Parents Warn to Desist, Laying Curse on Their Children
By Chizoba Njaka
The Clergy, Saint John of God Catholic Church, Umuokpu, Reverend Father Ferdinand Nwaka has warned parents to stop laying curse on their children for any reason.
Reverend Father Nwaka who gave this warning during a sermon to mark the feast of "Holy Family" in Awka, stated that parents may have the power to lay a curse on their wards but does not have the power to withdraw it.
He as well cautioned young ones to run away from anything that can provoke their parents but abide in good morals that have been impacted in them.
The Clergy used the opportunity to describe family as small unit in the society that stands as "slave" and "service".
Reverend Father Nwaka explained that in the family, everyone serve each other respectively adding that anything contrarily would result to misunderstanding, disunity, disrespect, disobedience, confusion, problems beyond understanding among others. Therefore, "it is bound by love and hope", he stated.
The Clergy lamented that society went ugly because most parents abandoned their roles and responsibilities for in search of money and other quest as well as challenges of faith, and impatience towards life and advised parents to always have patience with one another and to every members of the family and those around them and more especially seek for love and peace to succeed in life.
He pointed out that the feast of holy family honours Jesus, the Blessed Mother Mary and the Earthly Father, Saint Joseph, "as the holiest of families, and a model for all Christian families".
According to him, "they were holy because they placed God at the center of their family life, they loved and sacrificed for one another, and they radiated that love to others in the redemptive mission of the Word Incarnate".
Reverend Father Nwaka asserted the main purpose of the feast as to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families and domestic life in general. Thus, "Our family lives are sanctified when we live the life of the Church within our homes", he noted.
He however encouraged parents to turn to God whenever they face any kind of trials and challenges as a family reminding them that Mary and Joseph surrendered to God’s will and found strength and hope in his promises.