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Nigerian Archbishop laments the loss of “the sense of neighbor” among Contemporary Realities and Calls for “true love”. Individualism is a mark of contemporary society, a Catholic Archbishop in Nigeria has observed with concern, and advocated for the revival of the spirit of good neighborliness, which demonstrates altruism and manifests “true love”.

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja in Nigeria observed in his Sunday, November 3 homily in which he reflected on the Readings of the thirty-first Sunday on the commandments of love.

“As we get closer to the end of the year, the readings draw our attention to the contemporary reality – a world rapidly losing the sense of neighbor,” Archbishop Kaigama observed during the Eucharistic celebration at Saint Monica’s Nyanya Pastoral Area of his Metropolitan See.

Individualism, he said, “seems to be the order of the day. Everybody thinks only of himself or herself. People hardly think of the other. They think they can relate with God alone, with or without their brothers and sisters.” The Nigerian Catholic Archbishop warned that the practice of individualism has far-reaching consequences. He said, “If we ignore our brother or sister, we will soon ignore God also.”

“Love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin. They cannot be separated,” he emphasized, and added, “You cannot speak to God lovingly in prayer if you don’t treat your neighbor lovingly in action.”

Archbishop Kaigama described as “hypocrisy” the attempt to love God and ignore the neighbor and added, “The key to a loving contact with God and with our soul is a loving contact with our neighbor.”

“Our love has to have a human form because, in the end, we will be judged, not by how long we lived, but by how much we loved,” he said. The Catholic Church leader called upon worshippers, who participated in the Holy Mass he presided over at St. Monica’s Nyanya Pastoral Area to reflect on the current situation of their various relationships.

He posed, “Is there anyone that you refuse to talk to, see, or visit, yet you are in Church? How friendly are you with those who share the same neighborhood?”

“How many people have you refused to forgive or become reconciled with? Yet you claim to be a practicing, Christian?” Archbishop Kaigama further posed.

Reflecting on Jesus’ response to the question about the first and greatest commandment, the Nigerian Catholic Church leader said, “You cannot spend the whole day praying to God, but cannot create time to talk to your neighbor. It is not so much the love of God and the love of neighbor, but the love of God through the love of neighbor.”

The response of Jesus to the Scribe, who asked about the first and greatest commandment was “a very great lesson on love,” the Local Ordinary of Abuja since November 2019 said.

“For Jesus, the law of love supersedes the rest of the laws. Jesus means to teach us that there is more to religion than rituals. Jesus observed that the Scribes and Pharisees were deficient in what He called the weightier matters of the law namely: love and care, mercy and compassion, justice and fair play,” he added. Archbishop Kaigama went on to reflect on the call of St. Augustine in his sermon on love: “Love and do what you like.”

“This statement means that freedom comes from true love. When we genuinely love God and our neighbor, our actions naturally align with God’s will. Love becomes the guiding principle of our lives, leading us to act justly, kindly, and humbly,” he said.

“It is not about following rigid rules, but about allowing love to permeate every aspect of our lives. So many people cross oceans, and climb mountains in search of God. Still, one place they rarely search for God is in their fellow human beings,” he further observed at the November 3 Eucharistic celebration, during which he conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation to 205 candidates.

He addressed the candidates for Confirmation, saying, “For those of you who will be confirmed today, 205 of you, you must bear the fruits of love.” Archbishop Kaigama also urged couples, who received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony during the November 3 event to “bear fruits of love”.

“We must henceforth live our lives as those who have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we must allow those gifts to transform us into instruments to spread God’s love to the ends of the earth,” he emphasized.

Turning his attention to parents, he appealed that they take their role as the first teachers of love in the family. These days, he lamented, “Instead of parents teaching their children how to love God through loving their neighbors, they indoctrinate and instigate them to hate.”

“As long as parents and teachers fail to transmit these teachings to them, society will continue to be in a worse state. Only the practice of the love of God and neighbor will help us get rid of corruption, insecurity, economic hardship, immorality, ethnicity, etc.,” the 66-year-old Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in April 1995 as Bishop of Nigeria’s Jalingo Catholic Diocese said.

He also addressed himself to those, who were to be “inaugurated as members of the new pastoral council and laity council”, saying, “You are also leaders and you must lead with love. Love should be your guiding principle.”

“We pray that through the intercession of our Mother Mary, we will have the heart to love God and our neighbor. May this type of love fill our hearts and guide our actions, today and always,” Archbishop Kaigama said on November 3.

Rev. Fr. George Nwachukwu
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