By Fr. Kenneth Obodoagu
The 2025 Lenten Recollection for catechists and their wives/husbands, members of CCD, and Ugwudinso Family in Enugu Diocese took place today, 8th March 2025, at the Diocesan Catechetical and Pastoral Centre, Ugwudinso, Eke. It commenced with the Stations of the Cross at 10:00 AM. Following this, the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered by the Diocesan Coordinator for the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael Chime.
In his homily, he reflected on the arduous nature of personal transformation, particularly in adulthood. He acknowledged that conversion is often a gradual and deliberate process. Nevertheless, he affirmed that true renewal is possible through a structured path of grace, beginning with firm trust in God’s inexhaustible mercy and love. He emphasized that while God, in His infinite compassion, readily forgives those who sincerely repent, the effects of sin—like wounds upon the soul and the world—can endure beyond absolution.
Fr. Chime expounded on the profound gift of plenary indulgence, a treasury of grace through which the Church, as the dispenser of divine mercy, applies the merits of Christ and the saints to fully remit the temporal effects of sin. The term plenary signifies total purification, a complete healing of the soul from the residual consequences of forgiven transgressions.
Outlining the requisite dispositions for obtaining a plenary indulgence during the Jubilee Year, he underscored the necessity of:
1. Interior Conversion – A sincere turning away from sin and the cultivation of a heart disposed to love.
2. Sacramental Confession – Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation within 20 days before or after performing the indulgenced act.
3. Eucharistic Communion – Worthily partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, preferably on the same day as confession.
4. Prayer for the Holy Father’s Intentions – Offering supplications for the Pope and the universal Church.
5. Performing an Indulgenced Work, which may include:
o A pilgrimage to a designated sacred site.
o Acts of charity and mercy.
o Sacrificial penance or self-denial.
o Receiving the special Jubilee Blessing from the Bishop.
o Offering one’s sufferings to God for those unable to undertake a pilgrimage.
He further clarified that a faithful Catholic may obtain one plenary indulgence per day for oneself and, by way of intercessory charity, one additional plenary indulgence for a soul in purgatory, provided another meritorious act is performed.
Fr. Chime concluded by exhorting those present at the Mass to be witnesses of divine mercy, who serve as guides for the faithful to embrace the Church’s rich spiritual treasures. Indulgences, he reminded them, are not mere formalities but sacred means by which God, through the authority of the Church, purifies souls and draws them into deeper communion with Him.
Shortly before the end of the Mass, the director of the Pastoral Centre, Fr. Kenneth Obodoagu thanked the chief celebrant for his resourcefulness, meticulousness, and availability to serve the diocese in various capacities. The Holy Mass concluded with a solemn blessing by the chief celebrant.
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