Nigeria Federation Of Catholic Students UNIMAID

*FROM THE CHAPLAIN* My dear students, how are you and your families? I hope you are all faring well. It is now a month since school closed due to Corona Pandemic. I write to check on you to know how you are coping with the lockdown in your     various states. I know things are difficult and all are feeling the heat of the pandemic. I will like to encourage you to remain focused and have faith in God. I assure you that very soon we shall get over this situation. I believe many of you have been praying for this pandemic to be over, don't get tired. Continue praying, don't be discouraged. It may seem that God is not answering your prayers - that's not the case. God answers all prayers in ways best known to him. Some may also feel God has forgotten us. God knows all that is happening and has promised that he will never forget us ( cf Isaiah 49:15) God is with us and knows our situation ( cf. Mathew 28:20). Let us continue to trust in God. He has assured us that those who tru

Rev. Fr. Solomon Zaku FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU                                                                                           (Sunday message presented on Kanem FM University of Maiduguri on 26-04-2020 by 5:10PM) Do not be afraid for I am with you. I am your God – let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you (Isaiah 41:10) It is no longer news that corona virus has entered Maiduguri. It has not only entered but we are now directly feeling the heat of it as we are now on the fifth day of Total Lockdown in our state. Few months ago when corona started in china we never thought it will come to Africa, Nigeria or even Maiduguri. When it started, many of us did not believe it until it affected us directly. Since the Corona was declared as pandemic and when it first entered Nigeria, many of us prayed and fasted that it should not spread in Nigeria. Despite our fasting and prayer it is now in over twenty states in Nigeria

WHY THE CATHOLIC BIBLE HAS 73 BOOKS AND THE PROTESTANT BIBLE HAS 66 BOOKS THE 7 DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS OF THE BIBLE: The deutero- canonical books of the Bible are 7 books of the Bible that were accepted by the apostles but rejected by the Jews and are accepted today by some Christians but rejected by others. They were written majorly in Greek but a very small portion written in Aramaic and Hebrew. These books are 1. Wisdom; 2. Sirach/Ecclesiasticus; 3. Baruch; 4. Tobit; 5. Judith; 6. I Maccabees (First Maccabees); 7. II Maccabees (Second Maccabees).     *WHY THE 7 DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS WERE WRITTEN MAINLY IN GREEK LANGUAGE: The deuterocanonical books were written majorly in the Greek language because Greek was the language of civilization and education in the Ancient Near East at the time these books were written. The Greek empire, led by Alexander the Great, conquered many nations and kingdoms and imposed Greek language and culture on the people they conquered

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) Readings: Acts 5:12-16; Ps 118:2-4.13-15.22-24; Rev. 1:9-11a.12-13; Gospel – John 20:19-31. THEME: HIS MERCY HAS NO END We thank God for giving us the opportunity to celebrate another Divine Mercy Sunday. Mercy is one of the attributes of our God. Out of love and mercy Jesus died on the cross to redeem us. As a merciful God he always assures us of his mercy.  The book of Lamentations 3:22-23 says “‘the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness’’ Second Sunday of Easter is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. It was named Divine Mercy Sunday by Pope John Paul II on 30th April, 2000 during the mass for the canonization of St Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), the Apostle of Divine Mercy. Pope John Paul II proclaimed to the whole world: “from now on throughout the Church this Sunday will be called Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus appeared some many times to St. Faustina

EASTER WEDNESAY 1st. Reading Acts 3:1-10 Gospel reading Luke 24:13-35 THEME: THE POWER OF THE NAME OF JESUS I have no silver or gold but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth stand up and walk (Acts 3: 6). These were the words of St. Peter to the cripple who sits at the beautiful gate. The apostles after receiving the Holy Spirit did not only preached but also performed miracles in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is very powerful- it heals, it cures, casts out demons and saves. In our first Peter, using the name of Jesus performed   his first miracle. This was in fulfillment of Jesus promise to his disciples in Mark 16:17where he said And these signs accompany those who believe: By my name they will casts out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands and if they drink deadly poison they will not be harmed, they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. The name of Jesus is that name which is ab

EASTER SUNDAY 1st.R Acts: 10:34. 37-43 2nd. R.Col.3:1-4 Gospel John: 20:1-9 This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Today is a special and joyful day which calls for celebration because something great has happened in the history of our salvation. Today we are celebrating the greatest feast of the church  the Feast of Easter. Easter is the greatest feast of the church because it was on Easter Sunday that Christ rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is central to Christianity. Christianity is the religion of the resurrection. Without the resurrection you and I would not have been gathered here because without the resurrection there would not have been anything like Christianity. St Paul puts it very well in 1Cor. 15:14, when he said if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. And verse 17, he says, If Christ has not been raised from the dead your faith is futile and you are stil

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT NIGERIA FEDERATION OF CATHOLIC STUDENTS, NFCS _University of Maiduguri Chapter_ EASTER GREETINGS Hallelujah!! Hosanna in the Highest _He broke out of the Tomb, even the guards didn't see it_ 1️⃣Beloved brethren, I write to congratulate you all to have witnessed another Easter, the most remarkable Easter in our own history. Yes I said *The most remarkable*, I am sure you don't feel the same way but it is. What we are going through does not have to define our Easter because the wise say that _when the night gets so dark it means that dawn is near_. It's a very remarkable Easter irrespective of the fact that a large number of us could not participate in the Paschal celebrations physically but this does not change the fact that Jesus has risen, He bore our sins and punishment through the tough way of Calvary, he was nailed there, died and now is risen to bring an end to all our miseries. 2️⃣Brethren, it has really been a very difficult an

EASTER VIGIL My dear brothers and sisters in the lord, we are gathered this night in order to keep vigil with the lord as we wait for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Augustine calls this vigil the mother of all vigils because it is the most important vigil of the year. We are celebrating this vigil in the night in order to experience the darkness that covers the face of the earth before the resurrection of Jesus.  Through his resurrection Jesus triumph over death and light up the world which is darkened by sin. This vigil is therefore a solemn memorial of our redemption. To night, we are celebrating the victory of life over death, hope over despair, goodness over evil and light over darkness. The church in her wisdom, on a day like this thought it wise for us to reflect on the mystery of our salvation. This is why we had nine readings which are all talking on the mystery of our salvation. In the beginning we ere told God created heaven and earth and every thing on it. On th

THE DEATH OF THE CHURCH At this time, we must beware of this new purported brand of Christianity which the prevailing situation has called us into. It is a kind of advocacy for personal and now private spirituality and/ or relationship that is devoid of the need for the Church or assembly of the people for God. For some, it is an eye opener of the reality of Christianity. Could they right? Or has others now see it as the true religion? To Begin with, we must know that there is nothing new under the sun. For some so-called ‘Christians’ to advocate for and even preach such, displays not only their level of ignorance of the Scripture, the Faith, but also revealed why we should beware of these enemies of the cross Gal1:7, Phil 1:18. The Scripture has repeatedly, from of old, shows that God loves communal relationship. He was the one that established the tent of meeting, the tabernacle, chose the temple as his dwelling place forever. He always used the phrase 'my people, my people, I

                                         GOOD FRIDAY 1st Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12 2nd Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Gospel John 18:1-19:42 HE DIED FOR LOVE                                                           By Rev. Fr. Solomon Zaku My dear brothers and sisters, today is Good Friday. It is the day we remember the death of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross for our sins in order to save us and to reconcile us with God. By dying on the cross, Jesus showed the depth of His love for you and I. It is an unconditional love, a love that has no limit and a love that is not selfish. The day of the death of Jesus is called Good Friday and not bad Friday. What makes it good is the love of Jesus “Greater love no man has than to lay down his life for his friends”. St John tells us “For God so love the world that he gave His only begotten son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed God did not send the son i

HOLY THURSDAY 1st R. Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 2nd R. 1Corinthians 11:23-26 Gospel John 13:1-15 DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME                                                     By Rev. Fr. Solomon Zaku Today we are gathered this evening to celebrate the Mass of the Lords Supper. This celebration marks the beginning of the Easter Tridum. Todays liturgy has three main themes; The Eucharist, the ministerial priesthood and fraternal love in the Christian community. On this day, Jesus instituted both the sacrament of the Eucharist and the sacrament of Holy Orders. Jesus instituted the Priesthood and the sacrament of the Eucharist on the same day in order to show the link between them. The priest is the only minister of the Eucharist. Today, therefore, is a joyful day and a time of thanksgiving because Jesus has done great things for us in the mystery of our salvation. Jesus sacrifices Himself for us in an unbloody manner and called on us to continue offering this sacrifice until he return

PALM SUNDAY 1st Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 2nd Reading: Philipians 2:6-11 Gospel: Luke Mathew 21:1-11, Matt. 26:14-27:66 Today is Palm Sunday. We begin the great week of the Liturgical Year (Holy Week). In the Holy Week, we commemorate the chief mysteries of our divine faith and contemplate the works and deeds of the Lord in the last days of his earthly life. The holy week begins with the celebration of the Palm Sunday.  We celebrate the joyful entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to accomplish the great mystery of our redemption through suffering, death and resurrection. This is a messianic scene which recalls the joyful and pompous royal investiture ceremony of ancient East where the newly crowned king used to be taken in solemn procession to his throne. The gospel reading tell us that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was joyfully received by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Jesus must have visited Jerusalem countless times in his life. Probably the first time was at his presentation in