Abuja- Rev. Fr. Godwin Bagu of St. Thomas Aquinos Seminary, Benue, on Sunday, called on religious leader in the service of God to be dedicated to their calling.
He stated this during the ordination of Rev Fr. Francis Uneke , as the new priest and a Holy Mass for Uneke at St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Kubwa , Abuja.
He urged the priest to be faithful and committed to his calling by doing what pleases the Lord, adding that “people who are married care for their partners but the unmarried people should care for the things of the Lord.”
.“When you look for something for a very long time amidst difficulties, you cherish it, so I advise you to cherish the vocation because God has called you to a ministry quite special.
“You are not a minister of finance but a minister of God. Many are so concerned with financial affairs and this would make them crash.
Many people don’t insist any more on praying for the sick but rather insist on getting money, they take church money and spend it anyhow,” he said.
Bagu also said that a priest is not a minister of women affairs, and cautioned the newly ordained priest to do his job and avoid associating closely with women, so that he will be flawed.
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He told Uneke to see himself as a humble servant of God and not a master by remaining humble.
Referring to Apostle Paul in the Holy Bible, the cleric said that Paul saw his calling as a divine obligation to work for God.
He however urge Uneke to do the work of God fervently and not to be boastful about his calling.
“Many people enter the ministry because they don’t have jobs and as a result insist on members paying tithes which would eventually make them to crash.
He challenged him to measure his success by how many soul he won to the kingdom, just like Apostle Paul measures his success by how many souls he won for God.
“We should be concerned with how many lives we touched, so that God would give us the reward for eternal life,” he added.
He also advised members of the church on the need for moral and financial support for priests, explaining that they need the support to function well which depends on the support from members.
He appealed to members to avoid negative attitude that could hinder the work of the priest and his calling.
“You need to pray for your priests during the trying times, including when an error has been committed.
NAN reports that no fewer than 500 members witnessed the first Holy Mass for the priest. (NAN)