EVENT : Bl. Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, priest (Feast).
COLOUR: White
READINGS: Phil. 2:2-11; Resp. Psalm Isa. 12:2-3.4bcde.5-6; Mat.13:44-46.
THEME: STAND FIRMLY ON YOUR RELIGIOUS CONVICTION
Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this Twentieth day of January 2021, which doubles also as the feast day of one of Nigerian's first saintly priest and monk, Bl. Fr. Cyprian Iwene Tansi, I wish to reflect with us on the theme: " Stand Firmly On Your Religious Conviction". Beloved, it is often said that 'if you stand for nothing, then you will fall for everything'. We must understand that in life, there are many opportunities, many interests, many directions, many choices, many styles of life. There are many doctrines, many beliefs and many thoughts pattern. Yet we must decide on a particular one, stand Firmly on it and be ready to defend and die for it. These and many more are what makes life worth living. The great man whom will celebrate today, discovered his conviction early in life and stood by it to the end.
Blessed Fr. Cyprian Iwene Tansi, whom we celebrate today, was born into a pagan family in 1903. However, due the contacts of his parents with the missionaries, they decided to allow their son to attend the missionary school run by the whites. It was here that Tansi had his first contact with the Christian Christ, and he became convinced about the path he wanted for himself. Thus, after his secular education and brief period of teaching, Tansi decided to dedicate his life fully to God and to helping other members of his kin to receive Christ. So he joined the seminary in 1925. After his glorious and epoch ordination in 1937, Fr. Micheal worked tirelessly for God, traveling by foot or driving on bicycle to far places to minister to the poor, the lonely, the aged and the sick people in the hinterlands. He had a special apostolate of preparing young women for marriage with the aid of some Nuns. Although he was deeply involved in this work, his zeal for God kept growing such that he longed for a more intense moments of prayers and relationship with God. This saw him joining the Trappist monks at Mount Saint Bernard Monastery in England. After spending many years as a monk, Fr. Cyprian Tansi intended to return and open a Monastery in Nigeria, before his death in Leicester on 20th Jan. 1965, due to rigorous penances. His remains were later carried back and buried at his Homeland at Aguleri, Anambra State, in 1986. Although he died too soon, his spiritual influence was still felt, such that on the 22nd of March 1998, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Fr. Tansi, was convinced of his vocation and love for God, that was why he gave his all to glorify the name of Christ who also sacrificed all for him too.
Beloved in Christ, like the hidden treasures which someone found in the Gospel reading of today, we, like Bl. Tansi, have been privileged to discover the greatest treasure of all time. We have been gifted with the most solid faith, we have received an undeniable conviction and we have been graced with the ability to sustain this precious gift of faith. Now, are we ready to stand Firm and defend this treasured Christian conviction when trials and temptations come, or do we compromise our stand, believing that God will understand. Beloved, if Jesus means anything to you, if his death pricks your heart, if you appreciate his undiluted love , then try your best not to shame him by your compromising lifestyle and do not deny him by your words and actions. I pray that God will help us to stand Firmly on our Christian conviction even when it will cost something....
Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8).
#End Political Oppression
#End Bad Governance
LET US PRAY :Lord Jesus, you stood your ground even when your disciples abandoned you, help me by your grace to stand with you and never to forsake you again......
The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.
May Almighty God bless you the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit......Amen
HAPPY MID-WEEK BELOVED FRIENDS
@ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪
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