Bishop Francis Alleyne has urged the faithful to use season of Lent to renew their true Guyanese Christian identity.

As usual there was standing room only at Brickdam Cathedral at all three services held there on Ash Wednesday. Many other churches around the country also had large numbers attending the services to receive ashes on their foreheads.

Bishop Alleyne was the main celebrant at the evening service at Brickdam and extended a special invitation to all in the packed cathedral to return for the Easter vigil on April 3 because, said the Bishop, that is our primary identity as Christians. “We are Easter people so we should gather around the primary celebration of the Church… Lent is the season set apart for the celebration of Easter”, he reminded the congregation.

Msgr Terrence Montrose distributes ashes at the Church of the Ascension in the coastal town of New Amsterdam. Photo: Catholic Standard

The Bishop recalled his encounter in Church Street last October with two attackers who robbed him and threw him to the ground. He acknowledged that it was an experience which many people go through and it certainly put him more in touch with others who go through something similar or even suffer much more.

He also mentioned corruption which he “sometimes feels is so present among us”. Bishop Alleyne felt that these incidents and encounters also tell us that something is wrong with the world and that something is lost from human dignity. The sign of ash, he said, is to remind us of our disfigurement and of our wounded mortality and we take responsibility for it. Although we may not have perpetrated these acts ourselves, these things sometimes happen because of our inaction.

However, following the attack on him, he said numerous Guyanese met or called or e-mailed him from overseas to offer their sympathy and saying in so many words “This is not who we are”. According to the bishop he found this a true Easter display of who Guyanese really are and of the true Guyanese spirit.

He noted that there is much talk today about who we are, who we can be and who we need to be. He recommend that following the advice of the Prophet Joel the entire community should come together to realise that agenda of God’s image for his people; to recover whatever has been lost or tarnished; to take away the brokenness of mankind and restore its pristine image. He urged all as Guyanese to reach out and share life with their brothers and sisters, and encouraged the congregation to persevere with dedication and lively hearts during Lent, with Easter glory in our sights. - edited from Catholic Standard