By Olivia Obijiaku
Celebrating the Mass on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the Dean of Samaru Deanery of the Catholic Diocese of Zaria, Very Rev. Fr. Patrick Andrew Atama cautioned the faithful against the love of material possession, especially money. He reflected on the betrayal of Jesus by one of His twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, detailing how his attachment to money made him to do the unthinkable.
The priest also identified such love as a major hindrance to the progress of Nigeria and her citizens, even as he proffered detachment from such things and embracing wisdom, as a way out. He explained that the way one uses what they have, influences the place of God in their lives and also their priority, a lot. He referenced, “After everything, Judas did not use the money he collected for betraying Jesus. We can now see the vanity of everything.”
“A lot of things are happening today because of that thing called ‘money’.” The clergyman noted. “We see betrayals every day. People are ready to betray their friendships because of money. People betray their brothers and sisters because of money. And so my dear friends in Christ, we have to be very careful with the way we handle material things and our quest for them, because they either direct us to God or lead us away from Him. It depends on how we use them. It is either we use them to glorify God or for our selfish reasons – in order to glorify ourselves.”
“Money has a way of making people to do a lot of evil. Judas already knew that Jesus was talking about him, when He said, ‘One of you would Me.’ But, he was waiting for the right moment and immediately he received the bread from Jesus, it was night for him. He did not only step into darkness, he was dark after that moment, because Satan took over him, and at the end he lost everything. If you allow money to influence you, you will forget your Creator. You will forget that this life is temporal.”
“Today, in Nigeria, human life does not matter anymore because of money. There is killing every now and then. We have politicized everything. Let us keep that thing aside and look at the value of human life. There is no amount that can buy one life. Do we allow money to control us or do we use it to glorify God, by helping those who are helpless, or do we use everything on ourselves? Are we ready to let go of the trust that people have for us or are we ready to stand firm, despite the hardship that come our way?”
