Moral formation, they say in their Lenten Campaign guide, “is a foundation for the journey to holiness that all Christians and other people of goodwill are invited into through the sacraments, reaching out to our neighbors and being responsible stewards of God’s gifts to us.”
The Bishops describe moral formation as a “call to holiness” and decry Kenya’s seeming loss of moral compass.
“Integrity is a moral tenet and an administrative principle that, if respected, helps us recognize the need for an upright and selfless service to each other, regardless of one’s social status,” KCCB members note in the 56-page Lenten Campaign booklet.
Making reference to the Gospel according to Matthew, KCCB members recall that Jesus Christ summarizes the lessons on integrity when he says, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people that you do unto me.”
“Our conduct and our works ought to reflect honesty, accountability and transparency. In this way we shall be at the service of each other as brothers and sisters of the same God,” they explain.
Set to run until the end of the Lent Season on April 1, the Bishops explain that they are focusing the Lenten Campaign on moral formation “because of the lessons we are learning from the realities around us.”
Such realities include “the existential threats to the family, the worrying cases of teen pregnancies, political mobilization of youth to cause violence, rampant corruption, insecurity in parts of the country and the tendencies to break the love and unity of our country, which is essentially a family of God,” the Bishops in their collective document.
Against this background, the Bishops say that the weekly thematic areas of the Lenten Campaign “reflect the spirit” of the Bishops’ Pastoral Letter that was issued in February 2020 at the Marian Shrine in Subukia, in Kenya’s Diocese of Nakuru.
The weekly thematic areas are meant to guide personal and community reflections. They include holiness in the family, holiness in the moral formation of the youth, holiness in breaking the chain of corruption, moral duty to improving security for all, and finding holiness in the common good.
During the Lenten Campaign, Catholics across the country will be expected to make Lenten contributions at Parish level, with the proceeds rechanneled to Parishes and the national CJPC office for various needs.
