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President Koroma praying at famed religious shrine in Israel

HomeAYV NewsPresident Koroma praying at famed religious shrine in Israel

President Koroma praying at famed religious shrine in Israel

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When your President prays fervently for you, it is like a Shepherd fervently praying for his sheep. Those prayers are very powerful. You can see that in the Old Testament and Jesus said he did not come to change the old law but to fulfill it , so this prayer going on here is very powerful and it is going to avail much.

NOT AN ORDINARY PLACE . PRESIDENT KOROMA IS STANDING CLOSEST TO THE HOLY OF HOLIES: THE SPIRITUAL IMPORTANCE OF THIS PHOTO AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PRAYING AT THIS HOLY WALL IN ISRAEL

Many Sierra Leoneans do not know the absolute value of this picture. It is a very valuable and significant picture .Nobody even tried to know why the President went nowhere else to pray but at this wall. Some people are too busy with their usual sarcasm and negativity to really find out.

Why is this ?

The reason is that PRESIDENT ERNEST KOROMA is praying at a place closest to the holy of holies, variously called the Wailing Wall and the Western Wall. When you visit Israel, you want to pray here. Somebody wants you to go there with a prayer request for you written on a paper which he  will leave in a crack there.

According to AISH. COM, “The Western Wall is a surviving remnant of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The Temple was the center of the spiritual world, the main conduit for the flow of Godliness. When the Temple stood, the world was filled with awe of God and appreciation for the genius of the Torah.”

“Jewish tradition teaches that all of creation began in Jerusalem. The epicenter is Mount Moriah, known by mystics as “the watering stone.” The name “Moriah” is actually a play on words: “Moriah is the place from which Torah instruction (horah) goes forth; from where fear of heaven (yirah) goes forth; from where light (orah) goes forth.”

“It is here, on Mount Moriah, that Isaac was bound for sacrifice. And it is here that his son Jacob dreamed of the ladder ascending to heaven.”

“Although other parts of the Temple Mount retaining wall remain standing, the Western Wall is especially dear, as it is the spot closest to the Holy of Holies, the central focus of the Temple.”

“The Sages prophesied that even after the Temple’s destruction, the Divine Presence would never leave the Western Wall, and that the Wall will never be destroyed. The Wall is endowed with everlasting sanctity, as the Talmud says: “And I will make your sanctuaries desolate” (Leviticus 26:31) – this means that the sanctuaries retain their sanctity even when they are desolate.”

“Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt nine times. And through it all, one symbol remained intact: the Western Wall.”

“In establishing the eternal covenant with Abraham, God promised that the Jewish people will never be destroyed (Genesis 17:7). In this way, the Wall is a symbol of the Jewish people: Just as there have been many efforts to destroy the Wall and yet it remains eternal, so too the Jewish people have outlived its enemies and remain eternal. The Wall thus became the symbol of both devastation and of hope.”

According to ON FAITH .COM, “It’s not just a place of prayer for Jews.”

“There’s a beautiful tradition at the Western Wall, and here’s how it works: write a prayer on a piece of paper and stuff it in a crack in the wall. Every few days, a caretaker collects all the prayers and buries them on the Mount of Olives in a 2,000-year-old cemetery. ”

“Every written prayer at the Wall becomes an ‘eternal prayer.’ It’s a beautiful tradition, and even Pope John Paul II has placed a prayer in the cracks. ”

 

 

Taking a cue from President Ernest Koroma

As we begin the year 2017, we have identified a resounding theme in President Ernest Koroma’s New Year message.

It is a theme that is similar to one captured in the familiar quote by US President John F. Kennedy. The one big difference is that President’s Koroma’s message comes with added value.

Kennedy said: “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” In not as many words, President Koroma’s New Year message can be interpreted as saying: “Here is what Sierra Leone is already doing for you while I am in charge. So you do not need to ask, you just need to join the efforts of my government.”

In other words, President Koroma takes a profound approach to the civil contract between the state and its citizen; taking Kennedy’s message not one but two notches up. The first notch: President Koroma not waiting to for Sierra Leoneans to ask themselves about what they can do for Sierra Leone; but coming up with clear ways that Sierra Leoneans can contribute to nation-builiding.

The next notch:
President Koroma showing what his government is trying to accomplish; so that Sierra Leoneans find it easier to figure out how they can help out. Such communication should go a long way in saving time as compatriots seek to actively help Sierra Leone move forward in peace, harmony, and prosperity.

The president’s speech covers a wide spectrum of life in Sierra Leone. He makes clear how government is tackling the issues in areas like agriculture, industry, healthcare, education, law and order, national security and international trade. Then, he suggests ways that we all, as a citizenry-government partnership, can meet the challenges we now face.

President Koroma cites the various policies, programmes, and projects that are being implemented across Sierra Leone. In each instance, our head of state clearly indicates the best possible role or part that citizens can play to complement the efforts of his government.

One part of the president’s New Year Message reads: &#8220

“We will continue to empower the Anti-Corruption Commission but you can also help to fight graft when you decide not to pay a bribe, no matter the interest at stake.”

This is a case of ‘quid pro quo.’ In Sierra Leone language, “hand-go-hand-cam.” In other words, we as Sierra Leoneans need not wonder what our country can do for us; the president takes every opportunity to brief us his compatriots on what he and his team of ‘public trustees’ are doing. Whether we are impressed or not is another matter. Then, along with each disclosure, President Koroma seems to be saying us, “It’s your turn”.

We at the Patriotic Vanguard have also observed that the president is not merely saying but actually showing us what is being done. In each area of public interaction, he gives a specific example of work being done by his team. One such example is the programme to provide meals for school children. In a similar way, President Koroma illustrates his message vividly; with the mention of specific activities and places as examples. He does not quote statistics. Instead the president speaks in a simple language that anyone receiving his message can understand and appreciate.

This is nothing short of down-to-earth communication between a leader and his people; regardless of where someone lives or what he or she does for a living. For example, there is a portion of the president’s message that reads:

“The school enrolment of a child in Kamakwei in the North may, in the future, translate to the availability of one more doctor in Gbondapi in the South.” With such references to various regions in the country, President Koroma seems to be saying: “I may have been born in one part of the country; but that does not cloud or narrow my perception of Sierra Leone as a whole country; nor has it affected my sworn responsibility to work in the interest of all citizens.”

To crown it all, the message shows the president is in touch with the challenging realities facing the ordinary Sierra Leonean. In acknowledging this awareness, President Koroma empathizes thus:

“Every Sierra Leonean has had to make some adjustments and sacrifices – from the fisherman at Funkia to the farmer in Buedu; from the petty trader at Abacha Street to the bike rider in Pujehun and our compatriots in the Diaspora – Sierra Leoneans have shown great resilience and have been at the forefront of discussions and actions to turn this country around.”

It is not lost on us at The Patriotic Vanguard that President Koroma uses two key words together: discussions and actions. Indeed, we as Sierra Leoneans need to match our words with constructive action, for the good of the land that we love.

Happy New Year!

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