Erdoo Memorial College High Level Makurdi

23/02/2026

Students should avoid playing on the neighbours door.

20/02/2026

20/02/2026

Welcome Coper Effe to Erdoo Memorial College High Level Uke wende street makurdi

20/02/2026

20/02/2026

Mass of Friday after Ash Wednesday 20/2/2026 Ferdinard Mary Nguaan Erdoo Memorial College High Level Makurdi

20/02/2026

*FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY (PURPLE💜)*
Theme: *"FASTING: AN ACT OF RELIGIOSITY OR SPIRITUALITY?"*
*TEXT:* Isaiah 58: 1-9. Psalm 51: 3-6, 18-19. Matthew 9: 14-15.
*TAKE UP YOUR CROSS...*

*1. The Illusion of External Ritual:* True FASTING is NOT a mere "PERFORMANCE" of PIETY, as Isaiah 58 warns against those who SEEK their Own INTERESTS while "FASTING." As St. Basil the Great reminds us, "TRUE FASTING is the ESTRANGEMENT from EVIL," rather than a PUBLIC Display of GLOOM. The Church CAUTIONS against RELIGIOSITAS —a hollow Adherence to the LAW —urging instead a MOVEMENT toward PIETAS, where the HEART ALIGNS with the ACTION.

*2. The Christological Presence:* In Matthew 9, Jesus IDENTIFIES Himself as the BRIDEGROOM, signaling that the Kingdom of Heaven is a FEAST of PRESENCE. Sacrosanctum Concilium emphasizes that our LITURGICAL Actions MUST be FILLED with "CONSCIOUS, ACTIVE PARTICIPATION," NOT just rote TRADITION. While the Bridegroom is present, JOY PREVAILS; however, the Church teaches that we FAST now to HUNGER for His RETURN.

*3. Interior Penance and Contrition:* Psalm 51 serves as the FOUNDATIONAL "Miserere," teaching that God DESIRES a "CONTRITE SPIRIT" over Burnt OFFERINGS or empty STOMACHS. St. John Chrysostom asserts that the VALUE of FASTING is NOT Measured by the ABSTINENCE from FOOD, but by the WITHDRAWAL from SIN. This reflects the theology of METANOIA —a Total CONVERSION of the MIND and HEART toward the DIVINE.

*4. Love - The Soul of Abstinence:* The Office of Readings often highlights that FASTING without caritas (CHARITY) is SPIRITUALLY VOID. St. Leo the Great taught that the FRUIT of our ABSTINENCE should FEED the POOR, Transforming a Private DISCIPLINE into a COMMUNAL Act of MERCY . As Isaiah proclaims, the FAST God CHOOSES is one that BREAKS the CHAINS of INJUSTICE and CLOTHES the NAKED.

*5. Sacramental Living in Grace:* The "NEW WINE" of Christ's GRACE Cannot be CONTAINED in the "OLD WINESKINS" of LEGALISTIC Pharisaism. We FAST not to EARN God’s LOVE, but because we are already LOVED and SEEK to Master the FLESH for the SAKE of the SPIRIT. By integrating PRAYER, FASTING, and ALMSGIVING, we move from MERE RELIGIOSITY to a VIBRANT, lived SPIRITUALITY in the HEART of the CHURCH.

*OREMUS:* Show gracious favour, O Lord, we pray, to the works of penance we have begun, that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity the bodily observances we undertake. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

*Prayerful Affirmation:* CHILD OF GOD! CAN YOU TODAY, FAST FROM SLANDERING OTHERS? Good Morning Dearly Beloved Child of God. Shalom!!! *HAVE YOU PRAYED YOUR ROSARY TODAY!*

*©Francis-Mario KC Agukwendu.*
(Nwa Chi Ya N'agba Nyere Oku)
*...✍️✍️ 20TH February 2026.*
ROSARY: *SORROWFUL Mystery*
Ferdinard Mary Nguaan

19/02/2026

*THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY (PURPLE💜)*
Theme: *"MAKING CHOICES THAT SAVES"*
*TEXT:* Deuteronomy 30: 15-20. Psalm 1: 1-4, 6. Luke 9: 22-25.
*YOU ARE MERE DUST!*

*1. What A Journey?* While many SEE a JOURNEY Beginning with a STEP, the Spiritual LIFE truly Commences in the HEART'S Conception. As we CROSS the THRESHOLD from Ash Wednesday into the LENTEN Wilderness, the Church CALLS us to a RADICAL Metanoia—a complete REORIENTATION of the SOUL. This is the "FAVOURABLE TIME" mentioned in Sacrosanctum Concilium to RESTORE our Baptismal PURITY through PENANCE.

*2. The Great Alternative - Life or Death:* ​In Deuteronomy, Moses Presents a stark, binary REALITY: "I SET before YOU today LIFE and PROSPERITY, DEATH and ADVERSITY." This is the Via Salutis (Way of Salvation). St. Irenaeus of Lyons taught that "MAN is RATIONAL, and therefore like God; HE is Created with FREE will and is Master over his ACTS." Your PREROGATIVE is to EXERCISE this FREEDOM not as LICENSE, but as a DELIBERATE Turning toward the GOOD.

*3. ​The Paradox of the Cross:* ​In the Gospel, Christ UNVEILS the Divine paradox: to SAVE one’s LIFE is to LOSE it, but to LOSE it for His SAKE is to find it. This REFLECTS the Kenosis, or SELF-EMPTYING, required of every DISCIPLE. As St. Ignatius of Antioch urged, we MUST be "God’s WHEAT, ground by the TEETH of WILD BEASTS " to become PURE BREAD. True LIFE is found only in the Cruciform CHOICE.

*4. ​The Beatitude of Trust:* ​The Psalmist reminds us that HAPPINESS is NOT a fleeting EMOTION but a STATE of BEING ROOTED in the Lord. Beatus vir—Blessed is the MAN who MEDITATES on the Law DAY and NIGHT. By choosing the Lord’s STATUTES over the counsel of the WICKED, we become like TREES planted by running water, a theme echoed in the Office of Readings as the SOUL’S IRRIGATION by GRACE.

*5. A Season of Conversion:* ​This Lent, let us HEED the Lumen Gentium CALL to Universal HOLINESS by choosing "LIFE." St. John Chrysostom reminds us that "the VALUE of FASTING lies not in Abstinence from FOOD, but in WITHDRAWAL from SIN." Let your CHOICES be Governed by the DESIRE for eternal COMMUNION rather than temporal SECURITY. CHOOSE Christ, for He is the Way that LEADS to the Father.

*OREMUS:* Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord, and further them with your constant help, that all we do may always begin from you and by you be brought to completion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

*Prayerful Affirmation:* LIVING FOR THE SAKE OF JESUS! Good Morning Dearly Beloved Child of God. Shalom!!! *HAVE YOU PRAYED YOUR ROSARY TODAY!*

*©Francis-Mario KC Agukwendu.*
(Nwa Chi Ya N'agba Nyere Oku)
*...✍️✍️ 19TH February 2026.*
ROSARY: *SORROWFUL Mystery*

19/02/2026