Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord:
TO ALL PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS WORKING IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LAGOS, AND THE LAY FAITHFUL;
1. ARCHDIOCESAN PREPARATION FOR THE 2023 SYNOD OF BISHOPS: With the beginning of the preparations for the forthcoming Synod by our Holy Father and the opening of the Diocesan stage in our Archdiocese on 17th October 2021, we have begun the process of accepting and acting on the invitation of our Holy Father to pray, listen, share experiences and discern with the aim of offering advice and offering pastoral practices that would be guided by the will of God and the lived experiences of the People of God.
Every Deanery should by now have appointed three facilitators (priest, Religious and lay faithful) who will help to coordinate synodal sessions at Parish and deanery levels as well as prepare reports for the Archdiocesan Team. The synthesis of these reports will constitute our Archdiocesan contribution towards the 2023 Synod. The timeline for the activities for the phase were communicated during the webinar held last month for Priests and Religious and the seminar for facilitators. We enjoin everyone to pray for the success of this phase of the synod and to participate actively as required of them. The Synodal Prayer has been reproduced on the back of our Archdiocesan Directory and in the Archdiocesan Liturgical Desk Calendar.
2. THE NEW OMICRON VARIANT COVID-19: In one of our previous circulars, we did a review of some of the practices that we put in place in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have heard of the advent of OMICRON strain of the virus that is afflicting parts of the world. We know that it has arrived the shores of our country and so we reiterate the need for everyone to pay adequate attention and take all due precautions. We advise everyone to take the vaccine and all parishes to continue to observe the COVID-19 protocols and encourage the faithful to wash their hands or use hand sanitizers regularly, wear their face-masks, observe the physical distance required and keep attendance at large gatherings to the barest minimum.
3. REVERENCE FOR THE HOLY EUCHARIST, JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT: The Holy Eucharist is at the heart of the life and worship in our Church. Being the Body and blood of Christ, the sacrament must be held with absolute reverence. The Eucharist is the presence of Christ, body, soul and divinity and it behooves us to ensure that we do not do anything that denigrates on the sanctity of the Eucharist especially when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. As the present circumstance has imposed it upon us and obliges us to receive Holy communion on the palm, all are to ensure that we give due reverence and attention Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in the same way as when receive Him on the tongue.
Hence, effective catechesis must be continued in order to remind the faithful of this important aspect of our faith. If for any reason at all, the sacred specie falls on the ground, the priest or extraordinary minister concerned must ensure that they show due regret and take care of the specie with expected reverence and due decorum. Priests and Church wardens are to ensure that those who receive Holy Communion consume the sacred specie immediately and before returning to their seats.
4. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
2022 VALENTINE’S DAY WITH THE ARCHBISHOP: This Archdiocesan Program organized by the Lay Apostolate Centre in conjunction with the Association of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Jude Society will come up as follows: Date: Saturday, 12th February 2022. Time: 10:00 a.m. starting with the Holy Mass. Venue: Catholic Church of the Ascension, Airport Road, Ikeja. Note: Goodwill placement cost Fifty Thousand Naira Only (N50,000.00). For more information, kindly call the Director’s office on 08026156606 or 08077003036.
