1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Supreme Knight, Sir Knight Bro. Charles L. L. Cobb;
Members of the Supreme Council;
the Grand Lady, Most Respected Lady Sister Dame Agatha Akua Bonney;
Members of the Grand Court;
Past Supreme Knights;
Past Grand Ladies;
Regional Grand Knights;
Regional Noble Ladies;
Grand Knights and Noble Ladies;
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen:
I am delighted that you have granted me, undeserving as I am, the opportunity to
address this grand audience.
The theme for this forum is The Word of God, Transforming Marshallans for Leadership. This
theme borrows from the theme of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) for
its 2020 Plenary Assembly – The Word of God: Christian Formation and Transformation in
Ghana. The focus of the Bishops’ Conference on the Word of God is derived from Pope
Francis’ Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis (i.e., He Unveiled the Meaning).
2.0 THE WORD OF GOD
2.1 Aperuit Illis
Pope Francis issued the Apostolic Letter Aperuit Illis [“motu proprio ” (on his own
impulse/accord)] on September 30, 2019, the Feast of Saint Jerome. In this letter, the
Pope reminds us of the inexhaustible richness of the Word of God and its daily
influence on our Christian lives. The letter provides four main points: the Sunday of the
Word; the significance of the Bible; the practice of reading the Bible and witnessing its
teachings in our life, and those responsible for sharing the word of God with others.
In AI. #3, Pope Francis indicates that the celebration, study and dissemination of the
word of God possess an ecumenical value because, for those who listen, the Scriptures
point out the path to authentic and firm unity such as strengthening our bonds with the
Jewish people and praying for Christian unity. Thus, “we urgently need to grow in our
knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his
word and to break bread in the community of believers” (AI. #8).
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As in the illustrative words of Saint Jerome: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of
Christ” (AI, 1), the Pope urges that “regular reading of sacred Scripture and the
celebration of the Eucharist make it possible for us to see ourselves as part of one
another … sustained by the Lord, present in our midst, who speaks to us and nourishes
us” (AI, 8). According to Pope Francis, pastors, preachers, and catechists are more
responsible for reading and explaining the Sacred Scriptures, yet every Christian is
personally responsible for reading the Bible often (cf. AI, 5).
2.2 The Transformative Power of the Word of God
St. John’s Gospel (Jn 1:14) puts it simply: “The Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us.” This statement contains a wealth of meaning and mystery,
summing up God’s creative activity – in the beginning was the Word that transformed
the darkness and the chaos of the waters, and through whom all came into being; the
Word was with God and the Word was God (cf. Jn 1:1). The statement points out the
central event of human history (the Incarnation) and the redemptive activity as God’s
self-communication to us.
Jesus is the eternal Word of God, spoken variously in time by God the Father; the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us (cf. Heb. 1:1-4). If the word of God is living and
effective, then it must have a transformative power (cf. Heb. 4:12) in relation to oneself,
homes (families), Church, workplaces, as well as socio-economic and political spaces.
As a result, the word of God has been the source of Christian formation and the power
that is able to transform our Christian lives.
The transformative and formative characteristic of the word of God suggests that it has
a nourishing value. Positively, every experience of change and growth is nourished by
something (cf. the parable of the growing seed, Mk 4:26-29). So, in addition to the
Eucharist, Jesus feeds us through his word/teaching and through the Eucharist (see this
combination in John 6:35-59).
The word (teachings) of Jesus as nourishment is realizable through reading Scripture.
Let me illustrate this using how friendship with a human person develops and grows.
Undisputedly, my friendship develops and grows as I grow in knowledge and live with
the person or friend as I experience him/her. Such an experience is in the company of
others at times, and other times I must also be alone with the person if the friendship is
properly to be and to grow. In the same way, my relationship with Jesus occurs in both
communal and individual expressions. Certainly, we have been hearing about Jesus
during Scriptural readings of the liturgy or in a homily or in Christian meetings or other
ways in the Christian community – this is friendship experienced in the company of
others. We need to go beyond this and be alone with him if the friendship is to mature.
The one-to-one experience is important for building a more personal and intimate
relationship with Christ. Therefore, we need to get to know and love Jesus in the one-to-
one situation of prayerful quiet and personal reading of Scripture. This way, he will
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give meaning to our experience of the moment. The more we listen, meditate, reflect on
the word/his teaching or pray it, the more we love it; and the more we ourselves live it,
the more we become Christ-like.
In Aperuit Illis, Pope Francis tells us that a popular prayer method that may help us make
progress is the practice of lectio divina (sacred reading) among others. The practice of lectio divina
is “a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with
sacred Scriptures” (AI, 3).
Reading the Bible devotedly will motivate us to share the Word of God with
others: “The sweetness of God’s word leads us to share it with all those whom
we encounter in this life and to proclaim the sure hope that it contains” (cf. 1 Pet
3:15-16)” (AI, 12).
Reading the Bible is to share in blessedness. Who are the blessed ones for Jesus?
When a woman praised the mother of Jesus and called her “blessed,” the Lord
commented: “Rather, blessed are they who hear the word and keep it. ” And
Mary, the disciple of disciples, kept the word, witnessed it in her life – humbly,
faithfully, hopefully and lovingly (AI, 15).
Practicing the teachings of the Bible consists in loving God and all neighbours,
principally the needy and the poor. Pope Francis writes: “Yet another challenge
raised by sacred Scripture has to do with love…, [which means] to listen to
sacred Scripture and then to practice mercy … path of sharing and solidarity”
(AI, 13).
3.0 MARSHALLAN LEADERSHIP
A leader leads by directing, guiding, pulling along and pushing the membership as
appropriate to achieve desired goals. Jesus once said the blind cannot lead the blind (cf.
Matt. 15:14). Hence, to be effective, Christian leaders should be properly transformed in
the Jesus’ way in order to lead others for true, enduring progress.
3.1 The Leadership Spirit of Sir James Marshall
As a judge, Sir James Marshall used “all that was good and useful in the native laws
and customs and as far as possible to preserve these for the natives, and at the same
time, to introduce Christian justice among them” (Edmund M. Hogan. [1990, April]. Sir James
Marshall and Catholic missions to West Africa, 1873-1889. The Catholic Historical Review, 76[2], 212-234
citing Sir James Marshall, Reminiscences of West Africa and its missions [London, 1885], p. 13). He
acquitted himself with distinction working in the colonial office and conscientiously
treated all who came to court. He was a man of conviction who “developed from his
own observations and from his discussions with the missionaries, which were
eminently sound. These related to the importance of the coastal missions for the
evangelization of the interior, the provision of adequate resources, the need to upgrade
the status of the jurisdictions, and the desirability of introducing English or Irish
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missionaries to territories under British control” (Hogan, p. 233-34). Through vehement
advocacy such as in the Tablet, he sought to garner funding and human resources for
the West African missions. Although he was a “Christian gentleman”, he exuded
himself as an untiring promoter of Catholic missions, having “an authentic concern for
the welfare of the Church … and prospects of evangelization” (Hogan, p. 231). Thus, he
“became a leading lay publicist for the Church’s West African missions” and provided
“practical and moral support which was always sustaining and at times was crucial to
the survival of their work” (Hogan, p. 234). He was knighted a month before his
retirement by Queen Victoria at Windsor; in August 1886 he received the
Companionship of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George.
Moreover, in 1889, Pope Leo X111 conferred upon him Knight Commander of St.
Gregory.
In brief, Sir James Marshall, demonstrated leadership in his work as a judge. A Catholic
layman he was, but he combined his work with devoted leadership in the missionary
cause. He identified the needs of those committed to the work of the Gospel mission
and spent time, talent, and resources to getting the missionary cause properly
established. He was neither a priest nor a missionary; however, his leadership spirit
represents the Marshallan model of lay apostolate in the Church’s life and mission, as
well as in judicial, familial, social, and political spheres (see generally, Hogan).
3.2 Leadership as Service
Christian formation is for living the Christian calling in order to accomplish our
Christian destiny. Basically, we are called to serve: “If I, then, the Lord and Master, have
washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so
that you may copy what I have done to you” (Jn 13:14-15).
There are two basic ways by which we can go about the performance of work. One way
focuses attention inwardly on the self; the other directs attention outwardly toward the
God-appointed service of others. A person who assumes the first attitude is being
driven by basic selfishness. For example, a person pursues formal education in order to
acquire knowledge. If the person does so primarily that his or her intellectual
acquisition will later make possible various kinds of personal benefits and
aggrandizements, such a person works primarily to make money, or for the personal
satisfaction involved. Most likely, such a person would seek positions of authority,
power, and status primarily in order to be served and adored. That is leadership in the
world’s ways.
Alternatively, a person who directs attention outwardly toward the God-appointed
service of others would project a different image. Such a person pursues knowledge not
only for his or her personal benefits but also for him or her to be variously capable of
greater service to God and one’s fellow human beings. When this person works, it is not
only for the money and personal satisfaction involved, but also it is for him or her to be
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of service to others. If such a person attains positions of authority and influence, he or
she is motivated not by illusions of grandeur, but rather by the desire to work for
others, to be for others, to serve others. This is Christian leadership.
Sir James Marshall demonstrated leadership as service. For instance, commenting on his
audience with the Pope for the missionary cause in 1889, Marshall said it was “a grand
finish to the work which I have, I believe, been made use of by Almighty God to do,
or rather to cause to be done by others” [emphasis mine] (Hanson, p. 228 citing W. R.
Brownlow, Memoir of Sir James Marshall [London, 1890], p. 153). This is the attitude a true
Christian leader should adopt because it is Jesus’ attitude; this Jesus who girted himself
with a towel and washed and dried his disciples’ feet. In Christ Jesus leadership
culminates in service.
Too often, our concept of leadership is in the world’s ways. Jesus’ way of leadership,
i.e., a servant leader is radically different from the worldly. In this connection, we may
want to reflect on what Jesus says in the following passage from Matthew: “You know
that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over
them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be
your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the
Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many”
(Matthew 20:25-28; cf. Mark 10:42-45). Although royalty, power and might belong to
Jesus by nature and right, his interest is not in the status of domination and force as the
moral and practical foundation of life. Likewise, our interest as leaders is far from mere
status and wielding of power and domination. Thus, reading and practising the Word
of God can contribute substantially to our personal spiritual formation to become
Christ-like, servant leaders with sacrificial, servant-hearted character.
Until the unified motto of the Noble Order, the Knights of Marshall motto was Unity,
Charity and Fraternity. Although the Knights undertook social actions in the name of
service, the birthing of the Ladies of Marshall and merging of the Knights and Ladies of
Marshall into this singular Noble Order generated the present motto of the Noble
Order: Unity, Charity, Fraternity and Service. Permit me to say, the Ladies filled the
vacuum and complemented the Order of the Knights and brought into being the
completeness of the Noble Order.
Brothers and Sisters, the good (knowledge and experience) we have in life proceeds
from the grace of Christ. Thus, we need his vision and follow his leadership to guide
both our insight and outsight as leaders in order to succeed in our service of humanity.
The following story illustrates the point:
A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared
so he asked his little daughter, Sweet Heart, please hold my hand so that you
don’t fall into the river.” The little girl said, “No, Dad. You hold my hand.”
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The puzzled father asked, “What’s the difference?” The little girl replied,
“There’s a big difference. If I hold your hand and something happens to me,
chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for
sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.”
To hold Jesus’ hand is to lead him; if Jesus holds your hand, it means Jesus leads you.
You should let Jesus hold your hand, and he would definitely not fail you. So, you
won’t fail in your service as leaders.
3.3 Leadership in Unity
Unity suggests “union” or “relationship.” In the Christian life, the union is meaningful
and effective proportionate to union with Jesus (cf. Jn 15:1-5). As St. Anthony of Padua,
the patron saint of the Noble Order, would say about unity in faith: “he who lives in
unity rises to the uprightness of good works” (no. 17, 14th Sunday after Pentecost on the ten
healed of leprosy, Lk. 17:11-19; see Sermons of Saint Antony of Padua, trans. Paul Spilsbury from the
Critical Latin Edition of the Centro Studi Antoniani, Padova, Italia, 1979, http://www.franciscan-
archive.org/antonius/opera/ant-hd00.html). Maturity in the spiritual life is toward a proper,
authentic relating to others because our life’s journey is not in isolation but in
communion with our fellow human beings (the human family).
We are all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 4:3-6). Our sense of corporateness is grounded
in a common purpose and a common good; so, we have to promote the common good
(materially and spiritually) out of respect of human dignity. As leaders of the Noble
Order, you are tasked as community-forming persons (Phil 2:1-2), who seek a lively
fraternity as the principle undergirding the network of Brothers and Sisters. While you
look to the building up of the entire body, you pursue ways that promote union and
avoid divisiveness. In so doing, the fraternity would think and act as guided by a sense
of “we”, not just “I”. As a result, we would rejoice in the gifts and accomplishments of
others because they are linked to the growth, interests, and accomplishments of the
fraternity. We would sincerely share in the success of others, thank God and be happy
that the fraternity, or indeed the Church, has been so blessed.
For the sake of the Noble Order, Marshallan leaders must:
Be role models who interact with everyone with honesty and dignity, and
communicate effectively to ensure that you are understood.
Ensure effective cooperation by building relationships as best as you can with those
you lead.
Promote both individual improvement and that of the Noble Order. While you take
positive steps to publicly and genuinely recognize the value of individuals and their
achievements, you continually seek better ways of doing things.
Avoid highhandedness and “lone rangerism” in dealing with your brothers and
sisters.
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Always ensure that decisions arrived at are the result of consultations and
discussions that take the views of others seriously.
Try to develop a shared vision of the future that is owned by all and encourages
greater levels of commitment. While enabling others to achieve their full potential,
equip those you lead to fulfil the shared vision.
Based on teachings on variety of the Spirit’s gifts, we each contribute to shaping a better
world. For example, while the young contribute their enthusiasm, the elderly provide
their wisdom. Whereas the conservatives contribute their concern for timeless values,
the progressives bring their desire for change and adaptation to contemporary needs.
Although some work well within the confines of a clean and quiet office, others perform
amid loud conditions and high-risk occupations. While some enjoy the attention of the
public eye, others perform in hidden ordinariness. Whatever the task and its
circumstances, the servant leader is able to bridge the variety beautifully ad intra (such
as in relation to oneself and the home/family) and ad extra (in relation to the Church/at
workplace, social and political spaces).
Furthermore, as the unity of the Spirit is for building up of the faith community (cf.
Eph. 4:7-13; 1 Cor. 12:7), so it operates in the Noble Order. The unity in the Noble Order
affords us our expression of a key ingredient for Christian growth – the balance
between independence from others and dependence on them. We maintain an attitude
of a healthy dependence on others, i.e., a sense of proper need for others, receiving love
from our neighbour and giving it. Certainly, it must be a unity that outflows and has
relevance to the larger Catholic family. This mark of unity must continue to shine and
be demonstrable in the Councils and Courts at the local, regional and national levels.
Like Jesus the servant leader who prays for unity among Christians (Jn. 17:21),
Marshallan leaders should pray for and strive to preserve the unity of the Noble Order.
3.4 Leadership by Fraternity
The unity in the Noble Order is stronger when we acknowledge that we are in relation,
that is, the fraternity of the Noble Order. We deal with human beings, and that effort
calls for sensitivity to our members (see e.g., Acts 6:1-7). Such sensitivity prompts us as
servant leaders to be evocative persons.
We are evocative persons in the sense that we are in God’s image and likeness, and the
word of God is creative. Therefore, what we are, what we say and what we do should
evoke or call forth the goodness and beauty inherent in each human person. In our
dealings with those whom we serve, we should not hinder them; rather, we should help
them in their pursuit of personal growth. So, we are evocative leaders in such ways as:
offering appropriately affirming words of encouragement and commendation,
sincerely sharing other’s joys and sorrows,
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helping others with good counsel to realize that they are unique individuals with
a unique mission to fulfil.
This way, the servant leaders oversee that the fraternity of the Noble Order strengthens
our sense of community and authentic solidarity.
Sir James Marshall befriended the missionaries and the natives of the Gold Coast (now
Ghana) and Nigeria fostering fraternity based on the common brotherhood or
sisterhood in Christ. In 1926, at Sekondi, the 13 founding fathers of the Noble Order
aimed at establishing a friendly society for Catholics. Similarly, Marshallan leaders
should continue to foster the fraternity of the Noble Order so that Brothers and Sisters
can responsibly use their talents and opportunities for the good of all and the Church’s
progress. If the abuse or neglect of talents affects not only oneself but others, and if a
Brother or a Sister’s regression can be a burden to all, the exercise of one’s God-given
capabilities should be beneficial to the fraternity and the Church. In short, our fraternity
suggests that we aspire to harmonize our thoughts, affections and aspirations with
Jesus, which are expressed in the values of the Noble Order.
3.5 Leadership for Charity
The ancient Roman poet, Virgil in his Eclogues written between 42 and 35 BC, says:
“Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to love” (Amor vincit omnia, et nos
cedamus amori). And St. Paul says: “In all things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us ” (Romans 8:37; see also 1 Cor. 13:7-8, 1 Pet 4:8). By implication, love
makes unity, fraternity and service possible. The servant leader is motivated by love (as
the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep – Jn 10:11-15; love one another – 1 Jn
4:7). In Christ we are called to love one another. So, fundamentally, the true Christian is
not self-centred but imbued with consciousness of others.
Charity is the bond of unity itself; it binds and strengthens the fraternity, and directs
operations of the Noble Order. It means that the bond of love is integrative – it unites us
so that our diversity is enriched for the health and functioning of the whole. This
dimension is not only the main inspiration and motivation of the Noble Order but also
its expression inwardly and outwardly.
Inwardly, charity of the Noble Order expands us individually and as a body, and it
makes us grow authentically as followers of Jesus. Outwardly, charity makes us
conscious of others, which involves the Christian responsibility of our universal love for
others and to reach out to promote their good. This responsibility as bearers of love is in
imitation of Jesus who gave himself and his gifts in love for us. We also remember his
response on feeling pity (Mt. 9:27-31 – curing the two blind men; Mt. 15:29-37 – feeding
the crowds), and thereby giving in mercy, kindness, and generosity, as well as healing
pains, hurt, diseases, and hunger.
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Brothers and Sisters, the Noble Order makes the central Gospel value of charity (love
and compassion) not only part of its motto but also a guide of its life and action. When
we are kind and merciful, when the needs of others (especially the neediest and
weakest) cry out for assistance and we respond, when we do things that wipe other’s
tears and give them relief (cf. Matt. 25:31-45) – our charity makes the word of God take
flesh in those ordinary moments, as well as in those rare and special occasions, as a
precious gift from God. This noble action is our thrust toward transcendence, a share in
the divinity of Jesus.
Charity offers us an additional benefit for our own spiritual growth. It is a sure weapon
to defeat false idols that sway our focus of true happiness in life. Charity overcomes the
specious attractiveness of selfishness, greed, pride, laziness, gluttony, manipulation of
others for personal gain, hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, and abuse of power/authority.
Whereas these false glitters make a person self-centred, dissatisfied, frustrated and
empty, charity makes one selfless, noble, fulfilled and happy. Hence, let us make
MAREDES (Marshallan Relief and Development Services) work in order “to harness the
diverse expertise and resources of its membership [the Noble Order] to do greater
works of charity” (Installation of 33rd Supreme Knight, 2019, p. 9).
Our charity must be felt outside in ways we influence society positively because love of
neighbour excludes no one. Yet, the fraternity of the Noble Order requires concern and
compassion for Brothers and Sisters in genuine need. In the early Christian
communities, the apostles responded expeditiously to such need, and those who
enjoyed the welfare support most were the poor, widows, etc., despite their inability to
contribute substantially to the mutual fund (Acts 2:42-46; 4:32-37; 6:1-6). Thus, aside
death and sickness, we should continue to respond and provide relief to needy or weak
Marshallans who struggle in our own time and place.
Finally, charity should also be expressed in words – we can be charitable in words.
What matters most in our communication is not the quantity of words but the quality of
the words that are spoken rooted in mutual respect and love in the pattern of Christ.
Those in positions of authority in the Noble Order should speak decorously to their
brothers and sisters, always bearing in mind that some of them may be even older or
better educated than them. They should speak with respect to all, not giving the
impression that they look down on others. Failure to speak with decorum or to show
respect can affect relations between the hierarchy and those below. The faculty of
speech is a mighty one; it can accomplish both good and evil (see, Mt. 12:33-37). The
right, affirming word at the proper time can help change the orientation of a person’s
life or be a sustaining force in a person’s quest for continuing growth.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Noble Order: my humble, reflective contribution to this
forum has been on the Word of God, Transforming Marshallans for Leadership. The Word of
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God has the transformative power to shape our leadership to serve in unity, and by the
fraternity for charity. Let us love the Word and live it.
May Jesus, the Word of God, take flesh in us, nourish us and direct our actions in the
way of charity, unity, fraternity, and service.
Long live the Noble Order!
Long live the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!
Thank you
NB: This was the keynote address delivered by Bro Rev Fr. Prof. Peter Nkrumah Amponsah, Dean of Graduate Studies and Head of Department of Journalism and Communications Studies at the Catholic University, Fiapre. He belongs to Council 14 Obuasi.