…Visits Ajah Deanery
Ajah Deanery, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos was a beehive of activities last week when His Grace, Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos visited the Deanery since its creation. The four-day first pastoral visit of the Chief Shepherd which held from October 26 to 29, 2022, took him through all the parishes and institutions of Ajah Deanery, also saw him visit mission territories where he interacted with the flock therein. The missionary tour of the Archbishop featured spiritual exercises with the people, including Mass, holy hour, adoration, benediction, blessing of new clergy house and culminated with administering of the sacrament of confirmation on over a 100 candidates at Mass held at Our Lady Mother and Queen Catholic Church, Badore, Ajah. Delivering the homily and singing hymns on the occasion, Archbishop Martins informed the people that every time one sings a hymn, they are in fact praying to God. He advised the people that when they sing at Mass or any other liturgical function, they should pay attention to the words of the hymn that they sing.
“Hymns are not sung just for rhythm or because they sound pleasant to the ears, rather, every hymn is a prayer”, he said. Speaking on the sacrament of confirmation, the Archbishop thanked God for the gift of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Church that come from the Bible, in fulfillment of the promise of Christ to lead the apostles to the complete truth. According to him, “What we are doing here today my dear friends is to thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit that He has given to His Church and to members of the Church.” The Archbishop assured the confirmands that in the sacrament of confirmation they receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, adding that the lord will complete whatever they are lacking as he makes them adult Christians and soldiers of Christ who will bear witness to Christ and His gospel. He informed the candidates that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a matter of grace as he advised them to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit and be instruments to renew the face of the earth.
Giving the vote of thanks on the occasion, Very Rev. Fr. Stephen Akinsowon, Parish Priest, Our Lady Mother and Queen, Badore and Dean, Ajah Deanery gave thanks to God for bringing the Archbishop to the Deanery to visit the parishes and institutions. According to him, God gave the Archbishop the strength and the energy to cross the water to visit the people of God there, as he added that they can simply say that the week is a mission week. He said: “Sunday, October 23, we celebrated Mission Sunday and after the Mission Sunday, the Archbishop deemed it fit to visit our parishes, and in fact, he visited a mission territory known as Itomu Island. Your Grace thank you for spending your mission week in Ajah Deanery; for reaching out to the poor and the needy, giving them hope and sucour again. “We could see the faces of the people of Itomu Island, your presence gave them new hope, renewed strength and new zeal to serve God just as your presence among us gives us reactivation of faith and reactivation of hope.”
