Fr. Ken's Pastoral Care

Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25; 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 and Luke21:25-38.34-36.  THE FIRST CANDLE OF ADVENT: HOPE The first Sunday of Advent begins a new liturgical calendar, year C and year II for weekdays. Advent has its origin from the Latin word “ Adventus ,” meaning “Coming,” which is a translation of the Greek word “ parousia ”. It is a season of preparation for the celebration of God’s incarnation, that is, Christmas. In this season, we patiently and vigilantly wait for the coming of Christ. His coming in three dimensions: at incarnation, that is, historically Christ took flesh and dwelt among us; His coming Sacramentally, that is, He constantly comes to us in the seven sacraments; and His coming in Majesty, which expresses the second coming of Christ. The season is divided into two parts: From the first Sunday of Advent to 16th of December, which emphasizes on the second coming of Christ, that is, the parousia . While 17th to 24th December emphasizes on the comin...

Readings: Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:5-8 and John 18:33-37.  THE KINGSHIP OF THE SON OF MAN   Today is Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, which marks the end of the liturgical year cycle B. In today’s celebration we adore and worship Christ our King, the Alpha and Omega of our lives, whose kingship is to establish equity, justice love and peace in contrast to earthly kingship.   Originally, Pope Pius the XI established this solemnity in 1925 against the influence of secularism. And for pastoral reasons the Church in Nigeria combines it with the solemn procession of Corpus Christi, which ought to be celebrated Thursday or Sunday after Trinity Sunday in thanksgiving for the institution of the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. So, the title of this feast was “ Iesu Christi Regis ” (Jesus Christ the King). Later in history, Pope Paul VI in his “ Motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis ” of 1969, gave it a new title as: “ Iesu Christi Universorum Reg...

Readings: Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-14.18; Mark 13: 24-32.  WE ARE PEOPLE OF HOPE   It is commonly said, “ After the darkest of the night comes a new dawn. ” The night could be so long, but dawn is certain. Passing through the tunnel could be so rigorous, stressful and painful but at the end of it comes great joy. This is also comparable to the birth of a new life after a woman’s labour. Have you lost hope and you think things can no longer get better? We are people of hope and the liturgy of today brings us the hope of salvation and deliverance amidst the great troubles and sufferings we undergo on a daily basis.   The first reading taken from the book of the prophet Daniel presents to us in an apocalyptic tone the time of trouble destined for Israel, the promise of deliverance and salvation of the righteous. It says, “ At that time shall arise Michael the great prince who has charge of your people. ” The Angel Michael is often associated with spirit...

Readings: 1 Kings 17:10-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28 and Mark 12:38-44.  THE FEAR OF THE FUTURE   The fear of the future has hindered and restricted so many Christians from the virtue of generosity in which the virtue of hospitality is embedded. This fear has lured so many to preserve and hoard their belongings to themselves alone. There is no way we can be generous if we continue with the fear of how to survive tomorrow by leaving God out of our plans. This is where our trust in Divine Providence comes in as seen in the liturgy of today.   The first reading presents to us the encounter of the prophet Elijah with the widow of Zarephath. Truly, to some persons, the fear of the future has become the greatest enemy of generosity and prosperity. In this reading, Elijah tested her generosity and trust in divine providence. She was indeed an extremely poor widow that did not even have sticks to cook. She was gathering ‘firewood’ to prepare her last meal for herself...

Readings: Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Psalm 18; Hebrews 7:23-38 and Mark 12:28-34.  THE CENTRALITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD: LOVE, UNITY AND SACRIFICE   Today’s liturgy reminds us of the greatest theological virtue, which is love. All the laws and prophets has love as their foundation, and this is explicit in the readings. This virtue of love is better expressed from two dimensions: our relationship with God and with man (human). What defines our relationship with God is how we relate with our neighbour. Is our relationship with neighbour surrounded with hatred, bitterness, anger, violence and other forms of vices or is it with love, unity and sacrifice? If truly we love God and our neighbour, we will keep His commandments.   The commandment of God was given to the Israelites through Moses as we have in the first reading account of today when he addressed the people, saying, “ Fear the Lord your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the d...

Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 33; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45.  THE CULTURE OF SERVICE AND SACRIFICE   A week ago, I was at the priestly ordination of my Oblates brothers and before the Mass, I was marveled at the commitment, service and sacrifice of some parishioners towards the success of this event. I had the feeling that this culture were gradually going into extinction among Christians, as some wants to be paid for every pin they pick up from the floor but the volunteers I saw on that day proved me wrong. This is what the liturgy of today awakens in us, the spirit of service and sacrifice as seen in the Gospel of today and as foretold through the prophet Isaiah in the first reading.   The Gospel of today presents to us the request of James and John, the sons of Zebedee to sit at the right and left hand in the glory of Christ. The antecedent to this pericope in Mark is the announcement of the coming passion of Christ. He said, “ They were on their way to...

Readings: Wisdom 7:7-11; Psalm 90; Hebrew 4:12-13 and Mark 10:17-30.  THE EYE OF A NEEDLE   Today’s liturgy communicates to us the wisdom embedded in the metaphoric expression of Christ on the easiness of a camel passing through the eye of a needle than for the rich entering the Kingdom of God. The liturgy draws our attention to the danger of attachment to material possessions we often hold unto, which could deprive us of the Kingdom of God if not properly used.   The young man in today’s Gospel came to Jesus and said, “ Good teacher, what must I do to inherit the eternal life? ” He was in a state of confusion when he thought he had kept the whole law and yet had no fulfilment. He actually justified himself like the elder brother of the prodigal son when he said, “ All these I have observed from my youth. ” We recall the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ gave us the real meaning of the law, which is not just an outward exercise, but also a reflection of the heart....

Readings: Genesis 2:18-24; Psalm 128; Hebrew 2:9-11 and Mark 10:2-16.  THE PRINCIPLE OF MARRIAGE   Solitude is generally seen as a state of seclusion or isolation, that is, the lack of contact with people. That is why we sometimes hear people say, “I just want to have my space, I want to be left alone.” What could be the drive for this when naturally man is a social being? This is explicit in today’s liturgy as it centers on the indissolubility of marriage which must be a union between man and woman, and not otherwise. The liturgy draws our attention to the unity that exists in marriage.   The book of Genesis records two accounts of creation. The first account of creation is found in chapter 1 and the second account of creation in chapter 2, which happens to be the first reading of today. In the first account of creation, on the sixth day, God said, “ Let us make man in our image and likeness …” (Gen 1:26), which indicates the unity that exists in the Trinity, th...

Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19; James 5:1-6 and Mark 9:38-43.45.47-48.  MY CIRCLE SYNDROME   Christianity is deeper than we think, it is not just the outward behavior exhibited by excessive enthusiasm. There are moments we unconsciously segregate people because they do not make part of our group or circle. Today’s liturgy makes us understand that the Spirit of God is not restricted to a given people only. This is evident in the typology of Jesus as the new Moses, that is, the relationship of the Old and New Testaments.   The first reading and the Gospel have a lot in common. In the words of Scott Hahn, seeing Jesus Christ as the typology of Moses, we recall, “ Moses gave the law to the twelve tribes of Israel and chose from them the twelve princes to assist him in governing Israel. Similarly, Christ chose twelve Apostles to assist him in his public ministry. ” In today’s first reading, “ The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses and took some of the...

Readings: Wisdom 2:12.17-20; Psalm 54; James 3:16-4:3 and Mark 9:30-37.  WHY CONFLICT AMONG US?   In as much as conflict is inevitable in life, should we allow it to tear us apart? No! Today’s central theme is on Christ the Wisdom of God, who came down from heaven to be servant of all. He indicated to us the best way to live in the midst of conflicts and of ungodly men. To comprehend the wisdom of his teaching, we must be like Him and be ready to sacrifice our lives for one another.   The first reading from the book of Wisdom, speaks in wisdom on how the ungodly men plot evil against the righteous man. The presence of the righteous man disrupts the plans of evil men. Wisdom says, “ Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law and accuses us for sins against our training. ” It is a reflection of a wicked heart that seats to plan and execute evil; it foretells the suffer...

Readings: Isaiah 50:5-9; Psalm 116; James 2:14-18 and Mark 8:27-35. THE MESSIAH’S FACE LIKE FLINT   There have been so many views about the personality of Jesus Christ, both among Christians and non-Christians alike. In Islam, Jesus Christ is known as Isa, one of God’s highest-ranked and most beloved prophets. They consider Him to be neither God nor the Son of God as they hold a strong view of monotheism. Some Christians debate if He is God or just the Son of God. However, among the numerous teachings about His identity, Christianity teaches that He is the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament whose face is set like a flint.   The first reading presents to us one of the Songs of the Suffering Servant in the book of Isaiah, the prophecy about the submission of Jesus Christ the Messiah to the Lord. This prophecy speaks of the chilling details of the sufferings of the Messiah. We know Jesus Christ was beaten on his back, on his face, he was mocked and was spat upon. We c...

Readings: Isaiah 35:4-7; Psalm 146; James 2:1-5 and Mark 7:31-37.  THE APOCALYPSE OF ISAIAH   It is quite unfortunate that not even the Church has done enough, and the Nigerian society too has done little or nothing at all to care for people with special needs such as the lame, the blind, the deaf and dumb. This seems less important to the government of the day to construct special pathways for the blind or make provisions for special vehicles for the lame. What about education for and communication with the blind, deaf and dumb? Very few institutes or organizations have interest in sign language. Is it the case that these our brothers and sisters with special needs have no need of the Gospel and education? Today’s liturgy draws our attention to the interest of God in these people.   The Prophet Isaiah in the first reading uses the image of a deaf person to show us what God will do for his people who have shut their ears and no longer listen to Him. This pericope ...