Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Twenty Second Sunday of Year, C – August 28, 2022. Readings: Sirach 3:17-20.28-29; Responsorial Psalm Ps 68:4-5ac.6-7ab. 10-11(R.11b); Heb. 12:18-19. 22-24a; Gospel Luke 14:1.7-14. The first reading reveals that gentility and humility are prerequisites for finding favour in the sight of God. The second reading discloses the glory of the beatific vision, the heavenly Jerusalem. The gospel reading narrates how on a certain Sabbath Jesus went to the house of a leading Pharisee for a meal and watched people taking places of honour. While there, he emphasized that if someone…
Author: Justine John Dyikuk
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Twenty First Sunday of the Year, C – August 21, 2022. Readings: Is 66:18-21; Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1, 2; Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Gospel Luke 13:22-30. Theme: The Hard Way, the Only Way Sunday Synopsis The first reading states that God would gather people from every nation under the earth to witness his glory. The second reading highlights the fact that God disciplines his children because he loves them. The reading emphasizes that although at the time of trial, suffering might seem unpleasant and painful, it is nonetheless part of training.…
1. In the Catholic Church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) is a dogma. A Dogma is a light along the path of faith and an official teaching of the Catholic Church that pertains to Faith and Morals which is pproclaimed by the Magisterium – the teaching body of the Church through the Roman Pontiff and is binding on all Catholics. The four Marian Dogmas are: Mary as Mother of God (theotokos), Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; a fifth, Mary as Advocate, Mediatrix and Co-redemptrix is being proposed. 2. The Marian dogma…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Twentieth Sunday of Year, C – August 18, 2019. Readings: Jer. 38:4-6, 8-10; Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:2, 3, 4,18 (R.14b); Heb.12:1-4; Gospel Luke 12:49-53. Theme: Fire to the Earth Sunday Synopsis In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah is persecuted because he spoke truth to power. The prophet was stirring a revolution in the land. The second reading assures that “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” The Gospel reveals how Jesus spoke of bringing “fire” to the earth. We are charged to seek for the fire…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Nineteenth Sunday of the Year, C – August 07, 2022. Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1 and 12.18-19.20 and 22 (R.12b); Hebrews 11:1-2.8-19; Gospel Luke 12:32-48. The first reading tells us how the forebears of the people of Israel had an unshakable trust in the Lord. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews states that only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for. It notes that it was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call of God to go to an unknown country. In the gospel,…
Believers have been challenged to ensure that they leave good legacies behind even as they thrive to make heaven. This charge was given by the Catholic Bishop of Bauchi Diocese, Most Rev. Hilary Nanman Dachelem, CMF at the Requiem Mass for Pa Patrick Ogbe Agada which held on Thursday 28 July at St. Agatha’s Catholic Church, Chito Gana, Otukpo, Benue State. According to him, the Agada family must strive to fit into the big shoes left behind by their late father who was a committed Christian who tried to please God while he lived. He assured the family of prayers…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Eighteenth Sunday of the Year, C – July 31, 2022. Readings: Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23; Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:3-6,12-14,17; Colossians 3:1-5,9-11; Gospel Luke 12:13-21. Theme: Being Rich in the Sight of God Sunday Synopsis The preacher, Qoheleth tells us in the first reading that all is vanity. In the second reading, St. Paul urges the faithful to look for the things that are in heaven where Christ is. The gospel reveals the consequences of greed. But God decided to call him that night. Our liturgy challenges us to defy worldly logic by…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Seventeenth Sunday of the Year, C – July 24, 2022. Readings: Gen. 18:20-32; Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2a.2bcd-3.6-7ab.7a-8 (R.3a); Colossians 2:12-14; Gospel Luke 11:1-13. Theme: Persistence in Prayer Sunday Synopsis In the first reading, Abraham bargains with God concerning Sodom and Gomorrah. In the second, St. Paul reveals that Christ has cancelled every record of the dept that we were to pay by nailing it on the cross. He maintains that we have been buried with Christ at out baptism and raised with him through our belief in the power of…
An expatriate priest, Father Brendan Mc Donnell O.S.A has challenged priests in Nigeria to distance themselves from clericalism while urging all pastors of souls to take after Christ the Good Shepherd. He made the assertion during the Thanksgiving Mass for the Silver Jubilee of priestly ordination of an Augustinian priest, Father Felix Usman, O.S.A which held recently at the Chapel of St. Augustine’s Major Seminary, Jos, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria. Clericalism, abuse of power According to him “Priests have a great amount of power within the Church. But many of the problems in the overseas has been the abuse of…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Sixteenth Sunday of Year, C – July 17, 2022. Readings: Gen. 18:1-10a; Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3.3-4.5(1a); Col. 1:24-28; Gospel Luke 10:38-42. Theme: Appreciating Active and Contemplative Life Sunday Synopsis The first reading recounts how Abraham served angels when the Lord appeared to him at the Oak of Mamre. In the second reading, St. Paul emphasizes that he accepts suffering for the sake of the gospel while disclosing that he was given the responsibility of completing God’s message. He adds that it was God’s purpose to reveal this mystery to the…
In what appears as Pankshin Diocese to the world, Christians have been charged to eschew the culture of death and seek genuine repentance at a ceremony in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria which attracted nationals from 6 African countries. This charge was given by the Catholic Bishop of Pankshin Diocese, Bishop Michael Gobal Gokum during the priestly ordination of Reverend Augustine Rotshak Gonsum, of the Missionaries of Africa which held Saturday 9 July, 2022 at Holy Cross Cathedral. “Abortion and the shedding of blood have become rampant today. TV stations now prioritize crazy programmes as a basis to be accepted.…
The political climate in Nigeria is inundated with political gladiators wooing the voting masses with persuasive campaigns as the 2023 general elections draws close. This came to the fore at the 2022 Men of Valor Conference organized by Revival House of Glory Church (RHOGIC) at Wuye-Abuja when Dr Peter Obi, a frontline Catholic politician running for the office of president in the upcoming polls challenged the Nigerian populace to actually register so as to get rid of a bad and corrupt system. Obi who was invited as one of three speakers at the conference spoke on the theme “Navigating the…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Homily for Fifteenth Sunday of Year, C – July 10, 2022. Readings: Deut. 30:10-14; Responsorial Psalm Ps 69:14 & 17,30-31,33-34,36ab & 37 (R.v.33) or Ps 19:8,9,10,11(R.9ab); Colossians 1:15-20; Gospel Luke 10:25-37. Theme: A Call to Revolutionary Action Sunday Synopsis The first reading tells how Moses charged the people to obey God by keeping his ordinances. In the second reading St. Paul declares to the Colossians that Christ is the image of the unseen God revealed in Christ, the first born from the dead, who reconciles everything to himself through his…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Fourteenth Sunday: Year C – July 3, 2022. Readings: Isaiah 66:10-14c; Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:1-3a,4-5, 6-7,16 & 20 (R.1); Galatians 6:14:18; Gospel Luke 10:1-12,17-20. The first reading invites the remnant of Yahweh to rejoice and be glad because the Lord would send peace and to glow like…
Homily for Thirteenth Sunday of Easter, Year C – June 26, 2022. Readings: 1 Kings 19:16b,19-21; Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:12,5,7-11; Galatians 5:1.13-18 & Gospel – Luke 9:51-62. The first reading gives us an account of the call of the Prophet Elisha. In the second reading, St. Paul notes that Christ has freed us from the yoke of slavery. The gospel speaks to the heart of the cost of discipleship that was why Jesus said “…the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” He further reminds would-be disciples: “Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to…
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi Sunday), Year C – June 19, 2022 Readings: Gen. 14-18-20; Responsorial Psalm Ps 110:1.2.3.4 (R.4cda); 1 Cor. 11:23-26 & Gospel Luke 9:11b-17. The first reading recounts how Melchizedek, the King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God brought bread and wine and pronounced blessing upon them. In thanksgiving to God, Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of everything. In the second reading, St. Paul tells the Corinthians that what he is passing unto them is what he received from the Lord namely that before he was crucified,…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Trinity Sunday: Year C – June 12, 2022. Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Responsorial Psalm Ps 8:4-5.6-7a.7b-9 (R.2a); Romans 5:1:5 & Gospel John 16:12-15. The first reading talks about the creative power of the Trinity and reveals the delight which human beings enjoy at God’s craftsmanship. In the second reading, St.…
Sixth Sunday of Easter: Year C – May 22, 2022. Readings: Acts 15:1-2.22-29; Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3,5,6 & 8 (R.v.4); Revelations 21:10-14, 22-23; Gospel John 14:23-29. The first reading recounts the apostles amicably resolved the issue of circumcised and uncircumcised which was dividing the early Church. The second reading recount how John saw the New Jerusalem, the holy city coming down from God out heaven. In the gospel, Jesus bequeathed peace to his apostles as a parting gift. Our liturgy reminds us that lack of peace creates tensions and conflicts. In the face of the current happenings in our country,…
It is 15 years now since our late father, Sir John Gofwan Dyikuk, KSM went back to his creator. Losing a father while growing up can be the most traumatic experience in life. It is worst when he is the breadwinner and the children are young. The helplessness, confusion and shame it brings is unimaginable. As role models, fathers are heroes who protect the family while providing leadership in terms of vision and mission for their wife and kids. For the Dyikuks’ our Dad was a caring, peace-loving, intelligent, humble, shy and industrious father who decorated the family with grace…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C – May 15, 2022. Readings: Acts 14:21-27; Ps 145:8-9.10-11.12-13; Rev. 21:1-5a & Gospel – John 13:31-33a.34-35. The first reading recounts how Paul and Barnabas went round Lystra, Iconium and Antioch encouraging the faithful to persevere in the face of persecution. In the second…
A Masters Candidate, Reverend Father Victor Makinwa Ogunyemi from the Centre for the Study of African Culture and Communication (CESACC), Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria has urged everyone to celebrate journalists who lose their lives on the fire-line. The priest who made this disclosure in a statement released on to the Directors’ of Communication in Nigeria maintained that “as the fourth estate of realm, the press is the mirror through which the society looks at itself” which is why the “narrator of the events that unfold in the society” should be treated with respect. In part, the…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J.Dyikuk Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C: Vocation/Good Shepherd Sunday – May 08, 2022. Readings: Acts 13:14.43-52; Ps 100:1-2.3.5(R.3a); Rev. 7:9.14b-17 & Gospel – John 10:27-30. The first reading recounts how the Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly while inroads among the gentiles who received the Word of God. In the…
The recent disclosure by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through its Communication Specialist, Samuel Kaalu that over 11,500 schools have been closed in Nigeria since 2020 with approximately 1.3 million children out of school in the 2020/21 academic year calls for a declaration of state of emergency on education in the country. To every sane person, the conclusion that every five of the world’s out-of-school children are Nigerian is sickening. In a world where the teen-Pakistani, Malala Yousafzai made a name for herself as a teen education advocate, her counterparts in Nigeria have become victims of a failed system.…
Third Sunday of Easter – May 1, 2022. Readings: Acts 5:27-32,40-41; Ps 29:2,4-6,11-13; Rev. 5:11-14 & Gospel – John 21:1-19. The first reading recounts how the High Priest demanded an explanation of the apostles about saturating Jerusalem with their preaching and putting the guilt of Jesus’ death on them. In the second reading St. John sees the vision of numberless angels shouting: “The Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy to be given power. The gospel tells the story of the appearance of Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias. Jesus said to Peter, Feed my Lambs, Look after my Sheep and…
The founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo recently made headlines when he broke the news that the Catholic Church has the most organised structure on earth. The clergyman who made the disclosure on 24 March, 2022 at the afternoon session of the Built to Last Church Growth Conference revealed that: “The Catholic has done a good job in terms of structure. An extremely good job. Amazing good job. Where you can sit down and pull out materials of 50-60 years ago, in its original form. How many of us in ministry today can pull out materials from…
Shikrot Mpwi – Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) – April 24, 2022. Readings: Acts 5:12-16; Ps 118:2-4.13-15.22-24; Rev. 1:9-11a.12-13 and Gospel – John 20:19-3 Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells how the apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit and worked signs and wonders among…
Nigeria’s huge potential, a population of over 200 million people, is sadly confronted by a legion of unprecedented security challenges. For example, as a result of high child mortality rate, mass killings and ethnic fractionalization, the Global Terrorism Index listed Nigeria as the third country most affected by terrorism in the world. In like manner, Nigeria is scored as the second country in Africa with the highest risk of genocide and the sixth globally. On its part, the Global Peace Index disclosed that the West Africa country is currently defined by political instability, citizen alienation, terrorism and violence. Named as…
By Justine John Dyikuk Christian faithful have been reminded that marriage is a commitment of love, forgiveness and perseverance for life. This charge was given by the Parish Priest of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Bwarak, Pankshin, Plateau State, Very Reverend Father John Go’ar during the wedding ceremony of Jonathan John Dyikuk and Theresa Emmanuel Baamkwap. The homilist, who doubles as the Chancellor of Pankshin Diocese, charged them to fill their marriage with love and kisses just as he urged them to look up to God for consolation in times of difficulty. “You’re surrounded by friends and family who would…
Photo : Bishop Hilary Dachelem, CMF with some priests of the diocese after the celebration By Justine John Dyikuk A missionary Bishop in the Nigerian Diocese of Bauchi, Most Reverend Hilary Dachelem, CMF has urged the people of God to hold forth the Great Commission by evangelising nations. He made the disclosure on Tuesday, April 12 during the celebration of Chrism Mass at Saint John the Evangelist’s Cathedral, Bauchi. Delivering his homily at the Holy Mass which began by 10:am, Bishop Dachelem reminded the Christian faithful of the importance of Jesus’ missionary mandate even as he challenged them…
Palm/Passion Sunday – April 10, 2022. Readings: Is. 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9.17-18a.19-20.23-24(R.2a); Phil. 2:6-11 & Gospel – Luke 19: 28:-40. Theme – Emulating the Lamb Sunday Synopsis In the first reading (Is. 50:4-7), the Prophet Isaiah presents a suffering servant who willingly offers his back to those who stroke him and his cheeks to those who tore at his beard. In the second reading (Phil. 2:6-11), St. Paul reveals Jesus as a humble servant who although was in the form of God, did not count equality with him a thing to be grasped. The gospel (Luke 19: 28:-40) also emphasized that…
