The Bishop of Enugu Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga, has called on Nigerians to use the 2025 Lenten season as a time to seek God’s guidance and turn away from all forms of evil.
Speaking ahead of the sacred period, Onaga emphasized that true repentance would invite divine intervention in both individual lives and the nation’s challenges.
Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and prayer observed by Christians worldwide, begins with Ash Wednesday on March 5 and ends on Holy Saturday, April 19, before Easter Sunday on April 20.
The bishop urged Nigerians to reflect on their actions, repent, and seek God’s help to overcome the country’s difficulties.
He tasked them on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, saying that Christians were expected to fast for 40 days to prepare themselves for the paschal mystery of Christ.
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The bishop encouraged them to abstain from those things that give them pleasure such as cutting down the intake of drinks and food, as well as excessive dressing, as a way of sacrifice, while using the excesses for almsgiving.
“Once you are a human being, you have your shortcomings and once you have your shortcomings, you are a sinner. So, observing the Lenten season helps Christians to turn away from their sins,” Onaga said.
While noting that the government and those in power require repentance, the bishop said, “We talk about the government, they themselves require repentance including the president and the governors. The government as a system needs repentance. Our nation, politicians and individuals need to repent and turn away from cheating and corrupt practices.
“We should make effort to reconcile, mend our fences and forgive one another.
“All of us in Nigeria should be repentant in how we treat nature. In the markets and on the streets, some people force fruits such as mangoes, udara, bananas to ripe with chemicals. 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.