SON of BVM

Today is 15th August, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. Today is a public holiday in The Gambia in honour of this Christian feast.

To put this in context: Gambia is 95% Muslim.



©️ Fr Kelvin Ugwu

You Are Nobody's Saviour

As ministers, pastors, priests, or preachers, we must constantly remind ourselves that we are nobody's saviour or messiah.

Surely, in our ministry, we will come across lots of people who are in need. There will always be that urge to help. Always be open to help. But you must ask yourself, what type of help does that person truly need?

Sometimes, leaving them in their situation might be all the help they need. With that, they could grow from it, learn some lessons on their own and even become stronger.

Sometimes, what you may define as a better life may be disastrous to others. Don't use your yardstick for a better life on another. A happy life is actually the key, and giving someone a mansion or taking them abroad may not translate to a happy life for them.

My grandmother couldn't stay in our place in Abuja. She became sick and restless. It was a mistake we made thinking we were doing the best for her by taking her out of the village. But the moment we realized this, we quickly took her back to the village. We decided that we will be sending her money or food once in a while and visiting her whenever we can. It did not take long, she recovered.

The best help you can give people is to be able to give them what they actually need. Your ability to discern this is more important than rendering the right type of help to the wrong people.

It is like Colonialism, while most colonialists will argue that they were helping Africa by teaching us their ways, they did not know that they were rather killing Africa by not allowing us to grow in our own way.
Fr Kelvin Ugwu


SON of BVM

Can you confess your sin over the phone or do you need to meet with a priest physically to do that?

Yes you must meet a priest physically for a sacramental confession to take place. This is to preserve the integrity of the sacrament. Imagine waking up one day to discover that your confession has gone viral on social media because someone has bugged your call data with network providers. That would mean exposing the wild and curious side of your life to media hawks who would eat you raw. So confessional secrecy will not allow for confession over the phone since anything done over the phone is managed by a third party. Also the possibility of network glitches is another factor to consider. It won't be nice to subject the sacrament of penance to such ridicule. You can call a priest over the phone for counselling but never for confession. If you need confession, just walk into any Catholic church and request a priest to hear your confession.

"You believed because you have seen.Blessed are those who didn't see but believed".

DID YOU KNOW?
THE ROMAN SOLDIER WHO PIERCED THE SIDE OF JESUS CONVERTED AND BECAME A SAINT?

St. Longinus is the centurion who pierced the side of Our Lord while He was hanging on the Cross. St. Longinus, who was nearly blind, was healed when some of the blood and water from Jesus fell into his eyes. It was then he exclaimed "Indeed, this was the Son of God!" [Mark 15:39]. St. Longinus then converted, Left the army, took instruction from the apostles and became a monk in Cappadocia. There he was arrested for his faith, his teeth forced out and tongue cut off. However, St. Longinus miraculously continued to speak clearly and managed to destroy several idols in the presence of the governor. The governor, who was made blind by the demons that came from the idols, had his sight restored when St. Longinus was being beheaded, because his blood came in contact with the governors' eyes. St. Longinus' relics are now in the church of St Augustine, in Rome. His Lance is contained in one of the four pillars over the altar in the Basilica of St Peter's in Rome.

✍️Augustine Mario

As it was in those days, so it is in our time. Take note of the fact that it was a few persons on the top that persuaded the crowd to demand a criminal.

~Matthew 27:16-17,20-21

[16]Now there was then a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas.

[17]So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them, 'Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?'

[20]The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and the ex*****on of Jesus.

[21]So when the governor spoke and asked them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release for you?' they said, 'Barabbas.'


Fr Kelvin Ugwu

Happy Palm Sunday.Palm Sunday is the commemoration of CHRIST triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

May CHRIST JESUS continue to reign in our lives as our king and savior.

AMEN.

Jesus I love you
All I have is yours
Yours I am
Yours I want to be
Do with me
Whatever you will
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

What is Faith?

"Faith is a supernatural gift of God, which enables us to believe without doubting whatever God has revealed."

What is the full and definitive stage of God's Revelation?

"The full and definitive stage of God’s revelation is accomplished in his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator and fullness of Revelation. He, being the only-begotten Son of God made man, is the perfect and definitive Word of the Father. In the sending of the Son and the gift of the Spirit, Revelation is now fully complete, although the faith of the Church must gradually grasp its full significance over the course of centuries."




✍️Fr Kelvin Ugwu

WAYS YOU CAN STAY FOCUSED DURING MASS

1. Preparation at home. (Wake early and prepare)
2. Turn off gadgets on your way to Mass (Car Stereo and others)
3. Get to Mass at least ten minutes early
4. Sit close to the front (Except otherwise)
5. Do not sit close to your friends if you can't keep quiet
6. Keep your hands folded in prayer
7. Pay attention to the readings
8. Fully Participate in the Mass (Respond to all prayers)
9. Bring back those wandering thoughts.
10. Add your intentions and sacrifices to the prayers of the Mass.
11. Commit some prayers or lines to memory.
12. Switch of Your Phone
13. Switch of Your Phone (Emergencies: Doctors and security personnel (silence or vibration)
14. Pray about your distractions
15. If you have done the above yet no avail – seek help from your spiritual director.



Father Daniel

STRANGERS IN HEAVEN

To some, there is no Holy Spirit in the Catholic Church since it keeps repeating the same act of worship day in and out. I wonder how these people will feel when they get to heaven and discover that day and night, the only thing those in heaven do is to sing “holy Holy Holy”, fall down before the one on the throne, thrown down their crowns and exclaim “worthy are you, Lord our God..”(Rev. 4:8-11).

To some, the dress worn by Catholic Priests, bishops and the pope are all pagan wears with no trace in the bible. I wonder how these people well feel when they get to heaven and discover that the elders in heaven are all dressed in “white garments and with gold CROWNS on their heads” (Rev. 4:4).

To some, the Catholic Church is wrong in seeking prayers from the saints. I wonder how these people will feel when they get to heaven and see “the smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the HOLY ONES going before God from the hand of the angel” (Rev. 8:4).

To some the use of incense and thurible in the Catholic Church is also nothing but a pagan practice with no biblical foundation. I wonder how these people will feel when they get to heaven and see “each of the elders with a harp and gold bowls filled with INCENSE” (Rev. 5:8)

To some, the Catholic Church is wrong in giving so much attention to Mary. I wonder how these people will feel when they get to heaven and see this woman “clothed with the Sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev. 12:1)

To some, all those in the Catholic Church are already dammed and condemned for hell. I wonder how these people will feel when they get to heaven and see “a great multitude, which no one can count, from every nation, race, people and tongue” (Rev. 7:9).

Will all these people make another protest in heaven? Why not start practicing all these things here on earth so you don't become a stranger in heaven?

to the church,founded by Christ Himself.