We must journey in Pairs

He sent them out in Pairs (Luke 10:1)

Last month I attended a weekend retreat in a conference center located in the countryside of Ogun state. The retreat program included talks, group meditations and other spiritual exercises. In between the various activities, there was quiet time set aside for individual meditation. During one of these quiet time periods, I had gone to sit in the garden under the shade of the flowers to wait for the next activity. While there I dozed off and ended up missing the next activity. None of the other retreat attendants had thought to look for me, which was understandable, since I did not know anyone else there. I knew that if I had gone with a friend, for sure she would have been looking out for me, same as I would have been for her. This is the beauty of journeying in pairs.

In the gospels, we read that Jesus sent out his disciples two by two. The Legion of Mary, which is the Catholic church's primary evangelical society, also emphasizes that its members must go out for evangelization in pairs. 

I believe that this injunction is not only applicable to evangelization, but indeed to life's journey. Genesis 2:18 says 'Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion for him". 

Our journey through life is intended to be done with a companion, and this injunction is applicable to everyone irrespective of the path one has chosen. It is applicable to married people who in their case have their spouses as their companion. It is also applicable to the singles, whose companion is that one friend, chosen from amongst many, who understands what their purpose is in life and can support towards the fulfillment of that purpose. 

Having become aware of this, let us note that we have a duty, an obligation, to be that companion. We must not forget that we have been sent, not alone but as one of a pair. In an earlier article, I discussed how Heaven is not a journey made alone. In this journey, our first obligation is to our companion, and then we need to carry others along.

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Every family needs a prayer giant

"Every family needs a prayerful giant".

I recently found this out while reading Matthew Kelly's book 'The four signs of a dynamic catholic'. He wrote this of his experience "Over the years I have encountered many great families in my travels. When I started looking into what made these families so steadfast and full of life, I discovered that all these great families have a giant of prayer".

Another key message from the same book was that prayer is one of the four signs of a dynamic catholic. And it's just not spur of the moment, flash of inspiration, when I feel like or the mood hits me type of prayer. These are the people that have a prayer routine that they diligently follow everyday, come rain or sunshine. They have identified specific times in the day for prayer or attending various spiritual exercises or programs and they are faithful to it regardless of what happens.

Without a doubt, my mum is my family's prayer giant. She is also a dynamic catholic, exhibiting all of the signs mentioned above. She attends mass daily, prays twenty decades of the rosary daily without fail, attends exposition and adoration four times a week as well as attends other spiritual programs. Her routine is very important to her. Never mind that sometimes she's so tired and ends up sleeping in church during the mass or during one of the other activities. In fact my sister argues that she should rather stay at home to sleep when she knows she hasn't gotten enough rest rather than embarrass everyone by sleeping in church. But that wouldn't do for my mum; she must be in church and if that means sleeping before our Lord, then so be it.

I think it's very important to have a prayer routine or/and spiritual exercises we partake in that we are faithful to. I also think it is important that we give God the best of our time, our substance. So the time set aside should not be for instance at the end of the day when one is already tired and fatigued; for instance when I attend Sunday mass in the evening instead of the morning, I feel a huge difference. The energy levels are always higher in the morning. So also we need to identify that time of the day when we are at our best and sharpest and plan that time for our dialogue with God.

It is important to show up, it is also important to show up and 'be there'.

Note: I wrote this article while waiting for my flight to Lagos from London. The flight's departure was delayed by about 30mins. In fact on the screens at Heathrow Terminal 5, the authorities write boldly that unfailingly your gate will be communicated to you at least 90mins before departure. For this flight, the gate was not communicated to us until 45mins before departure. Even on my outbound journey, we departed later than planned. I wonder, is it the 'Nigerian factor' that makes such an efficient system like BA and everything British so inefficient?!!

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My take on the new evangelization

Evangelization, Evangelization, Evangelization. In truth not a word I associated with personally as a lay faithful of the Catholic Church, until about a year ago; though it was a word I was familiar with and mainly associated with followers of other Christian non-catholic religion. Then it appeared as if all of a sudden, and Evangelization became a buzz word in the catholic community. However it had started gaining momentum several years before, during the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI and his call for the new evangelization; however I was late getting to know about it and getting on the 'new evangelization' train.

Anyway as it so happened, my parish priest started talking about it a lot and calling on everyone to take part in the work of evangelization. He reminded us that it was our primary Christian calling to evangelize and the parish organized street evangelization programs that as many as we're interested were encouraged to take part in.

I did take part in one of such programs, though in truth it felt a bit weird just randomly going on the streets and sharing with people the word of God. However this should not have been the case, for me especially, as I have been a member of this society in the church called the Legion of Mary and one of our primary duties was what we call 'Home to Home visitation' which requires members to visit homes and share the good news. But as I said earlier, I was out of touch.

Now, however, the call for all Catholics to partake in the new evangelization is hard to miss. Pope Francis has not stopped talking about it. So many central, national and even local church programs have as their theme something related to the new evangelization. The pope's latest apostolic exhortation is all about spreading the message of the good news with joy and the last world youth day celebration had as its theme 'Go and make disciples of all nations'.

Like I said, it's pretty hard to miss now. So for the majority of Catholics, we now know what we have been called to either start doing or continue doing depending on where you currently stand, but with renewed fervor.

The main question I guess is how to achieve this on a personal level; it sure is one question I have been asking myself, uncomfortable as I am to go knock on people's doors randomly to share the word. How can I take part in the evangelization mission? To start with, what even is evangelization, what does it mean to me?

The standard dictionary meaning of evangelize is 'to preach the gospel' (Dictionary.com). However the Catholic Church in the United States provides an excellent definition of Catholic evangelization rephrasing some words of Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi. "Evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every human situation and seeking to convert individuals and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself. At its essence are the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ and the response of a person in faith, which are both works of the Spirit of God. Evangelization must always be directly connected to the Lord Jesus Christ....There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed." (http://www.camdendiocese.org/index.php/what-is-catholic-evangelization).

I will focus on the first sentence of this definition which corroborates something which I discovered in scripture recently when seeking answers on how to evangelize and what God opened my eyes to see. A few days ago I read a passage from the gospel of Mark, chapter 2:1-12. This is the story of the healing of the paralytic and one that I had read, heard and listened to sermons on several times. On this day it struck me that the first thing Jesus said to the paralytic was 'Your sins are forgiven'. For sure, I don't think that this was what the paralytic or his four friends were expecting; in truth at that time the people did not identify with Jesus as the son of God who had the power to forgive sins and liberate them from the power of the evil one, what they did know was that he was a great healer (curing the sick) and a great provider (feeding the multitudes). But oftentimes, Jesus would tell the people he encountered 'Your sins are forgiven' (Mark2:9, Luke7:48), or 'Your faith has saved you' (Mark10:52) before they saw the physical manifestation of their healing.

In this I see a pattern: the miracles Jesus worked which were recorded in the scriptures showed that while carrying out the physical healing, Jesus was also concerned with the spiritual healing of the people. He used every opportunity for healing, casting out demons, feeding the hungry and all the other works that he did to pass across a higher message; the need for spiritual healing and salvation.

What can we learn from our teacher and master? In our day to day lives we encounter people in need; perhaps they come to us for assistance either financial or material, sometimes it's just to give them a shoulder to lean on in their moments of trial and difficulty, it could be to support them with a listening ear, it could be to reach out to that lonely neighbour or colleague or individual we see around but for whom it doesn't look like much is happening. When we come across or are presented with these opportunities, in meeting their corporal needs let us also remember that more importantly, we need to meet their spiritual needs. Let us use these opportunities to share the joyful news of the gospel and the liberation that is in Christ Jesus. This is one way we can evangelize, bringing the good news of Jesus into every human situation.

Let me conclude by sharing this verse, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. 'Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes! He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.'

May this be our inspiration, consolation and testimony, when it's all been said and done.

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The many 'sayings' of Pope Francis

It is no state secret that Pope Francis the first has taken the world by storm since his appointment as the 266th successor to the chair of St. Peter on March 13th this year. It is also no secret that to a large extent, his leadership style is perceived as largely different from that of his predecessors, especially his immediate past two predecessors.

From his utterances on popular subjects such as homosexuality, sexual abuse of children and minors especially by members of the clergy, the corruption within the church and the roman curiae, breakdown of the smallest unit of the church which is the family; indeed there has been no shortage of controversial subjects and the Holy Father has, at different times in different places and through various media, shared his personal opinion on most if not all these matters.

In truth reading some of the Holy Father's comments, I confess sometimes I have been discomfited, dismayed and even downright disappointed with the way the Holy Father has responded to some questions; but be that as it may, I think I am happy to say that I have not yet gotten to the point of despondency and the following paragraph will explain why.

Reading through excerpts of various of the Holy Father's interviews, I have realized that while still holding firmly to the church's teaching, he has never denied the 'what', that there is an issue, but has always sought to turn our minds to the 'how', how to deal with and relate with people dealing with this issue. When the Holy Father says who is he to judge homosexuals, and in other cases when he iterates that regardless of a person's orientation what is demanded is to show love, he takes the emphasis away from 'what' and encourages the faithful to focus on 'how'. This is the main tone of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which focuses on the new evangelization and the need for a joyful proclamation of the gospel to the entire world. Even in the encyclical Lumen Fidei which means The Light of Faith', faith is described as the only virtue capable of illuminating every area of the life of man but to experience it in its full measure, it goes hand in hand with truth.

Noted that the Holy Father has said many things, there have also been many false sayings attributed to the Holy Father, most recent among them this viral article titled 'Pope Francis condemns racism and declares that "All religions are true" at historic third Vatican council'. I have read the article in its entirety and anyone who knows the Holy Father would know that those are not his words. To start with, no third Vatican Council has taken place. Also the writer of the article clearly writes that the article is his own opinion and is a satire.

Enough said about what the Holy Father has or hasn't said. The good thing about this is that his utterances have caused me personally to learn more about the faith and the church's teaching and position on several salient matters.

I encourage us all to read more, learn more and go deeper in the faith so that we can defend our mother the church and all who speak up against her.

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‘’Go and make disciples of all nations’’ - Walking the Talk

"Go and make disciples of all nations’’, the theme of the just concluded 2013 World Youth Day.

I’ve known about the World Youth Day for some time now, first heard about it in 2002 during the 17^th edition that took place in Toronto Canada. In all honesty I did not pay too much attention to it, took it as a gathering for ‘select’ people specially chosen to meet and greet with the Pope. However I developed a curiosity about the biennial or so event around 2009. In truth I think I developed a general curiosity about the church and most things catholic. So I started taking note of major church events especially those for young people.

In the latter part of 2012, the pope announced the Year of Faith and this was a call to all Catholics to ‘rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith’ (Porta Fidei). This was the first of its kind in my lifetime and so I was excited about this. The theme of the next World Youth Day preceding this declaration was to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ and so I decided I would attend the event.

Fast forward three weeks after my return from the World Youth Day during which myself, together with millions of young people from all over the world, received the charge to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ – and I ask myself, what next? How do I translate this so important charge into action???

I have outlined below some practical steps:

·         Be sowers of the good news: The call to evangelize is a resounding call. Blessed John Paul said ‘Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep him for themselves; they must proclaim him. This proclamation must not be imposed but proposed with confidence’. Some easy steps that we can try 

              

o   Read a portion of the bible everyday simply because you cannot give what you do not have. Familiarising ourselves with God’s word increases our understanding of our faith and equips us with what we can share with others

o   Take advantage of daily small opportunities to proclaim God’s word. That word of encouragement, friendly look, helping hand, word of prayer for a friend, family or colleague. In truth, little drops of water do make an ocean

·         The church needs us, and we need the church: As members of the church, we partake in the communion of saints. We need the church to continue to partake in this communion. And in turn, the church needs us to carry on the message of the good news through evangelization. Evangelization requires loving the church, feeling with her, suffering with her, working with her, avoiding any division or rupture, not being carried away by the winds of new doctrines and interpreting the Holy scriptures in the light of the church’s tradition and tutelage. So I am not just a statistic, the church needs me and I can add value.

·         Make disciples through prayer: I write this article on the 27^th August, the feast of St Monica, who is remembered on this day for winning disciples for Our Lord through prayers. Let us emulate this tested and trusted formula.

·         Called to serve in love: This also happens to be the motto for the clergy in the Archdiocese of Lagos and indeed I think it is apt that every Christian adopts this model. Show me a man that loves and I will show you a man of service.

Arming myself with the few steps above, I think I am ready to Walk the Talk. Please join me and see you at the top.

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