Monday 20th January 2020. Read Philippians
2:1-11, Psalm in Isaiah 12:2-6 and Matthew 13:31-46.
_“It is
the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs” *(
Matthew 13:32)*_
Today, Jesus
gave us two parables where He compares the kingdom of God to a field and a
pearl. In both instances, a man had to sell all that he had to buy it. If we
must make heaven, we must be prepared to give up all that we have. We cannot
get to heaven if we are just average Christians.
Blessed
Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi whose feast we celebrate today is an example of a
man who sold all that he had to “purchase” the Kingdom of God. He was not an
average Christian neither was he an average priest. Tansi strove for perfection
so much so that he left the active pastoral engagements of diocesan priesthood
for the religious order.
Born to
non-Christian parents in September 1903 in Aguleri, Anambra State, Nigeria,
Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was sent to live with his uncle at the age
of seven. It was his Christian uncle gave him an education. He was baptised at
the age of 10 by Irish missionaries. Tansi was a diligent student with a
precocious personality and deep piety. He worked as a teacher for 3 years and
later served as principal of St. Joseph’s school for one year in Aguleri.
When Tansi
expressed his desire to become a priest, his uncle arranged for a very
beautiful lady to visit him with the hope that she would make him think twice
about becoming a priest. But despite several attempts, his uncle realized that Tansi
only talks to two women; his own mother and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At a time
when Tansi had all the money to marry as many women he wanted, he sacrificed everything
to enter the seminary. At a time when his family were looking up to Tansi to
provide financial support for them, at a time when his own mother’s health was
frail and needed someone to cater for her, Tansi decided in 1925 to enter St.
Paul’s Seminary in Igbariam. He never looked back. Tansi was ordained a priest
in the Cathedral of Onitsha on the 19th of December, 1937.
For a time
Tansi worked tirelessly in the parishes of Nnewi, Dunukofia, Akpu/Ajali before
discerning vocation to be a Cistercian monk at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey,
Leicester, England. He lived this vocation at the abbey for 14 years. Father
Tansi used to say, “If you are going to be a Christian at all, you might as
well live entirely for God” in other words: “it is better not be a Christian at
all than to be an average Christian.”
He died on
20 January 1964 and was beatified on 22 March 1998 by Saint Pope John Paul II
in Nigeria. The Pope said of Father Cyprian: _He was first of all a man of God:
his long hours before the Blessed Sacrament filled his heart with generous and
courageous love. Those who knew him testify to his great love of God. Everyone
who met him was touched by his personal goodness. He was then a man of the
people: he always put others before himself, and was especially attentive to
the pastoral needs of families._
The words
of Pope John Paul II regarding Blessed Tansi are resonated in our first reading
this morning. “Do nothing from selfishness… count others as better than
yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4).
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, I surrender everything to you. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Feast of Blessed Iwene Michael
Tansi. Bible Study: Philippians 2:1-11, Psalm in Isaiah 12:2-6 and Matthew
13:31-46).
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