Homily For Thursday Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17th September, 2026

 

Readings: 1Cor 15:1-11, Ps.118, Luke 7:36-50

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING HOW TO PRESENT OURSELVES BEFORE GOD IN GRATITUDE

Oftentimes we are quick to judge and condemn other people, we are quick to identify their sins without looking at our own sinful ways. We find it difficult to accept that something good can come out of people we have labeled as sinners in the society. But this is not the same with Jesus in our Gospel passage today who welcomes sinner and showed them mercy and kindness.

That is why when one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal in his house, and when they are at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town and brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment and begin to weep and her tears fell on the feet of Jesus, and she wiped them away with her hair; kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment as she expressed her gratitude for mercy received.

But the Pharisees, instead of rejoicing on account of this woman's repentance, they confined their thoughts to her former ugly and sinful ways of life. Then with a parable, Jesus demonstrated that the greater a sinner, the greater the love he/she ought to show to God when he/she receives mercy and pardoned.

Little wonder Jesus told Peter I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much.

This is the same with St. Paul in our first reading when he said I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless.

This tells us that we all are sinners and debtors before God. Though some sinners are greater debtors; but whether our debt be more or less, it is more than we are able to pay. However God is always ready to forgive us and the more we express our sorrow for sin, the more our love for Christ grows.

Dear friends, how do we present ourselves before God? Are we like the Pharisees, who always talk about other people’s sins without minding our own sinfulness? Are we carried away by the things around us and so forget the right things we ought to do? Are we like the woman in our Gospel, who came before the presence Jesus with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving for the mercy and pardon received? Today we are called to learn how to show appreciation for mercy and pardon we receive always from our heavenly Father.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for your graces and mercy which is beyond human imagination, for it is by your grace that we are what we are today, teach us we pray, how to be more willing to forgive others as we recognize our own need for your forgiveness and so learn how to love more and show gratitude. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day. 

Homily For Wednesday Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 16th September, 2026. The Memorial of SS. Cornelius and Cyprian

 

Readings: 1Cor.12:31-13:13, Ps.33, Luke 7:31-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

LOVE THE GREATEST GIFT OF GOD TO HUMANITY

Love is that nature of God which we share, a gift from God to humanity. Love is like the stream water, so innocent and pure. True love is not hidden, it radiates from the innermost being of a person who experience it. Little wonder St Paul in our first reading tells us that there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.

So love is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Since all the virtues, from the lowest to the highest are worthless unless motivated by love. So love however, is the greatest and foundation of all the virtues. Other virtues such as faith will cease with the vision of God, hope will disappear into the possession of what we hoped for.

But love is permanent and eternal because, God is love and we are his seed of love in this world. Thus our primary purpose in life is to love, and not just any kind of love, but sacrificial love that is rooted in selflessness that is devoid of greed, selfishness and haughty.

This kind of love is what is lacking among the people of our generation as we have it in our Gospel passage today when we heard Jesus talking about the people who out of jealousy had failed to embrace his teaching and that of John the Baptist.

For the people looked down on him and were very judgmental against him and John the Baptist because of their unique personality. This ugly attitude were caused by lack of love, inability to appreciate God’s love and all that He has done for the sake of all humanity.

Dear friends, how much of this love dwells in us knowing that our true happiness is found in love? The fact remains that we can never be happy if we lack love in us. We can never be satisfied if we lack love. We can never receive love if we have never given it. So, no matter what kind of gifts we have whether spiritual or material, love is the only way to make them a source of happiness which bring us satisfaction that comes only from the heart that truly loves.

This is what we see in the lives of SS. Cornelius and Cyprian whose memorial we celebrate today. For they were holy servants of God who dedicated their lives to the service to God and their neighbour. And for this they died as martyrs under great persecution for they stood firm in their faith and hope which is rooted in their love of God and neighbours.

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

Homily For Tuesday, Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 15th September, 2026. The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

 

Readings: 1Cor. 12:12-14.27-31; Ps. 100; John 19:25-27

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING HOW TO MANAGE YOUR SORROWS OF LIFE PATIENTLY LIKE MOTHER MARY

In life, we encounter ugly events and challenges that cause us sorrows and tears. And oftentimes we don't know how to manage those moments. Just yesterday, we celebrated the exaltation and triumph of the Holy Cross; today, we are celebrating the sorrows of our Blessed Mother, who experienced a great sorrow at the suffering and death of her Son, who suffered grievously for the sins and faults of others and for the sake of the redemption of all humanity.

So as we commemorate our Lady's greatest sorrows: beginning with the prophecy of Simeon in the temple, her flight into Egypt with the infant Jesus, the missing of Jesus at the age of 12 in Jerusalem, Mary's encounter with her son Jesus on his way to Calvary, his crucifixion, death and burial. In fact, our Gospel passage today tells us that Jesus, seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son. Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’

Thus, from that moment, the disciple made a place for her in his home. This very action may seem so easy for those who have not experienced the painful torture that comes from witnessing the suffering of their loved ones. But for those who have experienced such torture, especially our good mothers, we will understand better that it is harder to watch the pains and suffering of your loved ones than to bear our own pains.

So, we can now understand the situation and condition our Lady was passing through for the sake of obedience to God’s will as she watched Jesus suffer for our redemption. Little wonder in our first reading we are told that we are Christ’s body; but each of us is a different part of it. Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

Dear friends, I don’t know what kind of sorrows you are carrying in your hearts. Is it the sorrows caused by the ugly situation in your life, your family, your place of work, your inability to achieve your goals and dreams in like manner? Or is it sorrows caused by other people, or caused by mistakes of your past, the ugly ways of life? Whatever and however deep the sorrows are, today we are called to learn how to bear our sorrows of life patiently, like Mary, by linking them to the will of God.

Let us learn how to present our sorrows and problems to God in prayer by raising up our minds and hearts to him, and since he promised that he will teach us the way we should go, instruct us, and advise us. Let us listen to what he is calling us to do and ensure we do them just like our Mother Mary, because the Lord Jesus speaks to us from the depths of our heart, and he desires that we listen to him whenever we pray and associate our sorrows with his own, just like Mary, our mother.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, there are so many sorrows in our lives, and people are doing all they can to overcome them. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, may we experience your love and help us to know the best ways to bear our sorrows patiently. We asked this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you 

Homily For Monday Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 14th September, 2026. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

 

Readings: Num. 21:4-9, Ps.78, Phil.2:6-11, John 3:13-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE MEANING OF THE HOLY CROSS

A lot of people in our societies today put on the cross without knowing the true meaning of the cross and what it represent. They just feel that the cross is a fashionable object that makes them look good and feel important, but this is not the case because the cross is more than that.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, this feast is so important to our Christian faith, because the Holy Cross is a symbol of sacrificial victory of our faith.

This Feast began when St. Helena discovered the relic of the true Cross on which Jesus was crucified, which was preserved in Jerusalem. A sacred relic that represents the mystery of the unending love of God for humanity.

Though, the cross in the eyes of early Christians had no beauty, it was a sign of sorrow, a symbol of courage, an expression of faith which stood outside the city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses of Christ faithful who died for their faith in Christ. They are left on the cross as a threat to anyone who believes in Jesus.

But today, the cross has become the universal image of Christian belief, an instrument of salvation which often appear in Christian art works and countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry and other religions activities.

Here we can see how this ugly event has turned into a glorious act, which shows the power of God over evil. For God is the source of victory, he has the power to turn ugly situation into a glorious one through the power of love.

Little wonder our Gospel passage today, talks about the relationship between God and the world. Telling us that God loves the world and the humanity living in it. He loves it so much that he gave his only Son, who died a shameful and terrible death on a cross for the seek of his love.

God loves the whole world and his love is total and unconditional for every one of his creatures. For God reveals his love, his greatest glory when his Son was lifted up on the cross for there the victory of our salvation was achieved and at the cross, Jesus tells us everything and solves all our difficult problems.

Just like the Israelites in our first reading who having sinned against God and were punished on account of their sins, complained as they asked Moses to intercede for them and God said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live. This very symbol is a prefiguration of the Cross of Christ.

And St. Paul in our second reading tells us that though Jesus in the form of God, but he humbled himself by accepting death on a Cross and God exalted him and gave him the name which is above all other names, so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus to the glory of God the Father.

Dear friends, as we reflect and celebrate the exaltation of the Holy Cross and it's saving power in our Christian life, let us deeply look at the Cross, what do we see? How do we feel about the Cross? What does the Cross represents in our life? Do we feel the love of Jesus expressed for us on the Cross? Can we perceive the expensive price of our salvation?

We are called today to tell the world how deep God has loved us. We are to demonstrate this love to the world and let this love be felt by those who have lost hope in God especially at this time when humanity is struggling with the ugly situation of inflation and political crisis.

Therefore, let us extend this love in any form, gestures or manner possible to everywhere that it is lacking. A kind word, a single phone call, a text message, an act of forgiveness, a single prayer, sacrifice, patience and any form of generous act shown to anyone around you or as many people you can reach out today, can reflect this love of God for humanity through us, for we are the face of God’s love now, we are the channels of his Mercy and compassion.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we celebrate the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, may we experience once again the power of your love for humanity, and give us the grace to reciprocate this love in the world by our way of life, using the gifts, the talents and resources you have given us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Feast day to all the Priest and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Lagos.

Homily For Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 13th September, 2026

 

Readings: Sirach 27:30-28:7, Ps.103, Rom 14:7-9, Matt. 18:21-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF FORGIVENESS AND THE DANGERS OF UNFORGIVENESS

The word forgiveness is often used to express compassionate feelings that support a willingness to let go of mistakes or an offences committed against someone. It is a word we desire to hear from others but very difficult to offer to others.

Little wonder in our Lord’s prayer, there is a portion that points out something so important about the word forgiveness. This portion says “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us” (Matt.6:12).

In this prayer we have a fundamental principle of Christian life, by which we make a covenant and commitment that will be a standard through which we are going to be judged as regards our relationship with others and with God. But often times we are not conscious of these principles especially when we have to face the difficult moment of forgiving a grievous offense.

Thus, St. Peter being conscious of this fact, asked Jesus in our Gospel passage today, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy times seven. And he practicalized his answer with an example of a servant who owed his master a huge debt that he and his generation cannot pay. But when he pleads for mercy, the master forgave him all the debts.

However, this same servant found a fellow servant who owed him as little as one hundred denarii, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him and even when he pleaded for mercy, instead of forgiving him, he puts him in prison according to the norms of the law until he had paid his debt.

This unforgiven servant did to his fellow servant what the master could have done to him, but did not. When the master heard how he treated his fellow servant, he said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?

And, angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debts.” Jesus then said this is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’ For God will apply the principle he has given us in our Lord’s Prayer, which automatically puts us where we properly belong based on how we have related with others.

In this story, we see the extreme estimate of the debt the servant owed his master, ten thousand talents, even if he and his family had to work their whole life, they would never have been able to pay that debt. This because, a denarius is a day's wage for a common workingman. While a talent is 6,000 denarii, or 20 years of daily wages.

That means he would need to work 6,000 days to earn one talent and we are talking about ten thousand talents. That is 60,000,000 denarii or 200,000years compared to 100days his fellow servant owed him

So, that’s a huge amount, in fact, there was no comparison between the two debtors at all. However, this is meant to expose to us the ugly attitude of unforgiveness and also help us to understand that our debt before God is so huge and countless that we cannot be able to pay them.

And this is why we must forgive others, for we are told in our first reading that resentment and anger are nothing but foul things, and both are found among sinners. For he who exacts vengeance will experience the vengeance of the Lord, who keeps strict account of our sin. Thus we must forgive our neighbour for the wrongs they have done to us so that when we pray, our sins will be forgiven.

We must remember our covenant with the Lord and so overlook the offence of others and live by the commandments in conscious of the events of the last day, the day of judgement after death. For this reason, St. Paul in our second reading tells us that the life and death of each of us have its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. So why not forgive others who have wronged us?

Dear friends, the question we need to ask ourselves is: what happens when we fail to forgive other people? What will happen is that we will not be forgiven by God. Also, the negative consequences of not forgiving other people can lead to emotional pain and bust of anger, hatred, hurtful feelings, resentment, bitterness, stress, anxiety, depression and blaming others for our negative feelings which can create health issues, negative effects in our relationships with others and stop us from experiencing the freedom that forgiveness offers.

Friends, there is no doubt that forgiving a grievous offence can be very difficult. But there are many reasons why we must forgive and one of these strong reasons is that forgiveness is like recovering a lost treasure that contains: inner joy, peace, freedom and healing.

So my dear friends, are there people we have vowed not to forgive? Have people hurt us so badly that we can’t forgive them? Have we offended people and cannot be humble enough to ask for their forgiveness? Do we think that our sins are so huge for God to forgive? Are we finding it difficult to forgive those who have offended us?

 Today Jesus is asking us to learn how to forgive others unconditionally from our hearts so that God will also forgive us always and unconditionally. Therefore, we must never refuse to forgive or reject an offer of reconciliation in our relationship with God and with our fellow human beings and if this becomes difficult, we must bring it to Jesus in prayer for our palmist tells us that our Lord is compassionate and loving, slow to anger and rich in mercy.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our debts are so huge in comparison with the little debts of forgiveness others owe us. As we make it a habit to forgive others from our hearts, may we experience your mercy and discover the hidden treasures that forgiveness brings. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a grace-filled Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 12th September 2026.

 

Readings: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22; Ps 116; Luke: 6: 43-49

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE DISPOSITION OF OUR HEART IS KNOWN BY THE GOOD OR BAD FRUIT WE BEAR

A tree is known to be either good or bad, healthy or sick by the fruit it produces. In the same way, the human heart is known to be either good or bad, holy or sinful, sincere or corrupt by the fruits of our words and actions rooted in our character.

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them is like the man who, when he built his house, laid the foundations on a rock. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations.

Here, as Jesus concludes the sermon on the plain, he tells us that hearing and doing the word of God is building our faith on a rocky foundation, that cornerstone, that solid ground, through the fiercest drought and storms of life, because the fruit of the Word of God in us is seen when tested in the storms of life.

He also reminds us that it is not enough to hear the word of God; we must put it into practice. It is not sufficient to speak about God; we must practice what we speak. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives so that we can bear good and healthy fruit.

For it is a waste of time and energy if our lives do not reflect the Gospel we preach, if we do not hear the words of Jesus and act on them. Hence, we must embrace the word of God in our lives and let it unite us together so that we can bear good fruit even in our corrupt society.

And St. Paul in our first reading today said that: The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take your share at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons.

Dear friends, what kind of fruit are we bearing deep down in our hearts? How has the word of God changed my life and the lives of those around me? How has the word of God challenged and propelled me to love God and my neighbours? Is my attitude towards the word of God like that of the foolish builder who takes shortcuts for quick results? Or that of a wise builder who spends time digging a secure foundation through constant meditation and practice of the word of God?

Therefore, we must know that whenever we hear the word, we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our souls and so bear good fruit. This is important because our society today has enough hearers of the word; what we need now are doers of the word, men and women who will feed their lives with the Word of God and from the abundance of their heart live a life that will influence society positively.

Remember, the houses built by the wise and foolish persons may probably look alike. But the difference is the foundations, which can only be revealed when tested by the storms of life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, through your Word we find life and hope in Christ your Son, who is our all in all, grant us the grace to embrace your Word in our lives and so bear good and healthy fruits rooted in a rocky foundation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and peaceful weekend. 

Homily For Friday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 11th September 2026

Readings: 1Cor 9:16-19.22-27, Ps.84, Luke: 6: 39-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

TAKE AWAY THE LOG OF PRIDE IN YOUR EYES SO THAT YOU CAN SEE CLEARLY

As humans, we are quick to always criticise and condemn other people. We are good at seeing people's faults and mistakes. But has it ever occurred to us that, while we are condemning other persons for their faults, we suddenly realise that our own faults are just as many as theirs?

Jesus addresses this ugly attitude today in the Gospel passage when he asks, "Can one blind man guide another?" Surely both will fall into a pit? Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Here Jesus is referring to the blindness from the truth that the Pharisees and the Scribes and indeed most of our so-called leaders and us today have decided to embrace as we have neglected the spirituality behind the natural human traditions and laws, to follow the many ritual and routine traditions and laws we have created out of our own selfish desires.

Leaders who have the responsibility to lead, guide and teach the people have decided to embrace darkness and falsehood. And the greed, jealousy and wickedness in our hearts have blindfolded us and made us become blind leaders of the blind.

Hence, Jesus told us how we who are leaders have failed to see the log in our eyes while seeking to remove the speck in others'. But what is this log in our eyes? It is the log of pride. Pride makes us forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride makes us look down on people. Pride makes us blind. It makes us not look into our own lives. Little wonder pride is the first capital sin.

Therefore, we are called to humbly look into our lives and identify all those ugly attitudes of pride in us and get rid of them, so that we can humbly correct and accommodate other people’s speck of faults and weaknesses.

Then we can say, like St. Paul in our first reading, who, though not a slave of any man, made himself the slave of everyone to win as many as he could. For the weak, he made himself weak. He made himself all things to all men to save some at any cost for the sake of the Gospel and to share in its blessings.

Dear friends, do we know people who behave like blind leaders of the blind? Are we one of such leaders? We are called today to constantly examine our conscience to know what kind of leader we are in any capacity we find ourselves.

We are made to know that leadership requires taking away our log of pride in order to humbly remove or accommodate the speck of faults and weaknesses in others. So let us cultivate the right disposition of heart that will make us visionary leaders, leading those entrusted to us safely towards the path of truth and eternal life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, there are so many blind leaders in our world today who out of pride lead humanity into destruction and death, help us to realise that we need to take away the log of pride that makes us blind to humbly remove and accommodate the faults and weaknesses of others thereby leading them to the path of truth and eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.