New Priests in Nigeria Urged to Prepare Homilies “diligently”, Preach Jesus, Not to Curse

Aboard the papal plane, 21 September, 2023 / 9:44 PM

The 11 newly ordained Priests for the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos in Nigeria have been urged to pay keen attention to their life as ministers of the word of God and the Eucharist, preparing their homilies with diligence. 

In his Thursday, September 21 homily during the Priestly ordination celebration at Holy Cross Cathedral of Lagos Archdiocese, Fr. Emmanuel Ayeni who serves as Administrator of St. Gregory College South - West Ikoyi counseled the 11 Deacons to live their Priesthood as “faithful stewards”, preaching Jesus Christ, being sources of hope and blessings, and cautioned them against issuing curses, among other counsels. 

“A Priest must be a believer who converses with God. You must therefore, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the preparation of your homilies,” Fr. Ayeni said, and emphasized, “Never make a mistake of ever ascending the pulpit to preach the word of God without diligently preparing for it.”

In your life as Priests, he said, “don’t turn down those who approach you for the sacrament of confession. Be firm and faithful to the Church’s teachings in the discharge of your pastoral duties. You must be faithful stewards of the Church’s spiritual and temporal goods.”

Fr. Emmanuel Ayeni, the administrator of St. Gregory College South-West Ikoyi preaching at the Holy Cross Cathedral of Lagos Archdiocese during the ordination of 11 Deacons to the Priesthood. Credit: Lagos Archdiocese

Fr. Ayeni called upon the 11 Deacons to be ordained Priests to take seriously the celebration of the Holy Eucharistic, making appropriate use of the altar and the pulpit.

“Note that the altar is where you bless the people of God, not where you do otherwise; and the pulpit is where you preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ not where to curse those who might have wronged you,” he said.

The Nigerian Catholic Priest went on to encourage the 11 Deacons to “make the best of your early years in the Priesthood,” and added, “This is important because the older you get, the smaller your world becomes.”

“Visit each other and have the best of times together; this is an essential part of your joy as Priests,” the Administrator of the Lagos State-based College told the Deacons, and continued, “You must be wise to discharge your duties as to create time for some needed rest.”

He cautioned against the temptation to overwork, saying, “As a Priest, you can as well be burned out.”

In his homily, the Nigerian Catholic Priest expressed his awareness of the challenges Priests need to strive to overcome, and emphasized the need to remain faithful to their Priestly promises.

“The choice to either remain standing or to fall is yours; if you choose to remain standing and faithful, God will be with you to confirm your choice. If you ever fall, please, do not remain on the ground,” he said, underscoring the need to foster an intimate relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ.

Turning his attention to those who have been Priests for some time, Fr. Ayeni called upon them to “receive younger Priests as true brothers” and to help them as they begin their Priestly ministry. 

“Our happiness as senior Priests in the Parish must be fraternally bound to our associates. We have to introduce them to the various aspects of life in the Parish or the institution and be of good example to them,” he implored his brother Priests. 

To the faithful, Fr. Ayeni said, “Do not be the cause of their downfall. Respect their privacy and help them to be true, holy Priests through your prayers and encouragements.”

“The Priests may make mistakes in the process of discharging their duties; please learn to forgive them; do not gang up against them; do not plot their downfall; do not take their matter to the social media space,” he further said during his September 21 homily.