‘I will like to emulate her purity’
Our Blessed Mother has millions of virtues that are worthy of emulation but the one I will like to emulate as a missionary child is her “PURITY”. This means being in control of our passions and bodily desires, so that they always move us towards following Jesus Christ in faith and love. As a missionary child, I will like to be free from sin and have oneness of heart and mind in seeking God. Our Blessed Mother’s heart and mind were pure. She lived her life with unity of purpose, seeking only to serve and love God with her whole heart, mind, body and soul (Deuteronomy 6:5 ). Oh! Blessed Mother, I will like to emulate her by humbly following our Lord Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments, even when it is not easy in the school, church, at home and on playgrounds. All I need is to courageously move forward in faith even when facing fear and uncertainty. In fact Our Blessed Mother is the quickest, shortest and easiest path to Jesus. If I get closer to Our Blessed Mother then I will love her, if I love her, I will want to imitate her and imitation leads to a desire to make her known.
• Eneh Esther Akachukwu, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Victory Estate (Iba Deanery).
‘Our Blessed Mother’s humility’
Our blessed Mother was humble, she had the fear of God and that is one of the reasons God chose her to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and even after receiving the prophetic messages, she remained calm and pondered them in her heart. Now the question is how can I possess this humility? Is it by bragging? No! Is it by fighting? No! To possess humility, we must think of ourselves as low even when we are in high positions.
• Emiri-Dumbi Clare Ozioma, St. Hilda Catholic Church Obadore (Iba Deanery)
‘Love, righteousness, kindness, divine purity’
Mother Mary has a lot of virtues among them we have; love, righteousness, kindness, humility, honesty, prudence, lively faith, blind obedience, divine purity, ardent charity, universal mortification, continual prayer, heroic patience and many more. I want to talk about her humility. Humility is the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance. It is also the freedom from pride or arrogance. Mother Mary has the quality of humility, she didn’t carry herself around as the mother of our saviour instead she saw herself to be equal to us and that is why she intercedes for us.
• Joannah Nneoma Eguzoro (Ss. Peter And Paul Catholic Church, Baruwa (Ipaja Deanery)
‘Her profound humility; her blind obedience’
I will like to imitate the following virtues of Our Lady: “HER PROFOUND HUMILITY” (1 Pet. 5:5): Our Lady was totally submissive to the will of God and pride was never seen in her character. HER BLIND OBEDIENCE: she never questioned the decision of God in her life. She kept pondering over everything in her heart while accepting the will of God. HER CONTINUAL PRAYER LIFE: Our Lady lived a life of continual prayer without ceasing and this brought her into close relationship with God her creator and to her son our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Emmanuella Oluwaremilekun Ogayemi, Our Lady Help Of Christians Catholic Church, Iba Town (Iba Deanery).
I want to be gentle like Our Lady’
Our Lady is the purest of all creatures, she has a gentle nature, never was it heard of our lady getting involved in a quarrel or a fight, I want to be gentle like Our Lady. Another thing I want to imitate is her openness and kindness. She was a very kind lady. She demonstrated her kindness to Elizabeth and also in the wedding feast at Canaan, if she wasn’t kind, she won’t have spoken to our Lord Jesus Christ to help out. I want to show kindness to everyone I meet. Furthermore, she is a sinless creature, she also has a caring nature and she is our protector, never was it known that anyone who fled to her protection and implore her help was left unaided. She guides and protects her children in every step they take. I want to be a problem solver; I want to be able to help those around me.
• Enwere Miracle, St. Denis Catholic Church, Bariga (Yaba Deanery)
‘I want to be like Our Lady ’
The virtue of our Lady I will love to emulate is obedience. Hers was not blind obedience in which she had no say; instead, she exemplifies the fullest meaning of obedience through her willingness to hear what God has sent his messenger to tell her. I want to be just like our lady in that way by obeying God and my parents.
• Barnabas Awaki –Ss. Joachim & Anne Catholic Church, Meiran (Ipaja Deanery).
‘I want to imitate our Lady in the Act of Charity’
I want to imitate our Lady in the Act of Charity by doing the following things:
• Helping the poor.
• Loving my neighbours as myself.
• Going to visit the Blessed Sacrament at least once in a week.
• Thanking God for what he has done in my family and friends.
• Anokwuru Mirian, Ss. Peter And Paul Catholic Church, Shomolu (Yaba Deanery).
‘I would like to emulate all her virtues and be a model to my colleagues’
Mary is a caring woman and mother. She doesn’t like thinking of herself alone; she is totally different from other women. When the Angel Gabriel told her that her cousin, Elizabeth was pregnant (Luke 1:36-38), she went to Elizabeth’s house to stay with her for about three months not making excuses for herself as she was already in state. Also, Mary is patient, this she displayed when the Angel Gabriel told her that she is going to give birth to the Messiah, she was patient and waited for the right time and the fulfilment of the message. In conclusion, Mary is said to stand out among women of all generations because of her various virtues. As a Catholic and Christian, I would like to emulate her virtues and be a model to my colleagues.
• Faith Aligwo, St. Joseph Catholic Church Aradagun (Badagry Deanery)
