By Olivia ObijiakuThe Rector of St Joseph Minor Seminary, Zaria, Rev Fr Istifanus Katung has pointed to the Annunciation as the portal that prepared the way for the redemption of mankind.
The clergyman who made this known in the school chapel on Monday 8th April 2024 explained that the Solemnity was shifted to 8th April because 25th March was during the Holy Week and the focus was on the Passion of Jesus.Intimating that life took a different shape for the Mother of the Saviour from the moment she gave her fiat yes, he charged the faithful to emulate her faithfulness to God in times of challenges.“The Annunciation begins the journey of our salvation.”
The rector announced. “The acceptance of Mary was also key when Angel brought the message of hope, the message of salvation. From the moment she accepted this message of the angel, her life took a different turn entirely.
There was the fear of being ridiculed, the fear of being mocked, the rejection and the shame she was going to bring, not only to herself but to her family, and kindred as a whole. So, it was not very palatable for Mary even accepting these challenges.
That was not all. After giving birth to the child, He became the enemy of the state because the king was after His life. They had to sojourn to Egypt. Imagine what Mary went through.
Even at the His Presentation in the Temple, Simeon did not give Mary a very good prophesy, he said a sword was going to pierce her soul. So from the moment Mary accepted to carry out this responsibility, life was no longer a bed of roses for her.Usually as Christians, we feel that in God’s business one needs to be very comfortable.
Many at times, people are bedeviled with certain situations in life that they wonder why God should allow such things to happen to them, or where He was when those things were happening to them.
For some of us who always think that things should be better for us than those who do not follow Jesus, when you look at it critically, you will see that the devil is not interested in the one who is not align to him because he is already. He is interested in the one who is aligned to God because each time you pray, you unsettle his kingdom, each time you profess God you are causing confusion in the camp of the enemy.”
