Christians, Catholics in particular, have been asked to live lives of holiness and of love for fellow humans, church and nation, so as to be in good stead with God, and eventually become saints at the end of their sojourn on earth. The charge was given by Very Rev. Msgr. Bernard Okodua, while speaking at the commemoration of the 60 years’ memorial of Blessed Michael Cyprian Iwene Tansi, organised by Blessed Tansi Solidarity Prayer Movement, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, last Sunday, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Ojota, Lagos. Msgr. Okodua said love is the first quality trait of anyone who wants to be a saint, adding that love of God is foremost, and should be expressed in neighbourly love for fellow humans.
Quoting St. Augustine Liguori, he said that any Christian who does not aspire to live a life of holiness is a bad Christian, as he charged the people to live authentic Christian lives of honesty and dedication. “Is our hope a Christian hope? Is our hope a Catholic hope? Are our children properly married in the church? Are they going to good schools? Are they involved in pornography and fraudulent practices? If they do, what have we done about it?
Have we checked them? Have we corrected them or do we leave them to it because they are grown-ups? “So, they can take care of themselves. If we are so lazy, negligent in our duty towards our family as parents, how can we say we want to be saints?”, he asked. Msgr. Okodua urged the Tansi Prayer Group to ensure they spread the devotion to Blessed Tansi far and wide. “So, my brothers and sisters, our celebration today challenges us to spread the movement. We are all challenged to learn about him, read about him and tell others about him. “Perhaps, we can make it more vibrant by inviting more people to join in the various Blessed Tansi Prayer Movement in parishes, so that when we have this annual celebration, it will be bigger than what we have now.
And in fact, it will be a national celebration. Delivering the homily at Mass, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Onyia, Chaplain, Blessed Iwene Tansi Prayer Movement called on the people to repent and believe in the good news, so as to conquer the darkness of sin around them, just like the people of Nineveh did when God sent Jonah to them. He said the Word of God is so important and urgent that people need to respond to it because of the many problems happening around the world. He added that humans have neglected the base, focus, and shield that attracts God. He said: “The Word of God helps us to conquer evil and sin. The Word of God helps us to bring order over chaos, security over danger, joy over sorrow, truth over fortune, life over death, and salvation over temptation.”