Rekindle the Spirit of Nationalistic Volunteerism – Ghanaian Catholic Leaders

I gave this speech at the launch of 50th anniversary of COSRA at Holy Spirit Cathedral on the 3rd of February 2019. Great event, there was a Boborbo group from Koforidua they were fantastic. I wish COSRA well as they start their anniversary celebration. 

COSRA – Service to God and Man

Revolution – Action in Christ!”

I am grateful to the leadership of COSRA for inviting me to share a few words on this epoch day, the launch of the 50^th anniversary of COSRA. Before I start lets all pray – May the words of my mouth be inspired by the Holy Spirit, the meditation of our hearts and our celebration of the 50^th anniversary be acceptable to Christ our savior Amen.

I will want to commend COSRA for the choice of the theme for the yearlong celebration COSRA@50 – Rejoice and be glad. I humbly call for in-depth meditation on the theme, we should take it into prayer and it should also define our activities and action in the cause of the year. By the time we are done, it should have measurable impact on our spiritual and communal lives, and on the social and religious advancement of our Church and country.

Any organization that celebrate a golden jubilee needs to be celebrated, but it is not just because COSRA has been able to be in existence from 1970 when Monsignor Jonathan Thomas Aryikai Ankrah founded it right here at the Holy Spirt Cathedral till today. But our celebration should be based on how much we have been able to attain our vision and lived by our mission.

Can I ask what are the mission and vision of COSRA? Can some one tell me?

How have we translated our motto of “Service to God and Man” into actions and what are the results. As we celebrate 50 years, it calls for some introspection.

What has happened to the attainment of our aims and objectives? Can I ask someone to enumerate and name them for us?

• How have we done so far in bringing the youth of the church together? This has to be tracked and measured on a constant basis. Have we exceeded the 4, 409 in 200 inaugurated parishes and churches across all the dioceses in Ghana? What have we done in the Ho diocese, with the creation of the new dioceses; can we be found in all of them? How current is the data on our website? We need to analyze this during the course of the year, where have we made progress and where do we need to do some more. Speaking as parishioner of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church I can tell that there has been times when COSRA has been very active and times when we have had some lures. Thank God that for the past few years COSRA at St. Theresa’s Mini Basilica has been on fire. But what has been happening in other parishes?
• Have we as a society been tracking how we are promoting social and religious activities among members and in the church? How have we done with that? There is some much social change happening currently in our world, what are the impact on us as a Church and our primary goal as Catholics. As Rev. Boniface Muggli, a Benedictine Monk and Priest, says our primary purpose as Catholics are to remember and spread the Gospel, primarily by faithfully living it, and to reach salvation ourselves. To this end, the Church unites people of every language, state, and time in following Christ, praising God, and inviting others to join us on our journey to salvation. So how has COSRA responded to these changes and phenomenon in promoting social and religious activities among members and the church?
  • Globalization,
  • Materialism,
  • Social Media
  • Digital Transformation
    • AI
    • IoT
    • Big Data
    • 5G
  • The rise of homosexuality
  • False Prophets
  • Urbanization
  • Some say that there has been some exodus of the youth from the Church; is that true, have we tracked it, how many of COSRA members have left the society and the church, what have we done about that. The great commission calls on all of us to make disciples of the world starting from our families and our societies.
• One of the objectives of COSRA, which you exhibited at the beginning of your formation at the Mini Basilica, was volunteerism. I am not sure how we are doing today. You are called to encourage the spirit of voluntary service to the church both among members and the youth of the church. How well are you all doing? It is a critical objective and I will spend some time on it. I hope that in the celebration of our anniversary we will reinkindle that the spirit of voluntary service to the church both among members and the youth of the church.

Help me sing the COSRA Anthem

Members of Great COSRA arise,
And bring together the youth of the church,
To partake in the parish work,
And to promote love and peace.
Members of Great COSRA arise,
To inculcate the act of obedience
And self respect in the Catholic youth.

Service to God and Mankind
That is the motto of Great COSRA
REVOLUTION! ACTION IN CHRIST!

I will focus as we launch our 50^th anniversary of a central theme of this anthem that I hope from today we will sing it reflectively. That central theme is Volunteerism, which the 3^rd Aim & Objectives focuses on.

We have been blessed with all the resources both natural and human but our development as a country is lagging behind largely because of a leadership deficit. It will take organizations like COSRA and the Church, to make the quantum paradigm shift and step into that greatness that calls for Selfless, Compassionate, Transformative, Nationalistic, Ghanacentic Servant Leadership that is based on Christ.

The question is, are we ready to be used by God to cause that change whose time has come? Are we ready to make the sacrifices required? Are we prepared to pay the right price to cause that right transformation? Are we ready to avail ourselves like the Virgin Mary, your patron saint, when she said that Fiate – the Yes to God’s Call? There can be no resurrection without a Calvary, no Crown without a Cross; we need Sacrifices for Sustainable Success.

However there are couple of the major crisis that confronts our country Ghana apart from the lack of integrity in our public dealing, corruption, unbridled partisanship, that is the death of nationalism and voluntarism.

Even for the basic acts of pushing your car when you have a problem, or coming to sweep and clean the house of God, or serve in some ministries within the Church, I will not limit it to only young people, but say that the Ghanaian, the Catholic and I dare say some of today’s COSRAns will not want to do any of this without asking for a reward. I know of some ministries and groups in some parishes that now ask to be paid when they perform their duties for weddings and funerals.

Where did our Ghanaian hospitality that go to? Where did this tenant of COSRA go?

Are we getting all our blessings here on earth to forfeit what we will get in heaven? How are we going to build this nation and our church on this Esua spirit where we sell our entire blessing for broth?

The blessing you will get from a grateful person who you have helped out of a calamity is lost. Or the grace that comes from serving the Lord is forfeited because you get your reward from that nokofio you collect from serving in His house. Do you think with that philosophy of pay-me-for-everything we will be rewarded like Anna, the Prophetess who served for four score and four and was rewarded with being present when Jesus was presented in the temple as reported by Luke 2: 36-38.

Then is also the situation where we will not do anything for Ghana, nationalism has been completely killed in us. It has to be for something else but because for Ghana. Our current democratic dispensation does not seem to have helped at all and fuel by materialism and lost values.

What kind of economic transformation are we going to get at the cost of abandoning volunteerism and nationalism? Is it the one where we destroy our water bodies and our land looking for gold, only to now seek $29 billion dollars to reclaim and restore our environment?

What is volunteering?

VOLUNTEERING can be defined as offering services of the self for a cause not directly beneficial to the person. Although, it appears to be a self-less service by the person, in essence it is a service of the self too. The person gets immense satisfaction out of volunteering and the actions thereafter.

It is a spiritual and emotional exercise providing immense satisfaction to the person and earning social respect for him/her. But it is not risk-free and certainly causes some discomforts for the volunteer.

A COSRAn who lives to achieve the society’s 3^rd aim is motivated by sufferings of others and offers him/herself to reduce these sufferings. Volunteering is a spiritual and emotional exercise hence is adopted to by spiritually and emotionally sensitive persons only, the true COSRAn. The essence of volunteering is self-sacrifice for other individuals or for the humanity as a whole.

In a brief passage, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famous American poet, essayist and philosopher captured the essence of Volunteerism: “Volunteerism is a wonderful state of mind. It urges us to step outside the routine of our daily lives. It propels us to act when we perceive a need. It reminds us that even though our actions are not always selfless, there is great reward in accomplishing a worthwhile task.”

Distinguished sisters and brothers in Christ, I am aware that another of the aims of yours is “To inculcate in members the habit of obedience, discipline, self respect and humility towards the attainment of true manhood”. This is deep, how are we faring with this, do we even know it? I pray most of you do, if so you have great opportunity to build on your volunteerism and nationalism based on the great teaching of Christ. To him that so much is given a lot is expected.

It is important to remember that Ghana like all other nations is set up by God for the purposes of Himself. Job 12:23 He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. He calls us to live lives that will exalt this nation he has given us. Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people. So is your righteousness exalting Ghana?

I will want us to see how we make the change and rekindle the spirit of volunteerism and nationalism into our body politic as Ghanaian Catholic leaders, for that is what we are. How do we live by Mark 12:17 English Standard Version “Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.” This is the obligation of the Catholic and COSRAn, to God first then to the state and to society, it is so important and is captured also in Matthew 22:21 and in Luke 20:25.

For our context I tell you, Christ is not only referring to the issues of taxation but our total duty of nationalism and volunteerism so that we will be worthy citizens of both heaven and here on earth.

It is not for nothing that God has placed us, in Ghana, so after our first love being to Christ Jesus, to whom we are to give our entire lives—body and soul.

However, God has put us under our nation’s authority: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:13). It is true that Christ has freed us, but our freedom is for “living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2L16b-17).

We are created by God and He has given us duties to give back to Ghana what is due the state, after we have given ourselves to Him before and above anything else. We are called to the service of the state and our society. It means that we work for God in our nation, with His will and law being our ultimate goal. John Piper summed up this principle wonderfully on his blog:

When you know that all is God’s, then anything you render to Caesar you will render for God’s sake. Any authority you ascribe to Caesar you will ascribe to him for the sake of God’s greater authority. Any obedience you render to Caesar you will render for the sake of the obedience you owe first to God. Any claim Caesar makes on you, you test by the infinitely higher claim God has on you. Rendering to Caesar is limited and defined by rendering to God.

So St. Paul in his letters to the Romans, Romans 13:7 Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

So we need to bear in mind that all that has been given to us, have been given to us to serve others. So we have to give back and know that God put us here in Ghana and our Ceaser is specific – Ghana. I am not saying so, the bible tells us so; go with me into the bible.

1 Peter 4:10  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

Galatians 6:10  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

How could we say we are Catholics and for that matter COSRAns and shy away from being nationalistic and be filled with volunteerism when the bible admonishes us in so many ways?

• Restore the spirit of selflessness and the need to put the Church, humanity and country first
  • It is important to put sacrifice for the greater good of our Church and country above self. Selfishness and material wealth will not take anywhere.
  • It is time to make the necessary sacrifices that puts God, the Church and Ghana first
  • Avoid corruption, greed, avarice and today’s comfort for a greater good. Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.
• Promote volunteerism and sacrifice to God and country.
  • There are benefits of volunteerism, it is Biblical and a natural law
  • Proverbs 11:24One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
  • Ephesians 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
  • Isaiah 58:10If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
  • You the young ones among us, I say to you in the spirit volunteerism you build your career, take up internships to work for free, you build skills that are required for the work. Capture it on your CV, it pays. You might even create a job out of that. Let your focus not be on today’s cash but being of service to society, our country and God.
  • When you volunteer, do it with love for 1 Corinthians 16:14Let all things be done in charity.
• Our Church and nation has a lot of potentials it is the time for the youth to build the country tapping into your those potentials in the spirit of volunteerism and nationalism. Note that the Bible promises us rewards for being nationalist and filled with the volunteering zeal –
  • Ruth 2:12 “The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
  • The people of Jabesh Gilead didn’t have to bury Saul, yet they did so voluntarily. David, then, responds by letting them know how much they were appreciated for it. Not only does he tell them that the Lord will repay their work, he also says he will repay them for their kindness. Now that’s appreciation and the same shall be our portion if we leave here and start the crusade of nationalistic volunteerism !
  • My prophesy and prayer for you will be from 2 Samuel 2:6 “And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. And Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”
• Now so who can tell me what the last aim and objective of COSRA is? To stimulate and direct in every way possible members’ ambition along the Christian way of life.
  • How do we do this?
  • How do we rebrand COSRA so that from now on to the next 50 years we will be relevant to today’s youth?
  • How do we stem the loss of some youth away from the Church and from our society?
  • What are the things that is causing some of the youth to leave the Church?
  • How can we use new technologies to bring them back?
  • How do we counter the lies told about the Church?
  • What is your role in the New Evangelization that the Church calls us to?
• Now a few of pet pains;
  • One of my calls to our Lord Bishops is that if we want to see great change in our county, them we need to grow a new kind of leadership from the Church. Leaders who will be God fearing, with integrity, Ghana centric, with our values as a people. The Church should gather some youth and start training them for political leadership and when we are ready we unleash them onto all the political parties. It is only then that we can clean politics, when we have clean Catholics at the helm of affairs.
  • The Freemasons and other secrete societies are capturing the heights of leadership of the country what is the Church doing? We even have some Papal knighted Catholics declaring openly that they belong to these lodges and they are still keeping their knighthood. What examples are we painting to the youth. In one breath we are told as Catholics that we cannot belong to such societies and in another breath we give honour to some who openly declare membership. COSRA we need Christ Revolution here, when you meet our Lord Bishops bring it to their attention.
  • What is COSRA doing about the scourge of homosexuality – it is eating up our youth. Will you be countered in fighting this battle for Christ? Like the example of Christ we do not condemn and beat them, but we will treat them with mercy and compassion but say to them go and sin no more. Join me in that fight.
  • Support the Church to fight the destruction of our environment, from galamsey to the plastic pollution of our planet.
  • We cannot be satisfied with our numbers we need to cause a lot of rejoicing in heaven by bring a lot more people into our fold. We need to embrace the New Evangelization; lets ensure that COSRA first lives to its mission as a vehicle to get other and us to heaven but not just a social society.

To conclude go with me to Philippians 2:1-3 ESV / 7 helpful votes

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

COSRA -“Service to God and Man”

“Revolution!! Action in Christ!”

God Bless our Homeland Ghana and make our Nation Great and Strong.

I thank you all!

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