The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, has urged Nigerians to embrace peace, stay resolute and be more united in spite of the socio-economic challenges in the country, saying “Some of the challenges that we bear have been imposed on us by bad leadership, bad governance and corruption”.
Martins stated this at the ‘Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross and investiture of Papal Chaplains, Knights and Medalists’, held recently at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos.
The feast of exaltation of the holy cross is an annual celebration of the Catholic Church held on September 14, which signifies the sacrifices of Jesus Christ Calvary. “The Holy Cross is the cross by which God brings salvation to mankind,” said Martins.
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The archbishop said these were difficult times for Nigerians. According to him, it seems Nigerians are carrying more crosses now than ever because of the present socio-economic challenges.
“So, we can only ask that in spite of our challenges, we should never lose focus of who we are as a people – a people that should be united more than we are now. So, we want to challenge those who lead us to try and see what can be done to lift the challenges Nigerians are facing now,” said Martins.
The homily, Pascal Nwazeapu of Divine Mercy, Catholic Church, Lekki, said a true Christian disciple does not retire from the service of the church. According to him, the success of the church lies not in the four walls of the church; but in the marketplace.
Nwazeapu in a homily titled, ‘The Holy Cross of Jesus: a call to mission’, stated that the death of Jesus and resurrection changed the course of history. “Our redemption cost Jesus his life,” he said.
He stated further that the real challenge before the church today was how to take control of the seven mountains that control and direct human activities.
