There is a close connection between doing the will of God and making sacrifices, the Auxiliary Bishop of South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese has said.
Bishop Santo Loku Pio Doggale, who was delivering his homily on Sunday, October 1 at St. Theresa Cathedral of Juba Archdiocese reflected on the Sunday Gospel of Reading about the responses and subsequent actions of the two sons asked by their father to go to the vineyard.
“Our faith must be accompanied by our deeds,” Bishop Loku said in reference to the parable of the two sons in Mathew 21.
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“We have to give ourselves as a libation and as a sacrifice,” he further said, and added, “Family life needs sacrifice; community life needs sacrifice; Church life needs sacrifice; and every life needs sacrifice in order for us to do the will of God.”
According to Bishop Loku, “Without sacrifice, you cannot do the will of God. To do the will of God, you have to take care of your family. If you are a father and a mother, take care of your family according to the will of God.”
“If you are a driver, drive well, not crashing every time; if you are a soldier, you are a soldier doing the will of God as a soldier but not shooting at innocent people,” the South Sudanese Catholic Bishop said.
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Doing the will of God involves everyday activities, including “what we do at home, what we do at the workplace, and what we do in the streets, in the schools, and in the Church,” he said.
The 53-year-old Auxiliary Bishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in February 2011 encouraged the people of God to seek inspiration from the person of Jesus Christ.
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“Jesus showed us an example to follow. He emptied Himself, took the form of a slave; humbled Himself on the cross and became obedient to death for the sake of humanity,” he said in reference to the Second Reading, from Philippians 2:1-11.
Bishop Loku continued, “We must sacrifice ourselves for our brothers and sisters. We must turn to do what is right always and what is just and honorable.”
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According to the Auxiliary Bishop of Juba Archdiocese, “Christians should always sacrifice themselves for the sake of their brothers and sisters by providing them with the much-needed support and assistance they need without turning a blind eye to them.”
