Fr Ogundipe Sdv

CAN I BE A SAINT? Yes!!!! Saints are drawn from all walks of life, kings, princesses, politicians, clergy men, thieves, harlots, the poor, the rich, children, adult, etc. there is no profession or vocation that is not represented among the galaxy of saints of the Holy Mother church. To be honest saints are part of our family they are our brothers and sisters. You can be a saint if you co-operate with the grace of God that is already sufficient for you. Do you know that saints were not created rather they were made. We all have equal chance to be saints. God, because of his infinite love for humanity gave us free will to choose what is good but often times we chose evil. We are responsible for our choices, yes, our sainthood. All the saints, from St. John the Baptist onwards, agree with one voice that holiness is attained only when we do well what we have to do. It is impossible for one to become a saint if he does not force himself to do what he is expected to do. A most important p...

What is “synodality?” The term is often used to describe the process of fraternal collaboration and discernment that bodies like the synod were created to express. But some critics have suggested that the term is vaguely defined, and could be used in a move toward a more democratic or parliamentary way of governing the Church and teaching doctrine. Dr. Jessica Murdoch, associate professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology at Villanova University, told CNA that while the modern Synod of Bishops was established by Pope St. Paul VI in 1965, the practical reality of synodality is “nothing new.” “What the synod is, practically speaking, is an advisory panel. It is a body which gives the pope a way of discussing the issues of the day, and receiving feedback and advice from the episcopacy. St. Paul VI may have given it its current shape, but the reality is that popes have always done this, consulting with their bishops on different matters, in one form or another.” Murdoch said that ...

This is the story of the Virgin Mary’s miraculous birth   Philip Kosloski | Sep 08, 2018 According to tradition, Mary's parents were barren until God answered their prayers. Little is known authoritatively about the Virgin Mary’s early childhood and family. However, an ancient text from the year 145, called The Protoevangelium of James, provides a narrative that many saints have turned to when wanting to learn more about the Virgin Mary. According to the unknown author, a man named Joachim was saddened at not being able to conceive a child with his wife, Anne. It’s recorded, “Joachim was exceedingly grieved, and did not come into the presence of his wife; but he retired to the desert, and there pitched his tent, and fasted forty days and forty nights, saying in himself: I will not go down either for food or for drink until the Lord my God shall look upon me, and prayer shall be my food and drink.” Similarly, Anne “mourned in two mournings, and lamented in two lamentations, ...

TRANSMISION OF FAITH AND MORALS It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom to reveal himself to Man, in His will. This economy of revelation is realized by deeds and words, which are intrinsically bound up with each other. God wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation. He chose some leaders like Abraham and Moses with the race of Israel, and made them widely known among the nations, and at the fullness of time Jesus came down to live with human family. The mission of Evangelization which begins from Christ; the evangelizer, to the evangelizing Church, in which Jesus Christ Himself is the Good News of God (Lk 4:45) must therefore be transmitted from generation to generation. The family therefore, has always been a privileged channel for the transmission of this Gospel. Parents transmit their faith by being and living like real Christians. When children perceive the generosity and Christian meaning of life through the words and behavior of their parents and grandpar...

PRAYER TO THE HOLY TRINITY Oh Most Holy trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I want to praise you in St. Lawrence. I want to love you more and more in him, help me by his intercession, and let me attain divine union with you. Let me see the world as a sanctuary where I can work hard for my sanctification and that of every human person on earth. Let all my actions be toward divine union, grant me to se always Jesus in my fellow men, to see the poor, the lame, the blind, lepers, widows, orphans and all who are handicaps in one way or the other as treasures of Christ, loving and serving them. Lastly to you, oh my dearest St. Lawrence obtain for me the grace to die in the bosom of virgin Mary, mother of God and when I breath my last, present my soul to the trinity as a precious treasure. Amen. DAY ONE O most Holy Trinity, Father, son and Holy Spirit, you endowed St. Lawrence with great passion to embrace Martyrdom with a courageous heart. The blood he shed is like a seed sown, fertili...

GO INTO THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS:  MARK 16:15,  A SUMMARY ON THE PASTORAL LETTER OF MOST REV. PETER ODETOYINBO THE CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ABEOKUTA DIOCESE, 2018  The Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta, Most Rev. Dr Peter Olukayode Odetoyinbo has emphasised the need to promote the ideals of the kingdom of God through the preaching of the Gospel. The Bishop captures the essence of the missionary mandate in his recent pastoral letter addressed to the clergy and lay faithful of the diocese in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of his episcopal ordination.  The Pastoral message resonates with the continuous effort to improve and promote the missionary activities which are pivotal to the evangelisation programmes in the diocese of Abeokuta. According to the Chief Shepherd, the good news of the gospel must be spread in every nooks and corner of the diocese dethroning the menace of fake news flying everywhere. Every Catholic, particularly in Abeokuta diocese, is ...

WHO IS JESUS FOR US. (A reflection given by Fr Stephen Ibitokun to priests of Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta on the day of priestly sanctification at holy family Catholic church Ewupe) What a very simple question that takes us back to the fundamental root of our Christian calling. The essence of our gathering this day, besides many of our gatherings is to reflect on this. Let us try to answer this question: Jesus Christ is our Savior and Master. Yes He is. That is why we are here on this account as Christians and His disciples. How does our Christian calling make positive impacts on the lives of others in the bid to win more souls/disciples for Christ? “Jesus my Savior is all things to me, Oh what a wonderful savior is He, Guiding, protecting o’er life’s rolling sea, Mighty deliv’rer, Jesus for me.” Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Yes He is. As His disciples,  we have been called to carry this light wherever we go; to illuminate our lives, society, community ...

CORPUS CHRISTI Today’s Solemnity is a celebration of the gift of the Eucharist “the source and summit of the Christian life.” “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” The traditional day for this celebration is the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. The reason Thursday is chosen is because Jesus celebrated the Last Supper on the Thursday before he died when, according to the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke), he shared the gift of himself with his disciples during the Passover meal. Many local churches have moved the celebration to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. The Passover meal or Seder meal is the meal celebrating the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt. This meal has great and profound religious meaning in the Jewish community. It recalls their exo...

SAVE YOUR OFFSPRING, MOTHER LAND By Rev. Fr Linus Akali Ihebirinachi It’s another midnight Though faint, not the darkest night Only the brightest of this nightlight The colors and rays of the moonlight So has become the ordeal of our nights Worst when not time for moonlight The horrors of the darkness Coupled the cries of the helpless People rendered homeless Crying and panting yet helpless While many of their beloved lie lifeless But I call you mother of all Not too late , no not late at all To call to know why you fall So heavily not to raise at all To the tears and weeping of all Can’t forget you for once Brace up your voice To shun  this menace That murder sleeps from the eyes Of these offspring in their innocence O my darling Motherland Who has bruised you so profound That you pant and weep hard Without a moment of joy to find Even with all these blessings you had? Who created such vacuum in your heart That you always fill it with blood Swal...

INTRODUCTION According to the revelation, and within the infallible teaching of the chatholic church our faith requires ut unum Deum in Trinitate et Trinitatem in Unitate Veneremur, neque confundentes personas, neque Substantiam separantes (That we venerate the Unity of God in the Trinity and the Trinity in the Unity, without confusing the persons and without separating the substance) cf Justin Rusollilo Sdv. Heavens Heavens part II p. 18 Paragraph II. The confession of God as Trinity is a great mystery of the Christian Faith. It is the most essential distinguishing factor between Christianity and other world religions. Hence, to be a Christian is to believe in a Trinitarian way. But what actually does it mean to say that God is Trinity? How did Christians in the first instance come to express belief in a triune God and how and why was this belief developed into a dogma? Moreover, why should we as Christians today still believe what we do about the Trinity? The above questions are...