The Homily of Saturday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 20th March, 2021

 The Homily of Saturday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 20th March, 2021

Readings: Jer. 11:18-20, Ps. 7, John:7:40-53

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

FACING THE REALITY OF HUMAN FOLLY

One of our great musicians, Bob Marley said in one of his albums that,

 “there is a natural mystic blowing through the air, this could be the first trumpet, might as well be the last. May more will have to suffer many more will have to die don’t ask me why. For things are not the way they use to be I won’t tell no lie, one and all have to face the reality now”. 

Truly we all have to face the realty before us, both small and great, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, young and old, good and bad, holy and sinful. It’s time for us to seek the truth, it’s time to return to our root, it’s time to turn away from evil and pay attention to the signs of the moment just like prophet Jeremiah delivered warnings from the Lord, of the coming destruction for both Judah and Jerusalem. 

For this he faced lots of difficulties and persecutions from those who hated and disliked him, especially those who out of pride were irritated by the constant words of doom that the prophet Jeremiah delivered from to them as we have it in our first reading today (Jer. 11:18-20). But as the people of the kingdom of Judah continued to live in sin and refused to change their ways until they were doom into captivity. 

In the same way in the Gospel reading, we heard of the same plotting and rejection of the person and massage of Jesus by the Pharisees and the members of the Sanhedrin. They refused to believe in the massage of Jesus and to accept the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, just because they perceived that what Jesus had done were contrary to their way of life  and the way they enforced their piety and faith. Hence, out of pride they wished to persecute and condemn him. 

Dear friends, we are called to pay attention to the massage and signs that God is offering to humanity about the reality of his coming. Telling us that the world as we see it looking so beautiful is passing away and no one knows how and when it will happen. Therefore, we must not let pride leads us to stubbornness and faithlessness so as not to end up acting like the Pharisees, who in their stubbornness refused to listen to Jesus. For this will likely lead us down the path of sin, and those sins will lead us into damnation unless we repent from them. 

Thus, during this Holy Season of Lent, as the world is passing through turbulent moment, we are encouraged to be more humble and willing to open ourselves to accept God’s massage of truth, to open our ears, our eyes and deepen our senses to feel and know what God wants us to do with our lives. Let us realize the shortness of our mortal lives and existence, and realize how unworthy and corrupt we have been because of our sins. Let us come back to God our shield, for he alone can deliver and save us from this trouble and predicament. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have often failed to remain faithful to your words, as we listen to you today, may the difficulties of our daily struggles, deepen our faith and make us more humble and submissive to your will, so as to experience once again your love and comforting grace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a safe and peaceful weekend.

The Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary

 The Homily of Friday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 19th March, 2021

The Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary

Readings: 2 Sam. 7:4-5.12-14.16, Ps. 88,  Rom. 4:13.16-18.22, Matt. 1:16.18-21.24

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

ST. JOSEPH, THE MAN OF GREAT VIRTUES

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of St Joseph Husband of Mary a man of great virtues. Thus, the liturgy presents to us the events preceding the birth of Jesus and invites us to contemplate in a special way the roles St Joseph in the life of Jesus and Mary. 

In the Gospel, Mary was presented as a virgin betrothed to Joseph. That means, they were not yet living together, because they were not yet married. Meanwhile, Mary, after the annunciation, came to be with a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. When Joseph realized this, he was heartbroken. What will he do? How is he going to handle this? The Gospel tells us that Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put Mary to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. 

Joseph seeks to do his will quietly before the angel spoke to him about his mission and role.  We could imagine the great trauma Joseph was passing through when we think about the love he has for Mary. But even in these circumstances, he intends to do the will of God and decides, surely with great sorrow, to send Mary away quietly. We need to meditate on these words in order to understand the great trial that Joseph had to endure. 

Hence, we can see how this Gospel passage reveals to us the magnanimity of Joseph’s heart and soul. How he wished to follow his own plan, but God was reserving another plan for him, a greater mission. Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God, he was deeply sensitive to his secret will, he was a man attentive to the messages that came to him from the depths of his heart. He did not persist in following his own plan, he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, silently he was ready to make himself available to the event of the new mission entrusted to him, what a great virtue.

Little wonder, Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, emphasis in his Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, “The Guardian of the Redeemer”, that the silence of St Joseph is a model for contemplating the mystery of God in an attitude of total availability to the divine desires. Showing us that Joseph’s silence does not express an inner emptiness but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart and which guides all his thoughts and actions. It is this great virtues and personality that made him stand out in the fulfilment of God’s promise in our first reading, which St. Paul affirms in our second reading and is well portrayed in the psalmist of today. 

Dear friends, we really need to embrace these great virtues of St Joseph, especially the virtue of silence. Therefore, let us imitate this virtue of silence and allow ourselves to be filled and guided by silence, especially in a world full of noise and distractions. A world  that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God nor one another. The truth is that, our world is in dear need of people with St Joseph’s kind of virtues, we all are in need of such silence if we really want to make a difference in our society today. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as  we embrace this Holy season of Lent, let us through the intercessions of St. Joseph, cultivate the inner attitude of silence and recollection, in order to fully embrace the spirit of the season so as to joyfully experience the glory of Easter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace filled day.

The Homily of Thursday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 18th March, 2021

 The Homily of Thursday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 18th March, 2021

Readings: Ex. 32:7-14, Ps. 105, John 5:31-47

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

WHY DO HUMANITY OFTEN REBELLED AGAINST GOD, DESPITE ALL HIS LOVE FOR US?

Humanity have always rebelled against God despite all his love, care and mercy for us. Sometimes it seems as if the more God cares, loves and blesses us the more we disobeyed and separate ourselves from him. This is obvious in our readings today. In our first reading, we heard how the Israelites rebelled against God in a very terrible manner, because they made for themselves a golden calf, as a god and worshipped it. while it was not too long that God had delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians and opened the sea for them to pass safely on the dry ground, while destroying all the chariots and armies sent after them. 

This happened just because Moses had spent forty days and forty nights in the mountain, trying receiving the commandments for them. So, the people being impatient and weak in faith, chose to take the drastic action of forcing Aaron to make for themselves a golden calf to serve as god over them. Hence, they committed all sorts of atrocities and terrible sinful deeds with the golden idol, and God was very angry with them and about to destroy them. But Moses interceded and pleaded on their behalf, for him to show mercy and to forgive them. Of course, God spared the people but some of those worst offenders and the leaders of the rebellion were indeed not spared by the wrath of God, for it was by their instigation that the whole people of Israel ended up disobeying God and sinned against him. 

This same attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, as he rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who opposed him just like the people who disobeyed God and hardened their hearts by making idol for themselves to be worshipped as their god. While the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law proudly claimed themselves as the sole guardians of the faith, they ended up idolizing their way of observing the laws of Moses to the point that they forgot why they have the Law in the first place, since they refused to listen to Jesus. Thus he rebuked and reminded the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as he do the same to us that we need to get rid of our pride, corruption and idolatry.

Dear friends, why have we remained stiff-necked and rebellious? Why do we often exchange the God of glory for the image of a bull that eats grass? Why have we let pride, greed and corruption take away our love for God? Why are we quick to forget what the Lord has done for us? Why do we preferred to offend him despite all his love for us? Today we are reminded of how merciful God has been to us, how patient he has been with our stubbornness, our constant disobedience, our sinful ways and our rebelliousness. 

God has continually forgiven us when we seek his forgiveness and mercy. Because he has always loved us so much even when we have disobeyed him and committed so much evil before him. So, it’s time to return to God not forgetting that he still despises our sins and wickedness, for he loves us, though sinners but despises our sins. Because sin brings corruption on us, and no corruption and wickedness can remain in God’s presence. 

Therefore, this turbulent moment in human history, we are called to make good use of the opportunities we have received in this Holy Season of Lent, by ensuring that we approach the throne of God’s mercy and love. Let us humble ourselves before God and strive to repent from our mistakes and sins, knowing that God is always ready to forgive us if we ourselves are willing to change our ugly and sinful ways of doing things. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are stiffed- neck and rebellious people who have often taken your love and mercy for granted. As we listen to your words today, may we repent of our sinful ways of life and sincerely embrace your words today. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

The Feast of St. Patrick the Patron St. of Nigeria

 The Homily of Wednesday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 17th March, 2021

The Feast of St. Patrick the Patron St. of Nigeria

Readings: 1Peter 4:7-11 , Ps. 96, Luke 5:1-11

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

THE MISSION FROM FISHERMEN TO FISHERS OF MEN

There is something deep and unique about every person, sometimes it takes personal experience to discover this uniqueness. I don't know if you have ever had an experience that made you realize the emptiness of this life, a kind of experience that turns your pride into humility, sinfulness into righteousness. This is the kind of experience that Simon had with Jesus in our Gospel passage today, that made him realize his emptiness and fell at the knees of Jesus confessing his unworthiness. 

This is because Jesus had said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ 

 This very encounter brought true conversion in the lives of Simon and his companion, for this encounter changed their destiny and mission from fishermen to fishers of men. For they obeyed the Lord who told them to put out into the deep waters, and as soon as they followed his instructions, they netted so much fish that the whole boat could not take it. This glorious event manifested the power and grace of God at work in us especially when we humble ourselves.

 

Dear friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick, a great missionary who understood what it mean to be fishers of men like Simon and his brothers. He was known for his personal experience of the Lord in a vision, in which he was asked to go and evangelize the people of Ireland where he came from. This he successfully carried out and this brought about the Irish missionaries who later became a major force in the spreading of the Gospel all over the world and Nigeria and most African countries are beneficiaries of this great sacrificial mission.  

Therefore, as we celebrate St Patrick, we are called to reflect on our personal encounter with God. How have we personally experience God? When was our spiritual turning point? Do we have a personal conviction about God that does not based on what people have told us about him? In case we have not personally encountered him, all we need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in our lives. Then, we will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to us. For we heard in our first reading, that each one of us has received a special gift and as good stewards of God’s different grace, we must render our service to one another ungrudgingly to the glory of God.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, everyday is an opportunity to encounter you through different events that occur in our lives. Grant that we may have a personal encounter of you just like Simon and his companion and through the intercession of St. Patrick, may we experience you in a unique way in our daily activities and through this experience discover our purpose in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

The Homily of Tuesday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 16th March, 2021

 The Homily of Tuesday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 16th March, 2021

Readings: Ezek. 47:1-9.12 , Ps. 46, John 5:1-16

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED? THEN RISE, TAKE UP YOUR PALLET AND WALK

In this life, there is a principle that we need to understand, that is, the principle that says that everyday is a gift from God. Which of course is another great opportunity to experience and encounter the Lord. So, I don't know how you woke up today, I don't know what troubles your mind. But all I know is that today is another gift of God to us, I am excited, hopeful and am going to live it with all joy, not trying to change things that I could not change or try to fix things that do not want to be fixed. 

But I will do my best to overcome my daily challenges knowing and hoping that one day I will hear Jesus saying to me, do you want to be healed again? Rise, take up your pallet and walk, just as he said to the sick man in our Gospel reading today. Here we see how a man who was struggle everyday to overcome the ugly situation in his life was heal by a single command from Jesus. This happened on a day like every other days, when he heard Jesus saying: do you want to be healed? As the man was busy narrating his past failed efforts of having no one to put him into the pool when the water is disturbed; Jesus said to him, rise, take up your pallet and walk and immediately he was restored. 

This great and miraculous event brought deep joy into the life of a hopeless man, who out of joy went about expressing his healing. And this draws the attention of the people who marvelled at what had happened to him. But the Jews were more concerned about the Sabbath law rather than the mercy and love of God . An ugly attitude that sometimes happens among us where we disregards the good of others over laws and regulations.

Dear friends, the Lord wishes to heal us no matter the duration of the situation we are passing through. But we shall not let the ugly and failed events of the past to distract us from receiving God’s blessings today. We should rather focus on the blessings that comes with the gift of today. We must learn to follow the directives of the Lord, knowing that he will lead us to the healing water that flows east down to the Arabah from the sanctuary and in it, we shall find every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal, thereby making all things wholesome again as we heard in our first reading. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, a lot of people are passing through difficult situation which has lingerer for a long time. As we listened to your words today, may we hear the voice of the Lord saying: arise, take up your pallet and go home. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.  It's Tuesday, may the Holy Spirit guide your paths and bring your plans and purposes to a glorious end.

The Homily of Monday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 15th March, 2021

 The Homily of Monday in Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 15th March, 2021

Readings: Is. 65:17-21, Ps. 30, John 4:43-54

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

DON’T GIVE UP, HAVE FAITH FOR GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED HIS PEOPLE

The ugly situation in our world today, may seem to most people that God has abandoned his people. It may seem as if the Church is not doing enough for his people. It may seem as if our governments and scientist have failed. But the fact remains that God is ever and always closer to us more than we can ever imagine. He has always desires that we pay attention to his teaching and directives through his Church, the scientists and those of our leaders who are making sincere efforts to ensuring the good of the people. 

But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through the daily activities we experienced? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do with the gift of knowledge, skills and talents God has given us? Do we pay attention to the word of God we hear everyday in the house of God, the streets and through other means of communication? Perhaps we are the one who have abandoned God and now we are confused and afraid as a result of this ugly situation  that is ravaging the world.

Dear friends, no matter how we feel about the situation we are passing through today, we are called not to give up on God or his Church or the human agents through whom his help comes to us, for God has not abandoned his people. We all need to have our ears opened, so that we can hear and understand fully the message God is communicating to humanity through the ugly situations we are passing through today. 

For God is saying to us, fear not, come back to me, have courage for the storms will soon be over. And if you turn back to me with all your heart, I will restore your land, no more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days as we have it in our first reading today. And in the Gospel Jesus says to the court official: “Go home, your son will live” and the man believed him and went home. By the time he got home his son was healed.

Therefore, we must have faith in God and sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his Holy name. For his anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. Our world He will redeem from the ravage of corruption, pride, selfishness, sin and shame. 

LET US PRAY Lord God, you are the source of all that is good, as we listen to your words today, may you grant our hearts desires so that we may obtain the Joy of your presence in order to build our faith strongly firm in your words. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful week ahead.

HOMILY ON FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

 HOMILY ON FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 14TH MARCH, 2021

Readings: 2Chron 36:14-16.19-23; Ps. 137; Eph 2:4-10; John 2:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

LET CHRIST BE OUR LIGHT AND LOVE FOR GOD LOVES US SO MUCH

Every fourth Sunday of Lent the Church celebrates the Laetare ( Rejoice) Sunday, it is a special Sunday when we have a brief pause on the penitential nature of the Lenten season to focus more on the joyful expectation of the glorious coming of Easter. Hence we are called to focus our attention on the joy that is to come in Easter in order to help in keeping our faith focused in the right direction, knowing that we are in God’s good hands despite whatever challenges we may be facing now, knowing that God loves us so much and will never let us be consumed by the ugly situation  we are passing through in our world today.

Thus, in today’s celebration, we are called to have a little bit of relief from our disposition towards lamenting, regretting and being sorrowful over our sins in order to have a joyful disposition of hope towards the salvation and assurance of God’s love for us which will fully manifest at the resurrection of Christ at Easter. This atmosphere of hope and joy is evident in our first reading today, where we heard of the account of what had happened at the end of the southern kingdom of Judah in Israel. 

This kingdom was destroyed by the Babylonians who came and overpowered them, because of their sins and disobedience against God. Who made them to suffer and endure humiliation, as they witnessed the destruction of their city, their temple and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, as they were taken to exile in Babylon, where they suffered shamefully for many years under the reign of the Babylonians. 

But God did not abandoned them. For he brought light and joy into their heart when he brought them back to their homeland through king Cyrus of Persia, for God still loved them and wanted to be reconciled with them, since they are his chosen people. This no doubt shows how much God loves his chosen people and will always desire to reconcile them with himself.

Little wonder, our Gospel passage today, talks about the relationship between God and the world.  Telling us that God loves the world and the humanity living in it. He loves it so much that he gave his only Son, who died a shameful and terrible death on a Cross for the seek of his love for humanity. God loves the whole world, his love is total and unconditional for every one of his creatures.  This he demonstrated on the cross where he poured out his love for the salvation of all humanity. 

This love is what we are called to bear witness to the whole world. So, as we prepare ourselves in this Holy Season of Lent in repentant and sorrows for our sins, we are also called to be joyful because, we now have hope once again in the everlasting life and eternal joy which Christ  will offer for us on the Cross, through his suffering, death and resurrection. Thus we rejoice because we have seen the light of our salvation rooted in the loving heart of God for all humanity.

Dear friends, we have in one way or another experienced the love of God so greatly and personally in our lives. It’s now time to bear authentic witness of this love to all humanity. We are to tell the world how deep God loves us. We are to demonstrate this love to the world and let this love be felt by those who have lost hope in God especially at this time when humanity is struggling with the ugly situation if corona virus and it effects in our economy. For we are the face of God’s love now, we are the channels of his love and grace now. 

Therefore, let us extend this love in any form, gestures or manner possible to everywhere that it is lacking. A kind word, a single phone call, a text message, an act of forgiveness, a single prayer, sacrifice, patience and any form of generous act shown to anyone around us or as many people we can reach out today, reflect this love of God for humanity through us. Let us make Christ our light and love as we embrace his words today

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we have come to know and experienced your love for humanity in your words today, give us the grace to reciprocate this love in the world by our ways of life using the gifts, talents and resources you have given us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.