“We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconcile to God…Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” ( 2 Cor. 5: 20; 6:2).
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, once again, it is the Lenten season which started last Wednesday with the imposition of ashes on our foreheads as a symbolic and clear reminder of our brokenness and who we are - mere mortals (cf. 3:19)weaklings and sinners in need of redemption through Jesus Christ the Redeemer. It is a penitential season aimed at preparing us spiritually for a full share in the victory of Christ over sin and death at Easter which is central to our faith. We do this preparations through three religious acts namely, fasting, which expresses our creature-hood and dependence, almsgiving which expresses our solidarity with other people,especially, the needy and prayer which expresses our dignity as children of God. In all these three activities we begin to live for others. Lent is therefore an opportune time for repentance and conversion (cf. Mk. 1:15). It is also a time to open the doors of our hearts to all those in need and recognize in them the face of Christ (Matt. 25:40) and give them a glimmer of hope especially during this Jubilee Year of Hope. Indeed, Lent is a time to look within at the state of our hearts and see the condition they are in and ask the critical question whether they are Christian or a self-absolved hearts with the hope of conversion.
This season urgently calls us to conversion. It challenges us to return to God with all our hearts’ (Joel 2:12), to refuse to settle for the lowest common denominator and to grow in friendship with Jesus the Lord because he is our faithful friend who never abandons us even when we sin, he patiently awaits our return (cf. Lk. 15: 11-32) and by that patient expectation he shows us his readiness to forgive us (cf. Pope Francis, 2020 Lenten Message). Lent therefore is the time to open the doors of our hearts to God and to our brothers and sisters especially the poor and needy; a time to step back and slow down a bit, return and seek the face of the Lord and experience his mercy and love; reflect on how we are living and make any adjustments that we think are necessary.Indeed, Lent is a good time for all to endeavour to sink theirroots into the deep clear waters of God’s life (cf. Jer. 17:8).
The Jubilee Year we are in reminds us that we are all pilgrims of hope, as such, we are challenged to carry this hope out to others in the course of the year and beyond. Pope Francis reminds us that all the baptized must manifest and bear witness to the hope that is in them (cf. 1Pet. 3:15) and there is no better time than the Lenten season to do this. The pertinent question to ask at the beginning of this season in the Jubilee Year of Hope is; what are the little, simple and practical things that we can do as faith communities, church societies and organizations, families and individuals to spread hope?Identify one such practical thing and work on it.
As Emmanuel, God is always with us, but we know that weare not always with him. Lent creates the enablingenvironment for us to put in our best to be with God and honestly tell him what our desires, needs, wants, lacks, hopesand disappointments are. It is also a time to recognize the evil in our hearts, turn our back on it and, by the grace of God walk away from it. Someone rightly observed that Lent is a time to open the door to the hole in the soul which God alone sees and fills. It is a chance to declare our independence from the grip of modern day diseases like consumerism, materialism, addiction to social media, alcohol, substance-abuse etc. that enslave us and try to regain the freedom and liberation of the soul and create enough space for God in our life.
The season of Lent is also a season that enables us to show our practical love for God whom we cannot see by loving our neighbour created in God’s image and likeness, especially, the needy neighbour. For by sharing our bread, clothing and sheltering the needy, the scriptures tell us we share, clothe and shelter Jesus himself (cf. Matt. 25: 31-46). “This time of fasting, prayer and sharing is a privileged opportunity to draw closer to God and be renewed in the fundamental values of religion, compassion and solidarity” (Christians and Muslims: What we hope to become together. 2025 Message for the Month of Ramadan from the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue).
While the love of God comes first in the order of the commandments, the love of neighbour comes first in the order of action, because, by loving our neighbour whom we can see we gain the sight of God. In other words, by loving our neighbour we purify our eyes for seeing God. And as St. John tells us, if we do not love our brothers and sisters whom we can see, how can we love God whom we do not see (cf. 1 John 4:20). “For if God is love, charity must have no limit because God cannot be confined within any bounds. And so, beloved, although anytime is suitable for the exercise of the virtue of charity, it is more especially urged on us by this present season. Thus, those who long to receive the Lord’s Pasch with bodies and souls made holy must strive earnestly to acquire this grace which includes the sum of all the virtues and covers a multitude of sins” ( Pope Leo the Great, 2ndreading of Office of Readings Tuesday, 4th Week of Lent).
The Lenten season reminds us that there is no express lane to redemption without repentance; that there is no way to bypass the need to change in order to experience the grace of God in our life. Lent reminds us that fulfilment and fullness of life comes from giving of ourselves to others just like the Lord Jesus himself did and assures us of the fact that in spite of who we are we can have victory over our weaknesses; that though temptations are always with us and will never go away, nevertheless, victory over them through Jesus is always assured.
As we begin this penitential season, it is our sincere hope and prayer that these 40 days will be like the 40 days of the flood (cf. Gen 7:17-24) drowning all the vices in our life and enable us to make a fresh start. May the Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can rediscover the gift of God’s word, be purified of the sins that blind us and serve Christ present in our brothers and sisters in need.
Mindful of the fact that when we take one step towards God he takes more than a thousand towards us, let us endeavourboth as individuals and communities to return to our Fatherfrom whom we have estranged ourselves by our sins (cf. Lk. 15: 11-32) knowing he is always moving fast towards us. And now is the time to take that first step towards God not only because Lent is the acceptable time of salvation but also a decision point.
It is said and rightly so, that, failure to plan is planning to fail. It is with this in mind that the church in our country has decided to focus attention during the 2025 Lenten Campaign on the forthcoming 2027 General Elections knowing full wellthat those who manage our common resources and patrimony are chosen through the electoral process. To help properly guide the electorates in making informed choices during thegeneral elections ahead, the 2025 National Lenten Campaign Committee has appropriately chosen the theme: Towards 2027General Elections: A Call for Stocktaking and Mobilization.
“The Church and the political community, in fact, express themselves in organized structures that are not ends in themselves but are intended for the service of man, to help him express his rights fully, those inherent in his reality as a citizen and a Christian, and to fulfil correctly his corresponding duties. The Church and the political community can more effectively render this service for the good of all if each works better for the wholesome mutual cooperation in a way suitable to the circumstances of time and place” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 425).
A cursory glance at the history of elections in our country especially since our return to democratic rule in 1999 seem to suggest that each election seem to take us by surprise because of inadequate preparations. We always end up with many things left undone until the last minutes leading to fire brigade approach always leaving us with the kind of results we have always had. Starting the preparations two years ahead of the elections gives us enough time to prepare the electorates well according to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) which “calls for active participation in political life as a moral obligation” (Raymond Anoliefo in 2025 Lenten Guide) and,mindful of the fact that “The Church’s prophetic responsibility extends beyond spiritual guidance to addressing systemic issues such as corruption, injustice, and governance failure” (ibid). Starting now is a clear indication that the sure path to credible elections in 2027 and beyond require a comprehensive stocktaking of past failures, a renewed commitment to civic responsibility, and system reforms grounded on moral principles highlights the Church’s unique role in fostering societal transformation and call for collective action to restore public trust in our country’s democracy (cf. Ibid. p16).
Consequently, our Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), an arm of the Department of Church and Society responsible for issues of this nature will in the Months ahead reel out programmes to start preparing the faithful and all people of goodwill for the 2027 General Elections.
As we already know, our JDPC is engaged in helping the less privileged members of our society, especially, young men and women (widows) regardless of creed, across our Archdiocese to acquire various skills that help to equip them to participate actively in the economic and political life of our country. With the kind and generous help of the faithful of our Archdiocese, the JDPC has been doing this for many years now. Since inception twelve years ago, the skills acquisition programme has trained and graduated a couple of thousands of young men and women in various skills.
It is worthy of note that some of the graduates of the skills acquisition programmes are not only self-employed but employers of labour themselves. Details of the various skills acquired thus far are contained in the 2025 Lenten campaign brochure. The brochure also contains the accounts of the 2024 Lenten campaign proceeds.
With your continued generous support we hope to do more especially by continuing with the skills acquisition programme, civic education programme in preparation for the 2027 General Elections and the provision of clean drinking water to communities in dire need by sinking boreholes. As always, we will appreciate individuals, families and corporate bodies wishing to donate boreholes for needy communities.
In this vein, I wish to inform you that the Archdiocesan flag-off of the 2025 Lenten Campaign will take place in Queen of Apostles’ Parish, Kakuri, Kaduna, on Sunday, March 23 at 10am while the step-down in all parishes/pastoral areas and chaplaincies will take place on March 30, 2025. Your continued support and cooperation will be highly appreciated.
With every good wish for a fruitful Lenten season and the assurances of my continued spiritual closeness, I remain,
________________________________________
Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso NDAGOSO
Archbishop of Kaduna