St. John International urged to strive to achieve Catholic Mission

Members of the Knights of St John International (KSJI) and Ladies’ Auxiliary have been asked to strive to achieve the Mission of the Catholic Church to become a true beacon of hope in West Africa.

The group was tasked to avoid acts that would destroy the image of the Catholic Church and live a life to become a source of inspiration for others to emulate.

Reverend Father John Louis, the Academic Dean, Catholic Institute of Business and Technology, gave the advice in Accra at the Seventh Biennial West Africa Summit of the Knights of St John International and Ladies’ Auxiliary. It was on the theme: “KSJI, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a Beacon of Hope for the Catholic Church”.

The four-day Summit brought together leaders of the group in the sub-region such as Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Rev. Fr Louis explained that the mission of the Church could be found in the Gospel of Mathew 28:19-20, which entrusted the Church to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you”.

He said the Catholic Church in West Africa needed the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in order to grow in quality and quantity through devotion to the teachings of the Apostles, devotion to the communal prayers, and signs and wonders by the Apostles.

“For the group to grow in quality and quantity, there should be programmes to help develop the private prayer lives of members, re-assess the content of its programmes to impact positively on the spirituality of members”. Rev Fr Louis charged the leadership to design and diligently implement comprehensive and systematic programmes for the enhancement of spiritual, moral and social formations of their members.

He called for a diocesan policy that facilitated job training and employment and at the same time ensure discipline and good performance by employees and good remuneration by employers among Catholics.

He urged the leadership to design and implement strategies aimed at evangelizing non-Catholics to attract some of the would-be converts into the KSJI.

Rev Fr Louis commended the group for upholding the tenets of good fellowship among the commanderies, urging them to work to improve on the welfare of members, especially the sick and the aged.

Major General James Barry Dasah, the President of the Supreme Subordinate KSJI, Ghana, said the first Commandery was established in Saltpond in the Central Region, and had grown to make significant contributions in human and material resources for the group.

He said the Summit would deliberate on issues of common interest, fraternize and strategize for the common good of the group.