Homily For Wednesday Third Week of Easter Year A, 26th April, 2023

Readings: Acts. 8:1-8; Ps.66; John 6:35-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LET YOUR STAVING SOUL BE SATISFIED IN JESUS THE BREAD OF ETERNAL LIFE

 

What can ever satisfy the human hunger and thirst for peace, wholeness righteousness, love and joy? These are the things we search everyday of our lives. But we seem to have little or no answer. This is because we have often failed to listen to God’s words calling us and directing us towards the path of truth which he has revealed through his son our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been speaking to us in our Gospel since his resurrection.

 

Thus, today Jesus continues with his teaching on the bread of life, he seeks to draw those who listened to him into a profound relationship with himself. He asks them to believe in his wonderful promises about eternal life. In the same way he invites us to partake in a life that is indestructible, to share in the very life of God. Jesus wants us to know that he is the food of our souls. Our souls are really starving due to sins, and indeed thirsty for holiness, love, peace and purity. In Jesus alone can staving and empty souls find their strength and satisfaction. For in him, there is fullness of life.

 

The fact remains that Jesus is the bread of life which came down from heaven. And he wants us to commit our souls into his hands. Thus, whenever we experience anything of spiritual hunger and thirsty, we must come to Jesus and be satisfied. This is what was lacking in the life of Saul, who in our first reading today worked for the total destruction of the Church after he had witnessed and ensured the stoning and death of Stephen. So, he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.  But those who had escaped from him went from place to place preaching the Good News of peace, love holiness and salvation.

 

Dear friends, like Saul, are we weigh down by sorrows in conscience or staving in affections and love especially in this difficult moment in human history and thereby acting in ignorance? Or are we like the disciples who even in the midst of persecution remained faithful in witnessing the love they have found in Jesus.

 

Whatever the situation may be for us now, we must know that Jesus is always ready to relieve and restore us whenever we come to him in faith. So, you have to let your staving soul be satisfied in Jesus the bread of eternal life. For in him alone shall we find lasting satisfaction, peace and love both now and for eternity.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, often times we are thirsty and hungry down within our souls,  may we find in the Words of Jesus that satisfactions which our souls so desired and by so doing fine eternal life. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you the best of God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Tuesday Second Sunday of Easter, 25th April, 2023. Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist

Readings: 1 Peter 5:5-14; Ps.89; Mark 16:15-20

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LET US LEARN TO TAKE OUR MISSIONARY MANDATE SERIOUSLY JUST LIKE ST. MARK

 

Today, the Church calls our attention to the mission and mandate of Christ to his disciples as we Celebrate the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist. It is truly a feast which is meant for all of us who are followers of Christ to recount our commitment to Jesus which we made at our baptism.

 

This is commitment to bear authentic witness to the faith we profess just as St. Mark recounts in his Gospel passage we read today, which tells us the stories of how Jesus called his disciples and commissioned them to go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. We are also called by Jesus, not only as disciples, but also as evangelists.

 

Therefore evangelization is the very nature and essence of the life of the Church. Jesus gives us the mandate and the commission to evangelize, that is, to announce the Good News to all the nations and to spread the Gospel to every creature. This commission is shared by all those who are baptized both priests and lay faithful. Everyone has a particular responsibility to share in the work of proclamation of the Gospel.

 

Today, we should ask ourselves, how have we proclaimed the Gospel to the world? What efforts are we making to ensure that the mandate Christ entrusted to us is carried out effectively in our generation. This Easter season, how have we proclaimed the Risen Lord to the world?

 

Are we shy, ashamed or humiliated because of the Gospel? St Peter in our second reading said: Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering the same things

 

Dear friends, at this moment when the world is confused, because we have removed God out of our daily lives, at this time when we have placed our hope in the activities of the human person who seems to have taken the place of God, at this time when our governments, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and even pastors assumed the place of God which is the cause of the ugly situation we are passing through in our societies today. It's time to come back to God and follow his directions.

 

Thus, it’s time to recall what Jesus says in the Gospel of John (15:1-8), l am the true Vine you are the branches, anyone who remains with me will bear fruit in plenty, but cut off from me you can do nothing but to perish. We have cut ourselves off from the true Vine and now we can do little or nothing about the situations we find ourselves in our families, society and the world at large.

 

Therefore, let us come back to God our true Vine, for our help comes from Him alone. He has commanded us to go into the whole world and preach this Gospel. Like St. Mark whose memorial we celebrate today, let us learn to take this mandate very seriously for it is our responsibility to fulfil our promises to God and ensure that the Christian faith is preached and sustained in the world and by so doing save humanity once again from sin and death.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are lost in this world, we are confused because we have cut ourselves off from You our true Vine, as we come back to you once again, please give us the grace to preach the Gospel following the example of St Mark the Evangelist, grant that we may learn from his teaching and walk faithfully in the footsteps of Christ and by so doing draw humanity once again back to You. Amen. Do have a grace filled week.

Homily For Monday in Third Week of Easter Year A, 24th April, 2023

Readings: Acts. 6:8-15; Ps.119; John 6:22-29

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE GRACE AND POWER TO BEAR AUTHENTIC WITNESS

 

In every human heart, there is a secret garden which God has made uniquely for himself and that garden is our conscience. However, God is always at the gate of this garden knocking, but we pretend not to hear him. The truth is that everyday God gives us the grace to experience him and bear witness, he makes himself present in us but we often ignore him or pretend we do not perceive his presence.

 

This was the attitude of the men who sought to kill Stephen out of jealousy in our first reading today, where we heard the account of how St. Stephen, one of the first deacons who full of grace and power bore witness to the risen Lord before the people. He worked many miracles and great signs among the people. But some group of men felt so infuriated and ground their teeth at him since they cannot withstand his wisdom. 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 and they saw his face like that of an angel. 

 

Dear friends, this was possible because Stephen opened completely the door of his heart and finding God, he witnessed him with his life. We too have been given the grace and power to bear authentic witness to the faith we have found in Jesus who tells us in our Gospel passage today, to believe in him and work for the food which endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering us.  That is, the eternal food of love, compassion, mercy, kindness, peace and salvation.

 

These were the food that Stephen had received from the Lord when he opened the door of his heart and these same food he offered to the members of the Sanhedrin but they cannot comprehend or withstand it. Therefore, Jesus is calling us to work for these kind of food that comes from the heart of a person who has personally encountered him, the risen Lord.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we open our hearts to embrace the eternal food of love, compassion, mercy, kindness, peace and salvation which You offer to humanity, give us the grace and courage to bear authentic witness of Your goodness in the world especially at this moment when humanity needs You the most. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the week begins, be strong, be hopeful and stay safe for God is still in control.

Homily For Third Sunday of Easter Year A, 23rd April, 2023

Readings: Acts.2:14.22-33; Ps.16; 1Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

WHEN HOPE SEEMS LOST, LOOK FORWARD FOR EMMAUS ENCOUNTER

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1817, defines Christian hope as: "the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit”

 

So, the virtue of hope is a necessary vehicle for Christian faith and in journey of life. We can only understand the value of this virtue when we find ourselves in hopeless situation like the two disciples of Jesus on their way to Emmaus as we heard in our Gospel passage today.

 

These two disciples were sad because their hopes had been dashed. They had placed their hope in Jesus, believing that he would be the one who will redeem Israel. They said in Luke 24:21: “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”

 

They were hoping that Jesus would become a political leader who would once again bring Israel into freedom from Roman oppression just the same way Nigerians where hoping that the last general elections will bring restoration and confidence to our electoral process, just to wake up and realized that we have being deceived.  

 

So, like these disciples we were hoping. But our hope was gone and now we are sad and confused. Most of us are now going back to Emmaus to continue with our old ways of life. This is the reality of life, for in this journey of life we may see ourselves journeying back through the road to Emmaus, walk and looking so sad, hopeless and confused.

 

Yes, there are many things in life that can make us sad and hopeless.  Sometimes, we suffer humiliation and disappointments by family members and friends. At times we lost our jobs, our properties, our friend through quarrels, divorce, abuse, addictions, and other natural and supernatural disasters. And these inflict pains and hopelessness in our heart as we walk sad and hopeless through the Emmaus road of life.

 

And here, comes Jesus journeying with us, letting us to know that hope does not  die!  Because his is alive today and can walk into our life and restore hope, for his presence is hope personify. He wants to have a deep conversation with us, he wants to remind and instruct us about his promises. He wants to reveal himself to us in a personal and collective manner just as he did with his two disciples today. The hope once lost will be restored by his presence through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Little wonder, Pope Francis while defining Christian hope said, that: "hope is much more than simple optimism for Christians, it is constant expectation, it's a gift from the Holy Spirit, it's a miracle of renewal that never lets us down”. This will help us to understand what happened in our first reading today, where we heard how Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice speaking about their personal experience of God, how God raised Jesus to life and how he received from the Father the Holy Spirit, and now they are witnesses to this through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

 

In a similar way, St. Peter in our second reading, wants us to remember that the ransom that was paid to free us from our useless and ugly ways of life was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ. Here, we see how God chooses to carry out His plan.

 

This awesome nature of God is well demonstrated in the story of the mysterious presence of Jesus before his two disciples who where disappointed and are going back to their old ways of life. These disciples recognized Jesus at the breaking of bread and return back to bear witness of their encounter.

 

Death friends, the setting of this story of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, portrays the structure of our liturgical celebration in a more practical way. At our liturgical celebrations we journey with Jesus along the way of faith, where he unites us with himself though separated by sin as he reconcile with us through the penitential rite. Then he feeds us with his word, as he prepares us for special encounter at the Eucharistic table where he manifest himself in the Eucharist for us to recognize him.  

 

Friends, happy are we who encounter and recognize our risen Lord in the Eucharist, where he constantly invites us to come and be restored.

Therefore, as we continue our journey of faith we may find ourselves on the road to Emmaus with all hope seem lost. The road which represents disappointment, failure, sorrow, grief, bitterness and confusion.  So like the two  Emmaus disciples, we should know that the risen Lord is with us in our journey of life even when we cannot recognize him.

 

In the same way, he is  journeying with us in our liturgical worship even when we don’t recognize him. Jesus is journeying with us today. He wants to hear us discuss about him, he wants to enlighten us, he wants to open our hearts and mind through the scriptures, he wants to address our daily challenges. He wants to reveal himself to us at this Eucharistic celebration. Are you ready to encounter him?

 

LET US PRAY: O God, as we journey with You, especially at this difficult moment in human history, may Your presence strengthen our faith and constantly renew our hope, give us the grace and courage to dedicate ourselves, our time, and energy in serving You, as You fill our heart with the Joy of Your kingdom. Amen. Wishing you and your family a personal encounter of the risen Lord.

Homily For Saturday in Second Week of Easter, 22nd April, 2023

Readings: Acts.6:1-7; Ps.33; John 6:16-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

WHEN JESUS COMES INTO THE BOAT OF YOUR LIFE ALL STORMS WILL CEASE

 

A boat is a craft work made for transportation, fishing, or cruising on the water, it is propelled by oars or wind. It is a full house, a complete and secured vessel. The fisher men and the marine men who are into sea business know the value of a boat and what it means to be in a boat faced with heavy storms. Little wonder, in the Scriptures, Jesus often make use of the boat to teach and instruct the people and his disciples.

 

On the occasion of our Gospel passage today, the disciples got into the boat and went before Jesus to the other side. When evening came, they were there alone on the boat which has gone far on the lake, and was battling with a heavy sea storms. So as the waves were breaking over the boat, the disciples were afraid and needed help from anywhere. It was at this point that they saw Jesus walking on the sea and he said to them: “take courage, it is I, do not be afraid”. And as he got into the boat the wind ceased.

 

In this Gospel passage we can foresee a gesture which signifies the chosen people God on a transit of faith, frightened by the guilt of sin and wounded by the waves of the sea, the abode of evil forces and monsters of this world. Today Jesus is inviting us to journey on this boat of life with an unwavering faith and a repented heart so that our storms of struggles will cease. Because the world is being tossed around by the waves of evil forces the enemies of humankind, inflicting hardships, sickness and sorrows on us.

 

But Jesus is inviting us to come into his boat so that we can find life, peace and grace to overcome our struggles. This is what the apostles did in our first reading today when they had challenges with the distribution of resources to the people. So inspired by the Holy Spirit they said to the people: select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty of distribution to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.

 

Dear friends, the world is full of sea and caves of different problems inform of storms and so many people are trying to find ways to fix their problems. Today Jesus is inviting us to come into his boat of life with an unwavering faith and a repented heart and we will find peace of mind. For his boat is the safest vessel where all our storms can be subdued. Where humanity can find solace, where all our struggles will cease, where hope for the future is guarantied.

 

Therefore, I don't know the great storms of doubt and fear in your soul today? I don’t know how deep your sorrows of constant failure and disappointment are? I don’t know how long or deep you have been involved in the evil going on in this world? All I know is that when Jesus comes into the boat of our lives, our families and societies, all the storms in our lives will cease and then we will worship God in sincerity and freedom.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for being with us in all our struggle against the storms of life, as we invite you into the boat of our lives, grant that the violent storms and waves of bondage in our lives will end in a wonderful calm that brings peace in our souls. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a peaceful weekend.

Homily For Friday in Second Week of Easter, 21st April, 2023

Readings: Acts.5:34-42; Ps.27; John 6:1-15

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

DO NOT BE AFRIAD OF EXPRESSING YOUR FAITH IN GOD ANYWHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF

 

Today the persecution account of the apostles continues as the members of the Sanhedrin call for council meeting to decide what to do with the apostles.

So at this council as we have in our first reading, Gamaliel a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, suggested that the apostles should be left alone on the basis of past experiences of those who claimed to be great but were letter perished when their leader had died, that what is happening now with the apostles might be the same.

 

He advice them to have nothing to do with the apostle, that if their purpose or activity is from human origins it will soon perish. If not, they will not be able to destroy them without fighting God Himself. so,  his advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged and warned not to speak in the name of Jesus and then released them.

 

However, instead of being depressed, the apostles left the court full of joy that they had been judged worthy of beaten for the sake of the Name of Jesus. Here, they experienced the blessedness that Jesus had spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount when he said: “blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people abuse you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Matt 5:10-12).

 

Dear friends, in any situation we find ourselves, we are called to bear witness to our faith in Christ, though this mandate may seem difficult in our world at this moment, but just like in the time of the apostles the grace of God is sufficient for us. Therefore, let us not be afraid of expressing our faith anywhere we find ourselves in the world, for God will surely protect us as He protected the apostles.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we proclaim your name to the world especially in this difficult times, give us the grace to rejoice even in the midst of persecution, suffering, sickness or death. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. May the blessings, joy and favour of the Lord find there way in our lives and in our families.

Homily For Thursday in Second Week of Easter, 20th April, 2023

Readings: Acts.5:27-33; Ps.34; John 3:31-36

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LEARN TO BE SUBMISSIVE TO GOD’S AUTHORITY ABOVE ALL OTHER HUMAN AUTHORITIES

 

As the persecution of the apostles continued, the authorities of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin forbade the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus as we have it in our first reading today. But the apostles spoke out boldly saying: It is better for us to obey God than men. They stood firm and witness to all what they had experienced. Their testimony was directed by the Holy Spirit, who is given to all those who responded to God with the obedience that comes from faith.

 

So, they continued to preach in name of Jesus and their accusers could not stop them even though they had been strictly forbidden to do so. Such are the grace and courage we receive when we experience the power of the risen Lord. We will not be afraid to witness because we are convinced that Jesus is the One who comes from above, the One whom God has sent to speak the words of God.

 

He is the Word of God who came to bear testimony to what he has seen and heard just as we heard him telling Nicodemus in our Gospel passage, that anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him.

 

Dear friends, as Christians living in a world where our faith is being challenged every moment especially in this ugly situation of wars, corruption, kidnapping, greed and protest everywhere. So,  we must make costly choices of choosing to obey God rather than men and not give in because of persecution, hunger, poverty or our worldly ambition.

 

Everywhere we find ourselves be it in  business, relationship, politics and in family life we have to make decisions about remaining honest, truthful, holy and faithful to our faith and commitments God above that of any human authorities. So, we must be ready to stand firm in the faith we have found in God. We must learn to submit to the authority of the Lord above all other human authorities.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us grace and courage to constantly obey You above any human authority, especially in times of difficulty, hunger, strive, sickness, and persecution. Never let us deny You because of worldly pressures and difficulties or be put to shame, as we place all our hope in You. Amen. It’s a new day, be strong be focused for the Lord has promised to be with us till the end of time.