Dearly beloved, today is a remarkable day in the Catholic Diocese of Ilorin. So mass was at the St. Joseph's Cathedral, Ilorin. Four young men were ordained to the diaconate. Two of those deacons belonged to the diocese, while the other two belonged to the Two Hearts of love community. A religious congregation within the Diocese.
In our reflection therefore, i shall share with you what the bishop told those young men. Following the gospel reading, we saw that the disciples of Christ tried to shove children away. But Christ urged them to let them come to him. Using this as a take off point, the bishop urged and reminded those deacons to bear in mind that the ordination to the diaconate is not about putting one's self above others. Rather, it is a call to service and as such, the deacons should make themselves available to the people.
From the above, we too should perhaps recall those times when we tend to discriminate people based on tribe, gender or even age as found in the gospel of today. Christ showed us in the gospel that he is interested in little things. He usually prefers to manifest his power through things that are considered invaluable by people. The smallest, the weakest, the defenseless, the homeless, the powerless are the ones Christ is interested in. In that gesture of Christ in our gospel reading, his unending love is revealed and communicated to us. Deut. 4:7 lends credence to this when it says; "no other nation , no matter how great, has a god who is so near when they need him as the Lord our God is to us."
Finally dear friends, in the concluding part of the gospel, Christ told the people, "whosoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a Child will not enter it" Let us rid ourselves of all forms of hypocrisy, backbiting, gossip and take on simple qualities of children so as to merit God's kingdom. May Christ bless his Words in our hearts. Amen
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