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Gilbert Deya claims to have annointed the oil, which costs £1.99 in the supermarket but he sells for £5
A self-proclaimed "Archbishop" is selling olive oil from Aldi(German Supermaket Chain) as a miracle cure for cancer and HIV, it has been claimed.
Gilbert Deya, 63, a Kenyan preacher who calls himself the Archbishop of Peckham, is selling the £1.99 750ml budget supermarket product in his church shop in south London for £5, according to The Sun.
He claims to have "anointed" the oil and suggests that if used on food, it can make cancer "disappear"
Deya, who runs Gilbert Deya Ministries- which is said to have a UK membership of 36,000 - also claims that he can give infertile couples "miracle babies"
He has faced a ten-year battle against extradition to Kenya, having been accused of being involved in a baby-smuggling operation centred on a Nairobi slum hospital.
The former security guard has claimed he faces torture and inhuman and degrading treatment if sent back to the country, alleging that he is the victim of a political vendetta there.
Undercover reporters posed as a husband and his cancer-stricken wife to infiltrate Deya's church headquarters in a deprived area of Peckham, South London.
The pair were given a badly-spelled leaflet detailing its "mystical powers", including overcoming illness and debt.
• Preacher's 'miracle baby' was trafficked
One of his associates was then said to have rubbed oil into the woman's chest, declaring: "This is the start of your miracle."
She was pushed to the ground as the pastor shouted that the witchcraft must go.
Asked if he could help them conceive, Deya was alleged to have summoned four children he claimed were born to the same mother at six-monthly intervals as a result of his prayers.
His son Amos reportedly requested a £700 "sacrifice" to help them conceive a "miracle" baby and indicated he expected a huge donation when they had their child.
Deya runs his church from a large unit on an industrial estate on the edge of Peckham, where he also lives.
The Charity Commission is said to be investigating Gilbert Deya Ministries, which accounts show banked £865,620 in donations in 2014 and has another £1million in savings and £2million in properties.
Although Deya leads the church, he was removed from the charity's board in 2012 amid concerns at how it was being run.
In 2004, police raided Deya's Nairobi home and took nine children into protective custody. The Deyas claimed that all the children were theirs but DNA tests on Deya's wife Mary showed that six of them were unrelated to her.
(The Sun)
In 2007, she was jailed for two years for stealing a child.
Deya was arrested in the UK in 2006. The Home Office said it "continues to consider representations" against extradition by his legal team.
He refused to comment on The Sun investigation saying he did not talk to "evil liars who are confused".
In 2014, he was cleared of raping and assaulting a woman follower.
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Nigeria's Pulse.ng newspaper reports that Shallow graves were discovered with three decomposing bodies under the foundation of a church in Enugu State.The strange discovery of dead bodies discovered buried in shallow graves under the foundation of a popular church located at the Ugwuaji area along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Enugu State, has caused serious outrage with residents vowing to lynch the General Overseer of the church who is now on the run.
The corpses were found buried under the foundation of the church building, totally covered with concrete.
It was learnt that the construction of the building which commenced recently, and was at the foundation level before the gory discovery Monday, by one of the workers at the site who heard about the incident and discretely informed security agents who stormed the place and supervised the exhumation of the decomposing corpses.
The strange discovery was said to have attracted several passersby and motorists plying the road to the scene, as members of the public wept openly and blamed the quest for money and membership as the factors that could have led to the act, calling on the security agents to do everything possible to fish out the perpetrators of the act, who they suspected could be ritualists.
Some residents of the neighbourhood however, alleged that the building believed to be a proposed place of worship, belonged to a ritualist who disguised to be a man of God.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ebere Amaraizu, has confirmed the incident, adding that the corpses were recovered from the site following a tip-off.
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I have not spoken about the Church in China on my blog for some time now. Certainly not because I am too busy to do so (busy as I may be, I will never lose interest of our Church in China), not because I fear criticism of my ideas (at my age I have nothing to gain or lose).
No, the problem is that I'd like to give some good news, but, as you will note, my fate is that of the prophet Jeremiah. I have searched at length for some good news, but have found none. I realise that during this season of Christmas and the New Year, my complaints are somewhat “extra chorum", but I cannot be a dog without a bark.
A.
I remember that at the beginning of last year the newspaper Wen Wei Po announced jubilantly that "relations between China and the Vatican will soon have a good development." Soon after, the Vatican Secretary of State said that "the prospects are promising, there is a desire for dialogue on both sides." I had my doubts about this unexpected wave of optimism, I saw no basis for this optimism. More than a thousand crosses were removed from the top of the churches (in some cases the churches themselves have been destroyed). After so long, we can no longer delude ourselves that this was anything beyond an episode of some local official’s exaggerated zeal. Several seminaries have been closed. Students of the National Seminary in Beijing were forced to sign a declaration of loyalty to the Independent Church, promising also to concelebrate with illegitimate bishops (otherwise they would not receive a diploma at the end of their studies). The Government is continuously strengthening a church that now objectively is already separated from the universal Catholic Church; with enticements and threats they induce the clergy to perform acts contrary to the doctrine and discipline of the Church, denying their conscience and their dignity.
B.
In the latter half of 2015, there were some promising events which however failed to live up to expectations. Bishop Wu Qin-jing of Zhouzhi, ten years after his episcopal ordination, was finally installed as bishop, but has yet to pay the price of a compromise (see my blog of 14 July 2015).
Shortly after, Bishop Zhang Yinlin of Anyang was ordained. Even some usually cautious Catholic media rejoiced saying that everything had gone well. They pointed out that this ordination is the first after the last three years of contacts between Rome and Beijing, and also the first in Pope Francis’ pontificate, presenting the event as a good start.
It is this last statement that scares me, because the process included a "democratic election", the reading of a "decree of appointment by the (so-called) Episcopal Conference of China" and the canonically un-clear position of a co-consecrating bishop. A similarly abnormal process took place three years ago, does it deserve our rejoicing? (See my blog of 7 September 2015).
C.
In October comes the big news: A Vatican delegation was in Beijing, there was a meeting. The Holy See gave no news of it. Father Heyndrickx Jeroom broke the news (of course he knows everything). He says: "They did not discuss sensitive issues like Bishop Su Zhimin of Baoding still in detention, or such as Bishop Ma Daqin of Shanghai to house arrest for more than three years (but these problems should be resolved before any negotiations? Otherwise Obviously there is goodwill on the part of Beijing). They focused on the issue of appointing bishops (of which model? Like with Anyang?). After the meeting, the delegation paid a visit to Bishop Li Shan of Beijing and the National Seminary where they met with Ma Ying Lin (Father Heyndrickx said that these are signs of goodwill on the part of Beijing, I think instead that they were acts of homage imposed by Beijing)".
Later the Vatican Secretary of State also confirmed that there was a meeting and that it was "very positive" and this "would be part of a process that will hopefully end with an agreement." Pressed by some journalists as to whether there was real progress, Cardinal Parolin responded: "The fact that we speak is already positive." It seems that there is no agreement in sight as of yet.
D.
So what is the formula now under discussion for the appointment of bishops? As an old Cardinal out on the peripheries, I have no way of knowing, let alone guessing.
A recent article "A winter of darkness for religions in China" by Bernardo Cervellera says: "From information that has arrived from China it would seem that Beijing’s proposal is...: Vatican approval of the government recognized Council of Bishops,... [and] approval of the competency of this Council (and not the Pope) in the appointment of new candidates to the episcopacy who will be "democratically" elected (in short according to the suggestions of the Patriotic Association). The Holy See must approve the Council’s appointment and has a weak veto only in "severe" cases, which must be justified if used. If the Holy See’s justifications are considered "insufficient", the Council of Bishops may decide to proceed anyway".
If this information is accurate, can the Holy See accept the claims of the Chinese counterpart? Does this approach still respect the true authority of the Pope to appoint bishops? Can the Pope sign such an agreement? (Pope Benedict said: "The authority of the Pope to appoint bishops is given to the church by its founder Jesus Christ, it is not the property of the Pope, neither can the Pope give it to others").
Do our officials in Rome know what an election is in China? Do they know that the so-called Episcopal Conference is not only illegitimate, but simply does not exist? What exists is an organism that is called "One Association and One Conference", namely the Patriotic Association and the Bishops' Conference always work together as one body, which is always chaired by government officials (there are pictures to prove it, the Government does not even try more to keep up appearances, it starkly flaunts the fact that they now manage religion!). Signing such an agreement means delivering the authority to appoint bishops into the hands of an atheist government.
This scheme is often compared to a (poorly defined) Vietnamese Model, but it is much worse. The Vietnamese model is based on an initiative that began with the Church in Vietnam, the true Catholic Church in Vietnam. In China on the other hand, the so-called Association and Conference hide the reality that it is the Government calling the shots.
Even in Eastern Europe of the past, such as in Poland and Czechoslovakia, it was the Church that took the initiative and then gave the Government veto power. In doing so, even if the government vetos a proposal for the hundredth time, it is still the Church that presents a candidate and makes the appointment. If the Government insists on a veto, it will only prolong the impasse, and it will still allow the Church time to look for a suitable candidate. But it is unthinkable to leave the initial proposal in the hands of an atheist Government who cannot possibly judge the suitability of a candidate to be a bishop. Obviously, if the Church gives in to pressure from the government, the only result – despite proclamations to the contrary – is that it will have sold out the pontifical right to appoint bishops. Can this happen? According to an article written by a certain András Fejerdy: "For pastoral reasons - that is, because the full administration of the sacraments requires completely consecrated bishops - the Holy See believed that the completion of the Hungarian Bishops' Conference was so urgent that it accepted a solution that formally did not upset the canonical principle of free appointment, but that in practice gave the regime a decisive influence in choosing the candidates”.
UCAN News reports recent news from Chengdu (Sichuan): "Shortly after the visit of the Vatican delegation to Beijing, the Holy See approved the episcopal candidate elected in May 2014". Is this not exactly a case of "not upsetting the canonical principle of free appointment, but …in practice giving the regime a decisive influence in choosing the candidates "?
E.
It is said that dialogue focused on the issue of the appointment of bishops, but there are many other pending problems, when and how will they be resolved?
The aforementioned AsiaNews article stated, again based on information received from China: "Beijing (demands) the Holy See’s recognition of all the official bishops, even the illegitimate and excommunicated ones." I wonder: is it only the government that makes these demands, without repentance of those concerned? Will the excommunicated only be released from excommunication or even recognized as bishops? Even without any act of repentance? Has the mercy of God come to this? Will the faithful be obliged to obey these bishops?
So much remains to be resolved.
Illegitimate, even excommunicated bishops have abused the sacramental power (including ordination of deacons and priests) and judicial (assigning offices) and the Holy See seems to be without rebuke for them.
Legitimate bishops who participated in illegitimate episcopal ordinations, one, two, even three, four times, without ever having asked for forgiveness, or having received forgiveness from the Holy Father. Also those who took part in the so-called Assembly of Representatives of Chinese Catholics (the clearest symbol of a schismatic church).
Shortly after the Vatican delegation left Beijing, the government organized a large gathering of Church leaders, forcing on that occasion a celebration of all the bishops, legitimate, illegitimate and excommunicated. These are all objectively schismatic acts. The government now can string along a large number of bishops, resulting in an irrecoverable loss of dignity. If the Holy See signed some agreement with the Government without clarifying all these things, it will cause a severe wound to the conscience of the faithful.
F.
Obviously our underground communities are non-existent for the Government. But now is even the Vatican ignoring them in negotiations, to appease their Chinese counterparts? To "save the day" will we abandon our brothers and sisters? But they are the healthy limbs of the Church! (Of course, they too have their problems, especially when dioceses remain without bishops, which can only lead to disorder). Is silencing the underground community to please the government not a form of suicide?
In the recent negotiations there has been no mention of the case of Msgr. James Su Zhimin in prison for 20 years, nor of Msgr. Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai under house arrest for more than three years, because these issues have been deemed "too sensitive" !?
In early September, some of the Shanghai faithful who were in prison for a long time, along with their relatives, went on a pilgrimage to Rome to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the outbreak of the great persecution on September 8, 1955. They were told: "Do not make any noise, the past is past, we have to look forward"!?
On a diplomatic level, the underground communities are the ace in the Holy See’s deck; if we amputate these limbs, what have we left in diplomatic standings to induce the other party to agree to our terms? By now, the government controls nearly all the official communities, while the underground communities are kept at bay by the Holy See. What do they still need to come to terms? They only need the signature of the Holy Father, a blessing, for this "Chinese Church." Beijing has no intention of negotiating, only making demands. After such a signature they will force the faithful of the underground community to come out and surrender to those who were illegitimate bishops for a long time, maybe even excommunicated, but now, with a clean slate, without even showing any repentance, leaning only on the Government for their legitimacy, have become bishops in their own right.
G.
What makes me restless is the sight of our Eminent Secretary of State still intoxicated by the miracles of Ostpolitik. In a speech last year, at a Memorial for Card. Casaroli, he praised the success of its predecessor in having secured the existence of the Church hierarchy in the communist countries of Eastern Europe. He says: "In choosing candidates for the episcopate, we choose shepherds and not people who systematically oppose the regime, people who behave like gladiators, people who love to grandstand on the political stage." I wonder: Who had he in mind while making this description? I fear that he was thinking of a Cardinal Wyszynski, a Cardinal Mindszenty, a Cardinal Beran. But these are the heroes who bravely defended the faith of their people! It terrifies me to realize this mindset and I sincerely hope that I am wrong.
On the day that an agreement is signed with China there will be peace and joy, but do not expect me to participate in the celebrations of the beginning of this new Church. I disappear, I will start a monastic life to pray and do penance. I will ask the forgiveness of Pope Benedict for not being able to do what he was hoping that I could do. I will ask Pope Francis to forgive this old Cardinal from the peripheries for disturbing him with so many inappropriate letters.
The innocent children were killed, the angel told Joseph to take Mary and the Child and flee to safety. But today would our diplomats advise Joseph to go and humbly beg for dialogue with Herod!?
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The cross over night into 2016 was observed by Christians and faithfuls across the international scope. In Cameroon, Triumphant Faith Ministries like other denominations took the lead of faith with its founder Senior Apostle Julius Ekie to lay the solid foundation of 2016 in the lives of the faithfuls. Apostle Julius Ekie an uncompromising excellent kingdom general born in the South West Region of Cameroon with a Divine mantle to restore man back to the image of God was the central focus to the close to 2000 worshippers who conveyed to his outstanding church complex known by many as l’eglise de l’heure . In the energetic service covered by his Christian television [Destiny TV], Apostle Julius admonished congregants on the need to enter into 2016 with the spirit of worship and thanks giving.Christainity lies in the heart he told the multitude of worshippers.Addind that merely observing religious ceremonies does not signify genuine christainity.As a tradition in TFM,the spontaneous praise and worship that characterized the cross over night was flamboyant and spellbinding that even the new comers were not exempted from the dancing pendulum. At exactly 12am to 2016, the Prophet of GOD TOOK TO Rostrum to introduce Gods agenda for 2016 in the lives of the Christians and nations. It is eminent to recall that Apostle Julius before the cross over night had organized a one week seminar entitled WINING THE BATTLES OF THE MIND. He address nations by saying that whether they belief it or not Jesus Christ remain their role model because the real disarmament was done by him .
In Colossians 2;15 God through Jesus again defeated the devil and took over all his arms of mass destruction and made a public spectacle of them by triumphing over them on the cross. He continued, the devil till present has retrained to the use of lies to infect viruses in the minds of the children of GOD. In the seminar, the Man of God sounded it clear’’If you are expecting New Year, then you must be new in mind. The newness of mind am talking about is the complete formatting and transformation of the mind according to Romans12; 1-4 he explained. His message went thus .The anti-virus of the mind is the word of God. To change a man is changing his mind. The clergy made it clear that it takes only the Word of GOD to change a man not even arms or torture. Nations should know that the best place of transformation is the church and not prisons. As a consequence, they should invest more in the spiritual lives of their citizens by supporting more spiritual movements like crusades seminars and more importantly teachings. For violent actions are mostly carried out of ignorance. In this case, limited arms and terrorists will be witnessed. Few minutes to 1am,the hall was completely filled with anxiousness coupled high expectations, the enthusiasm increased as faithfuls were eager to get the yearly prediction from a prophet whose yearly predictions has been a fertilizer to their aspirations.1am was the time the long awaited theme of the year emerged after an oceanic praise had ushered in 2016.Apostle Julius Ekie after visiting the famous story of Abraham in the Bible how God promised him that He will make him a father to nations. At the time of the promise the Man of God Abraham hadn’t a child but he lived in faith believing God as THE ONE WHO SAYS AND DO.
After a long time of childlessness, GOD finally accomplished HIS Divine plan in the live of ABRAHAM. He continued, if god had promise you anything no matter how long it has taken, it will be accomplished in this year Sporadic applauses and jubilations could be envisaged in the faces of many.the echelon of the message that came with jubilation was when the Man of God said that during his stay in South Africa, GOD told him that 2016 is the year He will accomplish his plan and promises to those who had served him faithfully. The Cleric revealed 2016 as the year of DIVINE ACOMPLISHMENT.He insisted that irrespective of the life agonizing problems,christains should maintain the prophetic word of the year ‘’DIVINE ACOMPLISHMENT’’ Insisting that such a proclamation came out of the mouth of GOD’S Oracle. ‘No matter what this year brings, if you are MORE OF God, your trials are the soil in which your faith will florish’’he enjoined the congregation. The Man of God said’’ from a mechanic, God has raised me up to a prominent platform of glory making him a celebrity to his generation. My ministerial impact in West and central Africa and other parts of Europe is no panegyric that GOD is a Divine accomplisher. Who could belief that Julius of yesterday could be an Apostle to nations especially to those of my friends who knew my background .But by the GRACE of God, I have become a voice of my own rise.
The crossover night included a huge array of foreign quests sporadically waving their hands blessing God for the high definited revelations they got from a man they belief is a role model to their lives.A man many classify as an excellent symbol of real Christianity base on his sound and revelation teachings with a special burden to deliver and recover Christians from ignorance ,spells, satanic influence and oppressions for the reestablishment of their God given destiny. The crowd thronged every available space within the sprawling and impulsive church complex at the international head quarters of TFM Yaoundé Odza Cameroon even spilling into the adjoining roads. The message of Senior Apostle Julius Ekie to Cameroon and other affected African nations with terrorism was clear’’I love my nation, Cameroon. I cherish my continent Africa .I want to take this time to extend my word of encouragement to our president and his entire government for the efforts they made in 2015 towards the protection of our mother land.Thier bravery and synergy towards the fight against terrorism was with no bias. I salute their strength. Our soldiers demonstrated high sense of patriotism which went along way to the maintenance of peace and security.
I want to thank Cameroonians for their spiritual, financial, material and moral contributions towards the national call. Cameroon is pregnant with revival and 2016 is the year the wind of revival will cut across the heart of the nation and other African nations. Cameroon is a land of peace, glory and honor hence its defense should come from GOD. One thing very penitent I have to tell the leaders our beloved Country and other African countries is this; if we must win the battles we have been fighting in 2015 in 2016, then we must come to acknowledge that the battles were not physical battles but spiritual hence we should not in 2016 devote more resources in purchasing canal weapons. If we continue with the same weapons and strategies we used in 2015 then, 2016 will be worse as compared to 2015. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he made mentioned of the fact that the weapons of our warfare are not canal but mightier through God in the pulling down of strong holds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ [2corinthians 10v4-5. I therefore challenge governments to turn to the Prince of Peace for rescue.Christains on like leaders should go down on their kneels daily to seek the face of GOD. If this is done, the terrorists we saw in 2015, we shall see them no more because the Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace [Exodus 14v13-14]. Weapons can only suppress a man but cannot change a man. Remember what we are fighting against is a mental war that began in the mind. If we therefore have any battles to fight in 2016, it should be battles of the mind. Let us forget our differences and fight a common enemy which is the devil. More seminars and crusades should be organized in 2016.One tool I will give our leaders in AFRICA this 2016 IS DIALOGUE. Dialogue with God and secondly with your citizens remembering that leaders are chosen by God and is a privilege for you to serve Gods chosen people .whatever you do, know that we all shall give an account to God on the last day for the people He kept under our leadership. The cross over night rounded up with unforgettable memories and intensive deliverance as the Man of God charismatically brought down the power of God to the despair of many. The limps walk suddenly; the oppressed were set free all in the name of Jesus Christ. The traditional prayers on our national Flag closed the event. By Prince Tam jr
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Religious organizations are bracing to fight newly-proposed legislation that is aimed at regulating religious practices. Preachers view these rules as outrageous and a violation of their constitutional rights.
In Kenya, church leaders have threatened to take government to court. In the first major confrontation with the state in many years, the public in the East-African country is also taking huge interest and are voicing their concern on social media.
The laws recently tabled by government will affect all faiths, including mainstream Christian, Hindu and Islamic institutions, as well as numerous small denominations. Many of them have been accused of conning and brainwashing followers or engaging in radicalization. But Christian and Muslim leaders vowed to fight these laws in and out of the houses of worship and even in court.
Violation of the constitution?
The Roman Catholic Church, the largest denomination in Kenya with more than fourteen million followers, is arguing that the rules are infringing on the right of association and freedom of worship.
According to the new legislation that is not yet implemented, Christian preachers in Kenya must hold theological certificates from accredited theological institutions. Religious organizations must also be registered and open to the registrar's inspection. The rules introduce umbrella bodies that will promote self-regulation and require a declaration of sources of income.
"It is with shock and surprise that the government has formulated new rules, that, if implemented, will have direct and negative impact on our evangelization mission," said Philip Anyolo, Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The constitution of the country draws a very clear line between state and religion and is explicitly clear on the freedom of worship. How then, we ask, does the government purport to regulate how Kenyans worship?"
The Conference noted in a statement last week that the regulations were akin to converting "churches into mere registration offices, instead of citadels of hope and faith for millions of Kenyans."
False preachers enriching themselves
While many church leaders feel the church is being persecuted and is under attack, some religious leaders differ.
"I would support regulations, so that we work within a framework and these should affect all religious groups, churches, mosques and others because we serve the public and need to be responsible," said Reverend Sammy Wainaina of the Anglican Church of Kenya.
Kenyas president, Uhuru Kenyatta, asserts that the new rules will help weed out rogue preachers.
"We have a few people whose work is to illegally obtain money from citizens. Their false message to citizens is that they are spreading the gospel or the word of God. But they enrich themselves from the sweat of their citizens," said Kenyatta. He called those false preachers "thieves." According to the government, who introduced the laws at the end of last year, there is a need to deal with religious organizations that have been abusing religious freedom and exploiting their members.
The public view
The public is also voicing its opinion on the new laws. Many believe that to require degrees would remove pastors and force many churches to close and that their leaders should be able to decide what good doctrine is. Religious organizations have warned that they will call for mass action to pressure the government to review the proposed new laws.
The Evangelical Alliance of Kenya said it would collect three million signatures to stop Attorney General Githu Muigai from going ahead with implementing the regulations. They condemned the new laws as an attempt to micromanage worship and evangelization. President Kenyatta reacted to the public outcry and has instructed the attorney general to ensure a process of thorough and exhaustive consultations with all groups.
(DW)
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One of the beauties of Catholicism is the centrality of seasons in the religious and spiritual imagination in the Catholic consciousness. We begin the Liturgical Year with the First Sunday of Advent, then celebrate Christmas, move over to Lent and get to the apex at Easter. Sandwiched in between these four seasons is what the Liturgical Calendar refers to as “Ordinary Time.” The four liturgical seasons could very well be a spiritual interpretation of the four seasons that mark what is often designated in socio-economic and political terms as the Global North.
The Second Vatican Council called for a “noble simplicity” which should mark the transition from one liturgical season to another, in terms of colours, Scripture texts, songs, symbols and prayers. These express the Church’s deepest identity and self-understanding. The liturgical seasons certainly are reflective of the richness of the Catholic faith, both East and West, and provide the opportunity to encounter Catholicism in its organic form. Underlining this change of seasons is the God of creation, the source of all that is. The seasons of the liturgical year are therefore about God and history, a perspective that frees Catholics from a blind alley of historical relativism. Since God opens the door to all creation, this sense of history that the seasons convey, for the Christian, is grounded on Christ’s entrance into history, at the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4). Christmas is therefore the hermeneutical key of apprehending Catholicism and time.
The implication of these interplay of liturgical seasons for the Catholic is, as Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig MULLER observed in his May 17 2014 Address on the Ecclesiality of the Catechismat St. Patrick’s College Seminary, Maynooth, Ireland, that “Catholicism is not a philosophy. It is a revealed religion. This means the context of our faith is not the product of human ingenuity. (This) by no means is meant to disparage the achievements, or necessity even, of rigorous philosophical thinking.” The healthy Catholic attitude is therefore to see in the change of liturgical seasons the masterful creative hand of God, the beauty of creation. In other words, the liturgical seasons are about God’s revelation of God’s self in history to historical beings.
Inserted between the four seasons is what Catholic liturgical language refers to as “Ordinary Time,” perhaps for want of a better language. The site liturgies.net explains: “Ordinary Time contains thirty-three or thirty-four weeks. It begins on the Monday following the Sunday after January 6 and continues until the beginning of Lent; it begins again on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday and ends on the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent.” While Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter have clear spiritual and theological definitions: Christ’s Coming; Christ’s Birth; Christ’s Passion; and Christ’s Resurrection, “Ordinary Time” appears problematic to define or characterize. Just what do we do with these thirty-three or thirty-four weeks?
We can find a hint in the Collect (Opening Prayer) of the Mass of the First Sunday of Ordinary Time. The Church Prays: “Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.” I find it significant that the dominant sense invoked in this prayer is that of sight, which for the Christianis obviously not about the sense of physical sight. This begs the question: What has the Christian seen? My answer: With the Magi, the Christian has seen the newborn King. The star has led the Christian to the manger, and there, we have worshipped the newborn King. The end of Christmas is therefore the return of the Christian through another road, very different from the one that previously led the Christian to the palace of Herod. Ordinary Time is therefore the time of living out what we have seen at Christmas: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life” (1 Jn. 1:1).
So Ordinary Time is not a time of nothingness, of a low liturgical moment. It is a time for proving the self, of living in such a way that we reflect that the experience of encountering the Son of God at Christmas was a life-changing experience. In political language, we could say that Ordinary Time is the post-election period, in which we are challenged to deliver on our election promises, we who have been elected in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
If anything, Ordinary Time is certainly not an “idle” time that is waiting for the next high-peak season, be it Advent or Lent. It is a time of much spiritual profit, in which we mature from the crib of Christmas to the glory of the risen Lord. It is a time in which the believer grows into adulthood: “Their task was to train God’s people for the work of service and for the building up of Christ’s body, until in the end we all become one in that unity which comes through believing in and knowing the Son of God. Then we shall have achieved our perfect manhood, that full maturity which comes from Christ. We shall no longer be like little children, tossed by the waves and blown by every wind of false teaching, at the mercy of cunning people wickedly plotting to lead us astray. No, we shall base our lives on truth and love, and grow up into perfect union with Christ” (Eph. 4: 12 – 15).
Thus, Ordinary Time is an opportune time for maturing in our relationship with Christ. The question we must answer on Ash Wednesday should therefore be: How have I matured in Christ during this Ordinary Time? This is no superfluous question, especially in the context of a secular culture that seeks to silence the faith once delivered to the saints, considering as bigots those who prefer to stick it out with the Jesus of the Bible, even at the cost of friendship, jobs, economic and political privileges, et cetera. Only an adult faith, only a maturing in Christ faith will be capable of withstanding the tsunami of militant secularism, and Ordinary Time gives just such a privileged opportunity to mature in that faith, semper, ubique et ab omnibus, to cite the timeless maxim of Vincent of Lerins.
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