Homily for Saturday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 1st October, 2022. The Solemnity of Our Lady Queen & Patroness of Nigeria

 Readings: Is.11:1-10, Ps.72, Eph. 2:13-22, Matt.2:13-14.19-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

OUR COUNTRY NIGERIA NEEDS A RADICAL TRANSFORMATION FROM GREED AND SELFISHNESS 

The root of all the problems in our world today is the love of power. For people are ready to do anything to be on power and to retain that power. This is what we see in the life of Herod in our Gospel passage today, where the Holy family of Jesus have to flee away to Egypt, because Herod planned to kill an innocent child for the sake of retaining his power. This ugly attitude is not far from us today especially in our country Nigeria which is in the state of distress because of love of power and greediness among the people in power and even the common citizens.

The fact remains that the elements of good and bad seem inherent in human condition, little wonder the world involves both good and bad mixed together. This will help us to understand the reason for the corruption, greediness, immoral and social decadence in our country today. So as we are celebrating our country Nigeria at 62 since our independent, we thank God who has made it possible for us to witness the day. But today’s celebration should plunge us into deep reflection about the ugly condition of this country. We need to ask ourselves, what have we done right? What have we done wrong? How can we do better and what will the future of this country be like? This is because our country Nigeria needs a radical transformation from greed selfishness.

Dear friends, the rate of corruption and greediness in this country is so appalling. People are never tired of acquiring and embezzling public funds for their own selfish gain. The truth is that, we need a radical transformation. A transformation that will 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. And this is possible only when we understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of greediness, then we will be able to do things the right way and then our country Nigeria will be great again.

For this country will be transformed only when the power of love and goodwill supersedes the love of power, when justice and faithfulness becomes the habit of everyone of us in this country. Then, we can begin to experience that peaceful coexistence and blessings that prophet Isaiah mentioned in our first reading and so bring the hostility going on in our country to the end just like St Paul said in our second reading that we shall no longer be strangers in our own country but true citizens with the saints not just here in our country Nigeria but also in the kingdom of God. 

LET US PRAY:  Lord God, out of selfishness and greediness we have committed a lot of crimes and injustice against one another, grant that through the intercession of Our Lady Queen and Patroness of Nigeria, we may resolve to have genuine love and good will in carrying out our activities in the societies as you guide and direct us to learn how to do the right thing always by letting the power of love to transform the ugly situation in our country. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Month, wishing you a blessed Independence Day celebration.

Homily for Friday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 30th September, 2022. The Memorial of St. Jerome

 Readings:  Job 38: 1.12-21.40:3-5; Ps. 139, Luke 10:13-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT LET JESUS SAY WOE! TO YOU FOR FAILING TO EMBRACE THE WORD OF GOD

Reflecting on the ugly and fragile nature of our societies and the world as a whole, especially how the streets are full of people struggling and suffering, the markets are full of people buying, selling, cheating and manipulating others. Our leaders are so busy with acquiring, manipulating and embezzling the common resources, not minding the struggles, the tears, the disappointments that people are passing through everyday, as some people have lost hope in themselves and even in everything they do. We are  blessed with every good thing you can talk about but we have misused them and use them to abuse one another. We are just so busy with everything except the very essence of our existence, that is, the salvation of our souls. 

This ugly and fragile kind of condition is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today as he continues with his reproaches, this time to cities where he had done great miracles, yet the people failed to embrace the life of the Gospel he preached. Hence he reproached them saying: woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you’. 

No doubt, Jesus has taught us about the kingdom of God and proclaimed a message of healing and conversion but his teaching and powerful deeds have not yet been embraced by humanity. Hence, Jesus in this Gospel is not just rebuking the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, but all humanity for not being open to the fruits of his Gospel, calling us to reflect on how we are losing out on what God is offering us. Because God will always have plans to correct us if we are ready to listen to him just like Job in our first reading today, who surrendered to the will of God after he realized the awesome power of God for he was ignorant of it before this encounter.

Little wonder, St. Jerome whose memorial we celebrate today says: that ignorance of the scripture is ignorant of Christ. Hence today, we can recall his great contributions to the Church and the Christian faithful especially for his compilation of the Latin translation of the Greek Bible. Jerome who experienced all sorts of worldly pleasures as a young student of philosophy. But later his conscience led him to conversion into the Christian faith as he renounced all of his past sinful ways of life and devoted himself deeply into the study of the Scriptures, from which comes all his great works we still study today.

Dear friends, we must not let Jesus say woe to us for failing to embrace the Word of God. Though, we might not feel very comfortable with the idea of Jesus rebuking and uttering terrible words of threats on these big and powerful cities that represents all of us and humanity at large. But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: have we really embraced the Word of God we hear everyday? Is the Word bearing fruits in our lives? Can we recognize in this fragile condition the great work that Jesus is doing to save humanity and the need to turn back to God? Do we think that repentance is for others and not for us? Jesus is saying woe to us for failing to embrace and live out the Gospel teachings, because he seem to expect some sort of changes in us when we hear his Words or when we encounter him in prayers. 

Therefore, God is calling us to repentance, He wants to come into our souls and dwells. Today He is rebuking all humanity, He wants us to come to Him for He comes to us more than we go to Him. Hence, if we believe in God, and put our trust in Him, we will have the assurance and guarantee of restoration, for God does not want us to suffer the consequences our sins, that is why He kept reminding us about the up coming danger. But, if humanity constantly refuse to believe in God, we may end up in self destruction. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace your words today, may we experience your love, joy and healing both physically, materially and more importantly spiritually, as we wait patiently for the restoration of all humanity from the ugly and fragile condition of this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Thursday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 29th September, 2022. The Feast of Saints. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

 Readings:  Rev. 12:7-12; Ps. 103, John 1: 47-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS?

As Christians, for us to be fruitful in our given vocation in life, there is the need for us to build a personal relationship with God and building this relationship is not difficult as some people think, because God desires to have such relationship with us and this he often manifested through the instrument of angels and Archangels. Little wonder we celebrate today the three great Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael who are God’s most powerful instrument for safeguarding the human soul.

In these Archangels we have powerful link to God especially in our constant struggle and the spiritual battle for the sake of our souls. They are categorized based on their responsibilities. Archangel Michael is known as the Prince and defender of the heavenly hosts. He defends us in battle and helps us to be humble, so that we may not fall into pride,  over ambition, greed and vanity like the devil who he defeated and sent away from heaven, so that we can remain firm in our commitment to serving the Lord as we have it in our first reading today (Rev.12:7-12). Archangel Gabriel is known as the Messenger of God. He helps us to have faith in God through his words so that we may always hope in God. While Archangel Raphael is know for the manifestation of the healing and mercy of God, especially for soul corrupted by sin.

This shows us the extent God can go for the sake of saving humanity. The fact is that, God loves us so much and it is not about our love for him, but his own love for us. This is manifested in the life of Jesus who loves us personally and desires to share in our daily struggles through the angels and Archangels. All he demands from us is to acknowledge his presence in our lives and cooperate with his grace, and when such relationship is established our lives will change for good just like Nathaniel in our Gospel passage, who acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God, of which Jesus commended him for his faith and goes on to tell him that he shall see great things in heaven including the angels ascending and descending in the presence of God.

Dear friends, what is our experience of angels and Archangels? Is there any occasion were we can say that we have personally encounter or experience the presence of an angel? What is our relationship with our guardian angels? If none we should desire to have one through our daily activities. For today we are reminded that God through the Archangels manifest his power and presence in human activities and so we are called to always cooperate with the will of God as directed by his angels and Archangels who minister to us. We are called to build a personal relationship with God through his Archangels, who are there to defend, guide and heal our souls from sin and death.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you often send your Archangels to guide and direct our affairs in life. Through their faithful direction and protection, may our life advance boldly along the path of salvation, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 28th September, 2022

Readings:  Job 9:1-12.15-16, Ps. 88, Like 9:57-62                                                                      

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT EXCUSES DO YOU STILL HAVE FOR REFUSING TO FOLLOW THE LORD TODAY?

The path to success is so rigorous, strenuous and competitive. The strong pass through it and are celebrated, while the weak will always quit or give up. Hence, a lot of people have not been able to achieve their goal in life because, always they have excuses to give. Oftentimes we hear such people saying I want to do this but.., I could have done it but..., I thought of it but… I was almost there but... 

This kind of attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when he said to someone, ‘Follow me’, the man replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ Than another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

Here, Jesus is emphasizing that following him requires a life of total self-denial and the man who requested to follow Jesus had not reflect thoroughly what following Jesus would entail. So Jesus made it clear that following him would mean giving up many of the personal comforts that he enjoyed and perhaps took for granted. However, it may seems that the Lord Jesus was very harsh when he said that those who have chosen to follow him and looked back were not fit for the kingdom of God or that those who died ought to be left on their own to be buried. This is not the case here, rather Jesus is emphasizing that to be his follower requires serious commitment and sacrifices at  all times.

And this is what we see in the life of Job in our first reading where we heard how Job, although was suffering and was passing through many troubles, even friends who abandoned him and even accused him of wrongdoing, but he remained committed to God in righteousness without blaming neither God nor the people for his misfortunes. Thereby teaching each and every one of us how to respond and react in the moment of trials and difficulties.

Dear friends, what excuses are you giving for refusing to follow the call of the Lord? Do you not know that for us to succeed in life and also make it to heaven, we need to pass through some rigorous steps and stop making excuses? Sometimes the rigorousness of the paths may seem difficult and impossible but at the end they form the experience that will propel us to success and sustain us as well.  So as we journey through the rigorous path of success in our mission and vocations, let us be encouraged by the life of  Job, knowing that none of our sacrifices and contribution in the mission of Christ and his Church will be in vain.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, teach us how to faithfully embrace our vocation and mission in life without making excuses. May we be ever more nourished by your word and find in it the fount of grace to journey the path of life, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 27th September, 2022. The Memorial of St. Vincent De Paul

 Readings: Job 3:1-3.11-17.20-23; Ps.88; Luke 9:51-56

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW TO PATIENTLY DEAL WITH STRONG OPPOSITIONS OF LIFE 

Oftentimes when we find ourselves in difficult situations caused by our opponent, the first instinct that comes to our minds is to do away with the opponent and ensure that he or she does not exist anymore. Sometimes we feel like crushing anything that stands on the way towards our goal, especially when we think that we have the power and authority do so. 

This is the disposition of James and John in our Gospel passage today, when they said to Jesus: ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ This is because the people of Samaritan village will not let Jesus and his disciples past through their town to Jerusalem. For opposing them the two disciples felt that they should be consumed by fire. But Jesus turned and rebuked his disciples, and then went off to another village.

Here, Jesus is showing us how to deal with opposition of life. For in life we must surely encounter oppositions, but what makes a difference is how we deal with it. In the Gospel the two disciples of Jesus feels that the best way to deal with such opposition is by calling down fire on the opponent, just like most of us will have done if we have the power and authority to do so. However, this is not the same with Jesus, who though had the absolute power and authority to command fire to consume anything he wishes, but in this case, he chooses to flee from the problem not because he was a coward, no, rather because he hoped to experiencing peace and teach us that sometimes the best way to deal with oppositions is to walk away.

This does not mean that he was weak, rather he wants us to understand that a change of location does  not make us weak or remove our enemies, it only changes where the battle takes place. And for Jesus the battlefield is not the Samaritan territory, but the heart of the human person who occupied the territory. Perhaps, Jesus did not come to destroy the people, if he had come for that purpose, he would have destroyed these Samaritans; but he came to save. And so he bears patiently the ignorance of the opposers and we too must learn to do the same, just like Job in  our first reading today who when faced with the oppositions of life remained silent and never give in to the pressures of life. Rather when he broke his silence, he only cursed the day of his birth saying: may the day perish when I was born, and the night that told of a boy conceived. Why did I not die new-born, not perish as I left the womb? 

Dear friends, we must learn from Jesus how to walk away from oppositions of life for the sake of peace. We  should not be like James and John wanting to destroy those that opposed us. Rather we must learn to acquire the spirit of the Lord Jesus; temper our zeal like his; seek to bear patiently with those who stands on our way. Let us seek peace, let us be patient, and forgiving. Let us not allow the feeling of revenge to consume us into hurting those with whom we feel cannot resolve our differences. Let us learn from St. Vincent De Paul whose memorial we celebrate today for he sacrifice his life to help the poor and through the virtue of charity conquered most of his oppositions and those of the poor around him.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, everyday we encounter oppositions that we feel like crushing and eliminating. Help us to learn from Jesus how to deal with opposition patiently for the sake of peace and harmony in our societies. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily for Monday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th September, 2022

Reading: Job 1:6-22, Ps.17, Luke 9:46-50

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

TRUE GREATNESS IS FOUND IN HUMBLE SERVICE TO OTHERS AND NOT IN SELFISH AMBITION

The activities and life of the human person are always competitive and comparative in nature, that is why we are often anxious to recognize or be recognized as the strongest, wisest, cleverest, richest. We will always want to know the most beautiful, handsome, most talented and greatest in virtually everything. Little wonder, the most lucrative business and adventures are found among those activities that are competitive such as sports, entertainment and politics because greatness gives more ego to our status.

This competitive and comparative way of life is what the disciples of Jesus displayed in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how they were arguing about who is the greatest among them. This is quite surprising for them to be arguing for such intention just after Jesus had told them that he was going to be betrayed to hands men. This shows that his disciples had not grasped his teaching thereby exposing the danger between the mission of Christ and human selfish ambition as a result of ignorance.

>For Jesus knowing the intentions of his disciples, showed them the way to identify true greatness and one who has such quality using the images of a humble child. Here, Jesus surprised his disciples by linking true greatness to that of humility and simplicity of a little child and also showed how  children can be the subject of a parable that reveals the vanity and deception found in some great persons. Because children are docile, humble, teachable, loving, forgiven and dependent.

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 placed.

And these act of simplicity and humility are what characterized the life of Job in our first reading today, where Satan said to God that Job’s faith was only strong because he was so blessed and protected by God, but if he should lose them all, then he would surely abandon God and curse him. This is while God allowed Satan to attacked Job and took away everything he had, his great possessions and his  family. But job in simplicity and humility remained faithful to God saying: naked I came from my mother’s womb naked I shall return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back. Blessed be the name of the Lord!’

Dear friends, today we see in the lives of the disciples the danger between human selfish ambition and the mission of Christ especially in the midst of ignorance and pride. Therefore we are reminded that true greatness and ambition are found in humble service to others. But this is exactly what many of us are lacking. For we are so proud, greed and selfish, as we are deeply attached to the pleasurable things of this passing world which prevents us from seeking true greatness that leads to heavenly kingdom. 

 LET US PRAY: Lord God, amidst the danger of selfish human ambition in relation to your mission, we have become so much engrossed with the competitive activities of this world, seeking to be great in things that are passing away, grant that, we may embrace true greatness rooted in the humble service of our neighbours, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and fruitful week ahead.

Homily for Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 25th September, 2022.

 Readings: Amos 6:1.4-7; Ps.146; 1Tim.6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

DO NOT BE GUILTY OF THE SIN OF OMISSION BY NEGLECTING THE POOR LAZARUS AROUND YOU

There is no doubt that the things of this passing world is so beautiful and captivating and God has made it so. For whatever we have in this world is a blessing from God, who wishes to bless us so that through us others will be blessed. But this is not often the disposition of most of us. This is obvious when we reflect on the relationship between the rich and the poor in our society today. Where the poor are neglected and treated as if they are less humans. 

This ugly attitude needs to change when we recall the famous parable of the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, about Lazarus the poor man and a rich man whose doorstep Lazarus often dwelled, hoping for the rich man to give him even the scraps of bread and food that fell from his table, but he was often neglected.

 Here, we heard how the poor Lazarus ended up in Paradise, in the presence of God in heaven with Abraham, enjoying the fullness of God’s inheritance and grace, no longer suffering the pains and torments that he had once endured while he was still alive in the world. Meanwhile, we heard how the rich man descended into the depths of hell, suffering in agony for eternity, without any hope of escape, and even when he begged Abraham to send Lazarus for help, it was impossible for that to happen. 

But what was the offense of this rich man? Is it because he was rich? No, his sin is that of omission, which is the sin of neglecting his neighbour Lazarus when he was obviously in the position to help and provide for him through the excess material goods and providence that God has blessed him with. A sin of omission as we know  is a sin committed by willingly not performing a certain action. For he neglected the commandments of God who has called us to love our neighbours and help the needy. Thus, he has to face the consequences of his sin of neglecting his neighbour who was in need of his help.

This rich man’s name is not known, so one can say that he represents anonymously all the wealthy persons in the societies who have failed to use their resources to help the poor. While the poor man as we heard has a name. He is a specific person for Jesus, who calls him very appropriately “Lazarus,” the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Eleazar,” which means “God has helped.” For Lazarus represents every person who is in need or who suffers unjustly.

It is this unjust action of the rich towards the poor that prophet Amos is addressing in our first reading today. He condemned the oppression of the poor, as well as the judicial system that denied them any hope of obtaining justice. So he had to threaten the rich with divine judgement when he said: Woe to those who  lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall. They shall be the first to go into exile.  

Hence, Amos in this passage addressed the issues of social injustice in the societies. Social injustice as we know refers to how unjust actions are being done in a society. This can occur in situations where the people are treated unfairly, out of greediness, selfishness, corruption, wickedness and discrimination at different level such as age, class, ethnicity, and orientation. These ugly attitudes have a way of separating us from God. So we have to ensure that we are not part of these ugly ways of life.

Little wonder, St Paul in our second reading today says: As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. We  must learn to stand up against any form of injustice, intimidation and oppression of anyone. For there are positive or negative, immediate or  later consequences for all our actions just like the case of Lazarus and the rich man.

Dear friends, the example of the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus, calls our attention to the fact that we are going to be judged not based on what God has blessed us with but, what we have done with what God has given us. So it is important to remind ourselves today that we must also not be ignorant of the poor Lazaruses around us. Those who are less fortunate than we are, should not be neglected, especially those who work for us, our house helps, our poor security personnels, our poor neighbours, and those we encounter everyday in need of our help. 

Remember, no one is too poor that he has nothing to give, even the poor Lazarus offered his sores to dogs who came to lick it. And no one is so rich that he needs nothing, but, the sin of the rich man was the sin of omission, this should not be our lot as we ask God for grace not to neglect the poor Lazarus around us. For we are one in the love of Christ. If we die with him, we will rise up to life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the source of all that we have. As we listen to your words today, grant us we pray, the grace to be conscious of the poor around us and ensure we help them in their struggles. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings. Happy Sunday.

Homily for Saturday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 24th September, 2022. Today Is My Priestly Anniversary (Do pray for me)

 Readings: Eccl. 11:9-12:8, Ps.90, Luke 9:43-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE EMPTINESS OF HUMAN LIFE IS SEEN WHEN OUR BODIES RETURN TO THE EARTH AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD

Reflecting on my personal experience of the emptiness of human life which happened on one occasion, when I was privileged to be among the people to visit a cemetery at Oke Are in Ibadan. On our way to the cemetery which is located on a hill in the heart of Ibadan, passing through the market and streets all I could see were people struggling, buying and selling, fighting and cursing each other. I saw a lot of beggars, sick and poor people, among this people were the rich, the educated, as well as their leaders both traditional and political. It was indeed an interesting community. 

But getting to the cemetery I saw in a wall names and dates of so many men and women who had passed on from this interesting community. Than I asked myself in my deep reflection, where are all these people whose names are listed in this wall? Where they like us before? Are we going to be like them later? Where will all of us in this beautiful community be in the next hundred years? 

With this in mind I realized that there is time for everything in this world, a time to be born, and a time to die. Then, the dust returns to the earth as it once came from it, and the spirit to God who gave it. For vanity of vanities, the Preacher says. All is vanity. Just the way the Book of Ecclesiastes in our first reading today tells us saying: Rejoice in your youth, you who are young; let your heart give you joy in your young days. Follow the promptings of your heart and the desires of your eyes. But this you must know: for all these things God will bring you to judgement. 

This is not different from what Jesus is reminding his disciples in our Gospel passage today where after his great miracles, when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: that the Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.’ But they did not understand him.

Dear friends, today we are reminded about the true reality of life, that we all are going to die one day and the dust of our flesh and bones will return to the earth while our Spirit retire to God, knowing that we will account for how we lived this life. We are going to give back to God the gift of life he has given us, because our life is a temporal assignment. So, why not start living this life according to the present reality since we do not know how and when we are going to account for it. Why not accept joyfully who we are now as we work hard to be better tomorrow. Remember, everything is in the hands of God, we brought nothing in this world and we are taking nothing out of it. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our life is meaningless without you. Grant that we may realize the shortness of this life and so prepare to give account on how we have lived our lives in this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful use of today's graces.

Homily for Friday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 23rd September, 2022. The Memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

 Readings: Readings: Eccl. 3:1-11, Ps.144, Luke 9:8-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HAVE YOU PERSONALLY IDENTIFIED THE PERSONALITY OF OUR LORD JESUS IN YOUR LIFE? 

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In life there is always a moment when we will want to examine and know if our friends can really be trusted, if they truly know and understand who we are and what we represent? This is because, as social beings, we often make friends who we can confide and entrust with our inner most thoughts and plans. But this friendship does not come automatically, it is developed gradually.

This is the situation between Jesus and his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus asked them saying: Who do people say I Am?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this. For the Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal conviction about who Jesus is. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. This is because Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal identification of the person of Jesus. Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who is Jesus to me personally? 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 in. 

Today most people are following Jesus without knowing who Jesus truly represents. Some people find it very difficult to embrace the teaching of Jesus because they lack the faith and conviction about his personality, even when Jesus had revealed himself to us through his great miracles and teachings. 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 profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. This faith is necessary in order to accommodate and overcome the ugly event of persecutions, condemnation and blackmail that awaits us.

Little wonder, the Book of Ecclesiastes in our first reading today  tells us that there is time for everything, for every purpose, and everything will indeed happen as God wills it, and not up to us to decide what will happen to us, as there are indeed many things out there beyond our control and understanding. For what does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, but man on his own cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.

This is what we have in the life of St. Pio, whose memorial we celebrate today. For he is a good example of a disciples who understood the sacrificial nature of the mission of Christ and lived by it. He remained faithful to Christ’s mission and committed himself wholeheartedly to what God has called him into. Being a pious and devoted disciple, he never ceases to ministering to the people and in being an exemplary person in faith. Many came to believe in God through him and many were strengthened in their faith through his works and piety. Though St. Pio experienced great difficulties in the cause of his mission, this was so serious that they almost have his faculty of hearing confessions taken from him because of his spiritual experiences and grace. 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and great works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: what can I say is my personal experience of Jesus? Have I personally identified our Lord Jesus in my life? How has my knowledge of Jesus helped other people to come to faith in Jesus? Today we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are as regards to our faith as Christians. We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God, but not rejecting them because we do not understand them. Therefore, let us turn towards God once again with all our hearts and devote our whole lives in seeking to know Him more and more.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you revealed to Peter the true identity of Jesus your Son, help us through the intercessions of St. PIO to personally identify the personality of Jesus in our lives and so profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Thursday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 22nd September, 2022

 Readings: Eccl. 1:2-11, Ps.90, Luke 9:7-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE AND THE VANITY OF HUMAN PRIDE AND SELFISHNESS 

Oftentimes, we hear people expressing the phrase: guilty conscience, which is used to express the ugly condition of human conscience, that part of our life that tells us whether what we are doing is right or wrong. For if you have a guilty conscience, you feel guilty about something because you know it was wrong. But if you have a clear conscience, you do not feel guilty because you know you have done nothing wrong. 

This is the situation Herod finds himself in our Gospel passage today who out of pride and selfishness had killed John the Baptist thinking that by that he could silence the voice of truth, but when he heard of the great works of Jesus and could not comprehend it, he perceived that John the Baptist, the voice of truth had returned to life again, when he said: John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus. 

Here, we see how the guilty conscience of Herod made him to wonder about the personality of Jesus in relation to John the Baptist. This is what happens to us whenever we tried to take the role God in our relationship with others. And this ugly attitude is what a lot of people are practicing today and as a result many people are suffering the consequences of guilty conscience. This is because most of us are so much attached to worldly things, we have not realized the emptiness of this passing world. We have let our pride, our ego and our selfish desires to blind fold us from the true realities of life.

 Little wonder our first reading today taken from the book of Ecclesiastes, tells us that vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For what does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun, today we are alive, tomorrow we are no more. Generation goes, and generation comes, but the earth remains forever. Acquiring wealth later to realize at death bed that all is vanity vanishing. Thus, we are meant to know that there are many things in this world that are beyond human comprehension and understanding, because God’s ways of doing things are beyond human capacity to understand fully his plan. All we need to do is to remain docile and faithfully follow his plans for us and not be like Herod and his guilty conscience.

Dear friends, what is the essence of our existence in this world? What does God really required from us in this life? Are you having guilty conscience of any kind? What are the things that make us have guilt conscience? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing? Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world, for nothing last forever. So, we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have come to you with our guilty conscience, for we are so much attached to things of this passing world, with little or no attention to your teachings. Help us to realized that without you life and all we have is nothing but vanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st September, 2022. The Feast of St Matthew, AP& Evangelist

 Readings: Eph. 4:1:-7.11-13, Ps.19, Matt. 9:9-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD COMES TO CALL SINNER FOR HE DESIRES  MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE 

In life we make choices and the choices we make everyday communicate our inner most desire which also determine how meaningful, valuable, healthy and fruitful our lives and mission are going to be. This is not different in the life of Jesus who on account of his mission to save humanity had to make choices of people who will be his instruments of evangelizing in the world. For no doubt Jesus had been calling people from different works of life to be part of his mission, but today’s call and choice of Matthew a man identified with sinners because of his work as a tax collector, was quite strange to some people.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today after Jesus had called Matthew to follow him, he had a dinner in his house and while at the dinner, it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’   

Here we heard the inner most desire of Jesus for sinful humanity in need of salvation. The call of Matthew is like the call of each of us, a choice that demonstrates Jesus' desire for sinners to repent. For all he desires is mercy and not sacrifices, repentance and not pride. Jesus is calling us to repentance, he is inviting us to make a fundamental choice for God just like St Matthew, who though sinner, stood up and followed Jesus at his call for repentance, we too are to respond to this invitation without delay. Let St. Matthew be an inspiration and hope for every one of us. Let him be an example that will remind us that there is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. For he is capable of transforming our ugly ways of life into a glorious instrument for human salvation.

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew, we are called to imitate him. For tradition has it that after his conversion, Matthew became a great evangelizer, who went about preaching the Good News to many people. It was told that he went to Ethiopia where he had a growing communities of Christ faithful. And according to tradition, he was martyred while celebrating the Holy Mass on the Altar, after he rebuked the local king in Ethiopia who lusted and desired to have his own niece who had dedicated herself in holy virginity to God. Here we see how Matthew, who was once a sinner was called and transformed into great saints and great instrument of evangelization. 

Dear friends, St Paul in our first reading tells us that each one of us, has been given our own share of grace in Christ mission. For some are called to be apostles and evangelist like Matthew; some prophets; some pastors and teachers; so that together we are united in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. But how are we contributing to this mission? What is our disposition towards the call of Jesus? Our choice in life is it reflecting our faith in the mission of Christ?

LET US PRAY: Lord God, despite our sinfulness,  you called and chose us to be instrument of your salvation to all humanity. Through the intercession of St Matthew, give us the grace to make good choices that will help us to respond positively to your call for repentance and evangelization. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing a blessed day.

Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 20tht September, The Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Taegon & Comp.

 Readings: Prov. 21:1-6.10-13, Ps.119, Luke 8:19-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO YOU BELONG TO THE TRUE FAMILY OF JESUS?

One of the psychological and spiritual needs of the human person is the sense of belonging, this need is just like the need for food, clothes and shelter. The feeling of belonging is fundamental to our sense of happiness and well-being, for it gives value to life and help us in coping with some painful emotions as it improves our motivation. Hence, we often want to belong and identify with one another, to our friends and families, to our culture and from one association and group to another.

However, one of the common and safest place to belong is our families, especially when it is rooted in the family of God. So today in our Gospel passage, Jesus speaks about belonging to his family and his relationship with members of his family. For when he was told that his mother and brothers were standing outside and want to see him’. He said : my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’ 

Here, Jesus speaks of two ways the people around him could be identified as members of his family. Firstly he talks about those who belong to the family of his birth that is, his mother, father and relations. Then his other family which is made up of those who do the will of God.

 This family he says, is his true family where doing the will of God is the only way of belonging to this family. This is not to say that Jesus is rejecting his biological family; to do so would be contradicting his own teaching about loving ones parents and loving ones neighbours. However, Jesus is using this opportunity to emphasize that our relationship with God is more important and should be based on our total commitment to doing the will of God through him. Surprisingly, Mary the mother of Jesus belongs to both sides of the family, for she gave birth to Jesus and also was the first to do the will of God when she  said, “let it be done unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). For this reason she is the first disciple of Jesus and a model for all Christians.

Thus, to be a Christian or a disciple is to enter into the family of Jesus and embrace a new relationship with God and with one another and this is the most important place to belong. All other bonds, including those of blood should be considered secondary. Because, belonging to God is fundamental to our basic relationships, prior to all human relations. 

For we belong first to God before belonging to our families, after which we all go back to God where we ultimately belong, which will be determined by how we have done the will of God here on earth. And our first reading taking from the book for proverbs tells us that a man’s conduct may strike him as upright, but the Lord, however, weighs the heart.

Dear friends, where do we ultimately and truly belong? Do you belong to the true family of Jesus? As Christians, we claimed to belong to God, do our attitudes and decisions show that we truly belong to God? Do we not often commit ourselves to things contrary to the faith we professed in God? So, today we are called Just like St Andrew Kim Taegon and Companions whose memorial we celebrate today, to  make the ultimate choice to belong to the family of Jesus. For they gave up their lives during the persecution of Christians  in Korea as light of faith for the people aa a good example of how to do the will of God. Therefore, we are called to do the will of God always in order to truly belong to that true family of Jesus where love of God and love of neighbour unites us together.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we truly belong to you, give us the grace through the intercessions of  St Andrew Kim Taegon and Companions  to always do your will and as we carryout your activities today, grant success to the works of our hands, through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Monday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 19th September, 2022

  Reading: Prov. 3:27-34; Ps. 15; Luke 8:16-18

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

DO NOT HIDE IN DARKNESS FOR YOU ARE THE LIGHT THAT HUMANITY DESIRES TO BEHOLD

Light is a very familiar words in the scriptures, light is a symbol that represents awareness, knowledge, and understanding. Light clarifies, illuminates, inspires, defeats darkness, shines fully and freely, it guides, stimulates and motivates, provokes action, it irritates those who like darkness, confirms truth, purifies, exposes sin, warms and assures us of safety and also facilitates progress.

 

Little wonder, Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light.

So, as people who have been purified by the light of Christ through our baptism, we are entrusted with the mission of illuminating the darkness around us. For during our baptism, we were given candle light which we are to kept brightly burning as a flame of faith in our hearts as we journey with others towards our heavenly kingdom. This therefore, clearly defines our role in the mission of Christ, which is to illuminates darkness and reflects the glory of God in the darkness of the passing world. 

Hence, every Christian is called by God to influence the world positively through the light of our faith and goodness, as we heard in our first reading, the book of proverbs which says: My son, do not refuse a kindness to anyone who begs it, if it is in your power to perform it. Do not say to your neighbour, ‘Go away! Come another time! I will give it you tomorrow’, if you can do it now. Do not plot harm against your neighbour as he lives unsuspecting next door. This is necessary for it helps us to be true light to our neighbours and those we encounter in life.

Dear friends, the focus of today’s message is that all of us are called to positively influence the lives of humanity by our attitude and character which should be like that of purifying light. Where there is darkness we should let the light of Christ illuminate. Where pride, selfishness, corruption and greed have brought darkness, let the light of our good attitude and character illuminate it once again. Where sin and immorality have made humanity filthy and ugly, let our light of holiness purify. Therefore, we must not let our lights be hidden under the darkness of the passing world, rather we must let it shine anywhere we find ourselves for we are the light that humanity desires to behold.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle everyday to truly carryout the mission entrusted to us, give us the grace and courage to dedicate ourselves, our time, our energy and effort to becoming true light  that illuminate our families, society and the world filled with darkness of sin and evil. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.

Homily for Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 18th September, 2022

  Readings: Amos 8:4-7; Ps.113; 1Tim.2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE DISHONEST STEWARD: A LESSON ABOUT WORLDLY CUNNING AND CHRISTIAN CLEVERNESS 

>The elements of good and bad seem inherent in human person, that is why  the world is made up of both good and bad people mixed together. This will help us to understand the reason for corruption, greediness, immoral and social decadence in our world today. For walking through the streets I observed how people are struggling with the things of this passing world, I can feel their passion, their determination and willingness even in the midst of corruption and challenges of life. How I wish we can put such energy in working towards the things that edifice our soul. But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: what is my attitude towards the things of this passing world? Can I be trusted with the things of this passing world no matter how little? As managers of God’s resources, how are we using the things of this passing world, knowing that we are expected to be wise and smart in managing them?

>Little wonder, in the Gospel passage today, Jesus tells us the parable of the dishonest steward who, having acted unjustly and having being exposed by his master, went to great lengths to make friends of his master’s debtors in order to secure his future. In this parable, Jesus is not telling us to be dishonest, but he wants us to learn a lesson about the danger of worldly cunning and the grace of Christian cleverness. For we can learn even from this dishonest servant how to prudently use the things of this  passing world to gain our salvation. Thus, Jesus points out that we too should be smart but not exactly like the dishonest steward, using dishonest wealth to exploit others as most people do today in our society. No, instead we his disciples are to use our wealth to win souls for the kingdom and safe guard our own souls. 

Hence, in this parable, the Lord speaks to us again about the spirit of worldliness: how this worldliness works and how dangerous it can be. And as we know worldliness is an enemy to human souls, and that is why the devil derives great pleasure in seeing us dwell in worldliness just like the dishonest steward. Though some of us may see nothing wrong with the attitude of this dishonest steward because he has only done what most people if not everyone does especially in our country today, where we condole bribery and corruption as a way of survival and success. This ugly attitude is extremely sinful and dehumanizing.

Little wonder Pope Francis,  while addressing this ugly kind of attitudes says that God commands us to live an honest life and bring back home bread for our children through honest means. But most of us like this dishonest steward have chosen to bring back dirty bread of dishonesty for our children and even train and bring them up through dishonest means. Perhaps, today we should pray for many children and adults who receive dirty bread of dishonesty from their parents, especially those who are now hungry for the dignity of honesty.  This is what St. Paul advice us to do in our second reading today when he said: first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: for he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth

>This is important because bribery and corruption are obvious in our society today and they are serious sins because they are against our human dignity. The dignity by which we are united to God and to one another through our honest labour and not through bribery and corruption. Little wonder God through prophet Amos in our first reading today said: Listen to this, you who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor people of the country, who can buy up the poor for money, and the needy for a pair of sandal. Never will I forget a single thing you have done. So, we should be careful not to fall into the temptations of money and other worldly pleasures which are trying to lead us away from God and the salvation he has given us.

The fact remains that these corrupt and cunning ways of life dehumanize us, even though it seems to be common in our society today, it doesn’t really make it right. Though, we are not called to be foolish, rather we are meant to know that  there is another road, an alternative route to worldly cunning. It is the path of “Christian cleverness”. This path, Pope Francis says, “allows us to be cunning but not according to the spirit of the world but smartness of God’s wisdom and grace. For Jesus himself said: be wise as serpents, innocent as doves”. Uniting these two realities is the grace that the Lord gives to us when we ask for it.

>Dear friends, today,  we are called to live a life of integrity, to let go of worldly cunning and embrace Christian cleverness. For each and every one of us are called to be good managers and custodians of whatever blessings and resources God has given us. We are all reminded that we have been called to follow the Lord and to devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly. We must learn to be trusted and ensure that we manage whatever that is entrusted to us. So, we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are with regards to our vocation as Christians. How can we best harness the things entrusted to us so that they can be sources and means of safeguarding our souls surrounded by corruption and greediness. 

Therefore, we are called today to be wise and smart, for if the worldly minded people can be smart in their dealings, we too should be smarter in our struggles for the salvation of our souls and that of humanity at large. We should utilize the resources available to us and use them to secure our salvation. This is possible if we understand the principle that says that everything we own is a gift from God, then we will realize that God is the owner of everything and that we are His stewards. As such, we are to use the Master’s resources to further the Master’s work and not the contrary. In this contest, we are told to be generous with our resources and use it for the safety of our souls and the growth of God’s kingdom.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we listened to your words today, may we not be carried away by the things of this passing world. Rather give us the grace to live a life of integrity and the skills to manage the resources entrusted to us and use them properly for the salvation of humanity and the development of our societies, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace filled Sunday celebration.