The Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, the Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged the Catholic faithful to live good and holy lives and abhor the predominant social vices in the country.
He said this as part of his homily at the Mass of the Pentecost held recently, where nearly 2,000 persons received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac Town, Lagos.
The recipients were from Catholic parishes in the Badagry region of the Archdiocese of Lagos of the Roman Catholic Church, who had been prepared to receive the gifts and fruits of the Holy
Spirit.
Pentecost mass is celebrated by the church yearly to mark the day the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles 50 days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
The Archbishop said: “Those who receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the day of their confirmation in faith become soldiers of Christ and must believe and do all that Christ tells
them to do.”
He warned the confirmed faithful to shun same-sex marriage because God created male and female, and a man cannot become a woman and vice versa by their own choice.
He noted: “As you receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, please do not disappoint the Holy Spirit; let us bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Today, you have become adults; at your baptism, you became members of the church.
Since that time till today, you have become adults in the church family, because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and you are no longer children. You must not let people deceive you by their false doctrines. Do not allow false teachings to lead you astray.
“Pentecost Sunday is one of the most important days in the life of the church as a whole and also in the life of each member of the church.
