utaziprincereflection

 THE MEANING OF BOXING DAY AS CELEBRATED ON DECEMBER 26 A. BOXING DAY Boxing Day is a holiday that is celebrated a day after Christmas Day. So, it occurs on the second day of Christmastide, that is, 26th December.  B. AIM OF BOXING DAY Originally, Boxing Day was a day to donate gifts to those who are in need. However, it has advanced to become a part of Christmas festivities, with many people choosing to shop for deals on Boxing Day.  C. ORIGIN OF BOXING DAY Boxing Day originated in the United Kingdom. Today, it is celebrated in several Commonwealth nations. When it first began by the civil society, banks do go on holiday; and even the general public does go on holiday. If December 26 falls on a Saturday, its public holiday will be celebrated on a Monday. If it falls on a Sunday, its public holiday will be celebrated on a Monday while that of December 25 that falls on a Saturday will be celebrated on a Tuesday.  Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festiv...

 THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION AND THE MARTYRDOM OF ST STEPHEN INTRODUCTION Let me begin this piece of work with the opening prayer of the Feast of Saint Stephen de Martyr: Grant, Lord, we pray, that we may imitate what we worship, and so learn to love even our enemies, for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man who knew how to pray even for his persecutors. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Too, part of the Gospel of the feast of St Stephen reads: Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my names sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:21-22).  The puzzle is: why are we celebrating a martyr just hours after celebrating the birth of Christ? I think that our opening prayer at mass clarified this puzzle when it prayed to Go...

 THE JOYS AND SUFFERINGS OF PRIESTS I came back from seminary for holidays some years back. One of my brothers reported to me what their chaplain did that he did not like. It goes thus: after Mass, a woman approached the chaplain to pray for her for she is sick. The chaplain told her “o nwekwaranu onye ji ahu!” meaning there is no one who is not sick. For this my brother, he should not have replied the woman like that because that will weaken the faith of the woman. Yes, of course!! But it is often forgotten that Priests are also human beings with their own strengths and weaknesses, and they can experience pain and struggle.  I feel happy sharing with you my experience as a priest. I know surely that “many” Christians hold the priest in high esteem and also appreciate the service he offers for the good of humankind. The celebration of today serves to raise more awareness about the duties of the priest in present-day society. I am a priest because I accepted the call of God to ...

 GAIUS Gaius means “happy” or “one who rejoices,” and the men who bore that name in Scripture seem to have known the joy that comes from serving the Lord. Gaius is the recipient of the Third Epistle of John, a letter written by John DE Apostle and Evangelist. In the letter, Gaius was praised for his faithfulness, love, hospitality (3 John 1:5–8)), walking in the truth and devotion to Christ Jesus. Gaius provides accommodations for the traveling servants of God. On the other hand, John warns Gaius about a man named Diotrephes, who was opposing John and other church officials. Diotrephes prevented local church members from attending church meetings. Diotrephes may have held a local leadership position in the Church. Diotrephes openly opposed the Apostle John and other Church officials and even prevented local Church members who wanted to receive them from attending Church meetings (cf. 3 John 1:9–10). John encouraged Gaius to continue in goodness and said he expected to visit Gaius s...