Homily For Wednesday Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 6th November 2024

Readings: Phil 2: 12-18; Ps.27; Luke 14:25-33

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DISCIPLESHIP REQUIRES SACRIFICE, COMMITMENT AND DISCIPLINE

A true disciple must constantly reflect through life in order to be aware of the seriousness of the commitment required of him/her. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level when he said: ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. 

Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’

Here, Jesus teaches about the cost of discipleship. That there is a price to be paid. However, Jesus does not directly intend to cause tensions and divisions in family life, but he wants us to accept the consequences that come with the truth of the Gospel teaching, more importantly, when it comes to living out the Gospel message radically, especially in a situation where our family values have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God.

So, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our life experience because there are moments when we have to make radical and difficult choices as disciples of Jesus. These moments may wield the sword of division or separation among those people and things which are so dear to us. Thus, he warns that we have to struggle to put him first, before family ties, knowing that divisions will surely occur as people have to decide to be for or against God.

Hence, he states that the cost of discipleship extends to one even losing his life. None of us can become his disciple if we do not give up our excess desire for worldly pleasures and possessions and pay our unreserved loyalty and allegiance to God over all other competing loyalties in our lives, including family, self-interest, and possessions.

Dear friends, how much are we willing to let go for the sake of discipleship? Do we find it too demanding? In what ways? Is giving up ‘all my possessions’ realistic, and if not, what does this passage mean to me? Whatever my response may be, may God give us the grace to grow in freedom, to be ready to follow and to serve him in a new way and also be able to speak to the Lord about the points of difficulty in paying this cost. St. Paul, in our first reading, tells us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world have weakened our hearts from becoming a good disciple; give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires so as to hold firm in our faith despite losing people and things that are dear to us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday Thirty-First week in Ordinary Time Year B, 5th November 2024

 

Readings: Phil 2:5-11 , Ps.22 , Luke 14:15-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION TO GOD'S HEAVENLY BANQUET

Invitations to events and social gatherings are part of humanity's social ways of life. As usual, Jesus often uses the things we are very familiar with to teach us a very important lesson. So, on the occasion of our Gospel passage today, Jesus tells us the parable of the great banquet, how a man planned a large banquet and sent out invitations, but those invited turned it down, so he opened the invitation to all who cared to come. Jesus ends the parable by saying that “not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet”

Here, their excuses for not coming to the banquet are not realistic. Because no one buys land without seeing it first, and the same can be said for buying oxen. And what, exactly, would keep a newly married couple from attending a social event? All the excuses in the parable show insincerity on the part of those invited. Hence the invitation is opened up to society’s maimed and downtrodden. The fact is that those who ignored the invitation to the banquet chose their path. They missed out and the master respects their choice by making it permanent: they would not “taste of my banquet”, he said.

So it will be with God’s judgment on those who choose to reject Christ or are too busy to respond to his invitation. They will have their choice confirmed, and they will never taste the joys of heaven. Therefore, let us learn to honour the invitation of God in humility, just like Christ Jesus whose state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross as we heard in our second reading today.

Dear friends, the Lord offers us again an invitation to the banquet of heaven. An invitation is God's free act of kindness, as He wishes to dine with us. No one deserves it anyway, and He is not obliged to invite us nor are we compared to honour his invitation. Hence in the parable, those who think that they deserve to be invited are too busy to enter the banquet hall. But the poor in spirit and the humble who know that the love God has for them is completely gratuitous accepted his invitation with joy.

Thus, today we are called not to be too busy to come to our heavenly banquet. For God’s banquet is his Church, good and bad, saints and sinners are invited, for the Church is made up of saints and sinners. The bad are expected to become good while sinners are expected to repent and put on a new garment of holiness and love like the saints. Let us not be too proud or busy to embrace it for the blessings of the kingdom are available to all who will come to Christ by faith.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are too busy with the things of this passing world; as we hear about the invitation to your Heavenly Kingdom today, may we embrace it with all humility through Christ, your Son who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 4th November 2024. The Memorial of St Charles Borromeo

 

Readings: Phil.2:1-4; Ps. 131; Luke 14:12-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

TRUE CHARITY IS DONE WHEN IT IS OFFERED TO THOSE WHO CAN NOT REPAY US

A critical look at what is happening in our world today, it is obvious that the world is in a big crisis. This is because humanity has lost the true meaning of love. For we have abandoned God who is the source and power of love. Today people find it very difficult to love and do things for others for free. We want to know what we will gain from whatever we do for people because of selfishness and greed. So we are called to be more charitable to people especially the poor who can not pay us back.

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today says: when you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.’

Here, Jesus gave us reasons why we should not be seeking gain and rewards for everything we do; rather, we must learn to help others, especially the poor. He made us know that it is natural and universal for human beings to seek rewards for whatever they have done. But what makes his disciples different from other people is the ability to do good without seeking rewards in this passing world. By so doing we will be imitating God our heavenly Father, who in his compassionate heart shows equal love to both the rich and the poor, for true charity is done when it is offered to those who can not repay us.

Hence, we are called to always consider the poor and those who are less privileged. We cannot be true Christians unless we are willing to love sacrificially in our actions and interactions, in all situations and to everyone without exception. We must learn to bear with one another, for St. Paul, in our first reading today, says: there must be no competition among you, no conceit, but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, So that nobody thinks of his interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.

Dear friends, how many of us Christians are willing and able to follow these instructions of the Lord? How many of us are ready to invite the poor and less privileged into our events of life? The truth is that the poor are not necessarily those who do not have money, but anyone who desires to benefit from God’s goodness in us.

How I wish we would embrace this principle of loving and stretching the hands of friendship and peace to the poor and the less privileged by investing more resources in things that bring about peace and friendship with one another rather than separating us and depriving the poor of their rights. When this is done, then the world will become more peaceful and loving.

More so, let us learn from St. Charles Borromeo, whose memorial we celebrate today, for he said in one of his sermons: I admit that we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily. So, Are you in charge of a parish? If so, do not neglect the parish of your soul, do not give yourself to others so completely that you have nothing left for yourself. You have to be mindful of your people without becoming forgetful of yourself.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, help us to learn how to invite the poor, knowing that they are not able to pay us back, but our rewards will be in heaven. Through the intercession of St. Charles Borromeo give us the grace to bear the sacrificial nature of this demand and so become a true sign of your loving presence to the poor and less privileged. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week.

Homily For Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 3rd November, 2024

 

Readings: Deut. 6:2-6; Ps. 18; Heb.7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LOVING GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOURS IS WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF US

As human beings living in a world full of crisis, hatred and uncertainty, we often struggle with so many commitments and responsibilities trying to resolve our problems and challenges. But, when we are faced with these realities of life, we want to know the things that should be our priority. What should be the most important thing to focus our energy on? What should become the foundation of all the things we need to do? What will be the very solution to our problems and challenges?

In fact, we always desire to know what is required of us in this life. This is the deposition of one of the scribes in our Gospel passage today, who came to Jesus and asked him a question concerning which commandment is the greatest.

In response to his question, Jesus reminded him of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that every Jew knew and recited from their earliest years from which they learned that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all thy soul, and with all their mind; that is, with all the powers and the very noble faculties of the soul which includes the mind, the understanding, the judgment, and our will. Jesus then added loving one’s neighbour as the second priority.

This is just very practical because anyone who loves God will naturally love all God’s children, who are, of course, in a very real sense, our neighbours. We must love every single person because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do. So, we can see that it is not possible to separate the love of God from the love of neighbour, for it is one commandment with two parts which will be the criterion for the final judgement of God.

Therefore, Jesus set this as a standard of love not just by how he described love, but by the depth of love which he shows by dying and sacrificing himself for us as the ideal high Priest. This is exactly what we have in our second reading which says: To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering himself.

So, today we are called to embrace the true love of God in our hearts. This is possible only when we understand the true meaning of love and sacrifice and this is what is lacking in our relationship with God and our neighbours. In fact, a critical look at what is happening in our world today, it is obvious that the world has lost the true meaning of love.

This present generation has failed to understand the true meaning and source of love and this can be seen in the kind of fruit we bear. The fruit of love in this generation is so complicated: love has become a tool for selfishness, deception, greed, and emotional and sexual satisfaction. This is because we have abandoned God, who is the source and power of love, and created for ourselves a mirage in the name of love.

Dear friends, love is the hard way and love is the only way to solve the problems of humanity. So today, we are called to come back to the source of love, God himself, who teaches us that love is an attitude that seeks the good of others despite how we feel about them. Love teaches us to be merciful, just as our Father in heaven is merciful. Love is a sacrificial attitude, an attitude that forgives, an attitude that accommodates, perseveres, preserves, heals and builds up when every other thing fails. This is the kind of attitude the world needs now, the attitude that comes from the pure love of God and our neighbours.

I don’t know if you have ever loved someone and you show it, or someone loves you and you know it. The fact is that it feels right and awesome because love brings healing and wholeness into people’s lives. Love is peace, Joy, strength and passion; love is stronger than death; why? Because it is that nature of God that we share.

Friends, it is by loving God in our neighbours that we can share and experience this nature of God in us and by so doing we will conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and sin. The truth is that the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today, as most families exist by grace and not by love.

Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all loved one another. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy humanity.

But how can humanity recover this power of love and harness it to bear more fruit in our societies where it seems as if true love exists no more? This is possible when we realize that we are all products of love and are called to live out our essence, which is to love. Therefore, we can make our choice today to renew our commitment to keeping these two commandments and to reflect on how best we can put them together for our good and the good of humanity. Remember, God loves you and in you resides that love that is lacking in your neighbours.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in You, is the fullness of love; grant that we may truly love You and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 2nd November 2024. The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day.)

Readings: Wis.3:1-9, Ps.23, Rom 5:5-11, Matt. 5:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY MUST WE PRAY FOR SUFFERING SOULS IN NEED OF PURIFICATION?

Every 2nd November, a day after the solemnity of All Saints, the Church in her wisdom asked us to commemorate and pray for all the faithful departed (All Souls), especially the suffering Church, that is, as a militant Church, we are expected to pray for those souls that belong to the body of Christ but are still in need of purification. Thus, we are called to remember our loved ones who have gone before us into eternal life by visiting their tombs and praying for them.

So as regards this visitation, I will recall my experience visiting the cemetery as a seminarian, for as customary in the seminary, every 2nd November we often chose people to visit the cemetery to pray for the souls of the Faithful Departed and Oftentimes my name will always be among those going to visit the cemetery but not often when it’s comes to going for other glorious occasions and events. Though at a point I felt I should complain I accepted it even though I had no option. Then, as usual, in 2017, I was privileged again to be among those to visit a cemetery at Oke-Are in Ibadan. On our way to the cemetery which is located on a hill in the heart of Ibadan, passing through the market and streets all I could see were people struggling, buying and selling, fighting and cursing each other, beggars, sick people and poor alike, among the people were the rich, the educated, their leaders both traditional and political.

But getting to the cemetery, I saw on a wall the names and dates of some men and women who had passed on from this interesting community. Then I asked myself in my deep reflection, where will all of us in this beautiful community be in the next hundred years? Where are all these people whose names are listed on this wall? Were they like us before? Are we going to be like them later? With this in mind, I realized that there is time for everything in this world: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to break down and a time to build up (Eccl: 3:1-11). Then I realized the reality of this life and the need to reflect and pray for the souls that have passed away from this passing world.

This I did not in grief but in the spirit of faith and hope, knowing that they are living in communion with us as they share in the resurrection of Christ. Just as we heard in our first reading that the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God for those who are faithful will live with him in love; since grace and mercy await those he has chosen. And St. Paul, in our second reading, tells us to rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation in order to live a beatific life, which Jesus gave us its guiding principles in our Gospel passage today.

Dear friends, do you know that you can offer some little help to souls struggling to attain heaven our beatific vision? Do we know that there are helpless souls who only rely on our help to attain the beatific vision? What am I willing to do for these helpless souls? Before now, have I even thought of it that my departed brethren need my assistance in order to reach their destination? Am I sure that I can avoid this state of suffering and purification? Do we ever remember that our loved ones may be there now? This is why we must pray for suffering souls in need of purification.

Perhaps while they were in this life, they were of great help to us. Do we realize that our prayers and sacrifices represent the key to releasing them, and we can use them if we want to? Do we care about using it? Therefore, as we remember the souls who are passing through this rigour of purification, it would be good for us to offer some prayers of intercession, especially for our loved ones as plenary indigence awaits us when we do this devoutly today or any day in November at the Holy Mass or the cemetery.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we commemorate and pray for all souls today, may the light of your mercy shine upon them, especially those who need your mercy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful day.

Homily For Friday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 1st November, 2024. Solemnity of All Saints

 

Readings: Rev. 7:2-4.9-14, Ps.24, 1John 3:1-3, Matt. 5:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHO ARE THE SAINTS AND WHY MUST WE CELEBRATE THEM? 

Today, the Church celebrates two special events; the first one is the gift of another new month, of which I say happy new month to you all. The second, which is the most important, is the solemnity of All Saints. The Church, as we know, is not just the physical structure we have all over the place; no, the Church is much more than that. The Church is the body of Christ, and every one of us is a member by virtue of our baptism.

This Church is divided into three groups, that is the militant Church, the suffering Church and the triumphant Church. The militant Church are all of us, especially the baptized, who are still inhabiting and struggling with the human flesh. But immediately after death, we belong either to the suffering Church or the triumphant Church.

The suffering Church is the souls that belong to the body of Christ but are still in need of purification. While the triumphant Church are the souls that have been purified by the blood of the Lamb and are united with Christ. They are the saints that we are celebrating today.

Thus, every first November, the Church presents to us the solemnity of All Saints. A day we celebrate the triumphant Church that is all the saints known or unknown to us who have triumphed victorious to heavenly glory, which, of course, reminds us that we are called to grow in holiness and to become saints, for that is our primary goal in life.

This solemnity dates back to the 7th century, and the occasion of its introduction was the conversion of the ancient Roman Pantheon into a Christian Church. Emperor, Phocas gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Church and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints about the year 608. But later in the year 731, Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in St. Peter’s Church in honour of all the saints, and since then, the solemnity of All Saints has been celebrated all over the world.

Therefore, in this great event, we are called to imitate the heroic virtues of the saints by living a life of beatitudes as peacemakers, pure of heart, meek, humble and merciful, as Jesus teaches us in our Gospel passage today. In our first reading, St. John in the Book of Revelation tells that these saints are the people who have been through great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.

Also, in our second reading, he made us know that we are already the children of God, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; but when it is revealed, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is. And everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself and try to be as pure as Christ.

Dear friends, why must we celebrate the saints? We celebrate the saints because they remind us of our universal vocation to holiness. Through their intercessions, they strengthen us in our struggles towards our goal, which is to attain eternal life. They help us to recall our communion with God along with the triumphant church and our duty to pray for the suffering Church. The saints remind us that we are pilgrims on this earth.

Therefore, this solemnity strengthens our faith in the teachings of the Church. No doubt all of us want to become saints, and oftentimes, we really want to live a holy life, but there are always obstacles on our way to holiness; these obstacles make us so aware of our sins, our weaknesses and our failures.

Yes, we are sinners, but so are the saints. They only relied on God’s mercy and grace and so we too. We cannot become holy through our efforts alone we need to cooperate with the grace of God. Remember, anything worth having is worth making sacrifices for, and the more it’s worth, the more significant sacrifices we should be willing to make for it. If holiness is necessary for one to attain heaven. Then it is worth all the sacrifices Jesus mentioned in the beatitudes.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as a militant Church on earth, there are a lot of troubles and challenges we are struggling with; help us through the intercession of all the saints to overcome them and so make it triumphantly to your heavenly kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy new month and a blessed All Saints celebration.

Homily For Thursday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 31st October, 2024

Readings: Eph.6:10-20, Ps 144, Luke 13:31-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

TAKE UP YOUR WEAPON OF WARFARE AND CONQUER THE EVIL AROUND YOU

In this world, we struggle with so many things, and we often encounter ugly events and challenges that cause us sorrows and ties. And most times we don't know how to manage those moments. This is because there is an active presence of evil in the world, which manifests itself in different forms. So, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.

Today, St. Paul, in our first reading, encouraged us to be strong and prepared against the attacks and assaults from the evil one, and its wicked forces. He said: Put on the whole armour of God to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against flesh and blood that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and powers originated from the darkness of this world.

 So stand your ground, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and put on the integrity of life for a breastplate, wearing shoes on your feet with that eagerness to spread the gospel of peace and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to put out the burning arrows of the evil one. And then take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. He told us to be firm in our faith in God and to be ready to resist those who are going to try to harm us and bring us down.

This is exactly what Jesus did in our Gospel passage today when some of the Pharisees warned him to leave the area where he was teaching because Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great was after him. This warning was just a way of trying to get rid of Jesus by frightening him using external forces and authority under the name of Herod. But Jesus was not moved by all their threats. For he knows that his mission is part of God’s larger plan which can not be interrupted by any external forces and authority. Hence, he ignored them and continued with his work of healing the people and liberating them from evil ones

Dear friends, our lives are in God’s hands, for we are part of God’s larger plan, and nothing will happen to us that conflicts with God’s wishes and plans for us. All we need is to embrace the whole armour of God in faith, with the belt of truth buckled round our waist, and put on integrity of life for a breastplate, with eagerness to spread the gospel of peace while carrying the shield of faith so that we can use it to put out the burning arrows of the evil ones, using the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. By so doing, overcome the ugly situation we face every day in our societies and families today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and oftentimes, we don’t know what to do. As we embrace your words today, grant that we may find the courage and strength to conquer our fears and struggles against the evil ones, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you and fruitful day.