Catholics have been tasked to learn to seek personal encounter with Jesus, in order that Jesus may reveal himself to them and they in turn can know him better, love him better, listen to him better and be committed in proclaiming the good news in their own private evangelisation initiatives. The charge was given by Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos during his homily at the Confirmation of candidates and Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Saturday, August 6, 2022, at Catholic Church of the Assumption, Falomo Lagos. Archbishop Martins stated that every Catholic has a duty to think out what private initiative they are going to take in order to help others to come to know Jesus, as he added that evengelisation is not a crowd activity, but a personal effort that each person should make.
He said: “Our personal initiatives should be the evidence that we not only know Jesus so much, but we love him so much and are willing to give whatever it takes that he may be made known in our own environment.” Recounting the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, the disciples’ weaknesses, including Peter, James and John that witnessed the unique experience, the Archbishop said the disciples were able to recover from their weaknesses, as they stood up for Jesus to proclaim the good news. Archbishop Martins said that failure in character does not have to be permanent in people’s lives, adding that failure in the practice of the faith and weakness in moral life does not have to be a habit that they are unable to do away with. He said: “Falling into sin does not mean remaining fallen in sin. If you fail, if I fail or we all fall, these great men of faith that we celebrate their religious personal encounters today shows us that we can rise from our fallen state and do great things for God in His Church. “That is something for us to take away from the experiences of James, Peter and John. And what that means also is that if anyone falls whether he be a lay person, man or woman, whether he be a priest or religious, let us take the posture of assisting him or her to rise.
That is what the Lord expects of us.” The Archbishop informed the newly confirmed that they have become adults in the faith, and that Jesus will be recruiting them in His army as they have become soldiers of Christ. He added that what makes them adults is the grace of God and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. He urged them to take the responsibility that adulthood confers upon people, “When you are a child you behave like a child, when you are a teenager, you behave like a teenager, but when you are an adult, you behave like an adult who are strong in the faith and bear witness to the faith that they have.” For his part, Very Rev. Fr. Francis Ike, Parish Priest, Catholic Church of the Assumption, Falomo said he considers it a unique honour with a very deep sense of utmost humility and indescribable joy to welcome and thank in a special way God the Heavenly Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Fr. Ike thanked the Archbishop on this epoch making event of his visit to the parish to confer the sacrament of confirmation on 365 brothers and sisters. He disclosed that the last time the sacrament of confirmation was celebrated in the parish was in the year 2003 where they had 65 confirmands as against 365 on this occasion.
He said: “I am particularly happy and I am sure the parishioners are very happy because within these past two decades, our candidates have been sent to other parishes, but now, other parishes have come to Catholic Church of the Assumption, Falomo. “Again, history is made as His Grace has celebrated this sacrament for us here in this divine dwelling of Our Lady of the Assumption. We are glad to be part of this achievement. He commended all who made the occasion successful, including the instructors and parents, as he congratulated the confirmands and enjoined them to be true soldiers of Christ. “Allow the Lord to use you as you have promised to be true soldiers. I commend you all to the intercession of Our Dear Mother, Our Lady of the Assumption that she may continue to intercede for you and for all of us today and always through Christ our Lord.” The confirmendi consists of candidates from nine parishes, schools and chaplaincies in Lagos Archdiocese, including Holy Cross Cathedral, St. Gregory’s, Ikoyi and the host parish.
