Annual Thanksgiving Mass for Audit Service – Homily
Annual Thanksgiving Mass Of Audit Service (Ghana) at Christ the King Catholic Church (Accra) on Friday, 17th January 2020
Homily by Rev. Fr. John Kobina Louis, Vicar General of Catholic Archdiocese of Accra
Readings: 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22 And Mark 2:1-12
The Auditor-General, Mr. Daniel Domelevo, other Directors of the Audit Service, Management and other staff of the Audit Service, family members of the staff, brothers and sisters in Christ, I bring you the greetings and best wishes of the Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp. He would have liked to preside over this Mass, but a pressing pastoral responsibility demands his presence at Tarkwa this morning.
Individually and collectively, it is always proper to thank God for the gift of life and what His grace enables us to achieve in life. More so, at the beginning of a New Year, it is very fitting to thank God for our lives and the achievements of the preceding year. I, therefore, wish to commend all of you for gathering here to express thanks to God. May your act of thanksgiving draw more blessings into your lives!
The two readings we heard are: 1 SAMUEL 8:4-7, 10-22 and MARK 2:1-12. From these two readings, I wish to draw five (5) main lessons for our consideration. The five (5) keywords of the lessons are:
- God
- Standards
- Counsel
- Sincerity
- Courage
- God – Lesson: Keep God First
According to the first reading taken from 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites of old opted for a human king, instead of keeping God first in their lives. This was the beginning of a series of troubles in their lives as people. My brothers and sisters in Christ, God must always be first in our lives. He is all we have. We should not go for another god or substitute Him with a human being.
Therefore, let us keep God first in the discharge of our duties.
- Standards – Lesson: Keep to the Standards Of Auditing
According to 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites requested to be like the other nations who had human kings, instead of keeping to the standard that their relationship with God required. Similarly, there may be a temptation to lower the standards of the audit profession in the discharge of your duties. Sometimes, the temptation may come from the fear of losing one’s job. Beloved, do not give in to any intimidation or the appeal of bribe. Rather, at all times, keep to the standards of auditing.
- Counsel – Lesson: Seek Wise Counsel
Unfortunately, the Israelites did not listen to the wise counsel of Samuel, the experienced man of God (cf. 1 Samuel 8). As a result, they had to live with the consequences of their decision for centuries. As auditors, it is always rewarding to seek the wise of experienced colleagues whose integrity is not in doubt.
The mention of integrity leads us to the fourth lesson which is about sincerity.
- Sincerity – Lesson: Be Sincere in Discharging Your Duty
This lesson is taken from the Gospel reading (Mark 2:1-12). Whereas Jesus saw faith in the hearts of the four (4) men who brought the paralytic, He saw the disbelief in the hearts of scribes. Jesus is interested in what is in our hearts and how we act it out. To be sincere is to have the right things in our hearts and to act accordingly.
As auditors, you are to act in accordance with what you know in our hearts is right. If, for example, in an audit, you detect that an amount of GHc 1,000.00 has been recorded as GHc 10,000.00 (which I refer to as VALUE ADDING ZERO [VAZ]), you need to query it as required by your profession. In short, be sincere in discharging your duty. This requires courage and that is our last lesson.
- Courage – Lesson: Be Courageous
We take this fifth and last lesson from the Gospel reading. Despite the disbelief, ill-scheming and opposition of the scribes, Jesus courageously discharged His duty of healing the paralyzed man. Similarly, be bold and confident in the discharge of your duties. Do not allow biased critics and people in authority to intimidate you.
Conclusion
Let me sum up:
- God – Lesson: Keep God First
- Standards – Lesson: Keep to the Standards Of Auditing
- Counsel – Lesson: Seek Wise Counsel
- Sincerity – Lesson: Be Sincere in Discharging Your Duty
- Courage – Lesson: Be Courageous
As you endeavour to practice these lessons throughout this New Year (2020), may the Good Lord shower more blessings on the Audit Service, on you (individually), on your families and on our nation, Ghana. Amen!
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