Homily For Monday Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 1st June, 2026. The Memorial of St Justin the Martyr. Happy New Month

 

Readings: 2 Peter 1: 2-7; Ps. 91; Mark 12:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GREEDINESS AND WICKEDNESS OF HUMANITY TOWARDS GOD AND THE VINEYARD HE ENTRUSTED TO US

Often, I wonder why there is so much evil, greed, and wickedness in the world, despite God's blessings of good things. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, marked by a growing conflict between Jesus and the religious and political leaders of his time. And Jesus illustrates this ugly event with an allegory of the Vineyard Owner which was directed towards the ugly attitudes of humanity.

In this allegory, Jesus tells the story of a man who planted a vineyard, equipped it with all that was necessary, and then leased it out to tenants to cultivate. Now, the vineyard owner sent his servants to collect the dues and rents from the tenants whom he had entrusted with the care of his vineyard, which he had leased out to them. Those tenants were wicked and desired to keep everything they gained to themselves, hence they persecuted and killed the servants sent to them. The tenants also killed the son of the vineyard owner, whom the owner sent to them thinking that the tenants would respect his son.

This allegory describes the relationship between God and humanity and how humanity has been summoned for a trial. Here, the owner of the vineyard is God, while the son represents Jesus Himself, the Son of God sent into the world to save humanity. Also, the vineyard represents the world itself while the wicked tenants represent the ugly attitudes of humanity towards the resources entrusted to us by God.

Dear friends, why all this wickedness, greed and corruption in our society? Today our nation is on trial before God, for God has presented his case against us, summoning our blessed land and mountains to act as judge between Him and the people of this country, by reminding us how He has blessed us with so many resources, skills, good weather and people. But we have misused them, neglected his message, and committed a lot of evil and murder, yet we are still crying, seeking solutions and signs from God.

Today, as tenants in God’s vineyard, we are called to change our attitude positively; we should turn away from greed, corruption, pride and ego. If not, we will likely end up like those wicked tenants who acted with such evil against their fellow men and even against the son of their master and were justly punished.

Therefore, what God requires from us today is for us to do justice, to love kindly and to walk humbly with him for our good and the good of others. Little wonder St. Peter in our first reading made us know that God has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them, we will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice.

But to attain this, we will have to do our utmost best, adding goodness to the faith that we have, understanding to our goodness, self-control to our understanding, patience to our self-control, true devotion to our patience, kindness towards our fellow men to our devotion, and, to this kindness, love.

This is what we see in the life of St. Justin the Martyr, whose memorial we celebrate today. He was known for his desire to establish a peaceful relationship between the Church and the state. Through his writings, he tried to convince Emperor Marcus Aurelius to end the persecution of Christians by the Roman state, which led to his martyrdom with some of his followers in the year 165.

Today however, St. Justin no doubt, has shown us through his works and interactions, with pagan philosophers and even with the Emperor, that it is indeed possible to be fully faithful and committed to God while exercising our authority and position by living in harmony as a law-abiding citizens of the community and the state even in the midst of persecutions and operations as we experience in our societies today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, grant that we may turn away from pride, greed and the corruptions of this passing world and become steadfast in faith and care for one another. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you the best of God's favour and blessings. Happy New Month. 

Homily For Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Year A, 31st May, 2026

 

Reading: Ex. 34:4-6.8-9; Ps. Dn. 3:29-34; 2Cor.13:11-13; John 3:16-18

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

UNDERSTANDING HOW GOD HAS REVEALED HIS MYSTICAL NATURE TO HUMANITY

No doubt that humanity perceives God as a mystery and in need, he is a great mystery. But when we perceive something as a mystery, it does not really mean that we cannot know anything about that thing. It simply means that we cannot know everything about that thing. We only know to the extent our reasoning faculty can perceive. This means that perceiving God as a mystery shows that we can know something about him, but we cannot know everything about him.

Now the questions are: what do we know about God? How has God revealed Himself to us? How have we perceived and understood this revelation? What impact has this revelation and understanding made in our lives as human beings living in the world he created? The answer to these questions is found in the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, which we celebrate today.

Little wonder, every first Sunday after the great event of Pentecost, that marks the end of Easter season and the Church has been filled with the Holy Spirit, our attention is turned to the mysteries of heaven, where we gaze with an eye of faith into the mystery of God’s revelation of his mystical nature as a Trinitarian form of Love.

That is, in a form of three Persons, Father, Son and Spirit who are ONE GOD in substance and essence. Here, the Father is love, the Son is love made Flesh, and the Spirit is love in Action. For there is wholly ONE purest, infinite and eternal LOVE which is God, and Love Personified which is God himself in the person of Jesus and Love in Action which is the Holy Spirit. This, of course, is the mystery of the Trinity, a reality that surpasses human reason.

So, the Church through revelation has come to know, understand and perceive that the Holy Trinity works in one unity and essence. For the invisible Father and invisible Son sent the visible Son in the person of Jesus, to be visible in the world to save humanity.

And the actions of the invisible Father through the visible Son are made present in the world by the Person of the Holy Spirit. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are of the same substance and essence that manifest in three persons of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery of God's nature we celebrate today as revealed.

Today’s solemnity reveals to us that “God is love not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance”, as we have it in the Preface of today’s celebration. Telling us that God, who is Love, is the creator and merciful Father; he is the Only-Begotten Son, the eternal Word of Wisdom incarnate, who died and rose for us; he is also the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who moves all things in history, toward their final and full recapitulation.

This is a special feast that allows us to gaze into the communitarian life of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who live in a communion of love and call us to participate in this love. Thereby reminding us of the marvellous plan of our salvation, that finds its origin in this Trinitarian love of the Father, who sent the Son and the Holy Spirit for the redemption of humanity. For we have been called to share in this family of love. This family of love is God’s nature that he shares with humanity through the Son Jesus, the Word Made Flesh and the Holy Spirit the Paraclete.

Thus, in this Sunday’s solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we celebrate the summary of God’s revelation of Himself to humanity which was brought about through the paschal mysteries of Christ’s Death, Resurrection and Ascension to the right hand of the Father, and the gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This great mystical revelation of the Triune God can not be totally comprehended by the human mind and language, the Church has called us to live it with deep faith and apply it in our daily lives.

Little wonder, our readings today tell us about this Trinitarian nature of God in human history, In the First Reading, we heard about the revelation of God’s Name and His active participation in the life of His people, as He proclaims before Moses in the cloud on Mount Sinai saying: “The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” a God who pardon our sins and iniquities and take us as His inheritance.

This is a great act of love, of which our Gospel passage today testifies, in the famous John’s Gospel, telling us that: “God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This clearly shows us love in action, illustrating that God is not closed or satisfied with his own self-sufficiency, but he is the life of love that wants to communicate Himself with His fragile creatures in an open and deep relationship.

Hence St Paul in our second reading encouraged us to rejoice, mend our ugly ways of life, heed his appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, so that the God of love and peace will be with us. He then introduced and commended us into the grace and life of the Triune God, saying: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Therefore inviting us to share and participate in the communitarian family of love in the Trinity, that is now open for all humanity. That is why we are baptised in the name of the Trinity, we are blessed in the name of the Trinity, we are consecrated to the life and family of God through the Trinitarian formula.

Dear friends, today’s solemnity invites us to embrace the new life we have found in the Trinity, that new life that calls us to the reality of love that is contained in the mystery of our faith. The One love of the Father, that is made Flesh in the Person of the Son Jesus, and in action in the Person of the Holy Spirit, in a purely physical unity of which humanity is called to participate.

Hence Jesus has revealed to us that we are essentially “God’s children”, creatures who live in relationship with the Creator God the Father, and are called to share this relationship with one another. Thereby reaching out to God and to our fellow mankind, in whose life we discover the image of our common love in the Father.

Thus, in this love comes the model of the human community, originating from the Triune Family to our individual human families down to the society and the world at large, pointing to us that humanity is one, related in the one love of God our common Father, through His Son Jesus in the active power of the Holy Spirit.

This is the faith we have embraced and are called to share with all humility. Therefore, we are called to grow in this mission, knowing that, the Trinity is at the same time unity in love and in mission, the more deep this love dwells in us, the stronger the urge to pour it out and spread it to all, beginning from our family, down to society and to the ends of the Earth.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as you reveal the mystery of your nature which is love and calls us to share and participate in it, grant that humanity may come to embrace this loving kindness, and so be united as one family sharing one common Father in love and truth, we ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. Have a fruitful Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 30th May, 2026

 

Readings: Jude 17.20-25, Ps. 63; Mark 11:27-33

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING AND EMBRACING THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF JESUS

In our dealings with people, we are often requested to make reference to authorities to back up our claim to know or possess anything. And when such authority is not available our proposal may not be taken seriously. Little wonder our Gospel passage today presents to us the fundamental question concerning the source of Jesus’ authority, namely, whether it is divine or human.

Here, after Jesus drove away the traders from the courts of the Temple, the chief priests and elders questioned the source of his authority, for they were more concerned to learn whether Jesus had received the proper human authorisation.

In response, Jesus draws their attention to John the Baptist and his authority, and by so doing, he implies that the source of John's authority is the source of his as well. Thus, anyone who correctly identifies the source of John's authority will identify the source of Jesus’ own as well.

Therefore the questions we need to ask ourselves are: What is our notion about the authority of Jesus? Do we have any doubt about the authority of Jesus? How much of this authority dwells in you? The crowds identified the source of John and Jesus’ authority as divine. Have we personally identified the divine authority of Jesus in our lives? Why not ask him to manifest his power and authority once more in your life?

Dear friends, we need to open up our hearts to truly embrace the authority of the Lord Jesus. We need to build up our interior lives around his authority, so as to be closer to God and continue to prepare ourselves physically and spiritually for the coming of our Lord Jesus in our hearts and our souls.

For there he awaits our response to his invitation to holiness and love. Little wonder St. Jude in our first reading today said, when some have doubts, reassure them; when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out; but there are others to whom you must be kind with great caution.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in your divine authority we build our confidence and hope. May you continue to direct and guide our ways and bring our plans and purposes to a successful end. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a happy and fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 29th May, 2026

Readings: 1Peter 4:7-13. Ps. 96; Mark 11:11-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD WANTS TO PURIFY OUR SOULS, WHICH ARE HIS TEMPLE 

The temple, as we know, is described as the sacred dwelling place of God. That’s sacred space where humanity encounters the Divine presence of God. It is a symbolic space where God desires to live together with humanity and rule the world through them. Therefore it is very important to ensure that such Sacred Space (Temple) is kept sacred at all times.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, after Jesus had cursed a fig tree for not being fruitful, we heard a very brief story of how he entered the temple in Jerusalem and drove away the traders from the courts of the Temple saying: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?

But you have turned it into ‘a den of thieves’.” So he chased out all the dishonest, selfish and greedy merchants who were making profits by cheating the faithful pilgrims who came to the Temple to worship God.

Here Jesus was not just concerned with cleansing the temple of Jerusalem, but also the temple of the human heart, that is, our souls. He is objecting to the corruption of the sacred. Our body and soul are a temple of the Lord and belong to him alone. It is a sacred space, a house of prayer which must not be given over to the false gods of money, greed and sin.

So, by clearing the Temple, the Lord has also urged us all to clear our own spiritual temples, that is our body, mind, heart and soul, in which God dwells, so that we will actualise the fruit of the gift God has given us.

Hence we are told in our first reading today that each one of us has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, we should put ourselves at the service of others. If you are a speaker, speak in words which seem to come from God; if you are a helper, help as though every action was done at God’s orders; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ.

Dear friends, our souls are the sacred dwelling of God’s Temple. Thus, it should be made sacred at all times by ensuring that we get rid of all corruptions, wickedness, pride, ego, greed, wrath and all other sorts of evils within us.

We must resist them and strive to inspire and help one another to keep our Temple sacred. For Jesus wishes to cleanse the temple of our soul by removing what has corrupted it, to purify it for worship, and make it a dwelling place for God in prayer. But are we willing to let him cleanse us?

LET US PRAY: Merciful Father, we are your temple, yet we have let the selfish desires for the things of this passing world to corrupt us so deeply. As we embrace your Words today, may we experience the joy of the purification of our body and soul through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a joyful day.

Homily For Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 28th May 2026

 

Readings: 1Pet. 1:18-25; Ps.147; Mark 10:46-52

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR NEED AND HOW ARE YOU PRESENTING IT TO GOD

There is no doubt that Jesus has demonstrated his compassionate love for humanity in various ways, especially to the poor, the sick, and those possessed by unclean Spirits. This attitude of Jesus, which springs from the love of God the Father, constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating activity, which is rooted in our faith in God.

Little wonder, in our Gospel passage today, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, gives us a complete lesson about faith, expressed with total simplicity in the presence of Christ Jesus. He had faith enough to call out to Jesus as he passed by, even when he was scolded by the people close to him, his need for Jesus was so great that he cried all the louder, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

Then Jesus asks an unusual question “What do you want me to do for you?” So even though his need was obvious, Jesus wanted him to mention it. In the same way today, Jesus is asking us: " My child, what do you want me to do for you? Why not, like this blind beggar, tell Jesus your need?

Even though he knows your needs, you still need to present them before him. This blind man needed his eyesight restored, so he said aloud to Jesus, “Lord, that I may see!” And Jesus said: ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.’

Here, we see a man whose faith led him to put off his former identity and cry in the hope of restoration. Bartimaeus’s faith involves proclamation, prayer, liberation, personal encounter and following of Jesus. More so, Jesus, in this healing, reveals his compassion towards human suffering and wants us to imitate Bartimaeus’s faith in our struggles and challenges of life.

Dear friends, what is that one thing you need in your life? Have we ever felt helpless and neglected? Do we feel the need for Jesus’s help in some part of our lives? Do we know people who are helpless and need some help? How strong is our compassion towards them? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he see them? Why not, in faith, present our needs before Jesus, who is willing and ready to help us?

 For St. Peter, in our second reading today reminds us that we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

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

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we present our needs before you today, may we experience once again your compassionate love and grant our hearts' desire according to your Holy will, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings

Homily For Wednesday, Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 27th May 2026

Readings: 1Pet. 1:18-25; Ps.147; Mark 10:32-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HAVING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS POWER AND THE INFLUENTIAL THINGS OF THIS WORLD

One of the most unattractive attitudes of many of our leaders today is their love of power; people are willing to do anything to acquire it. People kill, kidnap, blackmail and condemn others because of their ambition to hold power and sustain it. This ugly attitude of mankind is well displayed in our Gospel passage today when the two sons of Zebedee requested that Jesus promise that they should sit one at his right hand and the other at his left in his kingdom. 

This unfortunate request was made while Jesus was telling his disciples about his passion and death. But instead of reflecting on the seriousness of the words of Jesus, they were busy quarrelling over who grabs power, as most people do today. When the other ten heard about the request made by these two sons of Zebedee, they were indignant with the two brothers. Perhaps because they had misinterpreted Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom and presumed that it would be a kingdom in which they would have honour and prestige, like most people think today. 

But Jesus called them and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

Dear friends, true greatness is found in sincere service to others and not in over-ambition for power nor by plotting against others. This ugly attitude is what we often experience in our families, societies and our country today. Where people do all kinds of evil to grab power and sustain it. 

Little wonder St. Peter in our first reading today said: Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ. You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart. 

Friends, I don’t know what your experience has been regarding serving others. I don’t know which of the characters in our readings can best describe our attitude towards power. Are we like the sons of Zebedee? Is our attitude like that of the ten disciples? Is our attitude like that of the pagan rulers who lord it over others? Whichever category we fall in, today we are called to be humble like Jesus who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

Therefore, as leaders, we should see ourselves as servants and not seek status beyond our reach or plot the downfall of others. Remember, ambition can be a good thing but only if it is kept in check and if pursued for the right reason, that is, to serve others. 

 LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are often consumed by excess love for power, which we often misuse and abuse.  As we listen to your teaching today, may we learn to use the power and authority entrusted to us in humble service for the common good of all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.

Homily For Tuesday Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 26th May 2026. The Memorial of St. Philip Neri

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

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

CAN WE SACRIFICE EVERYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF FOLLOWING THE LORD?

In our world today, people can go to great lengths to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence, and power, just to secure their future and that of their tenth generation. But we hardly take time to prepare for our spiritual life or sacrifice for the sake of our souls about the Kingdom of God.

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

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

Hence, we heard St. Peter in our first reading saying: Put your trust in nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave in the way that you liked before you learnt the truth; rather, make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.

Dear friends, what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus were to ask us to do so? Those things we are so attached to and would not like God to ask us to give up for the sake of following him. Will you let go of things such as money, houses, credentials, love of power, pride and wealth or our relationship, our job, our habits and attitudes? These will be extremely difficult because we are living in a world of materialism and egoism.

But the Lord is asking us to leave them and follow him for we will surely be rewarded for sacrificing them for the sake of his mission. Also, whatever we possess that will separate us from our mission of following Jesus and loving our neighbours, today we are called to give them up and come follow the Lord because in leaving them for the sake of Jesus, we gain all in abundance.

LET US PRAY, Lord God, we are distracted by the things of this passing world. Through the intercession of St St. Philip Neri, give us the grace to let go of things that often separate us from your Mission and the obstacles on our way to your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful day. 

Homily For Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, The Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae), 29th May, 2026

Readings: Gen. 3:9-15.20, Ps.87; John 19:25-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

BEHOLD MARY OUR MOTHER

As the Holy Season of Eastertide comes to an end with the celebration of Pentecost yesterday, the Church continues with the second phase of Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. This begins with the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church.

 Although today’s Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church is new, the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, is very ancient. It was Pope Francis, who established the celebration of this Memorial in 2018, which is to be celebrated annually on the day following the Solemnity of Pentecost. Pope Francis said he wished to establish this Memorial in order to encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.

Hence, the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, is established to remind us that Mary is indeed the Mother of all of us. For as God’s chosen people, Mary has been entrusted to us to be our own loving Mother, and to whom we have also been entrusted as her own beloved adopted sons and daughters, through Christ, her Son, who shares his divinity with us as he elevates our humanity, as we have it in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus entrusted his mother to John saying: Woman, behold your Son, then to the disciple he said, Behold your mother.

Here, Mary assumes the role of the Mother of the Church, while the disciple represents all of us Christians, who are members of God’s Church and therefore have become children of Mary, God’s own beloved Mother, and she is indeed, the Mother of the Church, the Mother of all Christians. Thus, Mary had always been with the Church as she has always been with the Apostles and the other leaders of the Church, for she is full of grace and has borne Christ, who is the Head of the Church.

So, it is worth honouring her with the title Mater Ecclesiae, the Mother of the Church. For she was the New Eve who resisted the temptations of Satan and remained completely faithful to the Lord as she followed her Son, the New Adam, to the foot of the Cross. Thereby fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy at the very beginning, as we heard in our first reading today.

Dear friends, as we celebrate Mary, as our Mother, the Mother of the Church and the Help of all Christians, we entrust all our struggles, suffering, persecutions, challenges, trials and difficulties into her maternal care, to remain faithful and survive through the turbulent times and challenges of our time.

We also pray for our country, Nigeria, that through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, God may intervene in the ugly situations in our country. Let us learn to remain faithful like Mary and not take our faith for granted. Let us remain steadfast, knowing that Mary, the Help of all Christians, is our Mother and Consoler.

LET US PRAY, Lord God, as we celebrate the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church and Help of Christians, grant through her intercessions, all the graces and courage we need to conquer all our fears and challenges of life, and so look forward to the coming of Christ our Lord and Saviour. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Pentecost Sunday Year A, 24th May, 2026

 

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Ps.104; 1 Cor. 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

Today, the solemnity of Pentecost, we have gathered like the disciples of Jesus who, after the preaching, the passion, death, resurrection and the ascension of Jesus, were afraid and ashamed to talk about Jesus. So they locked themselves in a room praying and waiting as we have done for the past few weeks now, waiting for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, that Promised Paraclete as Jesus directed us.

Yes, today the Promised Paraclete has come, the Comforter has come, the purifying fire has come. Today all children of God are empowered once more to conquer the world with the Good News of Christ's salvation. Today, the fears, the shame, the weakness of sins, the lukewarmness, the lockdown and all the barriers that hold us captive in the upper room have now been consumed by the power of the Holy Ghost, which we are receiving today. For we have been set free and empowered to transform the world once again with the truth of the Gospel of Christ.

This power is what we receive in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus came and stood among his disciples in their lockdown and fearful situation and said to them as he is saying to us today: ‘Peace be with you, As the Father sent me, so am I sending you. And after saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” As he is saying to you now: Receive the Holy Spirit!! Gba Ẹmí Mimọ!

Karɓi Ruhu Mai Tsarki! Nara Mmụọ Nsọ!

This Gospel passage takes us today to the Upper Room, where, after the Last Supper and the tragic events of his passion and death, a sense of loss and fear had saddened the hearts of the Apostles. But their sadness will not be long, for he will not abandon them, he will not leave them, orphans. He will send the Consoler, the power of Love, the Spirit of the Father, and this Spirit will enable them to understand that his work is a work of love: love of the One who gave himself, love of the Father who has given him and love for humanity whom he has come to save.

This is the mystery of the Pentecost we are celebrating today as we have it in our first reading, When on the Pentecost day the disciples were in a room of fear and shame, and suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

These gifts of the Holy Spirit are grouped into seven with twelve fruits. The seven gifts include: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. While the fruits which are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory are as follows: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

Among all these gifts and fruits, love is the most important of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, just as it is also the most important of all the Christian virtues. Without love, all the good things we have received and accomplished mean nothing. Love helps us share in the image of God that Jesus offers us, so that we can live a life of the spirit. The Holy Spirit illuminates the human spirit and reveals in it the image of Christ Crucified and Risen, to become more like him, bearing the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ. It is in this image of love, that the greatness of the Pentecost event is perceived.

Hence, St Paul advised us in our second reading to embrace the Spirit of love that will help us to accommodate each other’s gifts and talents, for though separate individuals, we are united as one body and one Spirit in one baptism. For there is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of us. This tells us that the gift of the Holy Spirit is meant to be put into use for the good of humanity. But this is not always the case. Because, sometimes we let our gifts be dormant.

Little wonder, St. Hilary in his treaties on the Trinity said that: faculties of the human body, if denied their exercise, will lie dormant. The eye without light, natural or artificial, cannot fulfil its office; the ear will be ignorant of its function unless some voice or sound is heard; the nose will find no work or purpose if it cannot perceive any scent. This is not because the faculty is absent, but rather because it is never put into use. So, there will be no experience of its existence.

This is the same with the soul of man, unless through faith it has appropriated the gift of the Spirit, then it will have the innate faculty of apprehending God. For the Spirit has been given to each according to the measure of his willingness to receive it in his soul. This Holy Spirit we must seek to have in abundance and then hold fast by faith and obedience to the commands of God.

Dear friends, how well are you disposed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? What is your disposition towards the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Some people have come today to receive the Holy Spirit without adequate preparation. Some are prepared just to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Some have come with an extra basket, while some have come with a secured vessel to obtain as many gifts as possible.

Today the power of the Holy Spirit of love has been poured upon us, so we are called and empowered to go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News of God’s love for humanity. For there are many people in our world today who have not experienced the true love of God in their hearts, because they are distracted by various worldly concerns and selfishness, as they keep hurting each other and causing more trouble in the world.

Therefore, let our actions and deeds bear the fruit of this love of God not only to such people, but to our fellow brethren by showing genuine care and concern for each other. Let us not close our doors of love because, we continually want to feel secure and do not want to be disturbed by others or by God.

Rather let us like the apostles break open the doors of our hearts, for Christ overcome our enclosure to bring us love and peace and build a bridge between heaven and earth, so that we can climb up on this bridge of love to reach him and together with him, we too can reach all humanity, beginning with our families members, our societies and to the ends of the Earth.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we lift up our hearts together with Mary our mother in the Spirit of Pentecost, singing the Veni Sancte Spiritus, may the Holy Spirit of love come down upon us wherever we may be and fill our hearts with the fire of His love. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Amen. Wishing you a Spirit-filled Pentecost celebration. 

Homily For Saturday Seventh Week of Eastertide Year A, 23rd May, 2026

Readings: Acts 28:16-20.30-31; Ps.11; John 21:20-25

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HAVE YOU EVER FELT LOVED SPECIALLY BY JESUS?

In one of his poems entitled "The Living Flame of Love”, St. John of the Cross, one of the greatest mysticists and doctors of the Church, said in the first stanza of the poem: “O living flame of love that tenderly wounds my soul in its deepest centre! Since now you are not oppressive, now consummate! If it be Your will: tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!”

The flame of love, here is the Holy Spirit, which bathes the soul that encounters it in glory and refreshes it with divine life of love in which the will of the soul is united in the most sublime flame of love for God in Jesus.

This may be the situation of the life of John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, which made the scriptures describe him as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. What a great description of anyone’s personality. This disciple had a peculiar share in the love of Christ and was admitted to great nearness and freedom with Christ. This gave him the liberty which no one has among the disciples.

The fact remains that, it is a great thing to love Jesus and be loved by Jesus. Yes, Jesus loved all his disciples, yet within that circle of love, there was an innermost place in which the beloved John was favoured to dwell.

For those who display an extraordinary love for one are all the more capable of great affection to many; and therefore, because Jesus loved John most, he has an enhanced estimate of his love for the other disciples. Though John was raised, others were not lowered, they were raised with him.

John, no doubt, was in more intimate communion with Jesus. When all the disciples sit at the table, even Peter is not nearest to the Lord, but John will lean his head upon his bosom with earnest and intense affection. Jesus loves him not just as a disciple but as a dear friend whose personality as a young individual has the most profitable opportunity of becoming eminent piety. He was the only disciple who was closest to Jesus and his mother at his passion and death.

Hence, Jesus entrusted his mother to him, saying, " Son, behold your mother, mother behold your son, because in John, Jesus has found a soul that truly loves. And the more a soul loves God, it desires that God be loved and honoured by all, and the greater this desire becomes, the more the soul labours toward that end in all possible means, and this is evidenced in all the works John loved.

Dear friends, are you the disciple that Jesus loves? Have you ever felt loved by God personally? Have you ever been identified as one whom God loves? Have you personally desired to be an instrument of God’s love for humanity? Have you ever paid the price of sacrificial love? Has your love ever been rejected by those you loved most, or have you rejected those who loved you?

Today we are called to examine our conscience to know if there is any sign of true love of God and neighbours in us. We are called to make ourselves available for God’s love to abide in us. We are called to build a personality that gives room for love to flow in us and through us.

As we anticipate the solemnity of Pentecost tomorrow, we are called to open up for the Holy Spirit to enkindle in us the fire of His love so that our souls will be transformed in love. And let this fire of love be extended to our families, societies, country and the world at large.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, inflame our hearts once again with the fire of your love. Grant that we may personally and collectively experience your divine love for us and for all humanity through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a lovely weekend. 

Homily For Friday Seventh Week of Eastertide Year A, 22nd May, 2026

Readings: Acts 25:13-21; Ps.103; John 21:15-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

SIN MAKES US BETRAYALS, LOVE BRINGS RESTORATION

The ups and downs of life have been a great experience and a challenge to humanity. Every day is a new struggle. Life struggles, struggle for survival, struggle against the manipulation of the evil ones, more challenging is the struggle of our own self, especially our weakness and sinfulness. These struggles are evident in the life of the disciples of Jesus.

All the time they were with Jesus, they struggled to be like him, to follow his ways and to understand him, and it wasn’t easy. In the course of these struggles, they failed, denied, forsaken, and sinned against the Lord Jesus despite their love for him. But this was well predicted by Jesus who warned them to remain steadfast even in the midst of these struggles.

However, after all the struggles and fall during his passion and death, Jesus now needed to strengthen his disciples for the great task ahead before departing from them. So on the occasion in the Gospel passage today, Jesus said to Peter, the leader of his Apostles: ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

Here we can imagine the disposition of the disciples when seeing the Lord as they sat together round the fire, eating silently the meal which Jesus had prepared, and no doubt, gazing silently at the Lord’s silence. It must really be a great moment of tension as to how the oppressive silence was to be broken and how Peter’s heart must have been troubled when the great silence was broken with the words: Simon, son of John, do you love me?

These three times questions have a special force in the restoration of him who had three times denied his Master, and now three times declares his love for Him, and he is three times restored and entrusted with a great task of feeding his master’s sheep. A great moment of grace that Peter never thought he deserved.

From this gracious act, we see how God, through Jesus, treats a soul conscious of its sinfulness and fault; and in Peter’s disposition, we see an illustration of how a soul, conscious of its sinfulness and fault, should behave before God. This gracious event is very symbolic, not just that the Lord had forgiven Peter for his threefold denial at the moment of His arrest and suffering, but also that the Lord restored him again as the leader of His flocks and the entire Universal Church.

Dear friends, in our struggles in this life, we have done ugly and sinful things that we really regret and don’t want to remember or talk about, just like St Peter. Wishing we could have changed or avoided them, but there is nothing we can do about them anymore except to seek restoration. And this restoration is what Jesus is offering us today as he says: " My child, do you still love me? Do you really love me? Do you love me more than all the things of this passing world?

All we have to say in consciousness of our faults and sinfulness is: Lord, you know everything, yes, I truly love you. And just like St Peter, the Lord Jesus will not only forgive us, but he will restore us to a greater glory. So why struggling in silence, it’s time to break open at the confessional the hidden wounds of sin in our hearts.

For the Lord wants to heal and restore us once again so that we can be open and free to receive the Holy Spirit the promised Paraclete, who will restore us afresh to God’s greater glory.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we anticipate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we come to you today conscious of our faults and sinfulness. Grant us your healing and restoration through Christ our Lord. Amen. Remain blessed. 

Homily For Thursday Seventh Week of Eastertide Year A, 21st May, 2026

 

Readings: Acts 22:30,23:6-11; Ps.16; John 17:20-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

COURAGE! FOR JESUS PRAYS FOR US

Whenever we are passing through a very difficult, ugly situation, we feel that all hope is gone as our trusted friends have abandoned us. We actually feel great and relieved when we hear or remember that someone is praying for us.

It feels right to know that someone is interceding on our behalf, it feels great to hear that someone is communicating with God on our behalf. Yes, for a few days now, we have been listening to the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus for his disciples who were with him at the Last Supper, how he prayed for their sanctification and unity.

However, in this final part of his prayer, Jesus now prays for all those who, through the influence of his disciples, come to believe in God and in him. So, each one of us belongs to those whom Jesus is praying for when he said in our Gospel passage today, Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.

Here, as Jesus prays for his disciples, he also extended his prayer to everyone who will come to believe in him through them. For he knows that we will all need similar grace and be exposed to similar trials. Hence he prays that those who follow him may be drawn into the life of the Holy Trinity. The Father sends the Son to humanity precisely so that the Son may draw all humanity into the relationship that exists with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This prayer reminds us that our unity, our “oneness,” is to be a sign to the world of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is a thing of great joy to know that each Christian, no matter how insignificant, humble, unknown, poor, unlearned, or despised, is remembered in prayer by Jesus, who is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, who will always grant his request.

Thus, if we can value the prayers of our friends, how much more should we value the prayer of the Son of God? Because of this single prayer of Jesus, we Christians are infinitely more privileged than any other people in the world. So, in the midst of any difficulty, trials, and struggles, we should be more confident once we remember that the Son of God prays for us, and his prayers will surely be heard by God.

It is this same confidence that St. Paul had when he testified before the tribunal of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin concerning his hope in the resurrection, as we have it in our first reading, and the next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’

Dear friends, I don’t know what you are going through now, especially as regards your faith in Jesus. I don’t know what you are asking God to do for you. I don’t know how ugly the situation in your life has been, I don’t know whatever sickness you are passing through or how abandoned and rejected you feel right now. All I can tell you now is that Jesus has not stopped thinking and praying for you and me.

All we have to do is to be confident and remain faithful like St. Paul, and we will hear the Lord saying to us: ‘Courage, my child! You have borne witness for me today through your struggles, patience and faithfulness, now I must do the same for you by restoring you to a greater glory.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we place our hope in You, grant that through the prayers of Jesus we may always come out victorious in all our trials and tribulations and so obtain the joy of Your help through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you the best of God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Wednesday Seventh Week of Eastertide Year A, 20th May, 2026

 

Readings: Acts 20:28-38; Ps.68; John 17:11-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

Sanctity, truth and oneness are very vital concepts that any meaningful family, society, group, community or religion will always need in order to achieve their mission and goals. These are very fundamental because of the role they play in ensuring that things are properly done in any environment they exist.

Sanctity, which is the quality of being holy, comes from the Greek word Hagiason, which is related to hagios, which means holy, that is, to be set apart for God’s service. So the concept of Sanctity, sets one apart for the particular service he/she has to render. Truth, on the other hand, comes from the Latin word veritas, which means a representation of things as they are.

This concept makes one open to the real situation of the realities around him/her. And where these concepts are present, openness and tolerance become possible, hence oneness and unity can be achieved. Therefore, knowing the importance of sanctity, truth and oneness in achieving any mission and goal, Jesus, in his High Priestly Prayer, asks the Father to sanctify his disciples in truth and oneness.

This is what we have in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus prayed saying: ‘Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one just as we are one… I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth'.

In a similar way in our first reading today, St. Paul prayed to the elders of the Church in Ephesus to be on their guard for themselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers. He asked them to feed the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood, and guide them against fierce wolves who will invade them and will have no mercy on the flock. For there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them.

So, from this passage truth becomes the midst by which the sanctification of the disciples will take place. But the evil in the world is a great hindrance to achieving this. However, their likeness to Jesus is the great ground of hope for they have been consecrated to the truth. And this is the real hope and holiness of all true Christians, for through this, the gift of the Holy Spirit is made available to the Church to be sanctified in the truth and so share in the oneness of which Christ prayed.

Dear friends, we are made to know that sanctity, truth and oneness are the hallmarks of Christian life. For these are what the whole Christian community has to achieve and sustain both in nature, will, affection and understanding. This is not only in their union with Christ, but to one another; abiding together, cleaving to each other, standing fast in one Spirit, having the same designs, and the interest of the mission of the salvation of humanity at heart.

Therefore, today we are called to embrace the divine truth by which we have been sanctified to achieve the goal of unity and oneness of which Christ prayed. This oneness is very important not only as Christians, but also as couples, families, communities, co-workers and friends. Hence, let us allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify us once more to the truth and so achieve the oneness of which Christ prayed.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, sanctify us once again in the truth of which Your Son Jesus has given us, so, that we may once again achieve oneness in our family, society, in the Church and in the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday Seventh Week of Eastertide Year A, 19th May, 2026

 

Readings: Acts 20:17-27; Ps.68; John 17:1-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HOW TO OBTAIN ETERNAL LIFE

The notion of eternal life is one of the things in the consciousness of most religious people and more especially Christians. Oftentimes, we hear people talking about eternal life as if it were a movie that will soon begin. But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: What is eternal life? What does it really mean to have eternal life? How can we obtain it?

The answer to these questions is found in the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus which we have in our Gospel passage today. At the beginning of this prayer, Jesus said: ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.’

From this prayer, we come to know that knowledge is very important to understanding the meaning of eternal life, and knowledge, as we are told, is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So here, Jesus is saying that eternal life, which traditionally refers to continued life after death, is only possible through the knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

The point here is that eternal life consists in the knowledge of the Father as the only Being answering to the ideal thought of God; and this knowledge is manifested in Him, whom God anointed and sent into the world to declare His attributes and character for the sake of redeeming humanity which was possible through the incarnation, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Thus, eternal life, which has been achieved for humanity, has been given to believers who have been redeemed from sin and death. Their task is to communicate this to ignorant and sinful humanity. Little wonder we heard St. Paul in our first reading saying: I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.

This is humanity's journey and process to eternal life, and when this knowledge has been made perfect, holiness and happiness will be fully achieved. These holiness and happiness of the redeemed are exactly what the glory of Christ and of his Father signifies. For Jesus endured the cross and death and so ends humanity's sorrows of sin and death, thereby obtaining the victory and glory of eternal life for humanity.

Therefore, our glorifying God and His Son Jesus is needed as evidence of our interest in Christ, through whom eternal life is given to us as an act of mercy, forgiveness, and love, so that we become living souls with unspeakable joy. For his is the meaning of eternal life and the source and manner in which we can obtain it.

Dear friends, every day of our lives we struggle to know God, through different means and in the Apostles' Creed we often say: I believe in God and his Son Jesus, I believe in the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. But the question is, do we really know God and His Son Jesus? Do we truly believe in Him? Do our attitudes, behaviours and decisions evidence of us knowing Christ, through whom eternal life is given to us as an act of mercy, forgiveness, and love? Therefore we are called today to sincerely seek to know God personally through His Son Jesus and so attain the eternal life which he has won for us.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, let us seek to know You more personally and so work hard to do Your will to attain eternal life, which You have given us through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you. 

Homily For Monday Seventh Week of Eastertide Year A, May 18th, 2026

Readings: Acts 19:1-8; Ps.68;  John 16:29-33

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLES, BUT BE BRAVE: I HAVE CONQUERED THE WORLD 

Tribulations and sufferings have been the hallmark of most people’s experience in the world. Sometimes, we feel overwhelmed by the level of suffering we are passing through every day, the sad news we hear and see in our streets, the television and on social media. These often make us feel hopeless and fearful because the situation is beyond our control. 

This kind of fearful situation is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, knowing that very soon his disciples are going to face a worse situation, so he said to them “Listen; the time will come, in fact it has come already, when you will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world, you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.”

Here, Jesus is telling his disciples these things not to discourage them but to prepare them for many troubles and tribulations they are going to face in the future, so that when the time comes, they will find peace in him.  

He told them not to worry because he had conquered the world, not in any political or economic sense, but in overcoming the evil in the world, and so, all the tribulations, sorrow, and suffering have been conquered in Jesus through his passion, death and resurrection. Therefore, his disciples can share in this victory, as long as they remain faithful and united in peace.

Dear friends, this same promise is available for us his disciples, who today are passing through great tribulations and sufferings in the world. We have to be courageous and find strength in the words of Jesus, who has conquered the world and all its evil and tribulations. For today, Jesus is reassuring us that no matter what is happening in our world, he is still in control and will always ensure that we come out victoriously. 

Thus, as we prepare and wait patiently for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, let us take our fears, sufferings, tribulations, sickness and disappointments to Jesus and ask him to give us the courage and strong faith. This is what St. Paul reminded the people in our first reading today. 

For through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will overcome all the ugly situations in our lives, families, societies and the world at large, and so enjoy once again the peace of knowing that he is with us always till the end of time.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, may the power of the Holy Spirit come upon us, we pray, so that following your instructions, we may overcome the world and all the trials and tribulations we face every day through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week.

Homily For Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year A, 17th May, 2026

Readings: Acts 1:12-14; Ps. 27; 1 Pet. 4:13-16; John 17:1-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WAITING ON THE HOLY SPIRIT

One of the difficult things we don’t like to hear when we are expecting something great to come our way is the word “wait”. The word wait can be very unpleasant to the ears of anyone who is desperately in need of something. Oftentimes, we have little or no option but to wait, and in life, we have a lot of waiting to do.

We wait for the day to break, we wait for the month to end, we wait for the traffic, we wait for our admission, interviews, jobs, husbands, wives, and children. We wait and wait and wait. In fact, waiting on God is a regular message of faith which we hear every day. Waiting can really be difficult and uncomfortable, it can be suicidal for those who lack the virtue of patience.

However, good and great things are worth waiting for, just like the disciples who today are called to wait prayerfully for the coming of the Holy Spirit, the promised Paraclete. For we read from the scriptures how the world passes through centuries of waiting for the Messiah, thinking that the waiting would be over once Jesus had come, but the waiting has to continue till the coming of the promised Paraclete and even to the return of our Lord Jesus in his glory. Hence, today the Church waits prayerfully for the promised Paraclete.

Little wonder today, the seventh Sunday of the season of Easter, after the Solemnity of the Ascension last Thursday, we heard how the disciples went to the upper room waiting prayerfully for the promised Paraclete, as we have it in our first reading, “and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying... All these joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

In our second reading, we heard St. Peter encouraging the faithful people of God to remain steadfast in their faith amid the persecution and challenges they face. He said to them: “If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. He said, it is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you.”

This means that they have to learn how to wait patiently and remain strong in their struggle and sufferings for the glory of the Lord. While in the Gospel passage, we heard how Jesus, knowing what the disciples were going to pass through on account of waiting and struggling with the faith they had found in him, prayed dearly for them and committed them to God, His Father.

This prayer is called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, because in it Jesus consecrates himself to the sacrificial death which he offers to the Father for the salvation of humanity. Here Jesus prayed for his disciples that the Father should take care of them in the midst of the evils in the world, that they should be one as he and the Father are one.

In this prayer, Jesus shows us that prayer is a form of communication between us and God, whom we should love dearly and wait patiently for His will to be done in our lives. This simply means, that we have to learn how to communicate regularly with God and wait patiently for His will to be done. And in like manner, we must learn how to wait patiently with our loved ones, our friends, our family members and relatives, our spouses and others who are dear to us. We must learn how to wait patiently with life activities and the challenges and struggles that come with them.

Dear friends, today the disciples are waiting prayerfully in the upper room for the promised Paraclete. We too are also called to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit this coming Pentecost Sunday, we are called to go to the upper room of our hearts and conscience and wait patiently for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

We are called to prepare and wait on the Holy Spirit through the ongoing novena to the Holy Spirit. We are called to wait patiently for the fulfilment of God’s plan for each and every one of us. We are called to wait for God's time to come. We are called to learn how to wait for one another. We must learn to wait patiently for things to mature before we use them.

Though waiting may be difficult, good and great things are worth waiting for and preparing for. But what are you really waiting for in this life? How prepared and ready are you for that which you are waiting for in this life? How is my way of life showing that I am waiting for the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit comes today will he find a dwelling place in my life, that is filled with bitterness, anger, corruption, unforgiveness and immoral thoughts and actions? As we wait, let us prepare our hearts for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us whenever He comes.

LET US PRAY: Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord, as we wait patiently for the fulfilment of your promise, grant that when the Paraclete comes, may we be disposed to receive him as our Advocate and let him teach us what to do, how to do it, when to do it and give us the grace to do it properly through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace-filled Sunday.

Homily For Saturday Sixth Week of Eastertide Year A, 16th May, 2026

 

Readings: Acts 18:23-28; Ps.47;  John 16:23-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyi

PRESENTING OUR REQUEST TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD

People often ask why most of our liturgical prayers conclude with the phrase ‘through Christ our Lord.’ Is this necessary since God can hear us directly? Anyway, the answer to this question is found in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete... because the Father himself loves you for loving me.’

Here Jesus makes a solemn promise to his disciples that whatever they ask the Father in his name will be given to them. This is because, in Jesus, the disciples will experience direct contact with the Father. His name becomes the link that will usher them into the divine relationship between the Son and the Father. For it is through this relationship that the disciples will come to experience the divine privilege that will give access to their request from God.   

Therefore, the Greek word ‘dia’, which can be translated as both ‘by’ and ‘through’, can be linked to the words of Jesus when he said in John 14:6  ‘, I am the way. No one can come to the Father except “through“ me’. Thus, Jesus is the way through which we can come to God. For through Jesus, we have obtained access to the grace of being God’s children. 

This does not mean that God is inaccessible. Rather, as we know God is a spirit whose nature is beyond our apprehension and different from our nature, which is material and sinful. So to make Himself known to us, He sent His son to take our flesh upon him and to become human like us, to free us from the power of sin and death, so that we can be closer to Him through Christ, His Son. 

Hence, asking God for something through Christ ushers us into the divine grace that gives us access to the divine relationship with God the Father, and this has become the normal way for the Church to pray to the Father, as we do in all our liturgical prayers. This is what I see playing out in our first reading today when Apollos arrived in Chaia, and by God’s grace, he was able in an energetic way to refute the Jews in public and demonstrate from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Dear friends, God makes Himself known to us through Jesus, and we come to Him through Jesus. Thus, Christ Jesus has become the divine grace through which we obtain the divine access into the divine life of the Trinity. And this is the source of our joy as Christians. For this, give us the divine access to include Jesus in our daily decision-making 

And try to see things the way he does, and when this happens, we transcend ourselves into the divine relationship that will make us open to the will of God and so obtain from him whatever we need. This is why we conclude most of our prayers in the name of Christ Jesus.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we learn to present our needs to you through your Son Jesus, we pray that we may obtain through him the divine access to your will and so grant all our petitions according to your Holy will through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a grace-filled weekend.,

Homily For Friday Sixth Week of Eastertide Year A, 15th May, 2026

 

Readings: Acts 18:9-18; Ps.47; John 16:20-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

YOUR SORROWS TODAY WILL BE THE NECESSARY CAUSE OF YOUR JOY TOMORROW

Oftentimes when we reflect on the ugly events that happen around us, which have caused us deep sorrows, we wonder why God, who is so good and all-powerful, permits such events to happen to us. Sometimes we felt we should have avoided such a sorrowful event, hence, we complain and even doubt the power of God, whom we thought would have helped us overcome the evil.

Thus, Jesus knowing that his disciples would surely find themselves in this kind of situation said to them in our Gospel passage today, ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy…and that joy no one shall take from you. When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.’

Here Jesus is talking about the sorrows the disciples will experience when he goes away after his passion and death, and the joy they will experience at his resurrection. This does not simply mean that they shall pass from sorrow to joy, the sorrow itself shall become joy because it was the necessary cause of their joy.

Jesus illustrates this with the necessary pain and sorrow of childbirth and the joy of motherhood. An analogy that better explains the pains and sorrows of the disciples, where their pains and sorrows lead directly to a joy that no one could take away from them. A perfect way of explaining what will happen when they see him again, and their deepest pains and sorrows will be transformed into purest joys, which no one can take away.

These are words of encouragement for the disciples who were afraid of what would become of them when Jesus was no longer physically with them. These same words of encouragement are what St. Paul received from the Lord at Corinth when he was scared of what would become of him and his mission as we have it in our first reading, when at night the Lord spoke to him in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’

Therefore, we are to learn from Jesus, whose path to joy went through the awful agony of the cross, knowing that our own path to eternal joy may first go through the pains of sorrows for our sins. Because for us to find permanent joy in Jesus, we have to die to self which may lead us through a necessary sorrowful moment that will give birth to a permanent joy that is found in the risen Christ.

Dear friends, today we are encouraged to be patient in times of sorrows for God knows how to turn our sorrows of the moment into a thing of great joy in the future. The sorrow of contrite hearts today, becomes the gladness of pardoned tomorrow; the sorrow of hardships, intimidation, abandonment, sickness, poverty and even death will become the great joy of success, victory, healing, freedom and eternal life which no one can take away from us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, grant we pray that our present sorrows will be turned into great joy and lead us to eternal victory through Christ our Lord. Amen.

As we begin the novena to the Holy Spirit today, may the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with the joy of His presence

Homily For Sixth Week of Easter, Year A, 14th May, 2026. The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

 

Readings: Acts.1:1-11; Ps.47; Eph. 1:17-23; Matt. 28:16-20

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING THE EVENT OF ASCENSION OF THE LORD AND IT’S EFECT IN HUMAN HISTORY

Most people no doubt, have all kinds of questions and reservations about the following words: ‘death, resurrection, Ascension, heaven and hell', they often wonder what and how these realities will be like.

I find the answer to these questions in today's solemnity of Ascension. The event which shows the triumph of life over death and good over evil. For the Joy of the risen Lord has filled the hearts of his disciples as they had experienced the physical presence of Jesus for the past forty days after his death and resurrection.

So on the occasion of today's solemnity, the Lord Jesus in the present of his disciples was physically ascended into heaven as they watch him taken away in the cloud, to return to his heavenly Throne, triumphant and victorious.

It was a moment of great hope for them as they wished to be with him for eternity. However, they have a mission to accomplish, they are to bear witness to the events and testified about it on their missions and pass it down as a true hope for humanity.

Thus, the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, reminds us, that great moment of hope when the Lord triumph victoriously and no longer physically present among his disciples and followers, as they can no longer directly see him or touch him as they had been during all the while he was physically present with them.

But this does not mean that the Lord has abandoned or left his disciples, rather he has gone to fulfill his promise of preparing a place for his faithful disciples, and will also send a great Helper to assist them.

Therefore, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord does not mean that Jesus has departed to some place far from people and from the world. Rather it means that he no longer belongs to the world conditioned by the life of corruption and death. For he now belongs entirely to God as the eternal Son, who has purified the filthiness of humanity. He has raised and introduce us once again into the presence and life of God.

This he did by ascending into heaven with our flesh and blood in its transfigured form and this is a thing of great hope and joy for all who believe in him. It is these great joy and hope that we celebrate today. An event that shows that humanity has been introduced once again into the very presence and life of God. This is the meaning and symbolic effect of the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord for humanity.

Hence, from the readings of today, we have the details of this great event and the last instructions of Jesus to his disciples. In the first reading, before the Ascension, Jesus said to his disciples: ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth. As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight.’

While in today's Gospel passage, Jesus instruct his disciples saying; All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

In addition, St Paul in the second reading, made us to know that the Holy Spirit will enlighten the eyes of our mind so that we can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers.

Dear friends, the occasion of the Ascension of the Lord means that humanity have been introduced once again in to the presence and life of God. It is an event that shows an ultimate demonstration of the power of Jesus over death, the inauguration of his reign over heaven and earth as the universal King.

Also, the occasion of the Ascension of the Lord is a confirmation of the reality of heaven, which reminds us that God has always been faithful and loving as he fulfills his covenants and promises to humanity. It reminds us of our mission to evangelize the world, to give hope to humanity by letting them know that human hope and life are beyond the boundaries of this passing world.

It reminds us that God will always be with us no matter what we are passing through in this world for he will always provide for us and care for us at all times. Hence, we must have faith in him no matter how challenging and difficult the situation in our lives may be, we must have hope and trust in God that at the end everything will be fine.

Let us hold on to the Lord for this occasion is indeed a great time for us to recall the hope that we found in Jesus' triumphant victory over evil, sin and condemnation. Let us celebrate the greatest hope that God has given to humanity by letting us to share in the very Life of the Trinity.

The hope that humanity will one day be united body and soul with our Lord and Saviour Jesus. A confirmation of the reality of heaven, for this is the central message of the event of the Ascension that gives great joy and hope to all who believes, which as disciples, we are called to bear witness to the world.

Therefore, let us share this great hope to the people of the world by letting the light of Christ in us illuminate the darkness and ignorance in the world. Let us share this hope through our words, actions and deeds. Let our presence bring hope and encouragement, not hatred and division. Let our actions bring healing and succour in hopeless situations. Let our deeds inspire humanity to come to know God and embrace the victory Jesus has won for us.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, let this solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension, enkindle in us the passion to love you more dearly and to spread in the world the Joy and hope we have found in Jesus. Let these Joy and hope bring healing, succour, strength and courage that will help us to overcome the ugly and hopeless situations in our lives, families, societies and the world at large. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.