Last Sunday was a memorable outing for the worshippers and guests at Society of Saint Paul, Obawole, Iju, Lagos, as they marked the beginning of the season of Advent in grand style with culture.
The congregation showcased their cultural heritage, according to their geopolitical regions: South-South, South East and South West zones.
Dressed in their cultural attire, the people also used the opportunity to showcase their food, drinks, dance and greetings.
SSP Church Community chairman, Thaddeus Mordi, explained that, “We are celebrating Cultural Day today and the aim is to foster love and unity. Today, we are also commemorating the feast of our founder, James Alborione, founder of Society of St. Paul Catholic Church. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in 2002. Today, as members of the society of ST. PAUL, we decided to celebrate our cultures to foster the aim of our founder towards promoting Christ, our divine master, through the media. So, we decided to bring in our cultural heritage to foster the aim of our founder.
“We zoned our geographical entity through zones: South-South, South East and the South West. The basic reason for the celebration is to promote that aim of our founder using our culture to carry that same purpose. Culture in its entirety encompasses lifestyle, language, food, attire, dance and everything that a zone is known for.
“Today, we are showcasing our delicacies to share with those who don’t have; promoting that purpose of unity and love in our society.”
According to Mordi, the church was using their culture, lifestyle, language, attire and so on to preach the gospel of unity and love, “We also want people, especially our children, to know that, while we worship God, we don’t throw away our culture. We want them to know that we have a place where we come from. You can see how we are dressed in our cultural attire and our children are impressed. The way we dressed today, is not the way the people in America or Europe dress.
“We are really blessed with rich cultural heritage, and the good thing is that the Mother Church is not against our culture, but because we don’t practice it, our cultural heritage is dying. However, through this celebration, we are reawakening the subconsciousness of our people and propagating love, unity, peace and understanding through culture.
“When our children grow up they will take over from us the rich, unique and beautiful cultural heritage. We are showing the way we greet people so our children will learn the different ways we greet our people of different cultural backgrounds. Our children won’t mock other people from different cultural backgrounds when they see them eating some food and doing other things that are strange to them. We have to showcase love. Community love is the best. We can practice it in line with what our founder’s desires.
“Love is the ultimate. You have seen how we are bonding today, even though we are from different cultural backgrounds. We are eating, dining and praying together. We have people from the North, West, East and South worshipping together and that is what God wants us to do. We shall continue to bond in love, peace and unity.”
Earlier, during the homily, Reverend Father Gerald Ndakat, the officiating priest, warned that people should not be carried away by eating and drinking, but should have deep reflection about what Advent stands for. According to him, Advent is a wakeup call for Christians to be aware that nothing lasts forever. So, everything that has a beginning must have an end.
The priest warned that the same thing happened in the time of Noah, when people were drinking and eating until it was too late for them as the flood came and swept them away.
“This Advent, prepare yourself for the Christmas season. It is a season of anticipation but the charge is to be vigilant,” he said.
Father Gerald, as he is fondly called, added that Advent comes towards the end of the year to remind us that everything in this world has an end. Joy is coming to an end, and sorrow will also come to an end.
“Advent teaches us to live meaningfully and wisely. Today, I want us to focus on the second reading on the letter of St. Paul to the Romans. St. Paul says, ‘Wake up from sleep for salvation is near. Put on the armour of light.’ It is a wakeup call. The wakeup call changed the life of St. Augustine. St. Augustine needed God, but he was still hanging on to the pleasures of the flesh. This is the story of many of us. You want to be holy, yet you are clinging on to the pleasures of life.
“The desire is there to serve God in truth but because of worldly things you can’t serve him the way he commanded. Put on the amour of light and darkness will disappear. Do it like St. Augustine, one of the doctors of the church. The Lord is calling us to look at our lives with truthful eyes. What are the attitudes that rob us of God? The habits that keep us spiritually weak? What are the private sins that we excuse in our lives, the sins that we hide because they will bring shame to us if we are exposed?
“We should not postpone our repentance. We must take a bold step to say no to sin, especially the one we do in secret, and embrace the life of a true Christian. Work of darkness needs a decisive decision to quit it. Shun pride, arrogance and all evils. You don’t compromise sins. The season of Advent reminds us of spiritual honesty. To put on the armour of light is to embrace the armour of Christ. Live a life of sincerity and purity. Some of us live double lives. On Sunday, we are different people and on Monday we are another person entirely. It is allowing our inner life to match our outward living. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Putting on Christ means to allow the life of Christ to reflect in our personal lifestyle. Allow the life of Christ to reshape us and our personal identity. Come, let us live the life of Christ. Remember that, in the days of Noah, people were eating and drinking like we are doing today; eating and marrying as if there was no tomorrow. Jesus is warning us against spiritual carelessness. Some of us think that time is on our side, we can do whatever we like. But the season of Advent reminds us that there is no time. Regardless of your age, the Lord can visit you at any time. Just like he did in the days of Noah and it was too late for people when the flood came. Advent is a warning to us that the Lord can come at any time. So, let’s not be caught unawares. Wake up and put on the armour of life.
“Once we put on the armour of light, we don’t have to entertain any fear. May the life of St. Augustine transform us and may the Lord open our spiritual eyes to be on guard at all times.”
