MANETE IN DILECTIONE MEA, SI VOS AMICI MEI ESTIS
REMAIN IN MY LOVE, IF YOU ARE MY FRIENDS (JOHN 15:9 AND 14)

By Most Rev. Dr. G. G. Dunia


HOMILY BY THE MOST REV. GABRIEL.G. DUNIA, THE BISHOP OF THE CATHOLOIC DIOCESE OF AUCHI ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRIESTLY ORDINATION OF FOUR DEACONS INTO THE PRIESTHOOD.

Amicus in the Latin language simply means a friend. Etymologically, that is from its historical origin, it means with me; one who is with me; one who goes with me as opposed to pugnus or adversus or contra mei = the one who fight me; an enemy or the one who is against me, respectively.
Remain in my love is ordinarily a master clause, an independent clause; while if you are my friends, is servant, or subordinate or dependent clause. The master clause constitutes a sentence which can stand, survive and be meaningful and useful without external support. Whereas the subordinate, servant or dependent clause cannot constitute a complete sentence; it is more of a phrase, and as such it cannot stand, and be meaningful and useful without the support of the master. The master is always alive on his own, while the servant is dead without the master's support, as it were.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus addressed his followers as follows: Ego sum vitis, vos palamites, Qui manet in me, et ego in eo, hic fert fructum muitum, quia sine me nihil potestis facere, meaning “I am the vine, you are the branches, whoever remains in me with me in him is the one who bears fruit in multitude, because without me, you have no power to do anything (John 15: 5).
The Gospel of today, which is supported by all the other readings including the responsorial psalm, brings to our knowledge the love that is begotten by master-love or mother-love, the products or children who are produced by mother-love and as such they are not servant friends, but products or children of mother-love which in Greek are referred to as Qivia = lots of love. So, the friends which the disciples become or reborn into when they remain in the love of the master, Jesus Christ are lots to love from THE LOVE. In other words, they become or reborn in love into products or lots of love from THE LOVE. Being products or lots of love from Mother-love, they cannot contradict Mother-love because love cannot contradict itself.
The servant friends assume or pretend to be friends so that they can exploit love for their deceitful and selfish purposes instead of being or remaining in and with love so that they can be reborn and become the products or children or lots of loves. The servant friends remain those who live to eat, instead of remaining those who eat to live.
My dear sons, if and when you remain in the love of God and become his true friends, who will always be with and go with him the spirit which is given to you when the Lord anoints you will always send you to bring the good news to the poor, bind up hearts that are broken in Amah, in Ivioba, in Idegun, in Ewora, in Eware, in Anegbette, in Udaba, in Ogomere, in Ogochi, in Udochi, in Afukpo, in Agbabu, in Osomegbe, in Okpaneda; you will be enable to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison in Amughe, Ikpheli, Okeko, in Okpekpe, in Imiegba, in Okpha, Imiakebu and Itsukwi. Indeed, the spirit of the Lord will empower you to proclaim a year of favour, comfort and gladness to Okpella, to Dagbala, to Uneme, to Ugboshiafe, Ugboshele, Otuo, Ohamin, Ozala and the rest.
Certainly, if and when you remain in the love of Christ, the Holy Spirit will empower, propel and overwhelm you so that you can positively construct every kind of excellent structure necessary for the spreading and the establishment of the good news, reconciliation and peace; it will enable you to cooperate with your Bishop and your fellow brother priests positively. So, I pray for you so that the spirit of the Lord will always abide with you to lead and guard you. Amen.
You, my dear children are coworkers with the Bishop and as such you must make it a point of duty and obligation to be friends of the Bishop instead of making yourselves enemies of the Bishop. The Bishop is the Head, the father and shepherd of the faithful of the particular portion of the people of God called a Diocese. He is therefore the embodiment of all the people of God in his Diocese. The Bishop prays for the Diocese and its faithful under his pastoral care. In doing so, he embarks on both liturgical and para liturgical celebrations as well as other forms of pious devotions including the celebration of votive and ritual masses if and when these serve the spiritual well being of the Diocese and its faithful. Therefore, it signals abomination, derailment and insult to God for a priest or group of priests to form councils and make them for where idle conversations, such as the colour of the vestments the Bishop wears even most appropriately, calumny, malevolence, iniquity and vanity become the order of the day. Certainly, the priest of the Holy Catholic Church has much more than enough positive pastoral, spiritual, and social works to carry out than derailing into embarking on those vices that constitute abomination and ecclesiastical abuses of the office of priest.
And to you, my dear lay faithful, friends, pray for your priests, love them, assist them and fortify them. Make all efforts to support the tired arms of the priests lest they drop tired arms and the enemies gain upper hand and conquer. Act and behave towards your priests most becomingly and all will be well for you and for them now and forever. Amen.