On Being Redeemed- By Justine Dyikuk

"I have decided to serve him freely who paid my ransom." - Slave-girl.            
Many years ago, a slave-master came across this elegant, charming and extremely beautiful slave-girl in one of the African slave-markets. Her physical attractiveness enriched by a refined skin tone and gracious countenance caught his gaze as he approached her owner for a deal.                                    When he asked for her price, the owner of the slave gave him the highest price ever. After accessing  the slave-girl very well, he made up his mind to buy her - after all, "she is worth the price" he said to himself.
When he paid the required sum, the slave-master took charge of his new "property" as the slave-girl was untied from the stake and released to him. He was dragging the rope upon which she was tied to as she followed behind like a sheep being taken to the slaughter.                                                                          

Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Year C - June 05, 2016.
Readings: 1st Kgs. 17:17-24; Responsorial Psalm Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13; Gal. 1:11-14A, 15ac, 16a, 17, 19; Gospel Lk. 7:11-17.
Theme: Reviving Souls: An urgent task for the Church
Dearly beloved in Christ, our first reading (1 Kgs. 17:17-24) puts before us the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, a Sidonian town whose dying son, God gave life to through the instrumentality of the prophet. This preclude prepares us for the message of the gospel (Lk. 7:11-17) wherein Jesus gives life to the only son of the widow of Nain. Before we delve into the lessons of the two stories, it is important for us to pay attention to what the widow of Zarephath told Elijah namely: “Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?”          

Crossing Over To Taraba

There is no gainsaying that in Nigeria, statistics make little or no meaning to us. Managing demographics has always been taken for granted. Meet an average immigration officer to give u the number of people who come into Nigeria through any of the borders and you will be shocked with the answer that will be provided. If the Federal Government does not take the movement of people seriously then its easy to guess what states are doing. These days i see immigration officers on our roads in Taraba but i don't actually know what they do on those roads. The only difference i notice is that most at times, they do not extort money from commuters like the military or police. Supposing i want to know how many new persons have come into Taraba to settle in Bali, Gassol, Gashaka, Donga, Ibi, Takum and wukari since April 2014, who do i contact? Supposing i want to know their nationalities who can provide such information for me? Ironically these movements continue to take place everyday in Taraba State. I keep wondering where lie the "yan ci Ranis" in our demographic studies. Could they be compared to the gypsies in Europe? How are these 'ci ranis' monitored? But this a country that wants to be taken serious in its fight against insurgency. Still a long walk to freedom, unless we take the movement of people more seriously.

Shikrot Mpwi – Homiletic Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

 Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Year C - June 04, 2016.
Readings: 2 Tim. 4:1-8; Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:8-9.14-1Sab.16-17.22 (R.15ab);
Gospel Lk 2:41-52.
Theme: Immaculate Heart of Mary - The Heart On a Rescue Mission
It was on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fatima, precisely 1942 that  Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a grand celebration. Later on in the same year, the Roman Pontiff would assign the feast day to August 22, the octave of the Assumption. He it was who also extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Universal Church on May 4, 1944.

Shikrot Mpwi – Homiletic Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

                                                       
 Solemnity of the Scared Heart of Jesus: Year C - June 03, 2016.
Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16; Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-6 (R.v.1); Romans 5:1:5b-11;
Gospel Lk 15:3-7.
Theme: Celebrating Jesus' Magnetic Heart
In Catholicism, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus takes Jesus' physical heart as a symbol of God's divine love for humanity. The earliest possible date which the devotion began was in May 29, 1818 or 2285. Some theologians say the devotion started in July 1943 or 2038. However, in 1856, Pope Pius IX made the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus obligatory for the Universal Church to take place on Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi celebration.              
 Interestingly and providentially too,  it was Pope Pius XII who raised the celebration to a First Class Celebration with an Octave in the reforms of 1955.  

365 Days in Office: Scoring the Buhari Administration By Justine Dyikuk

Since this week, the media has been awash with commentaries on the performance or not of this administration. To a large extent, these commentaries depend on which side of the divide analysts speak from. Aside from playing politics, what is clear in the two schools of thought regarding the performance or non-performance of the President Muhmmadu Buhari-led administration is that apparently, all analysts mean well for this country.
Feedback is an essential feature of assessment and growth in any society. Contrary to the criticism that President Buhari asked the media to rate the performance of his government in the past 365 days, I doff my heart for the president for the courage to have a parley with the media.
As the Fourth Estate of the realm, the president is aware of the role of the media in forming public opinion. More so, through the various vox pops, the press must have gathered enough facts. As such, it is in a better position to say the mind of the people or report things as they are.

An Open Letter To Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku- By Charles Jabana

Your Excellency, I write this letter as a citizen of Taraba State and as a humble cleric. I am not a politician because I am a Catholic priest; but I am political because I am a human being. Having observed with keen interest the political development in Taraba State from campaign period to date, I deem it necessary to write you this letter. I wish to first of all congratulate you on your first anniversary as the Executive Governor of Taraba State. I thank God for seeing you through the hurdles you passed through in the first half of your administration. I also congratulate you for the successful hosting of North-East congress of your party PDP at the end of which our State produced the chairman. More grease to your elbow.