Dear Parishioners,
‘“I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.”
This Sunday’s Gospel is the last in our liturgical year before we celebrate the feast of Christ the King next week. Jesus
warns his apostles of the resistance and persecution that they will encounter as his followers. Jesus is also warning all his
Church throughout the centuries that there will be hostile and unchristian powers operating in the world against them.
The Scriptures inform us that the leader of the kingdom of darkness, the devil, is always active and seeks only to destroy.
For our part, we are to participate in the victory that Jesus has already won against evil, sin and death. Though most of us
may not endure physical martyrdom for our faith, it will happen to some and is still very prevalent in our world.
In present day Nigeria, countless Christians are being put to death for their faith. For most of us, the persecution we will
endure will be on a different level. We may be mocked or even hated for our refusal to accept immorality within the culture.
We may be called hateful when we stand up for the sanctity of human life from natural conception to natural
death. We may be deemed superstitious or old fashioned by remaining faithful to Sunday worship and daily prayer.
We may be thought of as out-of-touch or behind the times for refusing to embrace the latest popular ideologies or
secular values. Jesus has foreseen all this and he has endured it in an essential way. By going to the Cross to offer his life
as a sacrifice for the entire world Jesus gives us both the example and the means to follow him when we too face powers
of darkness. Jesus says to his Apostles: “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” Let us reflect, today, upon the fact that we are all part of a battle for the salvation of souls, beginning with our own. Let us commit to always going forward with faith, hope and love. Let us be open to the words Jesus will inspire us to speak when needed. Let us resolve to follow Jesus in the footsteps of all those who have gone before us, including all our beloved departed, for whom we are praying this month
God Bless You,
Fr Martin