By Jude Atupulazi
The remains of Mrs Adaobi Helen Anarado were on Friday, June 28, laid to rest in the country home of the Anarados in Adazi-Nnukwu, Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State.
It was a solemn occasion which saw the husband, Okechukwu, and four children of the deceased, bid a final goodbye to their wife and mother who died after a protracted illness at the age of 50.
In his homily during a funeral Mass at St Andrew’s Catholic Church, Adazi-Nnukwu, Rev Fr Emmanuel Umezinwa, Vice Chancellor, Peter Univeristy, Onneh/Achina, commended Mr Anarado for the love and respect he had for the late wife and urged him and kids to have faith in God as anyone who believed in God would not regret it.
He urged the faithful not to think themselves too wise as to live a life without God and commended the life of the deceased which he described as rooted in the fear of God, even as he commended the family that brought her up.
Fr Umezinwa said that death was not as horrible as thought, as long as the faithful realized and did what God wanted. He urged the faithful against living the life of the flesh but to feed their souls by doing the bidding of God.
The Peter University helmsman said that death was a reminder that the world was not a home, exhorting the faithful to serve God with their soul and physical body.
‘God created us in his likeness but gave us flesh to use as connection to the World. But they’re not enough to give us happiness,’ he observed, emphasizing the importance of the soul.
Fr Umezinwa said that was why God would judge man by his words, thoughts and actions, maintaining that a complete body without God was like a computer without software.
He said that man would always be judged by his action, even though only God knew the entirety of man; just as he pointed out that life was about how well it was lived and not how long.
‘God gave us an unsullied spirit with which to worship him in truth and spirit. But sometimes the pride in us does not allow us,’ he regretted, while urging for restraint by people rather than clinging on to things. He exhorted the faithful to jettison their ego and learn how to let go.
Fr Umezinwa told the congregation, whom he commended for turning out in their numbers, to commit the deceased in prayers and urged the family to live out the good life of the deceased.
Many friends and colleagues of the widower, Mr Anarado, graced the solemn event. Mr Okechukwu Anarado served former Governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano as a media aide.
The late Mrs Anarado is survived by her husband and four children, all boys.
