By Rev. Fr. Jude Igho, St. Michael’s Parish, Umutu
The universal church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8th. A day she recalled her birth and how God favoured her. God chose her before she was born, to make her live in His own dwelling place, hence her birth announces joy to the whole world because from her is risen the son of Justice, Christ our God. Her son release us from the ancient curse and made us blessed. Gospel of Luke 1 & 2 relate to us how favoured and blessed Mary is especially as she is the mother of our saviour Jesus Christ.
“Therefore all generation call her blessed”. She cooperated with God in his plan to save the world through her ‘Fiat’ (yes). This was borne out of her faith in God and humility to accept God’s will for her.
Mary is Queen and patroness of our country Nigeria. A solemnity for us as a nation who chose her specially as our patroness. She is a figure we should run to for intercession always because she is the favourite of God, and the lowly handmaid of the Lord whose emergence filled the world with light.
She is the beloved mother of Jesus who handed us, (John) to her as our mother and we as her children ( Jn 19:26-27).
Mary is full of grace and most Blessed of all women, ( Lk 1:28 & 42). Therefore, while on October 1, our nation celebrates her Independent Anniversary, the Church in addition celebrates the feast of Our Lady Queen of Nigeria because our country is placed under her patroness.
This is so because like Mary, the church in our nation want to discern and consent to the plan of God for us as a nation. And His plan is surely good as evidence in our gifts of natural and human resources. So, the onus lies on us to turn to her for her maternal intercession. God exalted her from her lowly state for obeying Him.
We are therefore called to imitate her virtues of docility humility, obedient, charity and faith. The Nigeria church needs to turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary even more at this moment because we are faced with enormous challenges that calls for a lots of questions. Nigeria is faced with challenges such as assassination, armed robbery, kidnapping of priests, religious and the lay faithful.
In addition, we have crises of identity of who we are in all of these challenges in relation to the great tendency of materialism in our time; (worldly pleasure and glory). Here our attention need to be seriously drawn to the virtues of Mary our mother as stated earlier to be emulated. Though we celebrate our independent anniversary yearly, yet not much is on ground to show for it. Most likely because we fail to imitate her footsteps, we have been asking for her intercession when there no corresponding action to our prayers viz-a-viz openness to God’s grace.
“I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word” ( Lk 1:38). Do we allow God’s will to prevail in our lives as a nation from the leaders to the led in our decisions and actions within and outside the church? Or our own will for selfish motives?
There is an urgent need for us as we celebrate our independent anniversary this month to empty ourselves of vices and be more serious with our prayers especially the Holy Mass and praying of the Rosary. In these prayer, we come in contact with Jesus in his paschal mystery and contemplate the face of Jesus in the rosary. May we reflect the challenges of the prayer and translate them into action of love, sharing, unity, peace and the life of sacrifice for our common good.