“Priests, as ministers of the Word, should always be aware of the importance and the delicateness of the responsibility they bear in proclaiming and expounding the Word of God during the Mass and other liturgical celebrations,” Bishop Onah said.
“The homily is an important part of the liturgical action,” the Catholic Bishop said, and added, in reference to the message of the Holy Father, “The Homily can actually be an intense and happy experience of the Spirit, a consoling encounter with God's word, a constant source of renewal and growth.”
The Nigerian Bishop narrated that some churches have kept the ancient practice of engraving the verse, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” on the pulpit.
This, the Bishop said, is a reminder to the preacher that the people expect him to offer them Jesus, “not his pet ideas, during the homily.”
“It therefore amounts to a grave act of irresponsibility should a priest fail to at least attempt to lead the faithful to Jesus through his homilies,” Bishop Onah says in his September 16 reflection.
To be able to lead the people to Jesus, however, the Priest must himself first seek to encounter Jesus through prayer and meditation over the sacred text to be proclaimed in the liturgy, the Local Ordinary of Nsukka says.
“The Priest's encounter with the Lord will radiate on his face when he speaks to the people, as was the case with Moses,” Bishop Onah says.
In his appeal to Priests, the Bishop of Nsukka adds, “Those of us who bear this grave responsibility should take to heart the following admonition of St Paul to Timothy, ‘Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.’ For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths...perform the work of an evangelist; fulfil your ministry.”
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Nsukka has encouraged the people of God to find inspiration to pray through reading the Bible.
“The Bible can also be read as a form of prayer or it can motivate the believer to pray. Prayer seems to be the most spontaneous and direct way by which any believer connects with his or her God,” the Nigerian Bishop has said in his Friday, September 17 reflection.
