Lent: Martins, Shaibu, Akinadewo, others task Christians on exemplary lifestyle; fish sellers make brisk business

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins, has urged Christians to emulate the life of Jesus Christ, saying Jesus was an example of purity, sacrifice and selfless service to humanity.
Martins said this on Wednesday while administering ashes on the forehead of the faithful at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos.
Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar.
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a season of fasting and prayer, it includes wearing of ashes on the head, which symbolises that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.
Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is chiefly observed by Catholics, although many other Christians such as members of Cherubim and Seraphim Church observe it too.
Martins urged Christians to use the Lenten season to intensify prayers, abstain from sin, fast and give alms.
“In Catholic Churches all over the world, the faithful are expected to receive ash on their foreheads as a sign of repentance and a reminder that we all came from ash and will someday return to ash,” he said.
According to Martins, “At this period of lent, we are all expected to draw nearer God by constant prayer, forsaken sin and being at peace with our fellow men.
“It is a season of renewal of our faith in God by renouncing all fleshy desires that tend to weigh us down and purifying our spirit for the greater glory of God.
“But it should not just end during the Lenten season,’’ he said.
The cleric urged Christians to use the Lenten season to reflect on their lives and make necessary amends with God.
Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr Philip Shaibu, advised Christians to pray to God for Nigeria to overcome the security challenges being experienced in some parts of the federation, as they observe the Lenten season.
Shaibu made the remark while delivering a message during the marking of the Ash Wednesday at the Government House Chapel, Benin.
He also urged the faithful to  pray, give alms and ask God for the forgiveness of their sins during the period of Lent, to ensure divine favour.
Shaibu said: “This is the time we all have to fast and pray that God should touch the hearts of the insurgents and herdsmen, to stop the attack on the people.
“It is also a period of giving alms; God has told all of us that the greatest of his commandments is for us to love our neighbours as ourselves.
“We should not also fail to remember the needy; we should also visit the hospital to show love to those that are sick,” Shaibu said. 
Rev. Fr. Alexander Amalu, Assistant Parish Priest, St. Paul Catholic Parish Awkunanaw, Enugu State, called on Christians to always be good ambassadors of Jesus Christ.
Amalu, who made the call on Wednesday in Enugu, during a mass to mark the Ash Wednesday, urged Christians not to relent in living the life of Christ after the Lenten season.
“As Christians, you should be discreet when carrying out your Lenten services of fasting, prayers and alms giving.
“You are not supposed to announce to the world when praying, fasting or giving alms. You do   not need to shout or disturb the neighborhood while praying,’’ he said.
He quoted Matthew Chapter 6 verse 5 from the Bible to buttress his claim on praying secretly to God without others knowing the content of the prayer.
The priest said that Christians were not supposed to publicise to the world when giving alms and when fasting by looking gloomy.
“Many people usually look very sad and dull when fasting and that is not good at all, you don’t have to let the whole world know you are fasting.
“When giving alms to the needy, as part of our duty in this season, you should not announce what you have done because our heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you in the open.
“My advice to Christians is that any good character imbibed in this season of Lent should not stop after the Lent to enable you build pious life and be candidates of heaven,” he said.
In another Lenten message, Christians have been urged to emulate Jesus Christ by being “Masterbuilders and not destroyers of the work of God”.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of Motailatu Church of God, Snr Superintendent Gabriel Akinadewo (Omo Jesu II), gave the advice as a special anointing service at Restoration Parish of the church in Akute, Ogun State.
Speaking on Paul Apostle’s letter to Corinthians, he urged Christians to emulate the admonition of Paul who decried the attempt to cause division in the Church.
Declaring that all Christians “have one role or the other to play during this Lenten season to promote the work of God”, he urged them not to do anything that will incur the wrath of God.
He said at the Ash Wednesday Service: “Paul declared that ‘I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase’. I urge Christians not to play God but to humble themselves during this season and pray for peace.
“The foundation for Christianity has been laid. Jesus Christ came into the world specifically for this and he sacrificed everything for our future. All Christians must be Masterbuilders by spreading the Gospel. It is unfortunate that some Christians tend to divide the body of Christ because of selfish interest and this does not only affect the country but Christendom. For Nigeria to receive spiritual, physical and financial healing, Christians must humble themselves, pray, seek the face of God and repent”.
Rev. Fr. John Oluoma, Parish Priest, Christ The King Catholic Church, Kubwa, Abuja, cautioned Christians against unholy practices, during and after the Lent period.
Olouma gave the counsel while speaking to newsmen on the observation of Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent season by Catholics all over the world.
The priest said that Christians must develop the habit of living a spiritual life at all times and not wait until a particular period to abstain from sin and then return to it after the period was over.
He said: “Christians must see Lent as spirituality and not a period that ends but must imbibe the spirit of Lent for as long as they live.
“Some people abstain from sin throughout the Lent period.
“Once it is over, it is as if they have been given the license to indulge in whatever they were not allowed to do through that period.
“Some people even fast only during Lent but some of us fast once or even twice a week.
“Come Lent, no Lent, we must imbibe the piety of fasting, same with alms giving and living a sin free life.”
According to the Priest, Lent is meant to remind Christians what they should practice all the time.
“It is like student who must not wait for examination before studying but must read at all times for the knowledge that will serve a lifetime.“
He described the Ash Wednesday as the mark of Lent which he said was a commemoration of the passion, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The priest said that the period prepared Christians for the greatest event that gave birth to Christianity, Easter, adding that Christians were expected to turn a new leaf by living a holy life.
“Figuratively speaking in the Bible, Lent captures the 40 days Jesus fasted in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, it captures the 40 days the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.
“During this period, Christians are expected to emerge into new persons, prepare themselves for Easter, spiritually renew their commitment to God and work more on living a life of holiness, free of sin.”
He also called on Christians to develop the practice of alms giving, fasting and prayers as a frequent routine, saying that such act would heighten their consciousness of holiness.
Mr Gabriel Nwanna, one of the parishioners, described Lent as his favourite season of the year.
This, he noted, was because he was dedicated to communing with his Creator and giving room to a better him, during Lent.
Nwanna said that Christians were supposed to practice all that was required of them during and after the Lent period.
According to him, Christians must put God first in all they do in order to gain His favour and blessings of life.
Rev. Fr. Daniel Iloka, the Parish Priest of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Enugu called on Nigerians to make peace, help the needy and draw close to God always.
Iloka made the call during Ash Wednesday mass service at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Uno Okpete Ogbete, Enugu in marking the beginning of Christian Lent season.
He said: “It is necessary to use the period of lent to make peace with God, learn to keep food on the table for the needy and turn away from sins completely.
“We are going into the lent season for the church and it lasts for 40 days, it is a time of suffering.
“Ash Wednesday marks the beginning mourning for our sins and also it reminds us that we are made of ash and will one day return to ash.”
Iloka said that Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days and the Israelites endured for 40 days of journey to the promise land.
“The reason for the Israelites long journey was to discipline them, so it is expected that the lent season will discipline us against sin.” he said.
Iloka also urged Christians to use the lent to journey with Jesus Christ into a new life “s we are expected to pray all the time. “
“Fast to holiness keeps us away from sin and to fast away our daily sins.
“The the most important fasting you can do is depriving yourself that sin that keeps you away from your creature.
“This is a period you make peace with your neighbours, help those in need and keep away from altercations and insultive words.
“Watch your back and ensure that your life is a thing of emulation to others and not the other way round.”
He, however, urged Christians not to fast like hypocrites who allow the fasting written all over their faces.
“This is the time of being cheerful while your fast and pray never allow your neighbour to know the good things you do to others.
“God in heaven sees you and will reward you.”
Christians in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday, joined their counterparts around the world to mark this year’s Ash Wednesday.
Church services were held in Ilorin to usher in the period with clerics praying for a united Nigeria where peace and unity would reign.
In his message, Prophet Christopher Oduwaiye of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church in  Osere, Ilorin,  stressed the need for Christians to participate actively in the religious exercise and strive to live a holy life.
Oduwaiye also called on them to use the period to give alms to the poor and help those in need.
The cleric charged them to pray for a hitch free governorship and House of Assembly elections on Saturday.
The Primate of the Resolution Church of Christ in Ilorin, Dr Martins Olobatoke,  admonished Christians to use the period to seek divine intervention for breakthrough in the challenges confronting the nation.
According to Olobatoke, nothing will be impossible if the faithful look up to  God when passing through difficulties.
Pastor Segun James of Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Imole, Amoyo,  called on Christians to be prayerful and refrain from sin.
Pastor Aremu Abioye of the Ark of God Covenant Faith Bible Ministry, Amoyo, also  urged Christians to imbibe the lessons  of the period beyond the Lenten season while demonstrating  a fear of God in whatever they do.
The General Overseer of the New Life Holy Trinity Chapel, Gaa-Akanbi, llorin, Pastor ldowu Constain,  appealed to Christians to eschew acts inimical to the progress of the nation.
Meanwhile, some fish sellers in Enugu metropolis are making brisk businesses as Christians all over the world observe Ash Wednesday to usher in the 40 days Lenten period.
Some Christian denominations abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesdays as an act of penance to repent from sin.
Some fish sellers said that the fish business started recording high patronage from Tuesday, the eve of Ash Wednesday.
A fish pond owner, Mr Augustine Ibe, said he made huge sales from the eve of Ash Wednesday, even when the prices did not change.
“The price of the fish, dried or fresh depends on their sizes. A kilo of the catfish cost N1,000 while the largest size of catfish cost between N3,000 and N5,000 per kilo.
Mrs Josephine Okwu, an ice fish seller at Garki Market, who confirmed the boom in fish retail outlets, said she was going for her second carton of the fish.
Okwu said that a carton of big size of ice fish, weighing 30kg cost between N18, 000 and N19, 000 while one ice fish depending on the size, could be sold for between N350 and N600.
She added that the 20 kilos of the same fish goes for N12, 500.
“We are always prepared for this day because it comes annually and it is an opportunity for us to make good sales and be happy at the end of the day,” she said.
Meanwhile, some meat sellers told NAN that the patronage in meat business was low due to Ash Wednesday.
Mr Okechukwu Ozo, a meat seller at Mayor Market, Enugu, said that meat patronage was low due to Ash Wednesday.
Ozo said that Enugu residents, who are mostly Christians and dominated by Catholics and Anglicans, were passionate about Ash Wednesday.
“Majority of the Enugu residents are Catholics and Anglicans, they are zealous about Ash Wednesday. We cannot sell as usual but we sell in small quantity,” Ozo said.
At Mayor Market, another meat seller, Mr Chika Eze, said he was not expecting high patronage, as after the Ash Wednesday, meat sales would pick up as usual.
“For me, today is just like a Sunday when business is dull, as you can see, most of the meat sellers are not having much on their table and customers are not coming as they should,” he said.