Fr Ogundipe Sdv

                                        The Ascension of Jesus is often presented as a slow lifting of Jesus from the ground, like a rocket rising up and getting lost in the clouds.  This is the imagination one gets from the gospel accounts.  But then we must careful not to read these accounts as if they were a report of a concrete event.  The author is not interested in describing an historical event.  He makes use of expressions and images taken from the culture of his time to teach us some very important points about the person of Jesus and about the life of the Church.             Where is Heaven? :     According to the Jewish belief there are three regions in the universe: the upper one, above the sky, supposed to be the abode of God:  the earth, the abode of human beings; then the region inside the earth, the ‘sheol’ the abode of the dead.             But heaven is not a place to be located above or below.  Heaven is where God is.  Heaven is there where God can be seen a

The story of the ascension is told in Acts 1:9, following the Gospels. It tells us that “He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight”. In verse 11 it adds, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The story of our salvation began with the Incarnation of Jesus who became man by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Blessed Virgin Mary. He lived with us , loved us, but On Good Friday he was crucified and he died for the sins of humanity. On Easter Sunday, God raised him triumphantly from the dead. And now, forty days after his resurrection,  we celebrate his ascension into heaven. The solemnity of the Ascension celebrates the glorified and victorious return of the word of God – the risen Jesus – to heaven {Reynolds Ekstrom, "Ascension” in The New Concise Catholic Dictionary}. This solemnity ooccurson a Thursday, forty days after Easter or the following Sunday

“I believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;” this can be only a verbal declaration that lacks inner living force. Many persons say what they think that they know but they do not understand what they say. Oftentimes, we proclaim God the Holy Spirit, but it may surprise you that a vast number of us do not know Who the Holy Spirit is. When we speak in tongues, and think that we have received the Holy Spirit, is that all? We invoke the Holy Spirit for healing, and healing comes, is that all about the Holy Spirit? This reflection becomes more urgent as the Lord Himself has kept urging, “speak about the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit has been starved so terribly of love. His yearning in our hearts, in the world, and in the Church now calls for unavoidable attention. How can anyone experience His power when he or she does not love Him; how can one say he loves the Holy Spirit when he does not relate with Him? The Holy Spirit is not just a wind, a cloud, a dove, pillar of

By Rev Fr Nwankuba Valentine Azubuike sdv  In the name of the Father and of the Son+ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father………… Hail Mary …………Glory be…………… God our loving Father, we come to you as one people beyond race, colour, culture, ideology, creed, occupation, profession, education, gender, vocation, mission, ministry, age, nation, continent, and the sentiments of doubt. We believe you are our first beginning and last end. We worship you the One true God. We acknowledge your power and might, while appreciating the gift of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ and the Redeemer of the world. We appreciate the gifts and activities of the Holy Spirit in our lives, faith and family, and Church. Together in faith we humbly call on you as one family of peoples throughout the world this day. We appeal for divine intervention with healing against the Coronavirus pandemic and bless us with its eradication in the world. Protect your children all over the world. Heal those infected a

On this Mothers day, let us be in deep and sincere appreciation of our Dearest Mothers. Let us also pray earnestly for them as we recall clearly their steadfast gifts and utmost care for us all. . Kindly sing along and pray this song ...  *MY MOTHER* Who sat and watched my infant head When sleeping on my cradle bed, And tears of sweet affection shed? My Mother. When pain and sickness made me cry, Who gazed upon my heavy eye, And wept for fear that I should die? My Mother. Who taught my infant lips to pray And love God’s holy book and day, And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way? My Mother. And can I ever cease to be Affectionate and kind to thee, Who wast so very kind to me, My Mother. Ah, no! the thought I cannot bear, And if God please my life to spare I hope I shall reward thy care, My Mother. When thou art feeble, old and grey, My healthy arm shall be thy stay, And I will soothe thy pains away, My Mother. . May God continue to bless, guide and

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The Divine Shepherd is always a good Shepherd, but what about you the sheep In todays Gospel, John 10:1-10  something important struck me about the sheep. “…the sheep follows because they know his voice. Do you know the voice of the shepherd? They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers” (John 10:4-5). As it was with the Palestinian shepherds, so it is with God. The bond between the sheep and the shepherd is the recognition of his voice. The sheep know his voice, they understand his whistling, they understand his mumblings, they understand his signs and only because they know his voice as different from that of a stranger, they followed him. Can we say this of ourselves? Christians! Can we truly say we are following the Good Shepherd? Brothers and Sisters, do we recognise Jesus’ voice in the midst of the deafening noise, crippling fear, concocted lies and orchestrated deceits in our world? Where is our bond with the shepherd if we