Homily for Thursday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 14th October, 2021

 Homily for Thursday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 14th October, 2021. 

Readings:  Romans 3:21-30; Ps. 130; Luke 11:47-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

JESUS REPROACH THE UGLY ATTITUDES OF HUMANITY

In our Gospel passage today, Jesus continued with his reproach on the Scribes and the Pharisee for hardening their hearts from the teaching of Jesus, and therefore behaving like their ancestors. Little wonder, Jesus in his reproach said: woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building. But the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him thereby setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

Here, Jesus was speaking to the people on the ugly attitudes and wickedness of humanity well manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees in various occasions when we ought to obey the Lord but preferred to live and act in accordance to our own selfish and proud attitudes. Hence by reproaching us, Jesus is reminding us that this is not the right path for us to follow, instead, we should be more faithful and pay more attention to God’s words and teachings which he had repeatedly communicated to us through the prophets, of which we often rejected and killed the prophets. In a similar way, Jesus despite all the signs and wonders he had done for humanity we still refused to have faith in him. 

Hence, St. Paul in our first reading tells us that God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone. For a man is justified by faith and not just by doing something the Law tells him to do. 

Dear friends, today Jesus rebuked the ugly attitude of humanity, calling us not to be like the Scribes and Pharisees, who out of pride and selfishness rejected the words of Jesus and sort to kill him. Rather, we should be more humble and disposed towards the words of God we hear everyday. We should make efforts to transform our lives and faith more closer to that of Jesus. We should not be like the Pharisees and Scribes who looks for the down fall of other because they tried to correct us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as you reproach our ugly attitudes of pride and selfishness today, may we be filled with the longing for true holiness and humility, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 13th October, 2021

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 13th October, 2021

Readings: Romans: 2:1-11; Ps. 62; Luke 11:42-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LIVING A LIFE OF PACKAGING IS LIKE INVESTING IN A WHITEWASHED TOMB

The condition of our society today calls for deep reflection, as so many things that appear to be good are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful and draws the admiration of people, but within it are full of dead man's bones and all sorts of corruption. They call it packaging, the popular terminology used by people to describe how they make things that are not too good to look extremely good and this has made us to actually loose focus of how we ought to do things right. 

This ugly attitude of the human person is what Jesus is condemning today in our Gospel passage. As he continued to challenge the hypocritical attitude of the scribes and Pharisees which is not different from the attitude of most of us. He said: Alas for you Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and the love of God! These you should have practised, without leaving the others undone. Alas for you Pharisees who like taking the seats of honour in the synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares! Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it.

Here, Jesus is challenging us to think differently about how we live our life. He is challenging us to look at what is going on in our inner being, our interior life, that part of us that we hide from one another. For most people and the things we see around us today are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful and draws the admiration of people but within us are outright ugliness and all sorts of corruption like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it.

This is because we like the scribes and the Pharisees are interested mostly in external beauty of things around us while neglecting the essence. We are self-satisfied, and often time think that we are above the law. We often want to look good from the outside but remain ugly and dirty within. Thus, St. Paul in our first reading tells us that, we are abusing God’s abundant goodness, patience and toleration, not realising that this goodness of God is meant to lead you to repentance. And our stubborn refusal to repent is only adding to the anger God will have towards us on that day of anger when his just judgements will be made known. Then he will repay each one as his works deserves. 

Dear friends, today we are challenged to change our ugly ways of life, to change from within us. This may seem very difficult. But, we need to change in so many ways especially as regards our attitude towards things of this passing world. For God is calling us to repentance, He wants to come into our souls and dwells. But he cannot dwell in a heart that is like a whitewashed tomb. Therefore, Jesus is rebuking all humanity, he wants us to stop living a life of deception, immorality and  corruption in the name of packaging. Rather, we should build up our interior being by embracing the things of the heart such as justice, mercy, love and compassion.

LET US PRAY: Loving Father, help us to build our interior life strongly in your love for we are living in a world of whitewashed tombs of deception, immorality and corruption in the name of packaging. Give us grace to be wise enough to discern what is right and pleasing to you. And as we struggle with the ugly situation of this life, may you guide and direct our paths. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 12th October, 2021

 Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 12th October, 2021

Readings: Romans 1:16-25 Ps. 19; Luke 11:37-41

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD IS INTERESTED IN OUR INTERIOR LIFE AND NOT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE OF A PERSON

There is no doubt that our  societies today are full of artful deception, dishonesty and fraudsters. Integrity has become virus to be eliminated. Morals and virtuous acts are no longer valuable. Heroes of deception and fraudsters are honored and celebrated. The interior life of the human person is no longer regards as important as the outward appearance.  This unhealthy way of life is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today. For when a Pharisee invited Jesus to a dine at his house, he was surprised that Jesus had not first washed before the meal. 

But Jesus said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.

Here, the Pharisees were so much interested with the outward appearance and the ‘letters’ of the Law, that they neglected the ‘spirit’ of the Law and the interior life of the human person. However, Jesus made it clear that the interior life and purity of the human person is not based on outward appearance of a person but, from the good fruit of virtues that comes from the human soul, because outwardly we may appear to be good and pious, but in reality, our hearts are full of wickedness, immorality and sin.

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading, reminded us that the anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Therefore, we must learn to take our interior life very seriously knowing that without a sound interior life, all of our good actions, obedience and the observances of the Law will be empty and meaningless.

Dear friends, today we are called to look within ourselves, and purify our inner being and so make our outward appearance reflect our inner being. We must ensure that our faith in God is pure and genuine by letting our whole lives be inspired by virtuous and truthful actions of our daily activities. Therefore, let our attitudes begin to change our society that is full of artful deception, dishonesty and fraudsters. Let our lives bear good fruits of integrity, love, purity and faith.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our hearts are full of corruption, impurity, greediness, wickedness and immorality, give us the grace to purify our lives with virtues of integrity, honesty, purity and love, we ask this through Christ our lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day. 

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.