Follow Us On:
I had wanted to reflect today on how communal meal had also existed in Igbo culture since time immemorial and on how we could build a bridge between the two. I wanted to analyse how meals in Igboland also bonded people together and also united them with the divine and their departed ones. But it was difficult. The more I tried to write the more the massacre of our people at Ebonyi continued to distract me.
As I tried to concentrate on the last supper of Jesus with his disciples, my thoughts continued to direct me to the last supper these victims must have had before they were murdered on that Monday night in cold blood. Some of them may have had some left overs that they had planned to eat as breakfast the next morning. Some may have gone to sleep hungry.
Trying to concentrate on the last Supper of Jesus and his betrayal by one of his own made me think about how our enemies are decimating us through the collaboration of our own political leaders. Openly our leaders fight our people who have decided to protect our lands from these murderers thereby making the way free for the slaughter of their own people.
The more I forced myself to forget these thoughts and write, the sadder I became. I had no other option than to stop the reflection and writing. I knelt down and prayed for those massacred and for God’s protection over our land.
My dear brothers and sisters, as we journey with Jesus in this Triduum, let us remember to pray for our people; let us remember to be our brothers’ keepers; let us remember to wash the feet of each other and wipe each other’s tears. There is no better time to bond together than now. With the help of God we shall be triumphant.
Remain blessed,
Fr Angelo Chidi Unegbu
