Oyo, 22 February, 2023 / 9:15 pm (ACI Africa).
This year’s Lenten Season is a time that Nigerians are “knocking on heaven’s door”, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo in Nigeria has said, noting that the West African nation, especially, needs God’s mercy ahead of the country’s general elections.
In a reflection shared with ACI Africa on the eve of Ash Wednesday, Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo underlines the need to mobilize “all human, material and spiritual resources to attract God’s mercy” as the country prepares to elect the President, Vice President, members of the Senate, and those of the House of Representatives on Saturday, February 25.
He says that Lent this year is especially important for Nigerians who he says are “longsuffering” and “exasperated”.
“Lent is a 40-day season of great hope for Christians. Leading up to Easter, it calls for repentance, and the mobilization of all human, material and spiritual resources to attract God’s mercy and favor on our personal lives and that of our country,” he says in his message shared with ACI Africa Tuesday, February 21.
Attracting the favor of God, he says, “is important for longsuffering, exasperated Nigerians especially as we elect new leaders to lead us into the future.”