Homily For Saturday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 21st January, 2023 The Memorial of St. Agnes of Rome

 Readings: Heb.9:2-3.11-14, Ps.46 , Mark 3:20-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

JESUS THE SEAL OF THE NEW COVENANT

 

From the beginning of creation God has always been making covenant with humanity and this covenants are made in different ways and in different occasions. In the old testament, this covenants were often made and sealed with the blood of animals. However, this has to change by the very act of the incarnation of Christ the Lord. Who in accordance with the plan of God to redeem humanity has sacrificed his blood completely for the salvation of all. Thereby doing away with the old covenants sealed with blood of animals.

 

Little wonder, in our first reading today we are reminded of the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. Where as a high Priest, he has offered himself as a worthy sacrifice for our sake and for the forgiveness of our sins. This he did in order to deliver us from death and led us into a new hope and a new life of love and obedient to God.

 

By this redemptive work, Christ has become our high Priest who has taken away the sins of humanity. This he accomplished by pouring out his most precious blood on the cross. His blood which is far more precious than the blood of any animal has replaced the old covenantal seals and has become the new covenantal seal by this singular act of love on the cross. By this act of love,  God calls us to a life of love, obedience, commitment and sacrifice .

 

The response to these acts of love, sacrifice, obedience and commitment to God’s mission is what we 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, this of course 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 following the example of our Lord Jesus.

 

Dear friends, in the life of St. Agnes we see one who wished to remain faithful and obedience to God’s command knowing that in Christ Jesus, God has accomplished his redemptive work, for there is no need for any other sacrifices. What is needed is for us to identify ourselves with this covenantal sacrifice especially through our active participation in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist during the Holy Mass.

 

For during the Holy Mass, the very same Sacrifice of our Lord at Calvary is enacted by Christ himself through his priest of which he has entrusted to his Church and his priests, the power and authority to constantly make present to the people this covenantal sacrifice. Therefore, we are called to embrace this sacrificial love of Christ and turn away from our ugly and sinful ways of life in order to embrace this love and mercy with a new heart and be ever more grateful to God for such an act of kindness and compassion.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we thank you for such great act of love which you have shown to us through Christ your Son who is our eternal high Priest. Grant that through the intercession of St Agnes we may be ever more faithful in following and doing your will, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Do have a blessed and favourable weekend.

Homily For Friday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 20th January, 2023

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.

 

LEARN TO ACQUIRE THE ULTIMATE TREASURE OF HEAVEN JUST LIKE BLESSED TANSI

 

In the  scriptures,  it is obvious that Jesus often use parables to passage important message to his audience. Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, he 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, today we celebrate the feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, a man who understands the importance of acquiring the kingdom of heaven knowing that it is so precious and great, and it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures. Tansi 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. He was a very good confessor, he promoted vocations to priesthood and religious life, and provided for the needs of the poor.  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. And St Paul in our first reading today said do not look to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, though was in the form of God,  did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

 

Dear friends, in the world we have different kinds of treasures and seeds. But the question is, what kind of treasure are we searching? This treasure, what type of  it’s seeds are we watering in our lives today? Are we watering valuable seeds or weeds? Are we watering weeds that we do not need such as: weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness, sin etc.

 

Today we are called to quit watering these kinds of weeds because that's what the enemies wants and we must not fall into their traps. Rather, like Tansi, we are called to water those treasure born by the valuable seeds of faith, love, holiness, hospitality, obedience, reconciliation, charity and make them our values of life. For when we feed and water our values, we will grow stronger like the mustard tree full of treasures where people may find solace.

 

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 implanted 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 Thursday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 19th January, 2023

Readings: Heb. 7:25-8:6, Ps.39, Mark 3:7-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LET US LEARN TO SOMETIMES WITHDRAW FROM THE CROWD OF THIS WORLD

 

There is no doubt in my mind that the work of evangelization can be so demanding and can weigh us down if we do not create time to draw strength from the Lord. This is so, because, a lot of people are in need of God’s loving care, healings and direction especially in the midst of the ugly situation in our world today. Thus, in our Gospel passage today, St. Mark gave us a summary of the activities of Jesus and how he was able to manage the pressure from the crowd who came from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea and even from the pagan region of Tyre and Sidon as they were almost about to crush him and his disciples.

 

So, as Jesus healed the people and performed great works, most people wish to see him and to touch him. The people are so numerous that Jesus himself was concerned with the danger of being crushed by the multitude. Thus he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd would not crush him. And from the boat he spoke to them and heal the sick, and set free those possessed especially the excluded and the marginalized who came to him with their ailments. For those who were not accepted in the society at that time were accepted by Jesus. This tells us that Jesus is really concerned about the struggles of humanity and wishes to set us free from the shackles of the devil.

 

Dear friends, we are told in our first reading that the power of Jesus to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. For Jesus wishes to set us free from sickness and the forces and manipulations of the evil ones. And the power of evil which causes great fear in people have been overcome by Jesus, so that we do not need to be afraid of Satan anymore.

 

Thus, we should not be afraid to stand firm against the manipulations of the devil, because Jesus will not abandon us in this battle of life. He desires to be with us as we struggle everyday to overcome the forces of evil in our families, society and the world at large. However, as we carryout our mission of evangelization we are called to always be careful about the pressure that comes from the crowd for this can crush and consume us if we do not create time to be with the Lord. So, we have to learn to sometimes withdraw from the crowd of this world.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle everyday to do your will in the mission entrusted to us. May we never been consumed or crushed by the pressure that comes from the crowd, rather let the power of your presence be felt in our midst, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Wednesday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 18th January, 2023

Readings: Heb.7:1-3.15-17; Ps. 110; Mark 3:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DO NOT LET ANY LAW OR REGULATIONS RESTRICT YOU FROM DOING GOOD TO PEOPLE

 

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.

 

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 Jesus who in our first reading today was described as the second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.

 

Dear friends, today we are called to know that no law should restrict us from constantly doing 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 Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17th January, 2023. The Memorial of St. Anthony. Abbot

Readings: Heb. 6:10-20, Ps. 110, Mark 2:23-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

HOW ARE WE INTERPRETING AND IMPLEMENTING OUR RELIGIOUS AND SOCIETAL  LAWS?

 

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 laws, 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 laws 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 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.

 

Dear friends, how are we interpreting and implementing our religious and societal laws? For Laws exist 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 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. For in our first reading we were told that God would not be so unjust as to forget all we have done, the love that we have for his name or the services we have done, and are still doing, for the saints.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you often show the light of your truth to those who go astray, grant through the intercession of St.  Anthony, 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 Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 16th January, 2023

Readings: Heb.5:1-10, Ps. 110, Mark 2:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

STOP PATCHING YOUR NEW LIFE OF GRACE WITH YOUR OLD LIFE OF SIN

 

The chorus of one of our great communion hymn titled New Life 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 especially this year. 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 Jesus 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 fasting as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. For no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on to an old garment, because the patch pulls away from the garment 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 about fasting. 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’s what Jesus is to the souls of all who believe in him.

 

Thus, our first reading presents to us the personality of Jesus the bridegroom, who though was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek, thereby offering us the new garment and a new life of grace, mercy and compassion towards the people.

 

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.

 

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 garment to patch an old one. Here the fresh wineskins refers to a new heart that has put off the old  garment of sin and looks forward to the new wine of grace through the process of conversion.

 

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 stop patching our new life of grace with the old life of sin. 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 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 A, 15th January, 2023

Readings: Is. 49:3.5-6; Ps. 40, 1Cor. 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE CALL TO HOLINESS TOWARDS THE MISSION OF FOLLOW JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD

 

Today is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Liturgical year A, which begins immediately after we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord last Monday. 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 a call to encounter and follow the Lord, which points out the mission of the Church in proclaiming the word of God and our part in this mission.

 

Thus, in our Gospel passage we heard how God has called us through John the Baptist, to follow Christ, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world. This is clear when John the Baptist in our Gospel, saw Jesus passing by and declared: this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. For this is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me.  ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

 

Here he is pointing out the essence of Jesus’ mission, telling us about the great Servant of God, whose mission was to bring sinners back to God as we heard in our first reading through prophet Isaiah saying: ‘It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Considering this great task of Jesus, John introduced him as the Lamb of God and not the Lion of God and also described the Holy Spirit as a dove, not a hawk which is more powerful. why? Because, the Lamb is the most gentle, harmless and loving creature of God while the dove is a gentle bird, a symbol of peace and goodwill.  So this images tell us about the person of Jesus and the approach by which he will carry out his mission. Consequently, Jesus, the gentle Lamb of God, gently died for our sins, so that we could live in joy and freedom of God’s children, teaching us to do the same in our relationship with one another.

 

Thus, how to effectively carryout this vocation and mission is what St. Paul spoke about in our second reading as he addressed the Church and the faithful in Corinth and indeed to all of us Christians, who have been called to follow Christ and have been sanctified and blessed to be God’s chosen people, who are reunited and brought together from the world to bear the fruit of love and holiness of life. Hence, St. Paul addressed us as: the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Therefore, he reminded us that we are called to holiness everyday of our lives especially in this ordinary time. He made us to know that we are not meant to defile our bodies through any forms of ugly attitudes such as fornication: for the body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  For God who raised the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too. Hence, we must keep away from any forms of defilement such as: adultery, fornication and impure thoughts. Because, all the other sins are committed outside the body; but to fornicate is to sin against our own body. And our body, as we know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in us to help us in our vocation and mission this year.

 

Dear friends, today we are called to holiness towards the mission of following Christ the Lamb of God, for there are so many things that are distracting us from our mission and vocation, and are leading us into sin and we are so much attached to them because the world has sexualized almost everything around us. The television, the internet, the music, movies, cartoons, even our social and religious activities are corrupted by this sexualization motives.

 

This of course, drive and tempt us to commit the sins of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and masturbation. Because we have lost the virtue of self-control towards our sexuality, which of course is the cause of the increase in rape, incest, divorce and all forms of gander transformation going on in our society today. The main point here is for us not to indulge in sins that will ruin our souls.

 

Therefore, as the year unfolds, we are all challenged to live a holy life as the Lord has taught us. And as we carryout our mission, we are called to follow the way of the Lamb. That is, we are to be the most gentle, harmless and loving children of God. We must be a symbol of peace, compassion and goodwill. We are not to force people to believe in God by the use of intimidation or force, and neither should we use any forms of tricks or false persuasions. Rather, we should be more selfless and forgiving in our interactions with one another, putting aside our pride, ego and selfish desires, knowing that the grace of God is always sufficient for us.

 

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 with our sexuality, especially in this time when the world as lost the true meaning and value of human sexuality, and as a result so many lives and families are being destroyed. 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.