AS CHRISTIANS BEGIN THE LENT, BISHOP NWOKOLO ENTREATS NIGERIANS TO SEEK GOD’S GRACE, CALLS FOR HUMILITY

(By Alex Uzoigwe)

    As Christians in Nigeria joined their counterparts all over the world to commemorate Ash Wednesday, today, February 14, 2024, the Bishop of the Niger, the Rt Rev. Dr Owen Nwokolo, has encouraged Nigerians, to seek God's Grace for their spiritual and physical well-being.
    He also enjoined them to cultivate the spirit of humility irrespective of their various statuses, reminding them of the consequences of pride and a sense of superiority.
       Appealing the homily he said marking the Ash Wednesday at the Calvary Chapel, Episcopal House, GRA, Onitsha, Anambra State, Bishop Nwokolo said that humility was a veritable key to open the door of God's grace to humanity.
       He had in the homily which he tagged, "The power of Humility", explained that God is interested in people's humility but is disposed to oppose the proud, stopping and frustrating their efforts.
    "God does not spare the proud", he said, citing the stories of Nebuchadnezzar and King Herod in the Bible who he said lifted themselves in pride but were respectively humiliated and utterly destroyed.
      He assured that as one humbled oneself, "God will lavish His Grace on you", emphasising, "His Grace will make a difference in your lives".
       The bishop said that Christ, as the model of humility, taught mankind humility by His various examples, stating, "When you submit your life to Christ in humility, you begin to walk towards God in grace".
       He therefore called on Nigerians to collectively and individually align their lives in humility to the plans of God, who he said is "Everready to give you the power to succeed", appealling, "So In this Lenten Season may we learn how to be humble and sincerely submit our lives to God for our collective well-being".
      The bishop later administered ash on the foreheads of members of the congregation with the solemn distribution of the Holy Communion.
 The Ash Wednesday is a holy day in the Christian Calendar. It marks the beginning of the 40-day Lenten Season reminiscing the suffering of Jesus Christ before His arrest, trial and crucifixion.
   Virtually all churches in the Diocese of the Niger celebrated the day with various degrees of spiritual candour, sobriety and meditative solemnity.

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