THE RECTOR'S MESSAGE TO THE GRADUATING STUDENTS

8TH JUNE, 2019

AN IGNORANT CATHOLIC SEMINARIAN IS A FUTURE PENTECOSTAL PASTOR.

VERY REV FR. HABILA DADOH

I sincerely thank God for sparing us to this day in which our theology four students are graduating. I thank all the bishops of the province and the administrator of Kafanchan for looking after you from the first day of your seminary training today. I also want to thank Propaganda Fidei, POSPA, MISSIO AND AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED for their support in training you and providing facilities for your formation. There are other benefactors that I cannot mention here, I thank them too. To the parents of our graduating students, thank you for your guidance and support. To the friends of our graduating students, thanks to you all.

I thank the formators for their inexorable sacrifices. They have been simply awesome in exercising their responsibilities. They have disseminated their knowledge, they have shown you their spirituality, and they have always made themselves available to you and for you. All these were meant to prepare you for an exceptional pastoral outing after your formation. The visiting lecturers have also been outstanding; thank you and God bless you for the unalloyed services.

Let me congratulate those who are the reason of our presence here. It is simply not easy. You have made it to the end here. It started just like yesterday and today it’s ending. Forget all the obstacles that were on the way; forgive those who didn’t want you to make it; forget the ugly ups and the dreadful downs you passed through, enjoy the pleasant memories you passed through; it is the Lord’s doing, it is marvelous in our eyes. I am very privileged to be part of the team to graduate you from this noble institution. But remember that this is not really the end, but the beginning of another herculean responsibility of being another Christ. In all these, Congratulations!  

It is important you know that any seminarian that does not align himself, does not propagate, live and where possible, practice what the Catholic Church teaches, if eventually he becomes a priest, he will only live his kind of life and not the one desired by the Holy Mother Church. An ignorant Catholic seminarian is a future Pentecostal Pastor. You may graduate from the seminary with first class honours or whatever degree, if you, in your pastoral engagements, step out of the teaching of the Church, if you sermonise outside what the Church teaches, if you live a flamboyant life, if you carry out spiritual practices that are contrary to what the church teaches, then you are in my judgement, an ignorant seminarian who became a full blown Pentecostal pastor living and operating in the Catholic church.

I am genuinely proud to say that in our seminary, we teach what the Church mandates. We go to the extent of encouraging you on how to dress respectfully and to keep yourselves decent as potential Catholic priests; but you are at liberty to practice what you want when you graduate from the seminary. It is at this point that it becomes apparent whether or not formation passed through you or you passed through formation. As I mentioned last year, that whatever you do outside what we have taught you, then remember that you are a near pretender. If after being taught how to compose and comport yourself when giving a homily, you start jumping from one spot of the church to another in the name of preaching, then know that we did not teach you that. When you dress contrary to the way you do in the seminary, know that formation did not take place in you; when you use sandals or anyhow shoes on the altar of sacrifice, know that you only pass through formation. By the time you refuse to give a listening ear to parishioners, or you refuse to hear their confessions or you go into excessive drinking of alcohol, and by the time you start looking down on parishioners, or disobedient to your elders, and by the time you begin to choose which Mass to celebrate, which parish you will prefer to work, or begin to change cars arbitrarily, kindly remember that no formator in our seminary, gave you lecture or seminar on how to do that. 

St. Polycarp (ca. 69-155) who was deeply concerned how priest live their lives said, “The presbyters should also be compassionate, merciful to all, turning back those who have gone astray, caring for all who are sick, not neglecting the widow, the orphan, or the poor, but always taking thought of what is good before both God and others, abstaining from all anger, prejudice, and unfair judgment, avoiding all love of money, not quick to believe a rumor against anyone, not severe in judgment, knowing that we are all in debt because of sin”. (Ignatius of Antioch.  “Letter to the Ephesians”.  Ed and trans. Bart D. Ehrman. Loeb Classic Library.  In The Apostolic Fathers I (LCL 24). Cambridge MA.:  Harvard University Press, par. 17, pg. 237).

Dear graduates, as you leave us and eventually go into the priesthood, may I appeal to you to develop a strong love for Eucharistic adoration. Improve your love of the Rosary, your divine office and other spiritual devotions to keep you spiritually watchful. The Church needs prayerful priests; be among them. God has called you for a purpose; you cannot afford to disappoint Him. God wants to use you for his mission, give Him the opportunity. God wants to use your hands, keep them holy and unstained, God wants to use your lips/tongue, keep them uncontaminated; God wants to use your eyes, keep them focused on heavenly things; use your talents for the glory of God. Your prayer can change the world, your spiritual life can convert sinners; the way you celebrate the Eucharist can bring healing to an ailing generation. God can make impossible situations possible through you. You don’t have to shout, you don’t have to form prayer ministries, you don’t have to climb mountains, God can use you in your simple but inspiring life.