17, May 2020
The Holy Spirit, the Forgotten God 0
Dear Holy People of God,
1. In the Gospel text of this Sunday’s liturgy from John 14:15-21, Jesus promises us, “And I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-17). Many Catholics spontaneously have a relationship with Jesus, perhaps because of the Incarnational principle: The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity became a man in Jesus of Nazareth. We readily identify and relate with Jesus because he was a human being like us in all things except sin, for sin is not what defines humanity, for sin is always a choice, even if often times a very seductive and overpowering one. But regarding the Holy Spirit, the relationship is not so evident and forceful. And if we go by the logic of why we can easily identify with Jesus, then the “distant” or impersonal relationship with the Holy Spirit is understandable: We have never seen the Holy Spirit “in the flesh,” that is, as a person, a unique person in history, a “singular individual”, – to use a Kierkegaardian phrase, walking the dusty paths of Nazareth, going up to the temple, working miracles, being thirty, being hungry, keeping company with friends and with sinners, et cetera. (I have always found it interesting that in the Gospels, one notices that while the sinners loved Jesus and sought his company, the religious people hated Jesus! What is it about religion that easily ferments such hatred for the other, especially those that are not like us? – I am still searching for an answer. Let us return to our topic on the Holy Spirit.)
2. In other words, we do not have a recollection of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, like we have of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity. This, I believe, helps explain why for many Catholics, the Holy Spirit is the forgotten God, the One we only mention on Pentecost Sunday and when making the Sign of the Cross, perhaps without even thinking about who the Holy Spirit is. Even the institutional Church had to wrestle with understanding who the Holy Spirit is. It took the First Council of Constantinople (AD May – July 381), to articulate a clear understanding of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, thanks in large part to the contributions from the Cappadocian Fathers, especially the Gregories. Given this obscurity regarding the person and work of the Holy Spirit, I will dedicate this Catechesis to talking about the person of the Holy Spirit, with the hope that knowing more about the Holy Spirit will help us develop a more intimate and personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
3. Who is the Holy Spirit? In the Nicene Creed we find the most concise definition of the Holy Spirit: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Together with the Father and the Son, He is worshipped and glorified. It is He who spoke through the prophets.” Yes, the Creed offers us a very Trinitarian theology of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit is with the Father and the Son and Creation, throughout Salvation History, and will be with the Father and the Son at the consummation of History. To ask who and not what is the Holy Spirit, implies that the Holy Spirit is a person and not a thing. He is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, distinct from, but coeternal and coequal with the Father and the Son. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “when he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the “Paraclete” …Paraclete is commonly translated as ‘consoler’ and Jesus is the first consoler” (CCC, 692). The same Catechism goes on to tells us the symbols of the Holy Spirit as Water, Fire, Dove and Anointing, all material images meant to help us understand the immaterial or spiritual personhood of the Holy Spirit.
4. Dear Holy People of God, all these various symbols are ways the Holy Spirit manifested himself in the Bible. His manifestations in opposing symbols like “water” and “fire” only go to show that the Holy Spirit is a divine mystery that the human mind cannot fully comprehend, as St. John says in the gospel: “The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John. 3:8). This means that we can hardly fully understand the Holy Spirit but we can and always feel the effects of His actions in our lives. He also gives us gifts which influences the way we act towards others and it is in this context that we talk of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
5. Theology makes a distinction between the Sanctification and the Manifestation Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Sanctification Gifts are the gifts listed in Isaiah 11:2: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Strength, Piety, Fear of the Lord and Knowledge. They are meant to build us up as Christians. They are the gifts of Christian maturation: Wisdom: The Spirit leads us to evaluate all things in the light of the Gospel, helping us to read in our own experiences and in the experiences of the Church the mysterious and loving plan of God. Understanding: The Spirit fosters in us deeper insight into revealed truth, pressing us to proclaim with conviction and power the Good News of salvation. Counsel: The Spirit illuminates the ministry of Christ so that we may direct our activities according to the perspectives of Providence, never allowing ourselves to be swayed by the judgments of the world. Strength/Might: The Spirit enables us to understand and accept sometimes mysterious interweaving of secondary causes with the First Cause in the turn of events in the universe. Piety: The Spirit revives in us the relationship of intimate communion with God and of trusting surrender to his Providence. Fear of the Lord: The Spirit gives us a stronger sense of our own human weakness and of the indispensable role of divine grace, since “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives growth” (1 Corinthians. 3:7). Knowledge: The Spirit enables us to make a distinction between things of value and things of no substantial value, helping us to set our priorities right. The Manifestation Gifts of the Holy Spirit are those recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11: Service, Faith, Miracles, Healing, Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Discernment of spirits, et cetera. These are gifts given by the Holy Spirit to help Christians witness to a hurting world.
6. Dear Holy People of God, the central question to be asked here could be: What gift of the Holy Spirit do I need most in my life in the here and now? The gifts are there. They have already been given by the Spirit. The gifts are not meant for theology text books or specialized academic papers. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for every day Christian living, meant to help us live out our Christian faith, to support us in the here and now of our Christian existence. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant for electricians, plumbers, carpenters, teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, police officers, CEOs, restaurant workers, students, musicians, dancers, et cetera. In other words, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not meant for some specialized Christians. At every point in which we find ourselves, we can make good use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
7. You would have noticed that there is one word that is central to the theology of the Holy Spirit, and that is, GIFT. We talk about the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah and in Corinthians. I am tempted to delve into Augustine’s On the Trinity, Aquinas’ tract in the Summa on the Holy Spirit, Athanasius’ Letters to Serapion, and Didymus the Blind’s On the Holy Spirit, to offer you a theology of the Holy Spirit as GIFT. But that might become a lecture, which will imply that Ste Anne’s will charge you a fee. And since I do not want to stress you up financially, given the already stressful situation that we are living under brought about by COVID 19, I will end here, with this simple invitation: What gift of the Holy Spirit do you feel you need now in your life? Do not hesitate to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift. A surprise awaits you if you do! The Holy Spirit loves you all, and may the Holy Spirit liberate and heal our world! Come O Holy Spirit!
By Fr Maurice Agbaw-Ebai
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
25, May 2020
Southern Cameroons Crisis: Targeting Archbishop Nkea and the Clergy will be a fatal error 0
The fighting in Southern Cameroons has earned the attention of the international community due to atrocities by the military.
The indiscriminate killing of innocent people, the burning of the elderly and sick in their homes and the brutal massacre of some 30 women and children in Ngarbuh had made the world to see the Yaoundé regime as a monster that is consuming its own citizens.
The world seems to be working for a peaceful resolution and the pressure on the government is mounting.
A recent report on the massacres in Ngarbuh put the blame squarely on the country’s military and this has increased the pressure on the Yaoundé government that has not been able to find an acceptable solution to a conflict that started as a protest by teachers and lawyers in 2016.
The country’s economy has taken a hit and government coffers are almost empty. The possibilities of donors extending more loans to Cameroon are slim, especially as the fight against the Coronavirus has taken center stage in global affairs.
While the international community is doing its best, the Diaspora and the Clergy are using all the means available to them to reduce the suffering of the masses, especially those who have been driven away from their homes due to the violence.
A key player in efforts at seeking a peaceful resolution is Archbishop Andrew Nkea who has just been transferred to the Bamenda archdiocese.
While in Mamfe, Archbishop Andrew Nkea did all he could to save so many lives. He worked tirelessly to bring supplies to those who were internally displaced, going sometimes to areas that even government forces could not go.
He knew how to negotiate with Amba fighters and in the process, he would appeal to their consciences for them to spare the lives of even their worst enemies.
Archbishop Andrew Nkea has really been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during this crisis that has resulted in the deaths of some 5,000 young Cameroonians.
His desire to save lives has taken him to distant lands such as the United States where he engaged with various Southern Cameroonian communities to raise funds for internally displaced persons and those who are living in Nigeria as refugees.
He was in Baltimore, USA, in July 2019 in a fundraiser for refugees organized by the Manyu Community in the DC, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area where thousands of dollars were raised to help those who had left their homes to seek refuge somewhere else.
Archbishop Nkea called out the government of La Republique when the military killed a Kenyan Mill Hill Missionary priest working in Kembong in Manyu Division. Like a good shepherd, he flew to Kenya and buried the priest and did all he could to console the family members of the deceased priest.
Today, unlike in French Cameroun where secret service officers kill Bishops and dump their bodies in rivers, as we saw in Bafia Diocese, the people of Southern Cameroons do not kill the clergy. The clergy is still playing a key role in efforts at finding a lasting solution to the conflict that is still consuming many innocent lives and Archishop Andrew Nkea is working day and night to ensure that peace returns to the two English-speaking regions of the country.
Ambazonians, their jailed leaders and comrades all love God and respect the Clergy. Let it remain that way. We do not kill Clergymen like La Republique du Cameroun.
Archbishop Nkea’s efforts seem to be misconstrued by Amba fighters on the ground. Some armed groups hold that he is supporting the regime and there are calls for his life and dignity to be attacked.
If Amba fighters were to attack the man of God, then that will be their greatest undoing. The international community is aware of the role Archbishop Nkea is playing and anybody who attempts to hurt such a man of God will only bring long-lasting discredit to a cause that has earned international recognition.
Amba fighters must understand that as a man of God, Archbishop Nkea must demonstrate the highest level of neutrality. He cannot be against the government which might one day see reason to use him in any future negotiations.
Targeting Archbishop Andrew Nkea might turn the tides against the fighters on the ground. If the fighters think they deserve any international sympathy, they must let Archbishop Nkea to continue his humanitarian operations so that those who have been caught in the crossfire can have access to humanitarian assistance.
Archbishop Andrew Nkea has no interest in supporting the regime. His cardinal objective is to ensure that both parties meet in a neutral place to discuss their differences so that peace can return to a country that was once touted for its peace.
Archbishop Andrew Nkea is a man of peace. He has no interest in taking sides in a conflict that should not have started. He understands the risks and the need to bring both parties to the negotiating table.
Amba fighters must always understand there must always be room for a possible negotiation and only people like Archbishop Nkea can bring about that window of opportunity and communication.
No war has ever been wrapped up in the battlefield. Even when the belligents are too powerful, they must understand that real and sustainable peace can only be gotten at the negotiating table and that can be brought about by God’s servants such as Archbishop Andrew Nkea.
Amba fighters will be crossing the reddest of the red lines if they kidnap or kill Archbishop Nkea. They will only bring the world against them and this will herald the end of a struggle that has so far enjoyed the sympathy of countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Vatican and Switzerland.
This is not the time for such mistakes. There are rules of engagement which clearly spell out that the clergy must never be a victim of violence as their role is clearly humanitarian and peace-seeking.
The Cameroon Concord News Group is therefore calling on those who control fighters in Southern Cameroons to ensure that their fighters respect the Clergy.
The fighters must understand that they cannot attack people who are working for peace just as they are not supposed to hurt United Nations workers who want to bring supplies to the suffering masses.
The world is watching and this is not the time for any expensive errors.
On behalf of the over daily twenty thousand readers of Cameroon Concord News and the Cameroon Intelligence Report, we declare that the killing of a Roman Catholic Clergy is counterproductive to the Ambazonia struggle, and should never be tolerated or allowed to happen.
We of the Concord Group call on all parties to allow Archbishop Nkea to do his work as a man of God, preaching peace and bringing relief to the suffering people of his archdiocese. We therefore unequivocally condemn the recently released audios calling for violence against Southern Cameroons Metropolitan Archbishop.
By Dr Joachim Arrey in Canada and Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in London