Homily For Friday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st January, 2022. The Memorial of St. Agnes of Rome

 

Homily For Friday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st January, 2022. The Memorial of St. Agnes of Rome

Readings: 1Sam.24:2-20; Ps.57; Mark 3:13-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HAVING A MISSIONARY ZEAL AND PASSION IS NECESSARY FOR AUTHENTIC WITNESSING 

As Jesus continues his work of evangelization and mission towards the salvation of humanity, he needed to have people who will be entrusted with this mission. Thus, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus chose twelve apostles out of his disciples. He called and separated them from the crowd so that they will be with him. And he gave them power to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, and to cast out devils. 

Here Jesus clarifies the extreme nature of his mission which he will entrust to his apostles, so that those who would follow him must first count the cost, because they will definitely share in his sufferings in order to share in his glory. Thus, Jesus who has earlier given the disciples explicit instructions about his mission makes know to the apostles their specific mission.

Consequently, each one of us like the apostles are called by name into a deep personal and intimate relationship with Jesus in order to be sent to bear witness of him in the world. Absolute commitment is a necessary quality for this mission. Because, Jesus did not choose people because of what they were. Rather, he chose them for what they could become under his direction and power.

This is what we see in the life of David in our first reading today, where we see the magnanimity of David’s heart, for he refused to kill Saul when he had a perfect opportunity to strike Saul and claim the Kingship of Israel for himself. Although he has been chosen as the new King of Israel, but that should not have given him the justification to murder a person in the time of his weakness, and less still to do so for the pursuit of power and personal glory as most people do today. This is because David was truly filled with love for God. He did everything to serve the Lord according to his will and mission for him.

This genuine obedience and commitment to God’s mission is what we also see in the life of St. Agnes whose memorial we celebrate today. For as a noble young Roman woman, St. Agnes had many suitors and those who were interested in her, but she rejected them all for she had dedicated and consecrated her purity and virginity to God, and will not allowing any of those men to desecrate her virginity and sanctity. So out of pride and jealousy suitors became very angry at her, and reported her to the authorities as a suspected Christian, since to be a Christian was a crime punishable by death. 

On account of this, the Roman prefect, named Sempronius condemned her to death and attempted to kill her by various methods. First the attempts by several men to defile her virginity by force failed because they were immediately struck blind before they died. The attempts also to hurt her by other means such as burning on a stake also failed for the flames refused to burn the wood. But eventually she was beheaded by being stabbed in the throat and that’s how Agnes met her end through martyrdom and brought glory to God and his mission.

Dear friends, how are we responding to God's call and mission? How best are we carrying out this mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and casting out devil? How are we relating with those we judge to be sinners and those we see as our enemies? What efforts are we making to convert them. Remember, as followers of Christ we are called to journey with Jesus in love and compassion towards other people even in the midst of sufferings, rejection and persecution.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you called and chose us to be with you in order to bear witness of our salvation to humanity, through the intercessions of St. Agnes, help us to have the missionary zeal that will enable us to live with integrity, purity and detachment from the thing of this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily For Thursday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 20th January, 2022

 Homily For Thursday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 20th January, 2022.

The Feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi

Readings: Phil 2:1-11, Ps. Is.12:2-6, Matt.13:44-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

OBTAINING THE ULTIMATE TREASURE OF HEAVEN REQUIRES THE SACRIFICE OF ALL OUR WORLDLY POSSESSIONS

 

Today we celebrate the feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, he was born in Aguleri, Anambra State on September,1903, but died in Leicester, England on 20th January, 1964. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Onitsha. He was known for love of neighbour, healing and reconciliation of the people with God, with oneself, with one another and with the created reality.

Tansi dedicated himself not only to daily contemplative prayer but also to active ministry. He evangelized the youth, prepared couples for marriage, visited the sick, was a very good confessor, promoted vocations to priesthood and religious life, and provided for the needs of the poor. Hence, in Tanis We see man who understood that the kingdom of heaven is so precious and great, that it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures. And this is what we have in our Gospel passage today, were Jesus used two parables to describe to the people that the kingdom of God is the greatest and ultimate treasure anyone can and should acquire. 

Here, he describe the kingdom of God as the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. However, the kingdom is open for all, but not all can be suitable to dwell in it, only those who on the judgement day are found suitable can be admitted into the kingdom. Using these parables Jesus explains what the kingdom of heaven is like and what we need to do in order to acquire it. 

Thus, in the life of Tansi, we see one who discovered the great treasure of heaven, sold everything and acquired it. In Tansi we see how the light of faith sowed in him like the mustard seed grows to give hope to many people. So, the humble beginning of the Christian faith sown in him was well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to people of the world. 

Dear friends, obtaining the ultimate treasure of heaven requires the sacrifice of all our worldly possessions. Though in the world we have different kinds of treasures. But the questions are: what is your ultimate  treasure? How are we searching for it? Are we really ready to sacrifice all for this treasure? For St. Paul in our first reading says: that though Jesus was in the form of God,  but he did not count equality with God a thing to be grapes. For he rather emptied himself in humble obedient to God his Father. Therefore, today we are called to empty ourselves of the passing things of this world in order to humbly acquire the heavenly treasure just like Tansi, who humbly sacrificed the treasures of this passing world in order to embraced the treasures of heaven.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of distractions from false treasures, through the intercession of Blessed Tansi, give us grace to discover the treasures of your kingdom and nurture the treasures of faith, holiness and hospitality implemented in us during our baptism in order to give up all our attachment to worldly possessions in pursue of the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Wednesday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 19th January, 2022

 Homily For Wednesday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 19th January, 2022

Readings: 1Sam. 16:17:32-33.37.40-51; Ps. 144; Mark 3:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

NOTHING SHOULD RESTRICT US FROM DOING GOOD TO PEOPLE NOT EVEN THE SABBATH LAW

From the scriptures, it seems like every encounter that the Pharisees had with Jesus were always aimed at finding faults with what Jesus is doing. But to their greatness surprise, Jesus will always escape and used that opportunity to communicate an important message to the people. Such was the occasion in our Gospel passage today. 

When on a Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure the man on the Sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But knowing their thoughts he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ Then Jesus said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it? And said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with him.

Here we see how Jesus demonstrated his compassionate care for humanity, for the most important thing for God in this world is the human person. That's why he makes all efforts to save humanity from damnation. He desires to see us making effort to becoming faithful and holy. His mercy is so deep that he propose it as the guiding principle for the perfect fulfillment and interpretation of the laws of life. Thus, Jesus in this passage have to teach us that humanity’s welfare should not be neglected because of laws and regulations. That nothing should restrict us from doing good to people not even the laws of Sabbath. 

Therefore, in as much as we desire to honour God’s laws we must seek the good of people as well. This is what the Pharisees have failed to understand, for they are rather fault- finders and self- righteous people, who only wish to mislead the people and suppress the truth and the good works of others, just because of their selfish desires to sustain their ego, pride and their worldly ambition. But we should not be like them, rather we should be compassionate and merciful for that is what we are called to do. We should learn to be courageous and resist any law or people who uses laws or their physical position to oppress others. We should learn from David in our first reading today who courageously confronted Goliath and defeated him despite his intimidating physical appearance and so brought victory to God’s people who were intimidated by Goliath.

Dear friends, today we are called to know that no law should restrict us from constantly do good to everyone. We are called not to be faults-finders who are blindfolded by pride. We must also renounce all sorts of prideful actions and wickedness that may destroy our relationship with others and purity of our souls. Therefore, let us be compassionate and merciful for that is what we are called to do in this life especially in this moment when our societies and families are really in chaotic situation.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we often failed to listen to your teaching because of our selfish desires and pride, help us to always listen to you and be willing to do good always especially in interpretation and application of laws and regulations. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 18th January, 2022

 Homily For Tuesday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 18th January, 2022

Readings: 1Sam. 16:1-13; Ps. 89; Mark 2:23-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LAWS AND ITS INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION MUST AIM TOWARDS THE WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE

There is no doubt that human life is guided by laws and principles, for in there absence we cannot survive or enjoy peace and harmony in our society. But it is so sad to say that we have lost the essence and spirit that governs the making of law, it’s interpretation and application. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today teaches us about the essence of making laws. 

This is clear from the response of Jesus when the Pharisees criticized the attitude of his disciples who on the Sabbath were seen plucking ears of corn to eat because they were very hungry. This is so because the Pharisees emphasized on strict keeping of the law of Sabbath while neglecting the spirit of the law which has to do with God’s love  and mercy.

Thus, for the Pharisees this would be a transgression of the law of the Sabbath which prohibits one form doing any work. Jesus responded by quoting the scriptures to indicate that their arguments have no bases. He recalls that David himself did something which was prohibited, because he took the sacred bread of the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat because they were hungry. Jesus ends his response with two important phrases: first, the Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Secondly,  the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath. 

The truth is that, Sabbath was meant to be a day of rest when people would be  free from work so as to think of God, to give thanks for God’s gifts, and to take care of their health and well-being. But some religious authorities gradually encroached the Sabbath with so many regulations that it is no longer serving its true purpose. This is because they have failed to look at the true meaning of human life and the things that round us. But God will always remind us of the true meaning of life. And this he demonstrated in our first reading today, where we heard how Samuel seeing the awesome appearance of Eliab and intended to anoint him but the Lord said: take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart. Thus, David was chosen and was anointed.

Dear friends, the Lord does not look at the outward appearance of our lives, rather he looks at the purity of our hearts. For the Lord made laws for the good of the people, but often times we find ourselves seeking more recognition by exercising too much control over other people’s lives under the disguise of laws. This should not be the case, rather, we should always consider the essence and purpose of making laws, bearing in mind that  human basic needs which supersedes all other human interest should be the guiding principle of any law both social and religious. In fact, the ritual demands of the Sabbath encourages mercy, forgiveness and compassion which are at the heart of any true religion. Therefore, as we make laws and implement them, let these principles be our guide. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you often show the light of your truth to those who go astray, grant that we may always embrace your laws, interpret them properly and apply them with mercy and compassion. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day

Homily For Monday of The 2nd Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 17th January, 2022. The Memorial of St Anthony

 Homily For Monday of The 2nd Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 17th January, 2022. The Memorial of St Anthony

Readings: 1Sam.15:16-23; Ps. 50; Mark 2:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT MIX THE OLD LIFE OF SIN WITH THE NEW LIFE OF GRACE THE LORD IS OFFERING US

Reflecting one of my favorite communion hymn titled New Life, especially it’s chorus that says: 

New Life! New Life, You came to bring us new life, 

New life, New life, we find such Joy in your abundant Life.

This hymn calls our attention to the gift of New Life which Jesus is offering to humanity. A gift that differentiate his disciples from other people. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where we read about the observation made by the disciples of John the Baptist concerning the relationship between Jesus and his disciples and their new ways of doing things. So they came to Jesus and asked him question regarding their manner of fasting and feasting. Jesus used this opportunity to educate them about the New Life of grace which he has come to offer humanity. 

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. For no one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on to an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved. 

Here Jesus gave two responses to the question. First, people do not fast when they are in the company of the bridegroom which is a time for celebration. For 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. 

Then, in the second response, Jesus shows that he is bringing something totally new which should not be mixed with the old way of life. This he emphasized with the importance of pouring new wine into fresh wineskins and the need to avoid using new cloak to patch an old one. Here the fresh wineskins refers to a new heart that has put off the old cloak of sin and looks forward to the new wine of grace through the process of conversion. 

So, as his bride, he loves us with a deep and everlasting love. He pays all our debts to God; he supplies all our daily needs; he sympathizes with us in all our troubles; he bears with all our infirmities, and does not reject us because of our weaknesses. He regards us as part of himself:  We share in the glory that he has received from his Father. These are the privileges of all true Christians who are called to the heavenly kingdom. 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. Little wonder, we heard Samuel telling Saul in our first reading that, in our relationship with God obedience is better than sacrifice.

Dear friends, what is that old garment in our lives that we are patching with the new? What is that old wine of habitual sin that we are pouring into the new wine skins of our redeemed and purified soul? today we are called to a fresh response towards embracing the New Life of grace which Jesus is offering us. As we think about these, let us struggle to avoid our old sinful ways of life and fully embrace the new righteous way of life that Jesus is offering us.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, You are the source of our new life, for in your light we see light. Grant us through the intercessions of St. Anthony, the grace of true and total conversion so as to find such great Joy in your abundant Life of grace and mercy, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and favourable week.

Homily For Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 16th January, 2022

 Homily For Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 16th January, 2022

Readings: Is. 62:1-5; Ps. 96; 1Cor. 12:4-11;  John 2:1-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

FILL, DRAW AND SERVE ARE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR OUR CHRISTIAN JOURNEY

Today is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year C, which begins immediately after we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord last Sunday. The beauty of this season lies in the fact that it invites us to live our ordinary life as a journey of holiness, faith and friendship with Jesus in order to continually discover our vocation and mission which is rooted in Christ’s own mission. Hence, our readings today present to us  guiding principles that will help us to journey with the Lord throughout the course of our journey.

Hence, in our first reading today,  we have the  message of hope for God’s chosen people who were passing through the most challenging moments in history of their journey with God. This very disposition and challenge are what we are experiencing in our world today. Thus, we can hear the message of hope from the Lord to his chosen people, his bride who is now dejected like a widow abandoned by her Lord. So, we can hear the Lord saying through prophet Isaiah: about Zion I will not be silent, about Jerusalem I will not grow weary, until her integrity shines out like the dawn and her salvation flames like a torch. For God will no longer forsake you for he shall delight in you and their will be a new wedding and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you for this new wedding will bring about a new beginning.

This new beginning ushers us into the marriage feast in our Gospel passage today, an event that offers us the guiding principles of our Christian journey. Here, we heard how the wedding couple invited Jesus and his disciples in the most important day of their lives and Mary was also there. So, when an embarrassing moment came up during the course of the celebration, Mary in her usual way of helping people asked Jesus to safe the couple from social embarrassment and even when her request was not granted by her son, she had strong faith that he will not refuse her request. So she said to the servants: “ Do whatever he tells you”

By this request Mary who represents the Church reveals to us the key to a successful and happy Christian Life. That is to say that, the secret key that opens the treasure of a successful and happy Christian life is to do whatever he (Jesus) tells us. But what did Jesus say we should do? He told the servants: Fill, Draw and Serve. Telling us to Fill our lives with the water of salvation which he offers us every day through his Words and Sacraments and when we have filled our lives with the fountain of his presence, then we should Draw from the joy it offers and Serve humanity who are really in need and thirsty for the word of God, especially at this moment in our world when humanity really hope and seek for God’s intervention. Hence, by this words Jesus gave us the guiding principles for our Christian journey.

Dear friends, let this principle guide all our activities this year. We must learn to fill our minds with positive things so that we can draw from the abundance of our hearts and serve humanity. We must learn to fill our hearts with positive seed of different virtues and nurture them. This is important because whatever healthy seed we water grows and the seed you quit watering will eventually die and go away. But the questions are: what type of seeds are you filling your heart with? What kind of seed are you going to be watering in your life this year? Are you going to be watering valuable seeds or weeds? Because nature has made it clear that not all the seeds are good for us and so any unwanted seed is a potential weed. 

Then, the question we need to ask ourselves is: are we watering weeds that we do not need? For there are so many weeds in our lives, such as: weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness, procrastination or are we watering those valuable seeds of goodness, honestly, faithfulness, love, holiness, obedience, charity and making them our values of life. For these are special gift of God to us just as we heard St. Paul speaking in our  second reading  about the need for us to put into use the gifts we have received from God for the greater good of all. Because there is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses. And it is our responsibility to put them into positive use for the good of all.

LET US PRAY: Lord God,  as we struggle everyday to do your will and respond positively in the mission and vocation entrusted to us, give us the grace to be responsible in applying the guiding principles of filling, drawing and serving one another as we embark on our Christian journey. Help us we pray to find joy, courage and solace in your saving grace as you guide us through the year. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 15th January, 2022

 Homily For Saturday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 15th January, 2022

Readings: 1 Sam. 9:1-4.17-19.10:1; Ps. 21; Mark 2:13-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GOD’S INTEREST IS NOT IN OUR PAST UGLY WAYS OF LIFE, RATHER, IN WHAT HE CAN MAKE OUT OF US NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.

The mission of Jesus is often misunderstood by people who feel that they should be the one to dictate to God what to do. But Jesus will always surprise them and use them to set good example for the rest of us. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, which presents to us the call of Levi who was a tax collector, a presumably public sinner. As Jesus passed by, he said to Levi, “Follow Me.” This is a present tense command which is a call for Levi to leave his old way of life behind and to begin a new life of following him. 

But why would Jesus have any interest for a man like this? There is only one word that can answer this question, that is, grace. In spite of his ugly occupation; his ugly lifestyle; his failures; and his sins; Jesus loved Levi and he called him to a new life. The fact remains that, Jesus never condemned anyone nor does he judge people by their past behaviour. He is only interested in what they can be now and in the future. There and then, Levi drops everything and goes after Jesus just the same way Peter and Andrew, James and John had also done. 

Later, when Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, several known sinners and tax collectors were at table with him and his disciples. This  was a real scandal for the scribes and Pharisees. For them, if Jesus really was a Rabbi he would have had nothing to do with such people. But Jesus replied: It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous but sinners. With this statement we are meant to know that Jesus' whole mission is the salvation of souls and redemption of people to wholeness. And the best way to achieve this is by having a direct contact with them. But we are often not present where people are most in need of hearing God’s message. Sometimes, we tend to side with the Pharisees and feel we should keep away from sinful and ‘immoral’ people. 

Dear friends, we need to learn that the Gospel message can most effectively be communicated to those who have lost touch with God and the meaning of life by reaching out to them. We should not be afraid to reach out to people, especially those who have been capture by the things of this sinful world. For we heard in our first reading today that, how Samuel encountered Saul and before anointing him said: Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart. It was after this encounter that Samuel anointed Saul, for the word of God is something alive and active: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit and can judge the secret emotions and thoughts of everyone of us.

Hence, Jesus calling Levi to follow him shows that with God there is great mercy to pardon the greatest sinners. There is grace to change the greatest sinners and make them holy.  And this is a great sign of hope for anyone who thinks that God has abandoned him or her because of sin or past ugly ways of life. God is not interested in our past ugly and sinful ways of life. Rather he is interested in what he can make out of us now and in the future.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, your love and compassion for humanity is so great, even in our sinful and ugly ways of life, you never abandoned us. So Lord, when sin separate us from you, may your grace and providence bring us back. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful weekend.