Peter Ireorji, MSP - Homily Thursday, March 14, 2019

Today Jesus once more presents to us the requirements for discipleship. He said: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Lk 9:23. Lent is traditionally a time for self-denial. We ask ourselves what it is we need to let go, to give up, in order to follow the Lord more closely. We all have something we need to let go off; it might be some excessive attachment that is holding us back, or some habit that is not serving us well. Self renunciation is more difficult today than in the past because we live in a culture which encourages us to indulge ourselves. We can easily think of self-renunciation as something negative. Yet, the giving up, the letting go, is always with a view to life, to living life to the full. A true disciple of Christ decides to do the will of God whatever the cost may be. When we do this for the Lord, we deny our old sinful drives and motivations but instead desire and choose to do God’s will for our lives. We effectively take up the cross at hand.  By doing such an act, we lose our old self and we begin to become the new person that God will enable us to be. Shalom!