Homily for Tuesday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time Cycle I
Theme: FAN THE FLAME OF RENEWAL!
By: Fr. Benedict Agbo
Homily for Tuesday January 26 2021
* 2 Tim 1 : 1 – 8, Lk 10 : 1 – 9.
There is always the tendency for God’s gifts to lie dormant in believers, especially those who received the sacraments of the Church as infants and children. But Timothy stands out as an example of someone who rose to the occasion of the challenge of renewal mentored by Paul. Today, many of us were opportuned like Timothy and were to have very devout Christian parents and like Timothy whose mum and grand mum were devout Christian mothers, we were caught young for Christ. Some of us who are priests today caught the fire of vocation through the devotion of our parents, altar service at early age, block Rosary devotion, legion of Mary, Mary league devotion, etc. If we are not careful, this fire could often go down into tepidity and timidity. So, we need to be faned by the spirit of renewal. This does not mean that we must join the Charismatic renewal as a society but we must identify with the renewal as a movement in the Church initiated by the prayers of Pope John XXIII : ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, rekindle in them the fire of your love’. In recent times, Pope Francis has also called for Life in the Spirit Seminars in our Parishes for the same purpose of revival and renewal.
We need a rekindling of the fire of divine love for deeper praise worship in the Roman Catholic Church, for deeper Bible study among the clergy and laity, for revival of our Pious societies. We need a rekindling of the fire of evangelization that preachers may feel again the need for detachment (to ‘carry no haversacks’), for celibate focus on the apostolate ( to ‘greet no one on the way), for the ministry of blessing (imparting peace on every home), for pastoral stability (facing one’s Parish until posted out), for holistic healing ministry ( ‘cure those in it who are sick’), etc. As this mission went beyond clerical frontiers to embrace the 72 others, one expects that the ministry of evangelization in the Catholic Church should begin to empower more and more lay ministers since ‘The harvest is indeed great but the (real) labourers are few’. As Paul was ably assisted by Titus in the evangelization of places like Corinth, may the spirit of collaborative ministry never wane in the Catholic Church and other churches.
May God bless you today!
FR BEN AGBO.