Religion
CATHOLIC Church in Abuja, Nigeria, led by John Cardinal Onaiyekan celebrates the centenary of Our Lady of Fatima on May 20.
JOHN Cardinal Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, and Anselm Umoren, auxiliary bishop, led the clergy, the religious and thousands of Catholic faithful in a well-attended solemn celebration of the 3rd National Marian Congress/Centenary of the Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, in Abuja on Saturday, May 20.
The programme organised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja at the Eagle Square, Three Arms Zone in Nigeria’s Federal Capital, kicked off with Eucharistic Adoration followed by a Rosary Procession with the Statue of Our Lady mounted on a well-decorated vehicle while the religious including Cardinal Onaiyekan and the auxiliary bishop and the laity marched along in prayer.
The procession and Rosary recitation was followed by a Mass officiated by the Cardinal, assisted by the bishop and a dozen of priests.
In his homily, Onaiyekan sued for religious tolerance, with love and solidarity in the family, noting that “Heaven is meant to accommodate everyone and not just a few.”
Alluding to Nigeria’s on-going war against corruption, the senior cleric counsels: “We should wage war against sin and not against the sinner,” adding: “we should pray for the conversion (and salvation) of sinners.”
He traced the history of Blessed Virgin Mary’s six appearances and messages to three children in Portugal’s small village of Fatima between May and October 1917.
“We have to take our children seriously because God can speak to us through them,” he said, noting that two of the Fatima messages centred on the need for humanity to love God and neighbour and to live a life of holiness, as well as the need to pray for sinners or those who may not deserve our love.
The third message, Cardinal Onaiyekan said emphasised peace in the family and the world, and “opening of our hearts to embrace others.”
He spoke about the “mystery of God’s providence and what appeared to be accidental coincidence” in the choice of Fatima, a village with Muslim history for the Marian apparition, explaining that the fulfilment of the Fatima message of peace through the end of World War 1 in 1918, is a demonstration that God will always provide a solution to even the most difficult situation.
Cardinal Onaiyekan, therefore enjoined Nigerians not to lose hope but to trust in God to see the country through its difficult period.
In a special prayer of consecration, the entire Archdiocese of Abuja was then handed over to the protection of Our Lady of Fatima, and for the statue to begin its journey across the Dioceses until September 2017 when the Archbishop would have chosen a permanent
Diocese for it.
The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria has declared 2017 a Marian Year under the theme: “Do whatever He tells you,” a scriptural reference to Jesus Christ’s first miracle at Cana in Galilee, when the wine ran out at a marriage ceremony, and Mary, His mother had to intervene before He turned water into wine.
The Marian Year activities kicked off with Parish Congresses May 7 – 13, in Abuja. The programme would be rounded off with a National Celebration at the Ogbe Stadium, Benin City, Edo State, October 12 – 14, 2017.
The Eagle Square remained abuzz on Saturday even after the solemn programme under a friendly weather as vendors of food and sundry religious items made brisk sales.
– May 21, 2017 @ 12:48 GMT |
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