The Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins has expressed the need for Catholic faithful to get themselves acquainted with the many treasures of the faith so as they would not be swayed by the wave of Pentecostalism. Archbishop Martins gave the charge while speaking to parishioners of St. Thomas Catholic Church, Onilekere, Lagos, during his Canonical visit to Agege Deanery recently.
On the actions of the Church concerning Pentecostal influence on the faithful, he said, the faithful get swayed because they are unaware of the treasures of the faith, as he recalled a statement credited to a Protestant couple during a retreat he attended at Fatima, Portugal. According to him, the couple declared saying: “While Catholics possess the depth of the Christian faith, we (the Pentecostal movement), do the showmanship.” The Archbishop disclosed that the Church commits so much in producing faith building resources which it uses various avenues, including the internet, to reach out to its members.
He urged the faithful to avail themselves of the Church’s resources via the internet to grow their faith, stating that if the Church has committed so much to produce such resources, the onus is on the faithful to seek them out and make use of them to grow in the faith. Archbishop Martins challenged the community, including the societies in the Church to dedicate some parts of their meetings to spiritual development, even as he regretted the common complaints he gets from Priests on their frustrations in organising spiritual programmes which are often shunned by parishioners. On the absence of a Parish Priest since March 2024, he said sometimes in life, there are moments of trials, for a sustainable resolution, there is need to withdraw into retrospection, which may take a while to produce desired solution as he assured the Parish of expected interventions as at when due.
On official commissioning of Parish Chapels of Perpetual Adoration where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, His Grace explained that there are procedures which include ensuring the safety, security and sacredness of the place. According to him, if the place is desecrated the entire parish will have to do reparation, hence the Church takes its time to declare a center as a place of Perpetual Adoration.
Sir Charles Egbe, immediate past Vice Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council said that the Archbishop had restored the wavering faith of the parish following the absence of its priest. He assured that the parishioners will come out of its trial stronger in attending weekly and Sunday Mass.
