Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent March 23, 2017 Today's Readings: Jeremiah 7:23-28 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9 Luke 11:14-23 THE STRENGTH OF CHRISTIAN UNITY The best way to defeat evil, according to Jesus in today's Gospel passage, is to attack it with the strength that comes from being "with" Jesus. But how can we be with Jesus if we cannot see him or hear him because he ascended to heaven? When his body left the earth, he sent his Spirit down to enliven his followers with the power to be like him. The Church and all those who believe in him and imitate him are now his Body on earth. When we are with believers, we are with Jesus. This is why being Christian means being Church. We cannot be Christ's Body without belonging to the Church. Therefore, whenever members of the Body choose to stay away from Mass, or whenever parts of the Body neglect opportunities to be active in parish life, they are denying who they really are. Think of the empty seats at church. Think of the people you know who have been baptized or are good, loving people but they are not fulfilling their identities as the Body of Christ. How disempowering this is! Inactivity by parts of the Body causes weaknesses that make us all more vulnerable to evil. Apart from the community of believers, we might feel strong in self-sufficiency, and for a while peace can reign as we live out our desires and plans undisturbed. However, this never lasts. Life happens. Disaster hits. Evil targets us, because it recognizes how vulnerable we are and it seizes the opportunity to turn our gaze away from God. Individualism that relies on self-sufficiency is not as beneficial as it seems. By its very nature it creates division. As long as we think that we do not need others, we neglect to work on building unity. Jesus said, "Those who are not with me are against me." Since he lives within other Christians, if we choose not to join them in community relationships, we are acting against Jesus himself! Jesus also said, "Those who do not gather with me scatter." There is no middle ground. We should be gathering people to us and building a community spirit by letting them experience the presence of Jesus within us. If we do not attract people to the Saviour within us, or if we push people away, we are dividing them from whatever Jesus wants to give to them through us. Are you part of the gathering or the scattering? If we try to gather people around us by using our money or company status or position in the Church, we are not bringing Jesus to them. But if people are magnetized to us because they are attracted by our love, our kindness, our patience, our prayerfulness, our God-given talents, or our Spirit-filled wisdom, they encounter Jesus when they interact with us. Therein lies the strength of community and the power to overcome evil. PRAY to Lord, heal the divisions that exist in my heart so that I can let You reign in my life and become, together with my brothers and sisters, an unconditional servant. Amen.

Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Lent March 21, 2017 Today's Readings: Daniel 3:25, 34-43 Psalm 25:4-9 Matthew 18:21-35 FORGIVE, FORGIVE, AND FORGIVE... AGAIN? How many people have taught you how to forgive seventy times seven times? These are the ones who repeatedly -- sometimes seventy times in one day! -- give you opportunities to practice forgiveness. This method of learning the lesson of today's Gospel passage is not fun. But there is a reason why God allows it: These people need your gesture of mercy more than others do. In God's great concern for them, he has put them in your path. (Gee thanks God, but could you not have picked someone else?) Such people are in desperate need of unconditional love; they have received less of it than we have, and that is why they behave so badly. In many cases, they have never received real love; their only experience of "love" is actually co-dependency or control or emotional bribery. In some cases, disease, addiction, demonic oppression, or mental illness has robbed them of the ability to receive love when it is, in fact, given to them. No one can give to us what they do not have. They can only give us what they do have, and sadly, that is grief -- and plenty of it! We, on the other hand, can give them the forgiveness we have received from our loving Father -- the "king who settled accounts with his officials" in the parable. We know what love is, because we have opened ourselves to God's generous love, and therefore we have the responsibility of sharing it with those who have less. They might assume that they know what love is, but they do not know how to recognize real, unconditional, Christ-like love, so we have to persist and forgive and persist and forgive until finally -- finally! -- our love breaks through the barricades of their hearts. Then, when they slip back into their old ways, we forgive them again. Our persistence might be the only true connection to Jesus that they have. However, we cannot succeed alone. Others are also needed, including counselors, doctors, or therapists. Sometimes God tells us that we have done enough and it is time to step away so that he can help them through someone else. The process is long. We have to ask God to give us a supernatural love for these people. When we want to quit prematurely, we can look at Jesus hanging on the cross for us. He did not give up on us. If we truly want to follow him, we have to become like him. By uniting our sufferings to his cross, we are intimately united to his redemptive power. Pray for those who are causing you pain; choose to forgive them. Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. And we need to do it now, not when (or if) they repent. Jesus did not delay his walk to Calvary hoping that humankind would repent before he got nailed for our sins. As you follow him in the spirit of forgiveness, remember: After crucifixion there is always resurrection! PRAY My Lord, help me to understand that forgiving is the key that opens us to Your love and help me to accept that You long to fill our souls with holiness. Amen.

Monday of the 3rd Week of Lent Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary March 20, 2017 Today's Readings: 2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16 Ps 89:2-5,27,29 Romans 4:13,16-18,22 Matthew 1:16,18-21,24 or Luke 2:41-51 ST. JOSEPH'S GREATEST LESSON FOR JESUS How did St. Joseph parent the boy Jesus for his ministry as Saviour? He lived a life of choosing to trust in a God who understood everything perfectly, especially when nothing made sense. Surely this attitude set an example that helped Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. For example, when Mary told Joseph that she was pregnant, the only sensible conclusion he understood was that the father was another man. He might have also thought that the townspeople had considered Mary to be model citizen and now they would probably condemn her for a major breach of righteousness. He also knew that he loved her, and in that unconditional love, under the circumstances, the most sensible thing to do would be to break their engagement and free her to marry the child's father. However, Joseph's trust in God overrode his sensibilities. He was open to being corrected when his assumptions were wrong. After the angel spoke to him in a dream, it did not take Joseph long to admit his mistake and change his plans. Did he understand how God would protect this family from judgmental neighbours? No. Did he understand how to raise a messiah? No. But he knew God knew, and that is all that really mattered. Joseph lived a practical faith, continually seeking God's will, choosing to follow his guidance even when it did not make logical sense. It carried him through the difficult journey to Bethlehem and the search for a room when Mary went into labour. It saved the family when Herod sent soldiers to kill the baby. It kept them safe in Egypt until the time was right to return home. It helped him and his wife cope with losing their 12-year-old in the crowded city of Jerusalem. This fatherly example of practical spirituality surely must have helped Jesus find the strength to put up with the daily hardships of his ministry. I suspect it also helped him overcome his self-protective resistance to the torture of the cross, so that he could obey and trust his divine Father all the way to the resurrection and beyond. Dads: Never underestimate the impact you have on your children's faith! Your examples are powerful influences! We need not be afraid of anything. We can trust God in everything. Even the most confusing, or the most worrisome, or the most catastrophic events are not fearsome when we realize that God is trustworthy. Whether you are a father or a mother, or not a parent at all, look honestly at the example you are setting. Do others grow in their faith by watching you? Ask St. Joseph to help you more effectively "parent" the spirituality of others. PRAY Praised be to You, Lord, for Your voice that instructs me at all times. Make my faith in Your promises grow daily and be a great testimony to those around me. Amen.

Saturday March 18, 2017 Micah 7:14-15,18-20 Ps 103:1-4,9-12 Luke 15:1-3,11-32 THE INTERCESSION OF ST. MONICA Possibly one of the worst hardships a parent might face is the loss of a child. Loss through death is very difficult to bear. It can be just as painful to suffer the loss of a child through his or her disconnection from the family through rebellion and the rejection of the values that we parents had worked hard to instil. When a sweet child grows up to become so self-indulgent and self-centered that communication dies and relationships get buried in the muck of bad decisions, a parent can feel crucified and, at the same time, a deep grief for losing a very precious soul. There is no closure in that kind of death. For as long as the wayward child continues to reject faith and truth, and for as long as he/she refuses to heal the family relationships that have been crucified, the parent can do nothing but wait and pray and yearn. But there is hope! In God, there is always hope. This is one of the reasons why Jesus gave us the Parable of the Prodigal Son: He shows us that the Father is always hoping, waiting in love to embrace his lost child and welcome him home. If you have a prodigal son or daughter, or if you want to help parents who do, trust God the Father in a spirit of hope and ask for the intercession of St. Monica, who suffered the same pain of loss: by praying.... "Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son, not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all parents in our day so that we may learn to draw our children to God. Teach us how to remain close to our children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray." PRAY Dear St. Monica, troubled wife and mother, many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime. Yet you never despaired or lost faith. With confidence, persistence and profound faith, you prayed daily for the conversion of your beloved husband, Patricius, and your beloved son, Augustine. Grant me that same fortitude, patience and trust in the Lord. Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, for (mention your petition here) and grant me the grace to accept God's will in all things, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Thursday of the Second Week in Lent March 16, 2017 Today's Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1:1-4, 6 Luke 16:19-31 LIVING IN HEAVEN ON EARTH Hell is not "down" in the middle of the earth, a physical place where bad people and pagans go after death for eternal punishment. Rather, hell is separation from God. And it is not God who separates himself from people. It is we who separate ourselves from him, and it begins while we are still here on earth. Do you feel (at least sometimes) like you are living in hell on earth? It is not the pains and trials we endure that make our lives hellish. It is the feeling that God is not with us in those trials. The parable in today's Gospel passage shows that it is impossible to rescue anyone from hell after they have died. It also teaches that it is impossible to rescue an alive person who is headed for hell -- that is, if they are not willing to unite themselves to God's love. Jesus points out the lack of repentance in those who reject what God has revealed to them. Jesus revealed himself as God by becoming one of us and willingly sacrificing himself on the cross to take our punishment for sin upon himself, removing all obstacles between us and God, and then rising from the dead to give us eternal life in God's presence. It is not the people who do not know this who go to hell. It is the people who reject God's love because they do not want to give love. When someone dies without knowledge of Jesus but they lived in the spirit of Christ by loving others, it is safe to assume that he or she will want to live forever with him when they meet him on their personal judgment day at the hour of their passing from earth. But those who heard of him and rejected him because they had no desire to give up their unloving ways -- they will want to avoid Jesus at the hour of their death. Thus, they decide to separate themselves from God forever. The question for you and me right now is: What am I doing today that rejects love? How am I separating myself from God and creating my own hell on earth? We might be 90% in love with God, but it's that other 10% that makes us miserable. Even when other people's unlovingness ruins our fun, we can rise above the suffering by living in God's embrace. This is why the Lord said in today's first reading: "Cursed are those who trust in human beings and turn their hearts away from me, but blessed are those who trust in me." The message is repeated in today's responsorial Psalm. What holds you back from being completely loving? Are you trusting in God's love when others fail to love you enough? There is always plenty of evidence, when life is hard, that "proves" we should not trust him, but Jesus' death and resurrection are proof that his love is real. Acting upon that truth by loving others unconditionally is how we bring heaven to earth. PRAY Forgive me, Lord, for my hardness and indifference to the needs of my Neighbours. Give me the grace to be brave and determined to help whomever You send my way. Amen.

GOOD MORNING! Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent March 15, 2017 Today's Readings: Jeremiah 18:18-20 Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 Matthew 20:17-28 EMBRACING YOUR SPECIALNESS Have you ever had the feeling that you have been served enough? Not me! For years, I would feel depressed on my birthday and on Children's Day, because these were the days I was supposed to be served and yet I always ended up doing the dishes or some other chore that served others. Even when my family treated me sweetly to make those days special, it never felt like they served me enough. One year, during training as a Seminarian, I started a new tradition for celebrating my "specialness" as a person and as a "Sacedotes infieri" (Priest in training) I decided that on any day when the focus is on me -- or should be on me -- I remember that every day is when God celebrates the life he has given to me and rejoices in my use of the talents he has given me. If perchance I receive special treatment from others, this is a bonus. It is nothing more than an additional gift from God, coming to me through whomever God has chosen at that moment, like any other day of the year. And you know what? This makes every day worth celebrating! When others make us feel special, oh how quickly that feeling fades, does it not? We truly are happiest when we are using our God-given talents and our unique personalities in ways that improve the lives of others. That's because we are FULLY ALIVE in our specialness -- a specialness that no one else has -- when we unite with Jesus in being who we really are. No one else ever did or ever will have what makes you you. However, the only way to experience this specialness is to use your uniqueness in ways that God designed you to use it -- and that means in service to others, which glorifies God and helps his kingdom. Otherwise, we are like a kid who gets an enormous basket of chocolates for Easter and he tries to enjoy all of its deliciousness in one day, without sharing it. Soon, he gets sick. Where is the fun in that? This is why Jesus tells us in today's Gospel passage that the greatest person is the one who serves all the rest. Serving others does not make us look good in the eyes of God -- that is not where our greatness comes from. To God, we are already wonderful, simply because he made us each so unique, so special. Our greatness -- our innate goodness put to good use -- happens when we make a good difference in the world. PRAY Create in me, Oh Lord, a spirit of humble service that seeks to glorify Your love and never allows itself be dominated by human ambitions. Amen.

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time February 1, 2017. Today's Readings: Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15 Ps 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a Mark 6:1-6 STRENGTH FOR YOUR WOBBLY KNEES Oh how pathetic we look when we feel discouraged and weary of our trials! Today's first reading describes us as having weak knees and drooping hands. For some reason, we assume we are not supposed to suffer. When new troubles begin, we think something's amiss. We think we would be better off getting rid of it quickly. We cry to God for help. When that does not work, we treat prayer formulas like magic spells. We behave as if God made a mistake in allowing the hardship. We look for the nearest exit. It is right and holy to seek relief through prayer, protective action, a counsellor or a doctor. If this makes a difference, it is because God is confirming that we are supposed to conquer the problem and move on. But if all normal, healthy and faith-filled attempts to bring relief fail, it does not mean that we are a failure, nor does it mean that God is failing us. What it means is: There is a greater blessing and we have not reached it yet. In every trial, there is an important lesson that God is teaching us. Today's scripture tells us to see our trials as discipline from God. The word "discipline" has the same root as "disciple" -- it means to receive training or education that corrects, molds, and builds character. Yet, we think that discipline is a penalty for wrong-doing, and so we revert back to the reactions of our childhood when we tried to squirm and cheat and charm our way out of due punishments. Discipline seems a cause for grief, not joy, but later it brings "the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Grumbling and complaining mean that we are not trusting God enough. We feel forgotten by him, but really it is us who do the forgetting. We are forgetting that God hurts with us, that Jesus bears the punishment with us! He does not enjoy it any more than you do. He cares about your feelings far more than you do, but he sees the bigger picture. He knows that a short-cut to the end of the trial would cause more misery in the long run, not less. God's timing is always perfect. He delivers us from our trials at the earliest possible moment, as long as we cooperate with him instead of making matters worse. Knowing this about God should strengthen our weak knees and drooping hands. Otherwise, our drooping hands scrape knuckles along the hard and bumpy road. They get scratched and bruised, and in frustration we grab rocks to throw at nearby travellers who are unfortunate enough to be on the same path. Getting upset ("bent out of shape") does not bring a swifter end to the trial. Only when we embrace our discipline do we discover the healing that God has in mind for us. PRAY Lord Jesus, give me the grace to discover You in the simplicity of people, especially in the closest ones that perhaps do not get my attention. Amen

Today's Reflection.. ​LET THE PAST BE GONE Scripture Reading: Philippians. 3:13 In life, our past influences our present and shapes our future. Good, if the past is worth considering. Worst, if the past is of bad memory. There is, however, a privilege for each and every one of us that even when the past was bad, we can make out of it, some good to better our present and future. St. Paul had a bad past because he was an enemy of the Church. At his feet, St. Stephen was stoned to death. Of him is accounted that he was doing great harm to the church; he entered house after house and dragged off men and women and had them put in jail. (Acts.8:1-3) This was the past of St. Paul. The turning point for him was when he met with the mercy of God on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians having received permission to do so. (Acts. 9) He found the right path. Though he had a great zeal for the religious practices of Judaism, but he needed to be saved for he was ignorant of what he was doing. Paul was in charge of the suppression of the enemies of Judaism and he did this with utmost zeal, for the good of Judaism. His past was really ridiculous! St. Peter had a past too. He had denied Jesus, but did not allow that affect his present and influence his future. He knew how to go about it and he did just that. He repented of his action and reversed his past to something new in the love of Christ. There is a difference between Peter and Judas Iscariot. Judas allowed his past hunt him down and would not forgive himself. He got choked by his past. St. Paul was a hero. In verse13-14 of the scriptural passage today, St. Paul says: “I say only this, forgetting what is behind me, I race forward and run towards the goal, my eyes on the prize to which God has called us from above in Christ Jesus”. Paul would not allow his past hunt him down; he was ready to let go of the things behind him and let God into the picture of his life. Dear beloved in Christ, we have various life experiences also. Some very ugly incidences that would want to distract us from our goal of making heaven. According to Oscar Wilde, “Every Saint had a past and every sinner has a future.” We are familiar with the story of St. Mary Magdalene who had a very terrible past. When she met with Jesus, she never remained the same again. She forgot her past and would want to be where Jesus was. She was blessed with being the first to see the resurrected Christ. St. Peter became the head of the Church. St. Augustine had a very ugly past, but he became a bishop of the Church. They left their past and allowed God be in charge. They would never allow their past hunt or knock them off the track of making heaven. They would never want to live the past in the present. O child of God, you have a bright future. God is not interested in your past. (Luke 15: 31-40) He is the prodigal Father, waiting to turn your past into something of His glory. Forget the old ways and all its glories; focus on Christ who never changes. Focus on the goal of your salvation, that’s making heaven. Let your mind be in the things of heaven where Christ is seated. (Col. 3:2) The Lord does not want you to continue in your past but repent of the past and live. (Ez.18:23) Paul Tillich says, “The saint is a saint, not because he is ‘good’ but because he is transparent for something that is more than he himself is.” MASS: WHITE Heb 12: 1-4; Ps 22: 26b-27. 28 and 30. 31-32; Mk 5: 21-43 JOHN BOSCO, P, RF M Prayer points: Take a song as led by the Holy Spirit. Confess your sins to the Lord and seek forgiveness. Lord, I cancel now by the power in Your precious Blood all that has held me back from surrendering totally to You. Enlighten me, O good Jesus, with the brightness of eternal light, and cast out all darkness from the dwelling of my heart. Restrain my many wandering thoughts and suppress the temptations that violently assault me. Pray seriously and meticulously with Psa. 51: 9-12. Exercise: Pray for all those who are suffering from all forms of depression due to their past. Meditation: Jn.10:14 Join the evangelism by sharing:

GOOD NEWS!!! DELTA STATE BURSARY AND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION IS NOW ON! It is hereby announced for the information of the general public and particularly students of Delta State Origin that the Delta State Bursary and Scholarship Board has commenced online bursary registration of Students for the State Government’s 2015/2016 Students Special Assistance Scheme (SSAS). WHO IS ELIGIBLE? All Applicants must: ¤Be of Delta State Origin; ¤All applicant MUST have registered with National Identification Management Commission (NIMC); ¤Be a Registered full time student only of Tertiary Institutions (Diploma, Masters and PhD Students are NOT eligible) ¤Either be in Second year or above (200 to 500 level) in the Universities or; Be in ND II and HND II in the Polytechnics / Monotechnics; ¤Be in 200 level and above for Colleges of Education Students; ¤Have a CGPA of 2.20 and above in the previous academic year's examination. METHOD OF APPLICATION Log on to www.dsbsb.dl.gov.ng then click on Apply here to submit your bursary application form; You will be charged One Thousand Naira (N1,000) non-refundable online processing and verification fee using Interswitch Verve or Master Debit Card (ATM Card); Printed and Signed copy of your Online Acknowledgement Card should be uploaded in your profile to complete your bursary registration. Online application will be openfrom Thursday, 22nd September, 2016 (12:00PM) to Friday, 4th November, 2016 (11:59 PM) Note: All application MUST be processed and submitted Online. All enquiries should be channelled to Help Lines 056 290617; 0802 350 3315 and Support Email Address: support@dsbsb.dl.gov.ng Signed, Comrade Ologe Elijah Executive Secretary Delta State Bursary and Scholarship Board

INFO_CLERCK! The Purchase of D.S.P.G ND and HND forms will end on 23rd Sept. 2016. *Date of ND screening is 27 Sept. 2016. You are expected to pay N2,000.00 into Union Bank Acct No 0010761873 for result verification. REQUIREMENTS. Come along with the following: ¤SSCE Result, ¤Original Jamb Slip, ¤One recent Passport photograph, ¤Acknowledgment Card, ¤Receipt and Teller of the N2,000 payment. Time is 9am at perm site. Date of HND Screening is 29 Sept 2016. You are expected to pay N2,000.00 into Union Bank Acct No 0010761873 for result verification. REQUIREMENTS. Come along with the following: ¤SSCE result, ¤ND result, ¤Evidence of completion of IT, ¤ND Admission Letter, ¤One Passport photograph, ¤Acknowledgment Card, ¤Receipt and Teller of the N2,000 payment. Time is 9am at perm site. Thanks. For more info: Please contact the admin on @08137935424

INFO-CLERCK As part of Preparation for the forthcoming Second Semester Exam which will commence from Friday 22nd of July. Pls Our Exam Sucess Mass has been sheduled to hold on Thursday by 4pm at St. Patrick Parish. No 4get ur writing materials o...

BREAKING NEWS: 2016 BATCH A (STREAM 11) ORIENTATION TO COMMENCE MONDAY. The Management of the National Youth Service Corps wishes to inform all prospective Corps members that the President, Commander- in-chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved and released funds to the Scheme to hold its planned Orientation course. Consequently, Management of the Scheme has scheduled the 2016 Batch A Stream 11 Orientation course to commence from MONDAY 13th JUNE to WEDNESDAY 29th JUNE 2016 Nationwide. Prospective Corps members are expected to log on to the NYSC Portal to commence printing of their Call-up letters from TUESDAY, 7th JUNE 2016 by 12noon as the earlier printed Call-up letters are now invalid. While those who did not subscribe for online printing should start collection of Call-up letters from THURSDAY 9th JUNE from their various institutions of graduation. Management also wishes to thank all stakeholders in exercising patience for this new date and wishes all prospective Corps members a hitch free orientation exercise. SIGNED Management