Homily For Wednesday Before Epiphany, 3rd January, 2024

Readings: 1 John 2:29-3:6, Ps 98, John 1:29-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

OUR TASK IS TO BEAR WITNESS FOR CHRIST THE LAMB OF GOD

 

As Christians, our duty is to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments by our ways of life. This of course points out the mission of the Church in proclaiming the word of God and our part in this mission. Little wonder the Gospel passage today reminds us of how God has called us all to follow Christ, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world. For when John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by he declared: ‘this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world... Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

 

Here John is pointing out the essence of Jesus’ mission, whose coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah (49:3.5-6), telling us about that great Servant of God, whose mission was to bring sinners back to God. Considering this great task of Jesus, John introduced him as a Lamb of God and not a Lion and also described the Holy Spirit as a dove, not a hawk which is more powerful.

 

why? Because, the Lamb is the most gentle, harmless and loving creature of God while the dove is a gentle bird, a symbol of peace and goodwill. So these images tell us about the person of Jesus and the approach by which he will carry out his mission. Consequently, Jesus, the gentle Lamb of God, gently died for our sins, so that we could live in joy and freedom of God’s children, teaching us to bear authentic witness of this great event in our relationship with one another.

 

This is our vocation and mission for John said in our first reading: You know that God is righteous then you must recognize that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him. So, to all of us Christians, who have been called to follow Christ and have been sanctified and blessed to be God’s people, who are reunited and brought together from the world to bear the fruit of love and holiness of life. So that we can be true and living witnesses of our faith in God, to proclaim His salvation among the nations and the peoples of the earth.

 

Dear friends, like John we can say: I have seen and I am a witness. For we have been entrusted with the great task of witnessing. We are commissioned as Christ's disciples to go forth and make disciples of all the nations, making all peoples God’s children through His Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to bear authentic witness of our experience of God.

 

 But how can we achieve this task? The approach is given to us by John the Baptist, who tells us to follow the way of the Lamb and the dove. That is, we are to be the most gentle, harmless and loving children of God, we must be a symbol of peace, compassion and goodwill. We are not to force people to believe in God by the use of intimidation or force, and neither should we use any forms of tricks or false persuasions.

 

All these methods do not usually lead to true faith and love for God, and in fact, they may cause people to turn away from God and the Christian faith. Instead, we should love people and do our best to live our lives with faith and holiness each moment of our lives. Because, if our actions and way of life do not match what we profess to believe in, how can we then expect people to believe in us or the Lord? Instead of bringing others closer to God, we will only end up sending them further away from God.

 

Therefore, as the year unfolds, we are all challenged to live our lives as the Lord has taught us. We should put our trust in the Lord and make him the centre of our lives in every action. We should show love, care, compassion and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters just as the Lord has loved us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us the grace and courage to bear authentic witness of your Gospel in a world where people are confused and no longer pay attention to your word. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a peaceful day.

Homily For Tuesday Before Epiphany, 2nd January, 2024 The Memorials of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops

Readings: 1 John 2:22-28, Ps 98, John 1:19-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DO YOU KNOW WHO ARE YOU AND YOUR MISSION IN LIFE?

Oftentimes, things happen in our lives that we can not explain how and why they happened. This is to tell us that we are unique and special, because, in our uniqueness, we come to realize that God has a special plan for everyone. Today, in our Gospel passage, we heard about the role and the personality of John the Baptist in the redemptive plan of God. This is obvious when John is questioned by the Pharisees. They asked him, who are you? This is a fundamental question we need to ask ourselves every day. John explained to them that he is just a voice and his role and purpose is to cry in the wilderness to make a straight way for the Lord.

 

This is a fundamental question because it points out the fundamental reality of who we are and what we have identified ourselves with. A lot of people do not know who they are or what they have identified themselves with. A lot of people today are suffering and struggling because they do not know who they are and the identity they bear. Some have misplaced their identity with something else, some are putting on an identity that doesn’t belong to them.

 

Dear friends, Who are you? What is your identity? What is the source of your identity? Whose identity are you putting on now? Why are you putting on someone else identity? Why have you misplaced your identity? John the Baptist was very clear about his identity, he was clear that he was not the Christ. He was clear that he was not Elijah. John was clear that he was not the prophet, he was only the voice of one crying in the wilderness, making straight the way of the Lord.

 

The fact remains that every human person has a special role to play in the master plan of God. Though some seem to have a more significant role than others. However, whether significant or not, the truth remains that we all have a role to play. But the question is, how are we playing this role? Are we playing according to the master plan or against it? Are we confused about who we are and our role in this master plan of God or have deviated from it?

 

As the year begins we must ask ourselves the fundamental question: who am I? What is my mission and purpose on this earth? To discover these, we must ensure that we cooperate with God's plan for us and to do these three things are very essential. First, we must learn to pray the right way, secondly, we must have a convincing plan, nurture it and not deviate from it. Thirdly, we must be disciplined and strive to live a holy life. Remember, we are playing our role in the salvation of mankind, our existence means a lot to future generations.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our true identity is found only in you through Christ your son, as we rejoice and celebrate his birthday, may we be filled with the joy of his presence and through the intercession of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen,  grant us the grace to live out our purpose and mission in this life.  We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful week.

Homily For Sunday The Octave of Christmas. Happy New Year 1st January, 2024

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. And World Day Of Peace

Readings: Num 6:22-27, Ps 67, Gal. 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AND PURPOSES THIS YEAR?

 

It is a New Year 2024, so we join the whole human race in celebrating the goodness of God who has made it possible for us to witness another New Year. So, we thank God. To portray the significance of this day the Holy Mother Church celebrates three great events. First, the Church joins the whole human race to celebrate the New Year, another gift of God to humanity.

 

Secondly, since this great gift comes as we are celebrating the birthday of our Lord Jesus, the Church reflecting on the role of Mary in the whole event of this season, dedicated today as the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. Thirdly, following the ugly situation of war and crises in which humanity has found herself, Pope Paul VI chose and encouraged us to celebrate every 1st day of January as the World Day of Peace. 

 

So we are called to pray for peace in our world and also commit our plans and purposes to God this year knowing that every year is a gift of God to humanity. We journey through it in hope, full of expectations, favour, grace and blessing just like Mary whom God in time endowed with the great responsibility of becoming the Mother of his Son Jesus Christ, thereby sharing greatly in the universal plan of God for humanity.

 

Therefore, following the role of Mary in God’s plan for our salvation, the Church ascribes some special prerogatives or privileges to her. These prerogatives concern what the Faith of the Church affirms in connection with the Blessed Virgin Mary. They include her immaculate conception, her perpetual virginity, the assumption of Mary and the title Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Theotokos), which is the foundation of other prerogatives. The solemnity of this prerogative is what we are celebrating today which shows her special role in the universal plan of God, of which our Gospel passage today gave us some details of how she cooperated with the will of God and treasured all the things that happened to her and pondered them in her heart.

 

This tells us that our success in life is determined by our disposition towards doing the will of God. Hence, we have to identify our plans and purposes this year with the universal plan of God for humanity. But how can we identify the plan of God for us? Very simple, we were told in the Gospel of John 2:1-11, how the wedding couple invited Jesus and his disciples on the most important day of their lives. When an embarrassing moment came up during the celebration, Mary in her usual way of helping people asked Jesus to save the couple from social embarrassment and even when her request was not granted by her son, she had strong faith that he would not refuse her request. So she said to the servants: “ Do whatever he tells you”

 

By this request, Mary who represents the Church reveals to us the key to a successful and happy Christian Life and the key to the success of whatever we have set out to achieve this year. That is to say that, the secret key that opens the treasure of a successful and happy Christian life is to do whatever he (Jesus) tells us. But what did Jesus say we should do?

 

Here, Jesus told the servants: Fill, Draw and Serve. Telling us to fill our lives with the water of salvation which he offers us every day through His words and Eucharist and when we have filled our lives with the fountain of his presence, then we should draw from the joy it offers and serve humanity who are really in need and thirsty for the word of God especially at this moment in our world when humanity really hope and seek for God’s intervention in families and societies.

 

Dear friends, let this principle guide all our activities this year for that is how to identify our plans and purposes with the will of God. So, we must learn to fill our minds with positive things so that we can draw from the abundance of our hearts and serve humanity. Meanwhile, we must know that whatever healthy seed you water grows and the seed you quit watering will eventually die and go away. But the question is, what kind of seed are you going to be watering in your life this year? Are you going to be watering valuable seeds or weeds?

 

Friends, nature has made it clear that not all the seeds are good for us and so any unwanted seed is a potential weed. Then, the question you need to ask yourself is: are you watering weeds that you do not need? There are so many weeds in our lives that can stand as obstacles such as weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness, procrastination etc they are good for nothing.

 

Today we are called to quit watering these weeds because that's what the enemies want and we must not fall into their traps. Rather we are called to water those valuable mustard seeds of goodwill, honesty, faithfulness, love, holiness, obedience, and charity and make them our values of life. For when you feed and water your value, your value will grow stronger like the mustard tree that all the people of the world may find solace in it.

 

 As we begin this year with the Lord, know that the transcendent power and authority belong to God. Yes, we may be affiliated in every way, but never be crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. For the Lord holds us in his hands. Let us also hold him closely by surrendering our plans and purposes in his care and direction.

 

Therefore, this year, we all are called to identify our plans and purposes with the universal plan of God. We are called to serve in any capacity we find ourselves, bearing in mind that one should not strive to be a leader but a servant because leadership is a gift given to one by God. Remember, you don't have to be great to get started but you have to get started in order to be great this year. All we need is to ask God to fill us with wisdom and show us what we can offer to humanity this New Year in accordance with his plan, for by so doing we will be successful in all we do this year.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of another New Year, grant that through the intercession of our Mother Mary, may we find strength to do your will always, especially in all our daily struggles. May your grace and favour be with us even to the last hour of this new year. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Year.

Homily For Sunday Within The Octave of Christmas, 31st December, 2023. The Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Year B

Readings: Genesis 15:1-6,21:1-3, Ps 105, Heb. 11:8,11-12,17-19, Luke 2:22-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

FAMILY: A DOMESTIC CHURCH AND THE NUCLEUS OF EVERY HUMAN SOCIETY

 

Every last Sunday of the year that falls within the octave of Christmas the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth as a way of addressing with joy all the families of the world, wishing them the peace and love that Jesus brought among us at Christmas. Family as we know is the nucleus of life and the seed of every human society. It is a domestic church, a place of faith, a place of prayer and a place of loving concern for the good of one another.

 

Little wonder the Lord Jesus was born and grew up in a human family. In this way, he consecrated the family as the first and ordinary place of his encounter with humanity. Jesus was born in a stable and had a manger as his first home, but the love of Mary and Joseph made him feel the tenderness and beauty of being loved. Children need this kind of love from their father and mother. It is this that gives them security and, as they grow, enables them to discover the meaning of life.

 

The Holy Family of Nazareth went through many trials, beginning from the event of the annunciation, the birth of Jesus, the presentation at the temple as we have in the Gospel passage today, the flight to Egypt, the massacre of the innocents, the finding of Jesus at the temple, and so on. Telling us that whatever we are passing through as a family, we can draw strength and grace from the Holy Family, who trusting in divine providence found their stability, and guaranteed Jesus a serene childhood and a sound upbringing.

 

Thus, our first reading talks about the relationships in the family, thereby reminding us how Abraham our father struggled with his family in doing the will of God. He patiently waited for God’s promise to be fulfilled. And in our second reading, we heard how demand was made of him and his family to do the will of God at different stages of their lives. This they carried out in faith and trust in God’s providence as they uphold their family values.

 

To understand this St. Paul in his Col. 3:12-21 said: As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 

He continues: Wives he said, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.  Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.  So today, demand is made of us and our families, to do the will of God at different stages of our lives and so ensure the peaceful existence of our families.

 

Dear friends, today we are reminded that family is a domestic church and the nucleus of every human society. This is important because in our societies today, family life and values are no longer guaranteed, as the powerful influence of secularism and materialism are fast destroying all the great values and virtues that sustain the family and society.

 

Today the only hope we have is the family and our religious practices which are under serious threat as they stand against the agenda of the secular world. Thus, we must uphold our family values and practices, with fraternal love and correction as the hallmark of sustaining our Christian virtues and values in the family and community.

 

Also, we must hold on to the virtues and practice of our faith and not give in to the pressure of secularism and materialism. Let the Holy Family of Jesus be a model for us to follow. And as we struggle to build a holy and lovely family, let us entrust all families to Our Lady and St Joseph, so that we do not lose heart in the face of trials and difficulties, but always cultivate a conjugal love and devote ourselves with trust to the service and protection of life which is a product of the family.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, a lot of families in our world today are struggling to survive as a result of secularism and materialism, which has taken away the sacrificial love that sustains the family. As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, may you restore all the families of the world with your love and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.  Wishing you a joyful and glorious end-of-the-year celebration.

Homily For Saturday The Sixth Day Within The Octave of Christmas, 30th December, 2023

Readings: 1 John 2:12-17, Ps 96, Luke:2:36-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

COME ENCOUNTER THE LORD JESUS AT THE TEMPLE JUST LIKE ANNA

 

It’s always the desire of humanity to have the experience of God especially when we 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. Hence, our Gospel passage today presents to us the experience of Anna with Jesus at the temple.

 

Anna was a deeply spiritual person who spent her working hours in the Temple, praying and fasting. She came on the scene just as Jesus and his parents were in the Temple. She, too, must have realized the true identity of the Child and gave thanks to God. She then began to speak about Jesus to everyone, especially those awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

 

This passage says much about our experience with the divine, showing that our social status is of no consequence in our relationship with God. If we want to be close to God, we have to make prayer a very important part of our lives. In prayer, we come to know Jesus and to love God more and once we truly come to know Jesus, we cannot keep it to ourselves but must share the experience with the people around us, especially those who are looking for some meaning in their lives, just like Anna in the Gospel.

 

 Little wonder St. John in our first reading admonished us to embrace the love God is offering us through his Son Jesus and not give in to the love of this passing world, because, the love of God cannot be in any man who loves the world. For the world has nothing to offer us except the pleasure of the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride of sin and greed which finally lead us to destruction.

 

Dear friends, what is our relationship with God like as regards the things of this passing world? How have we personally experienced the Lord Jesus who has been born for us? How have we been able to share our experience of God with others? If we have not experienced the Lord personally in our lives, the right time to do that is now. But we need to ask ourselves what is our disposition towards prayers and pleasurable things of this passing world. To experience the Lord, we must love him above all other things and truly desire to encounter him just like Anna.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism and pleasurable things are seriously distracting us from experiencing your presence in our midst, help us to conquer our inordinate desire for the things of this world in order to embrace the heavenly things. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the year comes to an end, may the joy, favour and grace of God lead us into the new year.

Homily For Friday The Fifth Day Within The Octave of Christmas, 29th December, 2023

Readings: 1 John 2:3-11, Ps 96, Luke:2:22-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DESTINED FOR THE FALL AND RISE OF MANY

 

Following the tradition of purification as laid down by the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus came to the temple to present him to the Lord. This is what we have in our Gospel passage today. Where St Luke explained that Mary and Joseph wished to fulfil all the prescriptions of the law in order to emphasize that Jesus was born into a family of simple people, lowly but steadfast in faith: a family that belonged to the poor ones of Israel the true People of God.

 

It is important to note that the purpose of this event among the Jews is for the purification of the mother and the redemption of the son, which shows the act of offering the Son of the Most High to the Father who sent him. This same child Jesus, who is immediately presented in the Temple, is the same person who, as an adult, would purify the Temple (cf. Jn 2:13-22).

 

Above all, he would make himself the sacrifice and the High Priest of the new Covenant. For which he will suffer greatly as prophecy by Simeon in our Gospel concerning both the Child Jesus and Mary the Mother saying: “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, a sword will pierce through your soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

 

Thus, this prophecy is pointing out the salvation which Jesus will bring to his people, that which he embodies in himself, as he passed through the Cross, the violent death by which he was to vanquish death and transform humanity with the sacrifice of his life through love. Hence, he has become the true Light of the world of which Simeon proclaimed as a revelation, that Jesus was to be the High Priest of all, who is to redeem all mankind from their sins.

 

By so doing he becomes the true light that enlightens every man who is born into this world the Light that brings down evil and raises those of many virtues. Thus, St. John in our first reading tells us that the night is over and the real light is already shining. And anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the dark. But anyone who loves his brother is living in the light and need not be afraid of stumbling.

 

Dear friends, today, as we encounter Christ the true Light of the world is presented at the temple, destined for the fall and rise of many. So, let us of course, allow ourselves to be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let us share in its splendour, and be filled with its radiance so that no one remains in the darkness. Let us bring him into our families and homes, so that by sharing in his light we may be brought out of the darkness of hatred, envy greed and jealousy that covers our lives as individuals, families, communities, societies, countries and the world at large.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is seriously in the darkness of deep confusion and we need the light of your presence. As we celebrate the birth of your Son and his presentation at the temple, may we be enlightened and so overcome the darkness of this sinful world? We ask this through Christ our Lord. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Thursday The Octave of Christmas, 28th December, 2023

The Feast of The Holy Innocents

Readings: 1 John 1:5-2:2, Ps 124, Matt.2:13-18

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHY KILL THE INNOCENTS OVER YOUR SELFISH AMBITION?

 

As we continue the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Church today, calls our attention to one of the ugly events that occurred in Bethlehem as a result of King Herod's love of power and fear of losing his power to the newborn baby our Lord Jesus Christ. So out of envy, pride and greed, he ordered the killing of all the male children from two years down. The Greek Liturgy states that Herod killed 14,000 boys, the Syrians speak of 64,000, and many medieval authors also suggested 144,000, according to the book of Revelation 14:3. However, modern writers reduce the number since Bethlehem was a rather small town.

 

 Nevertheless, this ugly event illustrates our ugly attitude towards human life, showing us that every human life begins with birth and ends with death.  See how the presence of the baby Jesus made the King of this world tremble, frenzy, mad with rage that he ordered the killing of innocent children. No pity for sorrowing mothers, no sympathy for weeping fathers, no compassion for the crying voice of the little innocent. Just as we heard in our Gospel passage: a voice crying in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children because they were no more. They were slaughtered out of fear for the Prince of Life.

 

Dear friends, this outrageous event is still happening in our societies today. For how often do we kill the innocents out of our selfish ambitions? Is this not obvious when we see and hear what people do for the sake of obtaining powers and retaining them? When we engaged in all forms of atrocities just for the sake of our political and other ambitions? We are not far from Herod when we kill people because of position, power and comfort.

 

We are the same as Herod when we prevent others from living out their potential. We are not far from Herod when we kill the young fetus through abortion and every other means of terminating pregnancy. We are like Herod when we refuse to submit to the will of God out of pride. We are like Herod when we let envy, jealousy and greed get hold of us and blindfold us into doing evil against other people.

 

Therefore, we are called today to reflect on our ugly attitude towards people, especially children, we are called not to be like Herod who out of fear, envy and love of power seeks to murder Life itself, rather we are called to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and truth in following the will of God.

 

Little wonder, St. John in our first reading today said: If we say that we are in union with God while we are living in darkness, we are lying because we are not living the truth. But if we live our lives in the light, as he is in the light, we are in union with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. However, if we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth; But if we acknowledge our sins, then God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and purify us From everything wrong.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we reflect on the life and death of the Holy Innocents, grant us the grace to embrace your will over our worldly ambitions. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the year comes to an end, hope in the Lord, be faithful, and be steadfast for you are so special to the Lord. Do have a fruitful day.