The Spiritual Director of Jesus and Mary Adoration Ministry, Nnewi, Anambra State, Rev Fr Thadeaus Ilechukwu, has given reasons why he disguised as a beggar to test his congregation.
The Catholic Priest in an interview with IKENNA OBIANERI of PUNCH Newspapers said he shot the first video on July 5, 2018, at Jesus and Mary Adoration Ground when he was at St James’ Catholic Church, Amichi, before he was transferred to St Monica’s Catholic Church in Nnewi.
"The person that captured the video posted it online on July 7, 2018, and then within 24 hours, it made over one million views. It started trending again in 2022 during the Lenten period and it has started trending now. Many people have been calling me to tell me that this video is trending again. It keeps trending as if it is new because of the teaching and the message it carries", he said.
The Reverend Father while revealing what motivated him to make the decision said:
"I got that inspiration when I went for an assignment in Lome, Togo. It was impromptu. I did not see it in a movie. The thought just came and I decided to try it in Nigeria. In June 2018, I preached about charity and giving. Every month, we have a monthly declaration and assignment and I told the congregation that in July, every adoration member must be charitable and do works of charity by giving to the poor and the needy.
"I told them that everyone must have something to give and that they must not be very rich before they give because there are people poorer than them. So, on the first Thursday of the month (July 5, 2018), I wanted to have a unique way of disseminating this gospel of charity.
"What came to my mind was to disguise as a beggar and sit among the adoration members and beg or to disguise as an ordinary person and sit among the members and beg. I knew that if I disguised myself as an ordinary person, people would easily recognise me.
The Catholic Priest by those acts wants his congregation and the body for Christ to know that when they encounter Jesus Christ, they might know he is the one.
"A lot of people have encountered Jesus Christ in such a manner, but they ignored him because they did not know. I also used the event to preach the gospel of charity. These days, a lot of people are afraid to undertake charity because they believe that people use it for ulterior motives. It is not true; we receive something faster from God when we give", he said.
"I only wanted to use it to pass a message of charity among my members and I am very happy that the message resonated among the people to the extent that other preachers started using it in their teachings to date".
Comments
Post a Comment