You are God’s treasure’, says homilist at Laventille Devotions

By Klysha Best

The second instalment of the Laventille Devotions series took place on Sunday, June 14 at the Our Lady of Fatima Marian Shrine, drawing a large, lively congregation seeking spiritual renewal.

Chief celebrant, Fr Augustine Kintu, delivered a message centred on a simple truth: every person is a treasure in God’s eyes.

“There is nothing more precious, more glorious, more wonderful, more terrific, than You, Lord Jesus Christ,” Fr Kintu declared. “And that’s why You came to us, and with us, we must prepare and give it ourselves.”

Drawing from the First Reading, which recounts the Hebrews’ 50-day journey from Egypt to the mountain of God, he invited the congregation to see themselves as the people of Israel standing at Mt Sinai. “Where are you right now? You have pitched your camp before the Lord on this holy mountain,” he said. “You chose to come here on this holy mountain. Let it choose you.”

The priest turned to the Second Reading, where St Paul reminds the Romans that Christ died for the unworthy. Fr Kintu applied that truth to the present moment.

“Jesus died for them. He has died for us… We are glad to be worthy. Even though we are weak. Even though we are broken.”

He encouraged the faithful to see themselves not as forgotten or worthless, but as cherished by God. “We are valuable. We are not some trash,” he said.

Fr Kintu reflected on the calling of the apostles, noting that Jesus did not choose professors or the powerful, but broken men.

“He called broken men to take care of the rest of them,” he said. “And when He called His broken men, He put them together, and He gave them powers to help others.”

He pointed to Matthew, a tax collector seen as a traitor by his own people, whom Jesus called and made an apostle. “Nothing is beyond God’s capability in your life. He can heal us. He can deliver us. He can change things around, because we are His possessions.”

Fr Kintu even shared a personal story from his novitiate when his novice master took him to a bookstore to choose a gift, and he chose a Divine Mercy statue. He keeps it on his bed to this day.

“I don’t want anybody to touch it, because it is a treasure to me. It was gifted to me by somebody who was good in my life,” he said. “If I can take that statue and keep it as a precious soul, something that doesn’t breathe, how much more would God do for you?”

“I want you to understand who you are, my dear friends,” he urged. “That is our legacy. We are valuable.”