Summary of 2026 retreat for Orlu diocesan Laity council, from Fri 24th – Sun 26th July, 2026, by Rev. Fr. Dr Kenneth N. C. Amasiatu.
Topic: Being salt of the earth and light of the world
The earthly church is made up of three arms – the Clergy (deacons, priests and bishops, including the Pope), the Religious – (priests of different congregations, Rev. brothers and sisters) and the Laity (the rest members of Christ’s faithful, the CMO, CWO, CYON, M L, and all lay apostolate associations. Of the 3 arms, the Laity are in the majority. But in spite of their great number, they seem to be lagging behind in many respects. This is why they are often described as “sleeping giant” (or akwukwo ukpaka in Igbo), signifying big for nothing. Hence, I call on all the Laity members to rise and shine out.
By adopting as their slogan, “Salt of the earth and light of the world”, the Laity want to make clear the aim of their spiritual aspiration or desire. The phrase, “Salt of the earth and light of the world” signifies being exemplary like Christ who is the true Salt ofvthe earth and Light of the world (cf. Jn.8:12). Christ was exemplary in love,obedience, humility, mercy, compassion…in fact, in all the virtues. We are meant to follow his examples.
People like Abraham, David, Mary, Joseph, Ruth, Docas, etc, were exemplary lay people who could be described as “Salt of the earth and Light of the world”. The Laity are encouraged to emulate them.
In a society like ours that is full of “bad news” – of murder, kidnapping, banditory, bad governance, sexual immorality, corruption in civil and public services, etc, we are called to be true salt and light.
The Laity are called to be agents of evangelization in the family and elsewhere. Christian parents should be experts in the upbringing of children. Children’s upbringing should begin from the womb, because whatever an expectant mother feels, does or thinks, obviously affects the child in her womb. When the mother begins to breastfeed the child, she should always make the sign of the cross as a way of teaching the child the necessity of praying before meals. Such is an act of gratitude to God for providing the meal and the health to eat it. This act should continue daily for about 20 years; when the child becomes an adult, it will be difficult for him not to say his grace before meals. Hence Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”. A child that is thoroughly grounded in the Catholic faith can hardly be part of the current phenomenon of our Catholic children who decide to fellowship in the Pentecostal churches when they go to the cities. Parents should endeavor to pay attention to their children right from their infancy. The should live exemplary lives beofe them. In fact, every Christian should be exemplary in behavior wherever he or she is found – at home, in school, hospital, market places, politics, etc. According to Vatican ll, “The witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is one on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word…, in the hearts of all should the apostle’s words find echo: ‘woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel’ (1Cor.9:16; AA n.6) Every Christian entrusted with any public office must be rendering a clear and detailed account to those who entrusted him to the office at regular intervals and at the end of his or her tenure of office. Our obligation of accountability before God at the end of our lives was seriously emphasized.
The retreat was concluded by expressing gratitude to God for the privilege of our diocese producing both the national Laity Chaplain and Laity President in the persons of Very Rev. Fr. Augustine Ifediba and Sir Ambrose Obioha respectively. Surely, such a privilege poses a big challenge to our diocesan Laity Council to be true Salt of the earth and Light of the world.