Kohima, September 11 (MExN): St. Paul Church Chiechama celebrated the Church Feast on September 11 with Most Rev. Dr. James Thoppil, Bishop of Kohima as the main celebrant. The solemn Eucharistic procession was participated by priests, sisters, invited guests from Kohima, Lazami, Tseminyu, Tesophynyu, Longsa, Nerhema, Toupbema and other neighboring villages. 60 children received the sacrament of First Holy Communion.
Bishop in his homily based on the Gospel of the day [Lk. 15:1-32] spoke of the mercy of God. “The three parables – of the lost sheep, the lost coin and prodigal sons, are given to declare the magnitude of the mercy of God,” he stated, according to a press release from his Secretary. “There could be no deeper source of awareness of our worth than to trust Jesus and to believe that we human beings are truly precious in the eyes of God,” he added.
As the congregation celebrated the feast of the patron saint, St. Paul, the Bishop reminded, the gospel must be used for our self-reflection and assessment. Saul before becoming Paul was a great persecutor of the Church. Yet, God did not give him up nor condemn him forever, he pointed out. “God gave an extraordinary chance to him and he took it…No matter how wise, true and accurate our teaching, our moral laws, our church norms, we must be people of mercy willing to forgive and forget. No matter how great a sinner one is, there is always time to turn back because Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
The Bishop also urged the community to pray for those who have fallen away from the grace of God so that divine mercy may reach out to them before it is too late.
