The Holy Name of MARY Mother of God

“In dangers, in perplexities, in doubtful cases think of Mary;

Call on Mary; let her not leave thy lips;

Let her not depart from thy heart.”

~ St. Bernard

A Personal Reflection

I am one of those Christian who venerate, honor and adore the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the Mother of God and through divine providence see her as the New Eve, the New Ark of the Covenant, and the Queen of the Eternal Davidic Kingdom- in which Jesus Christ is the King of endless glory and the Messiah of mankind! This manifestation and acceptance in my opinion are gifts from God to me, because I am just but an ordinary Christian who has been blessed by the almighty God and especially through the intercession of his Mother, Mary the ever-Blessed Virgin.

This reflection of mine is not an academic pursuit nor is it intended to convince anyone. I am not a theologian or learned in the scriptures, but a mere Catholic who happens to be an altar server, married in the Catholic Church and a recipient of the Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation and Matrimony! My singular intention is to express my fidelity to my Lord and my God and the many uncountable ways the almighty has necessitated that I should honor Mary, the Mother of God and the instrument upon which the salvation of mankind became obvious through the power of “Emmanuel.”

As Saint Thomas Aquinas rightly put it, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible”, and in the words of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, “We speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual term” my faith in God is not about intellectual understanding or appreciation. Therefore after reading through this my experiences, my hope is that you may be able to relate to why I continue to honor Mary, as God first did, and for those who may remain adamant, at the least, I am happy to have been counted worthy to express my absolute fidelity and worship of my God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, while at the same time honoring the Mother of God, Mary, as did the Angels and Saints of God throughout all generations, as the Blessed Virgin and Queen of Heaven predicted in her Song of Praise as recorded in the Gospel according to Saint Luke.

I Believe

I believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and nobody can go to the Father without passing through him, not even Mary, the Mother of God, because our Lord is purely human, born of the same Blessed Virgin Mother and purely Divine, the Son of the almighty God, who is our only source of salvation. It is only through the name of Jesus Christ that man can be saved and all kneels shall bow in heaven and on earth and furthermore only the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ can satisfy God’s requirement to change the course of mankind destiny from eternal damnation to everlasting life.

By faith, I believe in the Holy Trinity; that is three persons in one God; Father, Son and the Holy Spirit! While I cannot explain nor comprehend the exact meaning of this dogma, I believe, since Jesus Christ said I should accept the fact that “I and my Father are one” and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter will come after his ascension and it did during the Pentecost Sunday.

The Church teaches us to worship only God and never make idol of anything, therefore it was not difficult for me to be able to distinguish worshiping of God and honoring the angels and saints and Mary, the Mother of God. Furthermore, in my faith as a Catholic, I believe in the communion of the saints, the living and the dead and the spiritual reality of our life here on earth. I believe in the prayers of the faithful and in the intercessory prayers of the saints including the powerful advocate in Mary, the Mother of God, and the guardian of the angels and in their protections.

In life, there have been several occasions that the divine interventions of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ have been manifested through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and other at times through so many Saints and the prayers of my parents, pastors and even strangers! My life is consequently surrounded by series of mysteries that further enhanced my understanding of how God can make the impossible possible, and also showcase the intercessory prowess of Mary.

The more I learn about the infinite goodness, mercy and compassion of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the more my appreciation, love and honor for his Mother, Mary evolves! Though it is difficult, nevertheless I shall try to explain how Mary has influenced my life and draw me even closer to a greater understanding of the mystery of her son, Jesus Christ.

Mary’s Role in Salvation:

Mary vs. Eve

To question the role of Mary in the salvation of mankind is to failed to appreciate the symbolism of the union of Jesus Christ, who is “Emmanuel” and the Mother of God, Mary the New Eve through whom the salvation plans of the almighty God was made manifest!

In order to fully attempt to comprehend the role of Mary in God’s plans of salvation for humanity, we must first examine the fall of our first parent Adam and Eve. The intimate relationship that exists between Adam and Eve was further accentuated between the New Adam (Jesus Christ) and the New Eve (Mary) and to the extent that unlike Eve being pulled from the flesh of Adam, the New Adam comes from the New Eve.

Leading up to the Fall of Mankind, Eve listens to the sordid words of the serpent, on the contrary, paving the way for the Recreation and salvation of Mankind, the New Eve is visited by the Angel Gabriel, thus the first listened to the Devil’s agent, whereas Mary in total submission to the will of the almighty God listened to the his agent, the Angel Gabriel. The implications are that through the action of Mary, she effectively untied the Knot of Eve’s Disobedience.

Another contrast between Eve and the New Eve, which is Mary, is their progeny; Eve gives birth to Sin and Death, whereas Mary gives birth to Grace and Salvation that is in Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ. Eve listens to the words of the serpent and sins against God: sin and death enter the world! Mother Mary, the New Eve, literally gives birth to the Son of God, Jesus Christ who is the grace and salvation of mankind.

Together the Old and New Eve changed creation, however in a different way: Eve and Adam together cause the fall of mankind from grace to condemnation, whereas on the contrary the New Eve (Mary) and the New Adam (Jesus Christ) brought about salvation

Mary was necessary in partnership in the salvation of mankind because the Savior of mankind needed to be fully human and fully divine! Christ being born of a woman was a necessary step in his incarnation and validity in being the savior: thus, Mary, as the New Eve, the Mother of God, was the necessary perfect and pure vessel of Christ’s incarnation.

The old Eve became the “Mother of all the Living, however the New Eve, Mary becomes the “Mother of all who live in Christ”, when Jesus Christ hanging from the cross look down and told John the Evangelist son behold your mother, and looking at his mother, said, woman behold your son, and from that very moment, John began to take care of Mary!

Last but not the least, the enmity that existed immediately after the fall was between Eve and the Serpent and therein was found the first messianic promise that was given to mankind:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” On the other hand, the enmity of the New Eve (Mary) was with Satan as documented in the Book of Revelation, recounting the Woman bearing the Son and the Woman and the Dragon engaging in spiritual warfare in which the almighty God has granted her victory!

“Henceforth all generation shall call me blessed”

Mary is also the visible sign of God’s work and a reflection of the perfect bride for the bridegroom, in our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a woman, a virgin whose attributes are a faithful and steadfast observance of the Law of Moses and the complete love for God and total submission to his will. She was never from a wealthy family nor highly educated, nobody would have expected her choice to be the Mother of God and as a matter of fact, as the divine plans started unfolding, she was ridiculed, denigrated and even accused of committing adultery and potentially awaiting to be stoned to death. And yet, filled with the Holy Spirit, Mary proclaimed “henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” The ways of God is different from those of man, and he decided to ridicule those who claim to be wise and knowledgeable in worldly matters by making Mary, a woman filled with humility, obedience and love of God to be the maternal custodian of his only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

The Angel Gabriel

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent his angel, Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a girl betrothed to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. The angel came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” Now after she was told about how she was going to become the Mother of God, she did not doubt nor reject, but replied with a “YES” even without completely understanding the implications of her choice! By saying “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your words”, Mary effectively allowed God to use her as the medium of salvation for humanity!

This is one of the greatest alleluia moments in the life of mankind, the very moment, this woman, the Mother of God, Mary, accepted to become the abode of the Son of God! She sacrificed all, gave her all, without reservation and became completely united with God and without hesitation! In order to appreciate the sacrifice of Mary, reflect upon the interaction of Jesus Christ and his heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane; “Not my will, but your will be done.” Jesus Christ has the power to avoid death, but because of the love and union between the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit and also as a result of staying the course to bring salvation to mankind, he let go of everything, stripped of his glory and accepted death, even death on the cross!

Mary Visits Elizabeth

The angel Gabriel also revealed to Mary, the Mother of God that Elizabeth who was referred to as barren was sixth month pregnant with a son, whom she will later call John the Baptist! This was the same Elizabeth that was ridiculed, mocked and insulted because in those days, the lack of the fruit of the womb in some quarters was considered a curse from God! Behold, the angel Gabriel message was true! When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greetings, something extraordinary happened; John who is in the womb was able to recognize Jesus Christ and his mother filled with the Holy Spirit proclaimed to Mary “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” It suffice to note, Mary always carry Jesus Christ everywhere she goes and make our Lord visible to those who open the eyes of their faith as Elizabeth did in the above narrative.

Jesus first Miracle

So it came to pass that Jesus Christ, his mother Mary and the disciples were invited to attend a wedding in Cana, and behold the wine ran out! The Mother of God went to her son and interceded on behalf of the wedding couple, so that they will not be put to shame. In spite of the fact that it was not Jesus Christ “time”, he performed the miracle of turning the water into wine and the wedding was successful. This was the first miracle of Jesus Christ and his glory was made manifest before all. Again, without doubt, Mary helped manifest the glory of his son and those who obeyed her instructions to do whatever Jesus Christ required of them are never put to shame.

Jesus Is Crucified and Gave Us Mary

So they took charge of Jesus. He went out, carrying his cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull,” as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called “Golgotha.”) There they crucified him. Standing close to Jesus’ cross were his mother…Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, “He is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “She is your mother.” From that time the disciple took her to live in his home. These events informed the Church tradition of universal maternity of Mary.

Today, I am that disciple and no longer saint John the Evangelist! It is my responsibility to honor Mary, because Mary is already taking care of me as her son.

Queenship of Mary

In Revelation, we read about the enmity between the New Eve, Mary and Satan or Dragon when the woman was about to bear a Son. Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple…And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Based on the Church teaching, which I believed, the “ark of the covenant” and the “woman” are considered the same portent. Mary is therefore the New Ark of the Covenant, the vessel that brought heaven and earth together or the emergence of the incarnation of God, the Divine to become the Son of Mary, the human! The “woman” is obviously Mary and the “male child” is Jesus Christ who is to take over the Eternal Kingship of David as was promised by the almighty God to King David.

As a result of the protection granted to Mary, the dragon was unable to harm her and therefore turn to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.

We are the offspring of Mary; all children of God, Christians who obey God and bear testimony to Jesus!

Mary in my Faith

I honor and venerate Mary because God first honored her and made her the instrument by which his Only Begotten Son and my Lord Jesus Christ became man and was able to offer himself as a living sacrifice for humanity thereby paving the way for the salvation of mankind from eternal condemnation due to the disobedience of our first parents Adam and Eve to everlasting life as a result of the complete obedience and total submission to the will of God by Mary, the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God.

Every single unique grace and role given to Mother Mary is anchored in Jesus Christ. All her honor and due veneration rests on understanding Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind.

Mary is the most blessed of human creation, prepared as a bride befitting of the bridegroom, who will bear the savior of the world! She is the new Eve that completely submits herself to the will of the almighty God and pave way for the salvation plans of God to become a reality. Consequently, God honored her above any other human being and upon the invocation of the name of Mary; her intercession is real and undeniable before her son, Jesus Christ. The teaching about her Immaculate Conception is based on the understanding that, nothing sinful can bear or carry God, and therefore, the almighty God make the conception of Mary to be free from the sins and consequences of Adam and Eve disobedience.

Mary’s Contemporary Interventions- the Apparitions

The battle between the Dragon “Satan” and the offspring of Mary is an ongoing one that the Mother of God continues to intervene through the permission of her son and our Lord Jesus Christ as manifested in both public and private apparitions. Mary continue to lead us to Jesus Christ at every of such apparitions and reminds us of the necessity to turn to Jesus Christ as our only source of salvation.

The role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God in the life of the “offspring” of God that truly understood her accentuating effectiveness is simply exemplified in the Wedding at Cana narrative in the gospel and that is nothing short of leading us all to her son Jesus Christ.

There have been series of Apparitions (supernatural appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary) in which the Mother of God appears in different forms, but with the same theme; turning our heart to his son, Jesus Christ.

Some of the Approved apparitions are, Our Lady of Kibeho, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Laus, and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Pontmain, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Knock, Our Lady of Beayraing, and Our Lady of Banneux.

There are other apparitions that are yet to be approved by the Church, but however have had tremendous impact on the faithful especially within the locality. In a special way and with deep gratitude to God, I was a witness to the Apparition of Our Lady of Aiokpe, in Nigeria. Again, Our Lady, the Mother of God addresses herself as the mediatrix of all graces and substantiates her apparition with the miracle of the dancing sun. The Bishop or Ordinary as at the time of the event in the 1990’s was Bishop Fidelis Oga Orgah of blessed memory and with the many other priests, religious and the faithful bore witnesses to the powerful intercession of the Mother of God through the miracles, healings and joy that permeate the Nigerian Christian community and in a special way the small village of Aiokpe in the Catholic Diocese of Otukpo, Nigeria.

Private Experiences

The interventions that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God has wrought in my life are as a result of my belief that her intercessory prayers before her son and my Lord Jesus Christ are more powerful and easily acceptable than mine! This does not in any way stop me from praying to my God directly nor disregarding Jesus Christ as my advocate, since in reality we have only one advocate with the Father and that is Jesus Christ!

In my life, I pray directly to God through Jesus Christ as I am led by the Holy Spirit, because my Lord was the one that told me to ask and I will receive, seek and I will find and knock and the door will be open. However based on my experience, I have discovered that whenever I ask, seek and knock for something and I turn to Mary, in the same way that the wedding couple turned to her, I am encouraged the more to wait upon the Lord as I know that the Mother of God had been given the power to influence the timing of when my prayer is going to be answered to the glory of God!

Throughout my life, I continue to benefit from this very unique union of humanity and divinity brought about by God’s singular plan of returning man from eternal condemnation to everlasting life.

As a child, three of our favorite prayers most often referred to as the Common Prayers are, The Lord’s Prayer, The Hail, Mary and The Glory Be…. My life is woven into these prayers and in the most remarkable fashion the glory of the almighty continues to be made manifest as I sojourn in this earthly, but short-lived life.

I therefore thank my God; Father, Son and the Holy Spirit for the gifts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the Mother of God and the Mother of mankind, for her powerful intercessions and continual protections for those who turn to her seeking to draw closer to Jesus Christ. And I also thank the almighty God for all the Saints and the angels that honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the Mother of our God. All the Apostles of Jesus Christ and especially Saint John the Beloved, whom tradition believed kept the Mother of God as directed by Jesus Christ until her Assumption into heaven. Saints like Augustine, Bernard, Francis, Anthony, Rita, Bernadette, Pio, Maximillan Kobe, Bridget, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and hosts of other men and women of God all have great affections for the Mother of God and display their love passionately and faithfully for many of us to see. I also desire to emulate their lifestyle and pray that God will help me to be a true imitator of Mary, just as she was the perfect imitator of Jesus Christ while on earth.

May the almighty God bless you all for taking time to read through this small contribution of mine in which I attempt to document some of the reasons why I continue to honor and pray to Mary, and also ask the Saints to please join my prayers and petitions to theirs and pass them to God through Jesus Christ!

My Prayer

Dear heavenly Father,

I want to continue to thank you so much for the gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the perfect image of the New Eve. Her humility and total submission to your will change the course of humanity from eternal condemnation to everlasting life, when she said yes to the request of the Holy Spirit and became the mother of your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please help me to emulate her humility and total submission to your will, as she did emulate her son, Jesus Christ who also completely submitted to your holy will and die for the salvation of mankind.

In times of temptation, give me the courage to call the name of Mary, and ask her to come to my aid, by presenting my petition as quickly as possible to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

The Hail, Mary Prayer

I now join all the angels and the saints to implore the Hail, Mary prayer beginning as we should always;

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! Amen.

HAIL, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Thank you!

Ref: Genesis 2, 3, Luke 1, 2 Revelation 11, 12, 1 Corinthians 2, www.stpeterslist.com

Podeh2016

Georgetown, a Jesuit university, is the first U.S. college with a Hindu priest as a chaplain!

I am a Catholic, a Christian that believes in the universality of the almighty God!
This appointment therefore signifies the necessity of the commonality humanity shared in their quest to find God and therefore live in peace with one another.
My hope is that, through this appointment, mankind can begin to value ourselves as the creation of God, the almighty and heavenly Father, who desire is for all his children to have eternal life.


We are all children of one God, the creator of the universe and of mankind. I however believe that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
Excerpt: The Washington Post


When Brahmachari Vrajvihari Sharan led his first worship service in his new job as a Hindu chaplain Sunday, he knew his audience.
As the service began, he asked worshipers to clear their minds. “Close all the tabs that are open, just as you would do to a Firefox window,” he said.

A Hindu priest at Georgetown, Sharan said, is “very, very surprising. It’s a testament to their commitment and not simply lip service.” Yet he said his new job fits the school’s philosophy: “They would like students to leave Georgetown with a deeper understanding of their spiritual self and their place in an interreligious society.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/georgetown-a-jesuit-university-is-the-first-us-college-with-a-hindu-priest-as-a-chaplain/ar-AAifkrU?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=U270DHP

Two Beloved Nuns Martyred in Lexington Mississippi

A man has been arrested in the stabbing deaths of two nuns whose bodies were found in their home in rural Mississippi, authorities said.

Margaret Held and Paula Merrill, both nurse practitioners, failed to show up for work Thursday at a clinic in Lexington, where they served one of the state's poorest counties.

Let us pray for the repose of the souls of these beloved nuns!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/27/us/man-arrested-in-killing-of-mississippi-nuns/

Stand Firm and Hold Fast: Love, Hope & Faith!

Therefore, brothers and sisters

stand firm and hold fast to

the traditions that you were taught,

either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.

~2 Thessalonians 2: 15

The perpetual richness of the mystical body of Christ or the Church is derived from her oral and scriptural traditions, passed on to our generation from the Apostles who lived during the time of Jesus Christ earthly sojourn and the early Christian fathers and mothers. And the essence of the oral traditions which were handed over to us from generation to generation were substantiated and consequent upon what Saint John the Evangelist wrote in the concluding chapters of his Gospel according to John which stated, “If these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Jesus Christ did and taught us so many things that were they to be written down the whole world will not contain them!

When I was growing up and with little or no knowledge of the Bible, my parents were many compasses in addition to the catechist and other influential members of my Christian community in Nigeria, and today I owe everything to them through Jesus Christ for the love, care and vital instructions that helped shaped my faith in God and led me to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior today!

Oral Tradition

Christmas Childhood Memories

It is with absolute nostalgia that I retrospect some of the Oral Tradition of the Church that I so cherished and which have made me a better Christian today.

The Christmas day celebration, whose date was not written down in the Bible, but has come to signify one of the cornerstones of our Christian festivity, is on my top list! As a child, I can vividly remember the two-dimensional preparations; the spiritual has to do with the reception of the sacraments through the participation and attendance in the required church activities and the physical dimension that has to do with the much anticipated new clothes and shoes, the sharing of Christmas meals with our neighbors and gallivanting almost the entire neighborhood visiting families, eating, playing and receiving money and plenty of gifts.

Christmas merriment growing up as a Catholic in a multi-cultural and diverse community of varieties of religious, ethnic and social background was very unique in many ways. For instance, Christmas meals, which are in most cases very delicious menu of rice and stew, or jellof- rice, fried meat either of beef, goat or chicken and turkey, in some places pounded yam served with egusi (melon), Okoho or Ogbono soups that contains assorted varieties of meat, such as dried stockfish, mackerel, game- such as grasscutter (a type of rodent) in addition to the traditional beef, chicken and goat, are distributed among neighbors far and wide without regard to religion or any of the differences I have mentioned. Christians share their merriment with Muslim and people of other religion, who wholehearted accepts them and reciprocate in some cases by giving the bearer of the food gifts in cash and kind.

These tradition which the Church actively encourages have tremendous positive impact in my community and resulted in the typical scenario of a child is brought up by the village, as everyone is interested in your welfare. This act of sharing in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ has become an iconic means of sharing the gospel of Christ in our community and without doubt, love did abound indeed.

Legion of Mary, Mother of God

There is a unique pride in being identified as a Legionary in those days when I was a youngster in Otukpo, Nigeria. The members of the Legion of Mary at St. Mary’s Catholic Church are required to help the elderly people in our community with task such as fetching water, firewoods, running the errands and washing their clothes among other things that they may need.

I recall two siblings that were over 90 years old each in those days. The man had slight hearing impediment; nevertheless, he always vividly respond to our presence with joy and communicate eloquently. We fetch water for them, help set up their fire for cooking, wash their clothes, however when it is time to eat, we will remind them that as legionaries we are not allowed to accept gifts, since our actions are to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary and offer our service through her to her son, Jesus Christ!

Then comes the arguing back and forth, with them insisting we must at least take a bite otherwise they will not welcome our help in the future! As a matter of fact we have no choice but to take a piece of their meal and thank them for their generosity. When it is time to depart, these elderly folks will ask us to kneel so they can bless us! These blessings have remained with me to this day and I cannot thank God enough for the simplicity, love and complete gratitude always on display whenever we visit these siblings in Otukpo.

Adoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints

As a Catholic, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Mother of God, and the angels and Saints have a unique place in our Christian faith. The Holy Rosary prayer is second to the “Our Father” or “The Lord’s Prayer” growing up in my family. We honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and adore the angels and Saints, because my parents believe in the communion of the saints. Even before I knew how to read the Bible from the Christian perspective, I was knowledgeable in saying the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, the Apostle Creed, the Glory be to God, the Holy Rosary prayers and many other prayers in the Church, including the recitation of the Lord is my shepherd or Psalm 23!

My family favorite saint is Saint Jude Thaddeus and we have an altar with his statue and those of the Cross of Jesus Christ and other relics in a corner in our living room. 

Today, I have many favorite saints and try my best to emulate them, because like the Blessed Virgin Mary, they too try to emulate Jesus Christ, who is both our moral and spiritual compasses in life. I also have a dedicated altar with the crucifix of Jesus Christ and other relics in my home and I pray through the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saints Peter and Paul, Anthony and Francis, Martha and Veronica, Rita and Fustina, Pope John Paul II and Maxmillian Kobe, Padre Pio and Joseph the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Augustine and Blessed Cyprian and uncountable other men and women of God that have lived a glorious lives here on earth.

Family Tradition in Faith

My parents used to tell us several stories, which in conclusion draw on the Christian values of generosity, prudence, humility, patience, perseverance and endurance, love, friendship, sharing and the need to be a brother’s keeper. We are required to help anybody even if the person was a stranger. I remember one incident in particular when we were coming from the farm and we ran into an elderly farmer with a basket on her head. My dad insisted one of us takes the basket and help her home!

He will always say God is visiting us through such folks and therefore we must be ready to help, because we are helping Jesus Christ, who instructed we should love our neighbor as ourselves! And there are so many other traditional values that have been woven into our Christian consciousness and they have become part and parcel of our lives.

Scriptural Traditions

Catechism and Sunday school Teaching

When my parents enrolled us into the Catechism class, were we to prepare for our first Holy Communion, which is one of the seven Sacraments of the Church, the others being Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Matrimony, Holy Order and Anointing of the Sick!

I was baptized as a child because my parents exercising their free will and their faith in God deemed it necessary that as their Child I ought to be born again into the Church of God or the mystical body of Christ. However my real encounter with Jesus Christ began when I was in the catechism class with the Catechist quoting the scriptures about the authenticity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ appearing under the bread and wine at the Eucharistic celebration or the Holy Mass.

For sure there were millions of questions; however by faith in the words of Jesus Christ, I believe that he is present in the Holy Communion after the consecration prayer by the Priest.

It was also in the Catechism class that the Ten Commandments of God was thoroughly explained to me, and how it forms the basis of Christian practices in our daily life. The Bible traced the origin of man’s creation and the salvation that was granted to mankind after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

I learned about Abraham faith, Esau and Jacob (Israel), then Moses all the way to King David, John the Baptist and finally Jesus Christ.

Then we were taught to make sure that all our actions were motivated by two major Commandments; love of God and love of neighbor and that if we ever entertain any doubt regarding the compatibility of our actions and these laws, then we must reject those actions that bring about doubt within us.

The Ten Commandments

Jesus Christ summarized the Ten Commandments into two namely:

1.      The Lord says: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart.” And

2.      The Lord says: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

3.       

In order to love God, I must set my heart on the things of God, so that I can really love him above all things and be faithful to his commandments, as a child love his father and obey his order. Through the scripture, I am taught how to love God; obeying the teachings of the mystical body of Christ, the Church, profess my faith without fear or favor, pray to my God day and night and always, offer my difficulties, my joys and my sorrows to God. I must never use the name of God in vain; do not swear or lie in the name of God and never disrespect the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.

 

In regards to the commandment of love thy neighbor as thyself, for me to love my neighbor as Jesus Christ have loved me, I must never used my neighbors for my own ends or do to them what I do not want done to me. I must honor my parents and mankind and give them help in their spiritual and material needs. I must be generous, kind and compassionate to people, I must not discriminate or harbor ill feeling towards another person. I must obey the legitimate authority and give them their due respect. If I am in the position of authority, I must dispense it with love and compassion of Jesus Christ, becoming the servant and not the master of those under me. I must work for justice, avoid violence and forgive those who hurt me and ask for forgiveness from those I might have hurt. I must not kill or support any form of killing, and my love must not be selfish, but truly self-sacrificing as Jesus Christ did!

 

Stand Firm & Hold Fast!

 

We are able to stand firm only if we constantly try to live in accordance to the way that our God desire for us and not through any machinations of ours! In such scenario, we will experience the gradual disappearance of our anxiety about the future and become more hopeful because our blessed assurance comes from a God that is steadfast and faithful in all his ways. And we can hold fast if only we truly know God’s enduring faithfulness, steadfastness and truth! He is the almighty Father!

 

What are the circumstances that challenge us to stand firm and hold fast to our faith whether it is through oral or scriptural and both traditions?

We must stand firm for love, hope and faith! It is our responsibility as the instrument of God to love humanity and offer mankind the hope and faith that God has blessed us with.

 

We must stand firm for justice for all mankind.

We must stand firm and love every mankind irrespective of their religion, race or locality and or socio-economic or political association and lifestyle orientations.

We must stand firm and pray for all mankind that God will have mercy on us all.

We must stand firm against any form of discrimination that disparage humanity.

We must stand firm for generosity, even if our society is full of greedy and selfish doctrines.

We must stand firm for the goodness of mankind and refuse the doctrine that criminalizes mankind for political, social and economic gains.

We must stand firm to the truth of God as taught to us by our faith.

We must stand firm against killings of human beings from conception and even as children or adult.

We must stand firm against unjust wars.

 

Additionally, we must hold fast to the teaching of our God in the Bible and through the Church.

We must hold fast to the examples of Jesus Christ and live it, so that we too can become the light

We must hold fast to the commandments of God, which are love

We must hold fast to our faith and belief in eternal life through Jesus Christ.

We must hold fast to the necessities of the Sacraments in our lives.

We must hold fast to Christ tenet that we must love all mankind and hate no one.

 

Practical Challenges

 

It is not enough to be a Christian by name and neither will it be enough to try and live a truly Christian life through our own effort. That is why Jesus Christ admonished us to come to him all those who labor and are burn and he will give us rest.

Therefore if we want to stand firm and hold fast to the teachings of Jesus Christ as handed over to us through the Bible (scripture) and oral testimonies of the Saints of God, including and not limited to those recognized by the mystical body of Christ, we must use the love of God as the basis for all our actions. If we love God, we will be empowered to love our neighbor as the Holy Spirit and God and ourselves and become the temple of the Lord and Jesus Christ will come and offer him to us again and all our actions will be orchestrated through divine providence.

Prayer

 

Dear heavenly Father,

 

Here am I again, before your throne of grace, as I go down on my knees and looking up at my crucified Jesus Christ on the cross! I believe you want me to walk in your peace.

Help me to stand firm in the life you have given me and hold fast to your truth!

Let my life bring glory to your holy name and that will be enough for me.

Thank you O my Lord and God for always hearing my prayer.

In Jesus Christ, I offer you my life today.

Amen

 

Ref: 2 Thessalonians 2, John 21, Matthew 23, and Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5,

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Let Us Pray and Support Italy: Earthquake leaves 39 dead and towns in ruin

The devastations from the early Wednesday, August 24, 2016 strong, shallow earthquake has left at least 39 people dead and rescuers are overwhelmed in search of survivals.

 

Please let us pray for the people of Italy and help support by any means possible the effort to save lives and provide succor to those that are being rescued.

 

My heart goes out to all those that have lost loved ones and are without home and really cannot even imagine what the future hold for them right now.

 

I pray that the almighty God will intervene and manifest his light in the midst of this terrible darkness. Amen!

Hope!

 

Hope!

 

Hope!

Hope!

Hope!

Hope!

We must continue to hope even in the midst of despair and hopelessness, because the human spirit is strong and tremendously determined and especially when we seek the comfort of the almighty God.

May God comfort the people of Italy today, as the struggles for survival and restoration continues.

With love,

Peter Odeh & Family

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Pictures courtesy of CNN!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/23/europe/italy-earthquake/

Happy Birthday Mr. Kobe Bryant “The Black Mamba”

On behalf of my family and me, I want to wish you a very happy 38^th birthday anniversary!

May the almighty God continue to bless you with love, peace and prosperity as you enjoy life after the National Basketball Association!

You are indeed among the greatest in the sports of Basketball and your global recognition is remarkable.

Please continue your philanthropic gestures to the whole world and especially in communities that lack the basic necessities of life, especially in the developing countries of the world.

Sincerely,

Peter Odeh & Family

Baltimore MD

The Beautiful Composition of the Kingdom of God

And People will come from the east and the west

and from the north and the south and

will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.

~ Luke 13: 22-30

What a relief it is to know that the Kingdom of God is not limited to any particular race, ethnicity or people, but rather it is by nature Catholic or Universal and composed of people from the north and south, and from the east and west!

In an era where humanity constantly display the melancholic trend of not wanting to have anything to do with God all in the name of freedom to do anything that pleases us and without recourse to spiritual and moral compasses, it should be encouraging to those who desire goodness, justice and peace everlasting that irrespective of where you come from and who you are Jesus welcome all into the Kingdom of God!

The emblems of the Kingdom of God are eternal life, peace and joy in the presence of the creator of heaven and earth! We shall lack nothing good and our being will be transformed into the glorious bodies that will never suffer corruption and in the presence of the Lord our God it shall be all praise and glory, singing alleluia without end.

The Kingdom of God is not the exclusive right of Christians alone, neither is it for the Caucasians nor the rich and powerful. On the contrary, it is open to all mankind, rich and poor, white and black, Islam, Buddhist, Pagans, and Hinduism, people with various lifestyle orientations, among others. The simple criteria required of those who seek to enter this beautiful Kingdom of God are believing in the name of Jesus Christ, and accepting the fact that he is the Messiah and the Son of the living God and finally living according to his tenet as exemplified in the scriptures and emulated by uncountable saints, past and present in this world.

The Kingdom of Earth

Throughout history, man has continued his quest for true freedom, peace and joy, however and most regrettably these missions have largely remained elusive principally because, we have rejected God by acting unjustly toward our neighbors, our greed and self-centeredness have blinded us to the virtues of generosity, and the hatred we have for those who does not support our ways of lifestyle, may not come from our ethnicity or shall the commonality of faith is so intense that we are ready to kill, destroy or denigrate humanity in order to make a point.

The consequences of these godless trends are evident in the spiritual and moral decadence that are prevalent in our society today. Examples of the penalty of relegating God to the background are beyond imagination, however it suffice to mention but a few:

The misrepresentation and mischaracterization of love is on the top of the list! As a result of our obvious egocentrism, most often the kind of love will manifest are the self-centered or greedy type that whenever expressed must be accompanied with a return investment status quo. What this kind of mentality does is to perpetuate the doctrine of an eye for an eye or you only help those you expect something from in return.

Have you ever experience a situation whereby you encounter someone more powerful, rich and in position of high earthly authority utter words like, “I am powerful and can do and undo?” if so you will understand how mortal man has turned himself into a mini-god!

To be fearless in itself is not a bad thing, since without being fearless, you may not take the necessary stride to survive or overcome bullying and other forms of intimidations. To be fearless before God is completely absorbed, considering the fact that our lives are in God’s hands and not vice versa. We are witnesses to many so called great world leaders that claimed to be mini-god and dealt heartlessly, cruelly and ruthlessly against those they think were opposed to them. Fortunately these folks are no longer with us, but the almighty God remained and abide forever!

Ours is also a society that have accepted and put into practice the doctrine of individuality and the concept of relativism without recourse to God or any kind of divine or moral compasses. We are free to do anything we like or want and careless about whether there are repercussions, as long as we are personally satisfied or experience pleasure or other forms of gratifications.

The only downside is that such gratifications are as ephemeral as life itself.

In our quest for this one-dimensional freedom based on our physicality alone, we are in reality less free and have become captive and slaves to our machinations! We design weapons for protections, but the same is now used to make us less protected, we design medications to heal and prolong our longevity from a scientific perspective, regrettably we now used the same medications to kill and hurt others, we design scientific mode of transportations such as airplane, cars and trains and ship, unfortunately either by omission or commission humanity have lost and continue to loose their lives through these means of transportations. The bottom line is simply we are unable to achieve the kind of kingdom that is capable of delivering our quest for infinite love and longevity, health and well-being, true happiness and joy, satiability and glory.

The results of this synthetic freedom that completely disregards the tenet of the freedom that God has fashioned for humanity are, wars after wars, refugee crisis, forced- migrations with the detrimental consequences of severe discrimination and helplessness of the victims, destructions of lives and properties. All these inimical development culminate in many becoming resigned and seeing life on earth as useless, hopeless and worthless.

Without an iota of doubt, it is this kind of state of This state of utmost despair has led to the emergence of another ugliness, that of terrorism and terrorists that feel that life has no meaning and the use of weapons is the solution to every human problems.

This is the pathetic representation of the Kingdom of earth in our era, where the rich becomes richer and the poor become poorer and unfortunately nobody experience true peace anymore, as every facet of humanity are plague with hurt, betrayal and lack of peace.

Summarily, the egocentric and godless choices we make have tremendous negative impact in our society and the people we encountered, as evident in the prevalence injustices, discrimination and hatred, killing, lynching and incapacitations of mankind as a result of our inhumanity.

The Kingdom of God

In order to appreciate the Kingdom of God, we must emphasis what it is not! When Saint Paul was writing to the Galatians he stated the work of the flesh, which personifies the Kingdom of earth:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. (Galatians 5: 19-21)

The Kingdom of God is completely the perfect opposite of the fallibility of the kingdom of earth and its emblems are life, righteousness, power, justice, peace, love and glory through eternity. As a result of man’s limitations to describe the physical nature of the throne of grace and the eternal glory of the Kingdom of God is impossible to comprehend and therefore it suffices to use the words of the prophet Isaiah as a prelude to challenge our imagination:

Wolves and sheep will live together in peace, and leopards will lie down with young goats. Calves and lion cubs will feed together and little children will take care of them. Cows and bears will eat together and their calves and cubs will lie down in peace. Lions will eat straw as cattle’s do. Even a baby will not be harmed if it plays near a poisonous snake. (Isaiah 11:6-8)

The above scenarios are not humanly possible and therefore to fully comprehend the nature of the Kingdom of God is beyond the imagination of mankind, nevertheless the characteristics described by the prophets and especially Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God enables those who desire God to have a glimpse of the glory and greatness that awaits us, if we eventually make heaven.

The Kingdom of God is life and not death and it is for all eternity! There is absolute peace, justice and righteousness in the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is so powerful that no evil can ever prevail against it! And those who make heaven will enjoy happiness and joy that can never be expressed by human understanding and the mankind insatiability for what is good will be quenched forever.

Whatever pleases us here on earth, whatever we truly desire and longed for and whatever dreams we want to accomplished and which we hope will make us extremely happy and satisfied, is nothing in comparison to the glory that waits us in heaven.

Composition of the Kingdom of God

The most amazing part of the Kingdom of God outside the fact that it is eternal, glorious and full of love and life is the composition attribute that Jesus Christ eloquently described today in our hearing! People from the North and South, and from the East and West are all welcome in the Kingdom of God! White and Black, rich and poor, religious and impious, people of every kind and types and nature are welcome into this Kingdom of God through the amazing and divine grace and providential care of the almighty and eternal God!

What an awesome feeling it must be to know and without an iota of doubt that, neither my race nor ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, lifestyle orientation, religious belief or lack of it excludes me from the Kingdom of God, as long as I am willing to accept Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord, Son of the living God and my savior.

All are welcome in my Father’s house or kingdom, as Jesus Christ will remind us throughout the scriptures and through the lives of the saints and the faithful that live a life full of emulation of our Lord and savior.

 We know through the scriptures that after the fall of our first parents Adam and Eve, because of God’s infinite love for mankind and through divine providence designed a way for humanity to return to him. This loving God, faithful and steadfast beyond understanding decided to subject his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to death on the cross, so that upon him will hang our transgressions and through his death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, will now serve as our advocate with the Father and effectively reconcile us on the path to the Kingdom of God, which is everlasting joy in the presence of the angels and saints

 Therefore no matter what religion you may belong to, whether it is Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Paganism, African traditional worshipers and others not listed here, you are in line to enter the Kingdom of God too, because Jesus Christ did not die for Christians alone, but for the entire humanity!

What is needed is for us to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, the Messiah and savior of the world and live according to his tenet here on earth.

In the Kingdom of God, we are no longer going to see ourselves as Black or White, Africans or Americans, Asians or Europeans, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, wise of foolish by our standards, married or unmarried! Instead, we shall be like the angels every ready to serve and be in the presence of the almighty God, in his glory, praising, singing and worshiping him world without end, and as for our being, the transformation shall be complete; from corruptible to incorruptible where there is no more sickness, pain and death.

Let us challenge ourselves together to begin to prepare toward the coming of the Kingdom of God by living the godly life today!

Let us live our lives based on love, hope and faith in God!

Let us thrive for heaven by loving one another and becoming an instrument of God’s peace, reconciliation and joy to our families, friends and community and those we encounter in life!

Let the joy of the Lord, be our strength as we march on, seeing in our sufferings and challenges the call to carry our cross as Jesus Christ did, and so bring comfort to those experiencing pains and hurts, and make this life meaningful again.

PRAYER

Dear heavenly Father,

I thank you so much for making thy Kingdom of heaven open to the entire humanity. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray that you encourage us to put into practice what our Lord, is preaching and so become the light of the world. May your will be done in our life today and always, as we hope to be united with You and your Son our Lord Jesus Christ who in union with the Holy Spirit lives and reign one God world without end. Amen!

Ref: Luke 13, Galatians 5, Isaiah 6,

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