A Prayer of Acceptance
O’ God of all creation, in your wisdom you made all creatures great and small and called them forth in their kinds to declare the glory of the works of your hands. Let all that you have made never cease to praise you; for in living according to the order of their nature, all creatures bear witness to your almighty power which gently guides creation towards freedom and peace. Grant therefore to us, the people you have made in your image and likeness, the grace to truly embrace our humanity in all its imperfections and weaknesses knowing that your grace is enough for us. AMEN Dan Aigbona In Mt. 28:18-20, Jesus empowered the Church to continue His mission when he said, “Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations.
Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of time.” This great commission is not reserved for the priests and Rev. Sisters alone but has been handed to all men, women and children, whom God has called, to proclaim the Good News. This unique call is what we live out in our various pious societies and in the C.W.O. The characteristic mission of the Christian individual, men, women and children alike is the proclamation of the good news of a God who has come to dwell amongst his people.
This mission is even more evident when it is proclaimed not merely by words but is exemplified in the shared experiences of the daily struggles, joys, sorrows, tensions and vicissitudes of the human individuals. It is within this context that the reality of the incarnation (i.e., the self revelation of God) can be made more present within the ambit of human history.
Women as Powerful Influencers
Women have always been powerful influencers through history. The scriptures abound with examples of women who were powerful positive influencers and others who were equally powerful Negative Influencers like Delilah and Jezebel and even Eve. In the Blessed Virgin we see the example of great courage and trust in the face of a daunting and uncertain future when she took a leap of faith by saying yes to the invitation of God through the Angel to be the Mother of God’s own son. Hers was an uncommon demonstration of total faith in the providence of God who promised to always supply our needs according to his riches in Glory (Phil. 4:19) Another example of a woman who demonstrated uncommon faith and courage is Queen Esther who intervened to save her people from death.
Veronica also showed great courage by stepping up to wipe the face of Jesus in a precarious situation where the Apostles ran away for fear of their lives. The women we celebrate as feminine heroes of the bible were not always perfect but their faith saved them. For example Mary of Magdala who did not abandon Jesus in death and was thus rewarded with the favour of being the first to proclaim the news of his resurrection. Again, Rahab (the prostitute) who helped harbour Hebrew spies was rewarded after the walls of Jericho fell. She became an ancestor of King David. She in particular is an example of redemption, how one can rise from the lowliest position in society to an exalted one Faith in God causes you …..to step up. Whatever your past has been, nobody can label you, only God, the one who exalts the lowly can give you a name.
Faith and Faithfulness
When you look around churches, it is not difficult to see that women usually exceed men in number. By simple laws of mathematics, it suffices to say that there will (or should) be more women in heaven, because faith comes by hearing the word of God and it is faith that will save us. Women have a special grace from God that none other of his creatures have. That grace is evident in the scriptures and abounds even today if only we realise it and make the most of it. Several cultures (in Nigeria as well) give women a backseat but we live by the culture of Christ. What side of history do you want to be? How do you use whatever platform God has given you to glorify his name? In an online class the teacher asked the students to write a short essay on “Corona” This is what someone wrote.. Corona is a big Chinese festival celebrated by both the young and the old all over the world.
During this festival, schools, markets, churches etc are closed and exams are cancelled. Everybody wears masks during this festival. It’s the time when every school going children gets a smart phone as a gift from their parents. During this festival, Daddies learn cooking, washing and cleaning, while mommies and children spend their time with mobile phones. I love Corona festival very much. The above passage may have been chosen to be a parody on the mouth of a child but indeed it is a succinct summary of what the Corona pandemic has imposed on the world. First it was a virus that was surreptitiously exported to the rest of the world from China and no one at first knew what it was all about.
