Lenten Season is over.what next?

Lent officially starts with the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday and ends with a feast on Easter Sunday. This 40 day journey of grace winds its way through condemnation, recognition of our sins, repentance, substitution, sacrifice & glorification. I recall how the Catholic Church or Divine Mercy,Lekki,Lagos church building was filled to capacity, as people trooped in to collect the mark of penitence on their foreheads. The blackened forehead of so many people was the butt of several office jokes. The ritual also appealed to non Catholics who queued up at the local church to receive the mark of repentance. On this occasion the Church perfectly executes its motherly role and accepts all as her children. The sermon is sober and boils down to one main message- we have another chance to develop our intimacy with our creator. This is a period to shut out the noise created by the hubbub of our minds as we go about in hunter gatherer mode collecting the trash of life that we call riches and the eat food that doesnt last more than 24 hours before hitting the sewage. We are called to focus on things that last more than 40 days our relationship with God. We are reminded of this through the life of one man- Jesus Christ- who has become our symbol and role model of what God expects of his children. Above all this ,the Love of God who is ready to forgive us our sins resounds all through this season. In the sermon of Ash Wednesday, Jesus advises us not to parade our uprightness in public and eschew hypocrisy. Mt6:1-6, 16-18. Keeping this in mind we launch into the discipline of fasting, prayer and almsgiving for 40 days. Jesus warning is fresh in our minds; therefore, we recall that this is an act of love and reconciliation not piety and glory seeking. The season is rich with lessons, tradition and rituals. We celebrate the Annunciation, Palm Sunday & Chrism Mass; we encounter Noah , Naaman & Nicodemus; we witness the Passover, Transfiguration, the entry into Jerusalem; We see Judas betrayal, the high priests condemnation, the killing of an innocent man. We participate in the rituals- Palm Sunday, washing of feet, processions and Vigils. With the 40 days over, the memory of this intense period of prayer and intimacy with God is not expected to fade away. What are we taking away from the lessons of the period? What inspirations have been placed in our minds and hearts in this period? What changes do we need to make to ensure that we do not waste the precious time we have on earth doing useless stuff? What conscious plans do we make to ensure that we stay focused on the real goal of life? How do we serve humanity better? The church is there to guide and support the faithful and all people of goodwill. The social doctrines of the church encourages us to take the spirit of Christ with us wherever we go and apply these simple principles of love and service to our secular society because the salvation of the world is the ultimate end game and the impact of Christs light must be felt as we strive to make the world a better place for the oppressed and the forgotten in the world. Our work practices, ethics, professional conduct and political decisions must be guided by the light of Christ which should seek to elevate the status of man from a fallen beast to a dignified creation of the Lord of the Universe, worthy of respect at all times, irrespective of outward design.

This purpose of the Catholic church was particularly reinforced for me with two events in this Lenten season. Attending mass at the Holy Family Cathedral, Nairobi, Kenya and St Francis Xavier Church, Ahmedabad,India. Hearing the common prayers of the church and the mass celebrated in these two great countries one in Swahili & another in Hindi opened my eyes to a great insight. If I didnt know these rituals, practices and prayers from my personal experience in the church, I would have interpreted them entirely through the prism of our cultural, political, social beliefs and prejudices about other races. I recall hearing Salaam Maria and realizing that Salaam is just a greeting not a religious incantation! When I saw Hail Mary written in Hindi script on a signpost, I really got enlightened about the limitations that education and ignorance place upon the citizens of the world. I recall the feeling of brotherhood I experienced when I attended Palm Sunday Service at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Ahmedabad, India. With all the cultural & Language differences, the message of Christ was still fresh here and the universal call to holiness and service resounded thousands of miles away from my home in Africa. I am encouraged with the message of hope, peace and love that the Catholic Church teaches all over the world. My prayer is that all people of goodwill, irrespective of religion and culture come to the true understanding of these precepts and stop the mindless practice of religious bigotry so prevalent in certain regions of the world. Embracing these basic virtues is a sure way achieving the full potential of mankind on earth.