Homily for Tuesday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st June, 2022. The Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

 Homily for Tuesday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time  Year C,  21st June, 2022. The Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Reading: 2Kings 19:9-11.14-21.31-35.36; Ps.48; Matt. 7:6.12-14

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

LEARN TO AVOID THE WIDE AND DESTRUCTIVE WAYS OF THIS PASSING WORLD

Life is a temporal assignment, a journey which begins in the morning so beautiful, full of expectations and hope, but the sojourner have no knowledge of his/her destination, purpose and end. The only guide is his/ her willingness to constantly following the directives of the Sender who communicates his plans and purposes to those who care and willing to listen. 

Thus, when relate this to  the reality of emptiness and shortness of human life, the question that comes to my mind is: "where will you and I, and the beautiful things of this world be in the next one, ten, twenty, forty, eighty and hundred years for those who are strong? The deep silence in my soul could not offer me any answer to this question rather, it exposed me to the foolishness of human greediness, corruption and selfishness. Hence, I asked myself what does God really requires from us in this world? And how can we really identify the path we are called to follow? 

I found a consoling answer to these questions in our Gospel passage today, where Jesus said “always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.” And he added “Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many are following it; but narrow is the gate and hard is the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” 

Here, Jesus described how humanity have failed to embrace the life of truth, holiness and love for God and for one another because it seems difficult and narrow to them, but prefers to follow the destructive ways of life that is born out of pride, greed and uncontrollable desire for worldly things, for things of this passing world are so captivating and many people are captured by its seductive power and are greatly following it. 

This is exactly what happened to king Sennacherib of Assyria in our first reading, who out of pride and greed, blasphemed against God before the walls of Jerusalem, as he mocked God and the people of Israel, referring their faith and hope in God as being useless and meaningless. Then the people turned to God in deep prayer and the Lord reassured them, from king Hezekiah through prophet Isaiah, that despite all the power and the vast armies king Sennacherib possessed, he would never conquer nor achieve his desired, for he will soon meet a just end because of all the sins that he had committed against God and His people. So his pride, greed and sins led to his downfall and damnation, calling us to reflect on our own lives and actions.

Dear friends, let us learn to avoid the wide and destructive ways of this passing world, for life is indeed very short and the road that leads to death and destruction is truly wide and very captivating, of which many are captives of its seductive power. But the road to life are becoming narrow more and more because humanity are working so hard to expand the seductive road and gates of destruction against the narrow gate of life. 

Therefore, to embrace the narrow gate and road that leads to eternal life, we must work harder by resisting all the temptations and sinful things of this passing world and embrace the life of love and sacrifice which Jesus has offered us. This is exactly what we see in the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga whose memorial we celebrate today. Though born into a wealthy family, he renounced the world’s riches and honour in order to live a life of service, simplicity, holiness and piety. So, Let us try to imitate him and turn towards God with all our hearts by removing from our hearts all forms of pride, greed and unhealthy desires that lead us astray down the path of destruction.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our journey of life depends on you and today you have called us to follow the narrow gate of love and sacrifice. But the seductive road of this passing world is really captivating and many are victim of its power. Grant us through the intercessions of St. Aloysius, the grace to resist it and journey through the path and gate that leads to eternal life, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. May God bless our little efforts in life and guide us always.