Category: Articles

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CHANGING THE STATUS OF THE ‘GLORIFIED ORPHANAGES’ WE CALL HOMES

INTRODUCTION Last year, in our article, RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALT A NATION (Prov 14:34), we looked at the rapid way in which wickedness and other forms of evil are making their way back to our home town. We considered the cause of that to be our detour from the ways of God. But our further reflection on the subject matter tells us that it is something more. While we might be right in thinking that our movement away from God is the reason for the enthronement of such evil, something obviously led to that detour. This is what I consider as parental...

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RETHINKING OUR MANNERS ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA

INTRODUCTION “If the media are to be correctly employed, it is essential that all who use them know the principles of the moral order and apply them faithfully in this domain.” (Inter Mirifica, 4) I had intended to begin a series which I would want to use woo the youth to an active and sincere participation in politics. My motivation for that is my belief that only the youth can save themselves; the old generation virtually has little or nothing to offer us to improve our future. Therefore, unless we snatch our future back from their hands, they will continue...

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THE CRY OF A PRIEST

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami As I drove back from Lagos to my small village in Isolo-Opin, I was praying and hoping someone will just send me a token to cater for some basic needs and fulfil some of the commitments of charity I made. The whole of last Sunday collection, I used half to purchase fuel, I used half to pay someone’s hospital bills. Meaning, I am broke already #broken like the bread I break daily# While I was driving and hoping, someone called me and begged me to help her, she needs 20k for her daughter’s school fees and...

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HONOURING A FATHER, MENTOR AND MOTIVATOR, VERY REV. FR. DR. ANTHONY OVAYERO EWHERIDO

I can still remember all that happened! It was in my second year in the Seminary, and I was working in the secretariat department of the Seminary. My HOD, the then Rev. Emmanuel Ochigbo had placed my on special duties under the then Bro Peter Akinkumi, one of the first assistants in the department. In that capacity, I worked with the Labour Department under Rev. Uwalaka Kizito and typed everything “typable” coming from him, and then assisted in re-typing all the reflections Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Ben Etafo ever sent to the Independent Newspaper of Ibadan Archdiocese. We were fresh...

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THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN LABOUR IN THE MODEL OF OUR LADY

A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE MARIAN DAY FOR WORKERS AT ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, WEST-END, ASABA By Rev. Fr. JohnBosco Chimaobi Ezeonwumelu INTRODUCTION On Saturday, 4th day of March 2017, the Catholic Diocese of Issele-Uku, with its head and members, gathered at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Ogwashi-Uku to inaugurate the Marian Year. This is in response to the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria that the year 2017 be observed as the Marian Year in celebration of the Centenary of the apparition of our Mother Mary to the three shepherds kids at Fatima in 1917. This celebration offers...

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YES! BIG BROTHER NAIJA IS OUR PROBLEM!

YES! BIG BROTHER NAIJA IS OUR PROBLEM! As I was about posting my reflection on the madness surrounding the ongoing ‘unreal reality show’ called Big Brother Naija, I got another reflection from a colleague whose views I respect so much and from whom I learn a lot in the area of communication. Great was his power of persuasion that he almost got me repent from my resentment of the show. I have tried so hard to swallow it but I have to pick courage to stand aside because, for once, I could see a misplacement of the question. A lot...

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WHEN PLEASURE TAKES OVER THE PLACE OF WORK

WHEN PLEASURE TAKES OVER THE PLACE OF WORK I have been thinking of this for a while now but I took this decision to write about it when I opened my Facebook page last night and saw a flood of post with a particular talking point – the eviction of one Gifty. Initially, I thought Gifty was a mock name for either corruption or recession. Forgive my ignorance about the Big Brother Naija though I will never repent of my disgust about it because it continues daily to give me reasons to abhor it. I have heard so much about...

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THE TRUE LOVE THAT THERE IS

THE TRUE LOVE THAT THERE IS INTRODUCTION This is one period that brings us better and closer to the reality that keeps us in continuous living. But for the spirit of the celebration at this period, the world would have remained just a formless void. Even when something manages to come up in the world, there would have been a complex chaotic relationship among all that exists in creation (if there would be anything like creation in the first place). Creation itself is an act of love. It is borne out of Gods love through which he willed that all...

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WHEN GOD BECOMES ELUSIVE: ON THE POST-RESURRECTION EXPERIENCES OF THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS

WHEN GOD BECOMES ELUSIVE: ON THE POST-RESURRECTION EXPERIENCES OF THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS INTRODUCTION There are different times in life when things become so difficult for us such that confusion begins to set in and sometimes leading to the question on why they are still leaving or even whether there is really God above. When this is not well managed, it leads to depression and often, especially in extreme cases, can lead to one considering suicide as an option. This trend is sometimes more prevalent among the youths and that explains why many youths run into crisis, depression and criminality. Normally,...