Benin St. John Berachman altar servers

12/04/2024

Give away time…if we can get 200 likes for our videos…500 card will be given to like number 20, 50, 100 and 200…Oyah oo free card any network of your choice

07/04/2024

HOMILY FOR THE 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) ARIL 7, 2024.
Dearly beloved, we give praise to God our father who has redeemed us in Christ Jesus and continues to sustain us with His mercy. Even though Easter Week is now behind us, today’s liturgy is still filled with the joyful effects of Jesus’ resurrection. We continue to relish in the joy of the risen Christ for the next six weeks, until Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth and final day of Easter. On this second Sunday of Easter which is tagged: DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY, Holy mother church draws our attention towards the father whose mercy endures forever!” not only to ask for mercy but to show mercy to others.
The first reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles recounts the corporal acts of mercy practiced by the early Christian community as a result of the new way of life which the resurrection of Chris has secured for them.
Meanwhile, St. John in the second reading, deals with practicing both corporal and spiritual works of mercy by obeying God’s, focusing on Jesus’ commandment of loving others as He loves us, with selfless, sacrificial, agape love. Loving others as Jesus loves us also demands that we treat others with God’s mercy and compassion.
Yet in the gospel text, even after an excited Mary Magdalene came to Apostles with the message of the empty tomb announcing that she had seen the Lord, this was not enough to overcome their fear. What had been done to Jesus could be done to them which led to their hiding in self-imposed confinement. The turning point came when the risen Lord himself appeared to them behind their closed doors and helped them over their fear. Jesus stands among them and says to them, ‘Peace be with you’ and breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. By this, He was reconciling his futile disciples to himself; in the knowledge of being forgiven, their hearts were filled with joy and having experienced the gift of the Lord’s forgiveness then, they are sent out in the power of the Spirit to offer to others the gift of forgiveness they have received: ‘Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven’
Beloved, our hope of easter is hinged on the fact that, if the death of Christ dispersed us, as it dispersed His disciples, His resurrection must unite us. If His suffering and death chattered our peace and brought us chaos, his resurrection has restored our peace. This is because, the resurrection of Christ was a game changer. So, Christ says to us too: “Peace be with you, do not be afraid”, because I have truly risen. More to this, God revealed His mercy, first and foremost, in sending His only-begotten Son to become our Savior and Lord through His suffering, death and Resurrection. We are products of God’s mercy. We need to accept God’s invitation to celebrate and practice mercy in our Christian lives. But it is mainly through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that we practice mercy in our daily lives and become eligible for God’s merciful judgment and also bring peace to our our world that lacks peace.
HAPPY DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY AND BLESSING TO YOUR SUNDAY!
PADRE I IDAHOSA

25/03/2024

*Don’t Sit On the Fence, Choose Where You Belong*
_(Monday, 25 March 2024. Readings: Isaiah 42:1-7, Ps. 27:1-3,13-14, John 12:1-11)_

_*“There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” (John 12:2-3)*_

As we continue our faith journey through the Holy Week, we cannot but notice that at this point, there are two camps: the few on the side of Jesus and the majority plotting against Jesus. This is a moment of decision; we must know where we belong.

The chief priests were all out against Jesus. They were even plotting to eliminate Lazarus to destroy any evidence of Jesus’ power. Didn’t they know that one who has the power to raise the dead couldn’t be held down by death? Hatred makes us unreasonable; it pushes us into battles we know we can never win.

Mary and Martha were among the few still on Jesus’ side. They invited Him to their home to express their appreciation for raising Lazarus. Meanwhile, Judas Iscariot represents many Christians today who are sitting on the fence. Outwardly, we pretend to love Jesus, but deep within, we only care about our selfish interests. Where do I belong? This brings us to our lessons for today:

1. God Expects Our Thanksgiving: Giving thanks to God even for the smallest things we enjoy is very important. You might be wondering: “Does God need my thanksgiving?” Yes. It doesn’t add to Him, but it makes us more blessed. When only one l***r returned to give thanks, Jesus asked: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” Jesus told him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:17-19). Mary and Martha were not like the other nine l***rs. They knew the importance of Thanksgiving.

2. Nothing is too great or too little for Thanksgiving: In the case of the l***r, the best he could do was to say “Thank You”. God wants this from us: kneel and praise God. Mary and Martha went beyond words; they organised a Thanksgiving Dinner for Jesus and his disciples. While Martha served dishes, Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping his feet with her hair. This was her unique way of saying: “Thank you for bringing back my brother to life.” Judas protested that the oil was too expensive, but Jesus said: “Leave her alone” Learn to count your blessings and give thanks. What matters is not your thanksgiving's value but your heart's sincerity. If you can afford it, why not? God is not expecting you to pay for His blessings. He only desires to see your faith in action.

3. Bitterness Kills Our Faith: Mary and Martha must have felt betrayed when Lazarus died, and Jesus failed to show up to prevent this death. For many of us, this is the point at which we give up on God. We could become so bitter that we even shut our doors permanently to Jesus. We stop counting our blessings and start saying, "Prayers don’t work.” Can you imagine Mary and Martha driving Jesus away when he showed up four days after Lazarus’ burial? On the other hand, imagine Mary and Martha still angry with Jesus even after he raised Lazarus from the dead. When we are bitter with God, we don’t notice His blessings anymore because we are too focused on what we lack.

4. Watch Your Heart When You Criticize Others: Do you sometimes feel that some people are doing too much for God? Are you angry when someone spends long hours praying (takes their spirituality seriously)? Do you become agitated when someone donates an “unreasonable” amount to a church project? For Judas Iscariot, Mary was wasting this oil. “It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Meanwhile, he said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. Avoid criticising others. Let God be the judge. God knows when our religious activities are merely show-offs (like the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus described as hypocrites) and when they are genuine.

5. Avoid Pretence: Stop publicly presenting yourself as one who cares for the poor (or is close to God) when you aren’t. Remember that God sees everything. It is better to be good than to pretend to be good. In today’s First Reading, God says: “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6)

Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, teach me to give thanks from my heart and grant that I may be a light to the nations, not a hypocrite. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of Holy Week. Bible Study: Isaiah 42:1-7, Ps. 27:1-3,13-14, John 12:1-11).*
Fr. Evaristus E. Abu

Mary and Martha were among the few still on Jesus’ side. They invited Him to their home to express their appreciation for raising Lazarus. Meanwhile, Judas Iscariot represents many Christians today who are sitting on the fence. Outwardly, we pretend to love Jesus, but deep within, we only care abo...

24/03/2024

HOMILY FOR PALM SUNDAY, YEAR B (MARCH 24, 2024)
Readings: 1st: Es 50, 4-7; Ps 21, 8-9, 19-20; 2nd: Phil 2, 6-11: Gos: Mk 14, 1-15-47
Dear beloved, praise be to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his mercy has reconciled us with Himself. That is why today's liturgy calls us to remember and relive the events that caused our reconciliation and redemption and appreciate it while the Church celebrates Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday. Therefore, in the celebration, what we commemorate and revive during this week is not only the death and ascension of Jesus, but our own death and ascension in Jesus, which will result in our healing, reconciliation and redemption. The beauty of today's celebration shows that Christ is the David king who fulfilled this ancient prophecy: "He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, establishing and defending him with justice and justice..."
The first reading, the third of the four songs of the servants of Isaiah, conveys a mysterious figure whose suffering brings a benefit to the people. With the backdrop of the expectant Israel of a triumphant Messiah, the prophet Isaiah before a "suffering servant": the Messiah who, in the broader context, captures aspects of Jesus' own life and mission, and the Church refers to them in this time of solemn meditation to evoke a response in the depths of us, seeing how they are applied to the one beloved Son of God, and how he died for all of us.
The text of today's gospel presents us with the narrative of the Passion and it is pertinent to take into account that Christ was not oblivious to difficulties, deprivation and suffering, long before that last day of his life. "Being in the form of God," like St. Paul in today's second reading, from the moment he arrived on earth, Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are, he was humble even to accept death on a cross." Humbly, the servant of God accepted all his sufferings to save us. And we see that this humility is shown again in the symbol of the donkey in which he rode in Jerusalem in the middle of the cheers with Palms that means the royalty of Christ and his peaceful reign.
More to this, we have the challenge of examining our own lives in the light of some of the characters in the history of the Passion, such as Peter who denied Jesus, Judas who betrayed Jesus, Herod who ridiculed Jesus, Pilate who acted against his conscience while condemning Jesus to death on the cross, and the leaders of the people who preserved their position by getting rid of Jesus. They reflect how

Unfaithful and unpredictable, sometimes we can be in our relationships with God and with others. Today we are in favour of Christ, tomorrow we are against him.
Beloved, we have heard the story of Jesus' last trip told in the space of ten minutes. This Holy Week, the church invites us to travel that trip at a much slower pace, day by day, so to speak, to recognise the good Pastor who gave his life to all of us, so that we can have life and have it to the fullest. The events of the narrative of passion pose challenging questions to us: Are we willing to follow Jesus, not only the Church, but in our daily life? Are we willing to trust Him even when the future is terrifying or confusing, believing that God has a plan? Are we willing to serve you until the day your plan for us on earth is fulfilled? It could change us forever, because the Passion of Jesus shows us that, although we are sinners who have crucified Jesus, we are able, by His gift, to return to Jesus again and ask for his mercy. As we show solidarity with Christ today, it is important that we ask God for the grace to remain firm with him in all moments of our lives and also extend this solidarity to others.
HAPPY SUNDAY OF PASSION AND BLESSING FOR YOUR SUNDAY
PADRE I. IDAHOSA

22/03/2024

Beautiful City of Benin this morning.... Hope you are enjoying your day?

19/03/2024