The Chairman, Board of Trustees of Motailatu Church of God (MCG), Senior Superintendent Gabriel F. Akinadewo (Omo Jesu II), has urged Christians to use the Lenten period to plead for God’s mercy and exoneration of sins.
Ash Wednesday is celebrated annually by Christian faithful.
Speaking on Wednesday at Restoration Parish of the church in Akute, Ogun State during the service to mark the beginning of the fasting period among Christians, Akinadewo said “God is willing and able to forgive once you turn from your wicked ways”.
He said there is crisis in the world today because people don’t fear God again.
Quoting from II Chronicles 7:14, Akinadewo, also the Managing Director of Freedom Online newspaper, declared that “the moment people pray and turn from their wicked ways, God will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.
“If Nigerians want Nigeria, as a country, to be healed, they must be humble, pray, seek God’s face and ask for forgiveness”.
He also prayed for Nigeria during a special anointing session during the service.
Also, Rev. Father Anthony Okereke of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Onireke, Ojo, Lagos, during the parish’s morning Mass to mark the 2022 Ash Wednesday, said the Lenten period was unique for its observance of intermittent prayers, fasting and sacrifices that could move God’s benevolence toward man.
According to him, the period is when God’s grace is mostly released for miracles and atonement of sin, for supplication to be attended to and uncommon miracles to be received by mankind.
The priest, who administered ash on the foreheads of the faithful, urged people to use the period of lent to seek Gods face in repentance of sins, saying such prayers would be heeded now than before.
He also tasked leaders worldwide, especially in the country, to use the 40 days of the Lenten season to make sacrifices in management of the country, to lessen social strife in the country.
“The season is one that people are expected to fast, pray and pour out their hearts to God and come out of sins and show love and care to one another for a better society.
“The sign of ash administered on the faithful is to show that from ash we come from, to ash we shall go back to.
“That goes to show that people should live simple and service-oriented life devoid of bad blood, hate and acrimony.
“The mother church is using this period to urge people to pause from materialism, carnality and interface with God through consecrated prayers, fasting and self denial,” he added.
The priest decried the unwholesome organised crimes among the youth and admonished younger ones to emulate the life and times of Jesus Christ that impacted positively on mankind as a youth.
The event attracted worshippers from other denomination that came to be consecrated for the season.
Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Oyo, also urged Christians to love and forgive one another.
Also, the Anglican Bishop of Oyo, Rt. Rev. Williams Aladekugbe, urged Christians to use the Lenten season to correct their faults, purify their hearts and control desires in order to grow in holiness.
Speaking in Ibadan, Badejo said those virtues were necessary to ensure peace in the country and the world at large.
He also called on well-to-do Christians to always remember and take care of the poor and needy.
“We must take better care of the poor and needy, we must repent and change our ways for the better. This is the purpose of the period of lent,’’ he said.
According to him, Lent speaks of the relationship between Jesus Christ and Christians – friendship and love.
“In daily life, true friends and lovers desire to share each other’s pains, sorrows, joy and victories and listen to one another.
“So, Christians who are truly friends of Jesus must desire to experience what he experienced, to share his life and live in his love.
“Christians cannot be talking only of what is pleasant in Christianity – pleasure and prosperity, and leave suffering, fasting and prayers,’’ he said.
The bishop said that in the midst of an imperfect world, the faithful needed to constantly make themselves better and partake in Christ’s mission of making the world a better place.
He said that fasting, prayer and almsgiving were meant to make the world better, adding that lent was a period of renewal and spiritual rehabilitation.
Speaking on Ash Wednesday, Aladekugbe said it was important because it marks the start of the Lent leading to Easter.
The Anglican bishop said ashes symbolise both death and repentance while lent was a period when Christians repent and mourn for their sins.
“Christians wear a smudge of ashes on their foreheads to remind them that they were made from dust and unto dust they will eventually return.
“Ashes are equivalent to dust, and human flesh is composed of dust or clay and when a human corpse decomposes, it returns to dust or ash.
“When we come to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, we are saying that we are sorry for our sins.
“That we want to use the season of lent to correct our faults, purify our hearts, control our desires and grow in holiness,’’ he said.
Aladekugbe, who is also the Oyo State Chairman, Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), urged Nigerians to pray, fast, focus more on God and be involved in charity.
“Events and situations around us show that we cannot do less, moreover, this year’s lent may be the one preceding the general elections in our country in 2023.
“The coming of Jesus Christ is imminent and nearer than expected, we should put our faith in God and stop trusting in our efforts.
“Salvation can only be found through faith in Christ alone, may God grant us true faith, spirit filled and refreshing Lenten season,’’ he said.
