FUNERAL FOR THE LATE MADAM MARY ADJEI FORDWUO (AUGUST 28, 1948 – SEPTEMBER 13, 2024) AT THE HOLY SPIRIT CATHEDRAL, ADABRAKA
HOMILY BY BISHOP JOHN KOBINA LOUIS
READINGS: ROMANS 14:7-12 & MATTHEW 25:31-46
INTRODUCTION
I wish to begin this homily by expressing my condolences to the children of Madam Mary Adjei Fordwuo (Mr. Richard Fordjour, Mr. Isaac Adjei Wilson and Fr. Prince Adjei Marfo), as well as the Adjei, Toku, Fordjour and allied families.
Today, three key lessons from the life of Madam Mary Adjei Fordwuo (aka Auntie Mary) are being proposed for our reflection as we mourn:
- Sacrifice to the Lord with a Joyful Heart
- Alive or Dead, we belong to the Lord
- Charity with Faith is a Sure Way to Heaven
- SACRIFICE TO THE LORD WITH A JOYFUL HEART
The Psalmist wrote: “I will offer … sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord” (Psalm 27:6b).
As the Psalmist offered sacrifices with joy, Auntie Mary, as a widow (a single parent), joyfully offered her son, Fr. Prince Adjei Marfo, to the Lord. She was happy that her son wanted to become a priest, and so his admission to Pope John Minor Seminary (Koforidua) in 2005 brought her a lot of joy. She would then joyfully accompany her son with prayers, parental guidance, payment of fees, upkeep, etc. until he completed the minor seminary in 2008.
Upon Fr. Prince’s completion of the minor seminary, Auntie Mary joyfully expressed gratitude to God and told me that she was so glad that her son would like to continue with his priestly formation in the major seminary. The years went by, then a few months before the diaconate ordination of her son, Auntie Mary joyfully informed me that her son was about to take a major step towards his priestly life and ministry.
Right after the diaconate ordination, Auntie Mary would joyfully seek counsel about how best she could prepare for her son’s priestly ordination and Thanksgiving Masses. By the grace of God, three days before her 70th birthday, that is, on 25th August, 2018, her son, Prince, would be ordained a priest. You could imagine her joy as she had the triple celebrations of Fr. Prince’s ordination, Thanksgiving Mass and her special birthday.
Thus, as she joyfully offered her son in sacrifice to God, the Lord crowned it in a beautiful way. So, today, Auntie Mary teaches us to joyfully make sacrifices to the Lord who “is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of” (Eph. 3:20).
- ALIVE OR DEAD, WE BELONG TO THE LORD
All things being equal, a student who is obedient to his/her teacher, who does all classwork and homework with diligence, and scores very good marks in the class tests, is most likely to pass the end of term examination set by the same teacher.
Similarly, AuntieMary believed that if we are obedient and faithful to our Master Jesus in this life, we will pass His assessment of our lives after death. This is how St. Paul captures in the first reading:
“We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. … So then, each of us will be accountable to God” (Rom. 14:7-8,12).
So, beloved, let the life of Auntie Mary remind us to please the Lord Jesus in this life, so that we can pass His final examination.
- CHARITY WITH FAITH IS A SURE WAY TO HEAVEN
According to the Gospel reading (cf. Matthew 25:31-46), acts of charity to the needy done with faith in the Lord is the sure way of passing His final examination. This is the third lesson which Auntie Mary’s life reminds us of.
Now, imagine that as you review the pass questions of an examination whose passed mark is 50%, you notice that the compulsory question which carries 50% is repeated every year. What would you do if you are preparing for that examination? I guess, you would master the solution/answer to that compulsory question.
Similarly, acts of charity done to the least of the Lord’s brethren is the compulsory question which carries the passed mark of 50%. Several reasons account for why charity in faith is the sure path to heaven. Let us consider only three of them here. Firstly, God created all humans in His image and likeness (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Therefore, any needy person we encounter is an image or a child of God. And as a good father would like his better endowed child to help his/her needy siblings, so God wants us to help others who are His images or children.
Secondly, it was out of love that God offered His Son in sacrifice to save us from our sins (cf. John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10). So, we should respond to His love. Hence, St. John exhorts us: “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11-12).
Thirdly, by His incarnation (cf. John 1:14), Jesus Christ associates and identifies Himself with us, especially the needy:
- He who experienced what it means to be stranger even in the womb of His Mother (cf. John 1:11), at His birth in Bethlehem (cf. Luke 2:5-7), as a child in exile in Egypt (cf. Matt. 2:13-15), as a homeless person during His ministry (cf. Luke 9:58), etc., identifies Himself with the stranger: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:35).
- He who experienced extreme hunger after fasting for forty days and forty nights (cf. Matt. 4:2) identifies with the hungry: “I was hungry and you gave me food” (Matt. 25:35).
- He who experienced extreme thirst on the cross (cf. John 19:28) identifies with the thirsty: “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink” (Matt. 25:35)
- He who was terribly wounded by scourging, crowning with thorns (cf. John 19:1-2), nailing, etc. identifies with the sick: “I was sick and you took care of me” (Matt. 25:36).
- He who was arrested through Judas’ betrayal (cf. John 18:2-4,12), and experienced Peter’s denials (cf. Luke 22:54-62) and the apostles’ desertion (cf. Matt. 26:56), identifies with those abandoned in prison: “I was in prison and you visited me” (Matt. 25:36)
- He who was stripped of His clothes before His crucifixion (cf. John 19:23-25) identifies with the naked: “I was naked and you gave me clothing” (Matt. 25:36).
Indeed, whatever we do to the least of the brethren we do unto Jesus (cf. Matt. 25:40).
CONCLUSION
Auntie Mary believed that in both life and death, she belonged to the Lord Jesus. Also, she believed that acts of charity done in faith are the sure way to heaven. So, while we pray that the Lord forgives her, may He grant her the pass mark because of her works of charity. Finally, as the Lord crowned the joyful offering of her son with her 70th birthday, so now may He crown her with what she longed most for – namely, the crown of heaven! Amen!
