Homily For Wednesday in The Octave of Christmas, 28th December, 2022. The Feast of The Holy Innocents

Readings : 1 John 1:5-2:2, Ps 124, Matt.2:13-18

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW OFTEN DO WE KILL THE INNOCENTS OVER OUR SELFISH AMBITION?

As we continue the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Church today, calls our attention  to one of the ugly events that occurred in Bethlehem as a result of King Herod's love of power and fear of losing his power to the new born baby our Lord Jesus Christ. So out of envy, pride and greed, he ordered the killing of all the male children from two years down. The Greek Liturgy states that Herod killed 14,000 boys, the Syrians speak of 64,000, many medieval authors also suggested 144,000, according to book of Revelation 14:3. However, modern writers reduce the number, since Bethlehem was a rather small town.

 Nevertheless, this ugly event illustrate our ugly attitude towards human life, showing us that every human life begins with birth and ends with death.  See how the presence of the baby Jesus made the King of this world to tremble, frenzy, mad with rage that he ordered the killing of innocent children. No pity for sorrowing mothers, no sympathy for weeping fathers, no compassion for the crying voice of the little innocent. Just as we heard in our Gospel passage: a voice crying in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, because they were no more. They were slaughtered out of fear for the Prince of Life. 

Dear friends, this outrageous event is still happening in our societies today. For how often do we kill  the  innocents out of our selfish ambitions? Is this not obvious when we see and hear what people do for the sake of obtaining powers and retaining them? When we engaged in all forms of atrocities just for the sake of our political and order ambitions? We are not far from Herod when we kill people because of position, power and comfort. We are the same as Herod when we prevent others from living out their potentials. We are not far from Herod when we kill the young fetus through abortion and every other means of terminating pregnancy. We are like Herod when we refused to submit to the will of God out of pride. We are like Herod when we let envy, jealousy and greed get hold of us and blindfold us into doing evil against other people.

Therefore, we are called today to reflect on our ugly attitude towards people especially children, we are called not to be like Herod who out of fear, envy and love of power seeks to murder Life itself, rather we are called to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and truth in following the will of God. Little wonder, St. John in our first reading today said: If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth. But if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. However, if we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; But if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us From everything that is wrong.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we reflect on the life and death of the Holy Innocents, grant us the grace to embrace your will over our worldly ambitions. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the year comes to an end, hope in the Lord, be faithful, be steadfast for you are so special to the Lord. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday in The Octave of Christmas, 27th December, 2022

The Feast of St John the Apostle and Evangelist.

Readings : 1 John 1:1-4; Ps 97; John 20:2-8

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT LET THE UGLY SITUATION AROUND YOU STEAL YOUR JOY 

Today 27th of December within the octave of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of St John the Apostle and Evangelist. St. John as we know is one of the Twelve Apostles and one of the three inner circle of Jesus Christ and no doubt one of the four great Evangelists of the Church. As one of the three inner circle of our Lord, John together with St. Peter and St. James his brother were often brought to the most important events in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. John as we know was present in great events such as the resurrection of the synagogue official’s dead daughter, the Transfiguration of the Lord at Mount Tabor, and also at the agony of the Lord at the Gardens of Gethsemane before the time of the Lord’s Passion. He witnessed great works and miracles of Jesus.

We will recall that St. John was one of those who remained and followed the Lord at the moments of his Passion, suffering and death on the Cross. He also remained with Mary at the foot of the cross and it was to St. John that the Lord Jesus entrusted Mary his Mother, and also John to Mary as well. This no doubt shows the important role St. John played in the life and mission of the Lord Jesus. The fruit of this great privilege is evident in the missionary activities of St. John. For he spent all his life in spreading the truth of God all over the world. He also wrote several letters and Epistles and the fourth Gospels is attributed to him. He also received the great vision of the end time event when he was in exile as a result of the persecution of Christians, this vision he recorded in book of Revelations as we have it today.

So today as we celebrate the Feast of this great Apostle, we heard the readings of his first letter and his Gospel passage. In this letter as we have it in our first reading today, St John wrote about Christ the Word of Life that has come into this world. Concerning this Word he said: this is what we have heard from him, and the message that we are announcing to you: that God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth. It is this Word of truth that we are celebrating this Christmas.

However, this Christmas celebration will not be complete if we do not let the Lord be born in our hearts or if we do not have a personal experience of the Lord Jesus in our lives such as the one we heard in our Gospel passage today. Here, we where told about the personal experience of John and Peter, who having heard about the resurrection of the Lord, ran towards the empty tomb with open heart to encounter Christ, who had died and is risen in order to renew us, in order to remove from our hearts the guilty of sin and death, so that we can embrace his divine and eternal life.

Dear friends, this is the fundamental core of our Christian faith; this is the victory that transforms us and unites us with our Lord. Hence, if Jesus who is born for us, was crucified died buried and is risen, and is alive, who will ever be able to separate us from him? Who will ever be able to deprive us the love of him who has conquered hatred and overcomes death? 

Therefore, I don't know what has been your experience in this world especially this Christmas season? I don't know how you woke up today? I don't know what troubles you mind? But all I know is that today is another gift of God to humanity, a day of joy, a day of victory. I am excited, hopeful and am going to live it with all joy, not trying to change things that I could not be able to changed or try to fix things that do not want to be fixed. I will not let the ugly situation in our world today or any ugly event of the past distract me today or steal my joy. I will focus on the blessings that comes with the joy of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will follow the directives of the Lord, for his ways are right and the upright walk in them, but the transgressors stumble in them. Thus, let us proclaim the message of this season and spread it throughout the world with the joyful song of this Holy Season. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we celebrate the great event of Christmas, may your joy fill our hearts and through the intercessions of St John, may we spread this joy all over the world especially to people and places where this joy is lacking. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday in The Octave of Christmas, 26th December, 2022

The Feast of Stephen, the First Martyr

Readings : Act 6:8-10;7:54-59; Ps 31; Matt.10:17-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD FILL US WITH THE GRACE AND POWER OF WITNESSING THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST

Everyday God makes himself present to us, but we often ignore him or pretend we do not perceive his presence. The truth is that in each heart, there is a secret garden which God has made uniquely for himself and that garden is our conscience. This garden is like a safety deposit vault which has two keys, God has one key, hence the soul cannot let in anyone else but God. The human heart has the other key, which no one can get in without his/her consent. However, God is always at the gate of this garden with his key but we often pretend to be looking for ours. 

This is the ugly attitudes of humanity which is well illustrated by the people who seek to kill Stephen as we have it in our first reading today. For Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But certain people came forward to debate with him. As they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom. They were infuriated and planned to kill him. Nevertheless, Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. This he witnessed before them, but they stoned him to death.

Dear friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen the first martyr who opened completely the door of his heart and finding God, he witnessed with his life and goes up triumphantly to heaven. We are called today to open up our minds and hearts for God to fill us with the grace and power of witnessing to the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are called not to be afraid to bear witness.  For we may be dragged before governors and kings for the sake of the Gospel, we should not worry about how to speak or what to say; for what we are to say will be given to us when the time comes, as Jesus promised us in our Gospel passage today.

LET US PRAY:  Heavenly Father, as we open up our minds and hearts for your words to reign in us. Grant us the grace and courage to bear witness to the Gospel and through the intercession of St Stephen, may we find you in daily events of our lives. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For The Solemnity of the Lord’s Nativity ( Christmas Day). Sunday 25th December, 2022

Readings :Is. 52:7-10, Ps 98, Hab. 1:1-6, John 1:1-18

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT DOES CHRISTMAS SIGNIFIES IN OUR LIVES AND IN OUR SOCIETIES?

Today Christ is born, today the Prince of Peace is born, today great light has shone on the darken world of humanity. Today the people who walked in darkness of sin and shame, a great light has shone, God has visited his people. So, let us join the angels’ hymn of praise, as they sing and proclaimed the mystery  of the announcement of the new-born Saviour saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men of good will.”

 Concerning this mystery John in our Gospel passage today says: In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.

Yes, today we celebrate Christmas, the Birth of Jesus Christ our Saviour in a stable in Bethlehem. In the stable of Bethlehem, there appeared the great light which the world awaits. He is the Christ, the Word that was with God from the beginning. The Word that is the true light that enlightens all men. This Word has come into the world, for the Word was made Flesh and dwell among us, the Son of God who became man. To him the Father says: "You are my Son, today I have begotten you”. God has become one of us, he has come to offer us his Divinity in exchange for our sinful humanity, so that we can be with him and become like him, for this is how we come to know him.

Little wonder, prophet Isaiah in our first reading today says: “How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion, ‘Your God is king, for all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” For, those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness a great light has shone. This light means knowledge; it means truth, as contrasts with the darkness of falsehood and ignorance. This Light gives us life, it shows us the way to love. For in him is the fullness of love. Where there is love, light shines forth for the world; but when there is hatred, the world remains in darkness. So this Christmas the Lord has come to illumine the darkness of our sinful world with the light of true love.

For the Lord loves us so much that He became part of us, making Himself visible and approachable by all. He embraced our humble nature by coming into our midst. He offered us the light of hope and salvation, by bringing it within our reach so that we can approach without fear or shame. For he has never left us alone, since he has always desired to bring us back to Himself in order to share in his life forever through His Son the Word made Flesh and dwells among us.

But, many of us have failed to acknowledge this great gesture. We have failed to open up our hearts for the Lord to dwell. Little wonder, Mary and Joseph find it very difficulty to secure a place in Bethlehem for the child Jesus to be born. Our hearts are now like  those innkeepers and other accommodation places in Bethlehem that refuse to accommodate the Holy family of the child Jesus. Today humanity are so attached to worldly things that we have no place at all for the Lord in our hearts and souls. 

In fact, we are working hard to switch and change the focus and reasons for celebrating Christmas. We want to remove Christ and separate him from Christmas and call it something else. This is what humanity wants now. For we can see all around us that Christmas celebrations are gradually becoming a circular social events that will not be centred on Christ but on other worldly things. 

Today, we focused our attention on pleasurable dimension of Christmas. That is why people are more comfortable with merrymaking, parties and all kinds of immoral activities that separate us from the essence and true spirit of the season. For they ensure that Christ is made absent from all our celebrations. This is the present disposition of most people in our world today and worst of all among us Christians who celebrate Christmas without understanding or showcasing its significance and importance in our lives and to humanity at large. 

Little wonder some people often ask: what is so special about Christmas? What does Christmas signifies in our lives? Why do people’s attitude change during Christmas? What is it that makes us talk about the spirit of Christmas? Why is it that every Christmas season we let loose of our generosity. Why do we have to travel, Why do we have to visit people especially the sick, the prisoners? Why do we have to feed the hungry at this Christmas season? What is so special about Christmas that makes us to be more charitable, more accommodating and more sacrificial without seeking for any rewards? 

The answer to these questions is found in the message of the Angel who announced the Good News of great joy to us. For today a Savour is born to us, the Prince of Peace is born to us. He is the Word made Flesh and dwells among us. He is the love of God made manifest in our midst. Hence Christmas is the manifestation of the mystery of God’s love for humanity, so we celebrate it with great joy.   

Dear friends, let us reflect deep and rediscover the true meaning of Christmas and so return to the Lord who is the main focus of our celebrations. Let us not allow the worldly desires, it’s temptations and distractions distract us from the true meaning of Christmas. let us return to the Lord once again and make this year’s Christmas focus on Christ and his mission of our salvation. For Christmas is a time when we should imitate and follow  the good example of Jesus our Lord and Saviour who loves us so much. Let us learn to love one another especially those whom we encounter in life, our families members, our relatives, our friends and neighbours especially those who have lost hope and joy of this season love.

Remember that in the Child Jesus lying in the little manger of our souls, God has shown his glory, the glory of love in order to guide us along the way of love. From the manger, a stream of light, love and truth will spread to every generation. In every age, it will touch men and women to enlighten them. And wherever people put their faith in Jesus, the grace of charity will spring up, the grace of love towards others will be available, loving concern for the weak, the poor and the suffering will fill our hearts. And the grace of forgiveness and grace of peace needed in our homes, societies, and the world at large will be activated. 

Therefore, Christ the love of the Father is our Light and our Peace, and he proclaims his peace to those far away and to those who are near. This is why prophet Isaiah called him "Prince of Peace". His kingdom is the one "of endless peace". Little wonder Pope Benedict XVI will say: that “among we Christians and Catholic, the word "peace" has taken on a very particular meaning: it has become a word to designate communion in the Eucharist. There Christ’s peace is present. In all the places where the Eucharist is celebrated, a great network of peace spreads through the world. The communities gathered around the Eucharist make up a kingdom of peace as wide as the world itself. For, when we celebrate the Eucharist we find ourselves in Bethlehem, in the "house of bread". Where Christ gives himself to us and, by so doing, he gives us his peace” and his Divinity in exchange for our sinful humanity.

Hence, let us join Mary, Joseph, the angels and the shepherds in the manger to sing the glorious hymns of praise saying: "Glory to God in the highest" and on earth, peace to people of good will". Let us spread these joy and peace everywhere we go even to the ends of the earth. And as we do this may the peace and joy of the child Jesus fill our hearts, our homes, our societies, our country and the world at large, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Merry Christmas, wishing you a joyful and peaceful celebration of this season. God bless you.

Homily For The Vigil Mass of the Lord’s Nativity ( Christmas Vigil). Saturday 24th December, 2022

 Readings :Is. 62:1-5; Ps 89, Act. 13:16-17.22-25; Matt. 1:1-25

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY NOT LET THE CHILD JESUS REIGN IN THE LITTLE MANGER  OF OUR SOULS 

To night we have gathered in anticipation of the birth of our Lord Jesus, whom for the past four weeks now we have been preparing for his coming. To night Jesus is coming to dwell with us for an exchange, he is coming to offer his divinity in exchange for our sinful humanity. To night Jesus is offering everything, he is sacrificing everything for our salvation. He is giving up his heavenly glory in exchange for our suffering world. He is taking human flesh and becoming man in order to elevate the human person to share in his divinity. To night God is unveiling his Word which became Flesh in the womb of Mary in order to dwell with us. To night the Lord will manifest himself in a little manger in Bethlehem of our souls.

Little wonder in Gospel passage to night, we heard the genealogy of Jesus which gave us the historical plan of God towards the manifestation of his Son, the Word made Flesh. From this genealogy of Jesus, we can observe that generations came, generations goes, great men and women came and passed away, new generations continue to spring up as God continue to unveil his plan for humanity. This genealogy shows how the Lord had revealed to different generations what he was going to do for humanity. For Judah’s kingship over all Israel was given to David, who became the rightful king and God’s chosen one, and God promised that David’s house will rule over Israel forever.

Hence, we heard St. Paul in our second reading to night saying: Men of Israel, and fearers of God, listen! God chose our ancestors, and made our people great when they were living as foreigners in Egypt; and by divine power he led them out. ‘Then he made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for us one of David’s descendants, the child Jesus, whose coming we await to night. For we heard the Lord in our first reading to night saying: 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. 

 

So, to night the Lord is searching for a dwelling place and the only place available is the little manger of Bethlehem. For down in a little manger lie the child Jesus, no crib for a bed, but, the little Jesus laid down his sweet head on a little manger of humble dwelling of shepherd and his sheep. Here our God became man and took on our flesh. Our Creator became a creature; the One who dwells on highest place, now lay helpless in a manger. The One who is so great and mighty became so tiny, so weak, and so powerless in a manger. The King of the whole world had been made a little child in a manger. The Creator of time has been constraint by time in a manger.

This little manger has become a great sign and symbol. For when the angel appeared to the shepherds in the field to invite them to visit the newborn King, he told them to look for a baby in a manger. But the manger was not  just a sign for the shepherds; it’s a sign to all of us that Jesus is accessible to everyone who seeks him in humility. Yes, every humble soul will surely have access to the little manger of Jesus, for the shepherds would not have had access to a baby born in a royal palace, and as strangers, they probably wouldn’t even have had access to a baby born in the confines of a family home. But a manger was accessible to pure, innocent and humble souls.

Dear friends, the questions we need to ask ourselves to night Are: where is the little manger? How can we locate this little manger of Jesus? How prepared is this little manger? Can we say that the little manger is available for the child Jesus to be born in it? 

I know a good number of us will still be looking for the little manger of Jesus. I know some will tell me that the manger is right beside us. I know that those who are  good with the scripture will tell me that the manger is located in a little town in Bethlehem. Yes, there was a little manger in Bethlehem, and there is a little manger besides us here so beautiful and captivating. But the true little manger is not just in Bethlehem, or the symbol of what we have here in our parish, rather the true little manger of Jesus is my soul, the dwell place of God, which is located in the inner most chamber of my being. 

This little manger of my soul is what the child Jesus is searching in order to dwell in it to  night. He is searching for a humble soul, he is searching for a peaceful soul. The child Jesus is searching for lovely soul, he is searching for merciful and caring souls of humanity. The Lord is searching for innocent souls who can accommodate and make him accessible to humanity. The little manger of Jesus, that’s who we are, but are we available for the child Jesus to come in and be born in us? 

What are we offering for exchange? What are we sacrificing? What are we give up in exchange for God’s love in our lives? Are we ready and prepared to welcome the child Jesus in the little manger of our souls? Are we going to allow him to dwell with us? Are we going to offer him a joyful praise and worship just like the shepherds? Are we going to let him exchange our sinful humanity with his divinity? Are we ready to exchange our worries, burden, sorrows, failures and fears with the smiling, peaceful and loving face of the baby Jesus who will soon make himself present to us? 

What is stopping us from welcoming Jesus into the inner manger of our souls. Will you let bitterness and anger occupied the dwelling place of the Lord? Will you let the desire for the things of this passing world prevent you from opening the door of your soul for the child Jesus to come in to night? Will you let unforgiveness and jealousy send the child Jesus away from the manger of your soul?  Will you let the ugly attitudes of your husband, your wife or your children or your parents deprive you of the joy of this gracious season. Will you let the present situation in your life separate you from the presence of the child Jesus.

 Why not make you soul available for the child Jesus to reign in your life. Why not let the peace of his presence dwell in your heart? Why not let the joy of his presence dwell in the manger of your soul? Why not let his love propel you to love even those that you find very difficult to forgive? Why not let the child Jesus to reign in that little manger of your soul to night and always. Remember, the scripture says that the newborn child dwells in the little manger in a little town of Bethlehem, which means “the house of Bread”. That means that the child Jesus dwells also in the little tiny Bread of Life. That is, the Eucharist. So, the Lord Jesus present in the Eucharist wants to feed us with his heavenly glory and love. He wants to dwell in the little manger of our souls so as to nourish our souls and exchange our sinful humanity with his divinity. Why not open up your heart to receive the child Jesus present in the Eucharist which are going to be consecrated in few moments to night.  Why not let the child Jesus in the Holy Eucharist reign in the little manger of your soul. Do not let anything deprive you of his presence to night.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we open the little manger of our souls for you to dwell in, may you reign in our hearts, in our homes, in our societies, in our country and in the whole world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Marry Christmas to you all 

Homily For Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent Year A, 24th December, 2022

Readings : 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16, Ps 89, Luke: 1:67-79

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT ARE YOU PREPARING TO OFFER IN EXCHANGE FOR GOD’S LOVE AND DIVINITY AS WE ANTICIPATE HIS COMING?

For the past four weeks now we have been preparing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by evening today Jesus is coming to us for an exchange, he is coming to offer his divinity in exchange for our sinful humanity. Jesus is offering everything, he is sacrificing everything. He is giving up his glory in exchange for our sufferings. He is taking human flesh and be coming man in order to elevate the human person to share in his divinity. 

This is evident in our first reading today where we heard about king David who now was a king of a united kingdom of Israel, set out to build a house for the Lord. But the Lord knowing David’s plan asked him through prophet Nathan to stop, for instead it is he the Lord who will build a dynasty for David, a dynasty that will last forever. This he fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord, whose coming we await in anticipation.

Dear friends, what are you preparing to offer in exchange for God’s love and Divinity. For Jesus is coming to exchange his glory with everything about us: our weaknesses, our strength, our filthiness, our sinfulness, past, present, future, everything we can ever think about in our lives. But are we ready to exchange our life with that which Jesus is offering us today? Are we ready to exchange our humanity with that of his divinity? Are we ready to embrace the love he has for us? Are we ready to exchange our worries, burden, sorrows, failures and fears with the smiling, peaceful and loving face of the baby Jesus who will soon make himself present to us? 

Zechariah experienced this loving mercy of God and surrendered everything about his plan in exchange for God’s plan for humanity which he expressed in his Benedictus canticle in our Gospel passage today. What about us? What are we offering for exchange? What are we sacrificing? What are we give up in exchange for God’s love in our lives? 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, for four weeks now we have been preparing for the birthday of your Son Jesus, as we await his coming at dawn, may you fill our hearts with the joy of his presence, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful and joyful day.

Homily For Friday Fourth Week of Advent Year A, 23rd December, 2022

Readings : Malachi 3:1-4,23-24, Ps 24, Luke: 1:57-66

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT ARE THE MYSTERIES SURROUNDING YOUR BIRTH AND NAMES?

One of the most significant day in our lives is our birthday. This day often comes with joy and praise and in the mood of the joy that a life has been born, one of the things that comes to mind is giving a name to the baby as an identity. This event is very important and necessary. In fact the naming of objects and persons is an important ritual found in scripture. We can recall in the book of Genesis (Gen.2:19-20), when God created Adam and gave him the responsibility of giving names to all creation. So the act of giving a name to people has been a traditional event not only in the scriptures but in every human culture.

 Thus, our Gospel passage today, gives us the record of the events of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. From the passage, great, significant and surprising things happened on the birth and naming of John the Baptist, of which we can identify three unusual features: first the old have given birth. Secondly, the child has a strange name “John” derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning " YAHWEH is gracious", a name which no one bears in the family and thirdly, Zechariah's dumbness is taken away on account of giving this name. These brought great joy to the people and they praised God. However, such remarkable events caused the crowd to fear and reflect that something different and surprising is happening, things worth remembering. Showing us that, when God names a child, that child is significant in his plan. 

John who’s birth was prophesied by the prophets such as prophet Malachi in our first reading today saying: “Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.” No doubt the mission of John the Baptist was quite unique and challenging because of his special role in preparing humanity for the coming of the Lord. 

Dear friends, what are the mysteries surrounding your birth and  your name? For we all have a significant place in the plan of God and our names are not just a common ceremony, because they bear the mystery of our mission and purpose in life which are testimonies of God’s plan for us. So, why not take out time today to reflect on the mystery, the meaning and circumstances surrounding your birth and your names. For by God’s grace we will understand better who we are and what our mission and purpose on earth are. And by so doing, we will faithfully stand for the truth which we represent and fulfill our plans and purposes, just like John the Baptist who stood for the truth of his mission and offered it to everyone, whenever and however it will best bring conversion to sinner even at the cost of his head. 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, you created each one of us to fulfill your plan on earth and in our names we bear the mystery of our mission and purpose, grant us the grace to faithfully and courageously fulfill our mission and purpose in this world, through Christ our Lord. Amen. As we embrace the Christmas season, may the joy of the Lord be our strength.