By Olivia Obijiaku
Christians have been charged to work towards overcoming habitual sins during the Season of Lent. Rev Fr. Jibo Dan’asabe gave the task during the Mass he celebrated in Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Sunday, March 15, 2026, while leaning on the Gospel reading in which Jesus healed a man who was born blind in catechizing that, though the Pharisees quizzed the man severally about his healing, he never gave up, until he finally professed his faith in Jesus.
Defining habitual sins as the enemy’s tools of working against their obedience to the will of God, the clergyman proffered embracing the Cross by adhering to the three pillar of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and by retaining the virtues they must have acquired during the season. He then called on the faithful never to give up on overcoming their habitual sins, like the man whom Jesus healed of blindness remained steadfast till the very end.
“Some of us are struggling with habitual sins.” The clergyman observed. “The man who was born blind did not allow those trials to stop him from believing in Jesus Christ. He kept the faith until he told Jesus, “Lord, I believe.’ That should be the same with us. At the end of this season, we will come out with joy. You will have the cause to say bye to your challenges and ugly experiences. You will say, ‘Yes, I have overcome my habitual sins!’”
“Habitual sins are a device that the devil uses to checkmate our docility to the will of God. Anytime, we want to do the will of God, he will press that thing. So, let us embrace the Cross, because there is life on the Cross. Let your light shine during this period. It is a period to retreat and possess a good norm. This is a time for us to overcome all those things through fasting, prayers and almsgiving. This man struggled to see that maturity of faith. The same thing can happen to you. At the end of this Lenten period, you will be rejoicing.”
