By Augustine Aminu
The Catholic Bishop of Idah Diocese, His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony A Adaji, MSP, has called on Christians to continue to unite to further propagate the Gospel of God for a positive and progressive life.
The Bishop gave the charge at the All Saints Igala Catholic community of Nigeria 9th National Convention 2024 in Idah, Kogi State opening Mass, at St. Boniface cathedral praying for togetherness emulating the vertus of all the saints.
He called on members of All Saints all over Nigeria to always remember and support their homeland, especially their local parishes in Igala land.
The cleric called on all Christians to serve God with perseverance, faith and holiness noting that there is great rewards in doing the work of God in faithfulness.
On the celebration of the 2024 All Saints feast celebration, Bishop Adaji said it’s important to reflect on the very fact that we are all called to live lives of holiness, just as the saints before us did.
“Today’s solemnity not only calls us to remember the canonized saints of the Church, but all those souls that have reach the Heavenly banquet and are in the presence of the Word Incarnate, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“We celebrate the Communion of Saints! The Communion of Saints are composed of us on Earth – the Saints Militant, those in Purgatory – the Saints Suffering, and the those in Heaven – the Saints Triumphant.
The Cleric said our aim in life is to be holy in imitation of Jesus, who is all holy stressing that He is our perfect model in all things, most especially in holiness.
“The beautiful thing for each of us is that we have many great examples of holiness over the 2000-year history of the Catholic Church”.
Earlier, the Dean of Idah Deanary Rev.fr Kizito Iyidaja welcome all the members of the all St. Igala to Idah for the celebration of the 2024 feast of All Saints.
He congratulated all members stressing the importance of the feast noting that the Feast of All Saints is a celebration of the Church’s unity, the communion of saints, and the universal call to holiness.
According to Fr. Kizito, Saints serve as inspiring examples of faith, hope, and charity, encouraging believers to imitate their virtues.
“On this day, we praise and thank God for what He has done for us through these holy people. We ask the saints to pray for us that we might love our God and neighbor the way Jesus taught us”.
