…Tasks Catholics on value of God’s words
Catholics have been urged to make out time to read the Word of God, which is the Word of life that strengthens the faithful, as they are reminded of the importance and value of the Word of God in their life and the growth of their faith. The charge was given by Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos last Sunday, while delivering the homily at Mass at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Owode, Ikorodu, Lagos at the end of his four-day Pastoral visit to Ikorodu Deanery. Calling the people to evangelization and to bring Christ to others, Archbishop Martins pointed out the need for them to strengthen their faith and become instruments in the hands of God by bringing others to come and know about the faith that they cherish so much. The Archbishop said If they are going to grow in holiness of life and in faith, Catholics must use the means of grace that God has given to them, which are the Word and sacraments. He said: “We must use the sacraments of penance, Holy Eucharist, and if we ever fall sick, the sacrament of the Anointing of the sick and all the other sacraments because they are means by which we shall attain holiness of life.”
Congratulating couples who were celebrating the anniversaries of their weddings, as well as renewing their marriage vows, Archbishop Martins prayed that the step that they took many years ago will be that which will lead them to eternal life. He prayed that their marriages and married life will be instruments in the hands of God by which the couples will attain holiness of life. The Archbishop thanked God as he said his visiting the people of Ikorodu Deanery, afforded them the opportunity to come together and experience the love of God. He said: “I have had the opportunity of being in this deanery, meeting the priests, meeting the people, looking at the different projects that have been going on within the deanery. We have had not less than 17 stops, including the palace of Anogore of Ikorodu Land. And each of these stops have been expressions of the grace of God. The grace of God that we can experience as we interact as bishop to people and to the priest. I pray that our engagement in this week will continue to be a source of strength, a source of growth, a source of God’s presence among us through Christ our Lord. He disclosed that the purpose of his coming to visit are first of all, is to pray with God’s people, and to pray for one another. He said: “By the grace of God, we have had the opportunity of praying with one another, and we know that our prayers could not be and cannot be in vain because God is with us. Another purpose for coming is to help to strengthen one another’s faith, to help to strengthen our faith in the world that sometimes is hostile to faith in God and particularly faith in Christ and Catholicism, more particularly. “Isn’t it in our country that we have heard of different activities and atrocities that have shown so much aggression against the Christian faith.
We have seen how it is the case that villages that are predominantly Christian have been attacked by so called bandits, people have been killed, properties have been destroyed, lives have been disrupted and people have been displaced? Very Rev. Fr. Basil Okoro CM, Dean, Ikorodu Deanery said the visit of the Archbishop to Ikorodu Deanery afforded the faithful the opportunity to meet with their Chief Shepherd, who catechized, encouraged and prayed with them. He said most importantly, the Archbishop came to see the situation and reality of Ikorodu Deanery, adding that he saw things firsthand by himself. He said: “It is good for him to see things how they are. They were areas he needed to see things for himself for example, Odokekere which is a border town with Ikorodu and Ijebu-Ode. It was an opportunity for him to see the place that has been much talked about. One of the most interesting things was his visit to the Oba’s palace. It was a meeting of state and religion. The Oba was very happy to receive him and was very pleased that he considered him worthy to visit him. And it was a thing of joy that he visited him. The Oba pledged his readiness and willingness to assist in any way.
