Rev. Fr. Elvis Mensah, the Priest in charge of Missionary Childhood in the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra has encouraged children to live holy and innocent lives at their tender age just as the Holy Innocents.
He said this during the children’s time with the Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, at the St. Bernadette Soubirous School on Saturday, December 28, 2024 to celebrate the feast of Holy Innocents.
According to Fr. Mensah, for children to be Saints, they do not need to be Priests or Religious figures.
“For you to be a Saint, you should not be a Priest like me, you should not be an apostle for you to be a Saint,” he said.
He added: “Even as a child, you can be a Saint like the Holy Innocents who are celebrated today.”
According to him, for children to be holy and innocent, they must read the word of God which can help shape their lives as children.
He said, “ The more you have time for the word of God, the more your heart will be filled with the word of God and if your heart is filled with the word of God that is when the word of God will dictate the pace of your life. That is what it means to be holy.”
Fr. Mensah also reminded the children that God had chosen them to be holy and innocent and advised them to live a life of holiness.
He said, “When we say holy, what it means is that you have been called, you have been chosen, you have been set apart… holiness means living a life of grace. A holy person is one who respects, attends mass and reads the word of God”.
Additionally, he introduced an acronym to help remember the responsibilities towards children.
He stated, C- Care for children, H- Have time for children, I- Invest in children, L- Let us love children, D- Do not abuse children, R- Relate with children, E- Encouraged children and N- Now let us pray for children.
The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a solemn occasion dedicated to remembering the young lives lost in the wake of King Herod’s decree to eliminate the newborn Jesus.
By Vanessa Yeboah//Newswatchgh.com
