but indeed Divinized by coming into Christ and having as it were,
not only his Father and His God, but also his Mother, his Eve and his Co-worker.</div>
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Today I also want to
thank Jesus for showing us, through the Assumption, the way we ourselves would
go if we like Mary, do his will, surrender to his divine plan for us at all
times and in all circumstances, no matter the cost. I want to specifically
thank him for exalting the human person yet again by this singular act, in love
he has shown us the reward of a lowly and humble heart, a heart always attuned
to God’s will, and rapped in his never failing love, viz Glorification.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I want to finally
thank you dear Mother, for thinking of all of us in advance and accepting so
much grief and anguish for us, for choosing to accept the angel’s words despite
the threat of being stoned to death, despite the threat of being defamed in the
eyes of your betrothed, despite the threat of being seen as stupid, of having
to explain such an occurrence to your parents and friends, of having to leave
your comfort zone and your own plans to bear the pain of the crucifixion of
your maternal heart and the loss of your only son. I thank you for accepting
Jesus on behalf of humanity, for without your ‘yes’, where would our salvation
be? Probably delayed, or never coming. I thank you Mother for your maternal
protection of all of us, including those who spite you, who never love you, who
do not understand you and who discourage your children from talking to you. You
still care for us all the same, like you cared for our savior God, and saved
him Herod.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mother, in your glory
behold us, behold your Children whom you bore forth in the order of Grace and
continue to protect us from that infernal serpent who continues to struggle to
devour us your children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the
testimony of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-17788067383414046462015-07-17T23:56:00.002+01:002015-07-17T23:56:41.704+01:00I write this to you<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Yes, I write this to you, yes you who are reading this. And
I write this presently thinking of you as you read this. I wish to speak to
you, to your heart, to the very recesses of your being. But to begin I would
like to ask a favor of you, only do not refuse me. Pause for a moment and
think, how many more years do you have on the surface of this earth? Rather,
how many years do you think you have to live? Or better still, how many do you
want to live?</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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A priest had asked this question at a mass I attended in the
cool of the evening at a Parish outside my school. Since then that question has
left a deep impression upon me. When I was invited to speak to my fellow
students from other departments in Church, I did put this question to them as
well. This is because in as much as the question sounds so simple it is a very
important question that carries on with it deep and very moving thoughts.
Thoughts about life itself, about its meaning, about its purpose, about me,
about you, and about everyone we see, have seen and will see during the course
of this said time. It carries with it a kind of fear, of uncertainty, and more
so because what happens after our stay on earth is something entirely not
within our grasp. For so long we have been in control only to reach a point
where we will not be in control anymore, a point so uncertain that we are not
even in control of whether we will still be in control of our existence or not.</div>
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Each and every one of us is aware of this thought, no one is
oblivious of it. Many of us have tried to run away from it while many of us
have embraced it with false hope, at least one that is enough to keep us going.
In fact, if you look at the world today, you would see that the generality of
people now live in such a way as can be said that they are in flight, a flight
from the reality that stirs all of us in the face. People are born before our
eyes and people die before our eyes. As we observe this cycle we are constantly
reminded that our own lives are headed somewhere, for something that looks like
the same fate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpM6_lw54qYjtdC-bzK7bD2k7XG8DTjpTYGsvO26LE_8KmqZeOmg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpM6_lw54qYjtdC-bzK7bD2k7XG8DTjpTYGsvO26LE_8KmqZeOmg" /></a>But the truth, dearest friend is that this reality which we
face can indeed be one that does not stifle our joy and one where we indeed
would enjoy happiness forever. The question is, are you ready to be happy? Are
you ready to experience joy? Are you willing to accept love? To ask this
question and receive the first answer is to eclipse the true value of its
depth. For to come to know joy and happiness while faced with the reality of
our being is to realize that we need to cease to be in control, and leave the
worries alone. We need to in a way, be in the world, but not of the world. We
need to stop being afraid to step into the floorless room that the mystery of
reality continually offers us every day. It might look like I am saying
difficult things but pause for a moment and ask yourself why exactly you are
sad and worried, what care of this world will you carry with you when you leave
it that you allow it to starve you of the joy and happiness that each day
brings? It was Pope Francis who showed me that the passage of Sirach 14:11, 14
existed in the Bible, that God Our Loving Daddy says to you and to me, ‘<b>My Child, treat yourself as well as you
can, don’t deny yourself a single day’s happiness</b>’… more so He goes on to
tell us, ‘<b>If there is something you want
to do and it is lawful, go ahead!</b>’<o:p></o:p></div>
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To accept love, joy and happiness is to cease to be in control
of our lives… I remember he said, ‘whoever loses his life, will find it’
(Matthew 10:39). It is not just to cease to be in control and leave it without
control, but to leave the work of that control, that active decision to the one
who is love itself, who is over and above all that we can think of and dream
of, who is over and above our fears and in whom life itself finds meaning for
it is from him that it springs. It sounds so easy but it is indeed a mystery.
My priest once told me, that it is like stepping into a floorless room, where
we shouldn’t be afraid of falling, because there is no floor, rather like an
adventure. To do this, to allow God to love us, to be like Children in this
world, where everything that happens, to our pleasure or not, is rather like an
adventure, that does not stifle our joy, is really to find the kingdom of God. To
be able to wonder and not worry, to be able to live a life that is based upon a
surrender to the infinite, to mystery, to God, is to find meaning, is to find
happiness, is to stare death in the face and smile, and even laugh. It is not
to be afraid to be happy with someone you love, to express your love to
someone, to say nice things and not hold them back because of pride, it is to
talk freely to people you meet and get to know without hesitation, it is to
find fun in working and in stress, because for you, life is so much bigger and
is the work of someone who loves you. We should dare to be happy people, that’s
what Daddy will be pleased with. There is much to say but I’ll stop here for
now…I guess turning 21 two days ago had got to mean something.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-align: right;">From your friend and
brother Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-85392085892930721442015-07-02T23:53:00.003+01:002015-07-02T23:53:47.998+01:00The Analogy of Progress- The Plans of the Enemy Exposed!!!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">‘</span><span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the
beginning of the world, God commanded the earth to bring forth "the green
herb, bearing its seed, and every fruit tree yielding fruit, each after its
kind, which also has its seed in itself."’(Gen.1:11) This was the passage
of scripture the wise and blessed Francis de Sales made use of in his book, ‘Finding
God’s Will for You’ which I have started reading and which from the beginning
has captivated me. What was he trying to say with regard to this text? He was
trying to draw what I would like to call an ‘<b>analogy of progress’</b>, By this I mean that from that verse we see
that in the way God created the green herb ‘<b>bearing its seed</b>’ and every fruit tree yielding fruit, each after
its kind, ‘<b>which also has its seed in
itself</b>’ an analogy of progress or continuity is drawn by God himself. He
did not create the trees and the herbs to just live on their own and in a way
remain stable or lasting in a fixed manner of existence, he created them with a
view to increase, to grow. The essence of the ‘<b>seed</b>’ is to, in a way, create a pattern for a growth potential, an
increase potential.</span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He does this as well with Man, creating him and the Woman and
blessing them to ‘<b>increase and multiply</b>’
(Gen. 1:27-28). For me this was a spectacular observation from the scriptures.
Sometimes we tend to ignore the great treasury of knowledge and example that
are stored up with the saints. The truth is, this is part of the codes with
which God built the whole of creation, and for blessed Francis this is also
part of the codes for our supernatural lives in Christ. For him, our hearts are
like the earth nourished by God’s very life and Word to bring forth spiritual
plants which bear fruits of holy works that are impregnated with seeds of
desire to further advance in the journey to perfection. This means that our
lives in Christ are not meant to be static, or set in a particular field of
existence rather they are meant to be in a continual state of advancement
towards perfection. Our Lord himself speaks of this when he says to us in the
Gospels, ‘Be ye Perfect’ (Matthew 5:48). It then seems to me that ‘perfection’
is not that stable, unchanging state of existence, or that peak or set point,
but consists in that dynamic flux that is charged towards the infinite mystery
that is God with a zeal for continuous advancement in justice and
righteousness. And so it is not possible to have such a state in our spiritual
lives where it doesn’t get better and it doesn’t get worse. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But in reality we find that many of us find ourselves set in
such an illusion of a state. The enemy of our salvation delights that we are
set there because it’s so bad a position, it’s such a position where we have no
idea of what is going on in our spiritual lives, we become directionless and
even worse, careless about directions. We become complacent in that illusion of
deceit that we do not see ourselves drifting far away from God and yet not realize
it. What a terrible way the subtle serpent uses to catch us off guard. I
believe dearest friends that it is in this illusory state that most Christians
of our day, in my country are caught up in. It is even worse that it is
sometimes implied in certain sermons by some certain churches when they preach a
theology of complacency and lack of involvement of the Christian himself in
working out his salvation. (cf. Phil. 2:12). I do not need to give examples of
the various ways we are set in this state of illusory spiritual inertia because
some of us, if not most, need but only examine our journeys with God and ask
where we are actually headed, perfection or just on the average ‘a good
Christian’ or ‘a good Catholic’. What motivates us to the relationship it seems
we have with God- Law, Society or Love? Many of us have been drenched in
minimalism and a drought of love in our hearts that we only ask what is the
least we could do and still be called Christian and also not be doomed for
hell. We go to Mass on Sundays, we say morning and sometimes evening prayers,
and we belong to one group or another in Church and we think, ‘Oh that should
be good enough, even my friends don’t do as much’. We frown at people who are
actively trying to find God in their daily lives and accuse them of wanting to
be too Catholic than the Pope. We are satisfied by being caught up in the
observances without having a spiritual foundations for the fruits of those
observances to take root within us for active progress towards perfection etc.</span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This
illusory state is what the Bible calls ‘Lukewarm’ in Rev.3:15-16. In this
message to the Church of Laodicea, the Lord says, ‘I know thy works, that thou
art <b>neither cold nor hot. I would that
thou were cold or hot, but because thou art Lukewarm, I will begin to vomit
thee out of my mouth</b>’. One thing I observed in particular was that this
Church of Laodicea was called in verse 14, ‘<b>the beginning of the creation of God</b>’, in many ways this represents
us Christians in who God started his work of the new creation in Christ,
especially Catholics, the first Christians and beginners of Christendom. Some
of us have abandoned the journey towards perfection through the grace Christ
gives us in the Sacraments and have begun to embrace the illusory wiles of Lukewarmness
that that Ancient dragon who has sworn not to leave us at peace I setting
before us. (cf. Rev. 12:17).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This particular evil, blessed Francis reveals to us. has even
taking another dimension, in what I would like to call ‘<b>the trap of starting and never continuing</b>’, many of us who try so
hard to be zealous in the spiritual life, we begin a particular spiritual
exercise only to stop half-way as we are attracted by another and then we also
stop along the way as another comes along. The enemy presents to us multiple
and increasing ways of achieving holiness, capitalizing on our poor desires for
God and our weak human wills and virtues in a way that after dragging us
through a series of virtuous beginnings, we are no more than how we started, we
find that nothing has changed; something I would like to also call an ‘<b>ideology of false continuity</b>’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We all are summoned back to that Spiritual Warfare my
brothers and sisters. We thank God for the gift of his holy ones and special
ones among us whom he continues to use by his inspiration to point us to the
path of righteousness and holiness. It would pay us to take full advantage of
this message, come to our Lord in holy reparation and make firm resolutions to
be afire with his Spirit working in and through us for his good pleasure. We
need to once again rekindle the fire of Divine Love in us that we may once more
and forever be the burning ones who would shine God’s light to a world so
confused and in need of Christ’s Light. May Our Lady, the Woman of Revelations
12, who continues to protect us from the various machinations of the evil one
through her many visits to us continue also to intercede for us that in the
end, Victory shall be ours in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">St. Francis de Sales, Pray for us!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="calibre61"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From your Friend and Brother: Chibuzor
F. Ogamba<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-62062275855868751882015-06-25T07:04:00.002+01:002015-06-25T07:13:41.853+01:00Abortion- A Meditation on ScriptureAs I write these words, more than 47,669 babies have been directly killed today. Since I loaded the web page which has the abortion counter some minutes ago, more than 5,251 unborn children have been killed, and this year, more than 16,425,995 unborn children have been killed. Many countries and states continue to legalize abortions and Physician assisted suicide has continued to be on the increase as well.<br />
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The situation is worrisome and is even more so as people who are being charged with the nobility of preventing disease and in effect engendering life, have turned around to be harbingers of death. As Christians, what are we to do? What camp are we to join? I am indeed aware of the many arguments for both sides from many corners, but what I want to do is to listen to Our Lord himself, the Eternal Word, our own master, and teacher, to find out what exactly, we, the people of His way, should believe and do about these issues.<br />
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<b>‘In Him was Life…’ (John 1:4)</b>. The very character unique, for John, about the person of the God-Man is that of life, and he tells his story of his life so that believing in him, we might come to have that which is in him- Life. He himself gives testimony to this, ‘But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name (John 20:31). As Christians therefore, our very lives, and the very work of our hands, in the people we meet and work for, should be one that is precisely Christ-like with regard to life. This is especially true for us Christians who are in the field of work that concerns life. Being Christ to others in the medical profession is in essence being a medical practitioner in whom Life is found because Christ lives in him. That as people crawl into the very doors of the hospital seeking life, we may not bring to them a message of death, but one of life that is abundant (cf. John10:10). Being harbingers of life also entails having a particularly unique value for human life, which God has entrusted to our care, in spite of all physical inadequacies. Every human person is created in the image and likeness of our Father God, and God loves each person in a unique way. Our Lord not only desired that we have eternal life, but was also drawn with compassion to human life, this was why he healed the sick, and raised the dead (cf. Luke 7). His work of healing and desire to give life is therefore intricately connected with our vocation and profession in the healthcare field. This should be at the very foundations of our mission to, as Jesus did, cater for human life- spirit, soul and body. It should also be noted that nowhere in the Bible was Christ reported to have sent people to their graves for any reason, no matter how disastrous their illnesses were, he instead brought people back from the dead, a sharp contrast to the so called ‘physician assisted suicide’ or euthanasia..<br />
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<b>'Thou shall not kill' (Exodus 20:13)</b>. The Ten Commandments were given to the people of Israel as precautions to ensure that they do not veer off the path of love and hence the path of God, in whom is love personified. They were laws of love. It was out of love that God gave us the law and it is in response to that love that we obey his laws. This is why Jesus says, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments’ (cf. John 14:15). He himself even summarized all the commandments to mean love, it is the greatest of the commandments, all God demands of us (Matthew 22:36-40). If we truly loved, we would not do anything that goes contrary to the commandments of God; the natural law of morality that is written in the hearts of all men irrespective of religion. Who does not know that it is wrong and totally not in the place of love to kill? However, it is remarkable to note that people now, far from killing people in abortions and euthanasia in defiance to the law of God- of love, now even use love as an excuse for doing these. In essence they are saying ‘Love is God’ instead of ‘God is Love’ (1 John 4:8), and what is the danger? The danger is in reducing the concept of love to human love as we know it alone and 'deifying' it, bringing it within the realms of human decision, and thereby dominating it, such that far from what God thinks, people now consider only what they think of love. This is part of the culture which makes Man the centre of the universe. This is a disservice to love, for each man becomes the center of his world. A woman who was raped and becomes pregnant considers no more the life of the Child in her womb but her very self, she is the center, and whatever happens to her life-her fame, her dignity etc.; those are worth more than the life in her womb and so she ends his/her life. This is not the Love that Christ teaches. This radically egocentric perspective has as its consequence the fact that human beings now strive to eliminate God from every human process and leave man in charge.<br />
<a href="http://www.catholicanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Abortion_by_Amelee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.catholicanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Abortion_by_Amelee.jpg" height="320" width="294" /></a><br />
The issue of pregnancy particularly comes to mind because it was through this same means that Our Savior God came to be with us, in the womb of a virgin, in quite odd a circumstance (cf. Matthew 1:18-25). Remarkably Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary though faced with the same challenges as many women face today, chose to do nothing but the will of God, (cf. Luke 1:38), for her Child-God, was a gift. She, the Mother of our savior should be proposed as a Model to the women of our day, when Children who used to be gifts from God have now become mere products from sex, when the role of God in the sexual union of a married couple is rejected, when the central reasons for marriage and sex these days are lust and sexual pleasure and not self-giving love which is fruitful. More still, when God challenges the artificial barriers we put on the natural procreative process, we refer to the life he has given as a ‘mistake’. The culture of death is now so deep that we even now intend to kill in anticipation. Consequently, people are not the only ones being killed as a result of this culture, but also society, marriage and family are dying, especially with the steady rise in divorced homes. We Christians should stand for Christ and witness to him in the very place where people have chosen to eliminate him. This is an urgent call to refute a fast growing culture that is demonic and diabolical in origin.<br />
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Dearest friends in Christ, having considered what ‘the Lord’s side’ truly is; the side of life, it is therefore an onus on us to become servants for life, for we are servants of Jesus Christ, the only true life (cf. John 14:6) and by doing so, we would lead in our very own ministry, a lot of people to the Father through him. We should among other things fight against the current idolization of democracy as a substitute for morality, where the opinion of the majority counts more than the opinion of God, and of well-formed consciences. The saying ‘Vox populos Vox Dei’ (The Voice of the People is the Voice of God), only holds sway when the ‘populos’ are deified, in their consciences and in their ways of doing things. We Christians, we who have been indeed deified, are and should indeed be the people of God during these times in order to speak out to the world with the very voice of God, and especially in the healthcare field, we need to wage this war against the culture of death and instill the culture of life that comes from a faithful listening and acting based on the very Word of God that is Life.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
From your Friend and Brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-29176604077882296972015-06-08T23:30:00.002+01:002015-06-10T08:06:00.192+01:00The Holy Mass ForePatterned!!!<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It was only yesterday that we
celebrated the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ- Corpus Christi we call
it, and yet the readings from yesterday has left an impact in my mind. To put
it plainly, I was fascinated, you know, that moment where you are listening to
the Bible passage and something strikes you, things begin to make sense, you
begin the connect the dots; that’s exactly what happened yesterday when I
listened to the first reading from Exodus 24:3-8, though for this write-up I wish
to extend to verse 10.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What did I find? You would remember
that earlier in my meditations on <a href="http://credoexperience.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-mass-in-mark-6.html" target="_blank">The Mass in Mark 6!!!</a> I explained to you how
the two-fold parts of the Mass: The Liturgy of the Word and The Liturgy of the
Eucharist were already present in the multiplication of loaves in Mark 6, there
Jesus first of all teaches the crowd (cf. Mark 6:30) and then He breaks bread
(cf. Mark 6:41). Also, in the encounter with the disciples at Emmaus, Jesus
does the same two things: He opens the scriptures up to them and He broke bread
(cf. Luke 24:13-35) and finally we saw that the people of the early Church
followed this two-fold pattern as their pattern of worship (Acts 2:41-47). The
breaking of bread was an establishment of a new covenant, a new sacrifice, and
he prepared the people of the New Testament for that ultimate sacrifice through
such events as the multiplication of loaves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But let us again reflect on the
activity that marked the inauguration of the New Covenant:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsmUqRKELO8Pi56GK4NGk_TgVqJp1CIiqEQy2R9rSqSFDupR0c" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsmUqRKELO8Pi56GK4NGk_TgVqJp1CIiqEQy2R9rSqSFDupR0c" /></a><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘And whilst they were
eating, Jesus took bread and blessing it, broke, and gave it to them, and said:
Take ye. This is my body.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="23"></a>And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank
of it.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="24"></a> And he said to them: <b>This
is my blood of the New Covenant</b>, which shall be shed for many’. (cf. Mark 14:22-24).<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is indeed spectacular to find the
passage in Exodus 24, the inauguration of the Old Mosaic Covenant very similar
to this passage in three ways: First, we read in verse 8, ‘And he took the
blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: <b><i>This is the blood of the covenant</i></b> which
the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words’. Though this time it
was the blood of animals that were used to seal the covenant, it is remarkable
how the same words were used by both Moses for the Old Covenant and Jesus-the
New Moses for the New Covenant whose blood satisfies and does much more than
the blood of animals could do (cf. Hebrews 9:12).</span></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">However the second thing, and much
more unveiling for me was that the same pattern that characterized such moments in
the New Testament, I found also in the inauguration of the Old Mosaic Covenant.
First, Moses exposes the Word of the Lord to them, ‘and taking the book of the covenant,
he read it in the hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the
Lord hath spoken we will do, we will be obedient.’ (Verse 7). This he did
before sprinkling the blood of the covenant on the people. I heard this, saw
the same pattern, and was more convinced that God had even started from the
time of Moses to foreshadow the Mass, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, to prepare
even the people of the Old Covenant for what he was going to do in the Mass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OTT-cycYjD0LlD3jpI0Zbp4_z8pvJY5LmTMOKm2A-XbG-1-hCEqFKJj90vECAigo4HFX1E8eRMGc9ya7WpUZU2oTTyDzyBuidFbMSPxUmyHuXYPKrh0Wxwxsh5xpehq50eY5KjRnILA/s1600/IMG_20150607_184134.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OTT-cycYjD0LlD3jpI0Zbp4_z8pvJY5LmTMOKm2A-XbG-1-hCEqFKJj90vECAigo4HFX1E8eRMGc9ya7WpUZU2oTTyDzyBuidFbMSPxUmyHuXYPKrh0Wxwxsh5xpehq50eY5KjRnILA/s320/IMG_20150607_184134.png" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The third and final thing I want to
share with you about the passage is the fact that, just as we were told that
the New Testament patterns of proclaiming the word and breaking of bread
characterized moments of unique encounter with God, for instance the disciples
at Emmaus whose eyes opened and who only recognized Jesus in and after the
breaking of the bread (cf. Luke 24:30-31), so too in Exodus 24:9, Moses, Aaron,
Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders encountered God in a unique way, after the
sprinkling of the blood of the Covenant. In fact, the bible makes us understand
that ‘they <b><i>saw the God of Israel…they looked on God and they ate and drank</i></b>’
(cf. verse 10-11),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yet again, we are convinced, I am
convinced that in the Mass we encounter God, we encounter Christ, and again not
on our own terms but on his. We don’t set the agenda, God does!!! He has planned the agenda
of that unique encounter with him from ages past, ages before us. What is this
agenda of that wonderful meeting? He teaches us and then he breaks bread. How
much more then should we value this sacred feast, this supper that God has
prepared for us and invited us to participate in. We should let the Lord into
our hearts, lifting our hearts to him so that He may come in and have supper
with us.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">PS: I have attached a picture of my brothers
and sisters in the faith and I (Students of the Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students, College of Medicine of the University of Lagos) with our priest Fr. Peter Chidolue SJ (who sadly would
be leaving us soon) after the Holy Mass on Corpus Christi Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-60667736984646389892015-06-07T00:16:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:22:29.704+01:00The Theology of Giving<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In my last post I mentioned that
there were two themes on my mind, one I wrote about, but the other is something
I feel for me is important. Before we finally leave Tobit, there is something
else in its 12</span><sup style="line-height: 107%;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> chapter that we need to consider. Amongst the many
things Raphael told them, one important thing he said to them was that it was
better to give alms than to treasure up gold, that almsgiving </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">preserves from death, </b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">and it </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">purifies from sin, </b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">and that those
people who give alms </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">will have a long
life </b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">(Tobit 12:8-9). You see, I do not mean to underestimate us all, we all
know that it is indeed good to give alms, we really don’t need a new person to
tell us that. But something we may not have considered is ‘</span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">How good exactly is giving alms?’</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://death.findyourfate.com/images/islam-almsgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://death.findyourfate.com/images/islam-almsgiving.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You probably do see yourself as a
charitable person, you give whenever you want, but have you stopped to consider
those words of an angel of God about giving alms? Many times we hear calls to
give, to be givers, and to give cheerfully and meaningfully. Most times those
calls to give and their importance are drowned by the existing greed and
corruption that characterize even religious systems that they cannot be trusted
with ‘all we have’, or we also ask ourselves questions about the reason why
such people who beg us for things cannot work for theirs or just forget about
them entirely as we pass by. Yet we seriously pray and would pay so much to
swindlers and people who promise us preservation from death, purification from
sin and long life. This even includes Doctors, health systems, even traditional
health givers and others, meaning that we want these things badly. But why can’t
we follow this simple path to life viz giving.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">St. Peter I remember also tells us
the same thing about being charitable, it’s almost as if he read and took to
heart this passage from Tobit 12. He tells us in 1 Peter 4:8 that Charity <b>covers a multitude of sins</b>. The truth
is that Our Lord is so pleased with a heart that gives, that famous song ‘God
loves a cheerful giver’ is indeed true. The Gospel passage from Mark 12:41-44
is a typical example. The woman who gave her all to God really attracted not
only Our Lord’s attention but also his praise. The world is suffering from a
lack of givers, our society is suffering from a lack of givers and an abundance
of takers, this is why the person of Christ is eclipsed in our world, because
he is not a Christ that takes, he is a Christ that says, <b>‘Take’. </b>And he does that ultimately. St. Paul’s life as he
describes was also poured out as a libation (cf. 2 Timothy 4:6). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Far from whatever we might gain from giving,
the truth remains that we were born to be gifts, our very selves, our very
lives in being Christ-like should be gifts to the world, to our families, to
the poor, the sick. The question we should therefore ask ourselves is, <b>looking at my life so far, have I being a
gift? </b>Do people thank God for my existence?
For that is how we become like God, the way God made us to be: free from
sin and death and living eternally. We cannot become like God and yet not give
because there is no such God that is separated from that supreme act of giving.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-87378806524320126232015-06-06T23:36:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:22:18.760+01:00The Theology of Trusting<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">For me, this is one of two important
themes on my mind at this moment, especially after reflecting on the passages
of scripture presented by the Church. We have been with Tobit for about a week
now, that part of the Bible most of us never touch in ages. But I trust it was
a wonderful experience for you.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTZc0dqCCoK588jCxWulkNOfqJ2bErERMX-INXWsrhhovcXbI5LTA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTZc0dqCCoK588jCxWulkNOfqJ2bErERMX-INXWsrhhovcXbI5LTA" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">First off, Tobit 12 is a chapter that
indeed reminds me that for those who love God, evil cannot have the last word,
all things will definitely work together unto good (cf. Romans 8:28). And you
know, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">it’s indeed not just coincidental that it was in the same 8</span><sup style="line-height: 107%;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">
chapter of the book of Romans that St. Paul tells us that neither trials, or
anguish, or persecution, or hunger, or lack of clothing, or even the sword can separate
us from the love of God (v.35). The fact that we may encounter those things in
life and in our working for God, in our choosing to do well, does not mean and
cannot mean that God loves us any less, not at all. The first time I listened
to the book of Tobit this week was few days ago when we heard the cries of
Tobit himself and Sarah in prayer. At that point, they had indeed gone through
a lot through no fault of theirs, even when they spent their time doing well.
It is hard to imagine it for Tobit who went blind, literally.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">However, what the Archangel Raphael
told Tobit and his son is something we have to consider; that He was with Tobit
the whole time (v.13)!! That as Tobit tried to do all those good things, bury
the dead, when he got blind etc, Raphael was there, and God had sent him to
accompany his beloved. The truth is, for us, who read the story from afar, we
fail to realize that Tobit literally had no idea Raphael was with him
throughout, that God was with him throughout, but he never abandoned God. For
us, we may go through trials and very difficult times, times where we get
locked up in our world of problems and we really believe situations are
hopeless, especially the very embarrassing, hopeless situations, the question
we should ask ourselves is, <b><i>‘Why not trust God at this moment?’ </i></b>That
was the exact question I asked myself when I read Tobit 12. Why not trust God?
Because he is not visible? Because we do not see him doing the things he does
to make us happy at all costs? Or because most times out of frustration we
close ourselves to the possibilities of God’s comforting and healing grace just
because God does not send them in the kind of package we would have wanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The truth is, Raphael did not come as
an Angel, he came as an ordinary man, in fact, and he appeared to be a man who
would accompany his son on a journey, one of his kinsmen. He did not begin by
curing Tobit’s blindness, he ended with it. But all those were at least
possible because Tobit remained the good man that he was and was open to the possibilities
of grace. I ask you therefore, why not trust God? Is there a possible reason
why you shouldn’t?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-23886617773289506042015-06-06T10:00:00.002+01:002015-06-09T09:22:03.351+01:00A Meditation on Euthanasia and the Meaning of Suffering<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In our society, the issue of
euthanasia is very much a debated one and when it is considered the first thing
that usually comes to mind is this thing about suffering, about putting people
out of their misery, not only for the terminally ill themselves, but also for
their families as well, who suffer emotionally, and sometimes financially
during those moments. When these are considered it is almost as if the
physician assisted suicide is entirely within the place of love. In order to
find out, we need to consider a few of these passages of scripture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> In Mark 10:32-34, Mark tells us that as Jesus
was going up to Jerusalem with his disciples, he told them how he was going to
suffer; to be betrayed, mocked, beaten and condemned to death and then rise ag<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="33"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="34"></a>ain. But what was surprising was that James and
John, as though they had not heard anything Our Lord had said came up to him
and asked that they may sit one on his right and the other on his left in his
glory (cf. v35-37). Are we not like those two sometimes, we quickly pass over
the Lord’s passion, and in a kind of opportunistic way, want to dwell with him
in his glory? It is this mentality that advocates of euthanasia use to justify
the assisted suicide as an escape or end to suffering. But is that the
Christian message? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaICGXZqwnay8-F_qxs90ObL9D4Y0iZ2zblteG6dG0DUyFnazD" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaICGXZqwnay8-F_qxs90ObL9D4Y0iZ2zblteG6dG0DUyFnazD" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In another place, it was Peter who
said, ‘far be it from you Lord that you should go through all these’, after
which the Lord rebuked him for that (cf. Matthew 16:21-23), and strongly
insisted that ‘whoever must be his disciple must take up his <b>cross</b> and follow him (cf. Matthew
16:24). Where is the disciple of Christ? There also is his cross. Earlier in
the encounter with James and John, Our Lord asked them if they were ready to
drink the cup which he was going to drink (Mark 10:38). What other cup was he
talking about but his cup of suffering (cf. Matthew 26:36-40)? In other words,
to share in his glory, to share in the kingdom of God, we Christians would have
to carry our crosses and suffer with Christ. We would have to share in Christ’s
passion in order to share in his resurrection. That is the Christian meaning of
suffering, one that ceases to be detrimental but salvific because it is Christ
suffering with and through us.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">St. Paul explains this very
explicitly in his letter to the Romans, in the 8<sup>th</sup> Chapter where he
spoke about Life in the spirit, in verses 15-17 he writes, ‘For you have not
received the spirit of bondage again in fear ;<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="16"></a>… For the
Spirit gives testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of
God.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="17"></a> And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint
heirs with Christ: <b>provided</b> <b>we</b> <b>suffer</b>
<b>with</b> <b>him</b>, <b>that we may be also glorified with him</b>.’ This is</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the Gospel of Christ that Christian
medical practitioners should bring to the sick and the terminally ill</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">; </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">that they can unite their sufferings
with that of Christ and not flee by suicide out of fear, timidity and cowardice.</span><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In fact, St. Paul tells us also that
those moments of suffering united with Christ can be offered up as spiritual
treasures for the people of God. ‘Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and
fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in
my flesh, for his body, which is the church.’ (Colossians 1:24). The excuse
that such terminally ill people do not want to suffer their family members for
no use is indeed human, but suicide as being the solution is not Christian. Medical
practitioners should rather offer hope in such times of suffering, and help
these patients not only unite their experiences with that of Christ but also,
in true love, offer them up for their family members, for those who have not
met Christ, for those who are obstinate in their sins, and so on. Indeed those
times are good resources of divine grace. The more the Christian message is
understood, the more the Christian meaning of suffering is understood, the more
we realize that true compassion for the sick and the dying lies in sharing
their pain. Those trying moments can also be moments of deep encounter with
Christ for the family members of those who are terminally ill. If this
continues, the fear of death will be conquered and Christ would truly take
possession of the souls of both the ill and their families; such moments can indeed
be a profound moment of conversion and renewal.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-54269691503193912792015-04-13T01:31:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:23:17.013+01:00Divine Mercy!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Have u wondered how both Judas and Peter fared at the last hour? Did you notice that both sinned against Our Lord; Judas selling His master for 30 silver and betraying Him with a kiss, Peter on the other side denied he knew not 'the man.'<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6pH6mDsjLJfcmEAf0Wp9l8a75RoA_vlGLQO4fPUqsup0aACHNx8pX0D8xkyP_rEVwg_8J0-usv0puzOHWOUxdfYJ3BL4OhI1wvWwnh4EtuheXRTpdmf4Dm1uNjkr7DXwAo-8FBAZoFo/s1600/dm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6pH6mDsjLJfcmEAf0Wp9l8a75RoA_vlGLQO4fPUqsup0aACHNx8pX0D8xkyP_rEVwg_8J0-usv0puzOHWOUxdfYJ3BL4OhI1wvWwnh4EtuheXRTpdmf4Dm1uNjkr7DXwAo-8FBAZoFo/s1600/dm.png" width="131" /></a>To Peter Christ was just a man, but to Judas he recognises Him still as his master. One would be moved to think that although both of them sinned, Peter's was the heavier one being that he wasn't just the newly appointed head of the Church, His flock, but because rather he had promised earlier and professed his love for his master as 'he would die with Him.' But in any case both of them sinned against our Lord and thereby wounded His heart of love. But let us take a look at how these two reacted to their sin in Matthew's Gospel in the 27th chapter beginning from verse 1. The Good book tells us that Judas was sorry for he knew he had sinned and so he first of all sought restitution by returning the money he collected. Notice now that prior to this, Judas had failed twice: first by collecting money from the Pharisees to surrender his Master,<br />
Secondly, by sealing the betrayal with a KISS. Peter on the other hand had denied his Master three times of which Christ foretold. Now both were sorry for their sins for they acknowledged they had tresspassed. For repentance to be complete there must be a recognition of fault...(the sinner must admit he has sinned). Secondly there must be a heart of sorrow..(I.e to say, a sign that he is truly sorry for his sins) and finally, the sinner must confess truly with total regret and a promise never to go back to his sin. These were the talking points in the case of Peter and Judas. Peter immediately sought repentance and is evident as the writer says 'he cried bitterly.' The stress in his action seemed to show a true contrition of Peter and a heart of sorrow, one which was open to confession. But in Judas' case, although Matthew tells he was sorry and sought restitution, remember he had committed two faults, he rightly went back to the Pharisees and returned the 'blood money' as it was called. This was the first step he took. Now remember that by collecting the bribe, Judas atoned it by returning it back. But he had killed God with a kiss and just as he needed to atone for that, he was supposed to allow the Master welcome him back with a kiss of love.</div>
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Although Judas must have been heavily burdened with his sin, and guilt must have blinded his heart from seeking forgiveness, Judas probably taught he was doomed and could never get this mercy as he had not just sold his Master, he had killed God. He masterminded the killing and as such he was a killer. But Judas was faithless to have forgotten the words of his Master: 'come all you who are heavily Laden and I'll give you rest.' Peter surely must have remembered when he asked: 'master, how many times shall we forgive our brother who sins against us, seven times?' He knew all he had to do was CONFESS. Judas allowing the devil not only use him to betray his Master,but to harden his heart so that he'd not sought forgiveness and believe he was beyond pardon. This was what Christ warned about sinning against the Holy Spirit. And by rejecting grace, Judas condemned himself even when God would never have. He rejected and resisted forgiveness and so he couldn't get mercy. The difference between Peter and Judas is that; Peter focused more on the person he had failed, on the heart he had wounded; Judas whereas focused on the severity of his sin, he looked so much more on the consequence of his wrong doing and so he was blinded to confession. Peter was fully repentant, Judas was only remorseful.</div>
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And this brings us to the today's homily and solemnity. The Divine Mercy of God. God has overtime professed and proved His unending Love and bountiful Mercy and becoming like us was just incredibly unimaginable. Dying for us was the ultimate proof of that love. And so we must all be confident in approaching His throne of mercy, we must always trust in His love so that we don't lose sight of Him and become hardened just like Judas. There's no sin God doesn't forgive and just as His death cleared all debt and sin, we must remember His very words to His disciples.</div>
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'take heart and do not fear, for I've conquered the world.'</div>
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Peace be with you!</div>
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Happy Solemnity of the Divine Mercy of God.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01387555096131120211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-76447922400584854462015-04-02T01:09:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:23:52.139+01:00I Am Judas?<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="text-align: center;">With the Lenten Season having come to an end and the glorious season of Easter approaching, I didn't want these profound moments to go by without sharing some of my meditations with you. Truly, this season has been really eventful for me, in ways that I did not expect. I have learnt a lot, and a lot has happened to me too.</span></div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvV5a_GdDTSxqXOee92ci9xB4-S2R4_HOno49FbaM13bW1D_3W" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvV5a_GdDTSxqXOee92ci9xB4-S2R4_HOno49FbaM13bW1D_3W" /></a>But going through the activities that spice up our Lenten experience; the mass, the stations of the cross, confessions and other devotions, something did indeed cause me to pause and wonder a little. You know, most times we read the Bible- and this is something I have also learnt during the course of this season, most times we read the Bible and when we see Our Lord facing off probably the Pharisees and the Scribes or sinners we subconsciously prefer to hide behind our Lord and join him to point accusing fingers at those people. In our minds we are like, 'Yes Lord, tell them! Preach it! They are pharisees, hypocrites!' and we continue to go on and on. This happens when in reality we are no different from these people whom we think are worse off, and when we do these things we ourselves become what we accuse them of,</div>
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It is really important for us to always allow the Gospel to challenge us, especially in those instances when Our Lord speaks to sinners and pharisees, we should search deep in ourselves for those things which our Lord is so worried about in those people lest he also become worried about us too. This is really so especially in the case of Judas. A lot of people read the texts about Judas and they only worry their heads and hearts with things like, 'was Judas guilty or innocent? was it his fault? was he not predestined? Is he in Hell?'. We have not asked ourselves, what exactly did Judas do? why exactly was he a candidate for these discussions and not for example Peter who denied Jesus three times not even allowing the cock to crow twice.</div>
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There are two passages I would like us to ponder on, the first is John 13:21, 'When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in his spirit and said, 'Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me', and St. Mark adds in Mark 14:18, '-one who is eating with me'. There are so many ways in which this passage about Judas speaks to us and indeed represent what we do even as Christians. Imagine that you were at table with the Lord when these events were taking place, when He made this comment, and you need not imagine any further, we all are at table indeed with the Lord at least every Sunday, each time we participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord's Supper, where we are indeed with all the Apostles that were at table that Night, and you have been with Our Lord throughout his ministry, his teaching, his works and signs, his entire life from Advent to Christmas, to his Baptism up to that moment at table, when he makes this statement, this statement, the thought of which caused him deep sorrow, one of us who is eating with him, one of us will let him down. </div>
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Think about these things and let us ask ourselves, do we betray Jesus at all in our very lives? How many times have we been faced with choices, to either show him love by obeying his word or crucify him by sin, yet we consciously and subconsciously choose the latter? How many times do we go to eat with him only to come out and insult and disgrace him before those who hate him, deny him and tell those people to forget about him, that he has nothing to offer? How many times at all do we at least consider how he feels about our decisions, our company, our movements our lives? The list is inexhaustible, for our world is this way because we Christians many times model Judas and not Jesus. Many people see a Jesus worth betraying in us rather than a Jesus worth defending, and so why should they believe anything you are saying? It is Aristotle who said in his Nicomachean Ethics that even the Wicked cannot trust the Wicked. Alas who is it worse for? You and I who eat at table with Jesus or the people who don't even know who he is.</div>
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Let us not forget the prophecy about Judas, that it was better for him not even to have been born and consider that in many ways and in many things we do as Christians as young Catholics, It was better for us not even to have been born, not even to have been born again into the Kingdom of God. (cf Matthew 26:24).</div>
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Brothers and Sisters, we are indeed weak, and that is why we have the grace of the confessional and the Eucharist, Jesus himself wants to help us, he has come to give us Easter Joy, we need to repent like Peter for there is hope, and not continue like Judas in condemning ourselves, let us approach the confessional and ask for God's forgiveness and grace. He wants to help us. He wants to love us. Let us allow God to Love us. </div>
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Hope I have not come out too harsh! Happy New Month My Brothers and Sisters!!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-11285063890031676772014-12-30T19:17:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:25:06.518+01:00OUR SALVATION STORY AS RECORDED BY ST LUKE<b>Birthdays are celebrated once every year, and it forms one of the most beautiful and memorable days in our lives. We live it like its the first, and we as well make of it like its our last...that's why one in every 10 well wishers joyfully phrase: "enjoy it," or "its your day," or "have a blast dearie." It is special not in the sense that it comes only but once in a year, but just like every other celebration, what makes it "your day" is that we get gifts from loved ones;gifts which could take any form as a "Happy Birthday" from an unlikely mate could mean a lot more than a gold wristwatch from a friend. In this, there are no celebrations without a celebrant; no gifts without a giver(wellwisher) and no "happy Birthday" without life.</b><br />
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<b>In a few hours we would be celebrating. The atmosphere sets a perfect tone for this event. Christians are joyful and non-christians alike share in the love that comes with Christmas. And then we are taken back by one of the Apostles to 2000years ago, in the first chapter of his Gospel beginning from the twenty sixth verse, where the story of our salvation was born.</b><br />
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<b>Luke's Gospel is known for its carefully arranged happenings of the events that unfolded - just as his Gospel begins telling Theophilus so (Luke 1:1-4). Another unique feature is the awareness of Luke to the reactions made in conversing, as he's careful to note the mood. place, person...</b><br />
<b>Luke starts this beautiful story in the 26th and 27th verse of his first chapter beginning like this:</b><br />
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<b> "And in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."</b><br />
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<b>It is very clear here that a message was sent, and being that it required a sender, a message, a means, and a receiver, for it to be perfectly communicated, it was God who sent the angel to a certain virgin in Galilee, Mary, of which every word the Angel spoke were the very ones from God; and just as Jesus would later on insinuate, "His words are life."</b><br />
<b>It would look uncommon and indeed the very knowledge of it could be startling, it was no different as at that time and to Mary herself. Although Angels are beautiful and enjoy somewhat of God's glory in heaven, it is even more wonderful and graceful to be God's adopted children through Christ (one privilege the Angels in heaven so lack) but it was so rare and unheard of for an Angel to adore a creature; (for Mary was only a handmaid of God Luke1:38), this was the case; that the angel Gabriel would honour Mary with his words. And indeed, it was God who honoured her. In her home the Angel Gabriel appeared. Mary might have been busy when the Angel came, or she might have taken some rest but whichever way we assume, Luke potrays the scene as Mary to be all alone in the house. And just like any other visitor, his first words were greetings.</b><br />
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<b> "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!". Luke 1:29</b><br />
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<b>If I'd go in full explanation of this text, I'd be writing out of context. But</b><br />
<b> the following verse suggests that this was no ordinary greeting. Mary was a Jew and should be conversant with passages from the old testament scrolls on Angels visit to men, (Tobit) but what made this so different were the words the Angel spoke. Angels are from heaven and they worship the Eternal God, Mary must have known that these words were directly from God.</b><br />
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<b> "But she was greatly troubled at this saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be."</b><br />
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<b>She was troubled; not because she was visited by an Angel, but because she pondered on the Angel's words and wondered why such was said to her. Angels are beautiful creatures, buh Gabriel called Mary as being "full of grace." This to an extent suggests that it was Mary and not the angel that was superior. But knowing how troubled she was and In response, knowing her disturbed mind, the Angel said:</b><br />
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<b> "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God." Luke 1:30</b><br />
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<b>It was here that the angel told her of God's plan, one which Mary must be conversant with as she was born into a Jewish family to whom the prophecy of the messiah was promised. But having full knowledge of this there still was one part she didn't understand. If she was to give God a man(flesh), if she was to cooperate with God in fulfilling this prophecy that for thousand of years, the Jews and Gentiles had waited, she would ask "how?" </b><br />
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<b>Going back through Genesis after God created man and then he fell, we learn he lost that grace that incorporated him into that Image he shared with God. But God immediately reveals His plan to redeem man but this He'll do with man's full corporation(gen 3:15). She was a virgin and in other to consent, she would know "how it could be, since she knew no man." And that "how," the Angel said, was through the Holy Spirit. The Angel had told her earlier that she was full of grace. It could only be possible if she accepted it from God. And as she consented knowing the full promise of God to His people through the messiah to come, Mary was standing for all humanity. She would be the first to know what being with God was like. The first to be restored back to God's Image and known to be the first Christian, for it was with faith and love that she bore this truth in her heart first, and then in her womb there would serve as His home for 9 incredible months. She carried God within the portals of her womb for she and she alone was given that task of mothering God. Indeed she was truly blessed and as she considered the future blessings that followed her act, Mary standing for all humanity, surrendering herself into the Father's hands, and lost in that ecstasy of love, she would carry the burdens that followed such honour without fear. For as Simeon would prophesy that: "a sword will pierce through her own heart, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed," Mary embraced the Cross of Christ just as her Son would Love it to die on it. </b><br />
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<b>But yet still the angel needed a Yes! Gabriel was waiting for a confirmation. And just as what one would expect from a humble virgin with the fear of God, and in a meek and humble tone she said not for herself, but for you and I, for the many centuries to come, Mary accepted to give God a man: </b><br />
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<b>" for behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." Luke 1:38</b><br />
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<b> YES!!! Mary was the portal through which God walked into our lives. She made Christmas possible. Through her that prophecy was fulfilled. And through her, God walks into our hearts. And although Christ is the gift; the reason for the season, there's a lot to learn from His beloved mother. A woman who played a triple role by being the daughter of God the Father; Mother of God the Son, and Spouse of God the Holy Spirit - one blessing only she possessed. Just as she prophesied in her beautiful song of praise( the magnificant) in verse 46-55, in the 48th verse, </b><br />
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<b>"henceforth all generations will call her blessed." </b><br />
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<b>This is the short but beautiful version of our Salvation. That God became flesh (John1:14) and walked this earth. That through Him we might once more be called sons and daughters of God. And as we celebrate this festive holiday with love, let us not forget that Christ is to be born in our hearts, lived in our lives and mothered by His only beloved Mother - for if she could give us Christ, then as well we'd trust her to take us back to Him. For if God chose her to be that portal He walks into our lives and fill us with His grace, then she'll take that honour of taking us back to Him. For Christ is our perfect model, but He was God. But on that ordinary level of manhood, that level of we as creatures of the Heavenly Father, Mary becomes our model to copy. For her last words in the scriptures is what she tells each soul.....</b><br />
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<b> "Do whatever He tells you." John 2:5</b><br />
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<b>That's her role in our lives, for if she mothered God, then she's the best and only person we'll trust to teach us His ways and to do whatever He tells us.</b><br />
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<b>From a devoted heart,</b><br />
<b>I wish you all a Merry Christmas! And a wonderful New year ahead.</b><br />
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<b>by: Ndionyenmah Prince Ugo</b></div>
<b><br /></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01387555096131120211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-4888391649347337622014-12-13T21:28:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:25:41.870+01:00HOW CHRIST COMES TO BE WITH US<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: right;">While reading
St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth (cf. Matthew 1:18-25), two verses from
that passage struck me which opened up a new path for me towards an understanding
of this passage. First, I felt that the climax of the story in that passage is
in verse 23 when Matthew quotes from the Old Testament, ‘the virgin will
conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means:
God-with-us.’ I believe that quotation was a stamp, a seal, and a confirmation
of who exactly Matthew is telling us about, his identity is ‘God-with-us’, for
in the incarnation God came to be with us. That is what we celebrate at
Christmas; that God came among us, dwelt among us, was like us, and was with
us. It is also interesting to note that at the very beginning of his account
Matthew already gives us a picture of the end or goal of Jesus’ coming to us
which actually does not cease with Christmas but continues after the
Resurrection, for at the very end of his gospel message, in his very last
sentence he tells us that Jesus, God-with-us said, ‘I AM WITH YOU always even
till the end of this world’, (Matthew 28:20) I also noticed that Matthew begins in this
way, ‘This is HOW Jesus Christ was born…’ (Matthew 1:18). Not ‘where’, not ‘when’,
in fact, he doesn’t tell us where (in Bethlehem, in Judea), nor does he tell us
when (during the days of King Herod) till chapter 2:1, what he concerns himself
with in the first seven verses is HOW.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Thus, it
seems to me that Matthew is not only telling us a literal story of how Christ
came into the world, but, on a spiritual level, how he comes into our hearts
and our lives. It would take us a great attention to detail in order to, sought
of, pick out the clues the Holy Apostle drops for us as he narrates the Story,
and this what I will try to do. I would also try to pay special attention to
the person of Joseph because he takes the center stage in this story. So how is
Christ born in our lives?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;">First,</span></b><br />
<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> There is a Marital Union: </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;">In the gospel passage, Mary and
Joseph were engaged to be married, a wedding was about to take place. I will
approach this on two levels. The reason why the union is significant is that,
when God comes to us, we are usually in union with something, it might be a
literal wedding like that of Mary and Joseph, or it might be a union of our
hearts and something else, in this case it could be our work, studies etc, or a
particular turn our life is about to take. When he encountered Peter, Peter was
united to his work, fishing, that was where Christ met him and called him to be
a fisher of men. (Luke 5:1-11). It is while we are at these events in our lives
that Christ comes to be part of our lives. So he comes into the ordinariness
and regular of our lives, our highs and lows. Marriage was a plan in the lives
of Joseph and Mary which they had set out to accomplish, it was then that Jesus
stepped in to meet them and work with them in that very normal event of their
lives in order to bring forth extraordinary grace; salvation of mankind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Again, a
closer look at Marriage would be a familiar event in the spiritual goings-on of
salvation history, for the nature of that covenantal bond was used by God
countless times to describe his relationship with the people covenanted to him,
in many places he refers to himself as the bridegroom and his people, his
Church, as the bride. And so that tells something about the relationship God
establishes with us and how he establishes that relationship; it is a relationship
of family and the way in which he establishes that relationship in a covenantal
manner does not just consist in our giving our lives to him, rather we give
ourselves to him in <b>faith</b> and he
gives himself to us through the <b>sacramental
action</b> of the Church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Secondly, there are plans to stop the
Marriage in Honesty: </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Why,
You may ask, does it seem like when God comes knocking our doors, in order to
be part of lives, we do not seem to allow him, but are comfortable when we have
him at a distance? We love God yes, we are his fans, we go to church yes, but
we do not want to allow him further in, to be the Master of our souls, our
intellect and will, to decide whatever happens in our lives. The answer is to
be found in Joseph’s experience: due to fear (Matthew 1:20). Fear can be the
reason why we do not allow God to work and walk with us in our ordinariness. In
Joseph’s time, it was the abomination; that is what the people could have thought;
they would have labeled his marriage an abomination and stoned Mary to death.
In our case, it could be fear of what people might think of us, fear that he would take everything from us, fear
of what we might become, most of the time we have taken wrong models of
holiness and fear that is what holiness is about. Other times we are afraid
because his presence challenges our status quo and opens up to us new paths and
creates a new perspective, a new horizon towards life, such that he gives life
a new purpose, a new sense of direction that is more supernatural, that is
eternal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Third, God addresses our fears and
doubts: </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Just as God
sent his angel to calm Joseph’s fears in a dream. God also tries to calm our
fears, to remind us that when we walk with him and allow him to work in our
lives, our lives can only be for the better, our hearts can only find rest,
truth, love and life, purpose and fulfillment in God. When both Our Holy
Fathers, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI became Pope they told us not to be
afraid of allowing Christ into our lives to take control of it, for he does not
take anything from us, but instead he gives us everything, he is our
everything. The question is, ‘do we listen at the moment of our fears to the
voice of the Lord saying to us, ‘Courage Son, do not be afraid, I want to walk
with you and it wouldn’t be by your power but by my Spirit’? In Joseph’s
experience, God addressed his fears by sending an Angel, and he was able to
discern the voice of God, even in a dream, are we attentive enough to discern
the voice with which our Lord speaks to us? Do we pay close attention to the
voice of the Church and her leaders about whom Jesus said in Luke 10:16, ‘whoever
hears you, hears me’? Do we try to be frequent at Spiritual direction? Who is
God using to address your fears, to send you a message of hope and love, and
how exactly might God be addressing those fears? By words from people, by their
example, or even by their experiences. In Matthew 1:21, the angel told Joseph, ‘You
will call him…’, God makes us realize that when we work with him, we will be in
fact seizing on life, through his inspiration, our decisions would take on a
supernatural perspective, when we do things, when we conquer the world, we
would do so with a higher reason, and a higher person, we will always have a
part to play in that divino-human cooperation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Fourth, we obey God’s voice: </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;">when he addresses our fears, we obey
him and follow his lead, trusting him above all things. Joseph did so, and we
could tell the result, he became God’s Father. In 1:24 we are told that he did
what the angel asked him to do, despite the circumstances of the time, despite
what people would think of him, he obeyed. And so, even if the world, our
friends, our desires, or our human weaknesses say NO, we obey God and trust in
his word, opening the gates for him to walk triumphantly into our lives.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-52232963584818381982014-09-07T00:14:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:26:31.112+01:00PETER'S BOAT<div dir="ltr">
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After a long while dearest friends I would like to share with you my meditations on Luke 5:1-11, which was the gospel reading in the Church two days ago. Actually I have written a reflection on this passage on this blog under the caption, The Virtues of a Fisherman, where we considered the virtues worth emulating, portrayed by the Holy Apostle during this event. We established that these virtues are actually important ones which a lot of us in our day need to acquire.</div>
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But taking a look at this passage once again I wish to share with us, quite a few other things. First, there is something about the boat. Over the years, spiritual reflection on this passage and on the entirety of scripture has come to see this boat as representing the Church, and there are a lot of things that tell us that right from this passage. </div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZtUVICswuXtC5U8W5vkTlRsraSRurbHUjhnUmzzwbWg3DKnQ5-A" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZtUVICswuXtC5U8W5vkTlRsraSRurbHUjhnUmzzwbWg3DKnQ5-A" /></a>First we see that Jesus entered the boat ‘while the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God’. (Luke 5:1). This is very significant because that is exactly prophetic of Jesus founding his Church in order that he can teach and feed the people, to feed us with the Word of God, the words of Divine Wisdom, of truth and of Love that flowed from his sacred lips, but also to feed us Himself who is the ultimate and definitive Word of God (John 1:1), in the Eucharist. Secondly, we also see that it was none other’s but Simon’s boat which he entered to teach the People the Word of God. This is the same Simon whom he appointed Chief Steward over his Church in Matthew 16:16-18. There is therefore little wonder that after the huge catch was made, He told Simon Peter, ‘Do not be afraid, henceforth you will be catching men’. (Luke 5:10), a further illustration that the just concluded miracle was only a prototype for what Peter and the other Apostles were going to be doing for Jesus in the establishing, consolidating and peopling the Church of God, the new Kingdom of God, which Jesus came to found.
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And so once this has already been established, there are certain things that should not go unnoticed in this story. First, in this little story, the mystery of the Church is glimpsed at, for in the Church, in Peter’s boat, though it is Peter’s boat, though it is Peter who evangelizes and catches the huge fish, It is really Christ who teaches in his Church. Luke himself helps us to expand on this when he writes in Luke 10:16 that Christ told his Apostles, ‘Whoever hears you, hears me’. Christ himself in commissioning the Apostles to go and teach all nations in Matthew 28 quickly adds that He will be with them till the end of the age. This is why St. Paul who had a mystical understanding of what the Church is, especially in it being the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12), and Christ being the head of that body (Col. 1:18), adds that the Church is ‘the pillar and foundation of the truth’.(1 Tim. 3:15). Such that in her teaching of faith and morals, and in teaching and feeding us with the Word of God, the Church is Christ for us, for it is Christ who teaches and feeds us.
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Again, in Luke 5 verse 2 of the passage we see that Luke was careful to mention to us that the Lord saw Two boats by the lake, but he entered one, only one, Peter’s. This truth is especially important in our day, especially with the ongoing multiplicity of Churches and the accompanying Religious indifference sweeping through Christendom, despite the contradictions in faith and doctrine. There is only One Church of Christ, not two, but only one. That Church though spread across nations has one faith, and one baptism. (1 Cor. 1:10). This Church is that where Peter was first Shepherd and continues to be the divinely constituted steward of the flock in the Apostolicity of his successors. We even see in Luke 5:7, 10 that even the other Apostles, James and John were called too, but to Peter’s boat to help in the catch, such that gathered around Peter, the apostles became the foundation on which the Church is built. (Eph. 2:20).
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But on another note we see something that happens in this encounter between Peter and the Lord. This is very important for us to know. In Luke 5:4-5 when the Lord asked Peter to set out into the deep for a catch, though Peter explained how they had been there all night and had caught nothing, he still does it again, but this time, at the Lord’s word. In fact, to quote St. Peter himself in verse 5, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ Dearest friends, as part of the Church and members of the body of Christ we are obliged like Peter to be fishers of men, to be evangelizers, bringing people closer to experience the Joy we have in us, to be part of the body of Christ and the Kingdom of God. Each one of us is to do Apostolate, Evangelization. And so I ask, how is your apostolate going? How is your evangelization going? Like Peter does it seem as though you have toiled all night and caught nothing? Don’t you think it is as a result of your not seeking or waiting for the Lord to give his word before you set out?
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Peter set out into deep throughout the night and caught nothing; it was not at the Lord’s word. But when the Lord gave his word, there was a rich catch. It would be very beneficial to us to always put God first in our work of evangelization. Therefore the first step in evangelization is Prayer, presenting the person or people in question before the Lord, and patiently waiting for him to give his word. That way, we are going to be assured of a huge catch. We should also remember that it is the Lord who is the principal agent of evangelization for it is him who calls, and so in our work of evangelization, we are only offering ourselves as tools in his hands. Everything we do in order to get ready and appear convincing, everything we read and study are only but sharpening a tool for God to use at his own disposal. So let us like Peter seek the Lord’s face and set out into the deep at his word.
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The good thing is on the long run, he has already given his word, he is telling you and I, especially those of us who feel we should not evangelize or who are afraid of the challenges, the Lord says to us ‘set out into the deep for a catch’. That way, the result would marvel us, and like Peter and the other apostles, we will be astonished. (Luke 5:9).<br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-3267028524284361532014-08-02T22:11:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:30:06.101+01:00HAVE YOU LOST HOPE? (The Mystery of the Confessional) <div dir="ltr">
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Many of us, there are who have not being frequenting the confessional. We know quite a lot about how the Church requires of us to go for confession and we probably have not lost touch in believing, strongly believing, that God forgives us when we make a sincere confession. But that is not the problem, the problem seems to be that we do not trust ourselves so much not to commit those sins again. Many of us are tired of visiting the confessional again and again and again, having to confess the same sins, probably and most of the time to the same priest. Apart from the shyness and feeling of humiliation, those of us who have gotten past that still despair, and begin to ask what exactly the need is to go for confession when I may be back here again with the same offenses when I promised earlier that I would not sin again.</div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMsRrI1sOrYrgHU2ufe9EP2xbcxoism8shj1i0Zl55ST2-v3U0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMsRrI1sOrYrgHU2ufe9EP2xbcxoism8shj1i0Zl55ST2-v3U0" /></a>My dear friends, the good news is that when you promised at the confessional that we would not commit those sins again, we promised that we would not commit them again, not by our own power, but by the help of God’s grace. This we should never forget. It is all about grace; the supernatural life and help God is pleased to grant us through the merits of Jesus Christ in order to attain that perfection of the Divine Sonship to which he has called us. I say this because most of the time we leave the confessional scared, we want to remain in that state of grace, but we are still scared, scared because we have forgotten that we have the grace of God, and that what we should only do is to cooperate with that grace and not rely on our own strengths. For left alone, my dear friends, we cannot please God, we cannot avoid sin, especially with the weaknesses of our fallen nature and with the temptations all around us, both the ones we know and the ones we didn’t. This fright most of the time, prevents us from approaching the confessional, because we do not want to appear insincere in our relationship with God.<br />
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But we should always remember that God knows our weak human nature and that is why he continues to forgive us and offer us the gift of himself such that united with him we can conquer. But. There is also something about the confessional which we should always remind ourselves of when these kinds of thoughts come in; that in the confessional we have not only come for the grace of forgiveness, we have come for the grace to never commit those sins again. I say this now because some of us have entered into despair at one time or another, when we are so steeped in sin and we realize it and we are sorry but still we do not trust ourselves that much to go to the confessional and then not commit those sins again, other times we are even too sure that we would commit those sins again. I say, that is the moment, the precise moment to visit the confessional frequently, why, to gain grace.
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I had this experience very typically last year, when I had a lot of issues, and sins plaguing my spiritual life, some becoming habitual, to the extent that I almost lost hope. I was going through some faith crises and was not praying anymore, and these things let my guard down spiritually, but what kept me going was the confessional. I remember walking to our lord in the blessed sacrament and telling him, ‘I will never let you go unless you bless me’, I remember telling him that I knew I didn’t trust myself so much to please him perfectly after each confession but that I would never cease to come to the confessional to gain grace to fight. And that I did, I increased my frequency of visiting the confessional to once every week, and I tried not to miss out on it, for the more the illness, the more the remedy. The confessional came to be for me, really and indeed a remedy. And it worked! The Lord did not refuse me his grace and I was eventually back on my feet to struggle. I knew that if I dreaded the confessional, I would sink more and more into my sins and despair, and be drawn farther and farther from my Lord.
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I remember that even while these were going on, I asked the Lord for certain helps to prove to me that he heard me and that he loved what I did. On two occasions I asked him to show me by a sign that he was there receiving me at the confessional. The sign was that the priest in his counsel to me told me the secret things of my heart and spoke words to me that addressed my crisis and my struggles. At one time, the priest said to me, ‘You may not believe in God, but God believes in you’, I was so stunned because that addressed my faith crisis deep within. At another time, the few words the priest said to me was, ‘Do not despair, and continue to persevere’. Those words were so consoling and reassuring that I do not think I would forget them too quickly.
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Dearest friends, it does not matter what you have done, or how long you have done it, so far as you realize that you have offended him , you are sorry for those offenses and you desire to amend your ways, just trust in the grace he has chosen to offer you, and cooperate with that grace. Know that he is always there to forgive you and to hold your hands and to life you up and to heal your wounds and tend them till there is not even a scar.
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Our Life is a spiritual journey. Christ, on his way to Calvary showed us how that life is, typically. He fell, three times, but he rose up again, he didn’t fall and remain on the ground, he fell and rose up. Though he only fell three times, he fell three times that we may even after falling a million times, have an outstretched hand ready to get hold of us and lift us up. This is what he does in the confessional. So have you lost hope? Visit the confessional often!!! Go there and encounter the Lord Jesus ever ready to tend your wounds!!!
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Would you share your own experiences of Christ at the confessional?</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-63636482859540365642014-07-10T16:45:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:31:19.067+01:00THE INDISPENSABLE TRUTH FOR TODAY !!! (2 COR. 4:6-17; MATT. 16:24-27)<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6IMRswcusMaDc71js7wcjPp9tZFtDgC_dDjCzqzavgY90jkX5RG1fbY-5bPjUYvSmhgME6tnu11a_TkqDj0mXHFsfHsl3sjdzRqI7tM0bIan63rn5YsF5f2CZNRXePRmtVyxieGDVr4/s1600/IMG_18851436407372.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6IMRswcusMaDc71js7wcjPp9tZFtDgC_dDjCzqzavgY90jkX5RG1fbY-5bPjUYvSmhgME6tnu11a_TkqDj0mXHFsfHsl3sjdzRqI7tM0bIan63rn5YsF5f2CZNRXePRmtVyxieGDVr4/s1600/IMG_18851436407372.jpeg" width="320" /></a>Looking at today's readings, a particular theme resonates, from the first reading to the Gospel. This is a theme that is so essential to our Christian life, and so fundamental that it is indispensable. Unfortunately, many today look on it as unchristian, following the Gospel of men instead of the Gospel of Christ, corrupted in thought and deed by the hedonistic mentality and philosophy of today's world. Speaking of hedonism, it is no little wonder that St. Paul, the apostle we would be hearing from first today, in his second letter to Timothy in the 4th chapter, and in the 3rd verse, warned Timothy, that a time is coming when people would no longer endure sound doctrine, but would surround themselves with false teachers to please their itching ears. (cf 2 Tim. 4:3). We, today, contrary to what our forebears in the faith; the holy ones of God, lived and practiced in their relationship with God and in their journey of Sanctification by the Spirit unto perfection through the merits of the finished work of Christ accomplished in his crucifixion, suffering and death of the cross, we now do not consider this particular element of our faith life necessary, sometimes we adopt a minimalist perspective and philosophy in not wanting to do 'so much', especially one that would cost us our comfort, and so we sink into inner lukewarmness and tepidity. That is why it then seems as though Christianity has lost it's flavor, it's sweetness of old.<br />
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What else do I speak of but Mortification, Self-denial and Suffering, which are three things we have forgotten as being essential for the Kingdom of God. In other not to waste so much of your time, the first reading for today, from 2 Cor. 4:6-17 is very much related to what St. Paul speaks to the Romans about in Romans 8, which we discussed in my previous post <a href="http://credoexperience.blogspot.com/2014/05/christ-paid-it-all-but-theres-something.html" target="_blank">CHRIST PAID IT ALL! BUT THERE'S SOMETHING LEFT!!</a></div>
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St. Paul here is trying to tell us the importance of the afflictions that come our way in our struggle, in our journey with God, as he says in verse 17, 'for this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison'. The theology of how and why this is so is what he tells us from the beginning of the chapter. Yes, we should remember that left alone we are nothing, we are <b>earthen </b>(verse 6), and so we cannot do anything and nothing we do of ourselves can profit us eternally, but something has happened to us, that has made us transcend from being just <b>earthen</b>, to being '<b>earthen vessels</b>'. Because now we carry something in us, not something this time, but someone, God, 'who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ'. (verse 6). And this he has done precisely in the manner in which according to Genesis 1, he created the world, first by bringing light out of darkness, whereas we become new creations for God brings out from the darkness of our eartheness, light which is himself. </div>
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This, God has been able to do through the gift of the death of Jesus, such that if this miracle, this marvel were to take effect in our souls, we must '<b>always carry in our body the death of Jesus</b>, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies'.(verse 10). And so to show the constancy of this, he continues to say in verse 11, that 'while we live <b>we are always being given up to death, </b>so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh'. That s precisely the essence of Mortification, that is why we constantly put to death the deeds of the flesh and we always carry in our bodies the death of Jesus, and we always give ourselves up to death every day, because in doing so, we live, and we radiate the life of Christ to everyone around us.</div>
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Jesus himself then speaks to us directly in today's gospel from Matthew 16:24-27, that 'if any man would come after me, let him <b>deny himself</b> and take up his cross and follow me' and that those who lose their lives for hs sake will find it. Brothers and Sisters, that is the essence of Mortification and Self denial, that is the advantage we have as Christians, that we can offer up the sufferings and disappointments that come our way daily, for our salvation, that we can convert in some way, a disappointment into a blessing, sadness into Joy and death into life. Is that not the mission of Jesus? to bring life to dead souls? So, we in being Christs to others, and to the world would then with the light of grace infused into our souls, bring Joy to the world through Mortification, Self-denial and suffering, and thus show this suffering world, the path to true happiness in Christ. Peace be with<br />
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F, Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-25578699373130999642014-07-08T07:22:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:32:52.149+01:00A BRIEF MESSAGE TO CATHOLICS…<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: center;"></span><span style="text-align: center;">Well, today my plan is not to list out the whole of the
beatitudes to you. In fact, today my word goes out to all Catholics. You as a
Catholic need to come to realize what tremendous riches that you have been called
to participate in as a Catholic Christian. You as a Catholic need to seize upon
the treasures God himself has been willing to adorn his Church, You as a
Catholic need to live in harmony with the entire family of the Church, to
really encounter Christ in His fullness. I say this because I am aware that a
lot of Catholics out there are persecuted, now I do not mean, necessarily being
killed but I mean being scorned and rejected, and treated like a piece of shit,
just because you are a Catholic. Do not allow these things to get to you, and
do not even think of retaliating because that is not the Christ way or the
Catholic Way. The Catholic way is to rejoice that you have the opportunity to
share in the persecutions of Christ, that you have the opportunity people are
looking for to suffer with Christ and so reign with him.</span></div>
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Dearest friends, we need to strengthen our Catholic Faith
and we need to preach it to the world, come what may, for it is the only Christian
faith that has stood the test of time, and it is the only Christian Faith that
comes straight from the hands of the Divine Master himself, so rich and
inexhaustible. It is time for us to be true soldiers of Christ and be at the
forefront of the battle against Sin and Death, and the reinstatement of the
reign of Christ, the Eucharistic reign. Are you a student, a doctor, an
engineer, a carpenter, a secretary, a wife, or husband, or even a cleaner, are
you a market seller? There, is where you called to give supreme witness,
excellent Marturia to the truths of your faith.</div>
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Some of us experience embarrassment and humiliation, plus
disgrace all because we tick to our faith. Sometimes, this embarrassment comes
from people we are friends with, or even people we love. It is our duty and
obligation to teach them the way. Open your Bibles! Cherish the Mass! Say your
Rosary! And be a Saint!!! The world
needs more of those these days. Offer up every embarrassment or persecution you
face to our Lord, He himself knew that you were going to face the same, just as
he did. Since we are then his body, the world will continue to persecute us just
as the world persecuted Christ.</div>
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Do not be discouraged my dear brothers and sisters, live in
love, and cherish the gift of one another as Catholics. Pray for one another,
and commune with the Saints in heaven. For we are one big family holding hands
around our Divine Master, the Trinity.</div>
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-74828673393404140102014-07-07T08:08:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:33:59.269+01:00THE LORD IS GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL<div align="right">
In Psalm 145:8, today’s responsorial; we are told that the lord is gracious and merciful. And what other Bible passage to accompany it than from Hosea. It is from Hosea, precisely two chapters from the one we read today Hosea 9, that I first heard God talking so compassionately to Israel, about how he had loved Israel and how Israel had broken his heart. In today’s reading we see that He calls Israel his wife, and he is the husband, what Love! And sincerely, this is but a tip of the iceberg as to the vast and boundless ocean of his Love and Mercy. God is madly in love with us! He himself is love and he has loved us from the very beginning of our existence, in fact it was precisely that Love that willed to bring us into existence in the first place, a love that is himself, he had been offering us himself from the beginning and has not ceased to offer us himself, and like St. Paul says, nothing can separate us from that infinite love of God. He himself makes sure that nothing does, especially, in the sacrament of Penance, where he has guaranteed that we would experience his healing touch in our Souls, wiping away all stain of Sin, that we may encounter his Divine Mercy.<br />
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What kind of faith do we have in the Love and mercy of God? In today’s gospel reading in Matthew 9, from verse 18-26, we see a woman with a hemorrhage and a man whose daughter had died, confident that the love of Christ was over and above all of these things that plagued them. The official said to Jesus, ‘ My daughter has died, but come lay your hands on her, and she will live’. Confidence! The woman with the hemorrhage said to herself, ‘If only I shall touch his cloak I shall be cured.’ These two set good examples for us as to the kind of confidence we should have in the love and mercy of God. May that be the path on which we tread as we discover the vast riches that he is pleased to offer us in him.
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-76057300473902333882014-07-06T10:12:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:34:55.438+01:00A KING ON AN ASS; AN EASY YOKE<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="text-align: left;"> Today my dear friend the Lord comes to us on an ass, on a
donkey, a King on a donkey. This is what we read from the first reading from
Zechariah 9:9-10. Of course, this image reminds us of the triumphant entry into
Jerusalem and how our King was going to be seated on his throne in Jerusalem,
on a donkey, the poorest of animals. Not on the magnificent royal horse, but on
a miniature beast of burden, a donkey. There are two things we need to learn
from this. First, we see how ordinarily he comes to us, how it is in an
ordinary and poor fashion that he comes to us, not in a majestic manner. Most
times we feel that the Lord would come to us in something of a noise, of sirens
and convoys, and other times also we feel that the Lord needs some royal
preparation from us, as though he wants to visit us in festive moods alone, and
in high spirits. But today we learn that Our Lord wants to come to us in every
mood, in fact, in our ordinary life, in our day to day activities, in the
little things that color and busy our lives, that is where God wants to meet
us, ordinarily.</span></div>
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It is also in this ordinariness of our lives that we find
our burdens, things that cause us anxieties and worry, things that cause us to
plan and disturb ourselves, things that cause to keep late nights and burn
midnight candles, these things are not in high lives that we don’t live, but in
the ordinary lives that we live, these are precisely the things that
characterize us, that define us. That is precisely the door which he knocks on.
Like the priest said to us at Mass today, it happens that when God comes to
meet us in our ordinary lives we are not around to meet him, when he comes and
knocks it happens that we do not open the door for him to enter and help us
with our burdens.</div>
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In today’s gospel, from Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus tells us to
come, to come to him, all of us who labor and are overburdened and that he will
give us rest, that we should take his yoke upon us and learn from him, for he
is meek and humble of heart, and we will find rest for ourselves. Why don’t we
do this? Notice that the Lord did not say we wouldn't have burdens, rather, he
is offering us his, he is offering to carry the burdens with us. He is offering
us a chance to let our burden be his burdens; that is where we would find rest.<br />
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The problem happens to be that most of us do not want rest;
most of us are so used to heavy burdens that we desire to be crushed, to be
pitied, to be felt sorry for. We are so used to our restlessness and lack of
peace of soul, that we refuse God’s hand. In our ordinary life, we prefer to be
the beaten ones and not experience the Joy and the liberty that comes from God.
Dearest friends, it is time for us to rise up from the dusts and ashes that we
lay helpless in and embrace the helping hand of God. It is time for us to have
peace and enjoy that peace and joy that comes from being children of God. It is
time for us to be people who offer Love and Mercy to others and not people who
demand for it. Like in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, it is time for us
to be instruments of peace and not victims of war, it is time for us to desire
more and more to show people love without being the ones expecting others to
how show us love, to show people care, kindness and forgiveness without being
the ones expecting care and kindness, to notice people without being the ones
expecting people to notice us, because like the prayer says, it is giving that
we receive, and it is pardoning that we are pardoned.</div>
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This Sunday, let us decide to be apostles of peace and Joy,
and not victims of war and sadness. Let us bring Christ to others and let them
experience an easy yoke and a light burden, so that we may all enjoy that
liberty that the Lord has been pleased to grant us his children.<br />
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-49440421362820773182014-07-05T10:00:00.003+01:002015-06-09T09:35:41.255+01:00WHAT DO YOU THINK GOD WANTS FROM YOU?<div align="right">
<span style="text-align: center;"></span><span style="text-align: center;">In Psalm 85:9, the responsorial for today, we hear “The Lord speaks of Peace to
his people”. And for some days now we have been reading from the Prophet Amos,
who was sent to Israel, the Northern part of the divided kingdom to preach to
them a message of repentance, to come back to their God. The kind of repentance
Amos preached was what I would call a bit more thorough, because this time it
concerned a change of heart and a questioning of conscience in the worship of
God. This time the people of Israel had not stopped offering sacrifices to God,
they had not another God in place of God, like Baal, but there was a lot of
injustice and unrighteousness, even when they did not do all these.</span></div>
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It was as though they were now doing God a favor, for they
still did evil while offering sacrifices to God. This is why God said to
them in Amos 5:21-24, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in
your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and
cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your
fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll like
waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”. It may sound strange at
first, especially to some of us now that God is refusing to accept sacrifices.
This is because many of us think that the reason why we are called by God is to
offer him sacrifices, and worship. Some people already see going to Church,
even on a Sunday, as a duty, not to talk of on a weekday. Sometimes we feel God
needs our presence and our money in the offertory box. The truth is that he
doesn’t!!! This is why in Psalm 50, a corresponding Psalm to Amos 5, in its 11<sup>th</sup>
to 13<sup>th</sup> verses we hear God say, “I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you;
for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or
drink the blood of goats? “. So that is not what God wants. From Amos 5, we see
that what God wants is Justice and Righteousness. During the prophet Amos’ time,
it happened that If someone owed you money, you deserved the right to strip him
naked and take him to the market place and sell him off in exchange for goods.
Well, you can say, ‘what injustice!’, but you can also say, ‘what lack of love!’</div>
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God wants justice and Righteousness to flow from us and
around us, because that is what would give us Love and Peace. And in order to
find Justice and righteousness, we must find God. And in other to have Love and
Peace, we need God. What does God want from us? He wants our Peace. He wants us
to experience Love and Peace unending, He wants us to have Him, our ultimate
Love and our ultimate Peace. At this point I remember that St. Augustine said
to God, “You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they
rest in thee”. Is that not what many of us look for today in this war-torn world
that is full of selfishness and struggle? Here and there we hear of people
suffering and economies going bad, we hear of kidnap, and murder and bomb
blasts, we even experience a lack of Love among us, as though, we are doomed to
want things only for ourselves? It is precisely this that God has come to erase
from our world, if only we can look away from created things, and fix the eyes of our hearts on him. That is the only way we can find that Peace which the
world cannot give. (John 14:27) In the book of John 20:21, after Jesus rises
from the dead, he greets his apostles with ‘Peace’. And Ephesians 2:14 says that He is our peace.</div>
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It is remarkable how God wants to give us Peace and Love. In
fact, after what we read in Amos 5, we read in Amos 9 today, from verse 14, “I
will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the
ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their
wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon
their land and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land which I
have given them.”</div>
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In the gospel of today from Matthew 9 from verse 14, the disciples
of John came to ask Jesus why they and the Pharisees fast but his disciples
didn’t. And what did our Lord tell them? That the wedding guests do not fast
when the bridegroom is with them. They make merry and are joyful, because the
bridegroom will provide wine for the feast. But when the Bridegroom is taken
away from them? Then, they will fast. When Christ our bridegroom is with us, we
experience feasting, for our hearts are at peace and are full of the love which
he brings. We need to pray that he remains with us always, we need to spread
that Love and that Joy around us, in our dealings with others, so that the
whole world would come to know the Peace which it can never find, except in
God. God wants, and has come to give you Peace!<br />
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-37298229078991079162014-07-02T00:37:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:36:32.177+01:00YOU ARE PETER!!! (MATT 16:18)<div dir="ltr">
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Dearest friends, I wish to share with you a little meditation on last Sunday’s Bible reading. On that day we celebrated the solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, two great apostles indeed. But let us take a look at the gospel passage from Matthew 16:13-19. Here we see Christ himself commissioning Peter to be the rock on which his church is built. A lot of arguments have arisen against this, arguments that, for me, really do not hold water, given the simplicity of the text. But let us look at this text and shed some light on them.</div>
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One cannot miss the fact that Jesus is talking to Peter here because he is so direct. Four times he came out directly at the Apostle with those solemn words which we cannot miss. “BLESSED ARE YOU, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven”. (Matt.16:17). “AND I TELL YOU, YOU ARE PETER, and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”. (Matt. 16:18). “I WILL GIVE YOU the keys of the kingdom of heaven, AND WHATEVER YOU bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. (Matt. 16:19). Four times in three verses Christ addresses him directly, it would be highly incomprehensible for one to suggest that somewhere in the middle, Christ was making reference to something else, but despite that, let us take a closer look at these verses.
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YOU ARE PETER, remember dear friends that his name was first SIMON, and that Christ changed his name the moment he saw him, without giving him any reason why. And up until now, Christ has not addressed him directly with this name in this manner, in fact, he uses both his names here, one in a commendation, a blessing, and then another in a responsibility which is a fruit of that blessing, a privilege which he intends to grant him, but not just now, but which he had already intended to grant him from the beginning. In the Bible anytime God changed someone’s name there was a reason, usually a responsibility, one which was closely related to the covenant plan. This truth really is also something we should meditate on, I mean, the call and the changing of the name, a new name. we see this in the change from Abram to Abraham, Father of a multitude of nations, from whose seed with Sarah whose name was also changed from Sarai, the promised Messiah would come who would bring God’s people from all the nations into the one family of the kingdom of God, the Church.
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Peter from the Greek Petros means Rock. It is of the masculine gender because the subject is masculine. If peter were female he would have been called Petra, the feminine word for Rock still, you see why the Petros/Petra argument holds no water? The word for the object ‘rock’ in the Greek is Petra, because it is assigned a feminine gender, something like how the word ‘table’ in French is feminine.
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Some argue that Petros means ‘small stone’ and Petra means ‘Rock’. This is really wrong Koine Greek, which is the language the New Testament is written. The Greek word for small stones in Greek is Lithos, and not Petros. We see this in the temptation of Jesus, when the devil asked him to turn the Lithos to bread in Matthew 4, the same gospel writer, and also in the triumphant entry into Jerusalem where Jesus could command the stones, Lithos, to sing praises.
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A closer look also at the Greek text would reveal that the way the sentence is structured, the second mention of rock had to refer grammatically even, to the first mention of it. You are Petros, kai taute Petra. ‘Kai taute’ when used together means something along the lines of, ‘and on this very’, an adjectival phrase descriptive of a previous noun. So we have something like, ‘You are Rock, and on this very Rock, I will build my church’. God builds on confessors and not on confessions, the Church is said to have the Apostles as its foundation in the book of Ephesians. There can not be confessions without confessors and God came not to save and call confessions into his Kingdom to be part of it, but confessors.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8UrjQTdEZ2LQPkgN5BFJ6o3MFx02a-c_OOBTtlGB3iVyj02O_h9UPxuTFOx4bErUOS0Br936O0Ync4mJJvZAyHHMt1mfv8DouI2jRR85FGjtALyANmFvG9q9v0Vh_vCfpRsK0q9PmVU/s640/IMG_20140702_002302.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8UrjQTdEZ2LQPkgN5BFJ6o3MFx02a-c_OOBTtlGB3iVyj02O_h9UPxuTFOx4bErUOS0Br936O0Ync4mJJvZAyHHMt1mfv8DouI2jRR85FGjtALyANmFvG9q9v0Vh_vCfpRsK0q9PmVU/s640/IMG_20140702_002302.png" /></a>I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS, the one with the keys to the kingdom, to a house, is one of really great authority. We know this from the book of Isaiah 22:20-22, “In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the Son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your belt on him, and will commit your AUTHORITY to his hand; and he shall be a FATHER to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the KEY of the house of David, he shall open and no one shall shut, and he shall shut and no one shall open”. Compare this last sentence with, ‘whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven…’
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It is remarkable to note here how it is the kingdom of David during the reign of Hezekiah, that this passage is talking about, the same Kingdom of David, which is the Kingdom of God, as in 2Sam 7, the seat of David is the one Christ would seat on in the New Covenant, and so we have something of a fulfillment in Christ using the symbol of the keys to give the Chief steward of that kingdom in the new covenant, one who would be Father in his Name. little wonder in John 21, Jesus tells him three times, feed my sheep, take care of my flock, feed my lambs.
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We thank God for his covenant love for us, we thank Him for the gift of Peter, and of Paul, and of the Church. We ask that through the intercessions of these Great apostles who gave their lives for the Kingdom of God. For the Church of God, that we may remain steadfast in Faith, strong in Hope and in the Love of God that binds us all together as one communion in Christ. We also pray for our Holy Father, who is the successor of Peter, that as he ministers in that holy office of Peter and in his Charism , God would keep him, direct him and through him, bring souls back to the one family of God’s people, so that we all can enjoy the liberty of the Children of God. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.<br />
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-64304889063345645272014-06-28T00:14:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:49:42.358+01:00WHO ARE THE “SONS OF GOD” IN GENESIS 6:2?<div dir="ltr">
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Hello friends, I recently started a study of the bible with St. Paul’s Center for biblical theology, and since then it has been all ‘eye-opening’ for me. This is because, not only had I discovered new things about the bible that I never knew in my life, I also realized some views I held to or assumed which were probably due to my reading religious materials that were not Catholic during my childhood. I mean like the famous ‘My book of Bible Stories’ which up until some years ago I did not know was written by the Jehovah’s witnesses. Anyway, part of the things I realized was the identity of the ‘Sons of God’ in Genesis 6:2. Up until some years ago, I had assumed or rather learnt that these were Angels of God, obviously with no biblical proof whatsoever , though later I began to wrestle with the text, as that particular interpretation didn’t seem to cohere with the rest of the early chapters of Genesis.</div>
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It is important to note how you start from Genesis 1 and you hear of creation, the first covenant, the fall and then the curse, and then the descendants of Cain in chapter 4 and those of Seth in chapter 5, and then in chapter 6 you begin to hear about these angels mating with women and then God doesn’t say anything, and moves on to Noah which was left off from the end of Chapter 5. It seems the author of Genesis has no reason to have mentioned that ‘angels’ married women, and is just telling a passing story that really has no significance whatsoever to the whole text. Again, that is not really consistent with the real purpose of the author from the beginning, but nevertheless, the author of Genesis does not use the word ‘angels’ but ‘sons of God’. The question now is, from the bible, can we freely assume that ‘Sons of God’ here ultimately refers to ‘angels’? From my studies of scripture and scholars, the answer is NO! Though some scholars hold to this view, the amount of biblical evidence against it is still yet to be flawed.
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Firstly, the bible does not use the phrase ‘Son of God’ for angels alone. In the bible the title ‘sons of God’ is used for angels of the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1), for rulers like King David and his Son Solomon (2 Samuel 7:14; 1Chronicles 17:13), and for men in covenant union with God (Hosea 1:10; John 1:12; Romans 8:14, 19; Wisdom 2:13; 5:5 etc.). So it is apparent that we cannot ultimately conclude that these referred to angels.
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One fact that ruled out the possibility of the belief that these were ‘angels’, for me, was Matt. 22:30. Here Jesus himself made a statement, while he was reprimanding the Sadducees, a statement which he felt no need to argue. When he was posed the question about the woman with 7 late husbands, and who will be her husband in the end of time, Jesus replies them saying: ‘For at the resurrection men and women do not marry, no, they are like the angels in heaven’. Here Jesus clearly implies that Angels are spirit beings. They do not have a physical form and they do not procreate. The striking thing about this passage is how freely Jesus makes the statement. So Genesis 6:2 was not referring to angels in heaven because angels in heaven do not marry, according to Jesus. And then even as Jesus has said that the angels do not marry, if we were to assume that the angels went ahead to do something not ordained by God, nowhere is that suggested in Genesis 6, in fact the chapter doesn’t seem to propose that there was something wrong in the act of angels marrying men. This leaves us with a question.
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Some scholars, trying to get around this block, have suggested that the ‘sons of God’ mentioned were not angels in the heavenly court but were Fallen Angels. There is something really wrong with this view because first, nowhere does the Bible refer to the fallen angels as ‘Sons of God’. Secondly, would it then be suggested that God chose to create souls through such a union? For fallen angels have no power to create children or even to create anything at all. That prerogative belongs to God alone, who could not have created through such an unnatural union just as he cannot create offspring from a marriage between homosexuals.
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And so, after considering all this, in line with the conclusions of St. Augustine, St. Ephraim, St. John Chrysostom and in line with the Church’s authoritative teaching on the matter, I agree to the fact that the ‘Sons of God’ referred to herein Genesis 6:2 were actually the descendants of the promised seed of Seth, and the daughters of men were the descendants of the cursed line of Cain. The line of Seth is the line God chooses to further perpetuate or continue his covenant relationship with man. Earlier in Genesis 5:3, we hear only of Seth that Adam fathered Seth, “in his own image, after his own likeness”, something we do not hear of for Cain and even Abel, something that is only mentioned about the 4 chapters earlier in Genesis 1:27 and 5:1 concerning Adam, who was made in God’s image, after his own likeness. Therefore the line of Seth, still contained something of the divine spark left in Adam after the fall, and was the line where the descendants, ‘walked with God’ , as we hear of Enoch in 5:22, 24 and Noah in 6:9, both descendants of Seth.
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And so, the intermarrying between people of the covenant and the cursed line brought about a more perpetration of vice and in fact a loss of the spark contained in these children of Seth that God had to say in 6:3,’My Spirit shall not be responsible for human beings, who are only flesh…’. The vice increased and this led to the flood which Genesis 6 and following is wont to describe, and God still saving a descendant of the line of Seth, Noah, and re-establishes a Noahide covenant with him.
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Finally, we must bear in mind the style with which the author of Genesis presents the first few chapters of the book of Genesis. He presents these Historical truths using Figurative language and in the case of 6, mythical language, for their existed similar mythologies in the Near East of spiritual beings mating with mortals and having offspring who are demi-gods. This does not mean the author is writing myth, but is using mythology as a tool to communicate a truth and to explain an event. <br />
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-85324460287549149672014-06-02T22:10:00.001+01:002015-06-09T09:55:16.961+01:00STAY WITH US… (LUKE 24:29)<div dir="ltr">
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<span style="text-align: center;">Dearest friends, I have just returned from a retreat, a very wonderful experience of having to leave the daily activities of this world and our daily struggles to be alone with God, to ask ourselves certain questions and to make resolutions on how we are going to forge ahead in our journey to become saints, to become holy, which is precisely the will of God for us. We all should really try it once in a while, to retreat and be with our Lord in prayer and having to hear him speak to us.</span></div>
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Also in this season of Easter, we have just celebrated the Ascension of our Lord which is a very remarkable time for us. Christ has gone to be with his Father where He is seated at his right hand. Is he no longer with us? We know that precisely he goes so that he can send us the Holy Spirit, which we will be celebrating in a few days time. But while at the retreat, during the meditations, there was something that struck me. Before now we have at one time or the other in our previous discussions mentioned the encounter of the two disciples, Cleopas and his friend on their way to Emmaus, with Jesus. From verse 28 we read that as Jesus made to go, they told him, ‘Stay with us…’. And Jesus entered their home and revealed himself to them in the breaking of the bread.</div>
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Yes, it is true that Our Lord has ascended into heaven but he also remains with us. In fact he wants to stay with us more than we want him to. And this is why he has left us the Eucharist. Despite the ascension Jesus stays with us and has chosen to stay with us in order to reveal himself to us, in order to commune with us, in order that we may abide in him and we in him. He stays with us in the Eucharist to increase our Faith, to heal us and give us strength to face the struggles and troubles of the world. </div>
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A friend of mine told me, ‘No! Jesus is in my heart’, when I tried to explain the Eucharist to him as the real presence of our Lord. To that I replied yes he is, he is precisely present to us in lots of ways, I mean, as God he is everywhere. But in the Eucharist he is present to us in a unique manner, I explained to him what Fulton Sheen, the venerable taught me, that it is precisely out of a deep love for us that Jesus is not just content with living in our hearts, he wants to enjoy with us the three intimacies of love, which are sight, touch and hearing. Jesus wants us to see him with our eyes, to touch him with our bodies, and to hear us and we hear him. That for us makes a lot of difference because we are human, body and soul, he does not only want us to have him in our souls, he also want us to touch him in our bodies, such that we are more conscious of a real presence, we are more conscious that he is precisely staying with us. That way we can gaze at him in the Sanctuary to see his strength and his glory. Love grows more when we are able to see the one we love, and to touch the one we love.</div>
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Also in the Eucharist, and precisely through the reception Christ through our bodies, he fuels and feeds his presence in our hearts, such that every moment we receive him is like another encounter with the Lord where he comes to fill us with his presence, his life and his love. This way, he becomes the food of our souls, feeding our souls with life, the life of grace, eternal life, the life of God. The Eucharist becomes for us a fountain, from where we draw grace, and life.</div>
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My brothers and sisters, Jesus stays with us. Like he stayed with the disciples at Emmaus in the breaking of the bread, he stays with us today in the breaking of bread, at each Mass, there, we come to heaven, we come to a well-spring, we come to draw life, we come to a communion of Love.<br />
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-43079030881208557632014-05-20T14:53:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:51:34.125+01:00Now You have got to see this Video!!!Hello Friends...I came across this video that gives a wonderful explanation of Mary and the various biblical truths relating to her.. deep in Scripture and yet very exciting...<br />
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I learnt some more things there. It would be something you would want to share to friends and family after watching...<br />
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Are you a Catholic on fire for the Gospel and for the defence of the truths of the Catholic Faith and want to get a quick and yet profound summary of the biblical teaching on Mary?? then this video is for you....<br />
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Are you a non-catholic seeking to know where and how from scripture, Catholics hold Mary in high regard...and what exactly the Bible has to say about it?? Then this video is also for you!!!<br />
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I wouldn't want to feed you with the details...check it out and see for yourself...<br />
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Be part of the New Evangelization by sharing this as well for others to see...<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-66270358665723887852014-05-13T00:51:00.002+01:002015-06-09T09:52:34.568+01:00THE VOICE OF THE GHOST AND THE DIVINE ENCOUNTER<div align="right">
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As my friend and I were meditating on the scriptures this evening, we came to the passage in Matthew 14:22-33 where Jesus walked on the sea. Many of us have come across this passage countless times and there is even a song in my language that relays the events in this encounter on the sea.</div>
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But today, as we were sharing our thoughts on the passage, some things struck me. In verse 26 we are told that when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. And continuing we read that immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, “Take heart, It is I, have no fear”. And then Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me to come to you on the water.”<br />
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I began to ask myself, as Matthew tells us, the disciples had first thought that they had seen a ghost, what was it in Jesus statement, ‘Take heart, it is I, have no fear’, that made Peter recognize him as the Lord. For Peter had called him ‘Lord’. It was then that my friend told me that it must have been his voice. And yes, it must have been! At once I remembered yesterday’s reading at Mass about the Good Shepherd. In John 10:2-4 we read, “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his VOICE, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his VOICE.” Remember that Peter had said, ‘Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you…’
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From this encounter therefore, it is so with us, who follow Christ in this age. Can we truly recognize the voice of the shepherd whenever he calls to us? Especially in this age when there are so many voices that call out to us. Is it possible to us that we can recognize the voice of our dear shepherd amidst the noise, even when he does not have a face? Remember that when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they had concluded that it must have been a ghost. They couldn’t recognize him. This goes to show us too that Our Lord can come to us in the crowds as a faceless person, someone we would not even consider at first glance or even at a second glance to be the Lord, someone we may not even know, a ghost to our knowledge of Christ. But can we recognize the voice of Christ whenever he speaks to us from a ghost-face or from a faceless voice? From the tout on the street, from the poor man by the roadside, from someone who we naturally dislike?
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In today’s reading from Acts chapter 11, we are told how Peter, a Jew, opened his heart to recognize the voice of the Lord, and the presence of the Lord, at work in the Gentile community. For though they were Gentiles, he could recognize Christ at work in their midst when the Spirit came upon them and he baptized them immediately. He also explains this to his fellow Jews and some of them are able to also appreciate the marvel of Christ in the midst of the Gentiles. Are we ready then to recognize Christ as He speaks to us through those whom we deem even unfit for Him?
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How can we recognize our Lord’s voice? To naturally recognize someone’s voice without a face, against all odds, there must have been that special moment or a series of special moments when we come into an intimate encounter with that someone, that one whom we love. A moment of bonding where we get so familiar with the voice of the loved that even without seeing his or her face, we are able to recognize him or her when he calls. For the apostles on the lake, that moment had just occurred, though they did not fully understand it. It was St. Mark who relayed this to us when he writes his account of this same incident in Mark 6, in verse 51-52, we are told that the Apostles were astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. For earlier before Our Lord made them to go into the boat and cross to Bethsaida on the other side, Christ had multiplied the loaves. In other words, there was something about the miracle of the loaves that should have been for the apostles or at least taught them the intimacies of the Divine encounter. It is St. John in the sixth chapter of his gospel who explains to us in clear terms that Christ had intended to show them that in the breaking of the bread, in the loaves over which thanks had been given, which had been blessed and broken, they would encounter him. For in the breaking of the bread, Christ gives us himself, for he said, ‘I am the Bread’. The Eucharist therefore becomes for us that special moment of encounter when we commune with Christ, where we get so familiar with his voice that we are able to recognize this voice in the noise, amidst the crazy storms and the noisy winds, and amidst the difficulties in rowing our boat to the other side. And there in the Eucharist he says to us, “Take heart, it is I, have no fear.”
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6003135578454762950.post-19934907197681423512014-05-07T04:54:00.000+01:002015-06-09T09:53:45.704+01:00CHRIST PAID IT ALL! BUT THERE'S SOMETHING LEFT!!<div style="text-align: right;">
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Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it is my wish to inform you of a great mystery, a deep reality ever so present in our lives and in our experience as Christians. You may probably know this but Christ died for us all. He died for you and for me so that through his glorious resurrection we might be brought to life in him. On the Cross in John 19:30, the Lord cried out, ‘It is finished’. And so he had won for us our redemption, the eternal sacrifice had been consummated.</div>
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But is it true that there remains nothing to be done for our salvation to attain its fulfillment? I do not think so. And the Bible does not teach that, and this I intend to show you. Yes, Christ has finished his work of redemption and there is nothing lacking in his work but there is something still needed for that work to become manifest in us. And what is that? That work has to be applied to our souls. And that is precisely why Our Lord sent the Holy Spirit; to apply to our souls the complete merits of Christ on the cross, and to reproduce in us Christ himself and by Christ I mean, Christ in his suffering, death and resurrection, and the application of redemption is just as essential. Many people find it hard to come to grips with this particular truth because it involves suffering, and nobody likes to suffer. ‘For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few’. (Matthew 7:14). We don't have a binary deity, the Father and the Son; we have a Trinitarian deity, a family -- a Father, a Son and a Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I come to baptize with fire and spirit." (cf. matt.3:11; Luke3:16). And so, when the Spirit comes at Pentecost, tongues of fire appear, and whenever the Holy Spirit appears, there is Holy Fire. When we are taken up into the Spirit, there we are consumed with a passionate, burning love, the furnace of Christ's heart, the reality of the Holy Spirit, the fiery love of God. That is not because Christ's work is not enough. It's rather the application of the work of Jesus Christ. <br />
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It is really funny that those who advocate that we need not do any other thing in order to gain salvation still say that we should have Faith, that we should call upon God, that we should ask God for forgiveness, and that we should arise and pray. We shouldn’t do all these things if at all we need not do any other thing. The essence of Christianity is Christ reproducing his life in us like I have said. He didn’t die for us that we may find all things rosy and smooth, he died for us so that with the help of the Holy Spirit we would through his merits on the cross die to ourselves and to our sins and by so doing gain salvation. <br />
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St. Paul knew this very clearly and he teaches this in the Bible. Little wonder he says in Philippians 2:12, ‘Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING’. And to show that we are not just doing this on our own but that now as Christ has died for us and has sent his Holy Spirit to reproduce in us the life of Christ he continues in verse 13 to say, ‘ FOR GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU, BOTH TO WILL AND TO WORK FOR HIS GOOD PLEASURE’. If all has been paid for and we were just expected to sit and relax and live our lives the way we please and then get salvation in the end, why did he ask us to work out our salvation? For Paul, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross does not mean that we do not need to do anything anymore but that we can now do those things which were once difficult for us to do by our own strengths because now Christ lives in us and it would be really him doing all those things through us. <br />
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We see this clearly in Romans 8. A chapter of the Bible that St. Paul devotes to life in the Spirit, that aspect of our salvation that involves the Holy Spirit applying the fruits of the complete work of Christ to our souls. It is important to note that up until Romans 8, St. Paul has mentioned the Holy Spirit only once in chapter 5. But in this particular chapter he mentions him about 18 times. And in his opening verse he stresses this important fact, turn with me to Romans 8 from verse 1 to 4, there he begins, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ why? Verse 2, ‘for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.’ How? Verse 3, ‘for God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,’ wow, so that we could sit down and relax and forget the law for they no longer apply to us? NO!!! Verse 4, ‘IN ORDER THAT THE JUST REQUIREMENT OF THE LAW MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US, WHO WALK NOT ACCORDING TO THE FLESH BUT ACORDING TO THE SPIRIT’. That is precisely what we’ve been talking about, the law is still binding on us, the law still has to be fulfilled in us, because the requirements of the law are JUST requirements, but now, it is easier for us, it has been made possible for us because we have the Spirit. <br />
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St. Paul then goes on from verses 5 to verse 8 telling us of how the Spirit is really the life of our souls and how we should set our minds on the Spirit who gives life to our souls and not on the flesh. And then in verse 9 he continues, ‘But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him’. And in verse 10, ‘But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness.’ And you might stop here and say well, our mortal bodies are dead, therefore nothing we do can really make sense, but wait, St. Paul is not finished yet, in verse 11 he says, ‘IF THE SPIRIT OF HIM WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD DWELLS IN YOU, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST JESUS FROM THE DEAD WILL GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES ALSO THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WHO DWELLS IN YOU’. So not too fast, the spirit gives life to your mortal bodies previously dead because of sin, but now completely alive and capable of fulfilling the just requirements of the Law, of working out your salvation, for then it would be Christ working through you, of suffering, for now it would be Christ suffering through you. In Colossians 1:24 St. Paul says, ‘Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church’. What is Paul saying? Is he saying that Christ suffering was not enough? NO! He is simply happy that he could be another Christ for the body of Christ, that Christ is reproducing his suffering in him for the sake of the Church. He hints at this further in verse 29 when he says, ‘For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.’
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So back to Romans 8, St. Paul is not done with us yet, he continues in verse 12, ‘So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-‘. Guess you saw that didn’t you? WE ARE DEBTORS, WE STILL HAVE A DEBT TO PAY; not that Christ has not paid it, but he has paid it once and for all, and now the Holy Spirit needs to apply that to our souls. And in verse 13, ‘for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live’. In other words, if you mortify the body, you will live. And this we do by the Spirit. On our own and with our human power we are incapable, but with the Spirit it becomes possible, and that is the source of our life. Brothers and Sisters that is what Penance is really all about and everywhere we are taught that in Scripture. We need to do Penance every day. In 1 Corinthians 9:27, St. Paul says again, ‘But I suffer my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified’. That’s how important Penance and mortification is. Verse 14, ‘for all who are led by the Spirit of God are Sons of God.’ Verse 15, ‘for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have the spirit of sonship. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’’. In other words this should not get you scared, the Spirit you have received is not one of fear but one of Sonship.
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St. Paul then continues in verse 16-17 with something that is very important to our discussion, ‘it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, PROVIDED WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM’. There! That’s it! That’s the bombshell. Why didn’t he stop right at the beautiful promises of being heirs, why is there a condition, and what is that condition? A bed of roses? NO! SUFFERING!!! <br />
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By the way, St. Peter also develops the idea and necessity of suffering in 1Peter4. In verse 1 and 2 he says, ‘Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same thought, FOR WHOEVER HAS SUFFERED IN THE FLESH HAS CEASED FROM SIN, SO AS TO LIVE FOR THE REST OF THE TIME IN THE FLESH NO LONGER BY HUMAN PASSIONS BUT BY THE WILL OF GOD.’ And in verse 12 he continues to say, ‘Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you.’ Really, he says, it’s not something strange, you should rather, ‘rejoice in so far as you SHARE CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS, THAT YOU MAY ALSO REJOICE AND BE GLAD WHEN HIS GLORY IS REVEALED’. (v13). So even Peter taught us that we are meant to rejoice at suffering and not behave like it’s something strange to Christianity, like some pastors today preach, but that we should be happy because Christ living in us, our sufferings are therefore a share in his.
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And so not to daunt us, St. Paul goes on from verse 18 of Romans 8 till the end of the chapter in verse 39 trying to convince us that the suffering we would undergo is nothing compared to the glory ahead (v18), that in the end it is us who win for creation is awaiting our glorification, which must come through that suffering for God has ordained it so, so that out of the futility and decay we may would be set free and then enjoy the glorious liberty of the children of God(v19-27). He then reassures us of Christ’s love for us, and how it is God’s will that everything in the end would work together for our good, he tells us of how we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, something I have mentioned earlier, such that the life of Christ would be reproduced in us. He also assures us that it is not the suffering we undergo, of whatever kind, whether tribulation, or peril or persecution that would separate us from the love of Christ, nothing of that nature separates us from the love of Christ. For in all these things we are more than conquerors, for the love of Christ for us is too strong, stronger than any principality or power or angel or height or depth. (v28-39).
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Do we now see that even Paul understood and clearly taught what we have been talking about? But not only Paul, St. James too, the brother of our Lord, clearly taught that for our salvation it was not just that Christ had died and it is finished, it is not even faith alone, but also our works too, that count for our salvation. In James2:24. The holy apostle wrote, ‘You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone’. And this is precisely where Martin Luther, the protestant reformer got it wrong in teaching faith alone, and this is where many protestant denominations get it wrong. St. James asks them, ‘What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?’ (James 2:14). In fact, dearest friends the phrase ‘faith alone’ does not occur anywhere in the bible except in James 2:24 and there what we see is ‘not by faith alone’. <br />
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Precisely why does a Christian’s work also save him? Because now it is not just his weak human nature alone doing the work, it is Christ in him doing the work in and through him, such that his work has taken up a new dimension, a supernatural dimension, as it were Christ in him, that soul being in a state of grace, that soul can gain merits, not only for himself but also for his brothers and sisters with whom he shares solidarity, merits that are profitable unto salvation.
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Brothers and Sisters, Christ has done it all, Christ has paid for our salvation on the cross. But the merits which he won for us on the cross still needs to be applied to our souls by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us by reproducing in us the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, such that our weak human nature takes on new strength, new life in Christ, in order that now being conformed to him, we might fulfill the just requirements of the law. And this sanctification wrought by the Holy Spirit involves suffering, it involves mortification and penance, putting to death the deeds of the flesh, it involves charity, which St. Peter says in 1 Peter 4:8, covers a multitude of sins. All these and more we still need to do, and we can only begin that journey to our ultimate sanctification, perfection and salvation if we have faith, for without faith we cannot please God. (Heb. 11:6). This is what the Bible teaches.
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From your friend and brother: Chibuzor F. Ogamba</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01319255812886741981noreply@blogger.com4