By Fr. Kenneth Obodoagu
The 2025 Lenten Retreat for members of the CYON, Choir, MOD, YCS, NFCS, CG, Scouts, and the Girls’ Guild from the Enugu, Emene, and Agbani Deaneries held today, 16th March 2025, at the Diocesan Catechetical and Pastoral Centre, Ugwudinso, Eke.
The retreat drew a resplendent assembly of young faithful, whose ardent yearning for spiritual deepening and ecclesial communion animated the gathering. Accompanying the delegates were Rev. Frs. Humphrey Anike and Collins Nwodo, assistant parish priests who came with their youthful flocks to partake in this spiritual exercise.
The retreat commenced promptly at 10:00 AM with the Stations of the Cross. Following this, Rev. Fr. Kenneth Obodoagu, Director of the Centre, addressed the assembly on the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025. He exhorted the youths to embrace with reverent zeal the plenary indulgences generously dispensed by the Holy Mother Church.
At the heart of the retreat was the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist presided over by Rev. Fr. Stanley Emi. In his homily, Fr. Emi expounded on the Gospel of Luke 9:28-36, the Transfiguration of Christ, as a paradigm of divine illumination and the necessity of ascending the mountain of prayer to encounter the ineffable presence of God. He lamented the spiritual lethargy of contemporary youth, many of whom are ensnared in the cacophony of ephemeral distractions, neglecting the call to sacred solitude and interior recollection.
Drawing from the rich patristic tradition, he elucidated that the spiritual ascent to God necessitates detachment from worldly preoccupations, a spirit of mortification, and an strong resolve to remain steadfast in faith despite the seductions of modernity. He issued a clarion call to the youth to eschew the enticements of vice, particularly the allure of delinquent affiliations, warning that such entanglements not only imperil their moral integrity but also endanger their eschatological destiny.
Commendation of Exemplary Ecclesial Participation
The retreat witnessed an admirable level of engagement, with notable enthusiasm from the participating deaneries and chaplaincies. In recognition of their exemplary commitment to this Lenten retreat programme, the following parishes and chaplaincy were specially acknowledged for their distinguished attendance:
• Enugu Deanery: St. Mulumba, New Haven, and Christ the King Parish (CKP), Ngwo recorded the highest participation.
• Emene Deanery: St. Hyacinth Parish, Obinagu emerged as the most represented parish.
• Agbani Deanery: Sacred Heart Parish, Akpugo attained the highest attendance.
• Chaplaincy: St. Lucy Chaplaincy, Emene secured the top position.
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