The Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. (Dr.) Callistus Onaga has stressed the need for Christian faithful to observe the Lenten period with alms giving to the needy, faith, love as well as abstinence, and prayers.
Speaking with journalists on Monday at the Bishop’s Court, Enugu, Most Rev’d Onaga observed that forgiveness and repentance are at the core of the Lenten season which starts on Wednesday with marking of the Ash Wednesday..
According to Onaga, the essence of the Lenten season is atonement for sin, adding that the Greek word lent, which means the number, Forty, is a period for passion and resurrection of Christ, and a period Christ prepared for his public ministry.
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He noted that Christ prayed and fasted for forty days before his crucifixion and as Christians , in celebrating the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ , stringent prayer session was needed with fasting, abstinence and almsgiving.
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Explaining further, Bishop Onaga said people should fast from what they like .
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” Fasting will mean not taking anything. Abstinence is close to fasting. It will mean to be your brother ‘s keeper . You abstain from everything that gives you joy , cut it down. If you are fond of taking alcohol, if you are fond of smoking, if you are fond of wearing expensive clothes, cut them down and use what you had saved from thr cutting down to give alms to the needy. There is always reason for what the church does. We are all sinners and because we are sinners we fast for forty days .
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On the essence of Ash Wednesday, the Cleric said, “You abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday . We are going to celebrate the grace, and purpose of redemption inorder to capture the full meaning of passion pf Christ., during the leten period “, Bishop Onaga said.
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The Cleric added that on Ash Wednesday., palms collected from the Palm Sunday of the past year will be burnt and prepared for the ashes that will be applied on the fore heads of the faithful.
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“Ashes are signs of mourning, ,act of repentance. After rubbing the ashes , we are showing that we are sorry for our sins . That’s the essence of Ash Wednesday. That very ceremony reminds us of our sins. It reminds us that we are dust . Thou art dust, unto dust, thou shall return, ‘ he said.
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Bishop Onaga explained that not only human beings return to dust, All creatures return to dust but human beings’ return to dust, is a passage.
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While speaking on the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Onaga said, the “next life of man is eternal. We return to God. Once you are a human being you have your shortcomings and once you have your shortcomings , you are a sinner noting that. observing the Lenten season helps Christians to turn away from their sins.
He called for repentance of all as well as those in government and other positions of authority
“ We talk about the government, they themselves require repentance including the president and the governors. The government as a system needs repentance. Saving money when people are suffering is a sin.
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He condemned all forms sharpen business practices which puts the health of innocent Nigerians at risks in the quest for monetary gains.
“Some people force fruits to ripe . We have bastardized the nature. So, we owe nature some kind of confession. Then, within ourselves, we need to mend our fences. What is good is good, what is bad is bad”, he said.
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Speaking on resurrection and eternity, the Bishop said that Jesus Christ died to save us from the dead. “He died and on the third day he resurrected . As he died, he stayed with the dead and rose from the dead on the third day , giving life to the dead.. It is full eternity. If Christ had not risen it would have made nonsense of our belief,” . “After this life , there is another life and that life is eternal . It is not limited to any condition. It is in the resurrection that the work of salvation takes place . Don’t forget those things we did during lent after the lenten period. The resurrection and the life of the resurrection should be continued. That should represent the real life of eternity.”
