Joy and celebration resonated among members of Serra International, District 130-B Nigeria, when the group celebrated its Patron feast day and induction of new members in style. The event which was held recently at St. Jude Catholic Church, Mafoluku, Lagos saw the 11 clubs that make up the district troop out in their numbers, clad in their sparkling white attire to honour St. Junipero Serra, their Patron Saint. Delivering the homily at Mass, Rev. Fr. Moses Arung, OP urged the faithful to always listen and obey God, and not treat His words with contempt, adding that they should rid themselves of the sin of pride which creates a gap between them and God.
Fr. Arung asked the people not to be hostile and allow the sin of familiarity take over their lives, as he advised them to go to confession and not take the mercy of God for granted. He commended the Serrans for the work they do in the Church, as he prayed that God will grant them the necessary graces to carry out their apostolate and mission for the promotion and sustainability of the vocation to priesthood and religious life. He prayed that God grants the newly inducted members the grace to make spiritual advancement in their lives. For Serran Olusegun Anjorin, the District Governor, he reiterated the cardinal points of his tenure, as he encouraged the members and clubs to be part of Serra International Foundation, adding that they need to put money there so they can be able to go there and get money.
On education, he said: “We are trying to operate a new thing at 130B, that is the university of Christian Principle. We are putting out the programme every month, where presidents will come out to speak on the entire topic so that all can enjoy.” On vocation, he said that is the main job as the organisation needs to promote the culture of vocation, urging the clubs to go through the strategic plan 2024 to 2027 to discover items to engage their members at each parish on the essence of vocation. The DG harped on the importance of spirituality and communication, as he stated that the district intends to improve on communication, calling on the clubs to key into that, to make every club visible.
According to him, “The truth is that we are saying people don’t know Serra, but we are not making efforts to make them to know Serra. We have to be more visible, and that is the truth. If you are not visible nobody will know you. You have to come out in the media, including Catholic and secular to project and make people know about Serra. St. Junipero Serra, was a Spanish priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He was born on November 24, 1713 in Petra, Spain and died on August 28, 1784. He was beatified in September 1998 and canonized September 2015.
