By Odiwuor Opiyo
LUSAKA, DECEMBER 15, 2021 (CISA) – “When we look at the world around us with a critical eye, we are able to realize the worldwide fast-spreading process of de-Christianization sustained by secularization and materialism,” read a statement on this year’s advent message by the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).
The statement signed by Rev Fr Francis Mukosa, the Secretary-General of ZCCB on the new liturgical season that was inaugurated worldwide on November 28, 2021, expressed the loss of faith in God terming it a “generalized crisis of faith.”
“Some Christians among us do not get involved in aggressively reaching out to the lost, hurt and scattered ‘sheep’ because either they have lost their faith or they have not been sufficiently initiated in the Christian faith,” the Bishops said.
“The lack of faith Jesus talked about in the parable narrated in the Gospel of St. Luke 18:1-18, is the one motivated by fear; that is, the lack of trust that God really cares about us, individually and collectively, and will take care of us and our needs if we decide to walk with him and let him have his way into our lives (especially during this time of the Covid 19 pandemic and its adverse effects.) Indeed, there is urgency to reconstitute a society that is God-centred,” they emphasized.
The bishops reiterated the urgency for a new way of evangelization while urging Christians to play a more active role by renewing their faith in, “the way we speak, the way we act, our attitude and our deeds.”
“The Lord expects to be welcomed when he comes. Let us take advantage of this season of Advent to get ready for that great day,” urged the statement.
