Radio Maria Nigeria-Enugu

08/09/2026

*RADIO MARIA NIGERIA ENUGU, 106.1FM*

*THE TWENTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II*

*TUESDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER, 2026*

*THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY*

*Micah 5:1-4a or Rom.8:28-30/; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23/*
*~REV. FR. AMBROSE OFODILE*

The Church normally celebrates a saint’s “birthday” on the day of their death, their entrance into eternal life. Three exceptions stand out: the earthly births of Jesus Christ (25 December), John the Baptist (24 June), and the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September).

This feast originated in the East and was introduced in Rome in the seventh century. It is placed nine months after the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (8 December), underscoring that Mary’s birth is inseparable from the mystery of her sinless conception.

Scripture does not record the circumstances of Mary’s birth. Sacred Tradition, reflected in the second-century Protoevangelium of James, recounts that her parents, Joachim and Anne, after long years of childlessness and persevering prayer, were blessed with a daughter whom they named Mary.

An angel announced to Anne the greatness of the child to be born. Mary was later dedicated to God as a consecrated virgin.

*The Theology of Mary’s Birth and Divine Motherhood*

Mary’s nativity is celebrated because she was prepared from the first moment of her existence to become the Mother of God (Theotokos). The Council of Ephesus (431) solemnly defined this truth: Mary is truly the Mother of God because she gave birth to the eternal Son of God who assumed a complete human nature in her womb.

This dogma safeguards the hypostatic union, one divine Person in two natures, divine and human.

As Lumen Gentium (53) teaches: “The Virgin Mary, who at the message of the angel received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and gave Life to the world, is acknowledged and honoured as being truly the Mother of God and Mother of the Redeemer.”

In view of her unique vocation, God preserved her from original sin from the first instant of her conception (Immaculate Conception, defined by Pius IX in Ineffabilis Deus, 1854).

Ludwig Ott explains that, like all children of Adam, she was subject to the necessity of contracting original sin, yet by a singular grace she was preserved from it and its consequences so that she might be a pure vessel for the Saviour.

This privilege does not exempt her from redemption; she was redeemed more excellently by the prevenient merits of Christ.

Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. Her fiat at the Annunciation (Luke 1:38) made her the faithful tabernacle of God, and the fulfilment of Isaiah 7:14. St Alphonsus Liguori observes that, *“having been destined to become the mother of the eternal Word… she was given a higher order of grace which corresponded to her dignity as Mother of God.”**

In her, the New Eve appears. St Augustine notes that through her birth “the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” What Eve lost by disobedience, Mary restores by obedience, giving the world its Saviour.

Thus the birth we celebrate today is the quiet dawn of our redemption.

*Prayer🙏🏾*
Lord, grant that we who honour the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary may, through her intercession and example of obedience, share fully in the salvation brought by her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
May Almighty God bless and keep you:
*✝ The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*
*Happy Birthday, Mother Mary!*

06/09/2026

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Sunday, 6th September 2026
“Love That Does Not Remain Silent”
Ezekiel 33:7-9 | Romans 13:8-10 | Matthew 18:15-20
~Rev. Fr. Ambrose Ofodile

There are moments when love feels most painful: when you see someone you care about walking toward danger, and you must decide whether to speak or stay quiet. A family member losing their way. A friend trapped in destructive patterns. A brother or sister in the community whose choices are wounding themselves and others. Fear often whispers, “Say nothing… Protect the relationship… It is not your place.” Sometimes we stay silent because we do not want to appear odd or be labelled a ‘saboteur.’

Today the Word of God answers that fear with one clear, united message: true love does not remain silent.

Listen first to the prophet Ezekiel. God places him on the wall as a watchman for the house of Israel. His duty is precise and weighty: when he hears a word from the Lord’s mouth, he must sound the warning. If he stays silent, the wicked will still die in their sin, but their blood will be required at the watchman’s hand. If he speaks and they refuse to listen, they perish in their iniquity, yet the watchman has saved his own soul. God does not demand that the warning succeed; He demands that it be given. Silence in the face of spiritual danger is not mercy. It is a failure of responsibility.
Saint Paul, in the second reading, takes this same responsibility and reveals its deepest motive: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another… Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

The watchman’s warning is not an act of superiority or harsh judgment. It is an act of love. Real love seeks the neighbour’s true good, and the greatest good is life with God. To withhold a truth that could save is to harm; to speak it, humbly and courageously, is to fulfil the law of Christ. Paul’s words transform the duty of Ezekiel into a work of charity: the alarm is sounded because the watchman loves.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church confirms this when it teaches that fraternal correction is one of the spiritual works of mercy (CCC 1435) and that charity “demands beneficence and fraternal correction” (CCC 1829). Love that remains silent when a brother is in danger is incomplete.

Then Jesus, in the Gospel, shows us exactly how this love that warns is to be lived inside the Christian community. He gives a clear, step-by-step path of fraternal correction:

First, go alone and speak privately. Protect the person’s dignity and seek quiet reconciliation.

If that fails, take one or two others, still aiming to win the brother or sister back.

If they still refuse, tell it to the Church.

Only if they refuse even the Church are they to be treated “as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

This final step is not a declaration that the person is irredeemable. Jesus Himself sought out tax collectors and sinners and ate with them to call them to conversion. The instruction is medicinal: it recognises the reality of the person’s present refusal so that the seriousness of the situation may awaken them. At the same time, the community continues to pray and hope for their return. The Catechism describes ecclesiastical penalties in the same spirit: they are “medicinal,” ordered to the conversion of the sinner and the good of the community (CCC 1463).

See how the three readings form one single movement of God’s heart:

Ezekiel gives the responsibility: we are appointed watchmen.

Paul gives the motive: love that refuses to harm by remaining silent
Jesus gives the method: a patient, respectful, escalating process that always aims at restoration and protects both the sinner’s dignity and the health of the Body.

The same God who made Ezekiel a watchman now makes every Christian, according to his or her vocation, a guardian of the brothers and sisters.

The same love that fulfils the law in Romans is the love that goes first alone, then with witnesses, then to the Church in Matthew. And the same desire that God expressed through Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live”, beats at the centre of Jesus’ teaching on fraternal correction.
Pope Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium, reminds us that the Church is a mother who never tires of seeking the lost and who corrects out of love, not rejection (cf. EG 46–49).

Saint John Paul II, in Familiaris Consortio, insists that the family itself is the first school of fraternal correction, where parents form their children in truth and charity (FC 36). These teachings show that the watchman’s duty belongs not only to priests and religious but to every baptised person in the concrete circumstances of daily life.

This is not a call to become judgmental or intrusive. It is a call to become people who care enough to speak. Parents who correct their children with patience. Friends who refuse to watch one another destroy themselves in silence. Parishioners who, after prayer and self-examination, help one another stay on the path of life. Ministers who proclaim the whole Gospel, not only the comfortable parts.
Sometimes silence is easier. It protects our comfort and our popularity. But the readings today convince us that silence can also be a form of abandonment. The Lord who does not desire the death of the sinner asks us to share His longing for their life. He asks us to love enough to warn, to correct, and to bind and loose with the authority He has given His Church, always with the hope that the lost sheep will be found.

Today let us ask for three gifts that flow from these readings and from the living Tradition of the Church: the courage of the watchman, the tenderness of a love that fulfils the law, and the patience of Christ who never stops seeking the lost. May we never remain silent when a word of life needs to be spoken. And may every warning we give be born of the same Heart that was pierced so that sinners might live.

Prayer🙏🏾
Lord Jesus, faithful Watchman and Good Shepherd, You have made us responsible for one another in love. Give us attentive hearts that hear Your word, courageous voices that speak it with charity, and persevering hope that never abandons a brother or sister. Make us a community where truth and love walk together, so that all may find the path that leads to life. Amen

MAY THE ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU:
THE FATHER, SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN

15/08/2026

15/08/2026

The Assumption of the blessed virgin Mary at Marian pilgrimage center Ugwogo Nike

15/08/2026

Radio Maria Nigeria-Enugu 106.1fm

15/08/2026

✝️THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY✝️

On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Munificentissimus Deus, he defined that Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” The dogma did not introduce a new belief, but solemnly defined a mystery cherished by Christians for centuries: the Mother of God, preserved from corruption, was taken body and soul into heaven. Her Assumption points to the destiny promised to all the faithful: resurrection and eternal life in Christ.


Stationalis

15/08/2026

NINETEENTH WEEK IN THE ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR (A)

SATURDAY, 15TH AUGUST, 2026

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Rev. 11:19; 12:1-6.10
1 Cor. 15:20-26
LK. 1:39-56*
~REV. FR. AMBROSE OFODILE

THE WOMAN ESCAPED INTO THE DESERT WHERE GOD MADE A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR HER READY

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary reflects the resurrection of the body of Christ, The Church. Paul VI describes Mary’s assumption as a feast of her destiny of fullness and blessedness, the glorification of her Immaculate soul and of the virginal body, of her perfect congratulation to the risen Christ, a feast that sets the eyes of the Church and of all mankind the image of the consoling proof of the fulfillment of their final hope.

Guadium et Spes, notes that an ideal all round perfect world is not possible in this life but only in the next. It is a celebration and attestation that Mary has attained the final goal.

Assumption is an affirmation and continuation of incarnation. In fact, it is the culmination. It is understood as the consequence and manifestation of Mary’s fullness of grace.

THE YES OF MARY
The ‘Yes’ of Mary is also the ‘Yes’ of Jesus, a ‘Yes’ that is holistic and enduring.
According to Pope Benedict XVI, The 'Yes' of Mary is the foundation of her motherhood. Mary’s Yes is a prayer, it is not an unreflected spontaneous response to the angel. It is the arrival point of an engaged and deep dialogue. In the Yes, she overcomes the natural trepidation that usually accompanies the Theophany. These are body of reactions that found their climax in the final consent of Mary.

While Abraham’s faith was the beginning of the OT covenant, in the same way, Mary’s faith is the inauguration of the new covenant. Her faith like her fiat prefaces the incarnation.

It is known that the woman spoken of by the author of the book of Revelation is the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the delivery of Jesus Christ, Herod represented by the red dragon sought to kill Jesus but God saved him. God did not also abandon Mary after her role of giving birth to Christ. He preserved her and brought her to the glory of God at the completion of her earthly life. This is properly called *The dogma of Assumption*.

*THE DOGMA OF ASSUMPTION*
The new dictionary of Catholic theology defines dogma as the Church's belief that in scripture and tradition God reveals his intention for mankind to the ecclesial community and that the community's leadership can authoritatively interprete and promulgate this truth.

The New Testament has only one instance where the word dogma is implied to denote a decision rendered by authority, Acts 16:4, referring to the decision of the council of Jerusalem concerning the admission of gentiles to the community.

There is no explicit identification or mention of the dogma of Assumption in the scripture. What we have are scattered implicit references to the Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary such as we have in the book of Revelation today.

However, it must be noted that the Catholic Church derives her Revelation from:*Magisterium, Scripture and Tradition (Scriptura et Traditions)*

The Vatican II dogmatic constitution on Divine Revelation *DEI VERBUM, no. 10* avers that sacred scripture and tradition form one deposit of the word of God which is entrusted to the Church. Both are inseparable and indispensable in the attainment of salvation.

On 1st Nov. 1950, Pope Pius XII after receiving the affirmation of the Bishops and the laity around the world in the official query he sent on 1st May, 1946, promulgated by the apostolic constitution "Munificentissimus Deus" as a dogma revealed by God: "Mary, the Immaculate perpetually Virgin Mother of God, after the completion of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven". Contained within the promulgation of this dogma are other dogmas of the blessed Virgin Mary:
a. Immaculate conception
b. Motherhood of God
c. Perpetual Virginity.

The New dictionary of Catholic theology mooted that by using the phrase, "... having completed the course of her earthly life... Pius XII clearly indicated his intention of leaving open the theological and historical question of whether or not Mary actually experienced death before being taken up into glory.

Again, it is to be noted that as a mere creature redeemed by Jesus Christ, Mary did not ascend to heaven like Jesus but was assumed into heaven by the divine power of God. To further buttress that the blessed Virgin Mary has a unique place in the salvation of mankind and that she is inseparable from Jesus Christ , Pope Pius the XII taught that " Mary resplendent in glory in body and soul reigns in heaven with her son".

Lumen Gentium no. 68 also affirms Mary's assumption as a sign of certain hope and comfort to the Pilgrim people of God.

HOW DID WE ARRIVE AT THIS DOGMA?
Lk. 1:28 avers that Mary is full of grace. Since she is full of grace then she is preserved and freed from the three fold curse of sin, Gen. 3:16-19, as well as from the return to dust since she is so to speak incorruptible.

With reference to Gen. 3:15, the Church understands the seed of the woman as Christ and understands the woman herself as Mary hence Mary participated in the battle and victory over Satan, death and sin.

Similarly, Mary could be said to be inseparable from Jesus and the work of redemption even though her role is subordinate to that of Jesus.

APPEAL TO REASON
*Ludwig Ott* in Fundamentals of Catholic dogma stipulates the grounds for the Assumption of Mary:

a. Freedom from Sin
It is fitting that since Mary was free from sin ; immaculately conceived that she be preserved from dissolution. She is assumed into heaven in accordance with the original plan of God to mankind.

b. Motherhood of God
Being the woman who gave birth to Jesus who is God the Son, it is fitting that she shares the lot of the body of Christ and that lot was that Jesus never suffered corruption.

c. Perpetual Virginity
Being a virgin before, during and after birth, it is fitting that her virginal dignity should not be subject to death.

d. Participation in the work of Christ
In her capacity as the Mother of God, Mary took an active part in the redemptive work of Christ as a mediatrix of all graces such that she was present and accompanied Christ during his earthly ministry and continues with him in heaven.

The place of Mary is irreplaceable and being full of grace from the moment of her conception, she is continuously reigning with her Son in heaven.

She is our great intercessor and always leads us in obedience to Christ (Jn. 2:5).

PRAYER🙏🏿:
May the Blessed Virgin Mary who is taken up to heaven body and soul continuously intercede for us before her son Jesus Christ that we may be saved from our present sorrows and tribulations. Amen.

Happy Solemnity of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
MAY THE ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU:
✝️FATHER, SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN
AVE MARIA!!!

14/08/2026

RADIO MARIA NIGERIA-ENUGU (106.1FM)

The Woman Who Walked with the Harmattan Wind!

(The Story of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary told in an African way)

15TH AUGUST, 2026
~REV. FR. AMBROSE OKWUCHUKWU OFODILE

In the quiet village of Umuaka, nestled among the rolling hills of southeastern Nigeria, the people still speak of a woman whose life was like pure spring water, clear, life-giving, and untouched by the mud of the world.

They called her Adaoma, the Good Daughter. No one could remember a time when she had ever spoken harshly, gossiped, or sought her own glory. From childhood she carried herself with a humility that made even the proud lower their eyes. When others quarreled over land or titles, Adaoma would quietly bring cool water from the stream and place it between them, saying only, “Let peace drink first.”

The old women of the village used to whisper that Adaoma had been different from the beginning. “She came into this world already clean,” they said. “No stain of the old curse touched her.” They did not fully understand what they were saying, yet their hearts knew the truth: she had been preserved, from the first moment of her existence, for a purpose greater than themselves. This was the mystery of her Immaculate Conception, God’s special gift, keeping her soul pure so that she might one day become a worthy dwelling for the Holy One.

As she grew, Adaoma remained a virgin in body and in heart. In a culture where marriage and children were the expected path to honour, she freely chose to keep herself entirely for God. Young men came with cola nuts and palm w**e, but she would smile gently and say, “My body and my heart already belong to Another.” The village sometimes mocked her, yet they could not deny the quiet power that surrounded her. Her perpetual virginity was not emptiness; it was a living temple, sealed and sacred.

Then came the day that changed everything. In the cool of an early morning, while she was grinding melon seeds under the udala tree, a messenger of light stood before her. The air itself seemed to bow. Adaoma was troubled, yet she did not run. With the same humility that had marked her whole life, she listened. And when the messenger revealed that she would become the Mother of the Most High, the Mother of God, she did not demand signs or explanations. She simply bowed her head and answered with the words that still echo through the ages:
“I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.”
In that moment, the Word became flesh in her womb. She who was pure became the Mother of God, yet remained forever virgin. The Creator of the universe rested beneath her heart, and she carried Him with the quiet dignity of a Nigerian mother carrying her child to the farm, protecting, nourishing, and loving without drawing attention to herself.

Her kindness overflowed. When she visited her elderly relative in the neighbouring village and the child in that woman’s womb leapt for joy, Adaoma did not boast. Instead she sang a song of praise that lifted the lowly and scattered the proud, a song the people of Umuaka still hum during night prayers. She fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, and stood in silent strength at the foot of the greatest suffering the world has ever known, never leaving her Son’s side.
Years passed. The Child she had borne fulfilled His mission. And when Adaoma’s own earthly journey drew to its close, the village noticed something strange. She grew weaker, yet her face shone with a peace that did not belong to this world. One evening, as the harmattan wind began to blow, dry, cool, and pure, she lay on her simple mat. The women of the village gathered, expecting the usual signs of death. Instead, a great stillness fell.

Those who were present later swore that they saw light gather around her body like the first rays of dawn. The wind itself seemed to lift her. There was no corruption, no decay, no returning to dust. Body and soul, the woman who had been full of grace was taken up into the glory prepared for her from the beginning. The place where she had lain was empty, filled only with the fragrance of lilies and the lingering scent of the harmattan.

The people of Umuaka fell to their knees. In that moment they understood what the Church would one day proclaim to the whole world: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
And still, when the harmattan wind sweeps across the hills of Umuaka each year, the elders tell the children:
“Listen carefully. That wind once carried a pure woman home. She who was humble has been exalted. She who was kind now intercedes for us. She who was Mother of God reigns with her Son. She who was conceived without stain and remained forever virgin has entered the fullness of life. And one day, if we walk as she walked, that same wind will carry us home too.”

This is the story the Nigerian heart understands: the Assumption is not a distant European dogma. It is the final, beautiful chapter of a life of humility, purity, virginity, and divine motherhood, a life that began in grace and ended in glory.

AVE MARIA!
HAPPY SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPRION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY!

09/08/2026

*RADIO MARIA NIGERIA ENUGU 106.1FM*

*NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR A*

*SUNDAY, 9TH AUGUST, 2026*

*"GOD MANIFESTS AND SAVES US IN THE QUIETNESS OF OUR LIVES"*

*1 KGS. 19:9;11-13*
*ROMANS 9:1-5*
*MTT. 14: 22-33*
*~REV. FR. AMBROSE OFODILE*

Following the death of King Solomon (922 BC), significant political and social changes occurred, ultimately leading to the division of the kingdom.

The Northern kingdom separated from Judah to form an independent Israel, with Omri ascending the throne as King. He built a new capital city and went into alliances with many nations. He handed over to his son Ahab and the daughter of the king of Tyre, Jezebel.

The marriage between Ahab and Jezebel gave birth to the proliferation of Paganism in Israel. Jezebel challenged the worship of Yahweh in Israel. She set up a temple dedicated to Baal *in Samaria with over 400 priests*, sacrificing daily to Baal.

She banished all the prophets of Yahweh; however, Elijah remained as the only prophet of Yahweh. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a duel in that popular and victorious encounter that showed God as one who answers by fire, thereby bringing Baal and its prophets to naught.

Elijah put the prophets to the sword, proving the sovereignty of Yahweh over all the other gods.
Jezebel swore to destroy Elijah; as a result of the threat, Elijah fled to the mountains.

In his flight from the wicked Jezebel, the despondent, tired, hungry, frustrated, and forlorn Elijah encountered God on Mount Horeb, another name for Sinai, where Yahweh spoke to Moses through a burning bush and later gave him the decalogue.

Elijah felt disappointed with Yahweh. He complained against the apparent silence of God in the midst of hostilities and threats to his life. He even begged God to take his life. His complaints led to God's self-disclosure. He expected, as so many of us do, to see or hear God in the mighty wind or earthquake or fire. There were different ways of manifestation of Yahweh in the Old Testament. However, to Elijah's surprise, God manifested himself in 'sheer silence'. Some translations rendered it as 'still small voice', 'sound of a soft breath' or 'quiet whispering voice'.

By manifesting himself in this manner, God was telling the prophet and, by extension, all of us Christians that our way of thinking of God is not right. God is not represented in the images of violence and war.

As in the gospel, God manifests himself at those moments when our faith fails us. In the rising storms of our lives, he is our quietness.

We get it wrong when we think of God as a vengeful and fiery God who punishes and rewards, who sends disasters and calamities.
While God appeared to Moses on the same mountain in a visual way, God also appeared to Elijah in an auditory way.

In the same way, God appeared to our world through incarnation- the taking of flesh by the Son of God. His manifestation continues even in our own time, especially when we, like Peter, lose faith or find ourselves sinking. He comes to our rescue in times of trouble as he intervened in the life of Elijah and Peter.

With the same zeal manifested in Elijah concerning God's reign, establishment of his kingdom, and salvation of his people, St. Paul laments the refusal of the special privileges God bestows on his people through Jesus Christ. He grieves that the people of God have abandoned the way of God through negligence of his words and disobedience to his commandments.

In the midst of the despondency of both Elijah and St. Paul in the two readings, Christ appears to calm our fears. He is our saviour in times of trouble, our comfort and hope in the moments of hopelessness.

At the height of his ministry, Jesus withdrew to the mountain to pray to *his Father alone*. This time he sent his disciples ahead of him on a boat. His solitary nocturnal prayer is paradigmatic for all Christian leaders and, by extension, for all Christians that, in the 'busyness' of our daily works and pastoral ministries, we should create time to be with the Lord of the work, the owner of the vineyard.

Left by themselves, the disciples experienced the rising of the storm for which the lake was notorious. Wearied, wet, and shivering, they struggled against the tempest. This was at the fourth watch of the night between the hours of three and six in the morning. The tempest represented to the disciples the various hostile forces and situations encountered in the daily lives of Christians for which they desired the intervention of Jesus.

As they were toiling, kicking, and exhausted by the ugly situation, Jesus appeared on the scene, walking on the sea *(*epi tes thalasses)*. This was the perfect time they needed Jesus: when the wind was contrary and life was a struggle, they were frightened to the point of losing hope. Jesus was there to help them even when they thought they had seen a ghost. When we are overwhelmed by the storms of life, when life is precarious, situations are difficult, and temptations abound, Jesus appears walking on the sea and calming the storms of our lives.

The disciples were afraid, and in the midst of their plight, Jesus says, *"Nolite Timere ergo suum"*, *(Courage, it is I; do not be afraid)*. With an outstretched arm, ready to save, and soothing words, he invited the impulsive Peter to come towards him. As always, Peter acted at the spur of the moment. Peter began to sink when he concentrated on the natural difficulties and personal inclinations. He considered the prevailing circumstances of his life. He shifted his gaze from the power of the one who called him and looked rather upon his weaknesses and the apparent immensity of the water. And so, he began to sink; he developed cold feet to the invitation of Jesus and began to backslide.

When Jesus invites us to follow him, he demands an unwavering 'follower ship'. He demands that we focus our gaze on him and forget about the distractions we encounter in our lives.

Peter's action was a combination of impulsive love and faith weakened by doubt. Peter was quick to realise his shortcomings. He refocused his attention when the situation became ugly; he called for help, *'LORD, SAVE ME'* and Jesus reached out to him. This crying out for help is a model for Christians to always call on Jesus at the moment of our crossroads, at the moment of our difficulties. It was on getting out of the boat that they anticipated the response of Peter to the identity of Jesus, *'Truly, you are the Son of God'*.
*PRAYER* 🙏🏿May we realise in our daily lives the power of Jesus to calm the rising storms of our lives, the fears of our lives, and develop authentic faith in the power of Jesus who can save. Amen.
*MAY THE ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU;*
*✝ THE FATHER, SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN*
*Happy Sunday*
AVE MARIA!

31/07/2026

Wishing our able and beloved Priest Director, Rev. Fr. Ambrose Ofodile Ambrose Ofodile Dei Verbum a beautiful and blissful birthday.

✝️May God continue to bless you with abundant wisdom, good health and pure joy in His vineyard. Amen🙏
We are blessed by your leadership.