Homily for Monday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 11th October, 2021.

 Homily for Monday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 11th October, 2021.

Readings:  Romans 1:1-7; Ps. 98; Luke 11:29-32

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

CHRIST JESUS IS THE GREATEST AND ONLY SIGN THAT WE NEED

Oftentimes people want to see signs before they can accept or believe whatever we have to present to them. This is the case with the crowd in our Gospel passage today, as they asked Jesus for signs. He said to them, ‘this is an evil generation that asks for a sign! But the only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah, telling us that, on Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here with us, that is, Jesus himself. 

Here, Jesus presents to us the final recommendations of the end time, pointing out that he is the greatest and only sign we need just like Jonah was to the people of Nineveh. He insists that we should pay rapt attention to the signs nature is giving us concerning the end time events, that these signs will make us to have hope founded firmly on the word of God which drives away fear and despair, knowing that the kingdom of God is very near to us. We should also be careful about following those who claim to know when the end is coming. For we may see many of the signs written in Scripture happening already in our time and people are terrified looking for someone to show them the way. We should know that Jesus is the only Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Thus, St. Paul in our first reading today reminded us about Christ as the sign of God’s promise when he said: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name.

Dear friends, 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? Remember, 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 not just the sign of Jonah, but something far greater than Jonah, and without him in our lives, we will be lost, because the future lies in his hands and nothing can destroy or hurt us as long as we remain faithful to his commands. Nonetheless, what he requires of us in this world is for us to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in a world full of confusion and deception, help us to remain faithful in following our Lord Jesus knowing that he is the greatest sign of all times. 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.

Homily for Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th October, 2021

 Homily for Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th October, 2021

Readings: Wis. 7:7-11; Ps. 90; Heb. 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST DIFFICULT THING TO GIVE UP IN YOUR LIFE IF JESUS SHOULD REQUIRE IT FOR THE SAKE OF ATTAINING ETERNAL LIFE

A critical observations of how humanity are so much attached to the things of this passing world with little or no attention to the things that edifice the human soul and leads to eternal life is quite alarming. People can go to any length to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence and power that will last from forth to their tenth generation, without thinking of how to acquire that which will lead them to life eternal. 

This is exactly the mind set of most people today, and this is not different from the disposition of the rich man and some of the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today, little wonder Peter asked Jesus a very important question about sacrificing everything for the sake of following him after the rich man walked away from Jesus because he could not let go of his riches and follow Jesus. 

So, in response, Jesus draws his attention to the fundamental principle of our human existence, when he said to him: My children,‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And Peter continued, what about us who have left everything to follow you? Jesus said: ‘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 not condemning human riches, so we should not think that the he is asking or demanding that we should surrender all of our wealth and worldly possessions. No, that was not what he intended and we should not interpret the Gospel passage literally. Rather, what Jesus is saying is that we should learn to live a life of detachment in order to follow him wholeheartedly. That means, we must put God first and above every other things. We should not allow our worldly possession, fame, wealth, influence and power to separate us from God and our salvation. So, Jesus is reassuring us that all those who have given everything and committed their time and efforts, and are making sacrifices for the sake of his kingdom would not be disappointed nor left without rewards. Their reward in the end will be truly great, for God remembers those who love him and has given themselves for his sake. He will guide them and remain with them throughout their journey no matter how tough it may be. 

Thus, we should not depend on worldly possession and power for they will rob us of true wisdom. Little wonder the psalmist says that in his riches man lack wisdom, he is  like the beasts that are destroyed. This is true because in his riches man lack the fundamental principle of wisdom which is the fear of the Lord and we know that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Hence in our first reading today we are told to seek wisdom root in the word of God and esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones; for compared with her, we held riches as nothing. And our second reading tells us that the word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.

Dear friends, what is the essence of our existence in this world? What does God really required from us in this life? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing? So today Jesus addressed the very thing that most people are not ready to give up. Those things such as  money, houses, credentials, love of power, pride and wealth. But, if we are honest enough, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go if Jesus should make the demand of them. Those things we so much attached ourselves with and would not like God to ask us to give them up for the sake of following him. 

In fact, it might be a good thing today, for us to ask ourselves, what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus should ask us to do so. It might be some thing we own like our properties, treasures, fame, influence and power or our wealth; it may be a relationship, or our job, or our habit and attitudes. So, whatever we posses 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 actually gain all in abundance. Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world, for nothing last forever. Rather, we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another, for that is all that the Lord has required from us in this life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are so much attached to things of this passing world, help us to know that excess attachment to our earthly possessions could be an obstacle on our way to your Kingdom. Give us the grace to let go of things that often separate us from you as we learn to share with our neighbours especially the poor. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.

Homily for Saturday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 9th October, 2021

 Homily for Saturday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 9th October, 2021.

Readings: Joel 4:12-21; Ps.97;, Luke 11:27-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP IT

Reflecting on our relationship with God, family and neighours, I asked myself which one comes first, because all seem to be important? This is very vital  when we relate it to the response of Jesus to a woman in our Gospel passage today, who when Jesus was speaking to the crowd, raised her voice and said, ‘Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

Here, Jesus highlights that our primary relationship in life is to God. Even the deepest and most natural bonds are created within this primary love of doing the will of God. Mother and family were important to Jesus in his life and at his death; but his real family is centered around the new family relationship that is built among those who hear and keep the word of God. Therefore, our relationship with our family and neighours is actually rooted in our relationship with God whose word is the light that guided our steps.

But the questions remain:  What have we been doing with the word of God we hear everyday? What kind of fruit are we bearing in our family and society? How has the word of God changed our life and disposition towards our family? How has the word of God challenged and propelled us to love God and neighours? The answers to these questions are blowing in the wind. 

Therefore, today we are called to be more practical and attentive towards listening to  the word of God. We are called to put into action the word we hear everyday. And concerning this new family of Jesus made up of those who hear the word of God and keep it, Joel in our first reading says: the Lord will be a shelter for his people, a stronghold for the sons of Israel his chosen people.

Dear friends, whatever we feed grows and whatever we quit feeding dies and feds away. So what are we feeding our soul with? How are we feeding on the word of God? Our society have enough hearers of the word, what we need now is doers of the word of God, men and women who will feed their lives with the word of God and from the abundance of their heart live a life that will influence the society positively. Thus, when we hear the word of God we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our soul. And by so doing we become blessed brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your words we hear everyday, grant that we may cultivate the habit of hearing and keeping your words, so as to become living instruments of your words in our families, societies and the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen Do have a blessed and fruitful weekend.

Homily for Friday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 8th October, 2021

 Homily for Friday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 8th October, 2021.

Readings: Joel 1:13:15.2:1-2; Ps.9;  Luke 11:15-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HUMAN CRAFTINESS AND THE DENIAL OF SPIRITUAL REALITY

One of the gifts of God to us is the gift of discernment, which enables us to know and distinguish between good and evil spirit. This gift is very important to the office of every leader. But it is sad and unacceptable when a leader decided to misused this gift out of envy and jealousy. This is the attitudes of some of the people in the crowd especially those who belong to the party of the Pharisee as we have it in our Gospel passage today. 

For  we heard how Jesus had delivered a man possessed by an evil spirit. The spirit had bound his tongue and made him mute. But when Jesus had cast out the demon from the man and the man spoke, some people in the crowd who belonged to the party of the Pharisees watched this great miracle as it happened said that it was through the power of Beelzebul the prince of demons that he was able to cast the devil out. 

This is because they were adamant in their opposition against Jesus which were propelled by envy and jealousy. That is why they were unable to look beyond their narrow-mindedness and stubbornness in insisting that their way was the true way while others like our Lord Jesus were wrong. But Jesus as usual used this opportunity to correct them by pointing out the mistakes in their argument. Thus, telling us that it does not make sense for the demons to be fighting one another and so be divided among themselves. Because any house that divides within itself can not stand, and as we know the evil ones are always united in their plans to bring about destruction in human activities.

Dear friends, we are called today to make proper use of the gift of discernment which the Lord has given us. We must not let envy, jealousy and over ambition make us to deny the truth about the spiritual realities we experience from the Lord. We must not let the devil succeed in sowing the spirit of division among us. We should also ask God to endow us with the spirit of discernment and truth especially this period that we are faced with the ugly and sad attitude of human deception all over the world. Thus, prophet Joel in our first reading today said: sound the trumpet in Zion give the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the country tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, yes, it is near. Therefore, we must not allowed ourselves to be distracted by those who wish to see us fall.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle everyday with the manipulation of the evils ones, give us the grace to overcome them, may we never be misled by the devil and all of his forces, as they often attempted to sow divisions and dissensions among us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you. 

Homily for Thursday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 7th October, 2021. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

 Homily for Thursday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 7th October, 2021. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Readings: Mal. 3:13-4:2; Ps. 9; Luke 11:5-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WE WILL OBTAIN WHATEVER WE NEED THROUGH PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCY IN PRAYER

Have you been truly in need of something from a friend who is capable of give you what you needed but he is so busy to give you what you need now? Or have you been in a situation where you needed something from a friend but cannot get it because you can not reach him easily. Such a situation can make one to be under serious pressure. Then the question that comes to mind is, are we going to give up or persevere in our struggles on waiting or reaching out to him? This kind of disposition is what we experience sometimes when we pray and our requests are yet to be granted.

And this kind of situation is what Jesus is addressing in the story in our Gospel passage today as he continue his teaching on prayer. Thus, telling us that we should approach God with confidence as a friend, persisting until we obtain what we need. We should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until we obtain the answer we need. Just like a boy asking his father for a fish or an egg, knowing that his father would not give him a snake or a scorpion instead of the fish or egg he had requested. 

With this illustration Jesus emphasized that if we, who are prune to evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give to those who ask him. And in our first reading  we heard the Lord said: I will make allowances for those who serve the Lord as a man makes allowances for the son who obeys him. Then once again you will see the difference between an upright man and a wicked one, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him

Dear friends, there are times when we asked and we received, sought and found, knocked and it was opened to us. But there were also times when we asked but did not receive, seek but did not find, knocked but the door remained shut. In such moments persistency and perseverance in prayer are what we are called to embrace. For they will help us to understand how to trust God knowing  that he does not need to be informed of our needs, thereby encouraging us never to lose heart. This is certainly one of the biggest challenges of our faith today. People are not just patient with God. We want to have everything right now as it is hot. Patient, persistency and perseverance are very difficult virtue for most people today.

Therefore, let us learn from Mary how to be patient, persistent and persevere in prayer especially as we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. An event where we recall the famous victory of the Christian faithful against the enemies of the Church in the battle of Lepanto, where through the prayers and intercessions of Our Blessed Mother Mary the Church became victorious when the situation of the Christian faith were in extreme danger and were bitterly divided by the various heresies and splinter groups appearing at the time due to the reformation movement. 

Then, Pope Pius V called all of Christendom to pray the rosary fervently, sorting the intercession of Mary the Mother of God that her Son Jesus should be with the faithful fighting for the survival of the Christian faith which was under persecution and trials. And through the power of their dedication to praying the Rosary, God granted victory to his faithful people, and this  is the root of our October devotion. Hence, we should learn how to be patient and persevere in our prayers.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we are not patient with you in our prayers, give us the grace to persevere and be persistent in our prayer life and in every other things we do in life, especially in our relationship with others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 6th October, 2021

 Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 6th October, 2021. 

Readings: Jonah 4:1-11, Ps. 86, Luke 11:1-4

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, TEACH US ONCE AGAIN HOW TO PRAY PROPERLY

Prayer is a means of communication between God and humanity. It is a close link by which we reach God who dwells in our hearts. It is through prayer we discern the will of God for us. Hence, if we have not been able to discern the will of God for our lives or have not had any personal relationship with God in prayers, then perhaps we should consider to examine our prayer life to know if we have been praying the right way. Thus we can learn the proper way to pray from the prayer Jesus taught his disciples as pattern of all prayers as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

In this prayer we have four traditional dimensions of prayer which includes: glorification of God, submission, justice and protection. Jesus begins by saying: Father, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come, thereby teaching us that we begin any of our prayers by glorifying God. Following this is our total submission to God’s providence when we say: give us each day our daily bread. Then, we acknowledge the justice and mercy of God when we say: forgive us our sins as we for give those we have sinned against us. And finally we ask for God’s guidance and protection when we say: lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil.

This is important because it is the means by which we communicate with our God. But often time we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desired without considering what God desires for us. This is obvious in our first reading today in the prayer of Jonah who wished that God should condemn the people of Nineveh after his preacher. But God out of compassion forgive them and so Jonah was  angry and prayed saying: Ah, Lord, is not this just as I said would happen when I was still at home? That was why I went and fled to Tarshish: I knew that you were a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, relenting from evil. So now, Lord, please take away my life. The Lord replied, ‘Are you right to be angry?’ ‘You are only upset about a castor-oil plant which cost you no labour, which you did not make grow, which sprouted in a night and has perished in a night. And am I not to feel sorry for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people.l  

Dear friends, it is time for us to change our perspective and wrong disposition towards prayers. It is time for us to spend more quality moment in prayer and be connected with God. We must let our prayers also be meaningful and be genuine from our hearts. It is time  for us to improve the quality of our prayer life by imitating Jesus, who always prayed to his heavenly Father at every possible opportunities. But some of us end up spending lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we did not mean what we say, because we have wrong disposition born from unforgiving heart which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God.

LET US PRAY; Lord God, we do not know how to pray properly, as we carryout our daily devotion, teach us once again how to pray properly, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 5th October, 2021

 Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 5th October, 2021

Readings: Gal 1: 13-24, Ps. 139, Luke 10:38-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

BUSY WITHOUT LISTENING AND LISTENING WITHOUT DOING IS WORTHLESS

Listening is one of the vital aspect of the human person, which is very much lacking in most of our communication this days. This is because, oftentimes, we worry about so many things in life, trying to let people hear us without taking time to listen to them. There are people who are always trying to satisfy everyone without listening to the real thing that matters. I have also come across people who are often worried about how to make others feel more comfortable without minding their own discomfort. They are so concerned with pleasing others even when they are not pleased. What a great sacrificial virtue that is not common this days. 

This sacrificial virtue is the attitude of Martha in our Gospel passage today were we have the story of how Martha was so busy trying to make Jesus comfortable when he visited them at their house in Bethany. But when Martha observed that her sister Mary was not helping out in the preparation, rather was busy listening to Jesus, she said to Jesus: “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her”.

Here, Jesus is not condemning this great sacrificial virtue nor condoning laziness. Rather, he is saying that busy without listening and listening without doing is worthless. Hence, he gently correct the impression of Martha who was too busy and distracted with so many things that she risks losing sight of what is really important, that is, listening to Jesus. This is because Martha gives the impression that Mary is just sitting there doing nothing. But, in fact, she is listening to Jesus.

However, Jesus is not telling us to be content with sitting down and listen to his word, for he always insists that listening to his word means putting it into practice. While his objection to Martha request is because she was too anxious and distracted by many things, that she was not able to really listen to him and for Jesus listening is the best option. It is this act of listening that saved the people of Nineveh in our first reading today, because when they  listened to the preaching of prophet Jonah, the whole city of Nineveh went into great mourning and repentance before God. For everyone who listened to Jonah beginning from the King, who issued an  order that the whole city and its people should repent from their sins, right down to the lowest among the people, all humbled themselves, tore their clothes and wore sackcloth as a sign of penance.

Dear friends, in our relationship with Jesus, are we more of listener or more of accommodating and caring? Are we more like Martha or like Mary, for they were both friends of Jesus? Today many of us are so busy and anxious of so many things that we have no time to listen to God speaking to us and addressing the situation we are actually busy trying to solve. Today we are called like Martha to pause and listen, so that we can hear God speaking to us and directing us towards the right path.

Thus, Martha who was known as a friend of Jesus, loved to welcome him into her home, let us learn from her, knowing that hospitality is perfected when we have a listening ear. For it is a great virtue to be hospitable and caring especially when we spend quality time to listen to God and letting him direct and guide us towards carrying out our daily tasks. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always so busy with the things of this passing world, that we often do not have time listen to you. Give us the grace like Mary to chose the better part which is to truly listen to your word and then be well disposed to be caring and hospitable just like Martha, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.