Martin Jumbam

Catholic Meditation: Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul

By Martin Jumbam

Mother Church celebrates Sunday, June 29, 2014, as the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It is observed on the 29^th day of June of each year.   Pope Paul VI once said of these saints, “The Apostles Peter and Paul are considered by the faithful, and rightly, as the first pillars, not only of the Holy Roman See, but also of the Universal Church of the living God, spread to the utmost bounds of the earth.” Both Apostles were martyred in Rome during the persecution against the Christians by the emperor Nero. In honouring them, the Church also celebrates the ancient foundation of the Church of Rome, which was to become the mother of all the Christian Churches. There, still lives the visible successor of Saint Peter, the Holy Father Pope Francis, “Servo servorum Dei” (Servant of the Servants of God), the 266^th Successor of Peter. This feast also provides us with an opportunity to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis. 

Corpus Christi – Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ - Year A.

Martin Jumbam

The Church in the Archdiocese of Douala, as in many other dioceses of our country, celebrates the Sunday after Pentecost as the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, more commonly known by its Latin title, “Corpus Christi”  (the Body of Christ). In the entrance antiphon we pray: “The Lord fed his people with the finest wheat and honey; their hunger was satisfied. Amen.”

History tells us that this special feast to the Body and Blood of Christ originated in the 12^th century AD and was introduced into the calendar of the Universal Church in 1264.  Saint Thomas Aquinas is said to have written the prayers and hymns that go with this feast.

This feast was introduced into the Church because the people of the Middle Ages felt they were not worthy to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in communion, preferring instead to look at the Blessed Sacrament from a distance and be blessed by it. This led to the introduction of the elevation of the bread and the cup during Mass, and ultimately to public displays such as the popular Benediction ritual. Later Church reforms, particularly Vatican II, renewed the liturgy and made it possible for parishioners to not only look at the Blessed Sacrament and be blessed by it but to “take and eat” the Blessed Sacrament when they participate in the Holy Mass.

Catholic Meditation: Feast of the Holy Trinity - Liturgical Year A.

By Martin Jumbam

Today, the Church returns to Sundays of the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year, Year A. In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “Blessed be God the Father and this only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit: for he has shown that he loves us. Amen”. The Ordinary Time of the year had been interrupted by the Easter Season, which ended last Sunday with Pentecost. Today, the Church invites us to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity: God as Father, God as Son and God as Holy Spirit, Three Persons in One. The doctrine of Three Persons in one God, equal in divinity yet distinct in personality cannot be understood by the human mind. It is a mystery.

Catholic Meditation: Pentecost Sunday – Year A

By Martin Jumbam

Mother Church celebrates Sunday, June 08, 2014, as Pentecost Sunday – Year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “The Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world. It holds all things together and knows every word spoken by man, alleluia.”  Pentecost comes from the Greek word for fiftieth day. It is fifty days since our Lord rose from the dead. Ten days ago, we celebrated His ascension into heaven. Before going up to his Father, Christ asked his disciples, as we hear in Acts 1: 4, not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there until he sent them his Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen their faith and send them preaching his word to the four corners of the world.

All the three readings of this day give us a rich insight about the Holy Spirit, who has come on Mary and the Apostles as well as on so many others who came to believe in the Apostles’ teaching. This double event of Easter and Pentecost gave birth to the Church. The first reading from Acts of the Apostles shows us how the Holy Spirit creates unity in the world. He strengthens and encourages Christ’s followers to boldly take his message of salvation to all the nations of the world. In the second reading from first Corinthians, Saint Paul tells his converts that the gifts of the Holy Spirit take different forms but all have one purpose, which is to build the Christian community, for the common good and not for personal good. Saint John’s Gospel message assures us that the Holy Spirit comes to forgive our sins and to enable us to forgive others so that we can reconcile with our enemies. The Holy Spirit comes to bring peace and harmony in our hearts, souls and minds and among all men and women.  We pray for the grace and the courage to forgive others their trespasses so they, in turn, will forgive us ours.