Homily For Thursday Fourth Week of Lent Year A, 19th March, 2026

The Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary

Readings: 2 Sam. 7:4-5.12-14.16, Ps. 89, Rom. 4:13.16-18.22, Matt. 1:16.18-21.24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO HANDLE YOUR CHALLENGES OF LIFE LIKE ST. JOSEPH

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of St Joseph Husband of Mary a man of great virtues. Thus, the liturgy presents to us the events preceding the birth of Jesus and invites us to contemplate in a special way the roles St Joseph in the life of Jesus and Mary.

In the Gospel, Mary was presented as a virgin betrothed to Joseph. That means, they were not yet living together, because they were not yet married. Meanwhile, Mary, after the annunciation, came to be with a child by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When Joseph realized this, he was heartbroken. What will he do? How is he going to handle this? The Gospel tells us that Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put Mary to shame, resolved to send her away quietly.

Joseph seeks to do his will quietly before the angel spoke to him about his mission and role. We could imagine the great trauma Joseph was passing through when we think about the love he has for Mary.

But even in these circumstances, he intends to do the will of God and decides, surely with great sorrow, to send Mary away quietly. We need to meditate on these words in order to understand the great trial that Joseph had to endure.

Hence, we can see how this Gospel passage reveals to us the magnanimity of Joseph’s heart and soul. How he wished to follow his own plan, but God was reserving another plan for him, a greater mission.

Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God, he was deeply sensitive to his secret will, he was a man attentive to the messages that came to him from the depths of his heart. He did not persist in following his own plan, he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, silently he was ready to make himself available to the event of the new mission entrusted to him, what a great virtue.

Little wonder, Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, emphasis in his Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, “The Guardian of the Redeemer”, that the silence of St Joseph is a model for contemplating the mystery of God in an attitude of total availability to the divine desires.

Showing us that Joseph’s silence does not express an inner emptiness but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart which guides all his thoughts and actions.

It is this great virtues and personality that made him stand out in the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham and David in our first reading, which St. Paul affirms in our second reading and is well portrayed in the psalmist telling us that his dynasty will last forever which consist not on account of any law but on account of the righteousness which consists in faith.

Dear friends, we really need to embrace great virtues of St Joseph, especially the virtue of silence. Therefore, let us cultivate this virtue of silence and allow ourselves to be filled and guided by silence, especially in a world full of noise and distractions.

A world that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God nor one another. The truth is that, our world is in dear need of people with St Joseph’s kind of virtues, we all are in need of such silence if we really wish to make great and positive decisions that will make a difference in our society today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace this Holy season of Lent, let us through the intercessions of St. Joseph, cultivate the inner attitude of silence and recollection, in order to fully embrace the spirit of the season so as to joyfully experience the glory of Easter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Wednesday Fourth Week of Lent Year A, 18 March, 2026

 

Readings: Isaiah 49:8-15; PPs.145; John 5:17-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO ALINE YOUR PLANS WITH THE WILL OF GOD

The second stanza of one of the beautiful songs in our hymn book titled “By and By”, composed by Charles A. Tindley says:

Oft our cherished plans have failed,

Disappointments have prevailed,

And we've wandered in the darkness,

heavy-hearted and alone;

But we're trusting in the Lord,

And, according to his Word,

We will understand it better by and by.

This song will help us understand why Oftentimes when we have good and wonderful intentions, which we feel is the best thing in our life, does not work out the way we want it. This is because our intention may be good and wonderful but as long as it does not fall in line with the will of God, we may only struggle with them, but will not achieve the desired results. So for our cherished plans not to fail, we must learn to outline our intentions with the will of God, just like Jesus in our Gospel passage today.

For we heard how Jesus outlined his intentions with that of his Father when he said ‘I tell you most solemnly, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees the Father doing: I can do nothing by myself, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.’

Here, we see that Jesus' conviction came from within. That is from the will of God his Father, who sent him for the salvation of humanity and this was the priority of his life. Jesus spoke of God as a loving father with whom he related closely and confidently. The relationship was so great that the work of Jesus is the same as the work of the Father. But those who could not understand this relationship feels threatened. That is why they seek for a way to kill him.

This should not be our attitude, rather we should seek to outline our intentions with that of God by building a good relationship with him. Though it may be hard to understand and build a relations between divinity and humanity; but through prayers we can develop the willingness to do and fulfil the will of God. And when this is done we will surely achieve our cherished plans.

Dear friends, I don't know the cherished plans in your heart right now, I don’t know your cherished plans which have failed and it seems as if disappointments have prevailed, thereby wandering in the darkness of confusion and heavy heart all alone. Today Jesus is inviting us to make those cherished plans according to the will of God including all our troubles, all our challenges and disappointments and he will help us to succeed.

For we heard the Lord saying in our first reading: At the favourable time I will answer you, on the day of salvation I will help you. For a woman does not forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb. Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.

Therefore, we have to ensure that all our cherished plans are in line with the will of God, then we will tell the story of how we overcome our most troublesome and darkest moments, then we will understand it better by and by.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we learn to outline our intentions with your will, may you direct our cherished plans to suit your will and so achieve the desired results. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you the best of God's favour.

Homily For Tuesday Fourth Week of Lent Year A, 17th March, 2026

 

The Feast of St. Patrick, Secondary Patron Saint of Nigeria

Readings: 1Peter 4:7-11 , Ps. 96, Luke 5:1-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HAVING AN ENCOUNTER THAT HELPS TO DISCOVER YOUR PURPOSE AND MISSION IN LIFE

There is something deep and unique about every person, sometimes it takes personal experience to discover this uniqueness. I don't know if you have ever had an experience that made you realize the emptiness of this life, a kind of experience that turns your pride into humility, sinfulness into righteousness.

This is the kind of experience that Simon had with Jesus in our Gospel passage today, that made him realize his emptiness and fell at the knees of Jesus confessing his unworthiness.

This is because Jesus had said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’

 This very encounter brought true conversion in the lives of Simon and his companion, for this encounter changed their destiny and mission from fishermen to fishers of men. For they obeyed the Lord who told them to put out into the deep waters, and as soon as they followed his instructions, they netted so much fish that the whole boat could not take it. This glorious event manifested the power and grace of God at work in us especially when we humble ourselves.

Dear friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick, a great missionary who understood what it mean to be fishers of men like Simon and his brothers. He was known for his personal experience of the Lord in a vision, in which he was asked to go and evangelize the people of Ireland where he came from.

This he successfully carried out and this brought about the Irish missionaries who later became a major force in the spreading of the Gospel all over the world of which Nigeria and most African countries are beneficiaries of this great sacrificial mission.

Therefore, as we celebrate St Patrick, we are called to reflect on our personal encounter with God. How have we personally experience God? When was our spiritual turning point? Do we have a personal conviction about God that does not based on what people have told us about him?

In case we have not personally encountered him, all we need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in our lives. Then, we will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to us. For we heard in our first reading, that each one of us has received a special gift and as good stewards of God’s different grace, we must render our service to one another ungrudgingly to the glory of God.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, everyday is an opportunity to encounter you through different events that occur in our lives. Grant that we may have a personal encounter of you just like Simon and his companion and through the intercession of St. Patrick, may our country Nigeria be transformed through these elections and may we experience you in a unique way in our daily activities and through this experience discover our purpose and mission in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

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.