Homily For Saturday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 1st July , 2023. Happy New Month

Reading: Gen. 18:1-5; Ps. Lk.1:46-55 ; Matt. 8:5-17

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

CULTIVATING AN ACT OF FAITH AND GENUINE HUMILITY IN PRAYER LIKE THE ROMAN CENTURION

 

In our Catechism classes, we were taught that faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused in us by God. Little wonder our level of faith are not the same. However, our gift of faith grows depending on our disposition and utilization of the gift. That is why, when Jesus invites people to faith and conversion, he does not coerced them, rather they come to faith through their good disposition and utilization of their experience with him.

 

This is exactly the case with the Roman centurion in our Gospel passage today, who sorts help for his sick servant, he approached Jesus for healing, but when Jesus accepted to come to his home, the centurion hesitates, feeling unworthy of Jesus’ presence in his home, said to him “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed”. 

 

Here the centurion believes that Jesus can speak a word of healing, and that will be enough to cure his servant. He has total faith and trust in the power of Jesus’ word. For him, the servant did not even have to hear Jesus speak the word: it was enough that the word was spoken. Jesus praised his faith and genuine humility. Today, these words of the centurion has become a pattern of prayer for us, that before Holy Communion we say it passionately because, his faith and compassion are inspiring example for us to follow.

 

This is exactly the kind of faith that all of us must have as well. The faith that leads us to seek God wholeheartedly, to be humble before Him and to love Him above all and not to allow our pride, ego and desires lead us into faithlessness, disobedience and sin against God.

 

We are also called to trust God at all times for He is always ready and able to help us just as He did to Abraham and Sarah in our first reading today. For when he visited them childless in their old age and his said: “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the same time next year I shall visit you again and Sarah will have a son”.

 

Dear friends, what is our disposition towards the gift of faith that God has given to us? Do we have total faith and trust in God just like the Centurion and Abraham and his wife Sarah? The fact remains that our experiences of evil, injustice, suffering and death can shake or shape the gift of faith in us depending on our disposition towards the situation.

 

Remember, the Centurion interceded for his sick servant, do we intercede for others who are in need of God’s healing and mercy? Do we know that we can speak God’s word in prayer and someone, somewhere, will find healing? Do we often like this Centurion, recognize in all humility our unworthiness before God?  We are called today to cultivate an act of faith and genuine humility in prayers just like the Roman Centurion.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are weak and oftentimes we display an act of faithlessness due to the pressure and challenges of life. Through the intercessions of our Mother Mary, may the Lord increase our faith and make us humble and patience in doing His will. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful Month.

Homily For Friday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 30th June, 2023

Reading: Gen. 17:1.9-10.15-22; Ps.128; Matt. 8:1-4

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

DO NOT GIVE UP IN YOUR DAILY STRUGGLES FOR GOD IS WILLING TO HELP YOU

 

The compassionate love of Jesus in solidarity with human suffering is evident in the scriptures and even in our daily lives.  Little wonder, we have great events in the scriptures that illustrates the compassionate concern of God in the struggles of humanity and wishes to set us free from the shackles of all our troubles.

 

This is evident in our readings today. In the first reading, we heard about God’s promise to bless Abraham and Sarah with a child even in their old age. For God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her and moreover give you a son by her.

 

Abraham bowed to the ground and laughed, thinking to himself, ‘Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?’ But God replied, your wife Sarah shall bear you a son whom you are to name Isaac”. This shows that what seems impossible becomes possible when God is involved.

 

In a similar way in our Gospel passage today, we heard how a leper having listened to Jesus speaking on the mountain, came up and bowed low in front of him and said ‘Sir, if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once.

 

Here the touching of Jesus is very significant. No ordinary person would dare to touch a leper. We can think of the inner healing that must have resulted from the touch of Jesus, that moment of physical contact, which the leper had not experienced for a long time due to rejection. Touch is something we all need, but are so often lacking in our relationship with God and one another. But this cannot stop Jesus from reaching out to his children who call on him for healing and restoration.

 

Thus, the leper was despised, feared, shunned and rejected, but when he approached Jesus in humility, he became the object of divine attention. We too just like the leper, are in need of healing, including the healing that comes from the touch of Jesus, all we need is to approach Jesus in humility and we will become a person of divine attention.

 

More so, the story of this leper is a good example of how we sinners can and should appeal to Jesus for cleansing especially from our sins. We should come in faith knowing that God is always willing to cleanse every sinner who comes to Him.

 

So, let us sincerely turn to God once again with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, just like the leper who came to Jesus with faith, knowing that he could heal him and make him better. This is what all of us must have as well, a strong and genuine faith. Today may be my great opportunity to be restored and what is needed is to put my faith in action and say Lord if you will you can restore me.

 

Dear friends, I don’t know what type of leprocious problems you are passing through? Are you weigh down by sin or sickness? Are you feeling helpless and rejected?  Or do I know people who are helpless and need some help? Do I feel the need of Jesus’s help in some part of my life? Let us pause for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at us. How does he sees us? What are you saying to him and what is he saying to you.

 

Friends, Jesus wishes to set us free from sickness, troubles challenges and manipulations from the evil ones. He desires to be with us as we struggle everyday to overcome the challenges in our families, society and the world at large. Therefore, we should not be afraid to approach Jesus for healing and restoration, all we need is an active faith like the leper in our Gospel passage today.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you know our inner most being and challenges we are facing today, come to our aid we pray and cleanse us from all our physical, emotional and spiritual leprosy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Thursday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 29th June, 2023. The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Reading: Acts. 12:1-11; Ps. 34; 2 Tim. 4:6-8.17-18; Matt. 16:13-19

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

DISCOVERY YOUR ROLE IN THE MISSIONARY MANDATE OF CHRIST JUST LIKE SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

 

Today the Holy Mother Church presents to us the solemnity of two great personalities in the missionary mandate of Christ to his Church. A solemn celebration that reveals to us that there is something deep and unique about every person as regards to the master plans of God for humanity.

 

But sometimes it takes personal experience to discover this uniqueness. I don't know if you have ever had an experience that made you think about your purpose on this earth as you realize the emptiness of this life. A kind of experience that turns pride into humility, sinfulness into righteousness, an experience that changes your perspective about things or people?

 

This is the kind of experience Saints Peter and Paul had with Jesus on different occasions that made them change their perception of life as they embraced their mission and mandate from Jesus. Their very encounter with Jesus brought a great transformation. Thus Simon left his fishing profession and became a Fisher of men and a preacher of the word of God with a new name Peter the Rock on which Jesus build his Church, the same thing with St. Paul.

 

This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where Peter demonstrated an act of faith as he gave an inspired answer to the question about the personality of Jesus. And 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 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.

 

And that is why in the iconographic tradition we see the keys in the hand of Peter,  because, the faith given to Peter by God is the rock on which Jesus built his Church. This is what St Peter expressed in our first reading today when he said: “Now I know that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen”.

 

Meanwhile, Paul’s encounter brought true conversion in his life and changed his perspective about Christians with a new identity, changing his name from Saul to Paul. A name indicating his new mission as the Apostle of the Gentiles. Little wonder the iconographic tradition represents St. Paul with a sword. The image of the sword refers to his entire mission of evangelization and that was the instrument with which he was killed.

 

No doubt that St. Paul carried out his mission with all his zeal and passion that he is regarded as one of the apostles and today his works still speak about the effect of his personal encounter with Jesus. Hence, we heard him saying in our second reading: I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his appearing.

 

Thus, the relationship between Peter and Paul is designed by God for the purpose of the mission entrusted to them. Their lives are symbol of unity in one missionary mandate of Christ. For St. Peter was entrusted with the leadership of all the Apostles and Church, while St. Paul was empowered and entrusted with the mission to the Gentiles (Gal.2:8). For this mission they both suffered martyrdom for the faith and their love for God and the mission entrusted to them by Jesus. 

 

This very sacrificial life of love is what we are celebrating today, as being represented in different images and statues of Saints Peter and Paul as seen in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica, in the seminaries and in parishes, of which they are easily recognizable by their respective attributes: the keys in the hand of St. Peter and the sword held by St. Paul, showing us the fraternal zeal and unity of these two Apostles on their way to martyrdom for the love of Christ.

 

Dear friends, we are called to look into our lives and discover our role in the mission of Christ just like Saints Peter and Paul. We must also learn to be united in one missionary mandate of Christ Just like Peter and Paul. We must not encourage or be part of the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today. Though, we are blessed with different gifts and apostolates, these are meant for the unity and growth of the mission of Christ and not to bring divisions.

 

Therefore, today we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are with regards to our faith as Christians, we are called to be convinced of who we are and the need to truly unite together in God and His Church entrusted to St. Peter of which the get of underworld shall not prevail against it.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty and ever living God, as we begin our day with the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, create in us we pray, a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit of true faith within us, so that your Church may truly be united as one. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 28th June, 2023. The Memorial of St. Irenaeus

Reading: Gen. 15:1-12.17-18; Ps.105; Matt. 7:6.15-20

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

AS GOD'S PROPHETS WHAT KIND OF FRUITS ARE WE KNOWN FOR?

 

 A tree is known to be either good or bad, healthy or sick by the fruit it produces. In the same way the human heart is known to be either good or bad, holy or sinful, sincere or corrupt by the fruit of our words and actions rooted in our character. Thus, in our societies today there are many false influential powers that have great effect in our lives coming from various sources under the guise of good but are in fact leading us astray. Everyday many false prophets and teachers are increasing and are deceiving the people. So, there is need for us to examine these influences.

 

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. For a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.”

 

Here, Jesus is calling our attention to ugly situation in our societies today, where false prophets and teachers are deceiving people. He tells us to be careful and discern to know false prophets from true ones. He made us to know that by the fruits they bear we shall know them.

 

For a true prophet draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; while a false prophet draws what is bad from the store of his bad thoughts. Because a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. So it is not sufficient to speak about God, we must practice what we speak. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives so that we can bear good and healthy fruit.

 

Dear friends, as God’s prophets what kind of fruits are we known for? For the ugly attitude of deception, manipulation, exaggeration, corruption and flamboyant life style of false prophets and preachers in our societies today can really make it difficult for people to become true and faithful believers in our world today.

 

Little wonder, people are scandalized by the actions and behaviour of some preachers and teachers. Some have given up their faith, some are about to give up, some are just confused while a lot of people are just holding on to the little faith they have based on their little personal experience and encounter with the Divine.

 

So, let us learn from St. Irenaeus whose memorial we celebrate today. For he was someone who understood that following the Lord requires giving up everything that one cherishes. He was a holy bishop, a true servant of God, and martyr of the Church. He was known for his great piety and many important works on theology and defended the faithful from heresies even at the cost of his life, for he followed the rigorous path to success and also passed through great persecution without making excuses. He was a true prophet.

 

Therefore, we must be very wise for many false prophets are operating under the power of the devil. Let us come to Jesus who has promised us the Spirit of truth that will give us a special sign for distinguishing true doctrine and true teachers from the false ones.

Hence, let us constantly ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace of discernment in order to distinguish between good and false prophets and teachers. Let us also be true Christians by our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God just like Abram in our first reading today, for God has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our societies are full of deception, false prophets and teachers, send us the Spirit of truth to discern the truth from the false. Through the intercession if St. Irenaeus, may we always stand and witness to the truth we have found in Jesus against all the false influential prophets and teachers in our society today. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 27th June, 2023

Reading: Gen. 13:2.5-18; Ps.15; Matt. 7:6.12-14

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

LEARN TO FOLLOW THE NARROW GATE OF LOVE AND SACRIFICE THAT LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE

 

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, the emptiness and shortness of life makes me to reflect on my future as a human person and 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 this question 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. For they prefer to follow the destructive ways of life that is born out of pride, greed and uncontrollable desire for worldly things. And  the 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 was causing problem between Abram and Lot in our first reading today. For we heard how dispute broke out between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and those of Lot’s.  Accordingly Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no dispute between me and you, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land open before you? Part company with me: if you take the left, I will go right; if you take the right, I will go left. This shows us how pride, greed and sins leads to division and our downfall.

 

Dear friends, 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. So, let us learn to follow the narrow gate of love and sacrifice that leads to eternal 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. Let us 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 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 your little efforts in life and guide you always.

Homily For Monday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 26th June, 2023

Reading: Gen. 12:1-9; Ps.33; Matt. 7:1-5

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

HOW TO MANAGE THE LOG OF PRIDE IN US AND THE SPECK OF WEAKNESS IN OTHERS

 

One of the ugly attitudes of the human person is the urge to often criticize, judge and condemn others without looking into our own faults. Have we ever experienced a situation where it happened that, while we were condemning other people for their faults and suddenly we realized that our own faults are just as many as theirs, for this do happen often in our relationship with one another.

 

This ugly attitude is what Jesus is addressing today in the Gospel passage, when he said “ Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the log in your own? Deal

 

Here, Jesus is referring to the improper and prideful attitudes of many of the Pharisees, the scribes and teachers of the Law and many others like them who self acclaimed righteousness has led to criticism and condemnation of other people. For they have failed to see the log in their eye while seeking to remove the speck in other's. But what is this log in our eyes? It is the log of pride, greed and self-righteousness.

 

These log of pride, greed and self-righteousness make us to forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride as we know is the first capital sin, it makes us to look down on people, pride makes us blind. It makes us not to look into our own lives to see and accept how wrong we can be. This is because we are often controlled by our ego and pride, our human ambitions and desires, for we like to always be in control and superior to others.

 

But this is not the same with Abram in our first reading today, who because of his humility was called by the Lord for a special mission. For the Lord said to him, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing. Such is God’s grace for those who are humble and accommodative of other people's weakness.

 

Therefore, today 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 weaknesses. So instead of pointing out what is lacking in others, we must look into ourselves, and find ways or how we can make good use of the opportunities that God has given us to show good examples to others. We are to discard all our prideful, wicked and sinful ways of life and replace them with genuine love for one another, with new zeal and sincere commitment to telling one another the truth in all humility.

 

Dear friends, we are called not to judge, because, sometimes  that which we judge in others, we ourselves are doing worst. Hence, Jesus is challenging us today to think differently about how we live our lives. Calling us to look into our inner being, our interior life, that part of us that we hide from one another.

 

Let us purify them in humility, so that we can be pure and free to help others in the struggles with their weakness. Therefore, it’s time to look into ourselves and take away our prideful ways of life, so as to humbly accommodate the weakness and faults of others especially in our families, societies and the world at large, knowing that no one is perfect without the other.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us the grace of humility and capacity to always look within us in other to be more aware of our inadequacies, and so become more gentle in dealing with others, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and grace-filled week.

Homily For Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 25th June, 2023

Reading: Jer. 20:10-13; Ps. 69; Rom. 5:12-15; Matt.10:26-33

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

FEAR NOT FOR GOD IS WATCHING OVER YOU AND YOUR DAILY STRUGGLES

 

One of the most common human emotions is fear, which describes our emotional reaction to something that seems dangerous. It is like an instinct programmed into the nervous system through which we sense danger or the threat of harm or pain whether physically, psychologically or spiritually. Oftentimes we encounter things that triggers the emotion of fear especially in our world today where everyday we struggle with all kinds of troubles and uncertainties projected by the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.

 

And sometimes, when children of God are confronted with ugly situation, they don't know what to do and out of fear they fall victim and helpless. In fact, the ugly situation in our country today, has instigated great fear in the lives of people, that it seems to most people that God, His Church and even the  government have abandoned them. This is obvious because, we have lost our connection with God.

 

But the fact remains that God and His Church have not abandoned us, for he is ever and always closer to us more than we can ever imagine. Little wonder today in our Gospel passage, Jesus tell us to fear not for he will watch over us. He says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted.

 

So, there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows” The bird sparrows were the food of the poorest people for they could be purchased for the cheapest price.  But God is providentially involved when one of these birds falls to the ground. Showing us that God who is sovereign over the sparrow is also sovereign over something as little as the hairs of our head.

 

Thus, we are encouraged not to give up as we encounter great percussions, troubles and challenges, just like Jeremiah in our first reading, who was treated badly, persecuted and endured all sorts of trials, indignities, humiliation and discomfort on account of his message of truth. Yet, he trusted in the Lord and committed himself wholeheartedly to God’s protection, knowing that the Lord’s faithful will always triumph against the wicked and all those who are persecuting them. This is exactly what Jesus is reassuring us when he said do not fear those who can destroy the body, but rather fear the One Who can destroy both body and soul. Moreover, the phrase do not be afraid is seen in the scriptures about 366 time as an assurance of God’s presence and protection in our journey of life.

 

Therefore, we must trust that God will always protect and provide for us no matter how difficult and challenging the situation may be for us. Little wonder St. Paul in our second reading today calls us to trust in God, even though we may have allowed ourselves to dwell in sin and fear, we should embrace the love of Jesus who in his glorious sacrifice on the Cross has delivered us from sins and death. For just as the disobedience of Adam brought sin into the world, the presence of Jesus has brought life and salvation for all.

 

Dear friends, do you know why there are so many troubles, wickedness and persecution in our societies today? This is because humanity have lost a treasure and that treasure is the fear of God. The scripture says that the fear of Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But today we lack this wisdom, because we have no fear of God in us. We will rather fear humans who have lost their consciences in sinful things of this passing world and have foolishly built and attribute for themselves powers and authority that belongs only to God. Thereby, forcing us to worship them instead of God our creator, just for us to wake up and realize how foolish and wrong we are in believing and worshipping them, because they are no more, and all their powers and wealth are now decaying in the presence of another set of foolish individuals who will begin to fight over these vanities, for we will never learn from the mistakes of the dead.

 

This is because we have forgotten that we are just managers of whatever we have in this passing world including our lives. Yes we are not the owner of anything, we only manage things entrusted to us, for God is the real owner of all things that we have. So, do not be afraid for God is watching over us and our daily struggles.

 

But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: do we still have faith in God? Are we really courageous enough to withstand the scourges of persecution, knowing that God will surely protect us? Do we listen and hear God speaking to us through our daily activities? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do with the gift of knowledge, skills and talents God has given us? Do we pay attention to the word of God we hear everyday in the house of God, the streets and through other means of communication? Perhaps we are the one who have abandoned God and now we are confused and afraid as a result of our greediness and selfishness that are destroying our societies today.

 

Brethren, no matter how we feel about the situation in our lives, our families, societies and country, no matter how terrifying they may seem to appear, we are called not to give up on God or His Church or the human agents through whom His help comes to us, for God has not abandoned His people. We all need to have our ears opened, so that we can hear and understand fully the message God is communicating to us through this difficult moment in our society.

 

For God is saying to us, fear not, come back to me, have courage for the storms will soon be over. If we turn to God with all our heart, He will restore us and heal our world. Therefore, we should not let fear control or destroy us, rather we should have faith in God knowing that at night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, there are many things that frightens us everyday and course us to fear, grant us the grace of courage to remain steadfast even in the midst of all the troubles and challenges of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a spirit filled Sunday.

Homily For Saturday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 24th June, 2023. The Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist

Reading: Is.49:1-6; Ps.139; Acts 13:22-26; Luke: 1:57-66.80

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF YOUR NAME AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING YOUR BIRTH

 

One of the most significant day in our lives is our birthday, this day often comes with joy and praise. And in the mood of joy that a life has been born, one of the things that comes to mind is giving a name to the baby as an identity based on the circumstances surrounding the birth.

 

This great and joyful event is what we are celebrating today. The Solemnity of the birth of St. John the Baptist, the only person, who’s birthday is celebrated in the Church’s liturgical calendar, besides that of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, because of his role in the history of the salvation of humanity. 

 

This event is very important and necessary, because in it we talked about the name given to him. In fact the naming of objects and persons is an important ritual found in scripture. We can recall in the book of Genesis (Gen.2:19-20), when God created Adam and gave him the responsibility of giving names to all creation. So the act of giving a name to people has been a traditional event not only in the scriptures but in every human culture. 

 

On account of this, our Gospel passage today, gives us the record of the events of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. From the passage, significant and surprising things happened on the birth and naming of John the Baptist, of which we can identify three unusual features: first the old have given birth. Secondly, the child has a strange name “John” derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning " YAHWEH is gracious", a name which no one bears in the family and thirdly, Zechariah's dumbness is taken away on account of giving this name, which brought great joy to the people and they praised God.

 

However, such remarkable events caused the crowd to fear and perceived that something different and surprising is happening, things worth remembering. Showing us that, when God names a child, that child is significant in his universal plan for humanity.

 

Hence, John’s birth was prophesied by the prophets as we have in our first reading today, to be the last among the prophets, for his role was to prepare the people and to finally proclaim the coming of the Messiah who will fulfill the long awaiting plan of God for the salvation of humanity. And in our second reading, St. Paul gave us an account of how John in humility carried out his mission as he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. And before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.

 

No doubt the mission of John the Baptist was quite challenging as he encountered many obstacles just like other prophets before him. He faced strong opposition and rejection from the Pharisees who doubted and challenged his teaching and works of baptism and repentance of which many people believed in him. But John fearlessly confronted some of the Pharisees calling them wicked, brood of vipers and hypocrites. He also courageously confronted king Herod with the truth on account of his illegal and sinful relationship with Herodias his brother’s wife, and this led to his martyrdom and his mission decreasing while Jesus increases.

 

Dear friends, we all have a significant place in the plan of God. Our names are not just a common ceremony. It is a testimony of God’s plan for us. Why not take out time today to reflect on the meaning and circumstances surrounding our births and our names. For by God’s grace we will understand better who we are and what our mission and purpose on earth are. And by so doing, we will faithfully stand for the truth of what we represent and fulfill our plans and purposes, just like John the Baptist who stood for the truth of his mission and offered it to everyone, whenever and however it will best bring conversion to sinner even at the cost of his head.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you created each one of us to fulfill your plan on earth and in our names we bear the mystery of our mission and purpose. Grant us through the intercessions of St John the Baptist, the grace to faithfully and courageously fulfill our mission and purpose in this world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and joyful weekend.

Homily For Friday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 23rd June, 2023

Reading: 2Cor 11:18.21-30; Ps.34; Matt. 6:19-23

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

WHY HAVE YOU MADE THEM THE ULTIMATE TREASURES OF YOUR LIFE?

 

Everyday under terrible scourges of the sun and noisy street, people struggle to acquire things that they value as treasures of life. The quarreling and fighting, the early morning rush, the traffic jam, the aggressive words all just to acquire things of this life and people are never tired of acquiring properties for themselves and their generation yet to come, forgetting that all these things sooner or later passes away as we ourselves expire from this world.

 

Thus, in our Gospel passage today we are called to reflect on what should be our ultimate treasure and how we can acquire it. For Jesus said: Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

Here, Jesus knowing how humanity are so attached to the things of this passing world and have made them their ultimate treasures, calls how attention to what should be our ultimate treasure. He made us to know that GOD and His kingdom is the greatest and ultimate treasure anyone can and should acquire. For it will be a waste of time trying to store up our treasures in this world, because the world as we know is passing away likewise the things in it. The world is not a safe place to store one’s ultimate treasures. The safest place to store up our treasures is in God our heavenly Father. For heaven itself is the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. And it is so precious and great, that it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures.

 

Little wonder, St Paul in our first reading tells us that it is a waste of time boasting about our worldly possessions and achievement. For there is nothing to boast about in this passing world. And if there is anything to boast at all, it should be the things that show our weakness. Therefore, we must do all that it takes to ensure that our focus is on things of heaven  and how to acquire it. Because losing it over the temporal pleasure, joy, glory, fame, power and influential things of this passing world will be complete foolishness. For none of them last forever and what good is it for us to gain the whole world but loses our soul out of God’s kingdom.

 

Dear friends, the questions we need to ask ourselves today are: where and what is our ultimate treasure in this life? Why have we made the things of this passing world our ultimate treasure? If the Lord should give us opportunity to make request of what our heart desires, what will be your request? How many of us are paying attention to ultimate heavenly treasures? How many thinks and search for the ultimate treasure of our souls? How many desires to personally discover God in our lives knowing that he is the ultimate treasure anyone can acquire in this world?

 

How I wish we will understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of losing our soul out of greediness for the things of this passing world. Then, we will sincerely desire to experience God personally, because in him lies the ultimate treasure of life. And discovering God personally is the greatest treasure one can ever have.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the world is full of distractions coming from false treasures of this passing world, give us a wise and discerning hearts in order to give up all our attachment to worldly possessions in pursue of the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Thursday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 22nd June, 2023.

Reading: 2Cor 11:1-11 ; Ps. 111; Matt. 6:7-15

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

THE SEVEN GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF ALL PRAYERS

 

The key to success is rooted in the understanding of the principles that guides any project or things that one embraces in life. Without a good understanding of the principle guiding any project one will struggle more with little or no success. Hence, it is important to struggle to understand the principle guiding any thing we do in order to be successful.

 

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

 

Here, Jesus knowing that prayer is an essential part of our faith through which we grow in our relationship with God, and become more connected to Him, gave us seven principles that should guide all our prayers. This prayer contain series of statements and petitions in which we affirm our relationship with God, with the people around us and with the world in general. In it contains a statement of faith, obligations and commitment as the foundation through which these seven principles are fulfilled.

 

The first principle is to acknowledge God as “Our Father”. A call for unity that requires faith, obligation and commitment. Here we acknowledge God not just as my Father, but as Our Father and the ‘our’ includes every single person who lives or has ever lived on this earth. The second principle calls us to reverence the name of the Lord as we say: “Hallowed be thy name “ yes, God’s name is holy no matter what we say or think. However, we make this prayer for our sake more than for His. Because from the holiness of His name comes the root of our faith and strength, so we are praying that God’s name be held in  deepest respect by people everywhere.

 

The third principle calls us to have the vision of God’s kingdom, hence we pray saying: “Your kingdom come”, that is, we pray that humanity should consciously and willingly embrace the love and kingship of God which He is offering us. The forth principle invites us to dispose ourselves to embrace the will of God as we pray saying: “Your will be done on earth, as in heaven”. This is very important for it helps us to discern and be disposed to pray and live in accordance with the will of God.

 

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

 

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

 

Dear friends, I have no doubt that we know our Lords prayer, but knowing it is not enough, we have to pray it devotedly, but praying it is not enough, we have to believe in what we pray for, but believing is not enough, we must put it into practice in our daily lives. This is because, often time we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desired, without considering what God desires for us. Some of us spend lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we did not mean what we say because we have wrong disposition born from unforgiving heart which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God. 

 

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

 

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

Homily for Wednesday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 21st June, 2023. The Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Reading: 2Cor 9:6-11 ; Ps. 112; Matt. 6:1-6.16-18

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

LEARN TO PRACTICE YOUR RELIGIOUS PIETY AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICES SECRETLY

 

There are three principle disciplines that guide all our religious pieties, this disciplines include: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. They can be rightly extended to every act of righteousness and services rendered to humanity. These disciplines have not been properly understood or implemented by people, for most people see this disciplines as an opportunity to display their piety in order to gain cheep human popularity and admiration.

 

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

 

Using each of these three spiritual disciplines, he gave us the basic formula saying: That we should not blow trumpets in the streets to draw the attention of everyone when we give alms to the poor. We should not say our prayers in the most conspicuous places so that people will marvel at our holiness and when fasting, we should not put on gloomy and drawn looks so that everyone will know that we are fasting. Then he calls us not to be like the hypocrites who displays their charitable deeds, for they have received their reward. After which he instructed us regarding the secret practice of piety and promise us that God will reward us for any piety practiced in secret.

 

Thus, Jesus calls us to carryout our religious pieties and obligations to humanity secretly, for when it is done in the secret we will receive great reward from God and as recipients of these rewards, we will be surprised, because we have no idea that we did anything remarkable or that anyone noticed our charitable acts. For we certainly did not perform the charity to gain rewards. Rather, it is the combination of our selfless, sacrificial and unassuming attitudes that opens the channel by which God dispenses His blessings upon us.

 

Little wonder St. Paul tells us in our first reading today saying: “Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver”. 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. For we are called to humbly look into our lives and identify all those ugly attitudes of pride in us and get rid of them.

 

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

 

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