From Sin’s Slavery to Sanctification in Christ – Oct 23 – Homily – Fr Terrance

 

Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Oct 23, 2025, on St. Paul's teaching in Romans where he urges believers to move from slavery to sin toward sanctification and eternal life by serving God, recognizing sin as missing the mark of Christlikeness, and embracing their true identity as God's children.

He draws from St. Paul's words in Romans 6:19, where the faithful in Rome shifted from presenting their bodies as slaves to impurity and lawlessness to slaves of righteousness for sanctification—a wise choice toward holiness. Sins can arise from malice, with full intent to defy God, often tied to power and perverse pleasure, much like the devil's ways; but more often from less malicious things like weakness, succumbing to passions or frailty without intending to offend God; or from ignorance, due to an unformed conscience, sometimes fueled by hurt or anger. Usually this is tied to a natural desire to seek to fulfill desires for love, significance, or security but misses the mark—amartano in Greek, hatah in Hebrew—failing the goal of Christlikeness, as Colossians 1:16 declares we are created by and for Him. Humanity's fallen inclination bends toward self-reliance without God, encouraged by the world and devil, leading to alienation and self-estrangement, akin to the prodigal son's forgetfulness of his loving Father. Echoing Albert Camus's despair in The Myth of Sisyphus, this severance from God erodes understanding of personhood, gender, and life's value. The antidote, per Romans 6:22, is becoming slaves to God, yielding sanctification and eternal life, for the wages of sin is death, but God's gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus, Romans 6:23. Everyone serves something; choosing God restores identity as beloved children. He urges praying and sacrificing for those in sin, trusting the Father's love to lead them to embrace their true dignity, invoking Our Lady's grace for this conversion.

For Further Reading:
Romans 6:19-23 - NAB - Present bodies as slaves to righteousness - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/6?19
Colossians 1:16 - NAB - Created by Him and for Him - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/1?16
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1257 - One mediator, paths to salvation - Text: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1257.htm
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1849 - Sin as offense against God - Text: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1849.htm
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1868 - Sins of omission and commission - Text: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1868.htm
Luke 15:11-32 - NAB - Parable of the Prodigal Son - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/15

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. John of Capistrano - Opt Mem - http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=692
Readings: Thursday 29th Week of Ordinary Time - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/102325.cfm
1st: rom 6:19-23
Resp: psa 1:1-4, 6
Gsp: luk 12:49-53

More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=1183&r=1532

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