Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley addressed the nation to mark the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Dr Rowley said in a statement that the power of prayer cannot be underestimated.
“From the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, my family and myself as Prime Minister, I extend greetings to the Christian community as we celebrate Corpus Christi 2024.
“Today is another sacred celebration for our community as we commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the symbols of his blood and body, and the covenant that follows.
“The official name of this celebration is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. It is venerated as a holy day of obligation, a day on which we choose to give thanks for Holy Communion and honor the Eucharist.”
“As a nation, we should all give thanks in our community way for God’s constant presence in our lives and see this as another example where we, as a nation, can renew our faith and commitment and abandon ourselves to the greatness and mystery of God.”
“In his prayer for spiritual growth, St. Paul tells us that he knelt in humility and prayed that God, in his infinite power, would entrust to each of us his spirit so that the message of Christ might reside in all of our hearts and the roots of love might take hold deep and strong.”
Everyone is on a spiritual journey, he said.
“All people have within them the capacity to comprehend the length, breadth and depth of God’s love,” he writes. “That love may be too great for many of us to fully comprehend, but we all experience it. But the reality is that the fullness of human life, its riches and power, is complete only when it comes from God.”
“As a nation, we must recognize that each of us has a personal life story and that everyone is on a spiritual journey.
Let us acknowledge that we are all born of God, His presence is present in all our daily lives, and we all need to seek our own personal path to know Him now.
“Some may question the validity of calling on the public to find a meaningful and purposeful life through God at this time. In the 21st century, with many traditional religious beliefs being challenged by science and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our lives, some may argue that many of us are ‘future-against’. Rather, we are in an era when we should be encouraged to be ‘future-wise’.
“But the march of human progress and modernization has always been accompanied by some psychosocial obstacles and sacrifices.”
He urged people to continue to strengthen their sense of community.
“In the face of these challenges, we in Trinidad and Tobago cannot lose sight of the natural community spirit of our land – to love, share, show kindness, respect and live together.”
“Every day we must exercise the God-given gift of community spirit in which we extend mutual compassion to our families, friends and fellow Trinidad and Tobagoans.”
My fellow countrymen, 2024 is Corpus Christi Day.”
