Thousands of members of
Blessed Iwene Tansi Prayer
Movement, Catholic Arch-
diocese of Lagos gath-
ered recently at St. Michael Catholic
Church Lafiaji to mark the feast day
of Blessed Iwene Tansi.
The event was preceded by Holy
Mass celebrated by His Grace Most
Rev Dr Alfred Adewale Martins and
assisted by the Parish Priest Very Rev
Charles Orekoya and the Chaplain
of Blessed Iwene Tansi Prayer Move-
ment Archdiocese of Lagos Very Rev
Msgr. Livinus Ukah.
In his homily, Archbishop Martins
charged the people of God to always
emulate the exemplary lives of saints.
“We value the lives of Saints; men
and women who lived in this world
like we now do; they suffered like
us, had same experiences as we now
have and yet they were able to remain
faithful to God. We must imitate their
lives so that we too can be where they
are. Blessed Iwene Tansi was known
for his discipline and focus. He was
not distracted by the values of the
world. The world we live in is full of
greediness and selfishness. Blessed
Tansi reminds us that we can over-
come selfishness and greediness in
the way we live.”
He encouraged the faithful to live
their Catholic faith to the fullest so
that they can draw others closer to
God.
“If you want to be a Catholic, be
faithful and thorough so that every-
body will recognize and follow you.
Be proud of what you are as a Catho-
lic. That is what Blessed Iwene is to
us Ignorance of the scripture is igno-
rance of Christ. Anyone who claims
to know Christ without knowing the
scriptures is deceiving himself. God
and the church call on us to read the
Bible. Let the word of God have a
prominent place in our homes.”
The highlight of the event was the
unveiling and blessing of the statue of
Blessed Iwene Tansi.
