First Sunday of Lent Year B, 21st February, 2021. REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL

 First Sunday of Lent Year B, 21st February, 2021

Readings: Genesis 9:8-15, Ps.25, 1Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

                                                                                                   

REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL

Today is the first Sunday in thisHoly Season of Lent. Lenten season as we know is a period of forty days set aside by the Church for the renewal and rediscovery of oneself, due to our daily struggle against sin and temptations which darkens our spiritual life. So Lenten season is another opportunity for us to reconnect to God, to be reconciled with Him and to find our place once again in God’s loving grace. It is a time for us to turn away from excessive desires for worldly things so as to overcome many temptations we encounter in this world and so focus our attention more closely on God. 

Hence the Church is offering us the opportunity during this Holy season to reflect on who we are, our mission and our purpose in this world.  The Holy season of Lent is a moment of deep reflection, a season that prepares us for that great event of Easter. It is a season when listening to God’s words leads us to develop some inner attitude that helps us becoming more aware of our Christian obligations and dignity. It is a period when the Church invites us to enter into a journey of repentance and penance that will lead us to reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration. 

This Lenten journey is marked in a special way by three traditional dimensions that is: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three traditional dimensions were demonstrated by Jesus in our Gospel reading today. Where Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, was led to pray and fast for forty days in the wilderness and there he was tempted by the devil, just the way Adam and Eve where tempted by the devil, who has planted the seeds of pride and greed in the hearts of humanity.

We can recall that in the beginning of time, God created everything all good and perfect, and He made the first man, Adam and his companion, Eve, to live in the wonderful Garden of Eden. This means that mankind, all of us were actually meant to live with God in the fullness of God’s grace and love, to enjoy the wonders of God’s providence and blessings forever. However, we fell into sin as we were unable to resist the temptations to sin because of pride and greed and so separate ourselves from God’s presence.

But time and time again God has always extend his hands of mercies towards humanity, he always wants to bring us back to himself just as we heard in our first reading today. For when humanity’s sinfulness were so deep God wishes to wipe away humanity. However, Noah having found  favour with God was saved along with his family and other creatures who obeyed the command of God through Noah. So, having wiped away the rest creation along with sinful humanity, God spoke to Noah and his sons saying, ‘See, I establish my Covenant with you: no thing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’

Referring to this great and sad event, St. Peter in our second reading tells us that, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people ‘by water’, God was still waiting patiently, that those who refused to believe may repent. He tells us that the water is a type of baptism which saves us now, and which is not the washing off our physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and Dominations and Powers his subjects.

So Jesus, who has come to redirect the hearts of humanity back to God, calls us to repent from our sins and believe in the Gospel he has brought to us, which we promised to uphold in our baptism. When we promised to reject sin  and Satan with all his empty promises and show, while embracing God and his son Jesus who has come to save us from sin and death. Therefore, we are called to imitate Jesus in prayer. For through prayer we make room for God in our lives and express our desire to enter into a deep friendship with the Lord. Hence, it is important for us to spend more time with God just like Jesus, bearing in mind that we cannot live by bread alone, we need the spiritual food of God's Word. Thus, we are called to withdraw from the world in order to encounter God and truly profess our faith in him.  

Dear friends, God is calling us in this Holy season of Lent, to come back to him. The world has taken us far away from him; it's time to come back. Sin has separated us from God; it's time to reconcile with him. Greediness, slot, unforgiveness, love of power and money, over ambition, unhealthy friendship have separated us from God; it’s time to come back to him. It is time to say am sorry Lord, am sorry for having deviated from you. It’s time to let go of hurtful feelings, malice and the bitterness in our hearts. It’s time to say yes to God and no to all the distracting things of this world. 

It’s time to love, to share, to bear with one another's failings. What is stopping us from embracing this opportunity? Is it fear of the future? Or fear of failure or death? 

Fear not, for the Psalmist tells us that God’s ways are faithfulness and love for those who keep his covenant. Thus, God is calling us to repentance; he is offering us a new life. He is offering us the opportunity to gain our life back and obtain the grace to overcome sin and temptations. For he will create a pure heart in us and put a steadfast spirit within us. Don't miss this opportunity; don't let it pass you by.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace the events of this Holy season, may you give us the right disposition and fill our hearts with joy, peace and love. For those who find it difficult to live the Christian life, may they learn to draw strength and grace from Jesus so to resist the devil and all of his empty shows. Happy Sunday, wishing you a fruitful Lenten season.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday, 20 February, 2021

 Saturday after Ash Wednesday, 20 February, 2021

Readings: Is. 58:9-14, Ps. 85,  Luke 5:27-32

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE CALL OF A PUBLIC SINNER TO REPENTANCE

Jesus who on account of his mission to save humanity had to make choices of people who will be his instruments of evangelizing in the world. No doubt Jesus had been calling people from different works of life to be part of his mission, but today’s call and choice of Levi, also known as Matthew, a man identified with sinners because of his work as a tax collector, was quite strange to some people.

Little wonder in in our Gospel passage today, Jesus called a tax collector named Levi to follow him, and he obeyed, leaving everything behind and followed him. The call of Levi differs from the call of the other apostles, because Levi was a tax collector a profession that is labeled to be sinful, since the collectors extort excess taxes from the people for personal profit and enriching themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens. They are thus held in great contempt. 

However, to follow Jesus, Levi must abandon his ugly but lucrative job. By so doing, he needs to also cuts himself off from his old network of friends. So, it seems likely that, in a spirit of joy, Levi invites Jesus and his disciples to a great feast in his house and his fellow task collectors were present. But the Pharisees felt bad and offended about Jesus sharing a meal with such kind of people regarded as "sinners". So, they complained to his disciples, but Jesus had to correct this notion when he said: "It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.  

Here we heard the inner most desire of Jesus for sinful humanity in need of salvation. The call of Levi is like the call of each of us, a choice that demonstrates Jesus' desire for sinners to repent. For all he desires is mercy and not sacrifices, repentance and not pride. Jesus is calling us to repentance, he is inviting us to make a fundamental choice for God just like Levi, who though sinner, rose up and followed Jesus at his call for repentance, we too are to respond to this invitation without delay. Let Levi be an inspiration and hope for all sinners.

Dear friends, the task collectors were seen as dirty, unworthy, wicked, corrupt and evil people who were generally shunned by the rest of the society. The Pharisees looked down on them and they severely criticized Jesus for eat in the house of Levi. But they failed to realize that just like the tax collectors, they themselves were sinners in need of God’s mercy. 

The truth is that, all of us are sinners who have been privileged to have such a loving, caring, compassionate and merciful God, who is always willing to embrace us and to heal us from our afflictions of sin. For we are sinners who have been called to a new existence with God, to embrace a new life filled with God’s grace and free from the corruption of sin. Because God despises our sins, but not we sinners. And he has promised us through prophet Isaiah in our first reading, that if we do away with the yoke of sin, the clenched fist, the wicked word, if we give our bread to the hungry, and relief to the oppressed, then our light will rise in the darkness, and our shadows become like noon.

Therefore, as Christians during this season of Lent, we should draw ourselves closer to God by asking ourselves how are we responding to God's call to repentance? How are we relating with those we judge to be sinners, what efforts are we making to convert sinners. Remember, we are all invited to follow Jesus along the way of salvation and not to condemn or judge anyone. 

 

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

Friday after Ash Wednesday, 19 February, 2021

 Friday after Ash Wednesday, 19 February, 2021

Readings: Is. 58:1-9, Ps. 50,  Matt. 9:14-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE FASTING THAT PLEASES GOD AND YIELDS POSITIVE RESULTS 

One of the spiritual exercises during this season of Lent is fasting. That is, the willful refrainment from eating for a period of time as a means of getting our minds focused on to God our creator while realizing the reality that our lives are not self-sufficient. Fasting helps us realize just how fragile we are and how much we depend on things beyond ourselves. Fasting is not just about putting on sackcloths and ashes on oneself as were customary in the past to show repentance and regret, but more importantly, fasting must be accompanied with a change of heart from within and not just the outside.

Hence, today  prophet Isaiah in our first reading tells us to fast with the right intention and purpose, and not just fasting but also all other sorts of observances and practices during this Lenten season. It is important that we have the right disposition and direction as we move along through this time of purification and repentance. This Lenten season is a good time for us to reorientate ourselves and our lives, as we seek to redress our sins and our past wicked ways of life, and embrace once again God’s love and his mercy.  For that is the kind of fasting that pleases God and yields positive results.

 Thus, in our Gospel passage today, the disciples of John the Baptist criticized Jesus and his disciples for not fasting as the Law of Moses has prescribed fasting on certain days as customs which they observed with great passion and zeal. The Pharisees fasted and did all that because they wanted to be praised for what they have done and they liked it when others looked up to them for their piety and commitment. But Jesus tells his disciples that they should not fast with such intention, rather fasting must be for a purpose and should be done at the proper time. He said to them: Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

This is because, Jesus is the groom and as long as he is around, it would be inappropriate for his disciples to fast. However, a time will come when the groom will no longer be with them, then they will surely fast, telling us that fasting should be done at the right time for the right reasons. Moreover, being in relationship with Jesus is more important, because, what the bridegroom is to the bride, that what Jesus is to the souls of all who believe in him. So Jesus is teaching us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of ritual or ceremonious fasting or feasting. But is about building a personal relationship with God who loves us personally and unconditionally.

Dear friends, we can make the best use of this Lenten season by turning ourselves and our whole being towards God through fasting. We should not let ourselves be distracted by vanity of the things of this passing world. For this is a time we are called to humble ourselves before God and refrain from all the corrupt ways of life, pride, greed and over ambition which leads us to sin and death. This type of fasting is what pleases God and yields positive results. Therefore, through our fasting let us sincerely repent from our sins and make the best use of this opportunity that God has given to us. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this world through fasting, may we open up our hearts to you and sincerely reject all our sinful habits and so embrace the life of holiness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 18 February, 2021

 Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 18 February, 2021

Readings: Deut. 30:16-20, Ps. 1,  Luke 9:22-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

TAKING UP OUR CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW THE LORD IS THE RIGHT CHOICE TO MAKE

Reflecting on the continuous hostility, persecutions and the influential powers of the things of this world, I think is time for us to really think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst of these ugly situations in our societies, which are not stopping soon, for it is getting tougher everyday. Thus, if we are really willing to live up to our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way.

Hence, concerning this radical decision, we are called in our first reading today, to make choices between life and death, blessing or curse. And we are encouraged to choose life, so that we may live in the love of the Lord our God, obeying his voice and  following him; for in him consists the true meaning of life. Therefore, we are to choose that one path that leads to life, while rejecting those that leads to evil and death.

In a similar way, this same choice was presented by the Lord Jesus to his disciples in our Gospel passage today, as he revealed to them what he would have to endure for the salvation of humanity, how he is to be betrayed and made to suffer, crucified and die on the Cross, a most painful and humiliating death. At the end he said that those who believe in him should take up their crosses daily and follow him. That though they may lose their lives physically in the eyes of the world but, they will gain it in the eternal glory that is to come.

Dear friends, Jesus is also presenting the same choice to us, for we have to choose between enjoying all that this world has to offer us, all the materialistic pursuits and excess desire for the pleasurable things around us, all the pursuits for excess  money, possessions and wealth, the accumulation of vain fame and glory which in reality are separating us from God and Jesus is calling us to turn away from these worldly things and embrace the way of the Cross that teaches us to love, to sacrifice, to embrace peace, to share with one another for in it we attain holiness of life. 

Therefore, we are called today to deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this passing world in order to take up our Cross and for the Lord. It’s time to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully follow Jesus. But how much are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of following him? Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus? What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? Thus, it is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow maybe too late.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we decide to journey with Jesus today, help us to make the right choice by embracing the way that leads to life, while rejecting our excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world which have weakened our hearts towards you. May the cross of Christ be for us a shining example in our daily struggles, so as to hold firm in our faith despite all the sufferings and persecutions we may encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Ash Wednesday, 17 February, 2021

 Ash Wednesday, 17 February, 2021

Readings: Joel  2:12-18, Ps. 51, 2Cor 5:20-6:2 Matt. 6:1-6.16-18

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A CALL TO RETURN TO GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART

Everyday is an opportunity to return and come closer to God, however, today being Ash Wednesday, we begin a new journey towards our God. It is a day we begin our forty days Lenten journey that leads us to the joy of Easter. 

So,  being a season of sober reflection of the journey towards our God, we are called for a change of attitude and behaviours during this Lenten season. In fact, in our first reading, prophet Joel calls us to return to the Lord with all our heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Here, he emphasis the phrase “with all my heart”. This means turning to God from the depths of our thoughts and feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices and actions. 

The prophet further tells us to return to the Lord our God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, ready to relent of evil. More so, in our Gospel passage today Jesus gave us the regulations we need to follow in order to faithfully returned to God as he calls us to be careful not to parade our good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this we will lose all reward from our Father in heaven.

But the question that comes to mind is, with the pleasurable things of this passing world, is it possible for us to truly return to God with all our hearts? I believe so, because there is a force say Benedict XVI, that does not reside in our hearts, but that emanates from the heart of God to us. It is the power of God’s mercy and grace. Therefore a return to the Lord is possible with God’s grace which is a reality in our lives only when we let his grace  penetrates our inmost being.

Hence St. Paul tells us in the second reading, that we cannot let this holy season pass us by, because it is offered to us as a unique opportunity that reminds us the high cost of the reconciliation offered to us at the cross on which Jesus was hung. Hence, the call to return to God with all our heart in this Lenten journey leads us through the cross, following Christ on the road to Calvary, which demands the total gift of ourselves. 

This call is a way on which we learn everyday to come out more and more from our selfishness and our closures, to make room for God who opens and transforms the heart through constant listening to the His Word and making it the light that illuminates our paths. This we do following the three fundamental practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting as a sign towards the Lenten journey of returning to God with all our heart.  

Dear friends, what is keeping us from returning to the Lord? What is That ugly attitude that often separate us from our God and from one another? Oftentimes we promised to return to God, but lack the courage and discipline. This season is another wonderful opportunity to make that decision. I don’t know what sin you are struggling to over come. I don’t know how grievous our sins are. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God. All I know is that God’s mercies is greater than whatever sin we may have committed. All we have to do is to make that bold decision to return to him who loves us so much and always willing to welcome us whenever we come back to him.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we make up our minds to journey towards you these forty days, may your grace be with us to help us utilize the opportunities you are offering us, especially to repent and strive to live a holy life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a grace filled Ash Wednesday.

Tuesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 16 February, 2021

 Tuesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 16 February, 2021

Readings: Gen. 6:5-8,7:1-5,10 , Ps. 28, Mark: 8:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD ENDOW US WITH THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING

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

For this is what humanity in our first were lacking, they failed to obey what God had instructed them, because they lack understanding of God and his ways as they continued to sin against God. Thus, when the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. He regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. Hence, he planned to get rid of mankind, though Noah found favour in God’s sight and he promised to preserve humanity and other creations through him. 

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

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

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

Dear friends, the fact remains that we all need the gift of understanding just like the disciples in our Gospel today. Often times, we are confused about so many things going on in our lives even concerning our faith. Therefore, let us ask the Holy Spirit for an increase in the gift of understanding.

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

Monday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 15 February, 2021

 Monday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 15 February, 2021

Readings: Gen. 4:1-15,25, Ps. 49, Mark: 8:11-13

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

SEEKING FOR SIGNS

 

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

 Here, Cain was overcome by pride and ego and he killed his brother because he saw that his offerings were not accepted by God while the offerings of Abel was accepted by the Lord. As a result, he fell deeper into sin. 

Dear friends, pride can make us blind in such a manner that we will continue to seek for signs even when things are clear and obvious in our lives. And Jesus is saying that in the midst of proud people no sign will be given. But, what signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of this times, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us to dread the second coming of the Lord or do we joyfully embrace it in anticipation? 

Hence, Jesus warns us not to waste our time seeking for signs, rather we should be prepared, we should remain firm in faith. He reminds us that he is the only sign that can be given to humanity. Therefore, we are not to be like the Pharisees who are looking for signs especially in times of trials, rather we should seek for wisdom to make things right.

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, you are the sign that we seek,  as we embrace your word today give us the grace to be humble in order to follow you our Lord and Saviour. And as we carryout our task this week, may your favour be with us now and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week ahead.