By Olivia Obijiaku
Rev Fr. Ezra Daniel Jatau of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan was the homilist at the Mass of Thanksgiving for Rev Fr. Kingsley Agu MSP, which was celebrated in Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, on Sunday, July 27, 2025. The priest explained that every validly ordained Catholic priest has been called by God to share in the priesthood of Christ, despite their uniqueness.
He maintained that despite insinuations that some priests were not called by God, scaling through all the preparatory processes towards the priesthood, imply that they were called by God, though, they may have been prompted by people or circumstances to align and respond to the call.
Fr. Jatau taught. “The teaching of the Catholic Church on the priesthood is something that remains a mystery till date. A validly ordained priest is not acting in his own capacity. Rather, he is acting in the Person of Christ. So, whatever sacrament he celebrates should be done according to the mind and intention of the Church.”
“Every validly ordained priest is called by God. The most important thing is that you collaborated with God, the Church, the bishop and all the necessary authorities that were set aside for your training towards becoming a priest. So, as long as someone has passed through the rudiments of the vocation and after due consideration and he is ordained, then, he is called by God.”
After clarifying that, every priest is unique in their callings, based on background, orientation, and exposure, despite being the same priesthood, the homilist told the newly ordained, “Fr. Agu, it is not your priesthood. You are only a sharer in the priesthood of Christ. You must celebrate the Mass according to the intention and mind of the Church. So, have this at the back of your mind, because there are temptations for you to do it to impress people. You must not dilute that divine grace.”
“You are now a custodian of the temporal and spiritual goods of the Church. So, you are now like servant that was given a talent. This was handed over to us from the apostles – right from St Peter till Bishop Daboh. You have been taught the rudiments of the priesthood. It is now left for you, on how to apply what you have been taught. If you must succeed, then prayer should be your food. It is better to miss food than prayer. If you do not pray, you will be a shadow of yourself.”
Fr. Jatau solicited prayers and support for the celebrant, imploring the faithful not to judge him by his past. He enlightened that every priest is renewed and transformed daily, as he celebrates the Holy Mass, during which he prays God to, ‘wash away my iniquities and cleanse me from my sins.’
The clergyman interprets the prayer thus, “Let my sins never stand as a barrier to the sacrifices of the people of God I am about to offer through me a sinful agent. So, as he washes his hands, he is begging God to purify him, sanctify him. He is just a vessel that God will use for the sacrifice of the Mass.”
