Emmanuel

[A. Adedotun arpa. @Sen_Adedotun]

Today is the last Friday in June, as God liveth, this will not be your last Friday on earth in Jesus Name.

[Tosin O. Ayesa @OTAyesa]

Thank you Jesus, the owner of my soul
Alpha and Omega, you are worthy to be praised.
In all generations, there is no other God
Alpha and Omega, you are worthy to be praised 🙏

[MrBanks💰 @Mrbankstips]

Retweet if Who wants to Be a Millionaire, hosted by Frank Edoho and sponsored by MTN inspired you growing up

[MrBanks💰 @Mrbankstips]

I have more respect for a known hater than a 2-faced “friend”

[CHIZZY_BB @CHIZZY_BB]

THE PRIEST WHO NEVER ROSE AGAIN

The cathedral fell silent as the Litany of the Saints echoed through the sacred building.

Hundreds of voices prayed.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us..."

The candidates lay face down before the altar, surrendering their lives completely to God.

Among them was Emmanuel.

As he rested on the cold marble floor, his heart was strangely peaceful.

His mind drifted back through the years.

He remembered carrying water with his mother under the hot sun.

He remembered the day his father died and held his hand one last time.

"Never stop serving God, my son."

He remembered the tears, the sacrifices, the loneliness, and the countless nights spent praying before the Blessed Sacrament.

Everything had led to this moment.

The Litany continued.

The congregation prayed with devotion.

His mother clutched her rosary tightly.

Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.

Her son was only minutes away from becoming a priest.

Then the Litany ended.

The bishop stood.

The candidates were invited to rise.

One by one, they pushed themselves up from the floor.

The congregation smiled.

Families reached for their phones.

This was the moment they had been waiting for.

But Emmanuel did not move.

At first, nobody noticed.

Everyone was focused on the bishop.

Then one of the candidates glanced beside him.

Emmanuel was still lying there.

Motionless.

He gently touched his shoulder.

No response.

A second touch.

Nothing.

The smile on his face disappeared.

Another candidate knelt beside him.

The choir slowly stopped singing.

A strange silence spread across the cathedral.

The bishop stepped forward.

Priests rushed toward the sanctuary.

Emmanuel's mother stood up.

Fear filled her eyes.

"What's happening?" she whispered.

A priest checked Emmanuel's pulse.

Then checked again.

The cathedral held its breath.

The priest slowly looked up.

His eyes were filled with tears.

And everyone understood.

Emmanuel was gone.

A cry pierced the silence.

It was his mother.

The woman who had sacrificed everything to see this day had just watched heaven take her son.

People wept openly.

Even priests who had witnessed countless funerals struggled to hold back tears.

Only moments earlier they had expected to see Emmanuel stand and receive priestly ordination.

Instead, he had entered eternity.

Later, as people gathered around his grieving mother, someone asked how she could bear such pain.

With tears flowing down her face, she looked toward the altar and said:

"I gave my son to God many years ago. Today God accepted him completely."

The cathedral erupted in tears once again.

That day, Emmanuel never celebrated his first Mass.

He never preached a homily.

He never blessed a congregation.

But his final lesson touched more hearts than many sermons ever could.

For years people spoke about the young seminarian who lay before the altar and never rose again.

Not because he failed to become a priest.

But because, at the very moment he offered his life to God, God called him home.

And while everyone else stood up from the cathedral floor...

Emmanuel stood up in heaven.

THE END 😭

[Chicken Catcher🐔 @Only1Etubo]

When I tell people I was a correctional officer for a few years, the first question they ask is, “Did you see some crazy stuff in there?”

Well… yes, I did.

There were a few times when I was genuinely scared for my life, and here is one of them.

One afternoon, I went to work as usual and got to the briefing room to start my shift. During the briefing, I was told I would be working in one of the most dangerous housing units in the facility. My captain said, “Just to give you a heads-up, it’s been a rough day so far, so stay vigilant.”

I sighed.

To get to the housing units, you have to walk through the yard. It was a beautiful afternoon, so there were about 200 offenders outside. Walking through the yard could be intimidating, depending on the mood of the offenders.

A few offenders yelled my name as I walked by.

“What’s up, Mr. O?”

“Are you working in our housing unit today?”

I smiled and yelled back, “Hell yessss!”

They responded, “Oh noooooooo!” 🤣🤣🤣

Anyway, I was about 20 feet away from the housing unit door when one of the most dangerous offenders stepped outside. He saw me and smiled.

“What’s up, Mr. O?”

“I’m good, Mr. X. How about you?”

“I’m cool. I’m cool,” he replied.

I walked inside, got to my desk, and started getting settled. About 20 to 25 seconds later, I looked out the housing unit window toward the yard and saw one offender stabbing another.

I was like, “What the hell?!”

I immediately called it in over the radio, and backup responded.

The control center ordered a lockdown. All offenders were sent back into the housing unit, and many of them were furious. The offender who had been stabbed was receiving medical attention, and the offender who did the stabbing had already been taken away.

Now came the scary part.

I was locked down with 124 furious offenders, most of whom were serving time for murder. Some were angry because their guy got stabbed. Others were angry because of what had happened and what it meant for everyone else.

The atmosphere was chaotic.

For a moment, I thought to myself:

“This guy smiled and walked past me with a shank, and I smiled right back at him. He could have stabbed me. It could have happened before anyone even realized what was going on.”

To make matters worse, both the offender who was stabbed and the offender who did the stabbing were from my housing unit.

Imagine the tension.

I was terrified.

“How do I show that I’m in charge and not get killed?”

“How do I prevent them from hurting each other?”

I had one can of pepper spray and one pair of handcuffs to deal with 124 furious offenders.

It is well.

People were pushing each other, yelling, arguing, and throwing things.

“Oh man… what do I do?”

My boss called me.

“How’s the situation in there?”

“Sir, you can hear it yourself. It’s chaotic in here.”

“Okay, I’ll send people over.”

Then I decided to make a threat.

I told them to think about something for a moment.

“I have a can of pepper spray with me, and I’m about to let it all out if you don’t get back to your bunks. We’re on lockdown, so the moment I spray it, we’re all screwed. We’ll be breathing pepper spray for hours. This is your last warning.”

Then they all turned and looked at me.

I pulled out the pepper spray to let them know I wasn’t joking.

Suddenly, things got a lot calmer.

They knew my history with pepper spray. They knew I was a dangerous man with a can of pepper spray. 😭

About two minutes later, backup arrived.

The first thing I said was, “I need some air.”

I stepped outside and disappeared on break for about an hour.

Another crazy part of the story is that we ended up working almost a 24-hour shift that day because people started calling in when they heard what had happened.

It was a day!

[Uche is a girl 🇻🇦 @UcheMaryOkoli]

"I do not care very much what men say of me, provided that God approves of me."

- St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More, pray for us.

[Emmanuel @lordearns]

@UcheMaryOkoli @Chinedu26302641 Amen

[Dee Macé @frmarcellinus]

In tomorrow's Gospel, Jesus teaches us how to pray, with the Lord's Prayer. What part of the Lord's Prayer touches you in a special way?

[Emmanuel @lordearns]

@frmarcellinus @Chinedu26302641 Amen.

[Dee Macé @frmarcellinus]

Lord Jesus, show me your goodness, for I trust in you. Show us your goodness, we trust in you.

[Dr Joe Abah, OON @DrJoeAbah]

Dear Lionel Messi, I apologise for ever debating whether you were the greatest of all time. To my mind, your competition was never Cristiano Ronaldo. I was thinking more about Diego Maradona and Pele. I now realise that you are better than both of them. You are better than anyone who has ever kicked a football. I am lucky to have been alive to watch you play. You are the greatest of all time! I bow and tremble. 🙌🏽🙇‍♂️

I am Ezemmuo. I know things.

[Francis Arinzechukwu @FordraticnetCom]

Mother Mary help us🇳🇬

[The_Bearded_Dr_Sina @the_beardedsina]

In 1961, something unheard of before happened.

A Russian surgeon who was stationed at the military base in Antarctica had appendicitis.

He was the only Doctor and surgery was the only solution.
Due to the harsh weather at that time, he could not be evacuated.

His name was Leonid Rogonov, he was 27 years.
He instructed the non medics in camp to bring a mirror and light sources.

He injected himself, he opened his belly, put his hand to locate his intestines himself. Used the mirror to located the appendix.
He cut the appendix and sewed himself back together.

This operation lasted 2 hours, it was successful. He took time off to rest and in 2 weeks he was perfectly fine and back to work.

He later died 39 years later of Cancer of the lungs at 66 years.

[Emmanuel @lordearns]

@frmarcellinus Amen.

[Dee Macé @frmarcellinus]

God is with me. I shall not fail. I shall succeed.

[Oluwaseun ❤️ @Auntyarikestore]

I pushed not just 1 but 3 babies overnight, 3kg, 3.5kg and 4kg, all boys don't be stingy with your congratulations 💃💃💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿
I survived the labour room

[Friar Mario Conte @FriarMario]

On the Feast of St. Gregory Barbarigo, I prayed for you, your personal intentions, and for world peace at St. Anthony’s Tomb. I'll remember you again this afternoon during the Holy Mass I'll celebrate in the Basilica. Peace and all good! Blessings from St. Anthony’s Basilica. 🤗

[Emmanuel @lordearns]

@FrUgochukwu Amen.

[Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch @FrUgochukwu]

Mary, Faithful Mother, pray for us that we may persevere in faith even when life feels repetitive or difficult. Help us remain committed to God in both joy and dryness. May our faith remain steady like yours beneath the Cross. Amen🙏🏽