Homily For Thursday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 18th June, 2026

 

Reading: Sir. 48:1-12; Ps.97; Matt. 6:7-15

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

LORD, TEACH US HOW TO PRAY PROPERLY

Today, Jesus knowing how important the act of prayer is to humanity, taught his disciples the principle and pattern of all prayers as we have it in our Gospel passage today, when he said: “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we also have forgiven all who trespassed against us. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one”

Here, Jesus, knowing that prayer is an essential part of our faith through which we grow in our relationship with God and become more connected to Him, gave us seven principles that should guide all our prayers.

This prayer comprises a series of statements and petitions that affirm our relationship with God, with the people around us, and with the world in general. It contains a statement of faith, obligations and commitment as the foundation through which these seven principles are fulfilled.

The first principle is to acknowledge God as “Our Father”. A call for unity that requires faith, obligation and commitment. Here we acknowledge God not just as my Father, but as Our Father and the ‘our’ includes every single person who lives or has ever lived on this earth.

The second principle calls us to reverence the name of the Lord as we say: “Hallowed be thy name “Yes, God’s name is holy no matter what we say or think. However, we make this prayer for our sake more than for His. Because from the holiness of His name comes the root of our faith and strength, we are praying that God’s name be held in deepest respect by people everywhere.

The third principle calls us to have the vision of God’s kingdom, hence we pray to say: “Your kingdom come”, that is, we pray that humanity should consciously and willingly embrace the love and kingship of God which He is offering us.

The fourth principle invites us to dispose ourselves to embrace the will of God as we pray saying: “Your will be done on earth, as in heaven”. This is very important because it helps us discern and be disposed to pray and live in accordance with God's will.

The fifth principle calls us to learn how to be contented with what we have against all forms of selfishness and greed as we say: “Give us today our daily bread,” of which God surely provides. The sixth principle calls us to make an examination of conscience and to seek reconciliation, knowing how weak we are, we pray saying: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgiven those who trespassed against us”.

Here we make a serious commitment and obligation, asking that the condition for God’s forgiveness of our sins should be based on our readiness to forgive those who have offended us. Finally, the seventh principle calls us to have total confidence in God’s providence, protection and guidance as we pray saying: “And do not put us to the test, but save us from evil” Here, we acknowledge our weaknesses and our total dependence on God’s help against all the evil forces of this world.

Dear friends, I have no doubt that we know our Lord's prayer, but knowing it is not enough, we have to pray it devotedly, but praying it is not enough, we have to believe in what we pray for, but believing is not enough, we must put it into practice in our daily lives.

This is because, often time we say prayers wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desire, without considering what God desires for us. Some of us spend lots of time reciting the prayers, and yet we do not mean what we say because we have wrong dispositions born from unforgiving hearts, which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God.

Therefore, it’s time for us to embrace these seven principles and change our perspective and wrong disposition towards prayers. It is time for us to spend more quality moments in prayer and be connected with God. We must let our prayers be meaningful and genuine from our hearts. It is time for us to improve the quality of our prayer life by imitating Jesus, who always prayed to his heavenly Father at every possible opportunity.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in prayer, we communicate more closely with you. Please teach us how to pray, for we do not know how to pray as we ought. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.

Homily For Wednesday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17th June, 2026

 

Reading: 2 Kings 2:1,6-14; Ps. 30; Matt. 6:1-6.16-18

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HAVING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGIOUS PIETY

Three principal disciplines guide all our religious pieties, these disciplines include: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. They can be rightly extended to every act of righteousness and services rendered to humanity. These disciplines have not been properly understood or implemented by people, for most people see these disciplines as an opportunity to display their piety to gain cheap human popularity and admiration.

The negative attitude towards these religious disciplines has been greatly adopted by many people, including religious leaders who should know better. Therefore, it is this ugly and negative attitude that Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when he warns his disciples not to indulge in any form of outward display of their religious piety to attract the admiration of others. Here Jesus presents how we should properly carry out our religious pieties and obligations, and any service we render for the sake of humanity.

Using each of these three spiritual disciplines, he gave us the basic formula, saying that we should not blow trumpets in the streets to draw the attention of everyone when we give alms to the poor. We should not say our prayers in the most conspicuous places so that people will marvel at our holiness and when fasting, we should not put on gloomy and drawn looks so that everyone will know that we are fasting.

Then he calls us not to be like the hypocrites who display their charitable deeds, for they have received their reward. After this, he instructs us regarding the secret practice of piety and promises us that God will reward us for any piety practised in secret.

Thus, Jesus calls us to carry out our religious pieties and obligations to humanity secretly, for when it is done in the secret we will receive great reward from God and as recipients of these rewards, we will be surprised, because we have no idea that we did anything remarkable or that anyone noticed our charitable acts. For we certainly did not perform the charity to gain rewards.

Rather, it is the combination of our selfless, sacrificial and unassuming attitudes that opens the channel by which God dispenses His blessings upon us. This is what we see in our first reading today in the lives of Elijah and Elisha. For Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Make your request. What can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ ‘Your request is a difficult one’ Elijah said. ‘If you see me while I am being taken from you, it shall be as you ask; if not, it will not be so.

Dear friends, we are called to cultivate the right attitude towards our religious pieties and carry them out with the right intention and purpose, and not just for any selfish purpose. Therefore, we must have the right disposition and direction towards our religious pieties and shun all forms of worldly interest or rewards, so as not to be distracted by the vanity of the things of this passing world. Let humility, faithfulness, and sacrificial love be the driving force towards all our religious pieties and every other thing we do for the good of humanity.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously grant us the gift of humility and sacrificial attitude towards our family, religious and societal obligations and responsibilities. May we carry them out faithfully and selflessly with the right attitude and good intentions. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 16th June, 2026

 

Reading: 1 Kings 21:17-29; Ps. 51 Matt. 5:43-48

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

UNDERSTANDING THE SACRIFICIAL DEMAND OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

Naturally, people desire to love and be loved, to relate and be in the company of those whom they love. Nobody enjoys being among those who detest them and cause them pain and sorrow. That is why people naturally sacrifice for those whom they love to keep their friendship and companionship. But it takes great love and sacrifice to do good to people who detest us and cause us sorrow and pain since it is difficult and unnatural to sacrifice for such people

This sacrificial life of love is what Jesus calls us to embrace in pursuit of the life of perfection. Little wonder he says in our Gospel passage today: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. If you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect”.

Here, Jesus emphasises that it is natural and universal for human beings to love those who love them. But what makes his disciples different from other people is the ability to love not just everyone, but to love their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. For by so doing they will be imitating the perfection of God our heavenly Father, who shows equal love to all and calls us to a greater life of sacrificial love and virtue towards perfection.

This is what God did in the case of Ahab in our first reading today, a king who was cut down in his wicked act of killing Naboth and taking his vineyard out of his selfish desires. But when his evil deeds were exposed, he tore his clothes, humbled himself before God and Elijah, His prophet, and showed great remorse over his evil actions which God forgave him. Such is God’s kindness, mercy, compassion and love to every one of us, without exception, even to the worst and most wicked of sinners.

Dear friends, with the situation in our societies today why should we still love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? Why should we make them our friends? This is because we are called to a sacrificial life of love and perfection, we are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. Hatred breeds violence and other things that weaken the human soul, but love unites and heals.

The fact is that God desires peace for humanity and this peace is what Jesus came to bring in the world, to restore the peace that God intended for all creation from the first day of creation. Today all of us are called to offer this peace to our world full of hatred, greed and violence. This we are called to accept and live out day by day in every way we can.

Therefore, it’s time for us to stretch out the hands of friendship and peace to everyone both friends and enemies alike, by investing more resources in things that bring about peace and friendship with one another, rather than building a nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world. For by so doing the world will become more peaceful and loving.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the cross of sacrificial life of love is so heavy, give us the grace to truly forgive our enemies and strive towards the life of perfection that offers peace, mercy, compassion and love to distressed humanity through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you. 

Homily For Monday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 14th June, 2026

Reading: 1Kings 21:1-16; Ps. 5; Matt. 5:38-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

EYE FOR EYE AND TOOTH FOR TOOTH: UNDERSTANDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF RETALIATION

The fragile and selfish nature of the human person, makes it seem natural and common for human beings to react positively or negatively to things that hurt them. Little wonder one of our most influential scientists Isaac Newton, states in his third law of motion, that: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Reterliation

This law describes what happens to a body when it exerts a force on another body. Forces, as we know, always occur in pairs, so when one body pushes against another, the second body pushes back just as hard and in equal magnitude.

This law truly explains why a hot slap given to anyone whether out of anger for the bad thing he/she has done or just as an act of wickedness and intimidation will naturally trigger in our consciousness an equal magnitude of retaliation and this has been the force behind the law that says: ‘ an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

This principle served as the foundation for justice in the Ancient Near East. It was put in place to restrain unlimited blood vengeance. It limited what damages one could expect to what was considered proportional, equal and fair to any unjust act.

However, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus offers a new dimension that calls for deeper virtue towards this law when he says: “You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to court and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him.”

Here Jesus declares that the law had no reference to private revenge, that it was given only to regulate natural human conduct, but the Jews had extended it to private conduct and made it the rule by which revenge is taken. They considered themselves justified by this rule to inflict the same injury on others just as they had received. Jesus then showed another aspect of the law which is more sacrificial and requires a deeper virtue, in which the old interpretation of the Law will no longer be valid.

 So Jesus reversed the attitude of conniving to see one’s adversary suffer, with the sacrificial attitude of love for enemies. An attitude that does not seek what one can get for retaliation but what one can sacrifice for the sake of peace and love. 

This attitude makes the disciples of Jesus different from other people since they will have to love not just everyone but also their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. And by so doing, they will be imitating God, their heavenly Father, who shows equal love to both the good and the bad, because his love knows no bounds.

Dear friends, can retaliation solve the problems of killings, wickedness and persecution in our families and societies today? Think about it, for today we are called to embrace a life of deeper virtue.

A life of sacrificial love, for when Jesus told his disciples to offer the other side of their checks to be struck, their cloak when asked for tunic and to go even one mile further, he is calling us all to a new life of sacrificial love, one that is filled not with revenge or selfishness of men like king Ahab and his wife Jezebel in our first reading, who killed Naboth for refusing to give them his vineyard which he inherited from his ancestors in obedience to the law.

Instead, we are to reject all forms of violence, retaliation and vengeance but focus all our attention on forgiveness, mercy and peace in a sacrificial way so that the world will become more peaceful and loving.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, it is really difficult to live a life of non-retaliation in a world full of wickedness, persecution, and violence, give us the grace to resist all forms of violence but focus all our attention on the sacrificial love of forgiveness, mercy and peace. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week. 

Homily For Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 14th June, 2026

 

Reading: Ex. 19:2-6; Ps. 100; Rom. 5:6-11; Matt.9:36-10:8

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHEN THE SHEPHERD FAILS, THE SHEEP ARE HARASSED AND HELPLESS

There is no doubt that humanity is constantly in need of one thing or another; we are never tired of searching for things that will satisfy our desires for both physical and spiritual well-being. This is even worse with the ugly situation in our country today, where people are hungry and angry, confused, sick and completely broke as a result of some greedy and selfish individuals in our society.

Today in our country we are all suffering like sheep without responsible shepherds, not enough funds in circulation, fuel is not affordable, no light, no food, no good roads, no basic human social amenities, not much to be proud of in this country, because we have constantly failed to do the right things or elect people of goodwill to manage public offices.

This can be likened to the situation and condition of the people in the time of Jesus as we have in our Gospel passage today. For when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest’.

Here, Jesus reveals God’s compassion towards humanity who were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. He then tells his disciples that a huge harvest is waiting to be reaped. Calling on us to pray for God to send labourers into his harvest. And he then called his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.

By this action, Jesus fulfils his role as the expected messiah who is to liberate his people from all kinds of diseases and ugly situations. The teaching and healing touch of Jesus reveals to us that God is faithful to his promises. This healing and wholeness are offered as a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom among his people.

And it also constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating missionary activity, which is meant to spread throughout the world, hereby calling us into action. Hence, more labourers are needed, for Jesus sees how humanity is harassed and dejected, wandering aimlessly like sheep without a guiding shepherd. And because the souls of everyone in the world are so precious to God, he needs many more labourers to propel this mission.

Little wonder in our society, today, the harvest is getting bigger as never before, while people are getting lost and clueless as never before. But who are these labourers? They are not just the bishops, priests, or religious men and women. But every baptised person is called in a different capacity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those around him/her.

So each of us has a vocation, a call to save souls and build the Kingdom of God together, just as we heard in our second reading today that we were still helpless when at his appointed time Christ died for us sinners for us to save us and make us instruments to reach out to others. For we heard the Lord through Moses in our first reading saying: if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession among all the people; for all the earth is mine. I will make you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.

Dear friends, when the shepherd fails, the sheep are harassed and helpless. Therefore, the Lord is calling us on a mission, for sin and greediness have harassed us and made us helpless like sheep without a responsible shepherd. So today we are called to be that good and responsible Shepherd. But how are we carrying out this mission and mandate of Christ? How strong is our compassion towards others?

Do we know people who are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them and saying something to them. Do we feel harassed and helpless as a result of what we are going through in life? Do we feel the need for Jesus’ help in some part of our lives? Then let us turn to him and be restored.

Yes, the hopeless and ugly situations in our country today are good indications that we are just floating in this world like sheep without responsible Shepherds. Thus, we need to come to Jesus our true and Good Shepherd. We must make sure that nothing comes between us and the love of Jesus our Lord, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked, we must remain focused towards achieving our greater goal through goodwill. 

These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us so much. So, we must ensure that neither death nor life, no angel, no princes of this world, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord who is our true Shepherd.

Therefore, let us come to Jesus our Good Shepherd and embrace his love and compassion. Let us have goodwill for one another. Let us be good leaders at any level we find ourselves. Let us pray for good leaders, especially during this transition period. Let us appoint good and credible leaders in every sector and offices in our societies, not just the president, governors and senators. Let us know those we are entrusting with the responsibility of managing public offices. By so doing, our prayers and desires for good leaders will be granted.

So, today, each one of us is called to reach out to people at any particular corner of the field of harvest where we find ourselves. For we may be the last and only people who may have access to evangelise the people, starting from our families, neighbours, colleagues in the office and others whom we encounter in life. The truth is that we may be the only people who can bring the healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives. Remember, you received without charge, give without charge.’

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are lost in this passing world, as we come to you in need of your love and direction both physically and spiritually, give us the grace and courage to be faithful labourers in your vineyard. Guide us once again towards the path of truth, love and fulfilment even in the midst of all the confusion in our country, societies and families. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration

Homily For Saturday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 13th June, 2026. The Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Reading: 1Kings 19:19-21; Ps.16; Luke 2:41-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

IMITATING THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Yesterday we celebrated the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Heart where we embrace God’s infinite love and mercy for humanity and His will for universal salvation. Following the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Immaculate Heart of his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Hence today, the liturgy invites us to venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people.

Here we recall Mary’s great love for God, her faith and piety, her commitment to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and how she loved her Son dearly from the moment before he was born, his finding in the Temple and even up to the way of the Cross, when Mary followed her Son faithfully as he picked up his Cross and bore that burden of the Cross to Calvary, she bears and pondered all this sorrows deep within her Immaculate Heart.

This is the event we celebrate today, of which our Gospel passage tells us how Mary having struggled to understand the mysterious events in the life of her Son Jesus, stored up all these events in her heart. A heart that is propelled by love and filled with genuine faith in God, a heart so pure and contemplative. For such is the immaculate heart of Mary, having been conceived without sin, and pure from any taints of evil and wickedness.

Yet, this loving and caring Immaculate Heart has to endure great sorrows. In the midst of these sorrows, she did not stop being loving, compassionate and caring to her Son and also to all of us, as she fulfils the mandate entrusted to her by Jesus at the Cross of Calvary, saying: Mother, behold your son, and son, behold your mother. By this mandate, we are all blessed to have been placed under the maternal care of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a great saint and our role model.

Dear friends, do you have a heart that ponders and contemplates the Lord? For today we are called to imitate and embrace the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose maternal care we have been commended by Jesus at the Cross of Calvary. We are truly fortunate to have received such abundant love and compassion from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary his mother, who is also our loving mother.

Let us, therefore cultivate a heart that mirrors that of our mother, let us imitate the purity of her heart, and let us be caring, loving, contemplative and compassionate in our relationship with one another.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we imitate the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, graciously grant that through her intercession we may be a worthy temple of your glory and make our hearts a loving, caring and compassionate vessel for all through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 12th June, 2026. The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life)

 

Reading: Deut.7:6-11; Ps. 103; 1 John 4:7-16; Matt. 11:25:30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

EMBRACING THE MOST SECRED HEART OF GOD’S LOVE FOR SINFUL HUMANITY

Biologically, the heart is the main organ in the circulatory system, the structure primarily responsible for delivering and circulating blood and transporting nutrients to all parts of the body. This continuous task uplifts the role of the heart as a vital organ whose normal operation is constantly required.

In biblical language, “heart” indicates the centre of the person where his sentiments and intentions dwell. So the Church, understanding the role the heart plays in the salvific history of humanity, invites us to contemplate the sacred heart of Jesus.

Little wonder every Friday after the Sunday of the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Church celebrates the great Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. An event that invites us to contemplate and celebrate the love of God pouring forth from the Most Loving Heart of Jesus pierced for the salvation of humanity. A great act of love which God revealed through his influences on mystic saints such as St. Gertrude the Great, which was made more obvious through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the revelation she had around the 17th century.

In this revelation, the Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showed her his heart and the anguish and sorrow which he had for the sins and disobedience of humanity, despite the incomprehensible act of love, compassion and mercy that he has lavished upon us.

Then the Lord said to her: “Behold the Heart that has loved so many men, and yet, instead of gratitude, all I received were ingratitude…” and asking in particular that the Friday after the week in which the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is celebrated should be dedicated to him as the Feast of reparation to his Most Sacred Heart. The Lord also promised St. Margaret Mary that all those who devoted themselves to His Most Sacred Heart with faith will be protected and receive the graces of God.

So, the long development of these revelations led to the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus as we have it today. Though it was Pope Pius IX who extended and placed this great Feast and Solemnity in its current form and honour. This great feast also marks the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life, keeping in mind that the priesthood is the product of Christ's sacrificial heart of love for humanity.

Hence, we remember all those who have been called to model themselves after the life of Christ’s love by giving themselves to the ministerial priesthood, that we may truly model ourselves and our hearts after that of the Most Sacred Heart of Christ.

Let us be filled with love for all humanity while recognising that the priestly life is a very difficult undertaking, especially in our world today. Let us be supported by all, knowing that priests, though humans just like everyone, have their flaws and imperfections, but we are at the same time held up to a much higher expectation to care and guide the people of God.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all our difficulties, challenges, daily temptations and pressures of life, we are called to abide in the loving heart of Jesus for he who abides in love, abides in God and God abides in him as St. John tells us in our second reading today by making us to know that God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him. So, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.

Thus, in this solemn feast, our devotion is rooted in the mystery of God’s love; for it is precisely through the Sacred Heart of Jesus that the Love of God for humanity is manifested in all its effect and power, especially for souls thirsting for God’s mercy. For in it we find the inexhaustible source from which we draw the water of life that refreshes and revives the thirsty souls of sinful humanity and makes us new and alive again. Hence we are called today to abide in this love of Christ.

And to abide in his love entails constantly striving for holiness and a life of sacrifice, though it is not easy, but Jesus invites us in our Gospel passage today, to come to him, all who labour and are overburdened, and he will give us rest. He says: “Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light”.

For these graces have been hidden from the learned and the clever, but have been revealed to mere children. More so, in our first reading, we are told that we are a people consecrated to the Lord our God; for the Lord our God has chosen us to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth because of his love for us.

Dear friends, every Christian is called to embrace the love of God, which he poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to become a wellspring which gives the love of God to others. For we ought to be offering life-giving water to a parched and thirsty world. We are called to embrace that love which propelled Jesus to lay down his life for his friends and also forgives his enemies, for that is what this solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus represents. We are called to contemplate the mystery of love in the heart of a God who is full of compassion and bestows his love upon humanity through his Son.

Though humanity has rejected his love, but God does not lose heart in the face of ingratitude or rejection by the people he loved and chosen; rather, with infinite mercy he sends his only-begotten Son into the world to take upon himself the fate of a shattered love, so that by defeating the power of evil and death he could restore humanity once again from our slavery of sin and death back into a life of grace and open up his Sacred Heart of love once again for all who wishes to embrace it.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, grant that we, who glory in the loving Heart of your beloved Son and recall the wonders of his love for us, may be made worthy to receive an overflowing measure of grace from that fount of heavenly gifts of love which he offers to humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do pray for me and for the sanctity of all the Priests.