Catholics, consecrated persons in particular have been charged to borrow a leaf from Christ by expending themselves in the service of God and service of the people, just like Christ did after His consecration and presentation in the temple. The charge was given by Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, during the celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and 2023 Day of Consecrated Life, held recently at St. John Catholic Church, Igando, Lagos. Archbishop Martins said that the feast of the presentation of the Lord signifies the coming together of heaven and earth, as well as the Old Testament and New Testament in the person of Jesus. According to the Archbishop, the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, fulfilled the law of the Old Testament and launched the era of Jesus, the leader of the New Covenant. He said the occasion teaches Catholics that each of them is consecrated to God by their baptism, as they are set apart for God and for humanity by expending themselves in the service of God and humanity. On the significance of lighted candles during procession into the Church, Archbishop Martins said: “Jesus was referred to as the light of the nations by Simeon in the scriptures, and our carrying the light is to say that we belong to Jesus and therefore, we will also carry the light of Jesus to the ends of the earth by the way we live, also by the way we proclaim him with the words of our mouth.
Speaking on the state of the nation, the Archbishop said that there is too much suffering in the land, as the people have to queue to get things these days. He added that the country loses man hours, lots of energy, as life becomes hard for the people. Pointing to the reported riots that broke out in some parts of the country, the Archbishop appealed to government to rule with compassion, as well as make policies that are friendly to the people. He said: “The rulers shouldn’t create a situation in which people have to suffer even much more than they are suffering now. The idea of the currencies that are simply not available, even if you have money in the bank, you don’t have it in hand to go and buy what you need. You want to buy fuel, and the fuel is too expensive in any case. ”So, we just need to ask government to govern with compassion and with due consideration for the welfare of people because as it is so, it will seem that they just throw out policies without considering the impact upon the daily life of people, and that is not good. On attacks on Christians, especially in the northern part of the country, the Archbishop said: “The attack by the so-called bandits is so widespread all over the country, but particularly in the northern part of the country. When you narrow it down, you find out that it mostly happens in places that are predominantly Christians in population. Government is not doing enough to ensure that these populations are secured. And we just need to ask government to do much more than is being done in order that the people can be protected. The first duty of any government is to ensure the security of lives and properties and then the welfare of people.
