2 thoughts on “Prayer Points for Accountability and Justice for Corrupt Nigerian Politicians”

1. Relational Faith
   January 16th, 2026 // Mark 2:1-12
   Grace McCormick
   Jan 16

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   Upon reading today’s Gospel, I was immediately reminded of Genesis 2:18 – when God tells us that man was not made to be alone. When the men who were carrying the paralytic were not able to get him to Jesus due to the crowd, they did what they had to (they went through a roof!) to get their friend the healing he needed. When we are in times of trouble and cannot fully fix the situation ourselves, the help of those around us is crucial. When we are weak, those around us can help us be stronger. This man was healed because his friends, the community around him, helped bring him closer to God. This relates perfectly to faith. When we are at a low point and feeling far from God, it is often those around us who help bring us back to him. We were never made to walk this life alone; it is written into our very design to be with other people. The other way around is true as well, of course – when the faith of our friends around us is weakening, we can be the light of Christ that brings them back to the Lord. It was the faith of those friends, it was their belief and surrender to Christ, that ultimately led to the paralytic’s healing. Our faith can literally bring miracles to someone else’s life.

   Iron That Sharpens Iron
   Why Virtuous Friends Make Us Better Men
   Jan 16

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   This may contain: a group of men sitting around a wooden table with cups and mugs on it
   Men, many of us can count ourselves lucky to have friends. How much of a grace is it to count another human being as one of your companions in life? I aim to write on what is called virtuous friendship. This is not to take away value from family members or spousal relationships. However my main focus is to consider what virtuous friendship truly is; what it looks like in theory and in practice. To go in depth, we will tap the intellect of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas about the subject, thoughts on different kinds of friendship and how they fit in with being a virtuous, Catholic man.

   Let us first begin with what Aristotle understood as friendship. The legendary philosopher broke down friendship into three categories; Friendships of Pleasure, Friendships of Utility, and, most importantly Friendships of Virtue. Off the top of your head, you could probably identify and categorize your friends just by these titles alone.

   Friendships of Pleasure
   Friends in this category are simply people whose company we enjoy. A good example of friendships of pleasure are your casual “drinking buddies”. Whether this type of friendship hinders or helps us in our life, the relationship itself is predicated on the simple fact that they are fun to be around. It is important to point out that friendships built on pleasure and passion also have shallowness to them. Aristotle claimed that they would not last forever because of this aspect.

   Friendships of Utility
   These friends share some sort of mutual (and sometimes a not so mutual) benefit. Perhaps we are friends with these people because they are high up in the company, or because they are good at networking which could give you a leg up in your career or social life. Essentially these friendships are exploitative if only on a small level. But friendships of utility are considered necessary and natural. Things like nurturing a relationship with your wife’s father is a good (less exploitative example) of utility. You will be married to your wife until death do you part so it probably makes sense to have a stable relationship with in-laws to keep harmony. Aristotle claimed that these relationships are also shallow and can be easily dissolved. For extreme example, say that you get, what is called in the modern world, a divorce. Then that relationship to the father in law is no longer necessary or beneficial.

   Friendships of Virtue
   According to Aristotle, friendships of virtue are friendships in the fullest sense of the word. It is a friendship where people are pursuing the virtuous life in common. Each friend drives each other towards virtue. People in virtuous friendships ultimately ignore pleasure and utility and instead are only concerned about what the best thing is for that friend, regardless of the benefit / despair it may cause to themselves. A good example of this is when a great friend of yours gets married and even though that means you have less time to pal around, you are genuinely happy for them because they are happy. These friendships are only possible among the virtuous in character.

   By Aristotle’s reasoning and to put it bluntly, people who reject virtue can never truly enjoy friendship. With vice, comes the disconnect of the true love of real friendship that only virtue can foster.

   Aristotle argued that friendship supersedes justice and that no one would truly want to live without friendship of some kind. So friendship over justice of all things? This sounds very much like favoritism of one’s buddies over what is proper and right. Was Aristotle implying that friendship escapes virtue? I don’t believe that to be so.

   “Friendship seems to hold cities together and lawmakers seem to take it more seriously than justice”

   He also argued that friendship is even higher than honor. Again, another loaded statement from the late philosopher. Aristotle makes sense of this by saying that in honor, people value being loved rather than loving and the people who seek out honor probably seek out flattery or those who have more power than they do, which would coincide with his view of friendships of pleasure and utility. With his argument of true friendship trumping justice and honor, the gap widens between the similarities of virtuous friendship and the other two types. To sum up Aristotle’s musings of friendship, it is clear that he believed communities are built around them, which he reasoned were greater than honor and justice, but in virtuous friendship, both of those characteristics must manifest in between friends.

   On a side note, remember there is not much emphasis on mercy without justice by its side. However, given the Christian element that we will cover later in the article, mercy is just as important of a component within a friendship.

   According to St. Thomas Aquinas
   St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest saints and theologians of the high middle ages took Aristotelian philosophy and helped shape Christian thought through this lens.

   True, virtuous friendship is based on the foundation of unselfish love for another person.

   St. Thomas Aquinas believed that even though unselfish love is the base for friendship, it alone is not enough. Every person has experiences of sorrow, joy, and hopes. Aquinas says that when sharing one’s inner life with another, one comes to live not just one life, but two.

   “The inner life of friendship brings out the best in a person through forgetfulness of self.” (1)

   Aquinas seems to be piggy backing off of Aristotle with this quote. Friendship is more than honor and justice. It is a special bond that is built on virtue. Selflessness, being a virtue is a giant step towards this type of friendship that supersedes justice and honor. In virtuous friendship, the parties find more of Christ in each other instead of faults and because of this, the relationship grows.

   Aquinas ties this type of virtue in with our relationship to God. Talking about divine friendship, the habit of charity involves our part with God. Because of free will, we act freely from our intellect and will. What is natural to God becomes second nature to us through habit.

   “The creation of His Love within us is called the habit of charity.” (2)

   To separate from the great philosophers and the knowledge bestowed upon them from God, let us tie in their thoughts with scripture.

   Luke 10:27 reads “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself.”

   We are called to love God with everything in our being. We are made in the image and likeness of Him and are called upon to love our neighbor like we love God. That is to say love thy neighbor with all your soul, all your strength, all your heart and all your mind.

   We are to treat a visitor in our home like Christ. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, …” (Matthew 25:46)

   However, without virtue, a man cannot properly love thy neighbor. Meaning without virtue, one cannot properly love God. Virtuous Friendship starts with humbling yourself before God and following His Commandments. Once one begins to pray, to humble themselves, to realize and to be willing to practice selflessness, that is when a man is fit for virtuous friendship and that is when a man will find one.

   Pray to God for humility, knowledge and patience. Then get in touch with your best pal(s) or with an acquaintance who you have something in common with. Invite them to a frothy, hardy pint and be joyful in their presence. Nurture the common bond you have and take moments to appreciate that bond by taking steps to make it unbreakable. Work to find Christ in your friends and that relationship will last for the remainder of your days. Life and friendship go hand in hand. Take it and yourself lightly, but only in the seriousness of your Catholic Faith.

   Be the Creed

   Prayer for Godchildren.

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   Unto Thee, O Lord, I commend, (Name), who became my children by spiritual relationship at the baptismal font; arm them against the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; increase in them the gift of faith; give them strength to fulfill the commandments; pardon all their sins, negligences, and ignorances, and at the last give them a portion with Thy holy and elect servants, Who livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

   Lay Baptism in Danger of Death.

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   Where there is danger of death, Baptism may be lawfully administered by any person who observes the essential conditions. Outside of the danger of death, it would be wrong for a lay Catholic to presume to baptise. However, where the danger does exist, the person baptizing may be a man or a woman, a Catholic or non- Catholic, even a non-believer. What is important is

   .

   (1) that the person pour the water on the head or face of the one to be baptized;

   .

   (2) that he pronounce the following formula while pouring the water: “I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”;

   .

   (3) that he intend to baptize the person, or, at least, that he intend to do what the Church does when administering the Sacrament.

   .

   If possible, two witnesses should be at such a private Baptism, in order that the ceremony may be attested to and its validity assured.

   Since the valid Baptism of anyone with the use of reason requires the intention to be baptized, it would be necessary in the case of a dying adult either to baptize conditionally or to have foreknowledge of, or a sign of, the person’s desire for the Sacrament.

   .

   While pouring common water on the head, or face, say the words:

   .

   I BAPTIZE THEE IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST.Friday, January 16

   Prayer for the Morning

   The Lord accepts our prayer:
   come, let us adore!

   Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
   and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
   is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

   HymnMeter: LM
   This hymn can be sung to the tune used for
   When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

   O only hope of all below
   Who dost the full reward bestow:
   Regard thy servants one and all
   Who unto thee devoutly call.

   Our troubled conscience tells that we
   Have bitterly offended thee;
   We pray thee, cleanse us by thy grace
   And every stain of sin efface.

   If thou wilt not, who shall condone?
   Send pardon, for ’tis thine alone;
   And grant that we may pray aright
   From hearts all blameless in thy sight.

   Psalm 6

   The Lord God will wipe away/ the tears from all faces. (Is 25:8)

   This first of the seven penitential psalms pleads with God for deliverance from the dreadful misery of sin. Our foes are often our own distorted thoughts and selfish habits, which wreak more damage than we imagine.

   Lord, do not reprove me in your anger;
   punish me not, in your rage.
   Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength;
   Lord, heal me, my body is racked;
   my soul is racked with pain.

   But you, O Lord… how long?
   Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
   Save me in your merciful love;
   for in death no one remembers you;
   from the grave, who can give you praise?

   I am exhausted with my groaning;
   every night I drench my pillow with tears;
   I bedew my bed with weeping.
   My eye wastes away with grief;
   I have grown old surrounded by my foes.

   Leave me, all you who do evil;
   for the Lord has heard my weeping.
   The Lord has heard my plea;
   the Lord will accept my prayer.
   All my foes will retire in confusion,
   foiled and suddenly confounded.

   Glory to the Father….

   Word of GodDaniel 9:4-5, 9

   I prayed to the Lord, my God, and confessed, “Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!”

   Gracious and merciful is God!
   (cf. Jl 2:13)

   Canticle of Zechariah

   Blessed are they who mourn/ for they will be comforted. (Mt 5:4)

   Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
   he has come to his people and set them free.
   He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
   born of the house of his servant David.

   Through his holy prophets he promised of old
   that he would save us from our enemies,
   from the hands of all who hate us.

   He promised to show mercy to our fathers
   and to remember his holy covenant.

   This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
   to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
   free to worship him without fear,
   holy and righteous in his sight
   all the days of our life.

   You, my child, shall be called the prophet
   of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
   to give his people knowledge of salvation
   by the forgiveness of their sins.

   In the tender compassion of our God
   the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
   to shine on those who dwell in darkness
   and the shadow of death,
   and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

   Glory to the Father…

   Intercessions

   God wipes away our tears of repentance with the hand of mercy. Let us pray for ourselves and for all sinners:

   R/O Lord, hear! O Lord, pardon! (Dn 9:19)

   Forgive us our pride: R/

   Forgive us our stubbornness of heart: R/

   Forgive us our anger against one another: R/

   Forgive us our greed in all its forms: R/

   Forgive us our mercilessness: R/

   Forgive us the harm we have done: R/

   Personal intentions

   Our Father….

   God of mercy and compassion, you hold out to us the hand of your mercy to raise us up from the misery our selfish sinfulness has brought upon us and upon those whose lives we touch. Teach us to weep where we have caused weeping, to mourn where we have caused mourning, and to lift up what we have brought low. In hope and trust, we turn to you for healing, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Matthew 16:18-19
   “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

   Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘prevail’ as,

   “to gain ascendancy through strength or superiority, . . .to triumph over.”

   2015/01/img_1337.jpg
   This verse has always fascinated me. Jesus is promising He is the one who will build the church. Since the church is not a building, but people, He is saying, He will add the living stones to the church of God. Jesus is also telling us, the devil and his forces seek to prevail against the church. The Bible gives us just enough insight into the realm of the spirit to know there are spiritual battles that take place. The battle is between the forces of God and the forces of Satan, and they are fighting over the souls of men. Jesus said He came to give us abundant life, while the devil is trying to steal, kill, and destroy us. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. You can have great confidence this morning that the forces of Heaven are far superior to the forces of hell.

   It also strikes me, the weapon which Jesus refers to the devil using, is a gate. In all of my experience, I have never heard of an army or even an individual soldier, going into battle carrying a gate. I have heard of people with guns, knives, swords, pitchforks and other farming tools, but never a gate. You see, a gate is not an offensive weapon, but a defensive weapon. A gate would be used to enclose the city and keep people in. Jesus is giving insight into what the devil is trying to do. He wants to keep people in bondage to sin and death. Jesus is also giving insight into the role of the church. We are on a mission to rescue people held captive to sin and death, by declaring to them the message of Christ

   Take a few minutes this morning to pray for your sphere of influence; your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors who have not yet come to Christ. Pray that the gates of hell would not prevail, and that they would listen to the Gospel and be saved.

   Pastor Jim

   Questions for Chapter 16
   1. What sign does Jesus give to prove that He is who He claimed to be?
   2. Leaven is like yeast; a small amount permeates a dough ball and causes the whole lump to rise. Sin does the same thing in our lives. It starts out small and grows out of control. Have you
   3. What important questions did Jesus ask the disciples?
   4. How does Peter respond?
   5. What promise does Jesus give to Peter regarding the church and the gates of hell?
   6. What are the requirements if we want to follow Christ; verse 24?

   Old Testament:
   Genesis 31- God In My Pocket
   Genesis 32- The Champion

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2. Av tuma Goyim avoda zara – simply ewwwwwwwwwwww. The idea of Hell Fire & Brimstone goes hand in glove with the Pauline propaganda of “original sin” and the need of Man for JeZeus the false messiah.

   In the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible, Sheol (שאול) – not “Hell,” nor “Heaven.” Sheol a poetic, neutral term for: the grave. The Greek notions of an underworld or the Egyptian mythology of “the realm of the dead” – the place where all humans go when they die, righteous or wicked – not a subject of Torah common law. Why? The revelation of the Torah at Sinai for the living and not the dead. The aggadah located in mesechta ברכות explicitly teaches this mussar through the story of a Man after having a fight with his wife going out and sleeping in a graveyard. The halacha likewise instructs this exact same mussar when ever a Jew enters a graveyard he first tucks his tzitzit inside his pants because mitzvot only apply to the living and not the dead.

   The Torah does not present a dualistic afterlife system. No eternal Heaven for the righteous. No eternal Hell for the wicked. Moshe cut an oath brit of either Blessing/Curse – rule the land with justice vs endure Egyptian slavery injustice. The latter called g’lut/exile.

   The Talmudic reference of “gehinnom” refers to the T’NaCH geographic valley south of Jerusalem wherein assimilated and intermarried Jews sacrificed their sons and daughters to other Gods, specifically Molech in Gê Ben‑Hinnom. The Baal worship completely apart and different from the worship of Molech.

   The aggadic portions which address this subject have no halachic applications – despite the Rambam who erroneously ruled otherwise in the matter of the 7 mitzvot gere toshav. Talmudic Aggada mussar “limits” the metaphor משל “gehinnom” to 12 months duration, for simple Jews who treat Torah as religion rather than common law. Talmudic mussar addresses the concept of purification.

   For example: The practice of placing a dead body in the Mikveh (a ritual bath) prior to burial for ritual purification. The abstract concept of tohor vs tuma middot stands on the foundation of Moshe warning Israel not to approach their wives three days before the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. Rabbi Meir taught 48 “degrees” of tuma. This subject based upon making a דיוק upon the 13 tohor spirits revealed to Moshe at Horev 40 days after the sin of the av tuma avoda zara Golden Calf wherein the ערב רב-assimilated and intermarried Israelites-translated the revelation of HaShem permanently living within the Yatzir Ha-Tov hearts of the chosen Cohen people – the definition of the revelation of the Torah at Sinai; instead the ערב רב worshipped word-name translations. Specifically they translated the word אלהים in the place of the 1st commandment שם השם לשמה. Therein they rejected the revelation of the Torah that tohor middot לשמה — as taught in mesechta Baba Metzia — לא בשמים היא.

   Immersing the body in the Mikveh showcases the community’s respect for the deceased. This act, ideally performed by the chevra kadisha, (a sacred burial society dedicated to the preparation of the body), adhering to specific halachic rituals and maintaining the dignity of the deceased. The practice of placing a deceased body in the Mikveh prior to burial emphasizes purification, respect, and adherence to Jewish law – as the last act, akin to saying kre’a shma before dying. Engaging in these halachic rituals – a show of respect for the living family survivors who mourn for their dead as an opening expression of their mourning.

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