By Fr Joseph Panabang SVD

STOP YAWNING

At times, if not all the time, some people keep yawning during the homily. One Sunday, Father Stanislaw Gergont SVD, assistant parish priest of Kintampo, suddenly clapped his hands to get the attention of the sleepyheads and begged, ‘Please, just give me two minutes to finish my homily.’

APOLLO 11

One Sunday I had to wear dark glasses while celebrating Mass. I knew the people were wondering why. The gospel was about the blind Bartimaeus. During the homily I asked, ‘If Jesus were here and asked you, “What do you want me to do for you?” what would you say?’ Answering for myself I said, ‘Please, Lord, heal my “Apollo.”’ Everyone, especially the children, laughed as I removed my dark glasses.

‘Apollo’ is similar to ‘sore eyes’ in the Philippines. Ghanaians named it after Apollo 11, the spacecraft from which Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969. That’s when this infection started in Ghana.

RIGHT ANGLE

I asked one of my altar boys to take pictures. He wasn’t used to taking photos and I noticed that he took a shot of my back. He must have seen my stern look because he came to me apologizing. I told him, ‘It’s okay! That was a good angle. I look more handsome from behind.’ Don’t you agree?

PALM SUNDAY SOUP

I was driving home late in the evening when suddenly I saw our catechist in Nsuhunu desperately trying to stop me on the road. I screeched to a halt, worrying that something had happened. ‘Father,’ he said, ‘please take these palm nuts for your soup tomorrow because it’s Palm Sunday.’ What a relief! It’s a custom for Catholics in Ghana to prepare palm nut soup on Palm Sunday.