FR. BEN’S HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 28TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II.
THEME: SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN CHRIST!
BY: Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr).
HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 13 2022.
*Eph 1: 1-10, Lk 11: 47 – 54.
We lost a lot in the economy of grace due to original sin. But Jesus restored all that at Calvary. But this restoration is in a general sense. By our personal faith and spiritual growth, we get to appropriate these spiritual blessings gradually. Baptismal blessings are not automatically appropriated. They, like every other spiritual potentials, are tapped gradually through growth in faith and understanding. That is what we call spiritual growth (regeneration) .
Today’s 1st reading enumerates but does not explain what these spiritual blessings in Christ are. They are as follows;
*1. Holiness;* Baptism gives us the power / grace to do good. Because of the original sin, we no longer have the default (inbuilt) power and control over our base and evil desires. But Jesus, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit can revive in us this power of holiness. This is the importance of the LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR or any other means of spiritual empowerment that the Church provides.
*2. Adoption;* Sonship is a key point in spirituality. If we are not able to tap into the new dispensation of adoption as children of God, I tell you honestly, we simply remain slaves, and cannot inherit the blessings in Christ Jesus, Gal 4: 1- 4.
*3. Redemption;* The 3 ‘R’s of salvation must be well appropriated – Redemption, Repentance and Regeneration. Redemption has been completed on Calvary. We only need to appropriate it through faith, Col 1: 12. Repentance must be our present option, Jn 3: 5 while Regeneration happens gradually as we cooperate in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor 5: 17.
*4. Forgiveness;* Forgiveness of our sins is very pivotal to spiritual growth. Christ has reconciled us to God and given us the ministry / sacrament of reconciliation, 2 Cor 5: 18.
*5. Riches;* Abundance of riches in Christ or what we call prosperity is part of the spiritual blessings in Christ. It is not just about physical / material prosperity but holistic prosperity, Ps 128.
*6. Wisdom;* Wisdom is also a gift from God to us in Christ Jesus. In him all the fullness of divinity was personified, Col 2: 9. He is the way, the truth and life, Jn 14: 1-5.
*7. Insight;* We get a lot of spiritual insight through Christ. Insight is an advanced spiritual gift. Solomon had wisdom but at a point in his life, lost his spiritual insight. The kingdom of Israel got split under him as the consequence, 1 Kg 12: 16.
*Ancestral sins are also similar in their effect on our spiritual life to the original sin. But through baptism, we also obtain the grace, hypothetically, to be free from them.* Whatever evils our ancestors have committed can only effect us drastically if, according to the gospel of today, “we consent to the wicked deeds of our fathers”, confer also Ezek 18.
* For example, I have seen a Reverend Sister whose mother belongs to and also initiated her to an ancestral cult in Igboeze North area of Enugu State called “Inyama Ogbanje”. She has continued to oppress and attack her right there in the convent through various diabolical means until her deliverance process was completed.
We need to study more about our spiritual potentials in Christ Jesus. May God bless you today!
