From Esther Akaa, Lafia
The Catholic Bishop of Lafia Diocese, Most Revd David Ajang has charged the newly ordained priests of his diocese to be men of prayers, in order to succeed in their chosen vocation.
Ajang gave the charge on Thursday during the ordination of two priests of the diocese held at St William’s Cathedral, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The bishop urged them to prepare adequately for the task ahead of them and work hard at developing their relationship with God, modeling their live after Jesus to be able to win souls for Christ.
According to him, the call to priesthood was divine, hence the need for them to dedicate their time to the service of God and avoid anything capable of destroying their reputation and that of the Catholic church.
He, however, noted that the clergymen were also human beings and were capable of making mistakes, calling on the congregation to support them with prayers to enable them succeed in their vocation.
“Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other men in their dealings with God. He is not an angel, he therefore, has emotions, fears and can make mistakes. Often times priests are perceived by people in non human terms but the fact is that they also have weaknesses because they are ordinary human beings.
“We must therefore, encourage our priests because being ordained does not make them super humans. We must not also have unrealistic expectations from them.
“When they make mistakes, we should correct them appropriately,” Ajang said.
The bishop also cautioned parents against making choices of vocation for their children, saying that the call to serve in God’s vineyard was divine and should not be influenced
He, therefore, appreciated parents, guardians and family members of the newly ordained priests for their financial and moral support and charged them to continue to pray for them.
On his part, the Chancellor of the diocese, Revd Fr Matthew Ofoku, appreciated God and Bishop Ajang for performing the sacred ordination of the priests.
“The fruit of our collective efforts has brought about the success of this ordination but the harvest is rich but the labourers are few and may God send more labourers in his vineyard,” he said.
He, therefore, thanked all the priests, parents, benefactors and those who contributed to the ordination of the priests and prayed God to bless them.
In an interview with The Voice, one of the newly ordained priests, Revd Fr Joseph Ogbonna said: “I feel so happy and favoured to be found worthy to serve as a priest of God, irrespective of my weaknesses and shortcomings.”
He, therefore, promised to work as a minister of God, mediating between Him and man for the salvation of those entrusted under his care.
In another interview, Revd Fr Gabriel Egah said it was a rare privilege to be chosen by God to serve in His ministerial priesthood, calling on Christians to continue to pray for him to enable him excel in his ministry.
The Voice reports that immediately after the ordination, the bishop posted Fr Ogbonna to St John Bosco College, Doma, Doma Local Government Area of the state as a teacher and Chaplain of the school while Fr Eggah was posted as an Assistant Priest at St Peter’s Parish Keffi, Keffi LGA of the state.