₦airaland Forum

Today's Saint



St. John of the Cross

(1541-1591)



John is a saint because his life was a heroic effort to live up to his name: “of the Cross.” The folly of the cross came to full realization in time. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34b) is the story of John’s life. The Paschal Mystery—through death to life—strongly marks John as reformer, mystic-poet and theologian-priest.
Ordained a Carmelite priest at 25 (1567), John met Teresa of Jesus (Avila) and like her vowed himself to the primitive Rule of the Carmelites. As partner with Teresa and in his own right, John engaged in the work of reform, and came to experience the price of reform: increasing opposition, misunderstanding, persecution, imprisonment. He came to know the cross acutely—to experience the dying of Jesus—as he sat month after month in his dark, damp, narrow cell with only his God!

Yet, the paradox! In this dying of imprisonment John came to life, uttering poetry. In the darkness of the dungeon, John’s spirit came into the Light. There are many mystics, many poets; John is unique as mystic-poet, expressing in his prison-cross the ecstasy of mystical union with God in the Spiritual Canticle.

But as agony leads to ecstasy, so John had his Ascent to Mt. Carmel, as he named it in his prose masterpiece. As man-Christian-Carmelite, he experienced in himself this purifying ascent; as spiritual director, he sensed it in others; as psychologist-theologian, he described and analyzed it in his prose writings. His prose works are outstanding in underscoring the cost of discipleship, the path of union with God: rigorous discipline, abandonment, purification. Uniquely and strongly John underlines the gospel paradox: The cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment to possession, denial to self to union with God. If you want to save your life, you must lose it. John is truly “of the Cross.” He died at 49—a life short, but full.

@ Oby

i never knw oo
may be :
i go write my name for my cloth( black cloth) and sit at the right extreme of the front seat, middle lane, and wear dark gogles for night
that will make me different abi?

_{i will make sure the seat is not taken by going there a day early}

Carlosein,

in short my suspicion don increase moreeee!
where is your PARISH? ? ? 
as for the orisirisi part, na my mama born me

At the Foot of the Cross

Jesus
I run away
from your cross
leaving you there
hanging
between desolation and rejection
Draw me to you
that I may be one with you


Jesus
I stand at a distance
for fear
of being swept up
into your embrace
Call me to you
with a voice that I will recognize
and answer


Jesus
I stand at the foot of your cross
like a parched land
waiting for the rain
Let me thirst for your love
as much
as you thirst for mine


Jesus
I hang on to the wood
of my cross
Help me to let go
to reach out in love
as you did

                         Gilles Côté




"Is prayer not in fact, just an adventure wherein we try to name God?"-- Prévost in The Mother of God

Prayer is not only the "lifting up of the mind and heart to God," but it is also the response to God within us, the discovery of God within us; it leads ultimately to the discovery and fulfillment of our own true being in God. Prayer is not just something that we do; it is a perspective-giving element that directs our whole life."from Thomas Merton’s Paradise Journey: Writings on Contemplation

LOL @ Lawyer

how come na only u _accept my invitation?
anyways, i don talk am, u no get choice oooo
see u on the 31st !

Glory to Jesus
Honour to Mary

Pamperme:
Hi,
Oby 1, Viee and others
thanks for remembering me o!

Na work wan kill me o, anyway am not dead yet.

eya pele, guess thatz why u are being paid so well 

Pamperme:
Thank you all for keeping this thread going, Viee thanks for the site, really inspirational and sites like this draws you closer to God even while you are at work. God bless you sweetie

Our Lady of Guadalupe; pray for us

Glory to Jesus

Honour to Mary

your welcome!
i just tune in , every morn and flow with them till i leave office,
it is so herat warming!

Carlosein, have u visited the site?
plz do

Carlosein:
viee, you mistakenly typed fanastic, abeg correct it quickly before they say you are a fanatic o

LOL
o men!
LOL

Carlosein:
St. Mary's, United and Holy Family abi? we shall see about it

where u Parish dey? _{i dey suspect something here ooooo}

Jackal:
Gerrard's mansion was burgled again last night while he was doing his duties for Liverpool.
Stevie G is the 6th Liverpool player that has been burgled in recent times.

I hear one of the guys spotted at the scene was wearing Manchester United jersey

hey Oby, are you tuned in to the carol site?
the sermon going on now is fantastic!

chuckdee4:
make una no go open nyash like u usually do

toshmann:
fact is, we take each game as it comes. . . . .

word!

RuuDie:
Hmmmm. . . . . . Kopites in full voice!

yes ooooooo
YNWA

Today's Feast

Our Lady of Guadalupe




The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.
A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

He was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared and within it a young Native American maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan Diego to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan Diego’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Diego to try to avoid the lady. The lady found Diego, nevertheless, assured him that his uncle would recover and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

When Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground and the bishop sank to his knees. On Juan Diego’s tilma appeared an image of Mary as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac. It was December 12, 1531.

Sup Lawyer!

St Mary's!. , . . . . United and Holy Family!

so u were once a parishoner?
now common!, i dont have to tell you whats itz like every 31st nite there!
broda, itz always smoking!!!!

no choice for ya, u just have to be at St Mary's on 31st nite!
see ya on the appointed day


Carlosein, oya untie your mouth and talk

you guys should consider spending 31st nite with me at St Mary's u'knw. . . . .
afterwards, we will usher the new year in, in style with me as the host at my crib
Oby, u are not so far away, so u are already on the list, no choice for ya

Carlosein, u have to ooooooo
Pamperme, Ebos una space dey too

guseman, welcome oooooo _{u can also join d party}

now isnt that a great way to start the new year?

Oby ur welcome!
i have been hooked since morning
glad u like it as well.

ya, i was breaking when i first started listening but it has been steady for the past 3 hrs.


did u join them for Rosary?
i particulary like the way they say the Mysteries. . . . .

Oby1:
@Viee
Thanks dear
I attend St.Charles Olodi Apapa Parish.  The church was filled both inside and outside, i bet today's attendance will be more because those who came yesterday will inform others what happened and this will attract more people, so as early as before 6pm i'm in d church.

Are u comin, i bet is far from you.

no it is not so far, my parish is St Mary's Isolo
but i get home pretty late because of school
been a while since i saw Fr Osigwe!
really wish i can attend



did u visit d site i posted?
plz do, it is worth visiting
Carlosein, hv u?

Hey pple,

nice to have you back!
Oby ya, i know Fr Osigwe, i use to attend Mass at Ifo . , . .
where your Parish dey?
we had our own Retreat and my brother has been talking non stop about it
i could not attend.

Carlosein. . . . . sup!
d exam dey start on saturday
i don dey get serious exam fever


i have been listening to a great site all day
here is the link: http://www.carolfisher.com/

click on ' listen now'

great great great site!
they said Rosary, played great songs, and fathers have been preaching about advent
right now, i'm listening to a sermon about ' the holy Eucharist' _{i need an no be small}

hope u find it as intresting as i have.

today's saint:


ST. DAMASUS I

Damasus was born in Rome and lived in the fourth century-exciting times for the Church. He was a priest who was generous and self-sacrificing. When Pope Liberius died in 366, Damasus became the pope. He faced many grave difficulties. There was a false pope named Felix. He and his followers persecuted Damasus. They lied about him, especially about his personal moral life. The pope had to stand trial before the Roman authorities. He was proved innocent, but he suffered very much through it all. His great friend, St. Jerome, spoke emphatically for the virtue of this pope. And Jerome had high standards. Pope Damasus realized that the city clergy were living too wealthy a lifestyle. The country priests were much more austere. Damasus asked the priests to simplify their lifestyles and not to accumulate money and possessions. He set a wonderful example himself.
There were also many false teachings during his time as pope. Damasus explained the true faith. He also called the Second Ecumenical Council which was held in Constantinople. Pope Damasus greatly encouraged love of the scriptures. He assigned St. Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin. He also changed the official language of the liturgy from Greek-except for the Kyrie-to Latin.
Pope St. Damasus died at the age of about eighty on December 11, 384. He was buried with his mother and sister in a little chapel he had built.

Pope Damasus suffered much from false accusations. How often do I give others the benefit of the doubt?

whats happening?
where is everyone?


some lovely qoutes for this season. .  . .  . .   



"Man's value before God is estimated by the dispositions of his heart, its uprightness, its good-will, its charity, and not by keenness of intellect or extent of knowledge."
~Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich

"I no longer have a heart; I gave it to Jesus' Mom."

~ St. Gemma Galgani





When we have to reply to anyone who has insulted us, we should be careful to do it always with gentleness. A soft answer extinguishes the fire of wrath.


~St. Alphonsus Liguori



The Church teaches us that mercy belongs to God. Let us implore Him to bestow on us the spirit of mercy and compassion, so that we are filled with it and may never lose it. Only consider how much we ourselves are in need of mercy.

--Saint Vincent de Paul

let me help with the Saint of the day




Blessed Adolph Kolping

(1813-1865)

The rise of the factory system in 19th-century Germany brought many single men into cities where they faced new challenges to their faith. Father Adolph Kolping began a ministry to them, hoping that they would not be lost to the Catholic faith as was happening to workers elsewhere in industrialized Europe.
Born in the village of Kerpen, Adolph became a shoemaker at an early age because of his family’s economic situation. Ordained in 1845, he ministered to young workers in Cologne, establishing a choir, which by 1849 had grown into the Young Workmen’s Society. A branch of this began in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1856. Nine years later there were over 400 Gesellenvereine (workman’s societies) around the world. Today this group has over 400,000 members in 54 countries across the globe.
More commonly called the Kolping Society, it emphasizes the sanctification of family life and the dignity of labor. Father Kolping worked to improve conditions for workers and greatly assisted those in need. He and St. John Bosco in Turin had similar interests in working with young men in big cities. He told his followers, “The needs of the times will teach you what to do.
”Father Kolping once said, “The first thing that a person finds in life and the last to which he holds out his hand, and the most precious that he possess, even if he does not realize it, is family life.”
He and Blessed John Duns Scotus are buried in Cologne’s Minoritenkirche, served by the Conventual Franciscans. The Kolping Society’s international headquarters is at this church.
Kolping members journeyed to Rome from Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Oceania for Father Kolping’s beatification in 1991, the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s revolutionary encyclical Rerum Novarum (On the Social Order). Father Kolping’s personal witness and apostolate helped prepare for that encyclical.





I am very sure of God. I trust His love. I hope many things, or rather everything from Him—this is what has made me dare so far… —Mother Teresa

as we were saying



Carlosein. . . . . . . . how body?
it's time to ask where is ebos, Oby, Pamperme, Lawyer et al?
make una come back oooooo
yesterday in church, our Father said something that really touched me . . . .


He was asking why Christmas that is supposed to be celebrated in holiness and reconciliation be a period for all sorts of evil
some of us do unthinkable things to acquire fortune,
we list new caras, cloths, house renovation as necessities for good xmas
no provision is made for that special person that we are expecting.
sexual immorality is always at it's peak . . . . . .
Cost of living will shoot up, traders aim to make incredible profits
pple aim to exploit ours in the name of xmas. . . . . . .
some families actually quarrell at this period. . . . . . . . .

this actually got me thinkn
it is absolutely spot on. . . . .

during lent, some of us take out time to reflect and do retreat but xmas is always treated differently

the sermon meant a lot to me and i thought i will share it with us all
after the sermon, there was a sort of calmness in the church, i was sure individually, we were all touched.

i can't repeat word for word what the Father said but, i hope whoever reads this will feel that calmness we all felt yesterday

may it bear friut in us all.


Glory to Jesus
Honour to Mary

hey pple!
Oby how body?
Carlosein and Ebos. . . . howdy?

e be like say i come late for this jamb test oooooo
so i guess answer sheet don finish . . . . . . .

anyways, i hvn't been to confession in a while
hvn't received communion in a while either
im not proud of it.

i will surely go for confession this period and receive communion as well

this place remains the greatest motivator for me
love you guys!

Lawyer,

what's the point playing aganist a team you alreday know u can beat?
it will be better to play agnist a quality opposition
and also aganist a team that will pull crowd

whic other team can achieve this but our dear LIVERPOOL?


verdict: Eagles vs Liverpool

case closed!
tell ur guy ooo

Hi Carlosein,

i was able to make the procession eventually
and it was big fun for me
we prayed, sang, danced all the way


the benediction was particulary good for me since it has been a while i attended one
like yours we didnt want it to end as well.
another highlight was we we arrived the Church compound, the different groups present were tryin to out do easch other with sweet tunes

i dance tire!

generally, i was glad i didnt miss it.

oby how was yours?
Ebos, u still attend?

Ebos ,

i feel you!

i also have the same problem
i'm among those Oby called Sunday Sunday tonic
i don't pray as well as i should. .  . .  . i did the October devotion well because of this thread
since october, i said my rosary just yerterday for the first time
i can't rem the last time i received communion
it's just terrible.  . .  .  and i know it
i tried to join society as well but i never seem to have the time to participate

now even the procession, i can't attend
our parish harvest, i couldn't attend bc of school work
i use to attend daily mass when i wasn't working
i still can, now that i'm working since my office isn't so far
but i have been able to make it some how

i just wish i can devote more time and energy for God's work

lol @ carlosein and Oby

just rem, where is Pamperme sef?
hope heshe will go attend the procession

AKASILI:
I want at least 5 acres of land in Port Harcourt for xmas and 51% share ownership of Intercontinental Bank Plc

LOL

ole!



i don't mind TOYOTA YARRIS sha

Oby1:
societies, if I dance with this one, i will leave i join another.

ya, i do that as well
sometimes, a group of people will also start a very good song
i also join them
i always have a great great time.

Oby1:
I remember this song by the sacred Heart of Jesus society, if you like u can join me:

JESUS IS PASSING THIS WAY
THIS WAY, THIS WAY
JESUS IS PASSING THIS WAY
IS PASSING THIS WAY TODAY

i'm singing and dancing along

Oby1:
What touched so much, was on our way passing through some hospitals some sick ones came out to receive the touch of healing from Jesus who is passing through.

you are absolutely right!
some of them are not even Christians
but the joy of the procession seem to awaken something in them
it makes me so happy.

Oby1:
Lawyer are you coming? (I'm using a baritone voice)

with that tone of yours, he get choice?


ebos and Carlosein neva wake up?

itz good to be back with you guyz!

@ Carlosein

i really wish i can attend
i have exams coming up, so i attend lectures on sundays _{abeg make una pray for me oooooo}
but i dont mind heading the committee that will decide on how to punish those that will not attend the procession

@ Oby

Sup girl
u can bring down your hand now for she that was lost, has been found
i join my voice to ask where is flylyde, Gozizi and Orobo50CL _{and a couple of odas}

by the way, our honourable LAWYER neva talk whether he go attend sef

@ ebos

broda
na better fun oooooo
u can dance for ever, u just loose yourself in his love
just make sure u stick to a group that keep the rhythm on
apart from stations of the cross, procession is another event i love so much _{Christ the King and Palm Sunday}

you can go with friends and dance together
make sure you have fun!

kai!. . . . . . i wish i can attend

LOL

Viee dey oooooo_{so were is Flylydeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee}

been quite busy

missed this thread and you guys

i always attend procession, i actually enjoy it
i keep changing group, the livelier the band, the better for me
so once any band seem to run out of steam, i will join the next one
it has been a lot of fun over the years

pity i cant attend this years procession because of an engagement i have that day
you guys should have fun though. . . . . . . .