The Parish Priest And His Pastoral Responsibility In The Church
The priestly ordination confers a three-fold munera of teaching (munus docendi), sanctifying (munus sanctificandi) and ruling (munus regendi) authority in the life and ministry of the Church. These powers are derived from the priestly ordination and configuration in the priesthood of Christ. However, the rightful exercise of these divine powers demands a special mandate or faculty from the competent ecclesiastical authority which in turn is rooted in hierarchical communion. The diocesan priests have a primary role in the care of souls, and as immediate co-operators and collaborators of the Episcopal order and being incardinated to a particular Church (diocese or other groupings of Christ-faithful equivalent in law to it like territorial prelature, territorial abbacy, vicariate…
The Pope of Divine Mercy
John Paul II died on Saturday, April 2, 2005, at the end of the vigil Mass of Divine Mercy Sunday, the feast that he himself instituted five years earlier for the universal Church. A few minutes before his death at 9.37 p.m., Rome time, a Mass had been celebrated in the Pope’s private apartments, during which he was given the Holy Viaticum and the Anointing of the Sick. John Paul II had designed the second Sunday in a surprise announcement at the canonization, on April 30, 2000 of Sister Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who died in Krakow in 1938. The essence of St. Faustina’s mission was to proclaim God’s mercy towards every human being….
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
The devotion to divine mercy is the devotion that is centered on the mercy of God. It is the devotion which summarizes Jesus’ teaching on mercy. The whole message of divine mercy is based on Christ who is mercy incarnate. In fact, Blessed Pope John Paul II declares that Christ does not only speak of mercy and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all he himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He himself, in a certain sense is mercy (Cf. Dives in Misericordia, 3). It is this message of love and mercy that Jesus revealed to the world through his revelation to a Polish nun called St Maria Faustina…
EASTER – A RESCUE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST
Easter Sunday is the day when Christians all over the world celebrate the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is the celebration of the victory of our redeemer over sin, over Satan, and over death. His resurrection from the dead gives every true Christian an assurance of our own victory since his resurrection challenges us to make determined efforts to rise from our sinful and corrupt life unto holiness. Easter is unarguably the greatest feast in the Christian Calendar. It is usually observed at the end of Lent which is a period of 40 days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Easter therefore is a period when Christ’s faithful are called upon to respond…
Sunday Readings: SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (Divine Mercy Sunday)
OPENING PRAYER God of mercy, you wash away our sins in water, you give us new birth in the Spirit, and redeem us in the blood of Christ. As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection increase our awareness of these blessings, and renew your gift of life within us. FIRST READING A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 2:42-47 Theme: The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common. These (the new converts) remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone. The faithful all lived together…
ON DIVINE MERCY
Today’s celebration of Divine Mercy fulfils the request of Christ the Lord through Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska, that the Second Sunday of Easter be reserved to honour and commemorate God’s infinite mercy. This feast was established on April 30, 2000 by Pope John Paul II, who canonized Sister Faustina on that day. How fitting it is that the Pope himself, a great apostle of mercy, will be canonized on this Feast Day of Divine Mercy! Our Christian journey is a story of the infinite mercy of God, without which we are lost, hopeless and helpless. Notwithstanding our unfaithfulness, the Lord has remained faithful through the ages and his mercy is always more than sufficient to…
Pope Francis calls for end to Boko Haram attacks
Pope Francis, in his Easter address before a huge crowd, on Sunday April 20 denounced the “immense wastefulness” in the world while many go hungry and called for an end to Boko Haram atrocities in Nigeria and conflicts in Syria, Ukraine and other parts of Africa. Speaking to a crowd of at least 150,000 in St. Peter’s Square and beyond, he said: “We ask you, Lord Jesus, to put an end to all war and every conflict, whether great or small, ancient or recent. “We pray in a particular way for Syria, that all those suffering the effects of the conflict can receive the humanitarian aid they need and that neither side will again use…
Bizarre! Randy Pastor defies Mum, Daughter in Owerri – husband claims N100,000
A fraudulent and adulterous Pentecostal Pastor who has been having sexual relationship with a mother and her teen-aged daughter has been exposed and arrested. Pastor Wisdom (surname withheld) was picked up by the police Easter weekend and charged with receiving N100,000 from one Mr. Sylvester (surname withheld), a police officer, in order to cure his wife Mrs. Angela, a mother of six, from Ezinihitte Mbaise, of breast cancer. The Pastor due to be granted bail is the owner of a Church located along MCC/Uratta Road in Ebikoro, Umuoba in Owerri North Local Government Area, of Imo State. He is married with eight children who reside in Mbieri with their mother and merely visit the pastor….
CMO Set for 2014 Father’s Day
The Catholic Men Organization (CMO) of Maria Assumpta Cathedral Parish Owerri is set for this year’s Father’s Day which holds on Sunday May 4. A Press Release issued by the Chairman, Publicity Sub-Committee, Mr. Emma Uzoka said the activities will feature football matches among the four Stations of the Parish, followed by a two-day seminar (April 28&29) to be moderated by Tony Obasi and Chief Donald Ekenta while a retreat holds on April 30 to be preached by the Administrator, Rev. Fr. Andrew Nkwocha. On Sunday, May 4, the Organization will raise funds for the building of St. Joseph Hall of Faith. Addressing the Planning Committee on Tuesday, the President of Assumpta CMO, Prof Dan…
Have we forgotten ASUP and their students?
Education is the cornerstone to the development of any nation. Its position to national development cannot be overstressed. It is a prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable and significant development in a country. Educationists have an unprejudiced overview of what education is. To them, education is about a desirable change in behaviour. This widely treasured change comes from the acquisition of certain traits overtime. In a bid to achieve a paradigm shift in the country’s educational system, the Federal Government enacted Decree No. 33 of 1979 as amended by Decree No. 5 of 1993, to give legal backing to the establishment of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria. The aim for the establishment of polytechnics in Nigeria…
