Persevere in righteousness (HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT

Homily for Friday of the 1st week of Lent

Ezekiel 18:21-28; Ps.130; Matt.5:20-26

Theme: Persevere in righteousness

I once went to administer Holy Communion to a sick woman at home. After attending to her, she asked me to talk to the husband who had stopped going to Church for some years now. When I started taking with the husband, he went into his room to bring his baptismal card, to proof to me that he is a baptized and confirmed Catholic. He further told me how he has worked with many priests that once served in the parish. For him, the much he has done in the past, suffices for the present. I asked him if he could afford to stop eating so that the food he has eaten in the past could sustain him henceforth. He got the message.

The point is, sometimes, in our spiritual journey, we are tempted to take a break. We may have been struggling to keep faithful to a spiritual practice or a prayer life, or we may have been struggling to keep away from certain sins. While these struggles continue, we may sometimes be tempted to “rest” a little. We know that resting will mean giving in to temptation, but we console ourselves that God’s mercy is assured, at least for the many times we have been faithful in the past. A little unfaithfulness will not bring condemnation.

In the first reading of today, the Lord tells us that if a righteous man should turn away from righteousness and embrace iniquity, his righteousness will be forgotten and he will be guilty of iniquity. The Lord does not mean that the moment we sin, our past efforts are forgotten, and we are condemned. No! If we fall and seek God’s mercy, He will raise us up immediately. What the Lord condemns is giving up in our struggle to live a holy life. Your confidence in the Lord should not be on account of your effort in the past but on the present. This means that every day is another day to persevere in goodness. Every day is another opportunity to grow in goodness.

We must make it our aim to get better in our relationship with God each passing day. The moment our boast is in the past, and no longer in the present, then we are clearly retrogressing. The spiritual life of the Christian cannot be stagnant; if it is not advancing, then it is declining. Lent is a time to tell ourselves that we will not glory in the past but will make all the sacrifices so that glory of the latter will be greater than that of the former.