Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 24th October, 2023

Readings: Romans 5:12.15.17-21; Ps. 40; Luke 12:36-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

LET YOUR LOINS BE GIRDED AND YOUR LAMPS BURNING

 

There are two most important events in our life as a human person. One is well known, prepared and constantly celebrated, that is, our birthday. The other, which is the ultimate, is not known and less attention and preparation is being made for it, that is, the day of our departure from this world.

 

So, Jesus knowing how important this day is, instructed his disciples in our Gospel passage today saying: “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, wait for him, for happy are those servants if he finds them ready when he comes.”

 

Here we have a scenario which illustrates the unexpected approach of the coming of Christ which will be a great surprise to those who are asleep as they will be missing out on the heavenly joy and also be deprived of their earthly treasures. But for those that shall be found awake and ready, the Lord's coming will be a happy day, while for those that are not prepared, it will be very dreadful. Thus our ignorance of the day and time of his coming is the reason for our watchfulness, so we must be awake and ready at all times.

 

Thus, St. Paul addressing the ugly situation that humanity found herself and the need for us to be ready to come out of it said in our first reading today that: sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned; but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall, so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, has come to so many as an abundant gift of salvation. For this reason, we should be more prepared and ready for that glorious day of the Lord.

 

Dear friends, we are called today to be ready. We are called to repentance. We are called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life of constant struggle towards perfection in order to embrace the Lord whenever he comes. Therefore, preparation is the key word. Let us not be deceived when the world suggests to us that the day of death is not coming soon so forget who we are, and then, the day and time will take us by surprise.

 

Rather, let us be like those wise servants who are prepared at all times for the coming of the master. Thus, we must change our disposition, especially as regards our attitude towards the things of this passing world in order to embrace more of the things that will lead us to our heavenly kingdom for we are nothing but travellers in this world.

 

LET US PRAY, Lord God, today you ask us to be ready for your coming, increase in us the desire to be prepared and ready for that inevitable event of death, so that whenever it comes, it will not be a shock to us, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It's a lovely day, may God bless your efforts and grant success to the works of your hands.

Homily For Monday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 23rd October, 2023

Readings: Romans 4:20-25; Ps: Luke 1: 69-75;  Luke 12:13-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

FOOL! THIS VERY NIGHT THE DEMAND WILL BE MADE FOR YOUR SOUL

 

Material possessions are gifts from God and he alone gives us the right to them. But what we possess is meant to help us grow in our relationship with God and neighbours not to separate us from them, because if we are not careful, too much love for material possessions can be an obstacle on our way to God’s Kingdom. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today warns us against covetousness and excessive attachment to worldly possessions which he greatly emphasized with the story of the rich Man Harvest.

 

In this story a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I do not have enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?

 

Here, Jesus tells his disciples about the need to live a life of detachment. He used this story to teach his disciples and all of us about the futility of worldly desires and their pursuits. Thereby showing us the foolishness of human greed, as well as pride and ego. For in this man, we see the uselessness of human selfishness, covetousness and excess worldly possession, as he constantly focused only on himself saying I will do this, I will do that, ‘My goods, my fruits, my barns, my soul, etc, without any interest or room for his neighbours or the poor. He has no thought of God, nor his servants. If he had looked a little beyond himself, he would have seen many places where he could have bestowed his crops.  Thus, there is a need for us to constantly prune ourselves from excess love for material possessions of this passing world.

 

The fact remains, that, material possessions in themselves are good, for we would not survive for long without them, but excess attachment to it at the expense of eternal life is grade-one suicide. No doubt, it is difficult to give out or share our possessions, but the ones who give up everything are the ones who receive more in this life as well as in heaven. For St. Paul tells us in our first reading that, since God had made him a promise, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had the power to do what he had promised. This will help us to understand the need to live a detached life.

 

Dear friends, detaching and sharing what we possess with others especially the poor is a sure way to finding life, peace, and happiness. And Jesus is telling us that it will be difficult for us to enter his kingdom when we choose to attach ourselves to the riches of this passing world. Though material possessions are gifts from God and he alone gives us the right to have them, what we possess is not meant to separate us from God, rather, they should help us to grow in our relationship with God and our neighbours.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism is the order of the day, help us to learn how to live a life of detachment and prune us always from the sin of covetousness and pride, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week.

 

Homily For Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 22nd October, 2023. Mission Sunday

Readings: Is. 45:1.4-6, Ps. 96, 1Thess.1:1-5; Matt. 22:15-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

HEARTS ON FIRE, FEET ON THE MOVE

 

At the time of Jesus, one of the great means of exchange was the use of a coin, A coin as we know is a small, flat, round piece of metal used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender use in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by the government with particular images, numerals and inscriptions. It is a very important commodity used in payment of taxes and other important goods, this gives great value to anyone who has enough for it in his possession.

 

So on the occasion of our Gospel passage today, the Pharisees and Herodians attempted to trap Jesus using the mandatory law of paying tax to Caesar. It was a serious trap for Jesus because a negative response from him would make him a serious enemy of Rome; a positive response would make him lose the trust of his people, who generally detest paying this tax. Thus, Jesus said to them: “Why do you set this trap for me? Bring me a coin and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose image and inscriptions is it?’ Caesar’s they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

 

But what does this reply mean? Here Jesus requested for a coin; he secured the coin; he inquired about the image and inscription of the coin; and they responded by identifying the coin with Caesar. In the context of these actions Jesus is probably holding the coin this implies that the true image of the coin is in his possession but the empirical image and inscription of the coin are the sum total of the things that belong to Caesar. In other words, the true image and inscriptions of anything come and belong to God. However, the empirical image of corruption, greediness, pride, operation and deception that are found in this coin belongs to Caesar and should be rendered back to him.

 

Thus, Jesus affirms, that one’s obligation to the government is necessary as long as it is for the good of all while insisting that one’s obligation to God is always greater and this should be done by rendering the true image of the coin to God which ultimately belongs to Him. And this is what prophet Isaiah is pointing out in our first reading as he expatiate on the relationship between faith and politics which was well demonstrated in the person of Cyrus whose right hand God had used to subdue nations and uncover the loins of kings.

In the same light, St. Paul in our second reading encouraged the Church of Thessalonians to remember their faith, love and hope in God even in the midst of their struggles against the political powers and authority around them.

 

Dear friends, in our struggles against the ugly political powers and authorities of our generation, we all, in one way or the other possess the coins of this life, but whose image and inscription are in the coin we possess. Are we possessing the coin with the true image and inscription of God or the coin with the empirical image of sin, corruption, greed, selfishness and deception? Today as we celebrate Mission Sunday, Jesus is telling us to render back to the Caesars of this world all the ugly and sinful coins in our possession for they belong to Caesar. While rendering to God the true image of the coin with the inscription of love, mercy, justice, forgiveness, charity and holiness for they truly belong to God. These are what we are called to do as we carry out our missionary mandate.

 

 Little wonder, Pope Francis in his Message for this Mission Sunday titled Hearts on Fire, feet on the Move said: I have chosen this theme inspired by the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus, in the Gospel of Luke (cf. 24:13-35) to portray the nature of our mission. For those two disciples were confused and dismayed, but their encounter with Christ in the word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them the enthusiastic desire to set out again towards Jerusalem and proclaim that the Lord had truly risen.

 

Here, we perceive this change in the disciples through a few revealing images: their hearts burned within them as they heard the Scriptures explained by Jesus, their eyes were opened as they recognized him and, ultimately, their feet set out on the way. By meditating on these three images, which reflect the journey of all missionary disciples, we can renew our zeal for evangelization in today’s world.

 

Today, as then, the Risen Lord remains close to his missionary disciples and walks beside us, particularly when we feel disoriented, discouraged, and fearful of the mystery of iniquity that surrounds us in this world and seeks to overwhelm us. So, “let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of hope!” (Evangelii Gaudium, 86). For the Lord is greater than all our problems. Pope Francis also said: I desire to express my closeness in Christ to all the men and women missionaries in the world, especially to those enduring any kind of hardship.

 

Dear friends, he said: the Risen Lord is always with you. He sees your generosity and the sacrifices you are making for the mission of evangelization in distant lands. Not every day of our lives is serene and unclouded, but let us never forget the words of our Lord Jesus to his friends before his Passion: “In the world, you will have tribulations, but be courageous: I have conquered the world!” (Jn 16:33).

 

LET US PRAY: O God, whose providence never fails in its design, grant that our hearts should be on fire and our feet on the move to always render to you what belongs to you, as we do away with all that offends you and our fellow neighbours, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful Mission Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 21st October, 2023

Readings: Romans 4:13.16-18; Ps. 105; Luke 12:8-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DO NOT SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

Today, as Jesus continues to instruct his disciples on how to be in a good relationship with him, he made a very vital statement that is so important and different from his usual messages, when he said in our Gospel passage today: “If anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels. Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

 

From this frightening passage, Jesus reveals to us that sins no matter how grievous can be forgiven, but there is a particular sin that will not be forgiven. That is the sin against the Holy Spirit. But what is this sin against the Holy Spirit? And why would it not be forgiven? The sin against the Holy Spirit is rooted in one’s outright rejection of God’s grace of salvation offered to us through the Holy Spirit‘s incessant invitations and warnings. This happens when the will of a person is hardened against God’s mercy and goodness.

 

Hence the sin against the Holy Spirit is “unforgivable” because it is the sinner himself who rejected God’s forgiveness. This is so because God respects the freedom which He has given us, for he respects a sinner’s decision to firmly refuse to be forgiven. Thus, this sin, traditionally has been seen as a sin of final impenitence, or presumption, which occurs in a situation where someone sinned gravely and then either fails to have any sorrow for that sin or simply presumes on God’s mercy without truly repenting. And this lack of sorrow closes the door to God’s mercy.

 

To make this clearer, Pope Pius X in his catechism made us know that there are six elements of this sin against the Holy Spirit which include: Firstly, by despairing of God’s salvation, which occurs when a person completely loses hope of salvation by judging and undermining the divine mercy of God.

Secondly, by presumption of God’s salvation, occurs out of pride, when a person cultivates in his soul an idea of his perfection by believing that his salvation has been guaranteed by what he has done. Thirdly by denying the truth of faith recognized as such by the Magisterium of the Church, by considering his understanding to be greater than that of the Church and the teachings of the Holy Spirit even after an exhaustive doctrinal explanation. This attitude is referred to as the sin of heresy.

 

Fourthly, by envying the grace that God gives to other people. This occurs when one detests other people’s gifts and possessions wishing to have everything alone, thereby going against the law of love for one’s neighbour. Fifthly, obstinacy occurs when someone resolves to remain firmly in sin and continues in error even after receiving the light and help of the Holy Spirit by separating him/herself from God’s will and rejecting His salvation. Lastly, by final impenitence. This occurs as a result of complete rejection of God and the invitation of the Holy Spirit, during one’s entire lifetime even at the hour of death.

 

Dear friends, we must be very wise for many false prophets and teachers are operating under the power of the devil leading people away from God. Today Jesus is promising us the Spirit of truth that will give us a special sign for distinguishing true doctrine and true teachers from the false ones. Therefore, let us constantly ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace of discernment in order to distinguish between good and false prophets and teachers in order not to let them lead us to sin against Him (Holy Spirit).

Let us be true Christians in our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God who has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you promised to send us the Spirit of truth, Grant we pray, that we will always stand and witness to the truth we have found in Jesus against all the false influential prophets and teachers in our society today and never to sin against the Holy Spirit. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 20th October, 2023

Readings: Romans 4:1-8; Ps. 32; Luke 12:1-7

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

BE A FIRM DISCIPLE OF JESUS WHO HAS CONQUERED FEAR AND INTIMIDATION

 

The word “FEAR” is often defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. Little wonder, threats, intimidation, torture and fear are some of the powerful ways of silencing people from expressing their views, opinions and faith. Hence, Jesus knowing the difficulties and challenges his disciples will encounter, needed to train and instruct them properly, so that they can stand firm in the midst of threats, opposition and persecution that may bring fear to their midst.

 

Thus, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus continues with his instruction on what it means to be a firm disciple with respect to the mission he is about to entrust to his apostles. He began by saying,  what I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. Fear not: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

 

As disciples, these encouraging words of Jesus are very apt especially now that we are passing through difficult moments of intimidation, persecution, brutality, killings, war, genocide, poverty, sickness, greed, immorality and famines in our families, societies, country and the world at large. This ugly condition can make someone to completely lose hope in humanity and also in God. But Jesus does not want us to lose hope, rather he wants us to be that firm and strong disciples that will stand firm and courageously face the ugly situation we encounter every day. For Jesus needs firm disciples who will speak and stand for his Gospel no matter the cost.

 

He says we should not fear the threats, intimidation, torture and brutality of people who claim to be powerful because of the office they occupy. We should not give in to some of these powerful ways of silencing people from expressing their views, opinions and faith. Yes all over the world, there are struggles against injustice, protests against intimidation and brutality of innocent people especially in our country.

 

Hence, we the youths are out seeking for justice, equity and good governance. We must not stop or give up on our struggles. We must continue to speak and condemn evil without fear, but with the assurance that the Lord is with us, despite everything that we may be suffering and enduring because of the sins and wickedness of evil ones. Thus, St. Paul in our first reading says that happy are those whose crimes are forgiven, whose sins are blotted out; happy the man whom the Lord considers sinless

 

 

Dear friends, today we are called to be a firm disciple of Jesus who has conquered fear for our purpose in life is to become Jesus in deeds and character. By so doing we will have confidence that God will enable us to carry out the work that he has entrusted to us even in the midst of persecution, knowing that neither the human person nor the devil can affect our soul. We can be confident of God’s intimate care for us because He knows even the number of hairs on our heads. Thus, as true disciples of Jesus, we must have confidence and remain firm in faith even during persecution, intimidation, brutality, suffering and sickness, because, His love and care for us surpass all our challenges.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, our society is full of threats, intimidation, brutality, torture and fear from people who are entrusted with authority and ought to protect the interest of humanity. Grant us the grace to resist their evil and ugly attitude and to stand firm amid all the oppositions and persecutions we may encounter in our daily lives, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a blessed day.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 19th October, 2023

Readings:  Romans 3:21-30; Ps. 130; Luke 11:47-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHY ALL THESE WICKEDNESS AND UGLY ATTITUDES OF HUMANITY?

 

In our Gospel passage today, Jesus continued with his reproach on the Scribes and the Pharisees for hardening their hearts from the teaching of Jesus, and therefore behaving like their ancestors. Little wonder, Jesus in his reproach said: woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building. But the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him thereby setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

 

Here, Jesus was speaking to the people on the ugly attitudes and wickedness of humanity well manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees on various occasions when we ought to obey the Lord but preferred to live and act by our own selfish and proud attitudes. Hence by reproaching us, Jesus is reminding us that this is not the right path for us to follow, instead, we should be more faithful and pay more attention to God’s words and teachings which he had repeatedly communicated to us through the prophets, of which we often rejected and killed the prophets. Similarly, Jesus despite all the signs and wonders he had done for humanity we still refused to have faith in him.

 

Hence, St. Paul in our first reading tells us that God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone. For a man is justified by faith and not just by doing something the Law tells him to do.

 

Dear friends, today Jesus rebuked the ugly attitude of humanity, calling us not to be like the Scribes and Pharisees, who out of pride and selfishness rejected the words of Jesus and sought to kill him. Rather, we should be more humble and disposed towards the words of God we hear every day. We should make efforts to transform our lives and faith more closer to that of Jesus. We should not be like the Pharisees and Scribes who looks for the downfall of other because they tried to correct us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as you reproach our ugly attitudes of pride and selfishness today, may we be filled with the longing for true holiness and humility, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day

Homily For Wednesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 18th October, 2023, The Feast of St. Luke The Evangelist

Readings: 2Tim. 4:10-17; Ps. 145; Luke 10: 1-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEARN TO CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE MISSION OF CHRIST LIKE ST. LUKE

 

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, one of the four great Evangelists of our Christian faith. According to traditions St. Luke was probably a Hellenised Jew or a Greek who embraced the Christian faith as one of the earliest converts among the earliest disciples of Jesus Christ. He was known as a physician and highly educated and intelligent, which made it possible for him to able to give us a well-detailed account of the very important events about the life and ministry of Jesus in the Gospel account according to Luke and the life and mission of Christ’s disciples in Act of Apostles as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

 

No doubt St. Luke through his Gospel account has converted many to the Christian faith, turning many people towards the Lord and calling them to embrace his truth and love. Therefore Luke has proved himself to be a great disciple by demonstrating the act of being a good missionary for we heard in our Gospel passage today, how the Lord appointed seventy-two persons and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!

 

Here, Jesus gave us the nature and requirements for carrying out his missionary mandate successfully. So, to continue this great mission he invites his disciples and sends them out, commanding them to see themselves as someone who gives freely of the good they have received from God. Hence, we should offer to others what we have received from God just like St Luke, knowing that it has cost us nothing. We must live a life of detachment that is, in this mission, we are to depend totally on God's providence. Unfortunately, many of the disciples have to face rejection and persecution from people, who through their rebellious attitude have refused to believe in God even though He has always been so patient, loving, caring and forgiving us.

 

So, as we celebrate this feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, let us be inspired by his faith and commitment. Let us follow his examples as we carry out our missionary mandates no matter how insignificant they may be. We should not underrate our efforts or think that we can't be like St. Luke because of our background or level of exposure. Rather we should know that God has called his disciples from different backgrounds and works of life: the poor, the rich, some educated, some illiterate, some privileged and powerful, while others weak and not insignificant. So our background and level do not matter. What is important is our attitude towards the missionary mandate entrusted to us at any level we find ourselves.

 

But dear friends, what is our attitude today towards the missionary mandate of Christ? How has the Word of God shaped our lives? How are we contributing towards the missionary mandate of Christ?  Today, as we celebrate the feast of St Luke, we recall his great contributions to the Church and the Christian faithful. For just as St Luke gave us the Gospel account and the Act of the Apostles as inspired by the Holy Spirit, we as disciples of Christ, have also received a lot from God and his saints without payment; we should learn to give without expecting reward. Calling us to acknowledge with gratitude all that we have received from God and give freely to others that which we have received. For this act of charity will purify us from pride and self-righteousness, because we are all recipients of God's love, mercy, forgiveness, favour, protection, healing and deliverance. So, we must offer to others these same gifts which we have received.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, today as we celebrate the feast of St. Luke you gave us the requirements and nature of our missionary mandate. Help us to effectively follow these requirements just like St Luke did. We ask this through Christ our Lord Amen. Do have a favourable week.