WHERE IS NIREC?

WHERE IS NIREC?

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

Many post graduate students who are researching on Inter-religious dialogue have visited our office in the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja to ask questions about the Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC). Among the questions asked are whether the Council is on recess in the face of the terrorist activities in Nigeria. They want to know how the statements of NIREC are implemented in concrete situations. They wonder if there is any need for another committee outside NIREC to dialogue with Boko Haram. We often refer the researchers to NIREC office, the media reports and internet. This however calls for the need for NIREC to be made visible at the state level and be encouraged by the state governors. 

THE HOLY MASS IN THE FACE OF TERROR

 THE HOLY MASS IN THE FACE OF TERROR

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

Introduction

Some print media who reported the bomb attack on St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Kaduna, Nigeria on October 28, 2012 presented the parish priest, Fr. Mike Boni Bazza, (OSA) who celebrated Mass that Sunday morning as a priest who has deep faith in the Holy Eucharist. This is demonstrated in the words of Fr. Boni who even in a pull of blood could tell the weeping and panicking worshippers: ­­ “it is well, it is well”! In the hospital, he told some journalists, “I was covered with blood”. Doesn’t this incident remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross? The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity? Let our brothers and sisters who may be so scared to go to Church on Sundays take heart and meditate on the Holy Mass of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.

BROKEN AND SHARED IN THE EUCHARIST

BROKEN AND SHARED IN THE EUCHARIST

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

The interview of Archbishop Felix Alaba Job, the Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Ibadan was published in the Nation Newspaper on Saturday November 3, 2012. In one of the questions, he was asked if he encountered any challenging periods in life.” The Archbishop responded: “In my life of over 74 years, I can say that I had a few ugly periods. There is the challenge of people not accepting your sincerity and of people not accepting you for who you are.” [1]

WHAT JESUS DID FOR A TERRORIST

WHAT JESUS DID FOR A TERRORIST

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

The character of a person is moderated by environment. This sometimes gives a limited and fixated horizon. Some people grow with manipulated ideas that cloud truth and values that could enhance life. Sometimes, people obey customs and traditions to such an extent that one wonders whether culture is a creation of the human person or the other way round.  In the past, human beings grow in cultural and religious milieus that do not tolerate questions. Some people find themselves doing unreasonable things in obedience to the customs of the land. In the past, people have died in circumstances that were dictated by the gods and deities. The story of Lesley Hazleton about Abd al-Muttalib (ca. 570 AD) is understood in this context.

COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

 COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

Introduction

Religion and Ethnicity have been perceived as serious challenges to national sovereignty. Many people did not choose the religion and tribe they found themselves. The danger is that the horizon of some people is limited to the tribe and religion they have inherited. For instance, some Christians were made to believe that outside the Church, there is no salvation because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one can reach God except through him. The Muslims inherited the teaching that Prophet Muhammad is the last and final prophet who received the message of Islam directly from God, therefore only those who accept Islam and unconditionally surrender to Allah will be saved. The Indigenous Religions in Africa taught their children that Christianity is the religion of Europe while Islam is the religion of the Arabs and that these religions have come to erode the good values of Africa. Consequently, religious and ethnic communities have become the focus of dialogue and peace building to keep a nation united under a western system of government. Since 1960, the question of the national unity of Nigeria lingers and the voices of those calling for a national sovereign conference refuse to wane. Others have gone beyond that to demand for resource control and clear ethnic boundaries.  This calls for a brief synopsis of the identity of these communities to see if any nation can really be one in her glaring diversity in a society under a sovereign and democratic leader.

REFLECTIONS ON MY MISSIONARY JOURNEY BY Sr: Esther Nseobong Ekpo DC

REFLECTIONS ON MY MISSIONARY JOURNEYS

Sr. Esther Nseobong Ekpo DC

                                               

JANUARY 2013

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to GOD who loved me before and even as he created me; my parents – CHIEF ENGINEER GEORGE EKPO AND MADAME PHILOMENA EKPO who received me happily from God and since then cared for me with much love.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication.............................................................................

  Acknowledgement....................................................................

Forward.................................................................................

Introduction............................................................................

Before the Rising Sun................................................................

Come to Me............................................................................

Here I Am.............................................................................

         God in the Psychiatry 

(‘In love with the mentally ill’)............................................

                        A tribute to the Providence Home.............................

                           The real Missionary Preparation.............................................

                           Rosalie Home, Eleme ..........................................................

        Eeken – Ogoniland..................................................................

                          Life in Ossiomo...................................................................

                          Mission in Nouna..............................................................

       Where is God in all these......................................................

DESECRATION OF THE SACRED TEMPLE

DESECRATION OF THE SACRED TEMPLE

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

Chief Adamu Egwa, the village head of Irekpai, Uzairue in Edo State, Nigeria had prayed and wished that he died in Mecca. He believed that Mecca is a holy land cleansed and consecrated by Allah. This wish was actually realized. He died and was buried in Mecca during his hajj on January 18, 1973.  This is an illustration of how the Muslims and those who love Islam believe in the sacredness of Saudi Arabia as a holy land being the home of the Prophet Muhammad.