Class Of 2015, Newly Ordained Priests Celebrate In Kaduna

By Frederick Peters, KADUNA

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: The priests of the class of 2015 and the 2026 newly ordained priests of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna gathered on Wednesday to celebrate their anniversary and ordination in thanksgiving to God.

​The thanksgiving Mass, which was held at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Kakuri, Kaduna, was attended by priests, members of the religious, and the laity of the Archdiocese, among others.

Speaking to our reporter shortly after the thanksgiving Mass, the priest in charge of St. Anthony Downquarters, Very Rev. Father Alfred Mako, congratulated the celebrants and maintained that, “The priesthood is a vocation; it is a beauty, a gift, and it is sweet. The vineyard is great and simply needs more laborers to work in it. I feel very happy every year when I see young priests joining the priesthood. Today’s celebration calls for great joy considering the number of candidates from the 2015 and 2026 sets.”

​He continued: “I was very happy at the altar seeing young men join the priesthood; it gives me more courage and pleasure. As humans, sometimes you enter with great enthusiasm, but we live in an age of materialism and unhealthy competition. I advise them to focus really on the beauty of the priesthood, which is their primary calling, and other things will be added to them.

” My prayer is that God will grant them grace. The work is enormous, risky, and very demanding, and it requires a lot of prayer for them to cope with the demands of the priesthood. I am 39 now, but by the grace of God, I will soon be 40 in the priesthood.”

​Earlier, the homilist and Cathedral Administrator of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Very Rev. Fr. Isaac Patrick Musa, stated: “The reflection today is to encourage them on how to be very wise in their lives as priests and to ensure they apply wisdom in everything they do. I decided to give them about 10 tips on how to guard against the nature of our times, because our era is a very serious and dangerous time.”

“Do not take things for granted, because life is no longer as it used to be. People are more aware, more sensitive, and always watching every step we take. At all times as a priest, you cannot just sleep and think all is well; you must apply wisdom, caution, and precautions in how you live your life… The center of my homily is that while there is space for them to serve, they must also be aware that they need to apply wisdom and caution.” he reiterated.

​Similarly, the chief celebrant of the Mass and Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ungwan Boro, Rev. Fr. Philip Daniel Ayegba—who is celebrating 11 years in the priesthood—described how it feels: “It feels good. The journey has not been easy, but we thank God for His grace and mercy, which have kept us to this very point.

” I want to say from the depth of my heart that I appreciate my priesthood and thank God for the gift of the Catholic priesthood. I pray for priests all over the world, that God will continue to strengthen us to be faithful to our ministry. We should pursue faithfulness rather than success.”

​Offering advice to the newly ordained, he assured them: “Let them just walk with Jesus, and they will get there.”

Speaking on behalf of the seven newly ordained priests in the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna—who are celebrating their first week in the priesthood—Rev. Fr. Wisdom Bakam Jr. of St. Monica of Hippo, Karatudu, described his feelings:

“It actually feels great and wonderful to have our older brothers journeying along with us in their anniversary celebration. Honestly, I lost count of the days, but when the day came and I remembered the invitation, I acknowledged even more how great and wonderful God is to me and my classmates as we celebrate alongside our older brothers. It is a great feeling for me”

Sharing his hopes and expectations for the priesthood, he stated: “The expectation is to do the will of God. The expectation is to keep answering the call, not to become [complacent], and to listen more to the Holy Spirit, knowing that where our older brothers are today, we too shall be someday, and even beyond.”

The host pastor of St. Andrew’s Kakuri and Vocations Director of the Archdiocese, Rev Fr. Lucas Zasan Auta—who is also celebrating 11 years in the priesthood—provided insight into the celebration: “It is a usual ritual program we hold every year. The essence of our meeting together is to fraternize, to thank God for the gift of our lives, our faith, and the priesthood, and to invite our family and friends to rejoice with us.”

According to him “We started with some of our brothers, but we have lost two: one from Kano Diocese and the other from Minna Diocese. That we are still alive is not because we are in any way better than them. Whenever we come together like this, we reflect on our lives and the mistakes we have made. We ask God to forgive us and pray for His grace to help us continue serving His people in the ministry of the word and sacraments. That is the essence of our annual gathering.”

​Expressing his satisfaction with the event, he said: “It was amazing and wonderful. We did not expect to see this number of people—parishioners, family, friends, well-wishers, and our colleagues, both seniors and juniors—turn out this way. We are eternally grateful for this great turnout.”

​He also admonished the newly ordained: “My advice is this: whatever good you see us do, follow suit. Whatever you see us do that is not good, do not copy it. Imitate the good side and shun the bad side. That is the only way we can encourage them, as we are also building on what we saw our elder brothers do in the ministry that appealed to us. By doing so, we will continue to encourage each other and work together as a community of faith.”

​On her part, Rev. Sr. Mary Sidi, a nurse-midwife at St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital with over 39 years in religious life, noted: “As a priest, one can never live this life without prayer. You have to dedicate yourself to prayer. You have to swim and soak yourself in prayer to avoid all avoidables, because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. If you fall prey to it, it is not worth the sacrifice you have made.”

​She concluded: “There is one thing I used to tell myself: for me to make all these sacrifices and then end up in a terrible state would not be good. So I pray for them, and for all of us who have made this sacrifice, that God in His infinite goodness will continue to protect us. We pray that our Mother Mary will continue to mantle us as her children and intercede for us to her Son, that God may grant us all the graces we stand most in need of. Amen.”