Homily For Monday of Fourth Week of Lent Year A, 16th March 2026

Readings: Is.65:17-21, Ps. 30, John 4:43-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD FOR HE HAS NOT GIVING UP ON YOU

The ugly situation in our world today, may seem to most people that God has abandoned his people. It may seem as if the Church is not doing enough for its people. It may seem as if our governments have failed.

But the fact remains that God is ever and always closer to us than we can ever imagine. He has always desired that we pay attention to his teaching and directives through his Church, the scientists and those of our leaders who are making sincere efforts to ensure the good of the people.

But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through the daily activities we experience? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do with the gift of knowledge, skills and talents God has given us?

Do we pay attention to the word of God we hear every day in the house of God, on the streets and through other means of communication? Perhaps we are the ones who have abandoned God, and now we are confused and afraid as a result of all the ugly situation in our societies and in the world.

Dear friends, no matter how we feel about the situation we are passing through today, we are called not to give up on God or his Church or the human agents through whom his help comes to us, for God has not given up on us or abandoned his people. We all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear and understand fully the message God is communicating to humanity through the ugly situations we are passing through today.

For God is saying to us, fear not, come back to me, have courage for the storms will soon be over. And if you turn back to me with all your heart, I will restore your land, no more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days as we have it in our first reading today. In the Gospel, Jesus says to the court official: “Go home, your son will live”,, and the man believed him and went home. By the time he got home, his son was healed.

Therefore, we must have faith in God and sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his Holy name. For his anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. Our world He will redeem from the ravage of corruption, pride, selfishness, sin and shame.

LET US PRAY, Lord God, you are the source of all that is good; as we listen to your words today, may you grant our hearts desires so that we may obtain the Joy of your presence to build our faith strongly firm in your words. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.

HOMILY FOR FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A, (LAETARE SUNDAY) 15th MARCH, 2026

 

Readings: 1Sam. 16:1.6-7.10-13; Ps. 23; Eph. 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

COME LET US REJOICE IN THE LORD AS WE JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD TO THE LIGHT OF FAITH

Every fourth Sunday of Lent we celebrate Laetare Sunday, the  only Sunday we are called to Rejoice during this Lenten season. It is a special Sunday when we have a brief pause on the penitential nature of the Lenten season to focus more on the joyful expectation of the glorious coming of Easter celebrations. 

Hence we are called to focus our attention on the joy of Easter in order to help keep our faith focused in the right direction, knowing that we are in God’s good hands despite whatever challenges we may be facing now, especially the ugly situation in our country today. What is needed is a growing faith that will lead us to the light of God’s presence. 

Little wonder the themes of light and faith are seen in our three readings today. In our first reading we heard the story of the anointing of the new king of Israel, in which God had decided to choose one of the sons of Jesse. Here Samuel was presented with the seven sons of Jesse. 

Initially, when he saw that the eldest son was looking good in stature and appearance, he thought he was the chosen one but God told Samuel, take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see as man sees: man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. 

Telling us that journeying through the dark appearance of the things of this passing world, we need the light of God’s wisdom in order to make right judgment. And with this light of wisdom, David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, a simple and young shepherd, was chosen and anointed as king of Israel.

In the same vain, St Paul in our second reading, reminded the Church and the faithful in Ephesus as he does the same to us today, that we ought to become children of light at all times. Telling us that, we once belonged to the darkness of the things of this passing world. 

But now through God, we belong to the light, and we ought to act in the manner that befits follower of God’s light. For God is our guide and Shepherd, just as the responsorial Psalm today reminds us that God is leading us as our Shepherd to the good and righteous path of His glorious light through our faith in Him.

This journey of faith through the glorious light of God’s presence is what we heard in our Gospel passage today, in the great story of how the Lord Jesus healed a man who had been born blind, and suffered from that blindness for so many decades. Yet, through his faith in the power of the Lord, he was healed completely, his eyes opened and his sight restored, a great miracle occurred, but this was protested and contested by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

Here we see how the blind man was healed by Jesus and he could see again, yet, the Pharisees and some of the teachers of the Law having been consumed by the darkness of pride and jealousy, could not believe that the blind man had been healed because this was done on the Sabbath day which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law vigorously defended as a day on which nothing including good deeds could be done.

In order to get at Jesus and accused him of breaking the laws of Sabbath, they gathered the people and conducted a trial over the blind man, as they doubted that he had been healed by Jesus. And they even doubted that he had been born blind or blind at all. And they kept on asking the blind man for the details of his healing. 

For they repeatedly showed that they still do not believe that Jesus could have healed the blind man. To them, Jesus was a sinner because he did not follow  their way of observing the Law, and a sinner could not have healed another person. 

It was at this point that the blind man demonstrated his growing faith in Jesus. The man’s journey from blindness to sight symbolizes the journey from unbelief to belief and faith, which is a journey from darkness of this passing world to light of God's love and hope. Here we see a gradual progression in the man’s faith and understanding of the personality of Jesus. 

At first when they asked him about Jesus he called him ‘a man' (The man called Jesus’ he answered), then, again he called him a prophet (He is a prophet’ replied the man) and the more they asked him to defend himself the more his faith and understanding of Jesus grows at the peak of the story the blind man called Jesus ' Lord' (The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him). 

So while the blind man grows in the light of faith the Pharisees become more and more spiritually blind as the  darkness of pride and  jealousy could not let them accept the great works of Jesus. 

Dear friends, we must learn to journey from the darkness of this passing world to God through Christ the light of our faith. So, if we want to grow in faith, we must pay attention to our ugly attitude of pride and jealousy that prevent so many of us from embracing the grace of God and acknowledging his power to heal and restore us from physical and spiritual blindness.

Therefore, in this holy season of Lent, we are called to let go the path of pride, selfishness and hard-heartedness that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had, which made them to be ‘spiritually blind’. For they were ignorant of the truth of God even when they had seen and witnessed it themselves. 

Instead, let us embrace the path of humility that is rooted in the light of faith in Jesus Christ. We are called to let every moment of difficulties and trials lead us to grow in faith and knowledge of God through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour. 

 LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as the world especially our country Nigeria cries out to you in this moment of trials caused by bad leaders, may the world experience once again your intervention and so elect good and faithful leaders in our families, societies and in our country through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a grace-filled Sunday.

Homily For Saturday Third Week of Lent Year A, 14th March, 2026

Readings: Hosea 6:1-6, Ps. 51, Luke: 18:9-14

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

HAVING THE RIGHT DISPOSITION TOWARDS PRAYERS

 

One of the traditional dimensions of this Lenten season is prayer. Prayer is part and parcel of our Christian life. It is the act of raising our minds and hearts to God. But sometimes we find it difficult to carry out this exercise because we don't understand how or what is demanded of us or the best disposition to prayer.

 

Today in our Gospel passage, we heard how two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.”  

While the tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Hence, Jesus said, the tax collector, went home at rights with God; the Pharisees did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

 

Dear friends, in prayer, we are not to give God instructions or present our profile of piety, but our disposition should be that of humility and contrition like this tax collector. We are to present ourselves to God just like a good servant will report for duty and wait for instructions from his master. So, we are to respond in obedience to God's instructions in prayer for there we encounter God in the innermost of our being.

 

Thus, we are called in our first reading to return to the Lord in prayers, for he may tear us to pieces, but he will heal us; he may strike us down, but he will bandage our wounds; since what he wants is love, not sacrifice, humility and not holocausts. Therefore, we have to cultivate the right disposition and learn how to communicate with God the right way through prayer.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we do not know how to pray as we ought, as we listen to your words today, may we learn how to cultivate the right attitude and disposition towards prayers. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s the weekend, wishing you a peaceful and joyful day.

Homily For Friday Third Week of Lent Year A, 13th March, 2026

 

Readings: Hosea 14:1-9, Ps. 81, Mark 12:28-34

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LOVE IS WHAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN TO US LOVE IS WHAT GOD WANTS FROM US

Often, when we face the realities of life, we want to know what our priorities should be. 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?

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 Jesus reminds them of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that they knew and recited from their earliest years from which they learnt 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.

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.

Hence, 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. Thus, Prophet Hosea in our first reading calls us to come back to the Lord our God, for our iniquity was the cause of our downfall. It is time to come back to the Lord, who loves us so much.

Dear friends, Love is what God has given to us, love is what God wants from us. For love is the centre of all the teachings of Jesus, for love is the purest gift that God has given to humanity. It is like the stream water, so innocent and pure.

True love is not hidden, it radiates from the innermost being of a person who experiences 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 best to live in peace with them.

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 actually 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; it is the nature of God which we share.

Therefore, 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. Remember, God loves you so much.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in you, is the fullness of love. As we listen to your words today, may we 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 lovely day.

Homily For Thursday Third Week of Lent Year A, 12th March, 2026

 

Readings: Jer. 7:23-28, Ps. 95, Luke: 11:14-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

ARE YOU GATHERING WITH THE LORD OR SCATTERING? 

Having journeyed with the Lord in the Midst of all the ugly situations going on in the world today. It is time to examine our conscience to know if we are still truly with the Lord in this journey of faith.

This is the question we need to constantly ask ourselves because not all those who are journeying with us are really sharing the same faith and destination with us. Thus, how to identify those who are with us in this journey is what Jesus made clear in our Gospel passage today.

In this Gospel, Jesus said ‘he who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’ This statement was made when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law accused Jesus of using the power of Beelzebub to cast out other demons. Hence, Jesus rebuked them, saying that the devil and demons would not have divided among themselves if they were to achieve their goal, which is the destruction of humanity.

Dear friends, today, as we listen to the words of God, we are called to turn back to God and abandon our sinful ways to be and remain with the Lord. Little wonder, in our first reading today, we heard prophet Jeremiah reminding us of the need to be with the Lord as we make our journey, thereby reminding us of the need to repent and to change our ugly ways of life. Therefore, we must make up our minds to follow the Lord. The world as we know it is offering us so many things, good and bad alike.

But sometimes the options are so confusing and we must make choices. To make the right choice, we need to make a fundamental choice that will form a solid base for all the choices we will be making in life. To make this fundamental option, we need to understand not just where we are physically but, where we are existentially in terms of our convictions, goals, desires, dreams and the destination of our soul in this journey of life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we make the examination of conscience, help us to discover who we are and who we are journeying with. May we never be against you and your family, the Church, as we hope to remain united as one big family of faith, with one Father and one goal, which is to be united with you in your heavenly kingdom. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Third Week of Lent Year A, 11th March, 2026

 

Readings: Deut. 4:1.5-9; Ps. 147; Matt 5:17-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE CHRISTIAN MISSION REQUIRES KEEPING AND TEACHING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS BY OUR WAYS OF LIFE

There is a clear difference between the early Christian community and present-day Christianity, especially in the mode of witnessing. The early Christian community practically preached the word of God by witnessing with their lives, while present Christianity are witnessing by preaching the word of God aloud with megaphones and all kinds of powerful sound systems, and some are not, practising what they preach, thereby misleading people and deceiving one another.

Hence today in our Gospel passage, Jesus is preaching to his disciples as he is instructing us, that the man who infringes even one of the least of his 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 to achieving greatness not just here on earth but also in heaven.

So, as Christians, our duty is to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments by our way of life. We need to start practising what we preach, and we need to do more of witnessing than preaching. It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to blatant injustice and utter prophetic declarations and denunciation.

These kinds of words lack the real meaning of our faith unless they are accompanied by effective action manifested by our way of life. Hence we need to acknowledge that our authority as Christians comes from God who through Moses commanded us in our first reading not to forget the things our eyes have seen, nor let them slip from our heart all the days of our lives; rather, we should tell them to our children and to our children’s children.’

Dear friends, today Jesus tells us that he has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to complete them, so we are not called to compromise the teachings and laws of God to suit our wrong motives and parade ourselves as Christians, teachers, pastors, or prophets. Rather we are called to witness and teach God’s commandments by our ways of life.

We must live in such a way that our actions should reflect the paternity of God in the way we live and serve others, knowing that true greatness is found in keeping and teaching the commandments of God, of which Jesus tells us that the greatest of these commandments is to love God and our neighbour.

Therefore, true greatness is rooted in our love for God and our neighbours, of which Jesus emphasised that it is worse to break one of these commandments, but to teach someone else to do the same is a terrible and evil thing to do.

Thus, we should ask ourselves today, " Am I breaking these commandments and teaching others to do the same through my attitude and way of life? Am I following my own opinions contrary to the commandments and laws of love which Jesus has taught us by his way of life? Or am I keeping and teaching these commandments through my attitude and by way of life? The answer to these questions is not far from us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, all good things come from you, as we struggle to sincerely witness our faith and keep your commandments, grant us the grace to keep and teach them by our way of life and so obtain the Joy of true greatness in this world and in your heavenly kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily For Tuesday Third Week of Lent Year A, 10th March, 2026

 

Readings: Dan 3:2.11-20, Ps. 25, Matt.18:21-35

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING THE DANGER OF UNFORGIVENESS

In our Lord’s prayer, which Jesus gave us as a pattern of all prayers and as a fundamental principle of Christian living, there is a portion that points out something so important. This portion says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Matt. 6:12). By this prayer, we are making a covenant and commitment that will be a standard by 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 offence.

Thus, Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, being conscious of this fact, asked Jesus in our Gospel passage today, saying: ‘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 great debt that he and his generation cannot pay.

But when he pleaded 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 put 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. So, when the master heard how he treated his fellow servant, 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 will automatically put 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. So, that’s a huge amount compared to the hundred denarii his fellow servant owed him; in fact, there was no comparison between the two debtors at all.

However, this will help us to understand the dangers of Unforgiveness and expose to us the consequences of this ugly attitude. It also helps us to understand that our debt before God is so huge and countless that we cannot pay it. Therefore we are bound, then, to have pity on others and forgive them from our hearts just as God had pity on us and forgives us our sins, for this is the only way to salvation.

Dear friends, there is no doubt that forgiving a grievous offence can be very difficult, but when this is done, it is like recovering a lost treasure that contains joy, peace, freedom and healing. That is why we must learn to forgive others from our hearts. Hence, are there people we have vowed not to forgive? Have people hurt us so much 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 that God cannot forgive them? Are we finding it difficult to forgive those who have offended us?

This Holy season of Lent, we need to pray for God’s grace and courage to forgive people who have offended us, knowing that we are rebellious and proud people, and we lack the courage and disposition to forgive. So today, Jesus is asking us to learn how to forgive others always and 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, bring it to Jesus in prayer just like Daniel in our first reading today when he prayed saying may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams and bullocks.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, today you have made us realise how unlimited your mercy is, as you exposed how huge our debts are in comparison with the little debts of forgiveness others owe us. As we make it a habit to forgive from the debt of our hearts all those who have offended us, may we discover and experience the hidden treasures that forgiveness brings. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace-filled day.