“Jesus said to his disciples, “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home . . . . . . . . . . . . If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants!”

Excerpts, Gospel Reading, Tuesday 22nd October 2024 – LUKE 12:35-38.

So, the phrase, “Gird your loins” could be roughly interpreted to mean, “Prepare oneself for something difficult or challenging.”

Going further to break each word down, the word LOIN(S) in in simple explanation means, “The part of the body on both sides of the spine between the lowest ribs and the hip bones.”

Literally putting it, the loin is the region of the sexual organs regarded as the source of erotic or procreative power.

Whereas the word gird simply means, to fasten, tighten or belt up.

Therefore, simply put, to gird ones loins is to wear a pair of trousers and eaten the belt.

In today’s teaching, we are being informed to stand ready at all times. This is akin to the motto of the Boys Scout – “Always be prepared.”

Dear friend, today, it is Christ Jesus Himself who is telling us that, “If you snooze, you lose.”

The core of today’s teaching prepares us to be ready at all times for our final departure from this world.

While no one feels that they’re too old to die, no body is also too young to die. Once anyone has been born alive, they’re already old enough to also die.

We mustn’t get this twisted, Christ isn’t saying we should abandon our life works and go and hurdle up in the church awaiting our final whistle.

Far from that, as it is not so at all.

Virtually, our everyday life is our final preparation.

If we are fond of beating traffic lights, insulting other motorists who dare to call us to order and stopping our vehicles at disruptive positions that inhibit the free flow of traffic, if we do not desist from such destructive attitudes, we may meet with our end one day while in the thick of such everyday life.

Brothers that keep extra-marital affairs in the name of ‘side-chick’. We must know that those little girls have more stamina than you.

Moreover, while you expend energy at work trying to make a living, ,these little girls are resting and researching and imagining styles that they may perform with you.

Dear friend, while at it, when that little girl may be telling you to go harder and faster, your strength may fail you. And there your end may come.

Imagine the shame, embarrassment and trauma that your attitude would subject the people and the family whom you may leave behind. Just imagine!

None is however saying when one obeys traffic rules, one may not still meet with their end through road carnage.

Neither is it that performing usual conjugal rites with one’s wife may not lead to a sudden end.

My dear fiend, we must at all times try our best to do the right thing at the right time without ceasing. This is the perfect example of girding our loins and keeping our lamps burning. This is our perfect preparation.

Saint JohnPaul once said, “It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives.” – We must therefore seek Jesus at all times, as our weakness may overpower our strengths.

Remember, God is more persuaded by our deliberate positive efforts to become better.

Have a fantastic day folks.

#SAINT_JOHNPAUL! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!
– Akase F. Agabo
22nd Oct. 2024.

“Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Excerpts, Gospel Reading, Monday 21st Oct. 2024 – LUKE 12:13-21.

So, the love of money and material possessions has always been so since time immemorial.

Was it not for love of money that Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ Jesus?

It was also for the lusting love for more possessions that God had to reject King Saul and turned against him.

King Saul was to annihilate the Amalekites including their entire livestock. However, when he and his soldiers saw how robustly alluring their livestock looked, they took possession of them under the guise that they would use them for sacrifice to God. For this disobedience, God rejected King Saul – 1 SAMUEL 15.

Nevertheless, the current craze in the love of money and material possessions has reached an all high and a feverish level.

One can write ions about this malady and would still just be scratching the surface.

However, the obvious one that is quite despicable and nauseating is the shameless life of ingratiating.

Those who indulge in this life tend to have value only for wealth and material possessions. And there, lies their allegiance and respect.

Honour, integrity and self-respect which are and should be the hallmark that stand a man out means nothing to such people.

When they perceive a whiff of seeming wealth from a dog, or when a pig flashes some change; there, their full attention would be riveted to. They are unfortunately also the loudest.

Some scumbag who has everly been known as such suddenly shows up with some money and he has earned their respect.

This is without prejudice to those who genuinely made their wealth. Notwithstanding, they will yet be ingratiated upon.

Unfortunately, these practices of over respecting and giving undue concessions to wealth or supposed wealth is gradually creeping into even our revered religious settings, traditional institutions and most regrettably, even our families also.

The most awfully despicable and disgusting behaviour exhibited by such people is their fleeting allegiance.

Once the oozing of the whiff of money is perceived to have waned, they, too, would quickly withdraw their allegiance, respect and honour and move on to the next new money.

Dear friend, to those of us that the adulation of praise singers gives us the kick to spread our feathers like peacocks as well as we the adulators who are goaded by our excessive lust for money, give close heed. Christ Jesus says in today’s teaching that, the most important wealth is that which we store up for ourselves in heaven.

You may want to give this some more thought in your quiet moment.

May God avail us His grace that we may permit His will to be realised in our life.

Have a fantastic day and a fulfilled week ahead, folks.

#Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

– Akase F. Agabo
21st Oct. 2024

“And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?

Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Tuesday 15th Oct. 2024 – LUKE 11:37-41.

So, Sundays always see us adorning our ‘Sunday Special’ (reserved best outfits) looking beautifully dapper.

It gets so much so that some of us finds it difficult to kneel during the time at Mass when the congregation is required to kneel. Just for the sake of not to stain or get dirt on our ‘Sunday Special’.

Some of us, when we finally get that meanest latest style that turns eyes, we deliberately come a bit late for Mass.

Not late, late. But strategic late coming. That kind of lateness when the congregation is seated and the Mass is all set to start.

Then, we gorgeously walk in from the back, strauting like some preying mantis to the front. Make some gestures as if the place we intended to sit isnt that comfortable.

Them, we will straut back to the back roll. Only to sashay again to the middle row and get a seat some where there.

We compel ourselves to all of these unnecessary tortuous stress to seemingly attract the attention of people whom we do not know and most of whom at best do not care whether we are wearing mango leaves or ‘atampa’.

Nevertheless, we are most definitely going to score some cheap points especially with those people who are equally as vain as we are.

Dear friend, by all means, we should dress and look clean and gorgeous as much and as best as we can afford.

However, while at it, we mustn’t neglect our inside also or forego it for the sake of our outside.

Once we start becoming careful of taking care of our inside and steadily maintaining it carefully, I bet you, we will indulge less (if at all) about all those theatrics to impress people with our fashion style. Fashion ensemble will naturally just be a part of our usual lifestyle.

May we permit the grace of God in our life to enable us live our life worthy of His calling.

SAINT_THERESA_OF_AVILA! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

• Akase F. Agabo
  15th Oct. 2024.

“Jesus began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation.”

Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Monday 14th October 2024 – LUKE 11:29-32.

So, just assuming a reigning artiste or musician is scheduled to perform in a particular locality.

Ahead of their coning, there will be hypes about the event mostly on the radio, the television and very recently on the social media also.

Promotional contents for the event may mostly be like this – “Other side attractions include rib-cracking comedy performance from so, and so, fashion parade and lots and lots of gift items to be won at our surprise raffle draw. Don’t be left out, if you snooze, you lose.”

Amazingly, church programmes have also taken to the same kind of hypes. Even a mere Sunday service is not left out.

Then, there will be stuffs like this that form part of the contents for the promotion of the event – “There will be music ministration by this and that as well as the dash, dash, dash ministries angelic choir. Miracles, signs and wonders shall abound. Come one, come all.”

Another equally disturbing trend is the fact that the artiste or musician invited for this church programme could be a complete secular artiste with many blatant ‘knacking’ songs to their credit.

Possibly just because they have a popular song that mentions in passing the phrase ‘thank you Jesus’ or the word ‘alleluiah’, then, that qualifies them to be invited for a supposed music ministration for a church programme or for a Sunday service.

Dear friend, the hypes men and hypes-style deplored for promoting secular events are now used for church programmes even for Sunday service.

However, we mustn’t be quick to wanting to condemn anyone or point fingers as to whose guilt it might be.

This has to start with us. If we haven’ permitted such, they wouldn’t be happening.

If we are not thrilled by the razzmatazz of miracles, signs and wonders, and we go seeking for them, they will not be used as baits to lure us do gullible fishes.

If the thrills of wanting to get quality entertainment in our supposed worship centres is not what goads us to accept to convene but the worship of God in truth and in spirit, then, the presence of a popular artiste or musician or not wouldn’t be the push that gets us to want to congregate for worship.

My dear friend, until we curb our taste and voracious appetites, those leading us by our noses too will have no reason to want to take a rest.

Christ in today’s teaching says of us that we are, “An evil generation.” My dear friend, we must dare to be different and extricate ourselves from such a generation.

Have a fantastic day and a fulfilled week ahead folks.

Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

• Akase F. Agabo
• 14th Oct. 2024.

“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. TGive us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.”

Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Wednesday 9th October 2024 – LUKE 11:1-4.

So, firstly, prayer is really good and absolutely important because it is very efficacious. That is why even Christ Himself prayed.

Notwithstanding, as there’s a pattern to all things, so, it is also with prayer. It is for this reason that John-de-Baptist taught his disciples how to pray and in today’s teaching Christ Jesus also taught his disciples and by extension we, too, how to pray.

Christ taught us the Lord’s Prayer, the one we popularly call the ‘Our Father.”

The Lord’s Prayer is not just a pattern of how to pray, it is equally our prescribed lifestyle.

The life style pattern is, praising God, committing the whole of our being to Him.

Then trusting Him completely with the whole of our being. And forgiving others who failed us as much as we seek forgiveness from Him.

And having Him and Him alone as our guard, guide and source of protection.

And we do all of these with absolute faith.

Dear friend, when you say that Prayer (Our Father) today again, meditative say it and try to visualise each word.

May the Good Lord meet all of us at our point of need.

Have a fantastic day folks.

#Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

-Akase F. Agabo
9th Oct. 2024.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel — not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

Excerpt, First Reading, Monday 7th October 2024 – GALATIANS 1:6-12.

So, technology has made living very easy. Take communications for example. We know where we used to be before the year 2001.

Consequently, the same technological advancement is equally getting some of us somewhat lazy.

The successes achieved technology-wise in the world, we now want to make them transcend into our actual abstract every day life and living.

A preacher man tells members of their congregation that they are going to make overnight wealth and they quickly believe and hang on every of his words.

Another one tell members of his congregation to bring all sick people to the church and never to seek medical attention at health care facilities and hospitals.

Meanwhile, the same person would fly abroad for the slightest medical attention in the best hospitals in the world.

Are we now all getting perversely stupefied?

Dear friend, any wealth that we did not work for and isn’t a rightful inheritance, it is always not deep rooted, it fritter away as fast as it came.

The knowledge of medical treatment was conferred on us by the Almighty God.

Therefore, my dear friend, when you or any one of yours fall ill, quickly go to the hospital or the nearest health care facility to seek medical attention.

Believing in prosperity preaching and refusing to seek medical attention when we are ill is stupidly falling victim of the fake gospel Saint Paul cries about in today’s teaching.

Mother Mary Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, we implore your constant intercession never to yield to any contrary gospel.

Have a fantastic day folks and a fulfilled week ahead.

OUR_LADY_OF_THE_ROSARY! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

• Akase F. Agabo
  7th Oct. 2024.

“The Lord answered Job . . . . . . . . . . . . out of the whirlwind: “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, . . . . . . . . . . . . Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? . . . . . . . . . . Then Job answered the Lord: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. . . . . . . . . . . . I will proceed no further.”

Excerpts, First Reading, Friday 4th October 2024 – JOB 38:1.12-21; 40:3-5.

So, often times when some kind of adversity or the other befalls us, we are quick to follow the path of unbelievers and question God, saying, “O Lord, why me?”

If Joseph was not so maltreated by his brothers and sold into slavery, how would he have become Governor in a far away land and even help to save his family from starvation?

God works in mysterious ways. He alone knows our tomorrow from today.

A little scratch gets us wailing and lamenting and asking God, “Why me?”

Such might have happened to forestall a fatal adversity that could have befallen us or to prepare us for a greater task ahead (like Joseph) or both.

Dear friend, as believers, whatever happens to us, good or otherwise was very likely permitted by God.

Therefore, anything that happens to us, good or otherwise, we must thank God. He Who is our beneficent, He alone Who knows our tomorrow from today.

Folks, have a fantastic day and a pleasant weekend.

#SAINT_FRANCIS_OF_ASSISI! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

-Akase F. Agabo. 4th OCT. 2024.

“But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this that the kingdom of God has come near. ’ I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”

Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Thursday 3rd October 2024 – LUKE 10:1-12.

So, the streets as well as life as a whole is not the same for someone who grew up with a father than one who grew up without a father. And this is without prejudice to an actual good father or a father figure.

A person from a good home, raised with both parents who ensured they never lacked the basic necessities of life but chose to go the way of wrath, the streets and life in general is more harsh and intolerable for them than one raised from the streets.

Today’s teaching is akin to the above assertions.

It shall be more tolerable for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah than for those cities which the message of the kingdom of God was preached to and they rejected it.

Dear friend, we must carefully check and ensure that we are not such cities.

Have a fantastic day folks.

#Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

-Akase F. Agabo
3rd Oct. 2024.

“The disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Wednesday 2nd Oct. 2024 – MATTHEW 18:1-5.

So, since we all were once children, we must be conversant with the fact that children have a 100% trust in their parents.

Children look on to their parents for everything and more often than not parents strive to fulfil all that are needed by their children.

That’s why a parent might starve just to ensure that their ward(s) have something to eat.

Parents do not regard taking care of their children only just as an obligation but as fulfilment of a right to them.

All these are the more reasons children look on to their parents with confidence that their needs and sometimes even their wants would be satisfied.

The Almighty God in today’s teaching says, for us to make it into the kingdom He has prepared for us, we must, like children, have a blind trust in Him.

May God avail us His grace to permit His will to be realised in our life.

And may our deliberate and reflex actions never cause our guardian angels to shy away from us.

Have a fantastic day folks.

HOLY_GUARDIAN_ANGELS! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

• Akase F. Agabo
  2nd Oct. 2024.

“There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going back and forth on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Excerpt, First Reading, Monday 30th September 2024 – JOB 1:6-22.

So, the excerpt above from today’s teaching calls to mind what we say when we pray, Prayer to St Michael the Archangel.”

The particular statement is, “ By the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.”

Dear friend, what comes to mind when we see or hear things like this?

Satan is everywhere.

If when the sons of God went to present themselves to the Lord and Satan also went there, where then can he not be?

There is this catch phrase that has become common in adverts and promotions, “If you snooze, you lose.”

My dear friend, that’s just how it also is with Satan.

He’s working restlessly round the clock to ensure that he drags as many as possible sons of God with him to the place of damnation where he has been condemned for eternity.

We must therefore, be continually prayerful and persevere in good works without ceasing.

These must become an integral part of us if we must defeat Satan.

Just like St Jerome a Priest and doctor of the church whose memorial the Church marks today said, “I strive every day o make my good better and my better best.”

May the grace of God always be with us.

Have a fantastic day and a fulfilled week ahead folks.

SAINT_JEROME! #Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! #Pray_for_us!

• Akase F. Agabo. 30th Sept. 2024.