Homily For Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 1st March, 2022

 Homily For Tuesday of the  Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 1st March, 2022

Readings: 1Peter 1:10-16;  Ps.98; Mark: 10:28-31

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

IN A WORLD OF MATERIALISM AND EGOISM, HOW CAN WE LEAVE EVERYTHING AND FOLLOW THE LORD?

The way people are so much attached to the things of this passing world with little or no attention to the things that edifice the soul is quite alarming. People can go to any length to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence and power that will last from forth to their tenth generation, without thinking of that which will lead them to life eternal. 

This is exactly the mind set of most people today, and this is not different from the disposition of some of the disciples of Jesus. Little wonder Peter in our Gospel passage today, asked Jesus a very important question about sacrificing everything for the sake of following him. So, in response, Jesus draws his attention to the fundamental principle of our human existence, when he said to him: ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, not without persecutions now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.

Here, Jesus is reassuring us that all those who have given everything and committed their time and efforts, and are making sacrifices for the sake of his kingdom would not be disappointed nor left without rewards. Their reward in the end will be truly great, for God remembers those who love him and has given themselves for his sake. He will guide them and remain with them throughout their journey no matter how tough it may be. Hence, we heard  St. Peter in our first reading saying:  put your trust in nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; rather, make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.

Dear friends, today Jesus addressed the very thing that most people are not ready to give up. Those things such as  money, houses, credentials, love of power, pride and wealth. This is because in a world of materialism and egoism, it is extremely difficult to leave everything and follow the Lord. And if we are honest enough, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go if Jesus should make the demand of them. Those things we so much attached ourselves with and would not like God to ask us to give them up for the sake of following him. 

In fact, it might be a good thing today, for us to ask ourselves, what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus should ask us to do so. It might be some thing we own like our properties, treasures, fame, influence and power or our wealth; it may be a relationship, or our job, or our habit and attitudes. So, whatever we posses that will separate us from our mission of following Jesus and loving our neighbours, today we are called to give them up and come follow the Lord, because in leaving them for the sake of Jesus, we actually gain all in abundance.

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

Homily For Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 27th February, 2022

 Homily For Monday of the  Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 28th February, 2022

Readings: 1Peter 1:3-9  Ps. 111; Mark: 10:17-27

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

SACRIFICING THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORD FOR THE SAKE OF ATTAINING ETERNAL LIFE

A critical observations of how humanity are so much attached to the things of this passing world with little or no attention to the things that edifice the human soul and leads to eternal life is quite alarming. People can go to any length to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence and power that will last from forth to their tenth generation, without thinking of how to acquire that which will lead them to life eternal. 

This is exactly the mind set of most people today, and this is not different from the disposition of the rich man and some of the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today, little wonder Peter asked Jesus a very important question about sacrificing everything for the sake of following him after the rich man walked away from Jesus because he could not let go of his riches and follow Jesus. So, in response, Jesus draws his attention to the fundamental principle of our human existence, when he said to him: My children, ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. 

Here, Jesus is not condemning human riches, so we should not think that he is asking or demanding that we should surrender all of our wealth and worldly possessions. No, that was not what he intended and we should not interpret the Gospel passage literally. Rather, what Jesus is saying is that we should learn to live a life of detachment in order to follow him wholeheartedly. That means, we must put God first and above every other things. We should not allow our worldly possession, fame, wealth, influence and power to separate us from God and our salvation. 

So, Jesus is reassuring us that all those who have given everything and committed their time and efforts, and are making sacrifices for the sake of his kingdom would not be disappointed nor left without rewards. Their reward in the end will be truly great, for God remembers those who love him and has given themselves for his sake. He will guide them and remain with them throughout their journey no matter how tough it may be. 

Thus, we should not depend on worldly possession and power for they will rob us of true wisdom. Little wonder the psalmist says that in his riches man lack wisdom, he is  like the beasts that are destroyed. This is true because in his riches man lack the fundamental principle of wisdom which is the fear of the Lord and we know that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Hence in our first reading today we heard St. Peter saying: You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.

Dear friends, what is the essence of our existence in this world? What does God really required from us in this life? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing? So today Jesus addressed the very thing that most people are not ready to give up. Those things such as  money, houses, credentials, love of power, pride and wealth. But, if we are honest enough, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go if Jesus should make the demand of them. Those things we so much attached ourselves with and would not like God to ask us to give them up for the sake of following him. 

In fact, it might be a good thing today, for us to ask ourselves, what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus should ask us to do so. It might be some thing we own like our properties, treasures, fame, influence and power or our wealth; it may be a relationship, or our job, or our habit and attitudes. So, whatever we posses that will separate us from our mission of following Jesus and loving our neighbours, today we are called to give them up and come follow the Lord, because in leaving them for the sake of Jesus, we actually gain all in abundance. Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world, for nothing last forever. Rather, we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another, for that is all that the Lord has required from us in this life.

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

Homily For Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 27th February, 2022

 Homily For Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 27th  February, 2022

Readings: Sir. 27:4-7;  Ps. 92; 1Cor.15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DEALING WITH THE LOG OF PRIDE IN US BEFORE CORRECTING AND ACCOMMODATING THE SPECK OF WEAKNESS IN OTHERS

As humans we are quick to always criticize and condemn other people. We are good in seeing people's faults and mistakes. But has it ever occurred to us that, while we were condemning other People’s faults, and suddenly we realized that our own faults are just as many as theirs? It is this ugly attitude that Jesus is addressing today in our Gospel passage, when he said: Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the log in your own? How can you then say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the log in your own eyes? 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 that ugly attitude which the Pharisees and the Scribes and indeed most of us and our so called leaders today have decided to embrace as we have neglected the spirituality behind the natural human traditions and laws, to follow the may ritual and routing traditions and laws we have created out of our own selfish desires. For 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 to become blind leaders of the blind as in the case of the war going on between Ukraine and Russia.

Hence, Jesus told us how we have failed to see the log in our eyes while seeking to remove the speck in other's. But what is this log in our eyes? It is the log of pride. Pride makes us to forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride makes us to look down on people. Pride makes us blind. It makes us not to look into our own  live to see how we can accommodate other people’s weaknesses. 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 weakness. Little wonder, in our first reading today we are told that in a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind, so too the defects of a man appear in his talk. For a man’s heart is known from his expressions and actions. So we are called to look into our lives and examine our conscience before we begin to judge people. We must learn to accommodate other people’s weaknesses opinions and background.

No doubt that this can be a very difficult thing to do,  but this is what we are called to do and should be the right disposition for us to have. So, for this to be possible we must learn to die from the pride of the self and rise in humility. And this is what St. Paul is telling us in our second reading today when he said: When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear friends, today we are called to die to the self in order to rise in humility, we are called to look into our lives and examine ourselves to see those ugly attitudes in us that need to be corrected? we need to  know if we are in anyway behaving like blind leaders of the blind. Are we one of such leaders only see the error and weakness of others without looking into our own lives? We are called today to constantly examine our conscience to know what kind of attitude and judgement we give to people.

Hence, in any capacity we find ourselves we must learn to accommodate other people’s weaknesses and opinions, knowing that we also have our own ugly attitude that people have to accommodate.  Therefore, we are called to take away our log of pride in order to humbly remove and accommodate the speck of faults and weaknesses in others. So let us cultivate the right disposition of heart that will make us to be accommodating, loving, forgiving and tolerance in our relationship with others so as to lead those entrusted to us safely towards the path of truth and eternal life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are often ignorant of our ugly attitude of pride which makes us to always see the faults of others without looking into our own. Help us to realize that we need to take away the log of pride that makes us blind in order to humbly remove, correct and accommodate the faults and weakness of others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a glorious Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th February, 2022

 Homily For Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th February, 2022.

Readings: James 5: 13-20; Ps. 141; Mark: 10:13-16

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

EMBRACING THE KINGDOM OF GOD LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN

Oftentimes whenever we contemplate about the kingdom of God, two questions comes to mind, the first question is how will it look like? And the second question is how are we going to be part of it? These questions are very important because we wish to have the right disposition towards embracing the kingdom. 

Hence in our Gospel passage today Jesus gave us the guiding principles of what should be our disposition towards the kingdom when he said: Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’

Here, Jesus surprised his disciples by welcoming little children and set them as an example of what should be our attitude and disposition towards the kingdom. This is because children are docile, humble, teachable, loving, forgiven and dependent. Such disposition is necessary for anyone who wishes to embrace the kingdom of God. Thus, Jesus explains that in the kingdom of heaven, true greatness is found in humility and children serve as a symbol of humility  for they are dependent on adult for everything just as we also are dependent on God. Little children serve as concrete symbol of the simplicity which is a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven. 

So, in children we see these great virtues of simplicity and humility being present. Then, we can understand why Jesus ordered that children should be brought to him, and that nothing should be said or done to hinder them. Therefore, we must receive the kingdom of God as little children; we must stand affected to Christ and his grace, as little children to their parents and guidance.

Dear friends, how many of us today possess these qualities of little children? How of us are docile to this invitation of Jesus calling us to be humble and obedient to God’s instructions? How many of us are still innocent and pure like little children? How many of are peaceful, forgiven and loving like little children. Today the Lord is calling us to embrace these qualities of little children in order to have the right disposition towards embracing the kingdom of God.

Little wonder, St. James in our first reading today is calling us to embrace these childlike disposition towards fulfilling our mission of loving and forgiven one another when he said: My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins. Therefore, let us in childlike disposition look out for one another as we embrace the kingdom of God.

 LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have become so much engrossed with the competitive activities of this world out of pride, grant that, we may embrace your kingdom with childlike humility and disposition that is rooted in the humble service of one another, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 25th February, 2022

 Homily For Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 25th February, 2022.

Readings: James 5: 9-12; Ps. 103; Mark: 10:1-12

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE REAL INTENTION OF GOD ABOUT MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE

The fragile nature of our society today has placed in the minds of the youths a distorted image of what marriage and family life entails and truly represent in the society. This is because many young people today find themselves in a condition of radical instability and look for people to help them answer the fundamental questions of life. Today there are different notion and understanding of marriage especially among the youths. 

Marriage is seen as a business which anybody can engage or disengage at anytime. Marriage among the youths of today is a thing of choice and contract which is suitable only when it serves their personal interest. Commitment, sacrifice and partnerships of a whole life are far from their understanding of what marriage truly represent. The fact remains that Marriage is the basis of every human family and indeed the basic cell of every human community.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today when the Pharisees engaged Jesus on the notion of divorce in marriage and it’s controversy. Jesus refer them to the fundamental principle of marriage when he said: It was because you were so unteachable that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Because from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.

Here Jesus emphasized on the real intention of God about marriage. He ruled out divorce by placing men and women on the same level; no longer could a man opt to divorce his wife. But, today there are lots of problems in family due to lack of understanding of what marriage truly means. It is quite interesting to realize that social, economic and political factors were major determinants that shapes the youths present understand of marriage, as we see the youths giving importance to changing trends in marriage such as: single parent, inter-caste marriage, living in relationship or cohabitation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender marriages, etc. Hence, marriage for them is more of a social phenomenon than spiritual union and physical companionship.

Dear friends, today we are called to embrace the will of God and his teaching concerning marriage and family life. We should not let the trending ideas of disordered personalities in our society mislead us. Rather, we should value and respect the sanctity marriage knowing that marriage is not just a contract but more of a covenant sealed with an oath that must not be broken. Hence St James in our first reading today said: do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean ‘yes’, you must say ‘yes’; if you mean ‘no’, say ‘no.’ Otherwise you make yourselves liable to judgement.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have always failed to listen and follow you teaching, as a result, there are lots of problems in our families due to lack of understanding of what marriage truly means. As we listen to your teaching today, help us to value our vocation whether marriage or celibate life and to constantly struggle to fix the problems in our families, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 24th February, 2022.

 Homily For Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 24th February, 2022.

Readings: James 6:1-5; Ps.49; Mark: 9:41-50

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A CALL FOR SACRIFICIAL WAYS OF LIVING OUT OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH

The way things are going in our societies today, we really need to think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst of the ugly situation in our country today. Because the way people are so much attached to the things of this passing world is really disturbing, for this no doubt are affecting our Christian values and principles. 

So, if we are really willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way, for this days, it is not enough to say am a Christian, we must convincingly and radically demonstrate it.

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level when he said: anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has lose its saltines, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’

Here, Jesus wants us to accept the consequences that comes with the truth of the Gospel teaching, more importantly, when it comes to living out the Gospel message in a radical way, especially in a situation where humanity are deeply engrossed in sinful things of this passing world and the values of human life have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures and possessions, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God. 

So, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our life experience, because there are moments when we have to make radical and difficult choice as disciples of Jesus. These moments may require the sacrifice of some aspects of our physical appearance for we must not let them distract us from our heavenly glory. Hence, St. James in our first reading today, point ways in which we can been distracted by the excess desires for riches of this passing world and as a result can misused and abused the various gifts and talents God has given to us.

Dear friends, we are called today to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully live out our Christian faith and morals. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of our faith in God? Why are we finding it difficult to follow the instructions for Jesus? What is that habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? So, wherever sin, selfishness and corruption have made our life tasteless, let the salt of our good attitude and character make it tasty. Where sin and immorality have made humanity filthy and ugly, let our salt of holiness purify. Remember, if we lose the value and taste of who we are as Christians, the world will trample upon us because we will be good for . Therefore, it is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow maybe too late.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world have weakened our hearts towards your, give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires and attachment to the them, so as to hold firm in our faith despite losing things that are dear to us, This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 23rd February, 2022. The Memorial of St. Polycarp

Homily For Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 23rd February, 2022. The Memorial of St. Polycarp

Readings: James 4:13-17; Ps.49; Mark: 9:38-40

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 COLLABORATING AND ACCOMMODATING EACH OTHER IN THE MISSION OF CHRIST

There is no doubt that the Christian faith can be very demanding and ambiguous for those who do not understand the sacrificial nature of our missionary life. To deal with these challenges, we must learn to discipline ourselves and collaborate with one another. So discipline and collaboration must be central to the Christian mission, since the Christian faith comes across different categories of people which requires that there should be room to accommodate one another in that single language of sacrificial love towards Christ missionary mandate. 

This very discipline and collaborative nature of our faith is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today when John had said to him,, master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.

Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples and to all of us about doing the works for the glory of God, saying that we should not stop people from doing the good works of God even if the people did not belong to the same group with us. This is because, the disciples of Jesus saw some people who were doing works in the name of Jesus, casting out demons and healing in his name, and they tried to stop them from doing so. Why? Because the disciples having received from Jesus the authority and power to perform miracle they wanted to keep these gift and authority exclusive to themselves. But Jesus rebuked such selfish attitude showed by the disciples, because Jesus desires that everyone who wishes to do the work of God should be accommodated regardless of their background and affiliations.

Dear friends, by the virtue of our baptism and confirmation we have received the same Spirit of God, that gives us the authority to do great works for God. Therefore, we too have been entrusted with the missionary mandate of Christ. So, is our responsibility to make good use of the various gifts and opportunities God has given us by ensuring that we discipline ourselves and learn to accommodate other people’s gift and charisms. We must learn how to collaborate and accommodate other people who speak the one true language of Christ which is sacrificial love just like St Polycarp, whose memorial we celebrate today. For he is known for his passion for the missionary activities of the Lord for which he suffered martyrdom. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who has always being our guide. Through the intercessions of St. Polycarp, help us to be more accommodating and collaborating with one another as we carryout your missionary mandate of love for each another. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 22nd February, 2022

 Homily For Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 22nd February, 2022

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

Readings: 1Pete 5:1-4, Ps.23, Matt. 16:13-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

CELEBRATING THE  SUPREME GIFT OF FAITH AND THE AUTHORITY OF ST  PETER

The supreme authority belongs only to God, and he alone decides who to endowed his authority and also delegate to exercise it among his people. Such is the occasion in our Gospel passage today where the gift of faith given to Peter by God was the rock on which Jesus built his Church and bestowed his authority on him. Thus, today in a special way the Church celebration the Supreme Chair of Saint Peter. A feast that marks the establishment of an organized Christian community under the leadership of St. Peter and his successors (that’s the Popes throughout the ages).

For in our Gospel, we heard how Jesus stresses that Peter's faith is a gift from the Father when he said: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 

Here the key represents the authority to open the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to judge whether to admit or to refuse. While the expression “binding and loosing” refers to the doctrinal decisions and disciplinary power of the office of  St. Peter, that is, the faculty to impose and to lift, a guarantees that Peter’s decisions in the exercise of his ecclesial function are valid in the eyes of God because, the faith given to Peter by God is the rock on which Jesus built his Church and that is why in the iconographic tradition we see the keys in the hand of Peter.

This gift of faith comes from a personal response of Peter, when he professed that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. Hence, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who is Jesus to me personally? It is not enough to quote the scriptures and the teachings of the Church about our faith or the teachings of other theologians and preachers. Rather to respond not only from the head but from the heart that is convinced of what it believes in. 

Dear friends, today’s feast reminds us of the need to truly profess our faith in God and be united as one family of God and by so doing overcome the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today. We are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are as regards our faith as Christians. Today we are called to be convinced of who we are and recognize the authority Christ has bestowed on his Church entrusted to St. Peter of which the get of underworld shall not prevail against it. To exercise this authority St. Peter in our first reading tells us to be the shepherds of the flock of God has been entrusted to us: we should watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it; not for sordid money, but because we  are eager to do it.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, all authority belong to you alone, as you have bestowed on your Church the authority and delegate her to exercise it among your people, may this gift unite us more closely to your Son Jesus, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Do have a fruitful day

Homily For Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st February, 2022

 Homily For Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st February, 2022

Readings: James 3:13-18; Ps. 19; Mark: 9:14-29

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, HELP OUR LITTLE FAITH

Oftentimes, we think that we have faith enough to face whatever challenges that come our way. But the fact remains that we can only know the level and capacity of our faith when we are truly faced with a situation that overwhelms our physical and mental abilities. Then we will realize that what we think we have as faith is nothing but a shadow of the reality. Such was the situation with the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today.  

For a man came up to Jesus begging him to deliver his son who he bought to the disciples but they where unable to  cure him. But Jesus said ‘faithless and perverse generation!’ ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you?  And he said to the man: ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the man cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ Tben, Jesus said: Bring him here to me.’ And he rebuked the devil, who immediately came out of the boy and he was cured from that moment. Then the disciples came privately to Jesus. ‘Why were we unable to cast it out? Jesus answered, that this kind  can only be driven out by prayer.

Here, Jesus gives two reasons why the apostles' failed to cure the boy. The first is connected with their own moral condition and disposition as they are only depending on their own personal abilities. Secondly and more importantly is their lack of faith. Though they had, indeed, shown some faith by making even the attempt at the expulsion of the devil, but they had acted in a half-hearted manner, and had not displayed that perfect confidence and trust which alone can bring success and make all things possible. Thus, Jesus made them know that in extreme situations faith in our prayers is very necessary towards achieving our desires. 

Therefore, If we begin to nurture our faith to grow and strengthened from small humble beginning, it will grow to the point that it can help us to perform and achieve greater things and conquer most difficult situation that, at first would appear impossible. So faith moving mountains, implies that spiritual ability to make difficult and stumbling situations to vanish. This of course requires humility and sacrifice and St James in our first reading said: If there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show it by their good lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions.

Dear friends, if we want to grow in faith, we must cultivate a humble habit in our prayer life. This is important because in prayer we are well disposed to follow the introductions of the Lord. Because,  for us to have the faith that moves mountain, we must be well deposed to embrace the power of God in our lives, we must desire to have a personal experience of the power of God at work in the world and acknowledge that in him come our victory over every situation with encounter. Therefore, we are called to let every moment of difficulties and trials lead us to grow in faith and knowledge God’s power and authority at work in us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, faith is your supernatural gift to humanity, grant that we may embrace this gift in humility, in order to be well disposed to move out of our lives the tough mountains that are crushing us on our daily struggles. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a joyful week ahead.

WHY WE MUST CHOSE LOVE OVER HATRED AND FORGIVENESS OVER VENGEANCE

 Homily For Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 20th February, 2022

Readings: 1 Sam. 26:2.7-9.12-13.22-23;  Ps. 103; 1Cor.15:12.16-20; Luke 6:27-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY WE MUST CHOSE LOVE OVER HATRED AND FORGIVENESS OVER VENGEANCE

A critical look at what is happening in our world today, it is obvious that the world is in big crises. This is because humanity has lost the true meaning of love. For we have abandoned God who is the source and power of love and created for ourselves a mirage in the name of love. Today love has become a tool for selfishness, deception, greed and emotional satisfaction. Thus it is extremely difficult to practice the genuine love of neighbours, talk more of the sacrificial love of our enemies.

But this is the demand Jesus is making of all his disciples in our Gospel passage today when he said: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. 

So, in this Gospel, Jesus gave us reasons why we must chose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. For he made us to know 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. By so doing they will be imitating God their heavenly Father, who in his compassionate heart shows equal love to both the good and the bad, not because he is indifferent to morality, but because his love knows no bounds.  

Hence, we are called to love and to be loving in all things, for that is the essence of our Christians faith. We cannot be true Christians unless we are willing to love in a sacrificial way in our actions and interactions, in all situations and to everyone, without exception. We must learn to bear with one another and forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven us; now we must do the same. This is exactly what David demonstrated in our first reading today, when he chose to spare the life of King Saul. 

David could had kill Saul since God has place his enemy in his mercy. Yet, as we heard, David did not. He even rebuked his fellow men and told them that they could not touch Saul or his men. Although Saul might have fallen from grace and sinned against God, but he was anointed by God. So, it was not right to kill God’s anointed regardless of the circumstances. Instead, David even at the risk of his life spared the life of Saul for he could have killed him and take over his throne since he too had been anointed to be King. What a great magnanimity of heart. Here David showed not just Saul but all of us what it means to love in a sacrificial way just like Jesus has instructed us today.

Dear friends, how many of us Christians are willing and able to follow these instructions of the Lord? How many of us today are ready to follow the examples of the Lord’s disciples? How many are ready to follow the example of David? But all of us have received the love of God, and we have witnessed the love of God made manifest, and now we are all reminded that we have the obligation to show that same love in our daily activities. Hence, today we are called to a life of deeper virtue. We are called to a life of sacrificial love. We are called to perfection, we are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. But when Jesus talks about loving our enemies, he is not telling us to be passive in the face of physical danger or abuse. Rather he wants us to realize that hatred is a dangerous thing and must be handled with great care. Because hatred breeds violence and other things that weakens the human soul. 

The truth is that, our enemies are not necessary those who we are at war with, those making life difficult for us or those we think hates us. But, our real enemies are those whom we choose to hate. And the best way to destroy our enemies is to discover how best we can make them become our friend, not by hating or carrying out vengeance. How I wish the world will embrace this principle of loving and stretching the hands of friendship and peace to our presumed enemies, by investing more resources on things that bring about peace and friendship with one another, rather than building nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world. For when this is done, then the world will become more peaceful and loving.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, it is difficult and demanding for us to love our enemies, but this is what you are commanding us to do, give us the grace to bear the sacrificial nature of this demand and so become a true sign of your loving presence to those we encounter in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 19 February, 2022

 Homily For Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 19 February, 2022

Readings: James 3;1-10; Ps. 12; Mark: 9:2-13

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON LISTEN TO HIM,” BUT ARE WE REALLY LISTENING TO HIM?

To know the true identity of Jesus has always been the desire and quest of most people of his time and even in our time. Most people today still do not really have a grand knowledge of the personality and identify of who Jesus really is and his mission towards the salvation of humanity. So to make known his identity to humanity, Jesus in our Gospel passage today chose three of his disciples Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. 

There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Beloved Son listen to him.

Here, the disciples witness the change in appearance of Jesus that reveals his true nature as the Divine Son of God, shining forth from his human nature, unveiling that he was not just a Man, but also the great Son of God incarnate in the human flesh. Hence, we embrace this revelation of Christ as the beloved Son of the Father, the one we are called to trust and listen to in prayer. An event that occur to undermine objections to inevitable event of parousia which calls us to a life of faith and radical transformation. A transformation that brings about a new out fit that makes one a new person with a new life, a new mind and a new way of doing things. 

In this revelation we recall the presence of the two greatest and most renowned figures from the Old Testament, namely Moses and the prophet Elijah. They represent the law and the prophets which bear witness to the personality and identity of Jesus and to crown all, the voice from the cloud which has also been the symbol of God’s presence with His people bearing witness that Jesus is the Beloved Son of God, calling us to listen to him. By this revelation, Jesus revealed his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses and filled with the greatest splendour that bodily form which he shares with all humanity, that the scandal of the Cross might be removed from the hearts of his disciples.

Dear friends, are we in anyway ignorant of the personality, identity and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have we personally experienced the presence of Jesus in our lives? How often do we listen to him? Have we ever encountered Jesus in such a transformative way that changes our sinful ways of life and build our faith stronger in the Lord? The truth is, we can change our religion, churches, even our pastors, friends, residence, car or our physical appearance: hear, cloth, colour even gender as some people do today. 

But if we don't have a transfigurative experience that will bring about a change of mind and heart towards loving God and our neighours, we will remain the same and the old experience of unfruitful life will perpetuate itself over and over again. Because, everything absolutely change when we change our mind for good. And this is what St. James is making us to understand in our first reading today when he said: think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. So use your tongue positively.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have often failed to listen to you, even though you never ceases to make known to your children the mysteries of your Love for humanity, grant that by listening to the voice of your beloved Son, we may personally experience his love in our lives and merit to become coheirs with him, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Do have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 18 February, 2022

 Homily For Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 18 February, 2022

Readings: James 2:14-24.26; Ps. 112; Mark: 8:27-33

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GAINING THE WHOLE WORLD AND RUINING YOUR LIFE IS THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO US

There is no doubt that the material things of this world are so captivating and attractive and people are so much engrossed with acquiring them at the detriment of things that edifies the  human soul. People are ready to do anything just to acquire material things of this world. People are ready to kill, blackmail, kidnap and even sacrifice parts of their bodies just to gain power, acquire properties and belong to a particular class or level that they feel is influential in the society, thereby causing more hostility, persecutions and evil in the society. 

This really makes me to wonder if we are actually learning anything from the lives of those who have passed away from this world. Have we really taken time to reflect on where all of us and the beautiful things of this world will be in the nearest future. In fact, I think is time for us to really think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst of these ugly situations in our societies, which are not stopping soon, for it is getting tougher everyday. 

Little wonder Jesus after telling his disciples about his passion and the coming persecution says in our Gospel passage today:  ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?”

Here Jesus knowing what awaits us in this world, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level, especially in a situation where our faith and Christian values have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God. Hence, if we are really willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way, just like St James made us to know that faith goes with good work. For a body dies when it is separated from the spirit, and in the same way faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds.

However, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our experience in life. For here comes the moment when we have to make radical and difficult choice as disciples of Jesus. It’s time for us to take up our cross in a sacrificial way and follow the Lord. But what is this cross we are called to take up. Taking up our cross could mean to faithfully face our daily challenges with all its difficulties. It could mean accepting who we are and what we have and using them to the glory of God.

 

The way of the cross is a way of sacrifice, commitment, love, forgiveness, mercy and compassion, which aim towards the good of the other person. It can be a costly service to a loved one who is ill; it can be embracing illness, even terminal illness or other personal weaknesses, but these make no sense except when we relate it with the sufferings of Christ through faith in God. We must let our struggles of life lead us to God’s purpose for us. We must not let the captivating and influential power of things of this passing world make us loose focus of our heavenly kingdom.

Dear friends, we are called today to deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this passing world in order to take up our Cross and follow the Lord. Yes the material things of this world is captivating and pleasurable, but it is complete foolishness for us to gain the whole world and ruin our lives. Hence, it’s time to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully follow Jesus. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of following him? Why are we finding it difficult to let go of our excess attachment to worldly things? What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? It is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow maybe too late.

LET US PRAY: Gracious God, it is indeed foolishness trying to gain the pleasurable things of this passing world and ruin our lives, give us courage and grace to let go of our excess worldly desires so as to embrace the Cross of Christ. And as we do this, may the Cross of Christ be for us a shining example in our daily struggles, so as to hold firm in our faith despite all the sufferings and persecutions we may encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a lovely day.

Homily For Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 17 February, 2022

 Homily For Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 17 February, 2022

Readings: James 2:1+9; Ps. 34; Mark: 8:27-33

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHO IS JESUS IN MY LIFE? 

Following the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today, one can not but repeat this fundamental question of Jesus to Christians all over the world: who do you say I am? Jesus addresses this question to all his disciples. The people are free to believe whatever they want about Jesus, for Jesus has been carefully preparing his disciples to carry on his  work so they ought to know better. They have heard His teachings and witnessed his miracles. What they think of Him should be more critical. 

Thus, St. Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again.

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal conviction about the personality of Jesus. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. For Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal response about who Jesus is, even though he does not want to associate with the suffering aspect of the life of Jesus, and that was why Jesus rebuked that spirit of fear in him. 

Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who do you say I am? For it is not enough to quote the teachings and Catechism of the Church about our faith or the teachings of other theologians and preachers or to respond only from the head but from the heart that is convinced of what it believes on and is really ready to embrace the will of God. 

The fact is that, Jesus wants us to develop a divine way of looking at things, he wants us to know him deep down our soul, so that we can truly profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. Little wonder St James in our first reading tells us not to try to combine faith in Jesus Christ with the making of distinctions between classes of people, for this brings division and  confusion among the people of God.

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: who is Jesus to you? What is your personal experience of Jesus? When was you spiritual turning point? Do we have a personal conviction about God that does not based on what people told us of him? How has your knowledge of Jesus help other people to come to faith in Jesus. In case you have not personally experience him, all you need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in your life and you will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to you.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you revealed to St. Peter the true identity of Jesus your Son, help us to profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. And as we experience the power of your presence, may we embrace more deeply your sacred mysteries. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 16 February, 2022

 Homily For Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 16 February, 2022

Readings: James 1:19-27; Ps. 15; Mark: 8:22-26

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

 THE TOUCH OF THE LORD HEALS COMPLETELY

Blindness is one of the most difficult human deformities, that deprives one the ability to exercise some of the characteristics of human person. So anyone suffering from such deformity constantly look forward on a day when he or she will be restored. This the case with the blind man in our Gospel passage today who some people brought to Jesus and begged him to touch him. 

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, ‘Can you see anything?’ The man, who was beginning to see, replied, ‘I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.’ Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly.

Here we see the compassionate love of Jesus in it’s historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, which springs from the love of God the Father and constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating activity which is rooted in our faith in God. In this miracle Jesus did something quite different from his usual ways of healing, he began by separating him from his present environment and then put spittle on his eyes and the healing took place gradually. After the healing was completed, Jesus asked him not to return to the village from which he separated.

This is very significant because Oftentimes our problem and cause and compounded by our present environment. So, for significant change to occur we need to be separated from our present environment. So Jesus is using this opportunity to teach us in order to lead us out of our present environment that makes us blind to the spiritual realities of our lives. For it is important for us to know that the physical activity of the human person can be linked to the present nature of his environment, because the physical is being controlled by the interior being of the person. And when the interior being of a person is engrossed in a wrong environment, then, the ugly fruit of this environment is manifested in the physical activity of the person.

Dear friends, are we in anyway suffering as a result of the ugly nature of our present environment? Do we know people who are suffering and in need of God’s intervention? Are we spiritually blind by the present activities going on in our environment? We need to be separated from this ugly situation and environment so that we can be restored completely like the blind man in our Gospel passage today. Let us therefore present ourselves and our Loved one to Jesus, who is always ready and willing to heal us and set us free from the ugly situation we are passing through, because the touch of Jesus heals and restores us completely.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our environment has made us to be blind both physically and spiritually, as we present our needs before you today, may we experience once again your compassionate love and healing, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 15 February, 2022

 Homily For Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 15 February, 2022

Readings: James 1:12-18; Ps. 94; Mark: 8:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WE ALL NEED TO OBTAIN THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is understand, which is the ability to perceive an idea or situation mentally, to know and comprehend the nature or meaning of things. Hence, understanding is seen as a gift of God and it is to be prayed and desired by all. Understanding has a moral character which one has to sought and learned. Understanding, then, involves the cognitive, the spiritual, and the moral. While human efforts are required, the ability to understand comes from God and the true test of understanding is obedience to God. 

However, Jesus in our Gospel passage today was disappointed at his disciples’ inability to grasp what he was saying to them or who he really is. They failed to understand what he is capable of doing in their midst. Hence he asked them over nine questions which they failed to understand. We can imagine them asking what is it that we do not yet understand? 

But they had been witnesses to two extraordinary events done by Jesus: the feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and four thousand with seven Loaves. Yet they do not seem to have grasped the implication of the miracle they had witnessed nor the divine identity of Jesus who had made it possible.

Thus, Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand?” This question, reveals that the disciples are really in need of the gift of understanding, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is given to us to make sense of what is happening around us all the time. 

Dear friends, the fact remains that we all need the gift of understanding just like the disciples in our Gospel today.  For often times, we are confused about so many things going on in our lives even concerning our faith, our families, our work, our vocation and every other things around us. Little wonder St. James in our first reading today says: make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first fruits of all that he had created. Therefore, let us ask God the Father to send the Holy Spirit for an increase in the gift of understanding.

LET US PRAY:  Lord God, you are the source of all understanding, help us to understand you better and as we struggle with our daily activities endow us with an understanding heart, so as to break down the walls of confusion that press on in our heart. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 14 February, 2022, The Memorial of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and St. Valentine’s Day

 Homily For Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 14 February, 2022, The Memorial of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and St. Valentine’s Day

Readings: James 1:1-11; Ps. 119; Mark: 8:11-13

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

VALENTINE’S DAY, A DAY WE CELEBRATE LOVE I A SACRIFICIAL WAY

Today all over the world people are celebrating especially young people, we are celebrating what they called the valentine’s day. A day we celebrate love. But today we are celebrating not just love, but the power and victory of love over human selfishness. The seed of this celebration comes as a result of the ugly event that happened on February 14, around the year 270 A.D.,  when Valentine, a holy Roman Catholic priest, who lived in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed. 

But the questions that comes to mind are: why was he executed and how does this ugly event related to what we are celebrating today? According to history, what happened was that under the rule of  Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns and the emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. So the emperor discovered that men of Rome were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

Thus, to deal with this problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. But Valentine a priest of Rome, realizing the injustice of this declaration by the emperor, defied this order and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, the emperor ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. This ugly event was carried out on February 14, around the year 270.

However, in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius, in honour of this St. decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, which was a pagan celebrate of the god of fertility in the name of love, though in an immoral way that is not acceptable to Christian faith. So in order to replace this feast with something more acceptable, the Pope declared that February 14 be celebrated as St. Valentine's Day in memory of his sacrificial passion for love among the people. And gradually, February 14 became a date for the celebration of love which is often expressed in different ways such as exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers to our loved ones.

Thus, Valentine celebration reminds us of the gift of God's love to humanity. For God loves unconditionally and sacrificially, he loves us till the very end. So, we have to also love one another the way God loves us. We must know that Valentine day is not a carnal celebration of love. But more of sacrificial and spiritual celebration. That is why as Christians we do not celebrate Valentine in a carnal or selfish manner or the sinful way the world celebrates it in the name of boyfriend and girlfriend, committing immorality, fornication and adultery in the name of love, which of course is not love, but lust.

Therefore, Valentine’s day for us should be a day we protect and promote true love for one another. It is a day we remember how much we care for one another and what we are to one another. It is a day  we  build up and nurture long-lasting love, friendships and good relationships with one another.

This is what was lacking in lives of the Pharisees in our Gospel passage today, who were asking Jesus for sign in order to test him. But Jesus with a sigh that came straight from the heart said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ This response was as a result of pride which has blindfolded the Pharisees who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah that very sign that they seek.  And this same pride is what is destroying humanity today.

Dear friends, pride can make us blind in such a manner that we will continue to seek for signs even when things are clear and obvious in our lives. And Jesus is saying that in the midst of proud people no sign will be given. But, what signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of this times, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us to dread the second coming of the Lord or do we joyfully embrace it in anticipation? Let us learn to embrace true love for that is the only way we can conquer the ugly attitude of pride in us. Let us learn from SS. Cyril and Methodius and also St. Valentine whose memorials we celebrate today. For they are good example of what it means to embrace love in a sacrificial way.

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, you are the sign that we seek, as we embrace your word today calling us to embrace love in a sacrificial way, give us through the intercessions of SS. Cyril, Methodius and valentine the grace to be humble and to love in order to follow you our Lord and Saviour who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. As we carryout our task this week, may God’s  favour be with us now and always.

Homily For Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 13th February, 2022

 Homily For Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 13th February, 2022

Readings: Jer. 17:5-8;  Ps. 1:1-6; 1Cor.15:12.16-20; Luke 6:17.20-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

BLESSED ARE YOU WHO ARE POOR AND HUNGRY FOR VIRTUAL DEEDS, BUT WOE TO YOU WHO ARE RICH IN VICES AND SINFUL DEEDS

Oftentimes when we reflect on the ups and downs of life, the struggles, the tears and the disappointments that people are passing through everyday. We wonder and feel that Life is not fair to some people. But is there anybody who has it all in this world? The truth is that, we all struggle everyday to make significant impact in our society. And this significant impact often brings division and separation based on class, social and political affiliation. Hence we talk about the poor and the rich in relation to what people have and possessed. 

But this is not the same with Jesus, for today in our Gospel passage, Jesus talks about the blessings of the poor and the lots of the rich in relation to the virtue of humility and pride towards the things of this passing world and the things of heaven. For he said, blessed are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now: you shall laugh. But woe to you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Woe to you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.

Here Jesus is referring to our disposition towards the things of this passing world and the things of heaven. He wants us to realize that we are not living simply to be happy in this life, but we should be conscious of our heavenly home by constantly examining ourselves on the deeper value of our ways of life in the light of what we can bring with us to eternal life. In this teaching commonly known as the Beatitudes, Jesus gave us the qualities that make for a happy and blessed life. To be blessed means to have inner joy and happiness because of God’s favour upon us. While to be called woe is to have sorrow and pain because we have turned away from God.

However, the poor, the hungry and those weeping in this Gospel passage are not just referring to the regular poor and hungry people around us. Rather, Jesus is referring to the fundamental character of the virtue of humility that is rooted in the poverty of the spirit, that consciousness of one’s own weakness and total dependent on God, which can be found in the lives of both regular poor or rich people and can also be lacking in neither depending on one’s disposition. 

In all these things, what God wants is for us to be excellent in good virtues, for we  heard through prophet Jeremiah in our first reading today, that  curse be on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord. He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: but blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, He is like a tree by the waterside that never ceases to bear fruit.’

Dear friends, our world is in need of more virtuous  people rather than rich people. However, blessed are those who are virtuous and rich, but woe to those that are rich and lack virtue for they shall soon mourn and weep. And St. Paul in our second reading tells us to remind faithful in doing good in accordance with the will of the Lord whose death and resurrection has purchased for us the price of eternal life.  For if our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people. 

But we are most privilege people for as long as we remain faithful in doing Good according to the will of the Lord, we will be rewarded. Hence the psalmist says: blessed the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and all that he does shall prosper

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always engrossed with the pride of life, an ugly attitude that often separate us from you. Grant us the grace of humility so that in our poverty, hungry, mourning and hatred in this world, our lives may aim towards our heavenly kingdom and make us a shining splendour in our families, society and in the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Saturday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 12th February, 2022

 Homily For Saturday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 12th February, 2022

Readings: 1Kings 12:26-32.13:33-34; Ps.106; Mark 8:1-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 GOD’S COMPASSION TOWARDS HUMAN SUFFERING

When God created humanity, he entrusted all his creation to us and gave us regulations to follow in order to ensure successful fulfilment of this responsibility. But out of pride and selfishness we disobeyed God’s instructions and regulations. Hence, we separated ourselves from God, where we should have remained and enjoying the bliss of God’s presence, just as we heard in our first reading today. 

For we heard  how Jeroboam out of greed and selfishness separated himself and the people entrusted to him from God by creating for himself a golden image in replacement of the living God.  Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.

This is how we often behave and separate ourselves from God and are heading towards destruction and suffering. Nonetheless, God has not abandoned us in our downfall. He is still compassionate, caring and loves us even in our imperfections and our disobedience, for his compassion for the sufferings of humanity is so great. This is evident in our Gospel reading today, where Jesus reveals his compassion towards humanity. This compassionate love of Jesus in it’s historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, springs from the love of God the Father for his creatures.. 

Here, Jesus had compassion on the people who had been with him for days listening to his words. He then says to his disciples that there is need for him to give them something to eat before sending them away less they may faint on the way since some of them have come a long distance. This compassion of Jesus is meant for us to spread it throughout the world in a practical way by our ways of life.

Dear friends, God has not abandoned us even in our imperfections, he still cares about us. All he wants from us is to be faithful to him and be compassionate to one another. But how strong is our compassion towards others? Do we know people who are helpless and need some help? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he sees them? Have I ever felt helpless? Do I feel the need of Jesus’ help in some part of my life? 

Today, like Jesus, each one of us are called to reach out to people around us who are really in need of our assistance. This includes our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues and others who we encounter in life. The truth is that, you may be the only person who can brings the healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our fragile and contingent nature propelled by pride and sins have always bring about our downfall, but you have never abandoned us. As we embrace your compassion, give us the grace to look at people around us with the compassionate eyes of Jesus and be of help to them the best we could. Amen. Do have a peaceful weekend.

 Homily For Friday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 11th February, 2022

Readings: 1Kings 11:29-33.12:19; Ps.81; Mark 7:31-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, THE WORLD HAS MADE US DEAF AND DUMB, COME AND OPEN OUR EARS AND TONGUES ONCE AGAIN

Reflecting on the ugly events in this world, especially how people pay attention to the things of this world at the expense of the things of God. How the world has engaged our attention to herself that we have now become deaf and dump to things that concerns our spiritual life. Yes we go to Church as often as possible, we engaged in one spiritual activity or another. 

But the questions are, do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through those activities? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do in the house of God? Are we confused about our faith as a result of ugly events and scandals? The world really want us to be deaf to the word of God and mute to speak the great things God is doing for us. 

This is evident in our first reading today, where we heard the consequences of paying deaf ears to God’s instructions. For Solomon in his old age let’s his hearts be separated from God because of the lost for the ugly thing of this passing world. So today we heard who his kingdom was divided and separated from him because of his sin. In a similar way  humanity are constantly paying deaf hears to the instructions of God by allowing herself to be deceived by the serpents of this passing world and as a result of this ugly  attitude, we are separating ourselves from the presence of God out of pride and selfish desires.

Thus, today in our Gospel passage, we heard how Jesus dramatically and figuratively heals us of our deafness and dumbass caused by our constant embracing of the sinful things of this passing world. Hence, when the deaf and dumb man was brought to Jesus for healing. He took the man aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven and prays, " Ephphatha! Be opened". Immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosed and he is able to speak plainly. This same words are use during baptism while touching the ears and lips of the baptized, a gesture that signifies the spiritual openness of one’s heart to God’s words.

Dear friends, out of pride and greediness we have often separated ourselves from the presence of God and as a result have become deaf and dumb to his teachings and instructions. Hence, we all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear and understand fully the message of Jesus and share it to the world. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God as a result of sin, I don’t know how deep our deafness and dumbness are, all I know is that today God is saying to us, fear not, have courage for the eyes of the blind shall be opened, ears of the deaf unstopped and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. All we need is to trust God no matter the affliction we are passing through in this world, for he is able to save us from them all. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our strong desire for the things of this passing world has made us so deaf and dumb towards your words. Let us hear your voice once more saying to us “Ephphatha, be opened”, so that we can hear your words deep down our hearts and joyfully proclaim it to all humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It's Friday, as you  go about your activities, may the joy of the Lord be your strength.

Homily For Thursday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 10th February, 2022. The Memorial of St. Scholastica

 Homily For Thursday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 10th February, 2022. The Memorial of St. Scholastica

Readings: 1Kings 11:4-13; Ps.106; Mark 7:24-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE REQUIRES HUMILITY AND PERSISTENCY

In our society today, most people hardly accept who they are. For these days people spent all their resources and energy trying to convince others of what they are not by seeking their approval. What happens is that, at the end they will lose their nerves and other people will convince them that what they are doing doesn't have any value and because of that they give up their dream. This is not the same with the syrophoenician woman in our Gospel passage today, who when approached Jesus pleading for the restoration of her daughter did not give up even when her request was not granted immediately. 

For we are told that Jesus entered a house in Tyre and Sidon and did not want to be recognized. It is then that this Gentile Syrophoenician  woman came to him and prostrated herself before Jesus and begged him to exorcise the evil spirit in her daughter. But Jesus’ answer seems somewhat strange when he said:  “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  However, the woman responded, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps. Her humble and powerful faith were immediately rewarded and her daughter was healed.

 

This story portrays the anticipation of the future faith of the Gentiles who will later become Christians. However, the irony of this passage is that, in Israel Jesus was trying to convince people that he was the Messiah, as he was being challenged to prove it with a sign. But here in Gentile territory he met a woman who was convinced he was the Messiah and he could not discourage her efforts. Nonetheless, his apparent attempt to put her off was just a test, of which her great faith was proven by accepting her humble background and persistency in her request. 

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

Dear friends,  we must learn how to humbly accept who are and be more persistent in our quest and desire for something. We must stop wasting valuable time trying to prove who we are not, let us first accept who we are in faith, then, work hard to improve who we want to be in relation to our faith in God. Let our faith in God help us to accept who we are. Whatever we want to do, let us have faith in God and in ourselves, and be determined because, faith, determination and sacrifice are the secrets of any success in life. 

Therefore, tell yourself today that you can get that which you desire, when you plan for it, work everyday for it, then you will begin to see a different face in the things you do. The truth is that people are rewarded in public for things they do for years in private. So, let us learn from this syrophoenician woman who accepted who she was and was determined with faith to achieve her dream through humility and persistency. Let us not be like King Solomon in our first reading who failed to remain faithful to God in his old age. Rather let us remain faithful just like St. Scholastica whose memorial we celebrate today. For she was  deeply prayerful and  faithful to God. She was the twin sister of St. Benedict.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the syrophoenician woman accepted her humble background with great faith in your Son Jesus, as we humbly make a leap of faith today, with determination and sacrifice towards our dreams in life, may you grant our hearts desires through the intercession of St. scholastica. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Wednesday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 9th February, 2022

 Homily For Wednesday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 9th February, 2022

Readings: 1kings 10:1-10; Ps.37; Mark 7:14:23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE PURITY OR UGLINESS OF OUR INTERIOR LIFE IS KNOWN BY THE FRUIT OF OUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

From the scriptures, we heard how God has entrusted to humanity his wonderful creation with the following instructions: ‘You may eat indeed of all the trees in the garden. Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die (Gen. 3:3). But we  have often failed to keep this instruction out of pride and greediness which have corrupted our hearts and as a result most of our ugly attitudes are the fruit of this corrupt heart and these often separate us from God.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, Jesus makes it clear that we are not defiled or separated from God, by external things, such as the kinds of food we eat, but by the sins of the heart, evil intentions and sinful actions  which we entertain in our hearts. Telling us that physical activity of the human person does not defile a person because the physical is being controlled by the inner interior being of the person. For when the interior life of a person is corrupted by sin, then the fruit of this corruption is manifested in the physical activity of the person.

For just as a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so will a corrupt heart bring forth corrupt fruits, corrupt appetites, passions and covetousness and immoderate desires for the passing things of this passing world from which comes wickedness; malice, hatred, and a delight in mischievous actions, deceit; Lasciviousness; that filthiness and foolish talk which darkened the soul. 

Hence, Jesus teaches us also, that from a corrupt heart comes the desire for fornication and adultery. And all these comes from within our hearts, especially it’s the corrupt nature that brings about the carnal mind, the evil treasure in the heart which defile the human person and render one unfit to communion with God. Because they stain the conscience; and, if not mortified and rooted out, will send us out of our heavenly kingdom. 

Thus,  the defilement we ought to avoid is not from what entered our mouths as food, but from what comes out of our mouths, which shows the goodness or wickedness deep down in our hearts. For the human heart is the source of every good and evil deeds. Hence, the pollution of the human heart is very dangerous, for in it comes all the powers and faculties of the soul. So there is need for us to know that lustful and sinful thoughts of the heart defiles the human person and makes one abominable in the sight of God. 

Dear friends, we must ensure that our hearts are constantly purge of all these corruptions in other to bear good fruits of love, forgiveness, compassion and holiness. For it is only when this occurs that there will be need for a new hearts and right spirit to be formed and created within us for having repented and received the pardoning grace of God. Because nothing will last in the soul more than the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit which gives sight to the heart darkened by sin in order to effectively lead others to the truth that illuminates their hearts from the darkness of sin and death.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the human hearts have been corrupted and darkened by sins. As we struggle to constantly purge our hearts from sin and corruption, may you, create a pure heart within us so that we can bear good fruits of love and holiness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 8th February, 2022, The Optional Memorial of Saints Josephine Bakhita. The International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking

 Homily For Tuesday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 8th February, 2022, The Optional Memorial of Saints Josephine Bakhita. The International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking

Readings: 1 King. 8: 22-23.27-30; Ps.84, Mark 7:1-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LET US EMBRACE THE TRUE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND SEPARATE THEM FROM HUMAN REGULATIONS

Oftentimes, we find it difficult to separate the commandments of God from human traditions. This no doubt plays out in our making and interpreting of laws and it has great consequences in our relationship with God and our neighbours just as we have it in our Gospel reading today, where we heard how the Pharisees multiplied religious laws and rituals to such an extent that it was impossible to know them all, talk more of observing them. So Jesus accuses them of  neglecting the true commandment of God over their petty regulations. 

These petty laws and traditions were highly detailed but unwritten human laws which the Scribes and Pharisees regarded as having the same binding force as the Law of Moses. However, Jesus was not totally against these laws and regulations. What he was against was the legalism by which the mere observance of some external actions were equated with being a devout lover of God. Hence he reminds them of the quotes from the prophet Isaiah saying: “this people honours me only with lip service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless; the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.” (Is 29:13). 

Hence, Jesus goes ahead to illustrates the hypocrisy involved in this ugly attitudes by showing how some supposedly devout people neglected the basic responsibility of respect and care for parents by claiming that they had consecrated all that they owned to God and the temple, while in fact they are keeping it for their own personal use. So for one to declare something to be “Corban,” an offering devoted to God, when his parents are in need, is in direct conflict with the commandment of God that says: honour your father and mother.

 Here, Jesus made it clear that the real commandments of God is the unconditional love of God and neighbour which is evident in our first reading where we heard Solomon after building a house for the Lord expressing his reverence and love for God and his chosen people saying: hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.

In the light of this love, the Church today calls our attention to some ugly activities of human trafficking. 

This is important as we celebrate the memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita. She was a former slave from Sudan who was a victim of human trafficking. As a child, she had already suffered much, captured by slavers and treated horribly as a slave passing on from master to master. Bakhita had the fortunate chance to escape slavery through her former master, who was touched and converted by her virtuous life. So she eventually found her way to freedom and later joined the religious community in which she spent the rest of her life.

The outstanding thing about St Bakhita was that she never held grudges for her past slavers and masters, all those who had made her life very difficult and painful. In embracing the Christian faith and in dedicating herself completely to the Lord, Bakhita showed many people what it means to be touched by Jesus and be true disciples and followers of Christ. And so today, we are called to pray for victims of human trafficking.

Dear friends, as we examine our hearts to see if we have in anywhere engaged in human trafficking or Victims of human trafficking. We should never engage ourselves in such ugly activities. Therefore, we should examine ourselves to see if there  are elements of the Pharisee in us and these happen whenever, we focus our attention on laws while neglecting the spirit of the law which is the real focus of today’s Gospel. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, out of pride and greediness, we have often neglected the true meaning of your commandment of love but hold on to unnecessary human traditions which lead us into destructive criticism of others. Help us through the intercessions of  St. Bakhtia to change this ugly attitudes in order to embrace your teaching on love and humility. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Monday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 7th February, 2022

 Homily For Monday of The Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 7th February, 2022

Readings: 1kings 8:1-7.9-13; Ps.132; Mark 6:53-56

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, LET YOUR HEALING TOUCH RESTORE US ONCE AGAIN 

From the beginning, we were told that God created everything so good and perfect. But out of pride and greediness, humanity have destroyed and keep on destroying the good things that God has entrusted to us. As a result of this humanity are suffering the consequences of our destructive actions which manifest in different from such as: natural disasters,  illnesses, diseases, afflictions, slavery and troubles. But time and time again, God though not pleased with this destructive nature of humanity, has not stopped to restore humanity back to it glorious state. This gracious act of restoration is made more evident in the life and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to redeem us through the path of humility and love.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the great works of Jesus who was then at Galilee, ministering to the people who came to him seeking to be healed from their various illnesses, diseases, afflictions, slavery and troubles. People kept on bringing their sick ones to him and many people who had faith in him were healed by merely touching his cloak. This passage summarizes  what Jesus was doing for the people. It indicates the tremendous desire of the people to be healed and made whole by Jesus. Thus, the presence of Jesus brought Joy and relieve to them.

Dear friends, God really cares about us, for no matter the situation we may find ourselves, we must know that the touch of Jesus heals and restores everything. Therefore, we all are called to embrace the loving touch of Jesus and cooperate with him in his work and mission of healing and restoration of humanity. Hence, let us discern what we all can do in order to contribute even in little ways, to ensure the restoration of humanity and all God’s creation which we are destroying by our lives and actions. Let us learn from Solomon in our first reading today whose goal was to build a house for the Lord and ensure peace among the chosen people of God. 

So, let us seek to renew our faith in God and grow stronger in our love and devotion towards him. The people in our Gospel today rushed to Jesus with their needs and their hopes because they recognized him. Maybe we need to follow their example by bringing to him those things in us that are still in need of healing and restoration. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we submit our lives into your care, let your healing touch restore us once again, and so experience restoration in our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week.

Homily For Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 6th February, 2022

 Homily For Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 6th February, 2022

Readings: Is. 6:1-2.3-8; Ps.138; 1Cor.15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE AND RESPONSE TO GOD’S DIVINE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP

There is something deep and unique about every person, sometimes it takes personal experience to discover this uniqueness. And in the process of discovering this uniqueness, we encounter so many challenges that have become part of our experience in life. So, 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 prophet Isaiah and Simon and his companions had in our first reading and in the Gospel passage today. 

In the first reading we heard how prophet Isaiah saw all the great glory and majesty of God and was terrified at what he had seen. He was struck with great fear because he considered himself a great sinner unworthy to stand before God, but God sent his Seraphim to touch his lips, saying: your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged.’ Then he heard the voice of the Lord saying: ‘Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?’ in response to this invitation Isaiah said, ‘Here I am, send me. And he was chosen to be the bearer of God’s message to his chosen people.

This same experience is what Simon and his companions had with Jesus in our Gospel passage, that made Simon realize his emptiness and fell at the knees of Jesus confessing his unworthiness. This is because Jesus had said to Simon after preaching on his boat, ‘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 experience brought true conversion in the lives of Simon and his companions, for this encounter changed their destiny 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 in obedient to God’s instructions and acknowledge our unworthiness before him. Little wonder St. Paul in our second reading made us to know how he received the Christian faith through the Holy Spirit and through the hands of the Apostles. For Paul, who as Saul was once the greatest enemy of all Christians, gained great insight of the faith and became one of the greatest evangelizers of the faith he once wished to destroyed.  

 

Dear friends, like prophet Isaiah, like Simon and his companions and also  like St. Paul, we are called to reflect on our personal experience and 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 of 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 through Jesus Christ his Son.

Therefore, today we are called to look into our lives, is there any sign of God’s divine presence in our hearts? Are there signs of God’s intervention in some situations around us, calling us to repentance? Are there signs of unworthiness in our hearts that makes us feel inferior to carryout some of our responsibilities? Are there voices calling us to embrace a particular apostolate and we feel unworthy to accept it or taking it for granted? Have we ever heard a voice calling us to stop indulging in immortality and wickedness? Have we ever heard the voice calling us to change our ugly attitudes of hatred, corruption, impurity, greediness and unforgiveness? 

How often have we rejected the voice calling us to holiness, purity, mercy, kindness, patience and love for God and for one another? How often have we turned down the request to be a special instrument of God’s message of truth and love? How often do we make resolutions and promises to God but have failed to honour and keep them? Today the Lord is calling us once again, what is he saying to you and what is your response to his request. O that today you will listen to his voice harden not your hearts.

LET US PRAY: heavenly Father, everyday is an opportunity to encounter you through different events that occur in our lives. Grant that we may have a personal experience of you just like Simon and his companion. May we experience you in a unique way in our daily activities and through this experience discover our purpose in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday of The Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 5th February, 2021, The Memorial of St. Agatha

 Homily For Saturday of The Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 5th February, 2021, The Memorial of St. Agatha

Readings: 1Kings 3:4-13; Ps.119; Mark 6:30-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 HUMANITY IN NEED OF RESPONSIBLE SHEPHERD

Humanity are constantly in need of one thing or the other, we are never tired of searching for things that will satisfy our desires for physical and spiritual well being. This is even worst with the ugly situation in our world today were humanity are lost, confused and sick as a result of what we have created out of our selfish desires. This can be likened to the situation and condition of the people in our Gospel passage today of which Jesus and his disciples devoted time trying to attend to them. 

But when the situation keep increasing Jesus said to his disciples you must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat.  As they went through their boat, the people went after them on foot. So as Jesus stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd and he healed their sickness and taught them for a while.

Here, Jesus fulfills his role as the expected messiah who is to liberate his people from all kinds of diseases. 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. This is very important because God has never abandoned his people for he will always send helpers or leaders who will stand in for the good of his people. 

One of such leaders is the person of Solomon in our first reading today. For Solomon having succeeded his father David, asked God in prayers saying: “give your servant a heart to understand how to discern between good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that is so great?” God was very pleased with this request and granted him more than he requested which made Solomon one of the greatest King the world has ever known.

Dear friends, humanity needs leaders with listening hearts and discerning spirit just like Solomon, for the hopeless and ugly situation in our world today are good indications that we are just floating in this world like sheep without a responsible Shepard. 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. For these are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us so much. 

We should learn from St Agatha of Sicily whose memorial we celebrate today, for Agatha, who from her very early years was notably beautiful. And because of her love for Jesus, she dedicated her life to God as a consecrated virgin. But this did not stop men from desiring her. One of the men who desired Agatha was Quintianus, and because he was of a high diplomatic ranking, thought he could force her to turn away from her vow and so force her to get married. His persistent proposals were consistently turned down by Agatha. 

So Quintianus, knowing she was a Christian during the persecution of Christians by Decius, had her arrested and brought before the judge. Too bad for Agatha, because, Quintianus was also the Judge. Hence, he sentenced Agatha to prison in a brothel to see if she will change her mind. But noticing that Agatha was enduring all the torture with a sense of cheer, he commanded she be subjected to a worse form of torture, he ordered that her breasts be cut off.  

In the midst of this torture, Agatha prayed to Jesus the good shepherd and committed her suffering soul in his care. And with tears falling from her eyes she died a virgin and martyr. Today she is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, rape victims, wet nurses and a powerful intercessor for people who suffer from fire outbreaks.

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, guide us once again towards the path of truth, love and fulfilment even in the midst of all the confusion in our world today. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed weekend.