Lent “a time to change our mentalities, habits”: Catholic Archbishop in Gabon

Libreville, 18 February, 2024 / 9:25 PM

The Lenten Season accords the people of God an opportunity to realize a transformation in their thoughts and day-to-day actions as they reach out to each other with love and compassion and renew their relationship with God, the Archbishop of Gabon’s Catholic Archdiocese of Libreville has said.

In his 2024 Lenten Message, Archbishop Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba says, “Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and sharing, when we are invited to renew our commitment to God and to our brothers and sisters.”

“It's time to change our mentalities and habits in this time of transition. It's an opportunity for each of us to return to the Lord,” Archbishop Iba-Ba says in his Lenten Message dated Thursday, February 15.

The Gabonese Catholic Archbishop goes on to emphasize the need for Christians to “deepen” their relationship with God by the practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the three pillars of the Lenten Season.

“During these forty days, I encourage you to deepen your relationship with God through prayer and meditation on His Word, which is the light of your steps and the lamp of your path,” the Local Ordinary of Libreville since his installation in April 2020 says.

He implores, “May our fasting be a sign of our desire to turn away from sin and draw closer to God, so that a more just and fraternal society may be born in this time of transition.”

“And may our sharing with those in need be a witness to our love for God and neighbor,” the 57-year-old Catholic Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in January 2018 as Bishop of Gabon’s Franceville Diocese says. 

He prays that this year’s Lenten Season becomes “for all of us a time of conversion, of gratitude to God and of spiritual renewal.”

“May God help us to be witnesses of his love and mercy in the world,” Archbishop Iba-Ba implores in his February 15 Lenten Message.