ECHO FROM EKAKPAMRE

KNIGHTS OF ST. MULUMBA USIEFRU-SUB COUNCIL SEARCHED FOR GOD IN ST. THOMAS CATHOLIC CHURCH EKAKPAMRE

On a beautiful Saturday morning 4th of August, 2012, the weather was calm and cool, the Knights and ladies of St. Mulumba were dropping in to St. Thomas Catholic Church one after the other for their scheduled one day retreat. The theme of the retreat was: “Prayer in the life of a Catholic Knight” and Rev. Fr. William Egedegbe, MSP was chosen as the speaker. The retreat activities started with the celebration of the holy Mass by Rev Fr. William Egedegbe, MSP pioneer parish priest of Ekakpamre newly created parish. During the course of the mass in his homily he welcomed the knights and ladies thanked them for chosen St. Thomas as venue for their retreat and gave them beautiful, challenging and soul-searching reflection. He said that the Catholic Knight is called to to defend the faith of the church. This therefore shows that every knight must be learned to understand the teachings of the Catholic Church and be able to defend it. He went on to say that ‘No one give what he does not have’, therefore, it follows that the must not only be learned or literate, he or she must also seek for knowledge. He called them to faith by encouraging them to equip themselves with the power of prayer, especially the prayer of the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass which is the highest form of prayer we have or can make as Catholics. “Be in the presence of God always” he advised the knights and Ladies and be confident in the God of victory who will certainly help them to defeat the enemies in the battle against principalities and power. Judging from the nature of the war Knights are called to fight, prayer is the shield, the amour, sword and the horse they need to move confidently towards the enemies. He concluded the sermon by telling the knights and Ladies that consciousness of God’s presence will guide their actions at work, at home, in social gatherings and in everything they say or do. However, the priest also challenged the Knights and Ladies to develop the spirit of punctuality and commitment to their activities. After the celebration of the Holy Mass was the talk on the already

chosen theme “Prayer in the life of a Catholic Knight”. The speaker, Fr William Egedegbe, MSP began the talk by quoting from the Concept & Principles of the Knight of St. Mulumba that “A Knight must aspire towards a high sense of Christian disciple, live an exemplary Catholic life, defends the Catholic Faith, and must be a man of PRAYER” He continued by quoting The Catechism of the Catholic Church that, “prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God”. It involves mind and heart. It includes insight and affection. Prayer he said can become alive and vital when it is experienced as a deep, personal relationship with God. Just like friendship is more about affection than insight, prayer is also more a matter of the heart. When we allow ourselves to open our heart in friendship to God, we can hear God’s voice within saying, ‘I love you” when this happens we experience the power of prayer to heal us and to help us become more loving in all our relationships. He said that humility is necessary in prayer. He defined humility as, being honest about who we are, acknowledging our weaknesses and sins, as well as our gifts (Lk. 18:9-14). Everyone is called to prayer including the knights and Ladies and as defender of the church of God the Knights are expected to be in perpetual close relationship with God. Emphasizing the importance of prayer in the life of a Catholic Knight, the speaker, Fr. William explained the prayer life of Jesus and asked the Knights see that as a model. Jesus prayed (Lk 3:21, 9:28, 22:41-44) and committed his will to God. He also pointed at Mary as another model of prayer. Mary’s heart was attuned to God even before the out pouring of the Holy Spirit upon her. A Catholic knight who must guard and protect the interests of the Catholic Church must attune his/her heart to God and trust God like Mary did. Fr. identified the following as the challenges/difficulties we encounter in prayer:

Misconceptions– having the wrong idea about prayer; Distractions-this is like trying to carry on a conversation and keep getting interrupted; Dryness-this is like those moments in our relationships when we no longer have as much fun when we are together with friends. Fr. concluded that what God wants us to do is to be more disciplined and consistent in our prayer- to make him a regular part of our life. Prayer can be such a wonderful and life-giving relationship that we want to greatly take care not to allow the seeds of discouragement to grow there. The mustard seed size of the faith of a Catholic Knight can grow to the size of the biggest shrub through prayer if he/she so desires. The entire Knights and Ladies of the Usiefru Sub-council came back fully prepared and beautifully dressed in their attire for a thanksgiving mass on 19th August, 2012 in St. Thomas Catholic Church, Ekakpamre and it was memorable.