When one is Prime Minister

Father Sam Ukeje

Earlier this morninig, children from the elementary school gathered in the nearby church for their regular monthly Mass.  As it happens, this was also the final obligation for the priest who had been serving at that location for the past number of years.

The children have come to know and love him while he visited with them.  During their regular visits to the church, located just blocks away from the school, he was always there to welcome them, to pray with them and to explain the faith to them.

When the liturgical celebration was complete, and before each soul filed out of the prayer space, he took a minute to thank them all for sharing God's love with him during his stay among them.  He also encouraged them all by expressing his wish:  Perhaps someday I will return to this land and discover that one of you has become the Prime Minister.  No doubt there was a shared meaning to these words, but I couldn't help thinking that within these few words lay a hope and dream, some encouragement and a reminder that he would always believe in them.

The students who were there this morning have their own fair share of challenges: who doesn't, but they are just as capable of hope, and in a land as fortunate as ours, all people can dare to dream of a better tomorrow.  If we have encountered a mentor or two who has believed in us, we are truly among the most blessed.

Go with God, Father Sam, and know that we continue to pray for you and with you, that your work for Him will indeed bear much fruit, and bring you abundant blessings of joy and peace.