DO NOT BE AFRAID

HOMILY PREACHED BY MOST REV. HILARY PAUL ODILI OKEKE ON THE 12^TH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR AT ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CHURCH, MILL BAY, BC AND OUR LADY QUEEN OF THE WORLD CHURCH, SHAWNIGAN LAKE, BC CANADA, SUNDAY, 21 JUNE 2009

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Do not be afraid if the society reels out interminable series of unfettered freedoms, or should I say, licences to overwhelm faith and good conscience – freedoms which should protect human life, dignity and good social order, but which are actually being exploited to undermine the values of civility, good order, upright conscience and the freedom and dignity of the sons and daughters of God. Do not be afraid of government legislations that provide the benchmark for social coexistence but do not challenge the individuals to sacrifice in order to live according to the best demand of human nature, not to talk of the vocation to divine sonship and daughtership, the new creation in Christ. Do not be afraid of any human legislation or convention that seems to permit a wide range of personal and social behaviour at variance with our higher calling to grace, that panders to human weakness and endorses moral deviance. Such legislations and social codes serve only to stimulate the followers of Christ to recognise their innate dignity, to assert their freedom in Christ and to vindicate that strength that comes from Christ.

The Lord is calmly reassuring his followers in the midst of the social turbulence facing the world: “Why are you so terrified? Why are you lacking in faith?” God throws the challenge to his sons and daughters in the words of the Psalmist: “Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold” (Ps. 46: 10-11). God made Job realise his supremacy as God. Jesus showed this supremacy of God over the mighty forces of nature when he ordered the raging sea: “Quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39). His frightened disciples had to wonder: “Who can this be that the wind and sea obey him” (Mark 4:41). This person is no other than Jesus Christ. We are today the followers of that same Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and for ever (Heb. 13:8). In Him, we are a new creation! (2 Cor. 5:17) Alleluia!

My friends in Christ, this is a decisive moment in our lives, a moment for me to decide if I should succumb to the fears of social strictures of a world without hope and without God (see Eph. 2:12) or live for the higher and more abiding hope which Jesus Christ offers me and offers all his followers. Let us not be afraid to identify ourselves with Jesus Christ and the values of His Kingdom in a society that insists on a lifestyle divorced from the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

I salute the courage of all of you who refuse to be overcome by the trends of a permissive society. I salute the wisdom of parents, especially, fathers who insist on handing on to their children the standards of the gospel. I salute the good sense of young people who refuse to be drawn into the culture of licentiousness but accept to regulate their lives in the light of the Gospel and in line with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

May Mary, the woman of faith and St. Paul, its courageous witness and defender intercede for us so that we will continue to hold on to our faith in God, and good conscience in the face of raging winds of contrary opinions and lifestyle! Amen. God bless you!

IN VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

My travels brought me to Victoria, BC Canada. I had a long flight from Regina, Sask. Canada through Calgary. I was welcomed by Fr. Clement Nwankwo and Fr. Ernest Emeodi and brought to the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Victoria, the residence of Bishop Richard Gagnon. Bishop Gagnon is a very pleasant and likable person, , very warm and friendly. He welcomed me with open arms.

I am spending the day resting in what I could call an idyllic Paradise, a beautiful house with wonderful view of the green landscape. This morning, I was looking out of the window to see two deers going leisurely across the well-kept lawns of the nearby parish. Victoria is different from Regina which is located in the endless flat prairie. The capital city of British Columbia at the southern tip of the Island of Vancouver is endless green and beautiful.

Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope John Paul II had established this day as the World Day of Prayer for Priests, a day dedicated to praying for priests. This year, Pope Bendict XVI inaugurates today the Year of the Priest. I join him and my brothers in the priesthood all over the world to request prayers for us as we try to live out our vocation. Let us pray for more priests especially in Europe and America. God bless you all!

YEAR OF THE PRIEST

YEAR FOR PRIESTS

My brothers in the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI for focusing the attention of all the members of Christ's faithful on the priest, on the wonderful gift of the ministerial priesthood. I pray that the attention will bring about prayerful reflection on the person of the priest, on his human fragility as well as the inexhaustible source of strength that is available to him. May the common reflection engender more understanding of the mystery of the priesthood and of the priest, more prayerful support for the priest and for his ministry and more and renewed commitment on the part of priests to the person of Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our holy religion, of whose priesthood we are called to share.

Love God! Love the Church! Love the priest!

As we inaugurate the Year of Priests with our Holy Father on 19th June 2009, may the Spirit of God fall afresh and with power on the Church, anointing her priests to bring the good news of salvation to the poor, to open the eyes of the blind, to free those in bondage and to declare the favourable year of our God.

Welcome to my Blog. I was introduced to blogging by Most Rev. Daniel Bohan, Archbishop of Regina, Canada when I visited him. He took out time to show me how he is able to reach many people using his blog. I was impressed. I do hope to be able to communicate with you through this medium. I wish God's blessing on all who will view my blog!

As you can guess, I am God's minister - Most Rev. Hilary Paul Odili Okeke, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria. I wish to use this blog to spread God's goodness and truth! Share God's goodness with me! + Hilary Paul Odili Okeke.