On Sunday, 5 April 2026, the Catholic community of St. Jude’s Parish, Amuzi, Ahiazu Mbaise, gathered in a spirit of Easter joy as over two hundred candidates received the Most Holy Eucharist for the first time, marking a moment of grace that reflected both the vitality and the steady growth of faith within the parish.
The Holy Mass was presided over by the Parish Priest, Very Rev. Fr. Clement Okoro, and concelebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Prof. Walter Ihejirika.
In his homily, Fr Ihejirika set forth the meaning of the celebration in three intertwined movements of faith, noting first that the Christian profession stands or falls with the Resurrection of Christ, without which belief itself would be emptied of substance; he then recalled the fidelity of God to His promises, fulfilled in the death and rising of Christ, which transformed the hesitant faith of the disciples into unshakeable conviction; and finally, he spoke of the call to transformation, drawing on the image of Galilee as the place of encounter where the believer, meeting the Risen Lord, passes from darkness to light, from despair to hope, and from sin to renewed life.
He concluded by urging the newly admitted communicants to approach the sacrament with reverence and to allow its grace to bear fruit in lives marked by charity and witness.
At the close of the celebration, the Parish Priest expressed gratitude to all present, commended those who prepared the candidates, and exhorted the communicants to remain steadfast in faith so that what has been received in the Sacrament may be sustained in life.
The celebration stood as a visible sign of a community deepening in faith and expanding in number.
