To kick-off the year and commit it to the hands of God, the youth of St. Matthew, Amukoko, Lagos, organised a Camp Fire Night with the Lord, recently in the church premises. The programme which began with Rosary Procession, climaxed with songs of praise and worship with everyone gathered around the fire. The day also had the youths watching from the projector, the movie, “The Pope’s Exorcist,” based on the theme of Repentance and Reconciliation, as the Parish’s CYON Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Gregory Onaji gave a talk.
According to Fr. Onaji, “The only thing that can truly defeat us is ourselves. So, let us go to reconcile with Christ and forgive ourselves, else our sins seek us out…God uses us for his purposes irrespective of our past”. He left the audience with questions to ponder on in groups, which include, ‘How important is it to forgive yourself? Why does it take so long to go for confession? What are those things we do that normalise sin? Among others. Afterwards, the group leaders reported the results of the group discussions. Among the results were concerns on familiarity with a priest being a discouragement to attending the sacrament of reconciliation.
The Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Innocent Opogah, clarified the confusing areas, as he emphasised that Reconciliation is a sacrament of love. According to him, “Jesus shows how much he loves us and invites us to experience and reciprocate that love…and that there should be no fear, for we go to meet Jesus and not the person of the priest. The Benediction began with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The occasion also had counselling sessions and confession, as the people prayed and sang songs before the Blessed Sacrament led by a guest artiste, Emmanuel Excellent.
Then everyone gathered around the fire where written intentions were blessed by the Parish Priest and burnt incense; with the incense and singing of Psalm, the people processed into the church to participate in the rite of dropping incense in a pot of burning coal. Closing remark was given by Fr. Onaji to conclude the eventful and enriching religious activity. The event was attended by about 185 people, including youths, adults and children and non-parishioners, with the Parish Priest and his Associate participating all through the course of the ceremony.
