"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." - Jeremiah 29:11
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It's graduation season. It is a time when our children, grand-children, nieces, nephews, godchildren and friends are closing one chapter of their lives and opening a new one.
This season offers much excitement and anticipation about the future and all of the opportunities that lie ahead.
It can also be a time of fear and doubt about the next step.
There are so many questions they are certain to be asking. Will I go to college? Will I get married? What career field is best for me? Will there be a job available for me? What is my purpose in life?
Ultimately, what matters most is God's plan for their lives.
We see in the above passage, Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans for all of us.
He desires our welfare and not our harm. He desires for us to have a future filled with hope.
Discovering and living out this plan requires prayer and docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, many of our young people are not open to hearing the voice of God or discerning His plan for their lives -- the plan that will bring them fulfillment in this life, and eternity with Him in the next.
This is why it is so critical for us to pray for our graduating children and young adults. Perhaps it is our prayer that will lead them to the vocation God intends for their ultimate happiness. Or maybe our prayers will help to avert their wandering off onto distant paths away from God's plan.
It is for these reasons that Women of Grace® is offering a special novena of masses for graduates. This special novena will be offered by Reverend Father Venansio Okidi, of the Archdiocese of Gulu, Northern Uganda, b
eginning on May 24th and ending on June 1st, the Feast of St. Justin, Martyr.
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Reverend Father Venansio Okidi
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Reverend Father Venansio Okidi studied at Sacred Heart Seminary and was ordained a priest on July 29, 2006. He has worked as Associate Pastor of Padibe Catholic Parish in 2006; Pastor of Poranga Catholic Parish 2008; Associate pastor of Anaka Catholic Parish 2013; Pastor of Namokora Catholic Parish in 2015 to date.
I invite you to use the link below to send me the names of your sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, godchildren and friends who are graduating so we can include them in this Novena of Masses for their spiritual and temporal needs. My prayer is that these Masses will be a source of abundant grace, and protection for our graduates.
Let us together protect and pray for our graduates to become all that God has created them to be!
May the abundant life of Jesus Christ be yours and may God bless you!
In His Service,
Johnnette S. Benkovic
Founder and President
