Fr Ogundipe Sdv

The influx of Pentecostal practise and attitude are creeping into the Catholic Church and if we are not careful, her trademarks of orthodoxy and authenticity will be at the margins. Evidently, many aberrations are finding their ways to the front seat and it is disheartening how strange doctrines are celebrated and enthroned in modern fashion with personal innovations in the liturgy. What is happening to the rubrics, can we go back to the root and the books? This piece is a clarion call to my dear brothers and sisters, a wake-up call to all Catholics to protect the faith we proudly profess and keep out ‘rugalised’ doctrines infiltrating into the parishes. Personally, I am shocked with much pain in my heart on how priests and lay faithful play active parts in keeping the floodgates of error into devotional life of the church. The Catechesis of the church must not sleep nor slumber to checkmate some of the excesses we find around. Can you Imagine a situation when someone brought an O...

( This is a major feast of the Catholic Church which replaces even the usual Sunday in Ordinary Time.   It has its own Vigil celebration, one of only six feasts in the Church which include a distinct Vigil liturgy.  ( There is no account of Mary’s death in the New Testament. The New Testament writers were convinced that all believers would share in the Resurrection of Christ.  Catholics, however, believe that the Bible is in part a record of traditions, (first among the Hebrews and then among the Christians) as well as the written word in Scripture.  They hold fast to God’s guiding revelation through ‘Tradition’ as well as through the written word in ‘Scripture’. ( The Assumption of Mary into heaven is one of the oldest celebrations of Mary. The belief in the Assumption had its origin in the popular faith of the people.  Some legends had also grown up describing the miraculous events surrounding her death, including how the remaining apostles, having be...

INTRODUCTION Imagine a world in darkness; think of a society that lacked proper expressive skills, where ideas, feelings, emotions and wants could not be communicated but laid trapped in the inner recesses of our minds. I am quite sure many of us here would agree with me that such a world, such a human habitat, if ever conceived or existed, would be no better than a town crier striking a gong with a leaf – soundless, lifeless! Everyone would have been an island cut off from reality, non-existent. Imagine a world without   the religious; imagine the religious in the world without a voice, everything becomes chaotic or perhaps in a state of anarchy and doom.  Hence, the consecrated persons need to speak out in the face of societal moral decadence in politics especially in Nigeria where abnormalities appeared to be the normal. But how can we do this, when we are limited by ecclesiastical laws through the code of canon law. Yet, the society look unto us for justice; Cat...

LOOKING BACK IN THANKSGIVING! Thanksgiving is a public acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness. One of the great commandments is to give thanks to God, for all He has done for us. The Psalmist in Psalm 100:4 says: we are to “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his Courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name”. Christ, himself, was the perfect example of obeying this commandment. It is also giving thanks to God for the many blessings which however should not be limited to only good times but also bad times thereby giving us the opportunity to demonstrate our faith in God. Thanksgiving will draw our hearts out to God and keep us engaged with him; it will take our attention from ourselves and give the Holy Spirit room in our hearts. WHY THIS THANKSGIVING? Without a deep sense of humility, of sincerity and of accountability in one’s relationship with His Maker, he or she cannot and will never see reason or reasons why he must thank the Lord. ...

INTRODUCTION The Catholic Church committed herself to ecumenical dialogue during the Second Vatican council with the aim of fulfilling the prayer of Jesus Christ “That they may be one” (John 17:21) hence Pope John Paul II says it is his earnest desires to renew this call to unity with this Encyclical “UT UNUM SINT” Of May 25th 1995. Like many encyclicals, he derives its title from the first few words, which was taken from the prayer of Jesus. Christians cannot underestimate the burden of long-standing misgiving inherited from the past, and of mutual misunderstanding and prejudices. Complacency, indifference and insufficient knowledge of one another often make this situation worst. As such the ecumenical dialogue must be based on conversion of heart and prayer, which will lead to purification of memories. The ultimate goal of the ecumenical movement is to re-establish full visible unity among all the baptized, basically the encyclical deals with the Roman Catholic Church’s relatio...

The abuse of the Holy Ghost fire has become a dangerous trend in Christianity, stemming from the influx of Pentecostalism. Christians all over the world want the fire of the Holy Ghost to destroy their imaginary enemy. But I must warn you that the Third person of the Most Holy Trinity is not an assassin Stop sending him to kill your enemy by Fire. First of all, the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity is God, second of all, He is Known and called Holy Ghost, comforter among many other titles. He is the Paraclete promised by Christ. What is Paraclete? The word came from two Greek words; ‘Para’ meaning side by side and kalew. Meaning whispering; put together, whispering by the side. Hence the paraclete is to whisper to us what God want us to know. The Holy Spirit is symbolized as Fire, wind, dove, water, etc. so that we can concretely feel his divine work in our day-to-day life. My dearest friends the fire of the Holy Spirit purifies not destroy, contrary to what we see tod...

INTRODUCTION It is pertinent to teach our historical development as members of the Holy Roman Catholic church especially in this period of influx of pentecostalism such that what was transmitted to us will not be marred.  Hence I have decided to share with you the past so that we can appreciate the present to pray for the future.  THE HISTORY The persecution of over two centuries was over,starting from the account of the "Acts of the Apostles" and the torture chambers of Rome and Antioch were closed down. The very grounds that witnessed the courage of bloody martyrs in their thousands turned to places of worship. Men,like Nero,Diocletian, Trajan and Caligula,who were once feared and worshiped were all dead and gone forever. Christianity became the official religion of the Romans in 313 A.D. by the edict of Milan. Emperor Constantine who promulgated the edict was not yet a Christian when this was done. The Romans abandoned idol worship. Constantine was still a catechumen...

On February 14, 1938, Fr. Justin wrote in his “Book of the Soul” saying, “It is as if the Blessed Trinity dictated to me in a particular way that the Blessed Virgin Mother is my immediate spiritual directress. Opere, Vol.11, p. 115. Fr. Justin convinces us to examine our obligation to reserve a part of our day for an intimacy with Jesus and deepen our devotion to Mary, mediatrix of all graces, queen of all saints and mother of divine love, patroness of our congregation, this three-fold title we use to address Mary at the beginning and at the end of our prayers. She is the channel through which all graces flow. All graces come to us from the heart of Mary and through the hands of Mary. Fr. Justin was strongly convinced that it is very important to find and to keep ourselves, as much as possible, close to her hands and in her immaculate heart. Fr. Justin knew how to appreciate, promulgate and practice all the liturgical, ordinary and extra-ordinary Marian devotions such as recitati...

How necessary is confirmation for salvation? Acts of the Apostles 8:5-8,14-17 They sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. After having been baptized by St. Philip (the deacon, not the apostle), the Christians of Samaria still had need of the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit which is given through the sacrament of confirmation. To this end, it was fitting that the apostles in Jerusalem sent Sts. Peter and John (apostles) to bestow the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. In this event, we see both that confirmation is a sacrament distinct from baptism and that it is most necessary in the life of the Church and of the individual believer. It will be fitting for us to reflect upon this sacrament, since this liturgical season is the time most commonly set aside for the administration of confirmation in dioceses th...