Homily For Thursday after Ash Wednesday Year A, 19th February, 2026

 

Readings: Deut. 30:15-20; Ps. 1; Luke 9:22-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A CALL TO EMBRACE THE SACRIFICIAL NATURE OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

Reflecting on the continuous hostility, persecution and influential powers of the things of this world, I think is time for us to think twice about our faith as Christians, and whether we are ready to live out our faith in the midst of these ugly situations in our societies, which are not stopping soon, for it is getting tougher every day. Thus, if we are willing to live up to our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way.

Concerning this radical decision, we are called in our first reading today, to make choices between life and death, blessing or curse. And we are encouraged to choose life, so that we may live in the love of the Lord our God, obeying his voice and following him; for in him consists the true meaning of life. Therefore, we are to choose that one path that leads to life, while rejecting those that lead to evil and death.

Similarly, this same choice was presented by the Lord Jesus to his disciples in our Gospel passage today, as he revealed to them what he would have to endure for the salvation of humanity, how he is to be betrayed and made to suffer, crucified and die on the Cross, a most painful and humiliating death. In the end, he said that those who believe in him should take up their crosses daily and follow him. That though they may lose their lives physically in the eyes of the world, they will gain it in the eternal glory that is to come.

Dear friends, as we journey through this Lenten season, Jesus is presenting the same choice to us, for we have to choose between enjoying all that this world has to offer us, all the materialistic pursuits and excess desire for the pleasurable things around us, all the pursuits for excess money, possessions and wealth, the accumulation of vain fame and glory which in reality are separating us from God and Jesus is calling us to turn away from these worldly things and embrace the way of the Cross that teaches us to love, to sacrifice, to forgive, to embrace peace, to share with one another for in it we attain holiness of life.

Therefore, we are called today to deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this passing world in order to take up our Cross and follow the Lord. It’s time to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully follow Jesus. But how much are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of following him? Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus? What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? Thus, it is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow may be too late.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we decide to journey with Jesus today, help us to make the right choice by embracing the way that leads to life while rejecting our excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world which have weakened our hearts towards you. May the cross of Christ be for us a shining example in our daily struggles, so as to hold firm in our faith, despite all the sufferings and persecutions we may encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Ash Wednesday Year A, 18 February, 2026

Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Ps. 51; 2Cor 5:20-6:2; Matt. 6:1-6.16-18

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY WE MUST RETURN TO THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS

There is no doubt that the situation of things in our world today has made us so busy. We are so busy that sometimes we do not remember to examine our conscience to know how far we have separated ourselves from God. We have forgotten that every day is an opportunity to return and come close to God. So, today being Ash Wednesday we are called to return to God as we begin a new journey towards our God.

It is the day we begin our forty-day Lenten journey that leads us to the joy of Easter. And as tradition may have it, the beginning of Lent is marked with the blessing and imposition of Ash on our forehead. This act of putting on Ashes symbolizes our human fragility, filth and mortality which is in dear need of God’s mercy and redemption. Calling us to remember that we are dust, and unto dust, we shall return but will raise us again.

So, being a season of sober reflection on the journey towards our God, we are called for a change of attitude and behaviours during this Lenten season. In fact, in our first reading, prophet Joel calls us to return to the Lord with all our heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Here, he emphasises the phrase “with all my heart”. This means turning to God from the depths of our thoughts and feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices and actions.

The prophet further tells us to return to the Lord our God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, ready to relent of evil. More so, in our Gospel passage today Jesus gave us the regulations we need to follow in order to faithfully return to God as he calls us to be careful not to parade our good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this we will lose all reward from our Father in heaven.

But the question that comes to mind is, with the pleasurable things of this passing world, is it possible for us to truly return to God with all our hearts? I believe so because there is a force say Benedict XVI, that does not reside in our hearts, but that emanates from the heart of God to us. It is the power of God’s mercy and grace. Therefore a return to the Lord is possible with God’s grace which is a reality in our lives only when we let his grace penetrate our inmost being.

Hence St. Paul tells us in the second reading, that we cannot let this holy season pass us by, because it is offered to us as a unique opportunity that reminds us about the high cost of the reconciliation offered to us at the cross on which Jesus was hung. Hence, the call to return to God with all our heart in this Lenten journey leads us through the cross, following Christ on the road to Calvary, which demands the total gift of ourselves.

This call is a way in which we learn every day to come out more and more from our selfishness and our closures, to make room for God who opens and transforms the heart through constant listening to His Word and making it the light that illuminates our paths. This we do following the three fundamental practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting as a sign towards the Lenten journey of returning to God with all our heart.

Dear friends, knowing that we are dust and unto dust we shall return, what is keeping us from returning to the Lord who has the power to raise us again? What is That ugly attitude that often separates us from our God and one another? Oftentimes we promise to return to God but lack the courage and discipline to fulfil that promise.

So, this season is another wonderful opportunity to decide to return to the Lord. I don’t know what sin you are struggling to overcome. I don’t know how grievous our sins are. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God. All I know is that God’s mercies are greater than whatever sin we may have committed. All we have to do is to make that bold decision to return to him who loves us so much and always willing to welcome us whenever we come back to him and this why we must return to him with all our hearts

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we make up our minds to journey towards you these forty days, may your grace be with us to help us utilize the opportunities you are offering us, especially to repent and strive to live a holy life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a grace-filled Lenten season. 

Homily For Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17 February, 2026

 

Readings: James 1:12-18; Ps. 94; Mark: 8:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY WE MUST PRAY FOR THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING?

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of understanding, which is the ability to perceive an idea or situation mentally, to know and comprehend the nature or meaning of things. Hence, understanding is seen as a gift of God and it is to be prayed and desired by all.

Understanding has a moral character which one has to sought and learned. Understanding, then, involves the cognitive, the spiritual, and the moral. While human efforts are required, the ability to understand comes from God and the true test of understanding is obedience to God.

However, Jesus in our Gospel passage today was disappointed at his disciples’ inability to grasp what he was saying to them or who he really is. They failed to understand what he is capable of doing in their midst. Hence he asked them over nine questions which they failed to understand. We can imagine them asking what is it that we do not yet understand?

But they had been witnesses to two extraordinary events done by Jesus: the feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and four thousand with seven Loaves. Yet they do not seem to have grasped the implication of the miracle they had witnessed nor the divine identity of Jesus who had made it possible.

Thus, Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand?” This question, reveals that the disciples are really in need of the gift of understanding, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is given to us to make sense of what is happening around us all the time.

Dear friends, the fact remains that we all need the gift of understanding just like the disciples in our Gospel today. For often times, we are confused about so many things going on in our lives even concerning our faith, our families, our work, our vocation and every other things around us.

Little wonder St. James in our first reading today says: make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created. Therefore, let us ask God the Father to send the Holy Spirit for an increase in the gift of understanding.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the source of all understanding, help us to understand you better and as we struggle with our daily activities endow us with an understanding heart, so as to break down the walls of confusion that press on in our heart. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 16 February, 2026.

Readings: James 1:1-11; Ps. 119; Mark: 8:11-13

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY THERE IS NO SIGN FOR THIS GENERATION?

Oftentimes people want to see signs before they can accept or believe whatever we have to present to them. And sometimes people ask for signs just to discredit someone’s efforts. This is the case with the Pharisees in our Gospel passage today, who asked Jesus for a sign in order to test him. But Jesus with a sigh that came straight from the heart said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’

This response was as a result of pride which has blindfolded the Pharisees who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah that very sign that they seek. Jesus presents to us the final recommendations of the end time, pointing out that he is the greatest sign of all time. But this is what the Pharisees want to discredit out of pride and ego. This kind of character is what is destroying humanity today causing problems and troubles.

Little wonder, St. James in our first reading today teaches us to be hopeful and joyful in times of trouble. He advises us to tGIVEN ake care in times of trial, and let patience guide all that we do. That we should not pray so much for the removal of affliction, rather we should as for wisdom to make the right use of it. We need faith to understand how this works.

This is what the Pharisees lack in our Gospel reading today when some of them demanded that Jesus should display some mighty work of God as a sign that God's reign has arrived. They refused to accept the miracles that Jesus had accomplished, missing the significance of these works as a manifestation of God's presence. Hence, Jesus left this faithless people, without satisfying their desire for any sign from heaven. Because of their lack of faith, they did not recognize Jesus as that “heavenly sign.”.

Dear friends, pride can make us blind in such a manner that we will continue to seek signs even when things are clear in our lives. And Jesus is saying that amid proud people, no sign will be given. But, what signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of this time, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us dread the second coming of the Lord or do we joyfully embrace it in anticipation?

Hence, Jesus warns us not to waste our time seeking for signs, rather we should be prepared, and we should remain firm in the faith. He reminds us that he is the only sign that can be given to humanity. Therefore, we are not to be like the Pharisees who are looking for signs, especially in times of trials, rather we should seek wisdom to make things right.

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, you are the sign that we seek, as we embrace your word today give us the grace to be humble in order to follow you our Lord and Saviour. And as we carry out our task this week, may your favour be with us now and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week ahead.

Homily For Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 15th February, 2026

Readings: Eccles. 15:16-21; Ps. 119; 1Cor.2:6-10; Matt. 5:17-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A CALL FOR A DEEPER VIRTUE TOWARDS FULFILLING GOD'S COMMANDMENTS

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who sacrifice to ensuring that things workout well and those who sacrifice to destroy things. Which one do you belong to and which one do you want to belong. To belong to those who want things to workout well requires a deeper virtue towards fulfilling the commandments of God and brings new light and hope to humanity as we heard last Sunday.

Hence, every moment of our lives, without realizing it, we continue to be one with Jesus the light of the world. Little wonder this Sunday, Jesus calls us for a deeper relationship with him and with one another in a more righteous manner. Thus he says to his disciples in our Gospel reading today, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. For unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Why? Because Jesus expect more from his disciples. So when he say their righteousness should surpass that of the Pharisee, he meant that they should be right with God, they should be right with their brothers and sisters, and with the whole world.

He says, “You will follow as I do. You will be people who will rely, not just in the law but in faith as well. That is, a faith in God, a faith in him, a faith in each other, and a faith that will move life closer towards the love of God and neighbours.

This is a call for a deeper virtue. It means that the Old Testament is now being fulfilled in the New Testament that calls for deeper love. Telling us that love is the beginning, love is the middle and love is the end of everything. Now we can understand the reason behind the teaching of Jesus concerning breaking the ten commandments as: killing, reconciliation, adultery, lying and swearing.

Here, Jesus emphasized that these commandments especially the second commandment which deals with using the name of God in vain, also the fifth which has to do with respect for human life and the sixth commandment which has to do with the sanctity of the human relationship which forbids not only the acts of adultery and fornication but all appetites to them, all lusting after sexual object, for this is the beginning of the sin.

In fact, the lust of conceiving it is a bad step towards the sin, for as far as the heart can do it, there is nothing but convenient opportunity for the sin itself to be carried out. So all approaches toward gratification of this sexual appetite such as: touching and feeding the eye with the sight of it where further satisfaction can be obtained is forbidden. Because such looks and behaviour are very dangerous and destructive to the soul and Jesus said that it is better to lose the eye and the hand than to give in to this sin, and perish eternally in hell.

Also, Jesus addressed the notion of divorce in marriage and it’s controversy, by referring us to the fundamental principle of marriage. Here Jesus emphasized on the real intention of God about marriage and celibacy, that they are two forms of life that help us to value human sexuality as gift from God. He ruled out divorce by placing men and women on the same level; no longer could a man opt to divorce his wife. Today there are lots of problems in family due to lack of understanding of what marriage truly means.

It is quite interesting to realize that social, economic and political factors are major determinants that shape the youth’s present understand of marriage, as we see the youths giving importance to changing trends in marriage such as: single parent, inter-caste marriage, living in relationship or cohabitation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender marriages, etc. Hence, marriage for them is more of a social phenomenon than spiritual union and physical companionship. So this is part of what Jesus is addressing today

Hence, he speaks of "fulfilling" rather than "abolishing" the law and the prophets as we have it in our Gospel passage today and he added that: “the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

Here, Jesus points out that keeping and teaching the commandments of God is the sure way of deepening our relationship with God not just here on earth but also in heaven. Little wonder in our first reading, we are made to know that if we wish, we can keep the commandments, because to behave faithfully is within our power. For God has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.

And St. Paul in our second reading said: we have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

Dear friends, Jesus has not come to abolish the laws, but to complete and fulfilled them. So he demands a deeper relationship from us not like that of the Pharisees who display their piety before others. No, Jesus wants more from us, he wants us to know that the laws that God gave to us is meant to lead us to Him and not for us to stray from Him.

Therefore, it is time for us to turn once again to the Lord our God, with all our strength and gifts. It is time for us to truly live our lives with a renewed spirit of faith. We are called to deepen our relationship with God and to embrace His love with all sincerity in order to reciprocate that love to the world through loving our neighbours. By so doing the world may see clearly and live once again by faith in God and faith in each other especially in country where people are suffering.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle everyday towards holiness and perfection, may we be guided by the Holy Spirit and strive to remain towards the path of righteousness and ever to go back to our sinful and ugly ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 14th February, 2026. The Memorial of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and St. Valentine’s Day

 

Readings: 1Kings 12:26-32.13:33-34; Ps.106; Mark 8:1-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

CELEBRATING THE POWER AND VICTORY OF LOVE OVER HUMAN SELFISHNESS

When God created humanity, he entrusted all his creation to us and gave us regulations to follow in order to ensure successful fulfilment of this responsibility. But out of pride and selfishness we disobeyed God’s instructions and regulations. Hence, we separated ourselves from God, where we should have remained and enjoying the bliss of God’s presence, just as we heard in our first reading today.

For we heard how Jeroboam out of greed and selfishness separated himself and the people entrusted to him from God by creating for himself a golden image in replacement of the living God. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.

This is how we often behave and separate ourselves from God and are heading towards destruction and suffering. Nonetheless, God has not abandoned us in our downfall. He is still compassionate, caring and loves us even in our imperfections and our disobedience, for his compassion for the sufferings of humanity is so great. This is evident in our Gospel reading today, where Jesus reveals his compassion towards humanity. This compassionate love of Jesus in it’s historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, springs from the love of God the Father for his creatures..

Here, Jesus had compassion on the people who had been with him for days listening to his words. He then says to his disciples that there is need for him to give them something to eat before sending them away less they may faint on the way since some of them have come a long distance. This compassion of Jesus is meant for us to spread it throughout the world in a practical way by our ways of life.

This what we see in the lives of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and St. Valentine whose memorial we celebrate today. For all over the world people are celebrating especially young people, we are celebrating what they called the valentine’s day. A day we celebrate love. But today we are celebrating not just love, but the power and victory of love over human selfishness. The seed of this celebration comes as a result of the ugly event that happened on February 14, around the year 270 A.D., when Valentine, a holy Roman Catholic priest, who lived in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.

But the questions that comes to mind are: why was he executed and how does this ugly event relate to what we are celebrating today? According to history, what happened was that under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns and the emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. So the emperor discovered that men of Rome were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

Thus, to deal with this problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. But Valentine a priest of Rome, realizing the injustice of this declaration by the emperor, defied this order and continued to perform marriages rite for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, the emperor ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. This ugly event was carried out on February 14, around the year 270.

However, in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius, in honour of this St. decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, which was a pagan celebrate of the god of fertility in the name of love, though in an immoral way that is not acceptable to Christian faith. So in order to replace this feast with something more acceptable, the Pope declared that February 14 be celebrated as St. Valentine's Day in memory of his sacrificial passion for love among the people. And gradually, February 14 became a date for the celebration of love which is often expressed in different ways such as exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers to our loved ones.

Thus, Valentine celebration reminds us of the gift of God's love to humanity. For God loves unconditionally and sacrificially, he loves us till the very end. So, we have to also love one another the way God loves us. We must know that Valentine day is not a carnal celebration of love. But more of sacrificial and spiritual celebration. That is why as Christians we do not celebrate Valentine in a carnal or selfish manner or the sinful way the world celebrates it in the name of boyfriend and girlfriend, committing immorality, fornication and adultery in the name of love, which of course is not love, but lust.

Therefore, Valentine’s day for us should be a day we protect and promote true love for one another. It is a day we remember how much we care for one another and what we are to one another. It is a day we build up and nurture long-lasting love, friendships and good relationships with one another.

Dear friends, God has not abandoned us even in our imperfections, he still cares about us. All he wants from us is to be faithful to him and be compassionate to one another. But how strong is our compassion towards others? Do we know people who are helpless and need some help? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he sees them? Have I ever felt helpless? Do I feel the need of Jesus’ help in some part of my life?

Today, like Jesus, each one of us are called to reach out to people around us who are really in need of our assistance. This includes our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues and others who we encounter in life. The truth is that, you may be the only person who can brings the love, help us healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our fragile and contingent nature propelled by pride and sins have always bring about our downfall, but you have never abandoned us. As we embrace your love and compassion, give us the grace to look at people around us with the compassionate eyes of Jesus and be of help to them the best we could. Amen. Have a peaceful weekend and happy Valentine's day .

Homily For Friday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 13th February, 2026

 

Readings: 1Kings 11:29-33.12:19; Ps.81; Mark 7:31-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, THE WORLD HAS MADE US DEAF AND DUMB, COME AND OPEN OUR EARS AND TONGUES ONCE AGAIN

Reflecting on the ugly events in this world, especially how people pay attention to the things of this world at the expense of the things of God. How the world has engaged our attention to herself that we have now become deaf and dump to things that concerns our spiritual life. Yes we go to Church as often as possible, we engaged in one spiritual activity or another.

But the questions are, do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through those activities? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do in the house of God? Are we confused about our faith as a result of ugly events and scandals? The world really want us to be deaf to the word of God and mute to speak the great things God is doing for us.

This is evident in our first reading today, where we heard the consequences of paying deaf ears to God’s instructions. For Solomon in his old age let’s his hearts be separated from God because of the lost for the ugly thing of this passing world. So today we heard how his kingdom was divided and separated from him because of his sin. In a similar way humanity are constantly paying deaf hears to the instructions of God by allowing herself to be deceived by the serpents of this passing world and as a result of this ugly attitude, we are separating ourselves from the presence of God out of pride and selfish desires.

Thus, today in our Gospel passage, we heard how Jesus dramatically and figuratively heals us of our deafness and dumbass caused by our constant embracing of the sinful things of this passing world. Hence, when the deaf and dumb man was brought to Jesus for healing. He took the man aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven and prays, " Ephphatha! Be opened".

Immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosed and he is able to speak plainly. This same words are use during baptism while touching the ears and lips of the baptized, a gesture that signifies the spiritual openness of one’s heart to God’s words.

Dear friends, out of pride and greediness we have often separated ourselves from the presence of God and as a result have become deaf and dumb to his teachings and instructions. Hence, we all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear and understand fully the message of Jesus and share it to the world.

I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God as a result of sin, I don’t know how deep our deafness and dumbness are, all I know is that today God is saying to us, fear not, have courage for the eyes of the blind shall be opened, ears of the deaf unstopped and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. All we need is to trust God no matter the affliction we are passing through in this world, for he is able to save us from them all.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our strong desire for the things of this passing world has made us so deaf and dumb towards your words. Let us hear your voice once more saying to us “Ephphatha, be opened”, so that we can hear your words deep down our hearts and joyfully proclaim it to all humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It's Friday, as you go about your activities, may the joy of the Lord be your strength.