Homily For Wednesday First Week of Advent Year B, 6th December, 2023

Readings Isaiah 25:6-10, Ps 23, Luke 15:29-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE LORD FEELS SORRY FOR THE SICK AND THE NEEDY

 

It’s always the desire of humanity to experience the intervention of God whenever they are passing through difficult situations. This had always been the desire and disposition of the people of Israel as they awaited the coming of the Messiah as prophesied by the prophets. So, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus fulfills his role as the expected Messiah who was to liberate his people from all kinds of diseases. The healing touch of Jesus in our Gospel reveals to all those who are in need that God is faithful to his promises. This healing and wholeness are offered as a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom among his people.

 

For Jesus did not just heal the sick, he also fed the crowd. This feeding of the crowd refers back to the journey of the people of God in the desert from Mount Sinai to the promised land. So, we need the food of the Eucharist for our journey to heaven which is our promised land. This bread is the gift that we receive from Jesus whose heart is always moved with pity and compassion towards humanity.

 

Here, Jesus did not bring the loaves and fish out of nowhere. Rather, he took what was offered to him and multiplied it greatly. We should never think we have little to share with others. Let us learn to share with others and Jesus will provide for us greatly for he is the one who feeds the hungry and gives them strength for their journey. Just like the prophet, Isaiah tells us in our first reading that on this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food. He will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth.

 

Dear friends, Jesus wants us to learn how to be patient and trust God in times of trouble and tribulations for he alone knows the best time and how best to deal with our problems. For when that time comes he will restore us to his glory and set us free from all the evil forces around us, just like the people in our Gospel passage. All he wants from us is to constantly feed our souls with his Words and Eucharist as we journey towards his kingdom.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle with the forces and troubles of this passing world, may we always find solace in your Word and Eucharist and so conquer our fear and challenges, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Tuesday First Week of Advent Year B, 5th December, 2023

Readings Isaiah11:1-10, Ps 72, Luke 10:21-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE JOY OF SHARING IN CHRIST'S MISSION

 

As we begin another new day,  we continue with the event of Advent, when we reflect on the two-fold coming of the Lord. We are called to spend more time with God and prepare ourselves for his mission just like the disciples in our Gospel passage today. For after the seventy disciples of Jesus returned from the mission he sent them. They rejoiced concerning the great things they had done in his name. So, Jesus says, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see…”. 

 

Here, Jesus rejoiced in his disciples, because of the grace God his Father has given to them to share in the mission of the Son. Yes, the disciples are blessed because, in Jesus, they are beginning to recognize the long awaited Messiah which prophets and Kings longed to see but could not. Just as we heard from prophet Isaiah in our first reading today when he said: a shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of the Lord rests. His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless, his sentences bring death to the wicked. Integrity is the loincloth round his waist, faithfulness the belt about his hips. That day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the people. It will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.

 

Dear friends, like the disciples, we also have been given this same grace. Whenever we spread the word of God, we are sharing in the mission of Jesus, and this should give us great joy because God chose us and gave us the privilege to share in the mission of his Son. For he had brought his salvation into the world, for the restoration of hope for all humanity who dwell in darkness in need of the light of Christ, which we are called to embrace in this season of Advent. So let us keep spreading the Good News of Christ to humanity by our way of life.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace your words this season, may we share greatly in the mission of Christ who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Wishing you a glorious day.

Homily For Monday in the First Week of Advent Year B, 4th December 2023

Readings: Is. 2:1-5;  Ps.122; Matt 8:5-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEANING FROM THE FAITH AND GENUINE HUMILITY OF THE ROMAN CENTURION

 

We are taught in our Catechism that faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused in us by God. Little wonder our level of faith is not the same. However, our gift of faith grows depending on our disposition and utilization of the gift. That is why, when Jesus invites people to faith and conversion, he does not coerce them, rather they come to faith through their disposition and utilization of their experience with him.

 

This is exactly the case with the Roman centurion in our Gospel passage today, who sought help for his sick servant, he approached Jesus for healing, but when Jesus accepted to come to his home, the centurion hesitated, feeling unworthy of Jesus’ presence in his home, said to him “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed”. 

 

Here the centurion believes that Jesus can speak a word of healing, and that will be enough to cure his servant. He has total faith and trust in the power of Jesus’ word. For him, the servant did not even have to hear Jesus speak the word: it was enough that the word was spoken. Jesus praised his faith and genuine humility. Today, these words of the centurion have become a pattern of prayer for us, that before Holy Communion we say it passionately because his faith and compassion are inspiring examples for us to follow.

 

This is exactly the kind of faith that all of us must have as well especially in this Advent season. The faith that leads us to seek God wholeheartedly, to be humble before Him and to love Him above all and not to allow our pride, ego and desires to lead us into faithlessness, disobedience and sin against God. And when this is done we can embrace the message of prophet Isaiah in the first reading today when he said: God will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.

 

Dear friends, do we still have total faith and trust in God just like the centurion? What is our disposition towards the gift of faith that God has given us? Because our experiences of evil, injustice, suffering and death can shake or shape the gift of faith in us depending on our disposition. The centurion interceded for his sick servant, do we intercede for others who are in need of God’s healing and mercy? Do we know that we can speak God’s word in prayer and that someone, somewhere, will find healing? Do we often like this centurion, recognize in all humility our unworthiness before God?  We are called today to learn from this man’s act of humility and faith.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are weak and oftentimes we display an act of faithlessness due to the pressure and challenges of life, as we embrace the season of Advent may you increase our faith and make us humble and patient. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week.

Homily For First Sunday of Advent Year B, 3rd December, 2023

Readings: Is 63:16-17,64:1,3-8 , Ps.80, 1Cor 1:3-9, Mark. 13:33-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

KEEP HOPE ALIVE AND YOU WILL STAY AWAKE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD

 

Today is a special Sunday in the life of the Holy Mother Church because it is the first Sunday of Advent, and every first Sunday of Advent the Church begins another liturgical year within the three years of A, B and C in the liturgical circle of the Church, of which we are celebrating year B in this year’s Advent season. The season of Advent as we know is one of the important seasons in the life of every Christian. The word Advent stems from the Latin root, Adventus, which means 'arrival' though from the root word advenire whereby ad means 'to' and venire means 'come' that is to come or the coming of someone great, in this case, the coming of Our Lord Jesus.

 

So Advent is a period of intense preparations and a time of waiting in hope for the coming of the Lord which is in two folds: first the coming of the Messiah that is the birth of Jesus at Christmas and second, the return of Jesus at the Second Coming “ the parousia”. This is why the Advent season is divided into two parts the first which runs from the first Sunday until the 16th of December dwells on the second coming of Christ the eschatological aspect of Advent. While the second aspect which focuses on the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem runs from 17th -24th December.

 

Thus, Advent is a season characterized with four major themes which include: ‘Hope’, ‘Peace’, ‘Joy’ and ‘Love’ these themes run within the four Sundays in Advent. So, on this first Sunday of Advent, our focus is on hope. A joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour who is our hope. Thus, as we anticipate the birth of Christ who is the source of our salvation, our hope and the Light that dispels the darkness of this world. So it is our duty as Christians to keep hope alive in the world for as long as there is hope, no situation is impossible.

 

But what should be our disposition this season? Our disposition should be one of watchful expectation in order to recognize the Lord and be at peace with him when he comes. We are to be ready and prepared to welcome him with joy in our daily lives. Hence, this is the season of reconciliation between us and God, when we have to reexamine our ways of life. It is a time of reconfiguration of our lives to that of Christ our Lord and also to take stock of what we have done and what we are going to do from now onwards. Our disposition to welcoming the Lord take place by our ways of doing things, our desire for conversion and holiness, which shapes our lives more to that of Christ who showers his love, mercy and compassion to all.

 

 This is what the readings of this season call our attention to, especially in the twofold coming of Christ as we have it in today’s readings. Thus, in the first reading, we heard from the prophet Isaiah the lamentations over the misfortune that has befallen the people of God who now hope for the coming of the Messiah. In our second reading, we heard how the people of Corinth are confident that as they wait for Christ's coming in glory, they will remain steadfast in bearing witness to the gifts God has bestowed on them. While the Gospel urges us to be awake at all times for our salvation is very near so that we will not be taken by surprise and unprepared.

 

Dear friends, today, we are called to be ready, we are called to repentance, and we are called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life of constant struggle towards perfection.  we are called to keep hope alive and we will stay awake for the coming of the Lord. That’s what this season of Advent is all about and the Church is offering us another opportunity to encounter the Lord personally and to make that encounter a permanent experience. We should place our hope in Christ for while there is hope there is life. For it is because of the Lord that we can hope once again, knowing that beyond the sufferings of humanity due to sin and death, there is Light that dispels the falsehoods of evil and the despair of darkness that covers the whole world and this Light is what keeps our hope alive.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace this season in expectation of the coming of Christ your Son, may the Holy Spirit inspire us to have the right disposition that will enable us to embrace the Lord when he comes. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday and God bless you.

Homily For Saturday Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 2nd December, 2023

Readings: Dan. 7:15-27; Ps. Dan. 3:82-87; Luke:21:34-36

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DO NOT LET THE CARES FOR THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD ROB YOU THE GRACE OF HEAVEN

 

 

The things of this world are so captivating that if we are not careful we will be like a foolish traveller who having encountered a pleasant garden forgets to continue towards his destination. This is exactly what Jesus is trying to draw our attention to in our Gospel passage today when he said: Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth.

 

Here Jesus is reprimanding us concerning the danger of attaching ourselves so deeply to the things of this passing world. For we are often interested in the external beauty of things around us while neglecting the essence of life. We are interested only in worldly goods and not the things of the heart like justice, mercy, love and compassion. So Jesus is telling us to change our ugly ways of life, for it is time for us to look into our lives and examine ourselves to know whether we have been living in accordance with God’s will, or whether we have fallen astray. Then, we can also look forward towards the life that is to come which God has promised us through his Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

And what becomes of us after this coming of our Lord is what prophet Daniel in our first reading is talking about when he said: All sovereignty and kingship, and the splendours of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty and every empire will serve and obey him.’

 

Dear friends, we must not let the cares of the things of this passing world rob us of the grace of heaven since we believe that our true homeland is in heaven. But how are we preparing to embrace our heavenly home? Today people hardly reflect about the coming of Christ that was so strong in the early days of the Christian movement which left a strong impression upon the disciples of Christ. So like the servants awaiting their master’s return, we are called to be ready and to watch at all times for the day of the Lord which will come at the hour we do not know.

 

Thus, we are to be prepared knowing that our most important ‘treasure’ is our heavenly home which God has promised to give us. Therefore, the best thing we can do with our worldly possessions is to use them for the good of others especially the poor since we are responsible and accountable for one another’s welfare. And this divine generosity is meant to help us in preparation for the coming of Christ. Remember what really matters in life is our capacity and readiness to receive what God has in store for us in heaven.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we continue our struggles with the ugly events of this passing world, may you continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey of life and help us to endure our trials and challenges, for you alone are our source of strength, hope and fulfilment in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed weekend.

Homily For Friday Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 1st December, 2023. Happy New Month

Readings: Dan. 7:2-14; Ps.Dan.3:53-59; Luke:21:29-33

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

HEAVEN AND EARTH MAY PASS AWAY BUT THE WORD OF GOD WILL NEVER PASS AWAY.

 

St. John of the Cross one of the doctors and mystics of the Church says that: the further you withdraw from earthly things the closer you approach heavenly things and the more you find yourself in God. This advice will be very helpful as we come to the end of this liturgical year and about to embrace the season of Advent, when the Church calls our attention on the need to be prepared for the coming of the Lord and most of our readings draw our attention to this.

 

Thus, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus tells us about the passing away of the things of this world and the dreadful events associated with it in relation to the end-time events. He illustrates the signs of this event with the story of the fig tree, telling us to take notice of the signs of the times for they will help us to discern between what is of true value and what is passing away. Here Jesus presents the final recommendations of the end-time. He insists that we should pay rapt attention to the signs nature is giving us concerning the end-time events, that these signs should lead us to have hope founded firmly on the word of God which drives away fear and despair, knowing that the kingdom of God is very near to us.

 

And this is what we have in our first reading today, where we heard about the vision of the prophet Daniel talking about the passing away of the kingdoms and things of this world and the coming of God’s Kingdom when he said: I gazed into the visions of the night. And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man. He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence. On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed.

 

Dear friends, heaven and earth will pass away but God's Word will never pass away. So this new month we are reminded once again that all those who refuse to believe in God after hearing his words but choose to follow the devil and his false prophets will be destroyed and defeated completely. For he and his agents and those who follow him will be thrown into the burning lake of eternal darkness. While God’s faithful people will triumph victoriously into heaven.

 

But how are we embracing the word of God we hear at this period? What signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of this time, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us dread the second coming of the Lord or joyfully embrace it in anticipation? Remember, the words of Jesus are truth that will never pass away. Therefore, Stand erect, and hold your heads high, because our liberation is near at hand.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, humanity has been greatly deceived by the devil, who has made us so attached to the things of this passing world. As we embrace your words this season, may our souls once again long and yearn for you our God, the living God. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Month and may the joy of the Lord reign in your heart.

Homily For Thursday Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 30th November, 2023.The Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

Readings Rom 10:9-18; Ps.19:2-5; Matt 4:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

CAN YOU LEAVE THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD AND FOLLOW THE LORD?

 

As this month comes to an end, liturgy of today presents to us the feast of St Andrew one of the Apostles of Christ and our Gospel today tells us the story of how a call from the Lord changed the direction of the lives of the first disciples, who left everything and followed him. Andrew being one of them, was previously one of the disciple of St. John the Baptist before becoming a follower of Christ. Andrew according to scriptures proclaimed the good news to his brother, Peter (John 1:40-41). He was the one who brought the boy with loaves of bread and fish to him so that he might give them to the people all waiting in hunger. And St Andrew sets an example that points certain things at the heart of preaching the Gospel. He was involved in introducing the Greeks to Jesus and also joined in spreading the Gospel beyond the confines of Palestine.

 

The life of St Andrew shows us that being a preacher involves having a clear conviction and faith in Jesus and readiness to share this faith and conviction with others. He dedicated himself just as his brother Peter and the other Apostles in ministering to the people and proclaiming the Lord’s coming. And even after the Lord had ascended into Heaven, he continued to preach the faith. He brought the faith to many places such as Ukraine, Russia, the Balkans, Greece and other places.

 

Andrew worked hard in spreading the Good News to those who are yet to witness the Lord and embrace his salvation. For through him many were converted and inspired by his works and preaching. He also established many Churches and built foundation for many Christian communities. He was  the first Bishop of the Christian community in the city of Constantinople. However, Andrew like other Apostles encountered persecution and sufferings in Greece, where he was arrested, and was greatly tortured and eventually martyred by crucifixion. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross, which is referred today as the Cross of St. Andrew, in memory of his faith and dedication to the mission of Christ.

 

Dear friends, like St. Andrew can we leave the things of this passing world and follow the Lord? How are we responding to the invitation to leave behind the things of this passing world and following the Lord? No doubt that following the Lord requires leaving behind the things if this passing world. So, today we are called like St Andrew to follow Jesus and following Jesus means leaving behind the ugly ways of  life we have now and embracing the new life God is offering to us. When we opt to follow Jesus, our life revolves around him. It’s no longer what we feel like doing, but what his word instructs us to do. It also means leaving behind our sinful ways of life and embracing the holiness of life. Therefore, let St. Andrew be our inspiration and role model in our response to the calling of the Lord to spread the Good News.

 

So let us be conscious of what St. Paul is telling us in our first reading when he said: But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent. Hence, the Lord is sending us, let us follow the good examples of St. Andrew in responding to the Lord's Invitation to follow him.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are called to follow your Son Jesus, as we respond to this call, may we through the intercession of St Andrew find inner joy in our soul that will prompt us to spread the Good News of the Gospel with faith and conviction. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful day.