As a boy, Rev. Leo Okonkwo found himself in distress when his family removed him from school and sent him to work as a house slave for a wealthy chief. In return for Leo’s labors, the chief financially supported Leo’s struggling family.
Fortunately for Leo, before he was sent away, his mother gave him a rosary and told him to pray it often. “During my servitude, I would cry out to Mary and my intimacy with her grew, especially in times of hardship,” Leo says.
To pass on what his mother gave to him, Rev. Leo has made devotion to Our Lady central to the spiritual formation of the Masters. “Mary is a universal icon of all women and mothers”, he explains. “Loving and imitating her is a vocation that can change the world for the better.”
To this end, the teachers and students of BOMCA Academy recently observed Mary’s Month of May, expressing their love for her in various ways.
Rev. Sr. Dorothy Nkemjika, a fully professed religious Sister, organized the activities and prayers for the community. “We had rosary processions with all the students and staff, celebrated Mass, and said various Marian prayers in the chapel in the mornings and evenings”, she said.
Also, be assured that devotion to Mary is not a distraction from Jesus! “Devotion to Mary has made me feel closer to Jesus her Son”, says student Livinus Ugochukwo. “Our dearest mother Mary intercedes for us before Jesus, even in the smallest smallest situations.”
After Jesus turned the water into wine at the Cana wedding, allowing the celebration to go on, I can imagine the guests thanking Mary for noticing their wine had run out and asking Jesus to help.
In HEAL’s mission, we have many recurring needs to be met to continue forming our 550 students into the Servant Leaders (Mt. 20:26) of the future.
I might say, like Mary at Cana (See John 2), that our wine has almost finished. But, I also hope that you will hear with the heart of Jesus and replenish our supply so that HEAL can fulfill its mission!