ABUJA – Some Christians in the country joined their counterparts worldwide to mark the Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer.
Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is cheifly observed by Catholics, although many other Christians observe it too.
In Abuja, Rev. Fr. Job Chechet, called on Christians to do things that would enhance the dignity of people as part of their Lenten observances.
Chechet, an Assistant Parish Priest, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Gwarinpa, FCT, made the appeal at a Mass to mark the Ash Wednesday in Abuja.
He urged Christians to intercede in prayer for the country and the world at large.
“Lent is a time of prayer; prolonged and intercessory prayer for many situations of poverty in the world.
“In fact, it is the time for Christians to improve the dignity of people because we are made in the likeness and image of God.
“It is a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline
“Also, Christians are encouraged to intensify prayers, observe abstinence and almsgiving,’’ he said.
Chechet said Christians should use the opportunity to better their lives and those of others.
He said they should uphold hard work and justice in their places of work and should also engage in charity work.
“Charity (Almsgiving) helps us to detach from material things and focus on the love of Christ,’’ he said.
The priest also called on Christians to preach Christ to the world and find practical ways to grow in the love of God.
On the significant of ash which the faithful receive on their foreheads, the priest said it was all about acknowledging Man’s sinful nature and asking for grace to live a holy life.
“They are expected to draw nearer to God through constant prayers, forsaking their sins and being at peace with fellowmen.
“It also serves as a reminder that we all came from ash and would someday return to ash,’’ Chechet said.
The priest, however, said the Lenten observance should not just end during the season.
InCalabar, Rev. Fr. Patrick Ene-Eyo, Parish Priest, St. Peters Catholic Church, Ediba, Calabar, urged Christians to exhibit Christ-like attitude during the Lenten period.
In his Ash Wednesday sermon, Ene-Eyo tasked Christians to actively participate in activities to mark the Lenten period to enable them gain the blessings of the season.
Ene-Eyo also urged Christians to make the Lenten period very purposeful by praying, fasting and giving alms to the needy.
“The Lenten period is a time for Christians to reflect on their lives, find out where they have gone wrong and where to make amendment.’’
The cleric explained that the ash on the forehead reminds Christians that they were “dust and will return to dust one day’’.
He added that the mark on their foreheads remains an indelible mark in their hearts in order to help them always reflect on repentance.
“How prepared are you for the season; what goal have you set to achieve? Lenten period comes with so much demand.
“As Christians and partakers in the kingdom, we have to fast, pray and give alms. How prepared are we? We should make it a Lent with a purpose.
“We should not waste this period. We should act so that by the end of the period, we will stand firm and be happy with ourselves,’’ Ene-Eyo said.
According to him, the Lenten period is when we reflect on the sacrifice and the cost of our salvation.
“We have to see this period as an opportunity to reflect on the past and the future. We have to also use this period and pray for peace in the country, especially in the North-East,’’ he said.
The priest called on Christians to pray to God to help them in their effort to make the Lenten period a fruitful one as “they cannot do it only by the flesh or by their might’’.
He also charged leaders at all level to lead the people with the fear of God, saying that most of the social vices in the country where caused as a result of bad leadership.
In Port Harcourt, some Catholic faithful after the Ash Wednesday Mass have pledged to use Lenten period to pray for the nation.
Prince Okorie, a Prison Officer, told newsmen that he would use Lenten period to pray for the unity of the country.
“It is a spiritual period, a period to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ, I will be prayerful this period, I prayer God to help me,’’ Okorie said.
Miss Anita Jacob, a teacher, called on other Christians in the country to put the nation first in their prayers.
“We need to use this holy period to pray for the continued unity and development of our dear country, it is a duty we owe,’’ Jacob said.
Also, Mr Nwachukwu Ebere, said that the lent period should be a period of holiness and dedication to the service of God.
He urged Christians to be careful as not to fall to temptations that would come their ways.
“As we fast and pray, we need to put our country and its leadership in the forefront. We need peace and development, we need focused leadership.
“We must be careful in order to be able to surmount the temptations that may come our way; we must remember that Christ faced temptations when he fasted,’’ Ebere said.
