Homily For Wednesday Third Week of Advent Year A, 17th December, 2025

 

Readings Gen.49:2.8-10, Ps. 72, Matt 1:1-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW CAN MY GENEALOGY BE TRACED TO THAT OF CHRIST? 

Advent season, as we know, is divided into two parts: the first, which runs from the first Sunday until the 16th of December, dwells on the second coming of Christ, the eschatological aspect of Advent. 

While the second aspect, which focuses on the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem, runs from today, 17th -24th December. Hence, the best way to begin this second aspect of Advent is by reflecting on the genealogy of Jesus Christ our Saviour as we have it in our Gospel passage today. 

From this genealogy of Jesus, we can observe that generations come, generations go, great men and women came and passed on, new generations continue to spring up as God continue to unveil his plan for humanity. 

Just as he revealed to Jacob in our first reading today when he gathered all of his sons and their own families, and said his parting words as he was about to die. He blessed all of his children, some more than others, and from among all of the children, Judah stood out to be the one who received a more favourable blessing.

This shows how the Lord had revealed through Jacob what he was going to do for the people of Israel and for humanity. Judah's kingship over all Israel was given to David, who became the rightful king and God’s chosen one, and God promised that David’s house would rule over Israel forever, which is evident in the genealogy of Jesus. 

Dear friends, this is our own generation, but the question that comes to mind is: to what extent can our genealogy be traced to that of Christ? Can my way of life be linked to that of Christ and his genealogy? To what extent have the things we are doing now been influenced by the events of the past generations, and to what extent are they going to influence future generations? 

Therefore, let us use this great opportunity of the Advent season to open our hearts, our minds and our whole beings for the Lord. Let us return to the Lord and focus our attention on him as we renew our faith in him and play our role in his plan of redeeming humanity.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we open our hearts to embrace your coming, may you continue to watch over us and guide us in our journey of faith and as we struggle with the ugly situation in our world today, may the Holy Spirit, teach us what to do today, how to do them, when to do them and give us the grace to do them properly. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. May God bless and guide your ways today and always.

Homily For Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent Year A, 15th December, 2025

 

Readings Zeph. 3:1-2,9-13, Ps. 33, Matt. 21:28-32

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO CHANGE YOUR MIND AND DO THE RIGHT THING

One of the gifts that God gave to humanity is the gift of freedom. This freedom, though, comes with great responsibility, since we are responsible for whatever comes out with regard to how we manage our freedom. We are free to choose whatever we like, but we are also responsible for the consequences of our choice. 

However, because of our fragile nature, we often make grievous mistakes in our choices even when God has given us all the necessary guidelines towards making the right decision, but out of disobedience, we frequently fail to follow these guidelines. Today we are meant to know that repentance and obedience are necessary dispositions towards attaining our ultimate goal in life, which is eternal life.

This is exactly what today’s Gospel passage is addressing, when Jesus, in the parable of the Two Sons, said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, “My Son, you go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went. 

The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, “Certainly, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did the father’s will?’ ‘The first’ they said. Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. 

Here, we see how repentance and obedience helped this first son to make the right decision about his father’s request while the second son failed because of negligence, irresponsibility and disobedience. 

Thus, the second son represents those of us Christians who promised to work for God’s kingdom but have failed, and so exclude ourselves from the kingdom. While the first son represents those ‘sinners’ who first chose to go their own way but now have repented and begin to follow the way of the Lord, by so doing, they have gained access to God’s kingdom. 

So in the first son, we see someone who reflected on his decision, realised that he was wrong, and decided to make it right by taking full responsibility for his decision. For when the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. But if the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. 

This is because the righteous would perish for their sins of disobedience, while sinner would be saved by their act of repentance and obedience. This tells us the importance of repentance and obedience when rooted in humility, for they are necessary dispositions towards attaining eternal life.

This disposition is exactly what Prophet Zephaniah is emphasising in our first reading when he called us to repentance so that when that day comes, we need feel no shame for all the misdeeds we have committed against the Lord. Thereby teaching us the right disposition that we all have been called to show in our daily lives especially in our relationship with our God and with others.

Dear friends, in our journey of life, have we made wrong decisions, but find it difficult to change our minds and put things right? Are we thinking of leaving the right path to follow the sinful paths because of the ugly condition we are passing through now? 

Are we thinking that our righteous ways of life have not been fruitful because sinners are gaining more ground than we are? Are we living in sin now thinking that God will not punish us? Or are we thinking that it is not possible to repent now because of the gravity of our sins? 

The truth remains that God is watching and waiting for us to change our minds. He is waiting for us to decide to make things right and take responsibility for our actions. He is watching and waiting for us to repent and have the right disposition to make the right decisions, but his waiting can not be for eternity. All we need is the right disposition that is rooted in humble obeisance and repentance of our sinful and ugly ways of life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we have often abused the gift of freedom which you have given us and have strayed from the path you have made for us as a result of our sinfulness. Give us the grace of true repentance in humble obedience as you guide us through the right path of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday of the Third Week of Advent Year A, 15th December, 2025

 

Readings Num. 24:2-7,15-17, Ps. 24, Matt. 21:23-27

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

RECOGNISING THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS

In our dealings with people, we are often requested to make reference to authorities in order to back up our claim to know or possess anything. And when such authority is not available, we may not be taken seriously.

Little wonder our gospel passage today presents to us the fundamental question concerning the source of Jesus’ authority, namely, whether it is divine or human. Here, the chief priests and elders were more concerned to learn whether Jesus had received the proper human authorisation by questioning the source of his authority.

In response, Jesus draws their attention to John the Baptist and his authority, and by so doing, he implies that the source of John's authority is the source of his as well. Thus, anyone who correctly identifies the source of John's authority will definitely identify the source of Jesus’ own as well. Therefore the questions we need to ask ourselves are: What is our notion about the authority of Jesus?

Do we have any doubt about the authority of Jesus? How much of this authority dwells in you? The crowds identified the source of John and Jesus’ authority as divine, have we personally identified the divine authority of Jesus in our lives? Why not ask him to manifest his power and authority once more in your life?

Little wonder we heard how Balaam in our first reading acknowledged the authority of God, saying: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, oracle of the man with far-seeing eyes, the oracle of one who hears the word of God. He sees what Shaddai makes him see, receives the divine answer, and his eyes are opened. How fair are your tents, O Jacob! How fair your dwellings, Israel! A hero arises from their stock, he reigns over countless peoples. His king is greater than Agag, his majesty is exalted.’

Dear friends, as we go on with our programmes this Advent season, we need to open up our hearts to truly embrace the authority of the Lord Jesus. We need to build up our interior lives around his authority. We need to be closer to God and continue to prepare ourselves physically and spiritually as we anticipate the coming of our Lord Jesus in our hearts and in our souls. For there he awaits our response to his invitation to holiness and love.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in your divine authority we build our confidence and hope. May you continue to direct and guide our ways and bring our plans and purposes to a successful end, through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s another week, wishing you the best of God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Third Sunday of Advent Year A (Gaudete Sunday), 14th December, 2025

 

Readings: Is.35:1-6.10; Ps. 145; James 5:7-10; Luke 3:10-18

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHY SHOULD WE REJOICE IN A WORLD OF INJUSTICE, CRISIS, WICKEDNESS, CORRUPTION AND SIN?

Every third Sunday of Advent, the Church celebrates Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday in the Advent season when we are called to rejoice for the coming of the Lord is very near. Little wonder the entrance antiphon of today’s Mass begins by saying: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near. Yes, we have to rejoice. 

On this Sunday, we put on rose vestments a colour that is only used twice in the entire liturgical year, first on a day like this when we celebrate the Gaudete Sunday and secondly on the fourth Sunday of Lent when we celebrate the Laetare Sunday. This Gaudete Sunday is named as such because we are called to rejoice in the Lord forever.

So, our focus this Sunday is on the theme of Joy, and we can recall that for the past two Sundays of Advent our focus was on the aspects of Hope and Peace. This theme of Joy ushers us into the most important disposition of the season of Advent that calls us to preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas when the true Joy of the Lord will be born in our hearts. 

Little wonder prophet Isaiah in our first reading today said: Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. Strengthen all weary hands, Steady all trembling knees and say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy. They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them, and sorrow and lament will be ended.

This message of hope and joy came in anticipation of the liberation of the people of Israel from their long exile in Babylon, for they had faced great humiliation and sufferings due to their own infidelities and stubbornness, their abandonment of God, His laws and commandments. Because of these grievous sins, they were sent to exile in Babylon, where they were brought low and defeated, but as the Lord remembered them and promised to save them, the prophet Isaiah called them once again to rejoice. 

This joyous return to Zion of the liberated Israelites through the transformed Syrian desert is a sign of the messianic era. The signs of the coming of God’s Kingdom into this World, which will bring victory over afflictions and joy over sadness, life over death through Christ Jesus our Lord, whose coming is the beginning of the new world to come. So, we are called to rejoice for the day of the Lord is close at hand.

Dear friends, the question in my mind today is: how can we rejoice in a world full of injustice, crisis, wickedness, corruption and sin? Because the ugly situation humanity has found herself in today is quite similar to the situation of the people of Israel in Babylon. Today humanity has found herself in Babylon of different degrees and it seems as if no hope for her restoration. 

Today humanity has found herself in the deep Babylon of sin and corruption, impurity, and evil of the highest order. We have found ourselves in the Babylon of iniquities of the highest degree, we have found ourselves in the Babylon of wars, kidnapping and killing of each other. We have found ourselves in the Babylon of hatred as never before. People hating each other at different levels, colours, religion even within our families and shamelessly among married couples. 

Oh, humanity, oh people of God, oh brothers and sisters, why have we chosen to dwell in the Babylon of greediness, where one will choose to kill, blackmail and tarnish the good image of people just to have it all? I, I, I, me, me, me, is the slogan of the day, if I can’t have it no one will have it. Oh, poor humanity, why have we chosen to dwell in the Babylon of immorality at the highest level in the history of mankind? 

No single respect for the sanctity of the human body and soul. We dine in sexual immorality of different degrees and we package them with beautiful names to make them even more captivating. Everything we do now must be sexy in order to gain recognition. 

What is going on with us? When will this Babylon be over?  When are we going to say no to these ugly ways of life? When will we say no to oppression and criminal activities? When will we say no to killing, blackmail and tarnishing of the good image of one another so that joy will reign. 

When will we say no to corruption, impurity and greediness so that joy will come. When will we say no to hatred and Unforgiveness so that joy will remain with us? When will we say yes to integrity, holiness and purity of heart so that we can enjoy the fruit of this joyful season? When will we say yes to peace, to love, to kindness and care for one another so we can share the joy of this season with other people? 

Today in our Gospel passage we heard how the Lord Jesus said to the people after responding to the disciples of John the Baptist who came asking if Jesus is the Messiah or they should wait for another person. He said to them: Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’, 

And talk about John the Baptist, Jesus said: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen.

My dear friends, we can truly rejoice when we embrace this message of Jesus. We can only rejoice when we say yes to God and no to evil. We can only rejoice when we become agents of justice and peace and learn to wait patiently for the Lord’s will to be done in our lives. 

Little wonder St.  James, in our second reading today, said: Be patient, brothers, until the Lord comes. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon then our joy will be complete

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your love and joy, as you call us to rejoice today in preparation for the coming of your Son, our Lord Jesus. Help us to do away with our ugly ways of life that prevent us from obtaining your true Joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you.

Homily For Saturday the Second Week of Advent Year A, 13th December, 2025

 

Reading: Sir. 48:1-4.9-12; Ps 80; Matt. 17:10-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW ARE YOU RESPONDING TO GOD’S MESSAGES THROUGH HIS PROPHETS?

In our societies today people often desire to hear the message from the prophet to know what God is saying as regards their situation in life. This is the disposition of the people at the time of Jesus.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, we heard how the disciples of Jesus, after their experience of the Lord’s transfiguration, as they were coming down from the mountains, asked Jesus, saying: Why do the scribes say then that Elijah has to come first?’ ‘True,’ he replied, ‘Elijah is to come to see that everything is once more as it should be; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of Man will suffer similarly at their hand.

Here a reference is made to John the Baptist, the one who was the Herald of the Messiah, the one who prepared the path for the Lord Jesus as predicted by the prophets. So, Jesus mentioned how John was the fulfilment of those prophecies, and indeed, his works and ministry had prepared the path for his coming into this world.

Meanwhile, John the Baptist had often been compared with the prophet Elijah because both of them had some similarities; they lived similarly, travelling in the wilderness, proclaiming repentance and the coming of God’s salvation, as we heard about the prophet Elijah in our first reading today.

Indeed, John the Baptist can be likened to the prophet Elijah sent into the world to finish the works that Elijah had once initiated. Though John the Baptist had the spirit of the prophet Elijah, which was not the same as being the same person, both, by that extension, had the same ministry among the people of God, and they used the same approach and efforts to pass the message of God to his people. Both suffered because of their teaching and mission. Jesus also would face the same reality.

Dear friends, today we are called to reflect on the lives and mission of these two great prophets, especially in this Advent season, so that we too may become more faithful by following their examples and faith. We do not need to keep waiting for prophets to come again; rather, we should embrace the message these great prophets have for us. And their message is quite simple, they are calling us to repentance, they are calling us to love, they are calling us to make the path of our lives straight, they are calling us to embrace the Lord Jesus and the gift of salvation he is offering us this season.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we listen to your words through your prophets calling us to repentance, love and preparation, may we embrace your word and so prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. Have a blessed weekend

Homily For Friday the Second Week of Advent Year A, 12th December, 2025

 

Readings Isaiah 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-6; Matt. 11:16-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT LET YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WORD OF GOD BE LIKE THAT OF PEOPLE IN THE MARKETPLACE

Reflecting on the disposition of humanity today, I can not help but ask myself questions about our faith in God, whom we often claim to love and belong to. This is because, despite all the articles of faith and evidence in both scriptures and historical tradition, we still do not have a good grasp of who God really is in our lives.

This very disposition is always the case with every generation, and this is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today when he said: To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!

Here, Jesus made us know that the problem with this generation is that we have failed to listen to either the message of John the Baptist or that of Jesus. No doubt that John’s uncommon lifestyle made people accuse him of having a demon, while Jesus’ habit of eating and drinking with sinners affected his reputation among the Jews. But Jesus made us know that his generation finds reason to take offence at both John and Jesus himself.

So, Jesus compares those who are rejecting his message to that of children in the marketplace who cannot decide whether they want to play a wedding song or a funeral song, but can’t get the people to dance when the tune is piped. For they played their pipes, and expect others to dance; they beat their breasts in lamentation, and expect others to weep. They complain if others do not comply with their demands.

To such a company, Jesus refers as an evil generation in which he and John the Baptist found themselves. Just as in our own generation today, some people have refused to repent when challenged by the teachings of John the Baptist, and some people also refused to join the celebrations of Jesus, and do not take his message seriously.

Dear friends, why have we failed to take the Word of God seriously? Why have we failed to embrace the article of faith made available for us by the Lord in our scriptures? Why do we take for granted the signs and messages the Lord is giving us this Advent season and always?

Today in our first reading, we heard the Lord saying through the prophet Isaiah: “I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you, I lead you in the way that you must go. If only you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river, your integrity like the waves of the sea”. So let us not be like market people who pay no attention to the message the Lord has for us.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, enkindle in us once again the fire of your love, so that we may embrace your message and so become your great servants dedicating our lives and service to loving you and our neighbours. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a lovely day

Homily For Thursday the Second Week of Advent Year A, 11th December, 2025

 

Readings Isaiah 41:13-20;; Ps ,145; Matt. 11:11-15

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

CULTIVATE THE ACT OF LISTENING AND NOT JUST HEARING WITH YOUR EARS

The ears, as we know, are one of the very important organs of the human person. This organ consists of the pinna, which aids the human ability to hear. It is a gift from God through which we have the faculty of being able to perceive sounds and recognise something in an auditory way. To exercise the faculty of this organ effectively we must learn to use it to listen attentively to information. The world, no doubt, is full of noise, echoing different things in our minds through our ears.

But how do we use these organs? How has this organ helped us in our spiritual life in this noisy world? How have we managed the noise in our lives, in our families and society which distracts us from listening to God? What are the things we hear or listen to? The Word of God we hear every day, how has it developed our relationship with God and our neighbour?

Hence Jesus ends our Gospel passage today saying: If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’ Here, Jesus is referring to our ability to listen to God's Word and act on it even in the midst of this noisy world. Jesus was making this comment while referring to the mission of St. John the Baptist as his herald to proclaim his coming into this world and to prepare the path for him. He revealed to all of us the truth about God’s love for us. So, referring to the role of John the Baptist in the mission of the Lord, Jesus said Tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.

Thus, we can know that the persons who seek to gain some spiritual insight into what Jesus is saying will have that insight increased when they listen, whereas whoever does not listen to Jesus will end up in spiritual ignorance. To avoid this, we are reminded through the Prophet Isaiah that the faithful people of God would not be forsaken or abandoned, for God still loved us despite all the terrible and sinful things we do, if only we can listen to him.

Dear friends, by listening, hearing and following Jesus, we grow in familiarity with his voice and hear him more. And by so doing we make Jesus the light of our lives placed on the lampstand to give light and insight to our souls as individuals, family and society, illuminating all the darkness around us. Therefore, we are called to put our ears to positive use and be submissive just like John the Baptist, and so cultivate the habit of listening to God and to one another.

 LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our ears are a gift from you, help us to use them properly. And as we carry out our activities today, may our ears hear the consoling words of Jesus guiding and directing us towards the light of his presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.