My Lent prayer for Pakistan
Now is the time when voices must emerge.
This year, Lent began on March 9 for Christians. Lent is a period of fasting leading up to the feast of Easter, recalling Jesus’ 40 day fast in the wilderness, where he had to struggle with hunger, thirst and the temptations of the devil.
In Catholic churches, ashes in the shape of the Cross are applied on the foreheads of all Christians. It is a symbol that we are from “dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). It reminds us that God created everything and no one has superiority over Him.
Through these 40 days of lent, Christians should give up food and eat only one full meal in a day. As clearly mentioned in the Bible, Luke 4:1-2:
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry.”
The Bible also instructs not to make faces or look sad to show other people you are fasting but instead be contented and while praying, go inside the room and lock the door. So that it is noticed only by the Father in heaven who will give the reward.
With this we learn to control our material excesses and achieve greater self-discipline in life. This teaches us self-denial, repentance and conversion. The few basic tasks that help our spirituality grow during the season of lent are fasting, prayer, regular reading of the Scriptures, attending worship services and almsgiving.
The final week of lent is the time of preparation for the holy days, which include Palm Sunday, Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when people greeted the prophet and waved palm leaves. To celebrate this day, palms and palm leaves are distributed after the mass at Church.
Holy Thursday is the remembrance of Jesus’ sharing last supper with the disciples. Good Friday, the crucifixion of Jesus, is the day of abstinence, that helps Christians reflect on Jesus’ endless love for us.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate our salvation and resurrection of Jesus Christ after three days from the dead thus, marking Christ’s victory over evil.
This year on Lent
Dear brothers and sisters, as we fast through this season of Lent, I believe that great victories can be won. The assassination of the Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti is an illustration of religious intolerance that is creeping into the roots of Pakistan.
We need to realise that our house will not collapse if we build it upon a rock rather than upon the sand. Let us remember how bitterly our freedom was won and the sacrifices that were made by our forefathers to create Pakistan.
But are we paying the price for the liberty that we fought for?
Now is the time when voices must emerge or else we will be forced to mourn the day when there is no sign of any white in our flags.
Let us all agree at least on this that the same sun gives me light as it does to you; that I see the same stars as you, I drink the same water as you, and I like the same meat as you.
Believe it or not, mankind is one.
Here is my prayer for our country:
“O God of our lives, You are worthy of majesty, honor, and praise. We come before You to ask for Your forgiveness. Your almighty hand had blessed us with this land, but today, we are losing our spiritual equilibrium.
Lord, I lift up our nations’ leaders to you. Please guide and direct them. Our nation is in great need of Your mercy. Be our strength in this time of trouble and open our eyes to restore the founding principles we had set together. Help us to share each other’s faith and bless us all with more desire to know each other better.
I ask in the name of Him who is above all, Lord our God.
Amen.”
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of The Express Tribune.
Beautifully and simply written.
We should understand that the minority is like spoon of sugar in your tea, it dissolves and is not noticeable but it makes the cup of tea sweet and enjoyable.Recommend
Thank u Sister for great Dua.. may Allah Accept it…
All the time through in our lives… we were told that our founding father demanded for Pakistan becuase they feared persecution at the hands of majority hindus… Just this demand ethically binds us as a nation to provide all the protection and equality of minorities in this great country.. otherwise we would be negating the logic of creating Pakistan.. which was
majority shuold not persecute minorities otherwise minority should be given a separate homeland
and believe me Ms Bernard these same people were not like this two decades ago (as far as remember).. these same people used to live in peace and love with minorities, work, eat, and enjoy together… the overall socio – political and economic environment of the country made these people full of hatered and they are spilling it over minorities… This has nothing to do with Islam… and its great teachings..Recommend
Christians were never told in 1947 that Pakistan is an ‘ideologica state’ otherwise they would have migrated to India. When General Sher Ali, who was a minister in General Yahya’s cabinet, coined this term in 1970 for the very first time, the minorities were left with no option but to live in this ideological state.
Differenet sects in Pakistan have organized militant groups to impose thier ideology on others. Sectarian hatred has led to thousands of deaths, so its not just about muslim vs non-muslim. But non-muslims belong to the poorest sections of the society, and they cant take on the dozens of terrorist organizations operating in the country. There is a broad consensus among all sects that non-muslims dont deserve the status of a first rate citizen in an ideological state. All schools of jurisprudence except Hanafis declare that a muslim cant be killed for killing a non-muslim! Nobody could have predicted in 1947 that the society would send valentine cards to murderers; 60 years ago the parliament had a Hindu as law minister and an Ahmadi as foreign minister. So its my sincere advice that minorities focus on education so they can leave this place, bad days are ahead for minorities and minor sects.Recommend
Beautiful text! we Christians are even part of Pakistan! We come under the same flag and the white portion in the flag resemble us the minoritiesRecommend
(AMEN)
If peace is to be made possible people must be prepared to forgive each other no matter how bad the crimes were. Without forgiveness there will never be peace. Thanks “LOVITA BERNARD” for writing such beautifully ..Recommend
Thumbs up Lovita Bernard.A very well-written article.We as minorities, as christians have the same right to live under the same flag.We as Pakistanis are like the fingers of the same hand.When one finger gets hurt so does the whole hand.Lets feel the same pain as a hand(as a peaceful and caring body) when one part of it is hurt.Lets be united under the same flag.God bless our beloved country.May God teaches us a lesson of tolerance towards all religions.Recommend
Amen!Recommend
Unfortunately this is not Quaid e Azam’s Pakistan. To be completely frank, I’m not even sure Pakistan as a state even exists anymore. The present government who denotes itself as liberals is hell bent on dividing the country based on color, creed, and language. Christians in Pakistan should not have to justify there place, The entire flag represents Pakistan and Pakistanis at least that’s the way I look at it. Lastly, its nice to see are Christian brothers and sisters focusing on our flag, because most citizens of the nation identify themselves with different flags and different last names.Recommend
I agree with an earlier comment. The hatred permeating through the state has little to do with Islam. The powers that be, specifically the PPP are protectors of the divide and rule concept. Christians, Muslims, and Hindus in Pakistan need to unite in order to create a new Pakistan.
A few days ago Talat Hussain did a program on education, In that program a hafiz was tutoring underprivileged Christian kids.Recommend
All is nice. Except that the land you think that Our Lord God gave to you, considers you as an infidel and your prayer is a blasphemy, and you are not protected by the constitution that the leaders swear to protect.
Yet, the point of your blog is understood. It gives meaning to the Jesus’ words ” You are the salt of this earth”. Hope your neighbors understand your writing and do not throw you in jail.Recommend
Nice Lovita!! I enjoyed reading it. It is a very generalised account of the Christian Lent. However, made simple and easy for all to go through and comprehend. Good luck for the future too.Recommend
@faraz:
Isn’t it a horrible feeling to move out of your very own home just because your FAMILY doesn’t like you and wants to kill you for NO specific reason?Recommend
I am grieved over the death of Shahbaz Bhatti.Extremists kill not only the christians and other non muslims but more muslims are killed by them than nonmuslims.So my dear christian frieds ,and other nonmuslims and muslims ,let us all unite to make this land of ours a peaceful and tolerant land.We have observed that the death of Shahbaz Bhatti has been mourned by almost all the Pakistanis and one could see tears in the eyes of many on this tragic death of a great Pakistani.Our nonmuslim colleagues
are patriotic Pakistanis and they have not been found involved in terrorism and other unpatriotic activities.I wish all the best to all of them and assure them that we are all equal as Pakistani ctizens and will defend one another agaist injustices to any person irrespective of religion or ethnic affiliations.Injustice has been done and is being done because of absence of the rule of law in our country.And responsibility for it lies on the shoulders of thos who have been and are ruling our counry now.Our politicians blame military governments but we see that so called democratic governments have been worse.Politicians say that a worst democracy is better than the best dictatership but I say that only that government is better which solves the peoples problem ,and provides justice to all the citizens of the country is better.I offer my heartfelt condolences to the family relatives and friends of the late shahbaz BhattiRecommend
it sucks that there is white in the green flag to represent minorities in this country…disgusting how we subtly discriminate even on our flag, based on religion! We are all humans and we call the creator by different names…only if we can focus on humanity we would be so much more progressive…
Oh and I am not a minority in Pakistan…Recommend
Peace be with you. Beautifully written. The 40 days fast of Jesus & the temptation shows His victory over devil cz He was born without sin & didnt sin inspite being tempted by the devil. He is the perfect lamb of God who died for the sins of whole world. The crucifixion of Christ reveals His love for us & shows our salvation & the ressurection of Christ shows His victory over death. So now we can say: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”. Gbu sis.Recommend
Appreciate your efforts!!! Well written… It is a great piece of information regarding Lent season.Recommend
Very nice Lovita…..God Bless Pakistan and the all the PakistanisRecommend
Really appreciate the thought behind this piece, atleast someone is thinking humanely in Pakistan!! Let us all be one, be Pakistani’s first, if we for once forget these differences and work together things can change for the better. Why shud things always go towards the negative, why dont we the “PEOPLE” bring the change towards the positive?
Our country needs not differntiation, but unity the utmost in these tricky times! We are all humans first, lets all protect our lovely home from getting destroyed on the grounds of terrorism, injustice, religious intolerence, and most of all insincerity!
A life lost is a life lost whether its of a Christian, Muslim or a Hindu. Life is very precious, lets all value it first! We have stopped valuing life in general…so many people get killed each day and we dont bother! Plz we need to awaken from this numbness and REALLY FEEL the pain!
God bless all and especially Pakistan.
Well done Ms. Lovita for making us think atleast!Recommend
This work of your’s is a journey of FORTY DAYS MISS great job and GOD BLESS YOU Amen. Man cannot live alone its written clearly in the Scriptures and Torah, togetherness is always fruitful God does not like killing people YOU SHALL NOT KILL negativity destroys and positivity is always productive, Allah God Bhagwan all are ONE and all religions convey the same message to educate people how to act how to deal with others as well are we human’s when we kill innocent people raising the voice for justice and by positive straight means KYA HUM INSAAN HAIN YA JAANWAR we have to respect each other on account of any difference these are ethics and taught by all the books all the PROPHETS..
have a peaceful lentRecommend
one day all pakistan will be united and free in the name of jesus christ(yeshua) AMENRecommend
father i am in agreement with the prayers of the my fellow people, in the name of jesus amenRecommend
We must learn to respect the prayers of all, because prayers are only as good as those who pray.and listen. It’s a collective responsibility. If 40 days of starvation will buy my country 40 years of prosperity, count me in. But somehow I think 40 days of violent protest at the right places will be more effective in heaven.Recommend
Good Article lady.. :)
and for Moslem Fellows, nice to know views of many but its not bad when junks speak stupid things, real bad is when educated and good people don’t speak or protest.. God Bless You Awl..Recommend
Be strong, one day all minorities in Pakistan will have a firm ground in their own country. I will always support equal rights for fellow Pakistani Christians, Hindus etc.Recommend