By Linet Maina
ABUJA, JULY 9, 2024, (CISA) – The Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has launched the Year of Prayer 2024 in anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year as desired by Pope Francis that the year preceding the Jubilee, to be devoted to a great “symphony” of prayer.
Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of Abuja while presiding over the celebration at St. Christopher’s Church in Games Village, Abuja, on July 7, underscored the relevance of praying while emphasizing the significance of the year of prayer to enable the people to “recover in greater measure the desire to be in the presence of the Lord, to listen to Him and worship Him.”
“The inauguration of the year of prayer redirects us to do even more of what we are already doing in private or public. The Holy Father, Pope Francis, wants us to deepen our relationship with God through a deeper prayer life. We know how every Catholic is taught to pray, beginning with the sign of the Cross. And progressively, we learn how to pray with our own words or in meditation or contemplation or praying with the word of God (Lectio Divina). Many of us can achieve many of our needs with our hands and talents, but more easily on our knees, i.e. when we are men and women of prayer,” stated Archbishop Kaigama.
In his homily, the archbishop encouraged the faithful to embrace prayer as essential to their lives, recognizing the contemporary struggle where many have forsaken prayer and diminished God’s role in their lives.
“In this age when secularism dominates and some people prefer to exclude God from the world, we must listen to St. Paul’s advice in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to “pray without ceasing.” We know that the great progress today in communication technology, space science, and the so-called civilization of those who used to be dependent on God, but now do no longer see the need for God, not to talk of praying or taking prayer seriously, are all thanks to the inspiration of God,” he said.
The archbishop urged, “Prayer was an integral part of Jesus’ life and ministry. Prayer should, therefore, be the oxygen of our Christian heartbeat.”
Archbishop Kaigama highlighted the profound power of prayer in people’s lives as a refuge and consoling way of communing with God. He observed that it serves as a sanctuary where individuals find solace, express gratitude, seek guidance, and deepen their spiritual connection.
“When you remove prayer from the activity of many Nigerians, they will spiritually suffocate badly and their hope of overcoming crises, violence, social challenges etc, will be completely dashed. Prayer helps us to keep going, even against all odds. With the multidimensional problems of Nigeria, without the persistent and hope-filled prayer, we would have perhaps, fallen deep into the darkest abyss of depression and sorrow,” he noted.
“What the Pope is teaching us is that prayer should not become a mere recitation of formulas…,” he said, adding “We must pay attention to the words and phrases we pronounce at prayer. We must pray from the depth of the heart like the psalmist who says, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.”
Archbishop Kaigama urged the faithful to complement their prayers with actions, arguing that prayer alone will not solve their challenges. He emphasized the need for proactive engagement in addressing societal issues, such as poverty, injustice, and inequality.
“While we pray and wait for God to bless the works of our hands. Prayer alone will not solve every problem, neither will folding our arms and waiting for either the government or our neighbours or friends to act for us. All must go together. It is a personal as well as a collective duty to make life better for everyone. So, we must do more than trust in God. We must also make a move, we must take a step farther to approach God, through prayer and hard work,” counselled the ordinary of Abuja, adding that “God never intended prayer to be a substitute for hard work.”
“Dear friends, remember your prayer at waking, meal times, work, angelus, Mass, Lectio Divina, etc. The greatest prayer that contains all is the one taught by Jesus which is the theme of our Year of Prayer,” stated Archbishop Kaigama, encouraging the faithful to be agents of change in their communities, using their prayers as a source of inspiration and guidance for meaningful action.
In Nigeria, the Archdiocese of Abuja, along with the dioceses of Ahiara and Umuahia, have begun the year of prayer in preparation for the Jubilee year of 2025.
On May 9, 2024, Pope Francis promulgated the decree, known as a “Bull of Indiction,” for the Jubilee Year 2025, which he will open at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 24, 2024, and close on January 6, 2026.
According to reports, the first Jubilee in the Catholic Church was proclaimed in the year 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII, and since then, a Jubilee Year has been held every 25 years. The 2025 Jubilee will be Pope Francis’ second Jubilee, as he decreed an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015.
