By PJ Usanga (CSN Media)
As the world welcomes the year 2025, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja, has called for global and national peace, as well as an end to man-made disasters currently being experienced worldwide.
In his homily at the Holy Mass commemorating the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the New Year celebration at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Nyanya, Cardinal Onaiyekan lamented the turbulent and painful experiences that characterized the year 2024. He noted that most of these painful experiences, such as hunger, insecurity, and untold hardship, were not natural disasters but man-made, resulting from policies implemented by leaders and the government.
“We pray that God will inspire our leaders to change and review their policies and to take different and more effective actions to promote the well-being and security of our people,” Cardinal Onaiyekan said.
Cardinal Onaiyekan further emphasized the need for world leaders to prioritize peace, citing ongoing conflicts in the Holy Land, Jerusalem, Ukraine, Russia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others. “May world leaders heed the advice that it is better to yield to peace than war,” he admonished.
The Prince of the Church also reflected on the significance of the New Year, noting that the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ has become a universally accepted reference point for measuring humanity’s years. “The whole world is celebrating the New Year, even when most of them do not celebrate Christmas, but the celebration of the New Year will be meaningless if you do not talk about Jesus,” he affirmed.
Explaining the significance of the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the 80-year-old Prelate noted that the celebration marks the end of the octave of Christmas. “Today is the end of the octave of Christmas… So today, which is eight days after Christmas, Jesus was circumcised according to Jewish law and given the name Jesus. The name Jesus means Savior, because he was to save the world from sin,” he explained.
The Cardinal further noted that the focus of today’s celebration is on the Blessed Virgin Mary, who carried the child Jesus, emphasizing that “she knew that the child was not just an ordinary baby, but the Mother of God, hence Mary became the Mother of God.”
The Emeritus Archbishop, who has maintained a 30-year tradition of celebrating the New Year Mass with the Catholic Community of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Nyanya, imparted his paternal blessings on them. “We have come to thank God for keeping us alive throughout 2024, and we pray that this new year will bring even greater blessings.”
