Catholic Women, A Hope for a New World

Fr George Ehusani came back from his annual retreat and was troubled as he was evaluating the Popular Nigeria Christianity. This notion left him with a submission that this Popular Nigerian Christianity has lost her captivating relevance, in fact it is not working giving to the inability to transform the Society nor radically transform people in the Church. Though we claim to be religious, Churches crowded and we host noisy worship sessions, some of us quote the scripture effortlessly and host numerous vigils and deliverance sessions, Nigerian Church is yet to be transformed and equipped to change to Society for God.

All the spiritual formation of most of us have been dumped for AN EASY LIFE DOCTRINE and HIP-UP Sermon, leaving us worse than unbelievers. The remains we have are MAKE-UP , MAKE-SHIFT appearance like the Fig Tree Jesus cursed in Gospel according to St. Mark 11:13 because it was full of pretence but there no fruit in it.

There seem to be no difference with an average Nigerians who have no need of Gospel nor have encountered Christ and a Popular Nigerian Christian. Our behaviour does not portray us as baptized and confirmed Christians. We have abandoned the sustenance of grace and begin to keep malice; live with anger and bitterness, fear and anxiety, wickedness and hatred, resentment and un-forgiveness, self-indulgence and addiction to the pleasures of the flesh, selfishness and greed, vanity and vain-glory and we are stuck in fetishism, occultism and primitive superstition.

The scripture in Matthew 7:20 has been proven right, “by their fruit, you shall know them”. Large Halls called Church are breeding noise makers headed by acclaimed MAN-OF-GOD on noise making enterprises. Let us be honest, can find a Popular Nigerian Christian that can be engaged with a public trust. This evil has crept into marriages, eaten up institutions, CWO is not spared the consequence is a battered home, a failed society and a sick church.

I get discouraged when I get invitation like this as the audience have turned the messenger to celebrity who has come to entertainment the crowd and his presentation reduced to story of ZEE WORLD or TELEMUNDO series which has no spiritual bite.
How did we get this bad?

CALL OF LAY FAITHFUL IN THE WORLD:
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”- 1st John 4:4

“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”.-John 17:16

 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”.-Romans 12:2.

The three verses we have read is an indication that the WORLD is bad lifestyle that glorifies sin. It follows that lay faithful are those who are challenged by the Gospel values and the implications accepted the divine free gift of Faith and repented. It does mean that they live in the world but their attitude to the World should be in accordance to the will of God

VOCATION
Clergy, called out of the world to be a Priest for the people of God.

Religious, called out of the world to live like angels for the sake of the kingdom.

Lay Faithful, called out of the world and sent into the world to santify it.
Going by this explanations you will see that the task of Catholic Women Organization of Nigeria is high.

CATHOLIC WOMEN ORGANIZATION
A Man related to me his challenge with his son he was loosing to the STREET LIFE and I requested for his son’s phone contact which he gave me. I got his son talking through the phone, we agreed for an appointment and he made it. As we were interacting, I discovered he has been sapped of spirituality but their was hope, he fell in love with Catholic Boys Organization because of the Epicurean nature (Nlacha-aka) of the group. Catholic Church is blessed with different types of apostles that can aid reviving and rehabilitating our spirituality.
Good news, the father ran back to me after some months to give his testimony that his son has also joined The Guild Of St. Anthony Of Padua.

This is similar to the miracle of the membership of some of you. CWO is not a home Angels but saints and sinners, chain of converted converting others. It has important personalities, illiterates, single mothers, matured singles, Widows and nobodies, concubine, mothers, spiritual and canal members.
It is
*an Organization of women because the form all these individuals in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church into a people with respect and dignity.
*a Family where love and affection rules.
*a Club of Children of God who ventilate their spirituality with the social engagement.

• a Society where spiritual is instilled and refreshed through the help of Our Lady Blessed Virgin Mary.
• a Council of women, a voice for the voiceless.

WOMEN WORLDLY SHORTCOMINGS;
As human being that strives for perfection, there are dark spots on some that gives women POPULAR NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN coloration that they must deal with as the aspire to be the hope of a new world as listed below;

1, Some women hate without reason.
*Downtrodden
*Mother in-law and other husband relationship

2, Some are living in self deceit in their quest for marriage, search for solution, need for babies, money, struggle to maintain relevance, keep their husband, protect their secret or children.
*Some of their wears and dispositions are attraction for immortality and waste.
*Insincerity and insatiably.
*Lead a life of pity and complain.
3, Some have no purpose, always busy but heading no way.
*Always complaining but living fake life.

4, Some claim equality with men.
*They live with the pains that culture cheated them.
*They claim that the managed to marry or their parents forced them to marry against their choice.
*They divide the home to prove the husband is irresponsible so that they can manage the family in their style.
*They subject their husbands to undue slavery as soon as they are making money.

5, Women abandon their own to the world.
*All these that registers or renew their with CWO who evangelize them.
*How do manage the nobodies in our midst who find strength to live again being in your midst.
*What has been your efforts to manage the rising cases of divorce?
*Some are wasting while others can pay rents, school, eat or have something to wear

HOPE FOR A NEW WORLD.
Women are great force for change from the history of mankind especially when they dream through the account of the mother of God the Son, the wife God the HolySpirit and the Daughter of God the Father. It is not possible for women under her tutelage to go astray, instead like the apostle of her Son, they shall be the SALT of the Earth and the LIGHT of the world.

AT HOME;
Matrimonial covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of a whole life, is by it’s nature ordered towards the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of the offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a SACRAMENT. – CCC 1601, CAN 1055.
Matrimony came from a Latin word MATRI MONU that is gift, duty or office of motherhood. This makes clear the Igbo adage (nwanyi bu ulo) “woman is home “.
Pope Pius XII upheld that” to women God has given the sacred mission and to her too, more than any one else, is entrusted the education of the child in it’s early years. Mothers keep a vigilant eyes upon your babies through out the infancy. It is your task from the cradle to begin their education in their soul as well as in body, for if you do not educate them, they will begin for goodwill, to educate themselves. Many moral characteristics which we see in the youth or the man, owe to the their origin to the manner and circumstances of his upbringing “.
In other words, the woman is in-charge of psychological security of the home.
*She generate true love and care, first to the husband then, naturally the children; the source of peace and unity in the home.
*She create forum for socialization of the children.
*She supports religious duties like daily prayer and moral instruction.
*She shapes the child through education and train the child against materialistic idea or trend.

IN THE CHURCH;
Virtue is the primary stuff inculcated into the Catholic Child as certificate does not make one good but virtue does. The Church receives the child from the family. The Catholic Child appears on Earth in the Catholic family. So, the family is the first divine office into which the child is born.

Catholic mothers should be understand that the church receives the child as a second FORMATOR and not a REFORMATOR. Bad child can be handled through prayer like St. Monica in case of St. Augustine and other necessary technical solutions that are not contradicting the faith.
Women are helpful partners of mission of Christ.This children with in turn become active solders of Christ through their witness and Pius membership to the church and in their human aspirations.

SOCIETY;
Women are the conscience of the society because when children groomed with basic education with the right cultural values without loosing the faith then, the home, church, society and state are safe.
It also establishes means that any task entrusted to them shall be an opportunity to do ” whatever tells you” – John 2:5.

It shall be the birth of competency and accountability and the world will a better place for everybody. Our institution shall be strenghened and committed to the welfare of the people. Our families shall be a home responsible adults raising kingdom giants. Our Church shall be a holy, leading from the world to where they shall be fruitful for his glory. This is when we can say that Christianity is working because the life every every person counts.

CONCLUSION;
The dressing of CWO speaks volume and if you deny your other looks you may prefer, it goes ahead to upturn your worldliness film you to a vehicle of radical Christian transformation. It takes you to make a move that is worthwhile and others will join because of the manifestation of your good relationship with your neighbour.

Like St. Annmaria Taiji, St. Monica, Edel Quin, St. Mother Theresa Of Kalkuta, Prof. Dora Akunyili etc, you too can make a difference in our time.

Through MARY OUR MOTHER
WE SUCCEED!