Saturday 9th July was not just an ordinary day as the Women of Grace Apostolate officially launched the Grace Place. The colourful event was organised by the Women of Grace at the Church of Ascension, Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan, Oyo state.
In her opening speech, the facilitator, Dr. Josephine Igbeka gave thank to God for all He has done for the Women of Grace and thanked members of the Apostolate and everyone who had honoured their invite and made the event a reality.
The guest speaker, the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Rev. Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo delivered a lecture entitled: “Mercy and Grace: Living Life Abundantly.
The Bishop defined what abundant life is to Christians stating variant definition of what abundant life is to various categories of individuals.
“Everybody wants to live life abundantly. In living life abundantly, we have to distinguish between living life abundantly for various categories of individuals.
“For a footballer, it means playing regularly and scoring many goals as possible. For a musician, it is been able to produce music that will remain on chart for a long time. For a politician, it means getting majority of the vote in an election or winning landslide. For Christians, living life abundantly is salvation.
The speaker challenged the audience to ponder on how they have lived their life and asked if there is any justification for another better life.
The bishop said: “After life here on earth, Jesus promised us a better life.He said ‘I have come to give you life and life abundant’. The question we must ask ourselves is: what justification do we have for another better life? Why should we expect another life from God when we are messing up the present life?
“If God has given us life here on earth and we are messing it up, why should God give us eternal life? We must now begin to ponder on how well we are living the present life at our disposal.
“We must use well our talents, our time and our treasures and all what God has given us.”
The bishop encouraged the audience to always do the needful by extending help to those in need and not a selfish life style as it is the norm today.
“We live in a self-centred world today where we centre everything around us, the most used words is: my, my family, my car, my house, my job, etc.
In conclusion, His lordship quoted the timeless truth of Saint Augustine -“To keep more than what you need is to keep what belongs to others. He also quoted James Baldwin wise saying: “A man may have made his wealth with the sweat of his brow, if he is wealthy and takes no care of the needy around him he is still a thief”.
Present at the launching is the Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Gabriel Leke Abegurin, the parish priest of the Church of Ascension, Rev. Fr. Anthony Ewherido,
The chief launcher, Chief Mrs. Victoria Soyanwo promised the Women of Grace that her donations towards the launching of the Grace Place and other project handled by the Apostolate will enjoy her continuous support for any of their project.
In his speech, Archbishop Abegunrin promised total support for the Mission of the Women of Grace Apostolate, describing them as Women of Faith who are prepared to share in the burden of the down trodden. He enjoined other women to emulate them by becoming members of the Apostolate to propagate the good news and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
