The Great Commission of our Lord simply referred to as “Secret of Devotion to the Sacred Heart: A Call for Love and Reparation for Priests, Religious and the Lay faithful” is a book whose foundation and writing were prepared and laid on great sufferings according to the design of the Lord who secured our salvation through sufferings in reparation for our sins. The sufferings aligned with this book, which started before and continued throughout the period of writing aim at illustrating an important message that was meant to be understood about the redemptive value of daily life which is very important to the Lord.
When the Lord impressed it in my heart in 2003 to write on the message of his Heart, he said through his inspiration: ‘write for souls’. Though I was a member of Apostleship of Prayer, League of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but I did not know what to write because I had just a general and minimal knowledge and understanding of the devotion. But his grace had made me desire a sincere repentance of my sins and any aspect of me that was not pleasing to him because I felt that it was important to return Jesus love for love for the grace of my redemption, having read a book, ‘The Way of Divine Love’ by a nun, Sister Josefa Menendez, which is so much cited in the Great Commission. Through the book, the Lord had appealed for love from souls. So what I discovered in the book made me wish that souls surrender their lives to Jesus too because it is the only thing that gives one complete freedom, inner joy and peace. I experienced it.
The burning desire to impart the knowledge and the grace I received was so much that it kept coming to me to make others share from it. But that would involve much work and I did not know how to begin the writing actually. Therefore, I pleaded the Lord to come and write it himself by helping me to put down what he wanted me to put down and in a way that would ignite souls to love him and surrender absolutely to him happily and with joy, just as he did it for me.
Even as I was saying the prayer, my brain was vacant with regards to the proper knowledge and true understanding of his divine love which is the complete message of his Sacred Heart.
Before the period of the inspiration to write, I had repented of my hidden sin; lies that I used to cover my sins, which was a very serious impediment that I had then, and I didn’t want to offend the Lord advertently any more in any form. At least that was my innermost desire.
After the inspiration, the desire to write was much but I did not have much knowledge, so I promised the Lord that if he would write the book himself, that its proceeds would go to the destitute, the lepers, whom I had visited before and noticed their condition. They live at Oji River in Enugu State and at Amichi in Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria. The visible signs of hunger, suffering and neglect were there particularly at that of Nnewi, though they were few in number, and I felt their condition. I made the promise because it was not easy for me to help them much considering my financial constraint as a Nigerian teacher and the heavy financial responsibilities I had because of my two brothers’ illnesses. They were under siege with the yoke of satanic sickness that seemed to even resist prayers, and I was the one shouldering the financial responsibility for their treatment; my senior brother’s business was grounded. This was quite a suffering which lasted for many years.
Everything was spent on drugs and for hospitals each month with borrowings that I was not having anything for myself. The family members had not balanced financially to assist and everybody had his/her own responsibilities. The burden was much that
it got to a point where it was like I was suffocating. At that point, I did not know why it came to my mind that these people might be suffering because of me. So in desperation I prayed to God that if it was me that he was looking for, let him leave my brothers and do with me what he wanted because I was even the one suffering the more; that he should leave them and let me suffer alone. That was around the year, 1996 but the whole problems started in 1985. At this prayer, It was as if God was waiting for such a prayer, and so, it was like hell was let loose with a host of Satanic armies released to oppress, persecute and suffocate me with such great oppressions that I can’t fully describe here.
The enemy gave me four strategies which he had for me, all aiming at destroying me. These were instant death, sicknesses that won’t heal in spite of treatments, a kind of physical torture I can’t describe and an attack on my mental state, and he worked hard to fulfilling them. Hence, I was sick for many years, going from one hospital to another; I escaped a very serious accident that would have claimed my life, was seriously tortured day and night that I was able to sleep for only two hours in twenty-four hours of the day while the rest were taken up in battles of prayer at any free time. But the Lord was very faithful; He did not allow Satan to touch my mental state though he tried.
I suffered from bronchitis for four years and was miraculously healed by the Lord; from heart problem; from typhoid fever that refused medicine for years; from ulcer and serious lung problem which was healed divinely too by the Lord and many other sicknesses. At a time, it was like my body was a testing ground for sicknesses. The oppression was much without any respite that I felt so helpless and even preferred death. But I held tenaciously to the Lord as my only source of help as a larva to a tree, though full of questions to him as to the cause of all those troubles which I did not understand.
No answer came but, instead, every day, there was increased oppression. It was like I was squeezed in a very tight corner, pressed between the door and the wall and was suffocating. That was my feeling because of my sufferings. I was not free. This experience lasted for many years. But I did not keep quiet. I sort help from priests and the Charismatics; the people I thought that had higher level of anointing because my case seemed to be the water that had just passed Garry, (I was a Charismatic as an undergraduate) but all prayers seemed to bring no relief.
Many were confused. While some interpreted my condition to one thing, others interpreted it to another, and some were bewildered. But two of the Charismatic brothers gave me words that brought a little light though I did not understand it fully then. They told me that they won’t pray for me that I was an instrument, and they encouraged me. One told me to be very careful and make sure that I avoid every kind of sin in order not to create a door way for Satan as an opportunity for him to destroy me because I was under siege.
But being desperate to be free, I met Rev Fr. Jude Mbukamma of the blessed memory, a great Charismatic priest, for special deliverance but he anointed me and prayed for an increased faith instead without prayer of deliverance and I was sad because he prayed for others. This made me confused and I was indeed full of questions inside me, seeing my case as such that seemed to have no solution. I was suffering but people did not know what I was passing through.
The oppression was much that my whole day each day was almost taken up in battles. It was only during the period of prayer that I had a little relief which did not continue after, thereby looking as if prayers were not said at all. I could not sleep day and night unless I spent hours in prayer, then I would have a little sleep with horrible dreams and battles in the dream which made me dread sleeping. So even sleep was not sweet. This situation continued for years until I met a great exorcist, Br Augustin Momoh, a professed brother in 2005. He also told me that he would not pray for me; that God does sometimes allow what was happening to me to some people. He explained to me the meaning of satanic oppression, possession and obsession and told me that I was being oppressed. I then understood my condition and decided to carry my cross and resign myself to God’s will without abandoning prayers which was my only source of little relief.
However, one good thing about what I passed through then was what God did. After Satan had given me his hidden plans against me, and each seemed to be coming up, I humbly petitioned the Lord to hide my case from the eyes of people. I asked him not to let people see what I was passing through and so he did. The only thing they saw but could not explain was that I was most times sick, physically and emotionally drained and my appearance was nothing to write home about, very worked out and sickly most times. But he gave me stored up energy right inside that most times, in spite of my condition, I was able to do all that were expected of me, my duties, activities and my obligations as if nothing was wrong.
It was in the midst of this condition that I was inspired to write, and according to the Lord, to write for souls. But the inability to know what to write delayed the onset of the writing until 2010, when I started my doctorate degree program which he allowed for the purpose of the book as I discovered later.
My dream during my first degree days was to be a lecturer and to continue my education immediately after my first degree but that was not possible because of circumstances. (One of my brothers’ sickness started during my second year at the university, 1985). So after some time, I gave up the dream and didn’t want to study anymore that by the time he wanted me to continue, I didn’t want any more but I had to because I had no rest and I saw his hand in it, not knowing that it was for a purpose. My Master’s Degree was started in the year 2000. I carried out the program in the midst of a great persecution of the enemy with tears; before I could read, it was a battle.
My Faculty defence was nearly hijacked. The night before my defence, I was in prayer from 9pm till 5am in the morning because the enemy wanted to disgrace me. The full testimony is stunning if told. God showed both his power and faithfulness and I appreciate him much.
As said, the great Commission was actually started in 2010. It was then that the full inspiration came, and it was written for ten years with every little available time being dedicated to it day and night. The intensity of the suffering was multiplied during this period because of sickness that I experienced near death three times. The only thing that gave me hope to live when I would have given up was that I knew that God would not allow me to die without finishing that project. This kept me on in spite of the physical state of things. It gave me energy to move on in spite of everything. And the Lord was both in charge and faithful; he saw me through and his inner energy was there for me in carrying my duties and obligations.
During this period, only my appearance showed that something might be wrong; I kept going to the hospitals. Thanks be to my two strong sister friends, my niece, a brother and my spiritual director; my prayer giants who constantly stood in prayers for me because by that time, I had very little strength. It was not easy.
Having finished my doctorate degree program in 2014 amidst battles too, the writing continued day and night with research and inspirations that associated the book, but with greater oppression. But the grace was there. I was about rounding off with the work when my computer crashed and everything was lost. The experience was like the death of a dear one to me and I cried for three days because of the labour I had put on it and I decided that I would not continue. But the Lord gave his command and the whole work had to be started afresh with pains because I was already rejoicing to see its end so that I would rest. It was in this second half that he indicated his desire to address his priests and religious with other important issues about our redemption; the first being written only on devotion to his Sacred Heart. Looking at the beauty of the finished work now, I withdraw my cries and laments over the lost one.
The book was written on inspirations apart from the historical aspect and the references. The inspirations would sometimes come while praying, during sermons in the Church, in the bus, when doing something and when I was quiet anywhere. So I used to carry with me a notebook and a pen because if I left it till when I got home or had a chance to put it down, I would forget it and not remember it again. So having discovered the divine power behind such inspiration of our Lord, I made sure that I put down the sentence the way it came. So the ‘Great Commission’ was written with some historical background and citations, which form the beginning and some parts of the book; from inspirations, and out of the experience of what I suffered because it was like the Lord subjected me to those sufferings not only to make me learn obedience but to also make me understand the demands of the devotion, which were stated in the book, that aim at uniting a soul very closely to the Lord in the spirit of reparation.
During my training, I was taught obedience, detachment, self-denial, faith, trust and confidence in the Lord, surrender to God’s will, and total dependence unto God.
The book was written for ten years, was first read by our national spiritual director, Rev. Fr. Chikere Ugwuanyi, in its 8th year of writing that was in 2018, was finished in 2020 and was published locally in 2022.
The whole lot of the oppression started to subside from the period it was submitted for first reading and finally stopped after the book was finished. The total number of years of suffering, from the initial period of pain and labour in prayers because of my first brother’s condition in 1985 to when I started getting myself back in 2018 is 33 years.
Every word in the book was saturated with those sufferings which I encountered. I started offering them when I understood what the Lord expected of me through my sufferings. I offered them in reparation for sins, for the purpose for which Jesus allowed its writing, for his intentions and for souls. I also offered them for the Lord to use each word to edify and sanctify everyone who reads the book so that it will fulfill the purpose for which it was written. No wonder there have been a lot of testimonies about the book by those who have read it. Some of which are that it is a book for the Church, a retreat book, a book that makes a saint and a must read among others.
The Great Commission is a life-transforming book. It has the power to touch a soul uniquely because it is the Lord’s project. Though it was written through me, it taught me a lot of virtues which I learnt from the Sacred Heart. It taught me not only to live for God, because then I would still be subjected to a lot of weaknesses, anxieties, and concerns but to live in God, in which case, I would be resting completely in him. It taught me how to live in intimate union with God, to have peace with God and have the peace of God, and more. What else do you want if you are a true seeker of spiritual truth and salvation? Read the Great Commission, ‘Secret of Devotion to the Sacred Heart: A Call for Love and Reparation for Priests, Religious and the Lay Faithful’, for enlightenment and spiritual transformation and give me feedback through a review please.
The book is for all Christians. It contains strong illuminative messages for salvation. You can read it for free at kindle store for five days in a month, from 25th of each month precisely. You can also buy it at Amazon.
The Great Commission is yet another invitation of our Lord to souls at this perilous time to respond to his call of divine love and return him love for love. Through that, he wants to save a lot of souls.
I feel both very much humbled and elated that the Lord would use a very much an unworthy and useless instrument like me to realize his design. It is the most important thing that I treasure in my life because he transformed my life through that.
Remember that the proceeds from the sale of the book is for the destitute; people who are special in the heart of Jesus. You can support the Lord’s project not only for the spiritual benefit of your soul but also for these needy people.
Thanks for reading and remain blessed.
Please connect with the excerpts at the preview.
SACRED HEART OF JESUS, THY KINGDOM COME!
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