Worshippers at St. Kevin Parish, Jikwoyi was left shaken and deeply reflective after two visiting Catholic Priest delivered hard-hitting homilies that cut straight to the heart of faith, forgiveness, and human responsibility.
At the early morning Mass by 6:00 a.m., Rev. Fr. Ogbe Peter Obotu of St. Mary Immaculate Mission, Ahogbo Owukpe in Benue State, set the tone with a fiery message that challenged congregants to examine their treatment of others.
Hours later, at the 9:00 a.m. Mass, Rev. Fr. Mathew Ujah of St. Monica Otuda, Otukpo Diocese, intensified the message with a stark warning: those who deny mercy to others risk losing it themselves.
In a sermon that gripped the Church, Fr. Ujah painted a dramatic picture of spiritual consequences, describing how a lack of compassion could shut the door to divine mercy.
He warned that fear, pride, and resentment often prevent people from showing kindness even when they have the power to do so.
“Some people stand in a position where they boldly tell God, ‘I do not need your mercy,’” he declared, sending murmurs through the congregation. “But the same mercy they reject is the mercy they will one day desperately seek.”
The homily took an emotional turn as he recounted a tragic scenario of a woman pushed to the brink of despair after enduring deep personal loss.
According to him, her refusal to extend mercy to others became a spiritual barrier in her own moment of need, an illustration that left many visibly moved.
Fr. Obotu, in his earlier Mass, echoed similar themes, urging the faithful to reject bitterness and embrace compassion as a daily practice, not just a religious ideal.
The repeated chants of “Praise the Lord” that filled the Church underscored the intensity of the moment, but it was the Priests’ uncompromising message that lingered long after the final blessing.
Church members described the sermons as “unsettling but necessary,” with many admitting they felt personally challenged to rethink their actions toward others.
As parishioners filed out, one message rang louder than any hymn: mercy is not optional and withholding it could come at a devastating cost.
Joy Odor
HOD St kevin’s Media
