Homily For Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17 February, 2023

Readings: Gen. 11:1-9; Ps. 33; Mark: 8:34-9:1

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DO NOT LOSE OR RUIN YOUR LIFE BECAUSE OF THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD

 

There is no doubt that the material things of this world are so captivating and attractive and people are so much engrossed with acquiring them at the detriment of things that edifies the  human soul. People are ready to do anything just to acquire material things of this world. People are ready to kill, blackmail, kidnap and even sacrifice parts of their bodies just to gain power, acquire properties and belong to a particular class or level that they feel is influential in the society, thereby causing more hostility, persecutions and evil in the society.

 

This really makes me to wonder if we are actually learning anything from the lives of those who have passed away from this world. Have we really taken time to reflect on where all of us and the beautiful things of this world will be in the nearest future. In fact, I think is time for us to really think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst of these ugly situations in our societies, which are not stopping soon, for it is getting tougher everyday.

 

Little wonder Jesus after telling his disciples about his passion and the coming persecution said in our Gospel passage today:  ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?”

 

Here Jesus knowing what awaits us in this world, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level, especially in a situation where our faith and Christian values have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God.

Hence, if we are really willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way. Not like those in our first reading today,  who wished to follow their own selfish desires rather than the plan of God,  for they said: “Come, let us build ourselves a town and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered about the whole earth. But the Lord corrected this selfish desire by changing their language.

 

However, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our experience in life. For here comes the moment when we have to make radical and difficult choice as disciples of Jesus. It’s time for us to take up our cross in a sacrificial way and follow the Lord. But what is this cross we are called to take up. Taking up our cross could mean to faithfully face our daily challenges with all its difficulties. It could mean accepting who we are and what we have and using them to the glory of God.

 

The way of the cross is a way of sacrifice, commitment, love, forgiveness, mercy and compassion, which aim towards the good of the other person. It can be a costly service to a loved one who is ill; it can be embracing illness, even terminal illness or other personal weaknesses, but these make no sense except when we relate it with the sufferings of Christ through faith in God. We must let our struggles of life lead us to God’s purpose for us. We must not let the captivating and influential power of things of this passing world make us loose focus of our heavenly kingdom.

 

Dear friends, we are called today to deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this passing world in order to take up our Cross and follow the Lord. Yes the material things of this world is captivating and pleasurable, but it is complete foolishness for us to gain the whole world and ruin our lives. Hence, it’s time to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully follow Jesus. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of following him? Why are we finding it difficult to let go of our excess attachment to worldly things? What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? It is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow maybe too late.

 

LET US PRAY: Gracious God, it is indeed foolishness trying to gain the pleasurable things of this passing world and ruin our lives, give us courage and grace to let go of our excess worldly desires so as to embrace the Cross of Christ. And as we do this, may the Cross of Christ be for us a shining example in our daily struggles, so as to hold firm in our faith despite all the sufferings and persecutions we may encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a lovely day.

Homily For Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 16 February, 2023

Readings: Gen.9: 1-13; Ps. 102; Mark: 8:27-33

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF JESUS?

 

Following the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today, one can not but repeat this fundamental question of Jesus to Christians all over the world: who do you say I am? Jesus addresses this question to all his disciples. The people are free to believe whatever they want about Jesus, for Jesus has been carefully preparing his disciples to carry on his  work so they ought to know better. They have heard His teachings and witnessed his miracles. What they think of Him should be more critical.

 

Thus, St. Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again.

 

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal conviction about the personality of Jesus. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. For Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal response about who Jesus is, even though he does not want to associate with the suffering aspect of the life of Jesus, and that was why Jesus rebuked that spirit of fear in him.

 

Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who do you say I am? For it is not enough to quote the teachings and Catechism of the Church about our faith or the teachings of other theologians and preachers or to respond only from the head but from the heart that is convinced of what he believes on and is really ready to embrace the will of God.

 

The fact is that, Jesus wants us to develop a divine way of looking at things, he wants us to know him deep down our soul, so that we can truly profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. Little wonder God said to Noah in our first reading today: See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you. I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth and every living creature for all generations.

 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: who is Jesus to you? What is your personal experience of Jesus? When was you spiritual turning point? Do we have a personal conviction about God that does not based on what people told us of him? How has your knowledge of Jesus help other people to come to faith in Jesus. In case you have not personally experience him, all you need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in your life and you will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to you.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you revealed to St. Peter the true identity of Jesus your Son, help us to profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. And as we experience the power of your presence, may we embrace more deeply your sacred mysteries. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 15 February, 2023

Readings: James Gen. 8:6-13.20-22; Ps. 116; Mark: 8:22-26

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

SOME HEALING REQUIRES A CHANGE OF ENVIRONMENT

 

Blindness is one of the most difficult human deformities, that deprives one the ability to exercise some of the characteristics of human person. So anyone suffering from such deformity constantly look forward on a day when he or she will be restored. This is the case with the blind man in our Gospel passage today who some people brought to Jesus and begged him to touch him.

 

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, ‘Can you see anything?’ The man, who was beginning to see, replied, ‘I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.’ Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly.

 

Here we see the compassionate love of Jesus in it’s historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, which springs from the love of God the Father and constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating activity which is rooted in our faith in God. In this miracle Jesus did something quite different from his usual ways of healing, he began by separating him from his present environment and then put spittle on his eyes and the healing took place gradually. After the healing was completed, Jesus asked him not to return to the village from which he came.

 

This is very significant because oftentimes our problem and cause and compounded by our present environment. So, for significant change to occur we need to be separated from our present environment. So Jesus is using this opportunity to teach us in order to lead us out of our present environment that makes us blind to the spiritual realities of our lives. For it is important for us to know that the physical activity of the human person can be linked to the present nature of his environment, because the physical is being controlled by the interior being of the person.

 

And when the interior being of a person is engrossed in a wrong environment, then, the ugly fruit of this environment is manifested in the physical activity of the person. This can be  likened to the situation Noah was struggling with in our first reading today. For God decided to destroy the face of the earth with flood in order to give Noah a new environment better than the formal environment corrupted by sins. And God said: Never again will I curse the earth because of man, because his heart contrives evil from his infancy. Never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done.

 

Dear friends, are we in suffering in anyway as a result of the ugly nature of our present environment? Do we know people who are suffering and in need of God’s intervention? Are we spiritually blind by the present activities going on in our environment? We need to be separated from this ugly situation and environment so that we can be restored completely like the blind man in our Gospel passage today. Let us therefore present ourselves and our Loved one to Jesus, who is always ready and willing to heal us and set us free from the ugly situation we are passing through, because the touch of Jesus heals and restores us completely.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our environment has made us to be blind both physically and spiritually, as we present our needs before you today, may we experience once again your compassionate love and healing, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 14th February, 2023 The Memorial of SS. Cyril and Methodius. St. Valentine’s Day

Homily For Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 14^th  February, 2023

The Memorial of SS.  Cyril and Methodius. St. Valentine’s Day

Readings: Gen. 6:5-8,7:1-5,10 ; Ps. 29; Mark: 8:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHY WE TRULY NEED THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING

 

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is understand, which is the ability to perceive an idea or situation mentally, to know and comprehend the nature or meaning of things. Hence, understanding is seen as a gift of God and it is to be prayed and desired by all. Understanding has a moral character which one has to sought and learn. Understanding, then, involves the cognitive, the spiritual, and the moral. While human efforts are required, the ability to understand comes from God and the true test of understanding is obedience to God.

 

For this is what humanity in our first reading  were lacking, they failed to obey what God had instructed them, because they lack understanding of God and his ways as they continued to sin against God. Thus, when the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was so great on the earth, and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. He regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. Hence, he planned to get rid of mankind, though Noah found favour in God’s sight and he promised to preserve humanity and other creations through him.

 

In a similar way, Jesus in our Gospel passage today was disappointed at his disciples’ inability to grasp what he was saying to them or who he really is. They failed to understand what he is capable of doing in their midst. Hence he asked them over nine questions which they failed to understand. We can imagine them asking what is it that we do not yet understand?

 

But they had been witnesses to two extraordinary events done by Jesus: the feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and four thousand with seven Loaves. Yet they do not seem to have grasped the implication of the miracle they had witnessed nor the divine identity of Jesus who had made it possible.

Thus, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember?” This question, reveals that the disciples are really in need of the gift of understanding, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is given to us to make sense of what is happening around us all the time.

 

Dear friends, the fact remains that we all need the gift of understanding just like the disciples in our Gospel today. For often times, we are confused about so many things going on in our lives even concerning our faith. Therefore, let us ask the Holy Spirit for an increase in the gift of understanding.

 

And today all over the world people are celebrating especially young people, we are celebrating what they called the valentine’s day. A day we celebrate love. But today we are celebrating not just love, but the power and victory of love over human selfishness. Thus, Valentine celebration reminds us of the gift of God’s love to humanity. For God loves unconditionally and sacrificially, he loves us till the very end.

 

So, we have to also love one another the way God loves us. We must know that Valentine day is not a carnal celebration of love. But more of sacrificial and spiritual celebration. That is why as Christians we do not celebrate Valentine in a carnal or selfish manner or the sinful way the world celebrates it in the name of boyfriend and girlfriend, committing immorality, fornication and adultery in the name of love, which of course is not love, but lust.

 

Therefore, Valentine’s day for us should be a day we protect and promote true love for one another. It is a day we remember how much we care for one another and what we are to one another. It is a day  we  build up and nurture long-lasting love, friendships and good relationships with one another. Let us learn to embrace true love for that is the only way we can conquer the ugly attitude of pride in us. Let us learn from SS. Cyril and Methodius and also St. Valentine whose memorials we celebrate today. For they are good example of what it means to embrace love in a sacrificial way.

LET US PRAY:  Lord God, you are the source of all understanding, help us to understand your word today calling us to embrace love in a sacrificial way, give us through the intercessions of SS. Cyril, Methodius and valentine the grace to truly love in order to understand and follow the examples of our Lord and Saviour who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE LOVE YOU HAVE SHOWN ME AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Homily For Monday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 13th February, 2023

Readings: Gen. 4:1-15.25; Ps. 50; Mark: 8:11-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DO NOT LET PRIDE BLIND YOU FROM SEEING THE REALITY OF THE  SIGNS AROUND YOU

 

Oftentimes people want to see signs before they can accept or believe whatever we have to present to them. And sometimes people ask for signs just to discredit someone’s efforts. This is the case with the Pharisees in our Gospel passage today, who asked Jesus for sign in order to test him. But Jesus with a sigh that came straight from the heart said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’

 

This response was as a result of pride which has blindfolded the Pharisees who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah that very sign that they seek.  For Jesus presents to us the final recommendations of the end time, pointing out that he is the greatest sign of all time. But this is what the Pharisees wants to  discredit out of pride and ego. 

 

This same pride is what we saw in the life of Cain in our first reading today. For Cain overcame by pride and ego and he killed his brother because he saw that his offerings were not accepted by God while the offerings of Abel was accepted by the Lord. As a result, he fell deeper into sin.

 

Dear friends, pride can make us blind in such a manner that we will continue to seek for signs even when things are clear and obvious in our lives. And Jesus is saying that in the midst of proud people no sign will be given. But, 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?

 

Hence, 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 the only sign that can be given to humanity. Therefore, we are not to be like the Pharisees who are looking for signs especially in times of trials, rather we should seek for wisdom to make things right.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, you are the sign that we seek,  as we embrace your word today give us the grace to be humble in order to follow you our Lord and Saviour. 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 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 12th February, 2023

Readings: Eccles. 15:16-21; Ps. 119; 1Cor.2:6-10; Matt. 5:17-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

JESUS COMES NOT TO ABOLISHED THE LAW BUT TO COMPLETE AND FULFILL THEM

 

Today the sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, we are called to a deeper virtue towards fulfilling the commandments of God. Last Sunday, from the Sermon on the Mount we were told that, we are the light of the world, a light which radiates from Jesus who is the true light of the world. So we are one with Jesus the light of the world. Together we are called to bring new light and hope to the humanity.

 

Hence, every moment of our lives, without realizing it, we continue to be one with Jesus the light of the world. Little wonder this Sunday, Jesus calls us for a deeper relationship with him and with one another in a more righteous manner. Thus he says to his disciples in our Gospel reading today, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. For unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Why? Because Jesus expect more from his disciples. So when he say their righteousness should surpass that of the Pharisee, he meant that they should be right with God, they should be right with their brothers and sisters, and with the whole world. That is, we must strive to deepen our virtue towards righteous deeds. We must become agent of peace and reconciliation. We must be a symbol of God’s mercy and justice in a world full of corruption and greed.

 

No doubt, Jesus understood that salvation in the Old Testament came from the covenant that God had made with His people which the Pharisees hold in high esteem. But what Jesus is saying here is something just a little bit different. He says, “You will follow as I do. You will be people who will rely, not just in the law but in faith as well. That is, a faith in God, a faith in him, a faith in each other, and a faith that will move life closer towards the love of God and neighbours.

 

This is a call for a deeper virtue. It means that the Old Testament is now being fulfilled in the New Testament that calls for deeper love. Telling us that love is the beginning, love is the middle and love is the end of everything. Now we can understand the reason behind the teaching of Jesus concerning breaking the ten commandments as: killing, reconciliation, adultery, lying, swearing.

 

Here, Jesus emphasized that these commandments especially the second commandment which deals with using the name of God in vain,  also the fifth which has to do with respect for human life and the sixth commandment which has to  do  with the sanctity of the human relationship which forbids not only the acts of adultery and fornication but all appetites to them, all lusting after sexual object, for this is the beginning of the sin.

 

In fact,  the lust of conceiving it is a bad step towards the sin, for as far as the heart can do it, there is nothing but convenient opportunity for the sin itself to be carried out. So all approaches toward gratification of this sexual appetite such as: touching and feeding the eye with the sight of it where further satisfaction can be obtained is forbidden. Because such looks and behaviour are very dangerous and destructive to the soul and Jesus said that it is better to lose the eye and the hand than to give in to this sin, and perish eternally in hell.

 

Also, Jesus addressed the notion of divorce in marriage and it’s controversy, by referring us to the fundamental principle of marriage. Addressing the issue of divorce, Jesus said ‘It was because you were so unteachable that’s why Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife, except for unchastity, marries another, is guilty of adultery. And he who marries a divorced wife commits adultery. 

 

Here Jesus emphasized on the real intention of God about marriage and celibacy, that they are two forms of life that help us to value human sexuality as gift from God. He ruled out divorce by placing men and women on the same level; no longer could a man opt to divorce his wife. Today there are lots of problems in family due to lack of understanding of what marriage truly means.

 

It is quite interesting to realize that social, economic and political factors were major determinants that shape the youth’s present understand of marriage, as we see the youths giving importance to changing trends in marriage such as: single parent, inter-caste marriage, living in relationship or cohabitation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender marriages, etc. Hence, marriage for them is more of a social phenomenon than spiritual union and physical companionship. So this is part of what Jesus is addressing today

 

Hence, he speaks of "fulfilling" rather than "abolishing" the law and the prophets as we have it in our Gospel passage today and he added that: “the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Here, Jesus points out that keeping and teaching the commandments of God is the sure way of deepening our relationship with God not just here on earth but also in heaven. For In the Old Testament, we hear too much of the commanding tones: Thou shalt not do his, thou shalt not that. But Jesus is saying something quite different. We hear him saying: Blessed are you who are poor, blessed are you who are meek, blessed are you who mourn, blessed are the peacemakers.

 

The fact is that, Jesus came to bring peace to the world, to restore the peace that God intended for all creation from the first day of creation when He said, “Let there be light” and there was light. Today that light is Jesus, from which all of us are called to ignite the world covered in darkness of sin and death. Little wonder in our first reading, we are made to know that if we wish, we can keep the commandments, because  to behave faithfully is within our power. For God has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.

 

And  St. Paul in our second reading said: we have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

 

Hence we are called for a deeper relationship with God. We are called towards living out this virtue and not just preaching it, we are called to believe in it and living it out day by day in every way we can.

That is why the most important thing for Jesus is for us to be the light of the world, because God loves us and cares for us and He forgives us and will never let us perish. All he wants is for us to learn to love, to be compassionate and forgiven.

 

Dear friends, Jesus has not come to abolish the laws, but to complete and fulfilled them. So he demands a deeper relationship from us not like that of the Pharisees who display their piety before others. Because, so many of them did not truly have genuine faith and love for God. For they loved their laws and customs much more than God and their neighbour as we see in some people today. No, Jesus wants more from us, he wants us to know that the laws that God gave to us is meant to lead us to Him and not for us to stray from Him.

 

Therefore, it is time for us to turn once again to the Lord our God, with all our strength and gifts. It is time for us to truly live our lives with a renewed spirit of faith. We are called to deepen our relationship with God and to embrace His love with all sincerity in order to reciprocate that love to the world through loving our neighbours. By so doing the world may see clearly and live once again by faith in God and faith in each other especially in country where people are suffering.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle everyday towards holiness and perfection, may we be guided by the Holy Spirit and strive to remain towards the path of righteousness and ever to go back to our sinful and ugly ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 11th February, 2023

Readings: Gen 3: 9-24; Ps.90; Mark 8:1-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

GOD’S  COMPASSIONATE LOVE TOWARDS THE DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY

 

When God created man, he entrusted all his creation to him and gave him regulations to follow in order to ensure successful fulfilment of this responsibility. But out of pride and selfishness man disobeyed God’s instructions and regulations as we heard in our first reading today and this brought about the downfall of man, who have chosen to listen to the lies of the serpent, and as a result, committed sin against God.

 

Thus, when the Lord God called man. ‘Where are you?’ he replied ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ Hence, he was banished from God’s garden, where he should have remained and enjoying the bliss of God’s presence.

 

 Nonetheless, God has not abandoned man in this downfall. He is still compassionate, caring and loves us even with our imperfections and our disobedience. His compassion for the sufferings of humanity is so great. This is more evident in our Gospel reading today, where Jesus reveals his compassion towards humanity. This compassionate love of Jesus in it’s historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, springs from the love of God the Father.

 

Here, Jesus had compassion on the people who had been with him for days listening to his words. He then says to his disciples that there is need for him to give them something to eat before sending them away less they may faint on the way since some of them have come a long distance. This compassion of Jesus is meant for us to spread it throughout the world in a practical way by our ways of life especially this difficult moments in our country.

 

Dear friends, God has not abandoned us even in our imperfections, he still cares about us. All he wants from us is to be faithful to him and be compassionate to one another. But how strong is our compassion towards others? Do we know people who are helpless and need some help? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he see them through us? Have I ever felt helpless? Do I feel the need of Jesus’ help in some part of my life?

 

Today, like Jesus, each one of us are called to reach out to people around us who are really in need of our assistance. This includes our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues and others who we encounter in life. The truth is that, you may be the only person who can brings the healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives especially now that people are really passing through financial difficulties.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our fragile and contingent nature propelled by pride and sins have always bring about our downfall, but you have never abandoned us. As we embrace your compassion, give us the grace to look at people around us with the compassionate eyes of Jesus and be of help to them the best we could. We  ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen. Do have a peaceful weekend.