Monsignor Francis Twum-Barima, Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua, on the solemnity of All Souls’ Day, has urged priests and religious to remain humble and end unhealthy competitions with each other.
Speaking with DEPSOCOM Accra, Msgr. Twum-Barima advised priests and religious to embrace humility, noting that their final destination is the graveyard and that positions do not matter after death.
He said, “Those who have gone ahead of me occupy similar or higher positions than I; now they are here, tomorrow I could also be here. That is why I think, each year, when we come around, and then we go to the graveyard, we show, we ring in our ears that whatever position we are occupying today, tomorrow you could be there.”
Msgr. Twum-Barima also questioned why some priests and religious use their positions to “suppress, or to make some kind of moves” and called on all priests and religious to “end the excesses and unhealthy competition in our lives as priests and religious”.
“…whatever we are doing today, we need to be very humble, because this is our final place, one day you will come there. So I ask myself, why the unnecessary competition among us as priests and religious? Why do we even have to fight among ourselves? Why do we at least have to use our positions, either to suppress, or to make some kind of moves which might not also be very good for us?”, he added.
He also acknowledged the efforts of departed priests and religious, saying, “Going around, you see, priests who have been laid in there, some were pastors, some were headmasters, some were leaders of a congregation, you know, they worked hard, they also sacrificed, I mean, just for the propagation of the good news. You realize that they are there, they’ve done their bit, and they are gone.”
He made these statements during the annual commemoration of departed clergy and religious, when priests and religious from the Archdiocese of Accra, the Koforidua Diocese, and the Donkorkrom Vicariate gather at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Adeiso-Nsawam, to pray for their eternal rest.
Monsignor Francis Twum-Barima also encouraged priests to always attend the annual ceremony, stating that they would also need prayers from other priests when they pass away.
He said, “As a priest and religious, don’t let where you are deter you from attending this program, because one day you will be here, and you know that just as you prayed for those ahead of you today, tomorrow, others will also pray for you.”
The solemn ceremony, held at the gravesites, included lighting candles, incensing the area, and sprinkling holy water.
By: Veronica Sena Amenya
