NAIROBI: Hundreds of Catholic faithful in Nairobi on Wednesday thronged churches to mark the Ash Wednesday Lent season, which starts the 40-day fasting period that will culminate in the Easter celebrations. Celebrating the Ash Wednesday mass at the Holy Family Minor Basilica today, the Fr. in charge, Rev. Fr. Michael Ndichu, called on the faithful to use the Lent season to reflect on themselves and their relationship with God.
According to Kenya News Agency, Fr. Ndichu emphasized the need for repentance, stating, "We have gone astray; let us not cling on our own; listen to the voice that tells us to repent and return to the Lord. There is nothing one has done that is greater than God's mercy." He pointed out that people often behave as if God does not exist and warned against filling the void with sloth and corruption by using positions of power to amass wealth.
Fr. Ndichu noted that Lent is a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. He urged those giving alms to do so for the benefit of others without seeking recognition. "Fasting is not only from food, but from other sinful ways such as gossip, corruption vices and being insincere," he added.
He observed that many in the country have become greedy, amassing wealth while others suffer in hospitals and families face crises. "The mess we find ourselves in is our own doing; we should look at ourselves. Ask yourselves, What is your contribution to what we are experiencing currently as a nation?" stressed Fr. Ndichu. He urged people to be charitable, care for each other, and overcome pride, anger, gluttony, and lust, praying for humility.
During the mass, priests administered ashes on the foreheads of the faithful, symbolizing penance and contrition. In his sermon, Rev. Fr. Boniface Kimani encouraged starting the Lent journey with humility, repentance, and belief in the gospel. He reminded the congregation that the ash on their foreheads serves as a reminder of their mortality and the need for repentance and humility.
The ashes, made from blessed palms used on Palm Sunday the previous year, remind the faithful of God's mercy to those with repentant hearts. Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is a time for Catholics to express sorrow for their sins and seek to draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving over 40 days. The Lent season recalls Jesus Christ's 40 days and nights of fasting in the wilderness.
Ash Wednesday originated from a Jewish tradition of penance and fasting, where ashes symbolized mourning according to the Bible.