Homily: Saturday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 22nd August, 2026. The Memorial of Our Lady Mother and Queen

 

Readings: Ezek. 43:1-7, PS.85, Matt. 23:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

UNDERSTANDING THE BEST WAY TO EVANGELIZE IN OUR SOCIETIES TODAY

The difference between the early Christian community and present-day Christianity is the mode of witnessing. The early Christian community practically preached the word of God by witnessing with their life, while present-day Christianity are witnessing by preaching the word of God aloud with megaphones and all media channels and platforms, without sufficient practice of what we preach.

This unhealthy attitude towards our mission is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when he said to the people: “The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will not lift a finger to move them”.

Here, Jesus made it clear that we should listen to what the authorities are saying to us. However, we should not be such people who do not put into practice what we teach. So, as Christians, we need to start practising what we preach; we need to do more witnessing than preaching. It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to blatant injustice and utter prophetic denunciation.

These kinds of words lack the real meaning of our faith unless they are accompanied by effective action manifested in our way of life. This is what we see in the life of the prophet Ezekiel in our first reading today, who, having experienced the glory of God, bore witness to it with his life and constantly admonished the chosen people of God while acknowledging the authority of God.

Similarly, we need to acknowledge that our authority as Christians comes from God, for we are not to pride ourselves as rabbis, teachers, pastors, or prophets in our own name. Rather our actions should reflect the paternity of God in the way we live and serve others. Therefore let us imitate Our Lady Mother and Queen whose memorial we celebrate today, for she is outstanding in word and deed, she is a perfect example of what it means to do the will of God, hence she was crowned Mother and Queen.

Dear friends, let us strive to follow the examples of faithfulness, dedication and total commitment to God of the prophet Ezekiel and Our Lady, for they put into practice the word of God they heard. Teaching us that it is not sufficient to speak; we have to practice. We are called not merely to hear God’s word but to daily put it into action.

Let our actions reflect what we preach. Though hearing or reading the Word is important, that is not enough. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives. For it is empty and useless if our lives do not reflect the Gospel, if we hear the words of Jesus and do not act on them.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, grant us, through the intercession of Our Lady, Mother and Queen, the grace to strive to practice what your word teaches us and so merit to share in your heavenly banquet. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a peaceful weekend.

Homily for Friday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 21st August 2026. The Memorial of St. Pius X

Readings: Ezek. 37:1-14, PS.107, Matt. 22:34-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS OF GOD IN OUR LIVES

As human beings, we always desire to know what is required of us in this life. This is even more serious when we face the realities of life, and then we wish to know what should be our first 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?

This is the deposition of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in our Gospel passage today, who came together and asked Jesus a question concerning which commandment is the greatest. In response Jesus reminded them of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that they knew and recite 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 more noble faculties of the soul, the mind, the understanding, judgment, and will. Jesus then added that to love one’s neighbour is the second priority.

In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and loving our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us, and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do. And Jesus set the standard of love not just by the love he was able to show, but by the depth of love which he shows by dying and rising for our salvation.

An event that the prophet Ezekiel prophesied in our first reading, talking about the rising of the dried bones, which represents the ugly condition of the great soldiers of the chosen people of God, who are saying, " Our bones are dried up; our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” But the Lord says, I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of life again.

Dear friends, the question we really need to ask ourselves today is: do we truly love God and our neighbours? This is important because love is at the centre of all Jesus' teachings, for love is a gift from God to humanity. It is like stream water, so innocent and pure.

True love is not hidden; it radiates from the innermost being of a person who has experienced it. If we love God, then, we will see him in others and treat them justly and honourably. We will not hurt our neighbours but do our utmost to live in peace with them.

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 community.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in you we found the fullness of love, for you made us to share in your love. Grant that we, through the intercession of St. Pius X, 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 fruitful day.

Homily for Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 20th August 2026. The Memorial of St. Bernard Abbot

Readings: Ezek. 36:23-28, Ps.51, Matt. 22:1-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT COME TO GOD’S HEAVENLY BANQUET WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT

 A songwriter, Miriam Therese Winter composed one of the hymns in our hymn book entitled 'I can not come to the banquet, which gives us the summary of our Gospel passage today and the first and last stanzas of this hymn say:

1. A certain man had a feast on his fine estate in town,

He laid a festive table and wore a wedding gown

He sent invitations to his neighbours far and wide

But when the meal was ready, each one of them replied!

CHORUS:

I can not come!

I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now,

I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow,

I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum,

Pray hold me excused, I cannot come!

2. Now God has written a lesson for the rest of mankind,

If we're slow in responding, He may leave us behind,

He's preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day,

When the Lord and master calls us, be certain not to say.

In this life we are so busy with so many things that, if we do not take care, we will miss out on the essence of our existence. Today, the streets are full of people struggling and hustling; the markets are full of people buying and selling, and people rise very early in the morning and come back late at night.

This shows us how much effort people put in every day to earn their daily bread. I thought, if we can sincerely put in such an amount of effort to catch up with the train of eternal life, which God is inviting us into in today’s Gospel passage.

For today, from the parable of the marriage feast, the Lord offers us again an invitation to the banquet of heaven. An invitation which 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 accept his invitation with joy.

Dear friends, what is our response to God’s invitation to his heavenly banquet? Are we so busy with the things of this passing world? We are called today 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.

As Christians, today we are reminded of our wedding garment, the new suit we put on on the day of baptism. Therefore, we cannot go on wearing the old garments of sins of pride, greed, adultery, fornication, theft, drunkenness, selfishness and unforgiveness, which will throw us into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen.

Thus, we should put on our wedding garment of love, holiness and open the doors of our hearts to the poor, the marginalised, and those rejected by society. For God, through the prophet Ezekiel in our first reading, promised to gather us together from all the foreign countries, and bring us home to our own land and shall pour clean water over us to cleanse us from all our defilement.

He will remove our hearts of stone and give us a new heart, and put a new spirit in us to make us keep His laws and sincerely respect his observances. Then, we shall be his people and He will be our God. Therefore, let us imitate St. Bernard, whose memorial we celebrate today, for he is a man outstanding in word and deed, who strove to bring order and concord to the Church in the societies.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, every day you invite us to your heavenly banquet. As we honour your invitation today, may we, through the intercession of St. Bernard, never be distracted by the vain glory of this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a successful day 

Homily for Wednesday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 19th August, 2026

 

Readings: Ezek.34:1-11, PS.23, Matt. 20:1-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT GIVE UP EVEN AT THE LAST MOMENT

Oftentimes, when we are passing through the dark moment of life, it seems as if all hope is gone. We put up all our energy and enthusiasm struggling and hoping for a better and brighter moment. Sometimes it seems as if that brighter moment won’t come.

The truth is that our time of favour and success is not determined by how long or strenuous we have struggled, but by our disposition towards God's time of grace and generosity, for God alone decides how to reward us for our efforts. All we need is to be disposed to do his will at all times, because life is all about time and turn, so we have to wait on God’s time and our turns.

This is what the parable of the vineyard labourers in our Gospel passage today is teaching us, especially as regards to our disposition towards embracing the kingdom of God. So from the Gospel, the landowner went beyond justice, for, motivated by compassion, he employed labourers at different times and at the end he decided to pay them the same wages as agreed with those who were hired first, which made them feel bad for the landowner’s generosity towards those hired last.

Here the human mind suspects injustice, while the heart of God sees only an opportunity to be generous. This generosity of God calls us to be generous too; but out of envy we often selfishly consider ourselves more deserving than others. However, we can identify three kinds of persons from this parable: First, those who are like the landowner who hires people to get a job done, but with sympathy for those to be employed.

Secondly, the unemployed waiting desperately in the marketplace and thirdly, the labourers who consider themselves more deserving than others. Thus, we all need to ask ourselves: among these three groups, where do I belong? This is important because the way workers and labourers are being treated in our societies these days is really appalling. For those who are meant to lead and shepherd the people are taking advantage of the people they are called to shepherd.

Hence, God, through the prophet Ezekiel, in our first reading addressed the shepherds who ought to guide and feed the sheep, but are now feeding on the sheep, scattering them to select their choice and feed on their milk, wear their wool, eat their flesh, enriching and fattening themselves from their products.

While treating the sheep harshly and brutally, abandoning the sick, the weak and the strayed. Showing us how the leaders of our society have betrayed their mission. Instead of promoting a just society in accordance with the plan of God, they are using their authority to enrich themselves while oppressing the people entrusted to them.

Dear friends, today, the duties neglected by our leaders are going to be taken over by God himself, who is the Good Shepherd. He assures us that even though we are the least, the nobodies and most neglected in the eyes of the world, He will not forget us, for He has a time and a plan for everyone and will continue to provide for our daily needs.

But warns the leaders that they should change their greedy and sinful ways, because when the Lord’s time comes, the last will be the first and the first, last. For in his kingdom, there is time and a plan for everyone with equal grace and equal status.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, today you promised to take good care of your sheep yourself as you warn us to change from our sinful, greedy, and corrupt ways of life. Help us to change and be more caring, loving, and always disposed to doing your will. As we go about our daily activities, may your favour follow us even to the last hour, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily for Tuesday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 18th August, 2026

Readings: Ezek.28:1-10, Deut.33:18-19-22, Matt. 19:16-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE HARD TRUTH CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE RICHES OF THIS PASSING WORLD

The rate at which people illegally acquire and attach themselves to material things of this passing world is so alarming, and this has serious consequences towards the well-being of the common man in society. Though material possessions are gifts from God, and he alone gives us the right to them.

But what we possess is meant to help us grow in our relationship with God and neighbours, not to separate us from them, because if we are not careful, too much love for material possessions can be an obstacle on our way to God’s Kingdom.

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today says: “I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”. When the disciples heard this they were astonished. And they said, “Who can be saved, then?” Jesus gazed at them and said “For men this is impossible; for God everything is possible”.

Here, Jesus tells his disciples about the need to live a life of detachment. For they saw how the rich young man was so sad when Jesus demanded that he should share his possessions with others to acquire treasures in heaven by following him.

Thus, there is a need for us to be pruned of our excess love for material possessions, because, for a camel to enter through a narrow gate, it must kneel for its load to be taken off. We too must learn how to be humbled and detach ourselves from excess attachment to material things of this passing world.

The fact remains that material possessions in themselves are good, for we would not survive for long without them, but excess attachment to them at the expense of eternal life is grade one suicide. No doubt, it is difficult to give out or share our possessions, but the ones who give up everything are the ones who receive more in this life as well as in heaven.

Hence, the prophet Ezekiel in our first reading warns us concerning the issue of pride, for most of us, like the people of Tyre, because of their possessions, are being swollen with pride, seeing ourselves as gods, while we are nothing but a mere instrument in God’s hands.

Dear friends, what is your attitude towards the material things of this passing world? How have the material things of this passing world distracted us from God? Are we still attached to the material things of this passing world? How willing are we towards detaching and share what we possess with others, especially the poor? For this is a sure way to find life, peace and happiness.

So, Jesus is telling us that it will be difficult for us to enter his kingdom when we choose to attach ourselves to the riches of this passing world. Though material possessions are gifts from God, he alone gives us the right to have them. However, what we possess is not meant to separate us from God; rather, it should help us to grow in our relationship with God and neighbours.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism is the order of the day; help us to learn how to live a life of detachment and prune us always from the sin of pride. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day. 

Homily for Monday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 17th August, 2026

Readings: Ezek. 24:15-24, Deut.32:18-21, Matt. 19:16-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY WE SHOULD NOT BE TOO MUCH ATTACHED TO THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD

In our societies today, people will go to great lengths to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence, and power that will last from one to ten generations without considering what will lead to eternal life. This is quite disturbing when we reflect on the negative effects of this situation in our societies and families today.

 This ugly behaviour is exactly the mindset of the young man in our Gospel passage today, who claimed to have kept all the commandments without realising that he had actually abandoned the fundamental principle of the commandment, which has to do with loving and caring for our neighbours, especially the poor.

So Jesus draws his attention to this fundamental principle of our human existence, when he said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me”. This really touched his ego and pride, so he suddenly became very sad and dejected and went away sorrowfully.

This is why a proud and possessive person will find it difficult to remain faithful in their relationship with God and their neighbours just like the people of Israel in our first reading, who have constantly been disobedient and proud in their relationship with God and their neighbours. This ugly attitude is leading them to destruction.

Thus, God addressed them through the prophet Ezekiel, telling them that unless they changed, they would all be crushed and conquered by the Babylonians. For their city, their whole kingdom, their king and people, their proud Temple built by King Solomon would be torn down and destroyed, all because of their infidelity to God’s commandment.

Dear friends, what is it in this passing world that you are so much attached to? Today, Jesus touched the very thing that this young rich man was not ready to give up: his money, his houses, his credentials, his power, pride and all his wealth. But, if we are honest enough, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go of if Jesus should make the same demand of us. Things we would not like God to ask us to give up.

In fact, it might be a good thing today for us to ask ourselves, what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus should ask us to do so. It might be something we own, like our house, or it might be a relationship, or our job, or our wealth. Whatever we possess that will separate us from our mission of following Jesus and loving our neighbours, today we are called to give it up and come follow the Lord. That is why we should not be too attached to the things of this passing world.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are so much attached to things of this passing world; help us to know that excessive attachment to our earthly possessions could be an obstacle on our way to your Kingdom. Give us the grace to let go of things that often separate us from you as we learn to share with our neighbours especially the poor. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a great week ahead. 

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 16th August 2026

Readings: Is. 56:1.6-7; Ps. 67; Rom. 11:13-15.29-32; Matt. 15:21-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

GREAT FAITH CAN BE SEEN IN OUR ACTIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR HUMBLE BACKGROUND

Most people in our society today, hardly accept who they are. Some people spend all their resources and energy trying to convince others of what or who they are, even when they are not, to seek recognition and approval. Some even go as far as changing their identity, just for the sake of belonging to a particular class or to obtain favour or job opportunities. This is not the case with the Canaanite woman in our Gospel passage today, who, when she approached Jesus pleading for the restoration of her daughter, was not granted it immediately because of her humble background.

For Jesus said to her ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman persisted, kneeling at his feet saying. ‘Lord help me.’ Jesus replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.

From this little story, it is clear that the woman was not going to give up, but kept pleading, even from her Canaanite background, to the point of Jesus recognising her great faith. The irony of this passage is that, in Israel, Jesus was trying to convince people that he was the Messiah, as he was challenged to prove it with a sign. But here in the Gentile territory, he met a woman who was convinced he was the Messiah, and he could not discourage her efforts.

For this apparent attempt to put her off was just a test, in which her great faith was confirmed by the acceptance of her humble background. Some people suggested that Jesus had been a racist and this woman changed him, but that’s not the case here, because Jesus was actually in the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon which are the two main Phoenician cities better known as Canaanite tribes, which is an amalgamation of different groups of people known as the Canaanites living in the land of Canaan.

Therefore, we can understand better why the woman accepted the place of a “dog” as a Gentile in relation to Israelites being the chosen children of God, to whom the message and grace of the Messiah came first. Hence she accepted that she may not be able to sit down at the Messiah’s table and eat with the “children,” but she should be allowed to pick up some of the crumbs of unmerited mercy and grace of God for the sake of her daughter.

In this dramatic gesture, she demonstrated her submission to the historical privilege of Israel as the chosen people of God over the Gentiles, as she wishes to partake of the grace that is freely given to the Gentiles, which the Jews have rejected.

This was one of the backgrounds behind Paul’s missionary journey when he turned to Gentiles because the Jews have rejected the message of Jesus as the Messiah. Just as we heard him saying in our second reading today, “I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! For God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.

Therefore we have to change from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of our disobedience, so that those who are disobedient now, are so only because of the mercy shown to you, of which they will also enjoy mercy eventually if turned back to God. For God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all humanity”.

Therefore, the event in the story of the Canaanite woman in our Gospel passage today can be interpreted as part of the development of redemptive history, moving from the event of the Old Testament towards the missionary activities of the New Testament, of which God through the prophet Isaiah in our first reading today, made us understand this development.

This is clear when he said: “foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord, to serve him and to love his name and be his servants, all who observe the Sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant, these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples”.

 This concept truly describes the Christian understanding of the relationship between the Gentiles and Jews, and the Church as universal, that is, open to all who wish to embrace God’s kingdom. Even though the kingdom had to be fully offered first to the Jews, in fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies of the kingdom. However, since they have rejected it, it has to be made open to all.

That is why Jesus went into Gentile territory and did this miracle for this Gentile woman in a dramatic way that is different from the other miracles in the Jewish territory, which also shows the willingness of the Gentiles to embrace the faith. And in this woman, Jesus affirms that there are Gentiles who had greater faith than the Jews who were rejecting and challenging his teachings. Hence, this passage teaches us about God’s grace that he offers to all humanity and the faith of the people who are willing to embrace his salvation.

Dear friends, we must stop wasting valuable time trying to prove who we are not; let us first, in faith, humble ourselves and accept who we are; then work hard to improve who we want to be in relation to our faith in God. Let our faith in God help us to accept our present condition in order to look forward to who we will be in the future.

For when we accept who we are, God brings out the best in us and places us where we truly belong. So, whatever we want to do, let us have faith in God and in ourselves, and be determined, because faith, determination, sacrifice and persistence are the secrets of any success in life.

Therefore, tell yourself today that you can get that which you desire; when you plan for it and work persistently for it, you will begin to see a different face in the things you do. The truth is that people are rewarded in public for things they do for years in private. So, let us learn from the Canaanite woman who accepted who she was and was determined with faith to achieve her dream through humility and persistence.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the Canaanite woman accepted her humble background with great faith in your Son Jesus. As we humbly make a leap of faith today, with determination, sacrifice and persistence towards our dreams in life, may you grant our hearts' desires. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday.