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Beloved Parishioners,

My reflection today is centered on the Solemnity of Peter and Paul. The letter to the Hebrews 13:7 reads: “Remember your leaders, those who preached the word of God to you; and as you reflect on the outcome of their life, imitate their faith,” and it is on that note that we choose to joyfully reflect on the outcome of the lives of the Princes of the Apostles – Peter and Paul.

Beloved Parishioners,

Christ solemnly declares in John 6:51–52: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” By these words, Jesus reveals that no one can attain salvation—of both soul and body—without uniting themselves with His Body and Blood. To ensure that this saving gift would remain eternally present to His Church, Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Beloved Parishioners,

I will begin today’s reflection thus: In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Significantly, my opening lines are at once, like you must have figured out, a prayer, a proclamation of faith, a doctrine, an identity, and a character for starting every liturgical activity in the Church.

Beloved Parishioners,

I warmly welcome you to the month of June. The sixth month is usually special. In the Jewish calendar, the sixth month, Elul, is a time of deep introspection and spiritual preparation as people prepare for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It comes off as symbolic that we too are in spiritual preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Beloved Parishioners,

My reflection this week is centered on positive change and newness of life in Christ. We read about how Saul changed to Paul following his Damascus experience of Christ (Acts 9:1- 9) and how Christ himself renamed Simon, the head of the apostles, Cephas or Peter (John 1:42), but I really wonder if we have ever thought of the significance of the great change that comes with an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Beloved Parishioners,

Last week I shared a reflection on our new Pontiff Pope Leo XIV and today I share the concluding part of that reflection. The election of Pope Leo XIV, born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, on the 8th of May, and his choice of papal name carry deliberate echoes of Pope Leo XIII. While addressing the cardinals at the General Assembly, Pope Leo XIV affirmed thus:

Beloved Parishioners,

Today I share with you a reflection on our new Pope. On the evening of Thursday, May 8, 2025, following the burst out of the most anticipated white fumes from the chimney aloft the Sistine chapel, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Cardinal Protodeacon of the Holy Roman Church, walked out of the Loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica wearing a solemn warmth around him to announce the most prominent Latin phrase of the moment “Habemus papam!”

Beloved Parishioners,

I send you my warmest greeting from our seminary in Nigeria where I am teaching the second- and third-year theologians preparing for their priestly ordination. As I continue my time with them, I want to share a reflection on the role of Peter the first pope of the Catholic Church.

Beloved Parishioners,

May the joy and peace of the risen Lord inundate our hearts and lighten up our ways! The past couple of days have been laden with a lot of mixed feelings and sombre emotions for all of us and that’s quite understandable. We woke to the joy of Easter only to be greeted by the sudden passing of our dearest Pope Francis, an event that threw all of us into mourning.

Beloved Parishioners,

As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday today, which was instituted by John Paul II, I would like to share a reflection on Pope Francis the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church who passed onto the Lord on Easter Monday by Roman Time 7:35am at the age of 88. He comes across to many people as a great shepherd of the flock, a reformer, a pastor of souls, and to some as a controversial Pope.

Beloved Parishioners,

Easter teaches us to always hope in Christ, to always believe in him because he makes all things new. The Easter proclamation invites us to be aware we have a living God who is alive and with us even when it may be difficult to see him with our physical eye, but he is risen and alive.

Beloved Parishioners,

I wish to conclude my reflection on almsgiving which was started last week. As I said previously, almsgiving is a strong component of our Lenten observance and when practiced in humility draws the person closer to God and to the poor. Furthermore, almsgiving during Lent invites the Church to consider the root causes of poverty.

Beloved Parishioners,

As we continue our journey of Lent my reflection is focused on Almsgiving which is one of the three pillars of Lenten observance, alongside prayer and fasting, and is seen as an invitation to grow in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized in recognition that Christ himself identified with the poor.