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May Ash Wednesday Not Be “an empty ritual, with no grace of God”: Catholic Archbishop in Nigeria Warns of Insincerity

Archbishop Matthew Ishaya Audu of Nigeria's Catholic Archdiocese of Jos
Nicholas Waigwa

By Nicholas Waigwa

Jos, 04 March, 2025 / 10:44 pm (ACI Africa).

Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten Season, when Catholics as well as members of other churches receive ashes on their foreheads as a mark of human mortality and the value of repentance, can be meaningless if we are not honest and sincere about our need for renewal with God, a Catholic Archbishop in Nigeria has warned. 

In his Ash Wednesday reflection, which ACI Africa obtained on Tuesday, March 4, Archbishop Mathew Ishaya Audu emphasizes the necessity of remorsefulness and readiness for penance during the Lenten Season.

“If you do not accept that you are a sinner and you are not ready to do penance during the Lenten period, then there is no need for you to allow yourself to be marked with ashes,” the Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Jos says.  

Archbishop Ishaya warns that without sincerity of heart in the need to reconcile with God, Ash Wednesday becomes “an empty ritual and accompanied with no grace of God.”

“Ashes are only for those who accept they are sinners and are ready to do penance” he emphasizes, adding that sinners ready for reconciliation with God “will receive God's forgiveness.”

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In his reflection, the Catholic Archbishop, who has been at the helm of the Jos Metropolitan See since March 2020 urges the people of God to heed Jesus’ invitation to care for the less privileged in their midst as a “sign of repentance and accepting God’s forgiveness at this time of lent.”

“So, as you begin this Lenten season ask yourselves how are you going to respond to this request by Jesus? What plan are you going to put in place to take care of the poor?” he says. 

Archbishop Ishaya further encourages the fostering of a more prayerful life and fasting in order to focus more on the relationship with God and charitable deeds. He explains, "Fasting is not simply a reduction in our food, but the elimination of our evil habits."

“Fasting is not limited to food alone, but fasting from sin and some bad habits can even be more challenging,” he says, and notes, “More often than not, we find it easier to fast for the sake of dieting than fasting for spiritual growth.”

The Catholic Church leader, who began his Episcopal Ministry as Bishop of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Lafia in March 2001 describes the Lenten Season as a time to rediscover our profound relationship with God, on whom everything depends.

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The Lenten Season is a time to discern, where our hearts are directed, the 65-year-old Nigerian Catholic Archbishop says in his Ash Wednesday reflection and implores for God’s protection in the struggle against evil during the 2025 Lenten Season.

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