Sem. Emmanuel ADODE

The parishioners of St. James, Olorunda-Abaa together with their Parish Priest celebrated their feast day in a special way. The feast of St. James the great featured a lot of events which began with a 9 days Novena from the 16th July 2025 till 24th July 2025. The Novena prayer was said to ask for the intercession of St. James the Great who is the Patron Saint of the Parish. After the Novena prayers each day, Holy Mass is celebrated where Rev. Fr. Joseph Akerele extols the virtues and qualities of the Apostle James such as; being a friend of Jesus, his love for Jesus and the Gospel, his passion and charity, his persistency and constancy in staying with the Lord, his zeal, passion and longsuffering.

The Novena prayer started on each day by 5pm and there was a great turn out of the Parishioners for this spiritual exercise.

        On Wednesday, 23rd July 2025, a talk was delivered by Catechist James Akighir on the life history of St. James the Great. In his talk, he stated that St. James is the brother of John and they were both sons of Zebedee. St James was privileged to witness major events that other disciples weren’t present at such as: The Transfiguration and Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. He further disclosed that due to his fiery Zeal, he was referred to as “Saint of Thunder”. He stated that St. James was the first apostle to be martyred and that St. James’ remains were transported to Spain, where they were believed to be buried in Santiago de Compostela; this site has become a significant pilgrimage destination which now draws countless faithful seeking spiritual growth and renewal.

He further stated that Saint James the Great is the Patron Saint of Spain, pilgrims and various professions including Veterinarians and Pharmacists. Finally, he explained how St. James possessed the ability to stand the test of time.

        Also, on Thursday, 24th July 2025 which marked the end of the 9 days Novena, another talk was delivered by Dr. (Mrs.) Omotomilayo Oba titled: “Women’s role in the Family, Church and Society: Women as helper, builder and anchor.” She stated that women as helpers is God’s design as evident in the book of Gen 2:18 which says “it is not good that a man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” She said that women are expected to support strength in Nation building and the society at large thereby inculcating values into their children. Speaking further she reminded all present that as Christians, we are salt of the earth and light of the world, therefore, women should be light bearers in the society at large. Finally, she stated that the role of women in the Church is to help in the proclamation of the Gospel and also help bring up innovations.

        On Friday, 25th July 2025 which is the feast day of St. James, the Holy Mass was celebrated by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Akerele. In his homily, he thanked God for the successful completion of the 9 days Novena, for the exemplary life of the Apostles of Jesus; for us to emulate, appreciate our heroes past, and the efforts of present contributors and foot soldiers who continue to support the Church in her Mission. He stated that the Parish’s name (St. James) was also motivated as a result of the missionary work of Fr. James O’Hea in St. Patrick Parish and the entire Archdiocese. He further explained the life of St. James and how his mother played a relevant role in his life by asking Jesus for both of her sons to be seated at either side in His kingdom. He said that the mother in presenting them made them to learn from Jesus that what they were requesting for is not a spiritual gifts and as St. John Chrysostom said, they were lifted up to desire a higher goal (martyrdom) for the sake of the Gospel and the kingdom. Immediately after the Mass, a group photograph was taken by all present followed by a little celebration in the Church premises.

        The event also featured a medical check-up on Saturday, 26th July 2025 which was conducted for free by the health personnel and heath committee present in the Parish. Series of check-ups were done and drugs were administered accordingly freely, thanks to our donors including, Our Lady of Apostle Catholic Hospital, Oluyoro, Oke- Offa who is also celebrating her 70th Anniversary presently.

        On Sunday, 27th July, 2025, there was a general thanksgiving for the successful completion of the feast day activities. At Mass, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Akerele in his homily, stated that Jesus Christ gave us the element of prayer and the pattern to pray. He further stated that the Liturgy of the word presents to us 3 questions: What is prayer? When should we pray? How and why to pray? In his theme “THE GIFT OF LEARNING; PRAYER” He stated that learning is possible, continuous and we can do it well and grow. He said that we begin to learn about God at our earliest years but we are not bold yet to talk with God or to people about God, he said the liturgy of the day teaches us about this as we learn from Abraham, in his bargaining power with God for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, from him we learn that prayer is communication, it is standing in the gap for others (not being selfish), from St. Paul who reminds us of our place in Christ, and in the Gospel where the disciples wants to imitate the loving relationship of Jesus with His Father. In the first reading, we see the generosity of God, who listens to Abraham who stands in the gap for others. He added that the same generosity is required from us, when we are generous; we remember others first and we too are remembered by others in prayer. He admonished the parishioners not to relent in prayer, and learn from Jesus our teacher, pray to the Holy Spirit to teach us to pray rightly, search in the right place and knock the right door of prayer.