00:00Catholics across Lagos fill their churches for Ash Wednesday,
00:05marking the start of Lent with prayers, reflections,
00:08and the symbolic imposition of ashes in the shape of a cross on faithful's foreheads.
00:14The annual ritual signifies repentance and mortality in Christian traditions.
00:21It's a reminder for reflection, for us to reflect heavily about life,
00:30even if the world is very complex and ever-changing,
00:34but inasmuch as it is like that, it really doesn't change the essence.
00:39We need to come back to ourselves.
00:41Are we humorous?
00:44Are we how close is our relationship to God?
00:47How can we make those amendments?
00:50It's a time to really self-reflect and take some actions,
00:55some kind of next steps to see how we can better our relationship with God and with mankind.
01:02The day marks the beginning of the 40-day period leading up to Easter,
01:07during which Christians are called to pray,
01:10practice self-control through fasting,
01:13and engage in service through acts of charity.
01:17If we go through life and through the year,
01:20and we are not reminded that we are dust and we'll get back to ash,
01:25this day serves us that reminder.
01:29And we are called to understand that this body that we have right now
01:36shall return to dust, whether we like it or not.
01:40So it makes you, it brings you back, like makes you realign if you have lost focus.
01:47Ash Wednesday ushers in one of Christianity's most solemn seasons.
01:52In Lagos this year, observance coincides with the start of Ramadan,
01:57uniting the city's two major faiths in simultaneous fasting.
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