The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has issued a compelling Pastoral Letter urging the faithful to embrace Advent as a season of profound spiritual vigilance, moral renewal and communal responsibility. The message, released on Friday, November 28, 2025, is themed after Christ’s admonition in Matthew 24:42: “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
Signed by the President of the Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the letter sets the tone for the Advent season which began on November 30, 2025 inviting Catholics across the country to reclaim the discipline of watchfulness in an age of distraction, complacency and moral drift.
A Call to Renewed Readiness
Reflecting on the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent, the bishops warn against the subtle inattentiveness that consumed the people in the days of Noah—an existence absorbed in routine yet blind to the urgency of God’s call.
The bishops emphasise that ordinary life—eating, drinking, marrying—is not the problem. Rather, it is the failure to recognise the times, the illusion that tomorrow is secured by habit, and the erosion of spiritual alertness.
Advent, they insist, is the season for honest examination of conscience, renewed attentiveness to the needs of others, and a deliberate fixing of one’s gaze on Christ amid the allurements of modern life—“comfort without commitment, prosperity without virtue, and information without wisdom”.
Watchfulness as a Public Witness
The Pastoral Letter warns that Christian inattentiveness does not only endanger personal salvation; it weakens the Church’s moral witness and affects those who look to Catholics for coherence, courage and truth.
Just as the householder bears responsibility for those under his roof, the bishops note, so too must the Christian community remain vigilant for the sake of Ghana’s moral and spiritual health.
Advent and the Synodal Path
Situating their message within the Church’s on-going global synodal process, the bishops describe synodality as a “spiritual disposition” of listening, dialogue and discernment, not a mere administrative tool.
Findings from Justice and Peace structures across Ghana, referenced in the letter, show that participatory approaches have significantly reduced community conflicts—by nearly a third in some areas—over the past decade. This, the bishops say, demonstrates that when the Church models synodality, she becomes “a leaven for national transformation”.
They call families, parishes and institutions to resist the growing tide of individualism and reclaim a shared commitment to the common good. Advent, they argue, heightens this call by reminding believers that history unfolds not through human complacency but through God’s promise.
A Church Standing with Society
The pastoral message envisions a Ghanaian Church that strengthens just governance, promotes peace rooted in justice and accompanies society through truth and moral witness.
With virtues of watchfulness, humility, charity and hope, the bishops believe Catholics can help shape a nation where justice is more than aspiration and peace more than rhetoric.
Prayers for Nigeria
In a gesture of solidarity, the bishops urge all Christians in Ghana to pray fervently for the people of Nigeria, commending them to God’s protection and comfort “in these difficult times”.
The letter concludes with blessings for a fruitful Advent and a joyful Christmas.
