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I, however, call on our Christians as individuals and as communities to open their eyes to the needs of their neighbours

III. Adjectival phrases/clauses

5.2 Pathos-baseddevices

5.2.2 Prayers forinspiration

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community and its linguistic climate. Through shared socio-cultural beliefs, the bishops are able to persuade the faithful to remain steadfast in the Catholic faith.

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May Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith give us faith in abundance. (WWF, p.71)

The prayer is also in the subjunctive mood. The bishop prays that Jesus Christ,who initiates and perfects faithgrant the audience faith in abundance. It is the bishop‘s earnest desire and wish that the audience have increased faith in God so that they will be able to reap the benefits accruing from that. The essence of the prayer is to inspire the audience to live a life of total dependence on God. This show of concern by the bishop is also capable of endearing him to the audience as a friend worthy of their support and trust.

Similarly, text 95 exemplifies the bishop‘s use of prayer to inspire the audience to react appropriately to his message.

Text 95:

My prayer is that we may all be enriched in our prayer lives and grow in intimacy with God and with one another. (RBGN, p.23)

The prayer here is in the nominalized form. It is introduced by the nominal prayer which is derived from the verb pray. It is a prayer for theenrichment of the prayer lives of the audience so that they would grow in intimacy with God and man. Apart from the fact that the prayer serves as an inspiration to the audience to react favourably to the bishop‘s message of love, it may be seen as a rapport-building device capable of creating a friendly climate for acceptance of the bishop‘s message. This is also shown in texts 96 and 97 which are invocations of blessings on the audience.

Text 96:

May God bless you all. (TML, p.4) Text 97:

May the good Lord bless you all as you prepare for the great feast of Easter, the feast of our HOPE, FAITH and LOVE. (LTF, p.64)

The bishop invokes God‘s blessings upon the audience as a demonstration of his love and concern for them. By this act, he endears himself to the audience as a true shepherd of the flock entrusted into his hands. The audience, who are likely to feel loved and cared for,may wish to return the friendly gesture by giving their support to the bishop.

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Through their prayerful wishes, which are a demonstration of love and concern for the audience,the bishops inspire them to action, andas well earn their trust and support.

5.2.2.2 Prayers expressed as a direct addressto God

In addition to the prayerful wishes,the bishops have also deployed prayers that are directly addressed to God,so as to inspire the audience to action.The direct prayers are found at the end of the pastoral letters, as a conclusion to the message conveyed. Texts 98-100 exemplify this.

Text 98:

God our father, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, teach us to cherish the gifts that surround us. Increase our faith in you. And bring our trust to its promised fulfillment in the joy of your kingdom. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen (IYHF, p.52)

Here,at the end of his message of faith, the bishop prays directly to God on behalf of the audience. He addressesGod as God our Father, to establish a close relationship that would guarantee an answer to his prayer.He asks for increase in faith, and the bliss of eternal life on behalf of the audience. The prayer is made through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, and through Jesus Christ.By means of the prayer, the audience is expected to receive the inspiration that would enable them to live a life of faith.

The direct prayer in text 99 is for the purpose of securing for the audience the grace to love one another.

Text99:

Father, guide us as you guide creation, according to your law of love. May we love one another and come to perfection in the eternal life prepared for us. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.(TML, pp.49-50)

This prayer concludes the bishop‘s message of love in the pastoral letter. It is deployed for the purpose of drawing for the audience the inspiration to live by the message of love which has been preached to them. The prayer asks for God‘s guide, the enablement to love one another,

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and to gain eternal salvation. The bishop again addresses God as Father, invoking child-father relationshipto facilitateanswers to the prayer.

Again, text 100 is a direct prayer offered by the bishop at the end of the pastoral letter dealing with the theme of loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church.

Text 100:

Heavenly Father, may our Mother Mary be always near us…Filled with hope and in the communion of all the saints, may we remain steadfast in the Catholic Church in body and soul until we enter our heavenly home.

Amen.(FFF, pp.103-104)

The letter above aims to draw inspiration from God, the inspiration that will enable the audience to live by the message of loyalty.On behalf of the audience, the bishop asks for close relationship with Mary, Mother of Jesus, who is also addressed as their own Mother. They also ask for the enablement toremain steadfast in the Catholic Church.

Thus, in their pastoral letters, the bishops do not just stop at presenting their messages and using other rhetorical devices to ensure acceptance and compliance by audience, they also add a spiritual dimension to the devices. Being very much aware of the power of prayer in making all things possible, they introduce prayers at every step of their message and at the end of the pastoral letters to draw inspiration from God to enable the audience to accept and live by the messages they have been given. The use of prayers also tends to create a rapport between the bishops and the audience.

5.2.3 Inclusive pronoun (we)creating a Feeling of belonging, collectivism and oneness