Today, being the 7th day of October, 2019, St. Augustine’s seminary Ezzamgbo celebrates her 62nd inauguration of the school year. The inauguration ceremony commenced with the Holy mass presided by His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Michael Nnachi Okoro who is also the inaugurating prelate. The mass was concelebrated by the Rector of the seminary; Rev. Fr. Donatus E. Ofuluozor, the Vice Rector; Rev. Fr. Christian E. Orji and one of the seminarians’ spiritual director; Rev. Fr. Michael Okeke.
Theme for The Academic Year: Formation and the Theory of the Three – Legged Stool (Academics, Discipline, Spirituality). The Bishop reiterated the importance of the aforementioned factors as the conditio sine qua non for the healthy formation of every seminarian.
The Bishop also reminded us of the Lady of the Rosary, of whose intercession brought the defeat of the Albingensian heresy. He therefore urged us on to always rely on the intercession of our lady of the Rosary.
The homilist; Rev. Fr Micheal Okeke gave us the message of the Holy Father on the world mission Sunday. His reflection came from the foreword of the Holy Father’s message of which its theme is “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.”
Prior to his message from the Pope, he gave a brief reflection onthe day’s reading which was taken from the Prophet Jonah. It focused on Jonah whom God sent to the Ninevites but out of his own volition, set out for Tarshish. Fr Michael asked; why did Jonah find it difficult to go to Nineveh? He said that, Jonah must have said to himself, that if God really wants to destroy Nineveh, then he should go ahead and do so without bothering him (Jonah).
Meanwhile, with regard to the Pope’s message, Fr. Michael told us that the Church invites us to leave our people, our home, and our country to preach the gospel. He revealed the urgent need of the church towards devoted men and women who are ready to leave the comfort of their homes for the sake of the gospel. He gave us the two major ways one can partake in this mission: the first is material-giving; that is, donating material things to those who are ready for the mission, the second is self-giving. Fr. Michael went further to name some of the major societies that are promoting this mission. They include;
- Society for the propagation of Faith (SPF)
- The Holy Childhood Association (HCA), whose aim is to promote the consciousness of the missionary of our Lady.
- St Peter the Apostle, who is charged with the responsibility of using both spiritual and material needs to promote vocations.
- Pontifical Missionary Union (PMU); which promotes missionary union among priests and religious.
The aforementioned societies are all under the one umbrella of Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS). He ended the homily with the hymn; “I have decided to follow Jesus…”
At the end of the mass, awards were given to the best students of 2018/2019 school year in the following areas: Academics, Character, Sports and Music. Award was also given to the best teacher in the person of Sr Pauline Anugom (HHCJ).
By Chikwendu Gabriel Nwofoke
