First, I want to say from my heart to every mother and to all women: Happy Mother’s Day! I love you all. Thank you for your vocation! Please see Mother’s Day Prayer on page 5. This is the prayer I’ll be praying for all mothers this weekend.
We just returned from our trip to the Holy Land. It was such a joy for me to travel alongside 40 pilgrims. Before we left, I prayed: ‘Jesus, help me to encounter You in a new way, to know You more, to love You even more deeply. Truly, God answered the prayers for each one of us in a unique way. Each person had a unique experience.
What a joy it was for couples to renew their marriage vows in Cana in Galilee. We were thrilled to visit and celebrate Masses at the Holy sites: Mount of Beatitudes, Transfiguration, Church of Nativity in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, Church of Holy Sepulchre (Resurrection) etc… But we didn’t only pray: the food was good, too! I didn’t have to cook. I simply enjoyed the delicious cuisine, sometimes with a bottle of beer. We even had St. Peter’s fish at the Sea of Galilee. I wonder how many fish I ate?!
We had the joy and drama of entering the same river where Jesus was baptized. Imagine me in water for about an hour; freezing but loving it as we were all there in the River Jordan (pics). I’ll tell you more of the drama another day. One of my best experiences was the day when I floated on water. As you know, I really can’t swim at all but I found the sea where I could float – the Dead Sea. I went crazy there. I couldn’t help but shouted: ‘Look I’m floating… (picture) they say Africans always sink in water, but not today… I defy all odds today’ …I can’t wait to get back there. I even found in one of the churches a Franciscan from my home town, whom I had never met before.
Each of our pilgrims has their own unique and beautiful experience. We will organize an evening of meal and slideshow so you can hear their experiences. It’s all about building our faith in Jesus, with a deep realization that God is real; He exists; He loves us!
In all of this, I woke up one morning to realize: ALL IS GRACE!
But a priest is not His own: I carried with me in my heart my family in Nigeria and my family here in Canada – all of you whom I serve in the Catholic Parishes of Penticton and beyond. I lit a candle for you in some of the holy sites we visited.
On one of the days, I phoned my Mom to tell her where I was. She said: “Obi, I’ll spend my last fortune to be where you are but at last I can’t. But since you are there, I am there also. This is so true: for every child carries within himself or herself something of her mother: the woman who gave birth to them, who nurtured, laughed and cried with, who sacrificed, who loved unconditionally.
Dear Lord, bless every mother and all who in many ways show us the love of a mother!
Happy Mothers Day!
Your brother, Fr Obi
