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ALLELUIA: OUR HOPE IN GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IS RENEWED AND STRENGTHENED

With faith, hope and joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I greet you dear people of God and wish you happy Easter. Let me share with you the message of hope in God’s faithfulness which the celebration of Easter brings to us again. God triumphed over sin and death by raising Jesus Christ from dead and paying the price for our sins. This is our joy in celebrating the Easter festivities.

The celebration of Easter helps us to reflect on the free gift of grace bestowed on us. If we ever find ourselves doubting if God is faithful, we just need to look to the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It affords us the grace to see how God is faithful to His covenant and how He will continue to be faithful forever in keeping His promises. His mercy and faithfulness were both clearly displayed right from the beginning of creation and the Cross is
the ultimate display of this faithfulness. On the Cross, we saw prophecies from the Old Testament being fulfilled, the greatest rescue mission of a suffering Savior and the purest act of love that the world has ever known. God is faithful to forgive our sins, even in our
unfaithfulness.

The Easter celebrations thus offer profound lessons for us particularly in this Jubilee Year of
Hope that though life brings seasons of darkness and despair, hope in God never disappoints (Rm.5:5) for those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength (Is 40:31). As pilgrims of hope, we must reignite hope in all human endeavour and enthrone the structures of hope in the socio-economic and political life of our nation.

While we appreciate the effort of government to confront the myriads of problems confronting our nation, we advocate that more needs to be done to address the rising cases of hunger, insecurity, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and other forms of criminality in our country. We commend the efforts of the security agencies and supreme price they pay to secure our nation, we encourage them never to despair and urge government to provide for them the necessary tools for engagement.

However, in our engagement as a Church with people at the grassroot, we try to attend to some of their needs within our means but more effort is needed particularly considering the adverse effects of a plummeting economy, food insecurity, poor health care etc. Sadly, they often see their dreams and aspirations frustrated because of the lack of attention to their plights. It is on this note that we call on men and women of goodwill to be more charitable in this season of Easter to their brothers and sisters. We call on Nigerians to be agents of hope
in whatever capacity they can. The little acts of love and encouragement we give to one another can restore hope in our brothers and sisters. Let us be sensitive and interested in the wellbeing of one another as we look to the future with hope.

We must restore hope in the minds of young people so they can fulfil their dreams and aspirations in their own country rather than emigrating to other countries for greener pastures.
Unfortunately, brain drain in Nigeria is gradually becoming brain waste and damage to national development; we are losing our best hands to other nations. Poverty alleviation must
be top on government agenda at this time, and borrowing should be channeled to the provision of basic social infrastructures, health care delivery etc. The judiciary must clearly be the citadel of hope for the common man and woman.

Let us keep hope in God alive as we celebrate Easter. Jesus’ resurrection assures us that even in our lowest moments, God is at work, bringing us new life and possibilities. Just as Christ
rose to new life, we are called to walk in the newness of life. May the joy of the risen Christ fill our hearts and may the flame of charity enkindled in our minds by the Holy Spirit strengthen in us the blessed hope for the coming of God’s kingdom. We pray that the grace of the Jubilee Year may reawaken in us, pilgrims of hope, a yearning for the treasures of Heaven in order to spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. Amen. Happy Easter to you all.

Most Rev. Dr. Peter Odetoyinbo
Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta
19th April, 2025