The Funeral Mass of the Late Rev. Fr. Peter Ebhota Udo started at 9:53 am at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, Ekpoma. The Mass was well attended by Priests, Consecrated Persons, Religious and the Lay Faithful within and beyond the Diocese of Uromi. The principal celebrant at the Mass His Grace, Most Rev. Dr. Augustine Obiora Akubeze welcomed Christ’s faithful present and invited everyone to acknowledge their sins for a worthy celebration of the Mass and this was immediately followed with the recitation of the office of dead led by Rev. Frs. Isidore Omondeagbon and Benjamin Uduebholo.
The homilist, Rev. Fr. Jude Nnabuike stated in clear terms that the only way to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us all so that where He is, we can be also and rejoice with Him forever. He said there are things we cannot change. One of the things we cannot change is death. In fact, we are helpless when the time for someone to die comes. One thing is certain that Christ does not abandon His people and death does not separate us from His love. Little wonder St. Paul says, whether we live or die we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8). At the birth of every new Child when the placenta is detached it is buried in the ground and that reminds us that something bigger would be buried someday. On Ash Wednesday, the reality of how we shall return to our Marker becomes clearer, namely that from dust we were made and unto dust shall we return. As Christians we are not afraid because Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life as John 11:25 tells us and in our creed, we profess and believe in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. We believe that Rev. Fr. Peter Ebhota will live again and be at peace with His Creator whom he had so much desired to be with. Rev. Fr. Peter Ebhota Udo, while on earth served the Lord whom he loved and stayed with Him because Jesus had the message of eternal life. Eternal life is union with God, life continuous, and life full of light without darkness. The homilist encouraged those who are still alive to see Christian faith as our life and eternity as the goal. Thus, our Christian faith should be solid as we live on earth and anticipate to dwell with God in the world without end.
The Holy Mass continued as usual with the prayer of the faithful said, the Eucharistic offering taken, and the Consecration and reception of the Holy Communion done, Rev. Fr. Dr. Fidelis Arhedo gave the vote of thanks and this was immediately followed by the final commendation led by the Chancellor of Benin City Arch-Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Oyanoafoh and Christ’s Faithful processed in peace to Rev. Fr. Peter Ebhota Udo’s place of interment at Brother Roman Centre, Ekpoma.
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