In consonance with a directive by the President of Ghana, Prelates of the Catholic Church in the West African Country have urged all clergy and lay faithful to participate in the National Day of Prayer and Fasting scheduled to take place tomorrow March 25.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his address to the Nation on Sunday, March 22 declared Wednesday, March 25,2020 as a National Day of Prayer and Fasting as a spiritual measure to curb COVID-19 pandemic.
A Pastoral Letter issued on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 to the Church *and made available to Newswatchgh.com, stated that “We, your Bishops, recommend that all Catholics and People of goodwill observe the day as such.”
According to thr letter, coincidentally on the same day, “Pope Francis calls on all Christians globally to pray at the same time, the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, the “Our Father” at 12:00noon Ghana time.”
Fortunately for the Catholic Church, the day of the National prayer and fasting is the Solemnity of the Annunciation, day they commemorate the visit of Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ.
The Pastoral letter signed by the Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, encouraged families to pray, urging “all families to use these challenging times to continue to build up the domestic Church through the reading and sharing of the Word of God, praying the Rosary and other devotional prayers”.
In addition, the letter urged all to adhere to the safety and precautionary measures to avoid contracting the virus.
