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Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Archbishop of Accra, has urged Christians to “forgive endlessly” as advocated by Jesus.
He said this in a homily at a Good Friday Service at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, attended by a large number of people.
The Service was in three parts – the Liturgy of the Word, Veneration of the Cross and Communion Service.
The Archbishop was assisted by Very Rev. Fr. John Louis, Cathedral Administrator and Rev. Fr. Sylvanus Dogodzi, Associate Administrator.
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday, the central festival of the Christian year.
The earliest historical records from the AD 100’s show that Good Friday had no particular connection with mourning Jesus’ death. It was simply a day of fasting before Easter.
Posing a rhetorical question: What is it that sets a Christian apart from other faiths, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said, “Jesus teaches us to forgive always without counting the number of times.”
He said it is forgiveness which sets the Christian apart from other religions, adding that the commandment to forgive comes from God himself and Jesus had exemplified this.
The Archbishop said it was only in forgiving hat the world can have a new light. “This is what the message of Good Friday is all about.”
“We should learn to forgive so that the light of Jesus will be with us”
He cautioned: “If we don’t forgive we are dying little by little.”
“We should ask Jesus to give us the spirit to forgive so that we can be ambassadors of reconciliation,” he noted.
“May we always be reminded of the words of Jesus – Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Continuing with his Easter message, Archbishop Palmer-Buckle, asked Christians whether they were ready to die for Christ and witness to Him by their deeds.
He said St. Paul tells us to be a yeast of the earth, adding that as Christians, “we must give joy and happiness wherever we are.”
“We must give energy and vitality wherever we are,” he said in a homily.
The Archbishop said “a Christian is a very warm-hearted person who must solve problems in a very humane way and show the way to happiness and joy.”
“A Christian must be very transparent in his doings and be ready to die for the truth and be sincere.”
“This is the only way Ghana can be a better place,” he added.
Holding their candles, parishioners of the Cathedral renewed their Baptismal vows, rejecting satan and his evil ways.
Preceding the Good Friday Service, the Archbishop celebrated the liturgy of the Chrism Mass during which the Oils of Catechumens and of the Sick were blessed and the Oil of Chrism consecrated, Damian Avevor Reports.
The Mass was attended by all the Priests in the Accra Archdiocese. Also at the Mass were Most Rev. George Kocherry, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, and the First Secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature, Rev. Msgr. Mark Kadima.
The niece of Bishop Emeritus Joseph Oliver Bowers, SVD, and her husband, who had travelled from the Dominican Republic to visit Bishop Bowers, a former Bishop of Accra and to celebrate with him his 97th birthday which fell on March 28th this year, also attended the Mass.
The Priests also renewed their commitment to the priestly service during the Mass.
Explaining, the Archbishop said the Oil of Catechumens is used to prepare and dispose them (the catechumens) for baptism.
Again, “… the Oil of Catechumens extends the effects of the baptismal exorcisms; it strengthens the candidates with the power to renounce the devil and sin before they go to the font of life for rebirth.”
“As we all know, after baptism, by water and the spirit, we are anointed with the Oil of Chrism, making us members of the chosen race (the) royal priesthood, (the) consecrated nation, (the) people set apart to sing the praises of God,” Archbishop Palmer-Buckle added.
This, he said, the Book of Revelation reaffirms that Jesus Christ “loves us and has washed away our sins with His blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever, Amen.”
Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said the Oil of Chrism in particular, once consecrated, is mixed with balsam and aromatic herbs in the oil that will be used for the Sacrament of Baptism, for Confirmation and for the ordination of the Holy Orders of priests and Bishops in the Ministerial Priesthood as well as for the Consecration of Vessels and appurtances used for the Sacred liturgy of the Holy Eucharist.
He declared: “Thus, by the mark of the Oil of Chrism in Baptism and Confirmation, Christians are thus “anointed” and rightly so made into a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart…”
“Let us all rejoice therefore and thank God for sharing with all of us baptised in His Son’s priesthood and let us now ask what mission God has for us by the configuration to His Son Jesus Christ.”
Additional file by Henry Atachie
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