No fewer than 10,000 Catholic faithful, priests and religious on Saturday in Lagos prayed for peace, unity and end of all forms of crisis in Nigeria.
The prayer was offered during the 2020 Lagos Archdiocesan Lenten Pilgrimage at Ave Maria Grotto, Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “Your Word is a Lamp to my Feet”, Rev. Fr. Victor Okhiria said Christianity must be personal, practical and perpetual.
“The world is full of darkness, we need God’s word to bring forth light; to achieve this we must speak it, do it and mean it.
“We must live out the word which is love and with love, all the ongoing challenges would not exist; let us rise up and put an end to all evil that is gradually creeping into us,” he said.
He further urged the youth to beware of the ongoing “Malian group’’, saying, “Malian cult is a greater virus than Corona”.
Speaking during the Holy Mass, Rev. Fr. Steven Akinsawon of Holy Rosary parish, Ogba, Ikeja, said a world without God crumbles and cannot move forward.
“Ignorance of God’s word is a great set back to the progress of any developing nation, a nation in distress like ours needs the mighty hand of God to make the difference,” he said.
According to him, when we involve God in our affairs He changes things positively, so, any nation in distress should seek the face of God through His word.
Leading the intercessory prayers, Rev. Fr. Paul Amenaghawon from St Albert the Great Major Seminary prayed for peace and unity in the country.
The cleric specially prayed for President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders.
“Let God arise and heal wounds of unhealthy epidemic befalling our country. We need God’s mercy to wipe away all the ongoing speculated infections and diseases.
“We call on God to hear our plea for peace in making our people respect the dignity of human life that we cannot create yet we kill without mercy.
“We pray for our president and all our leaders for God’s intervention in governance, we ask God to put an end to ongoing insecurity,” he prayed.
He also prayed that God will give the scientists the grace and wisdom to discover the vaccine that will help eradicate the virus.
He also called on the faithful to pray individually and collectively during the Lenten season for God’s mercy on the country.
Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, Monsignor Francis Ogunmodede, priests, Rev. Sisters, Seminarians and several parishes in Lagos were in attendance.
Some of the activities were confessions, Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic Adoration, Counseling, worship and Holy Mass.
All persons were screened and given sanitizers upon arrival to prevent the unforeseen spread of the Coronavirus along with other security checks.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK