Homily For Monday of the First week of Lent Year B, 19th February, 2024

Readings: Lev. 19:1-2.11-18; Ps.19; Matt. 25:31-46

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

WHERE DO YOU BELONG, ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OR ETERNAL LIFE?

 

As we continue with our Lenten journey, we are called today to look to the future with more insight into the ultimate goal of humanity, which is eternal life. This is evident in our Gospel passage today in which we heard of the account of the event of the Last Judgment when all of creation shall be judged by the Lord Jesus himself, as he returns to the world as a triumphant King and judges humanity based on our actions, deeds and faith. Then will be time for great separation, when the good will be separated from the bad, holy from sinful, righteous from evil, sheep from goats of which their deeds will reveal our true identity.

 

Thus, the Lord will say to the righteous and those who have extended their love, care and affection for the needy, the poor and the afflicted, “Well done,  Come you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.”

 

But the wicked and the sinful he will say “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” For they were judged by their refusal to follow the example of Christ our Lord, especially in his love, care and compassion towards one another. But had chosen to remain selfish, greedy, corrupt and wicked. Hence we are called to look towards the parousia, when all those who embraced Christ will be raised, having overcome all the hostile forces of this passing world.

 

Dear friends, we must know that in our daily lives, we are making choices between eternal punishment and eternal life, for our actions show where we truly belong.  This is important because we are living in a world full of greed and selfish people, who are swallowed in values of egoism and materialism, with uncontrollable desires for pleasure. We are called today to embrace the teachings of Christ who has called us to live a life of love, care and compassion for one another. We are called to look into the future we an eye of hope and faith. Little wonder we are reminded in our first reading about the commandments of God, which call us to live a life of holiness, integrity, honesty and love.

 

Therefore as we journey through this Lenten season, let us turn toward our Lord  Jesus following his teaching. Remember, following him means carrying our cross, forgetting ourselves, and faithfully obeying his commandment of sacrificial love. For it is by the blood of his cross, that Jesus reveals his sacrificial love, not in saving his life, but in offering it as a ransom for our salvation. Thus, trying to do away with the cross in our lives deprives our souls of these true love and loyalty to Christ our Lord who today wants to reign supreme in our hearts and souls.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we journey through this Lenten season, amidst the hostile forces and evil of this passing world, may we be victorious in all our struggles and endeavours. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.

Homily For First Sunday of Lent Year B, 18th February, 2024

Readings: Genesis 9:8-15, Ps.25, 1Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

                                                                                                  

ARE YOU ENSLAVED BY SIN? IT IS TIME TO COME BACK TO GOD

The sinful and ugly situation in our society today has turned humanity into slaves, we have become slaves to so many things that sometimes we don’t know how to break out of them. We have become slaves to so many sinful situations that we don’t know how we get into them or how to get out of them. Some of us have given up struggles with them. Some of us are at the point of giving up. Some of us are now becoming masters of this sinful and ugly situation. Some of us are searching for help because we find ourselves drowning in these sinful and ugly behaviours. So what should we do? How can we come out of this situation?

 

To break out of this ugly and sinful situation the Holy Mother Church calls us to make a forty-day journey with the Lord. So today being the first Sunday in this Holy Season of Lent, we are reminded that it is forty days set aside by the Church for us to come back to God for the renewal and rediscovery of ourselves in God, for we are in need God's help to overcome our daily struggle against sin and temptations which darkens our spiritual life.

 

So, the Lenten season is another opportunity for us to reconnect to God, to be reconciled with Him and to find our place once again in God’s loving grace. It is a time for us to turn away from excessive desires for worldly things so as to overcome many temptations we encounter in this world and focus our attention more closely on God. 

 

Hence the Church is offering us the opportunity during this Holy season to reflect on who we are, our mission and our purpose in this world.  The Holy season of Lent is a moment of deep reflection, a season that prepares us for that great event of Easter. It is a season when listening to God’s words leads us to develop some inner attitude that helps us become more aware of our Christian obligations and dignity. It is a period when the Church invites us to enter into a journey of repentance and penance that will lead us to an encounter, conversion, reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration.

 

This Lenten journey is marked especially by three traditional dimensions that are: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three traditional dimensions were demonstrated by Jesus in our Gospel reading today. Where Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, was led to pray and fast for forty days in the wilderness and there he was tempted by the devil, just the way Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil, who planted the seeds of pride and greed in the hearts of humanity.

 

We can recall that in the beginning of time, God created everything all good and perfect, and He made the first man, Adam and his companion, Eve, to live in the wonderful Garden of Eden. This means that mankind, all of us were meant to live with God by his grace and love, to enjoy the wonders of God’s providence and blessings forever. However, we fell into sin as we were unable to resist the temptations to sin because of pride and greed and so separate ourselves from God’s presence.

 

But time and time again God has always extended his hands of mercies towards humanity, he always wants to bring us back to himself just as we heard in our first reading today. For when humanity’s sinfulness was so deep God wished to wipe away humanity. However, Noah having found favour with God was saved along with his family and other creatures who obeyed the command of God through Noah. So, having wiped away the rest of creation along with sinful humanity, God spoke to Noah and his sons saying, ‘See, I establish my Covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’

 

Referring to this great and sad event, St. Peter in our second reading tells us that, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people ‘by water’, God was still waiting patiently, that those who refused to believe may repent. He tells us that the water is a type of baptism which saves us now, and which is not just the washing off our physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and authorities and Powers his subjects.

 

So Jesus, who has come to redirect the hearts of humanity back to God, calls us to repent from our sins and believe in the Gospel he has brought for us, which we promised to uphold in our baptism. When we promised to reject sin and Satan with all his empty promises and shows, while embracing God and his son Jesus who has come to save us from sin and death. Therefore, we are called to imitate Jesus in prayer. Through prayer, we make room for God in our lives and express our desire to enter into a deep friendship with the Lord. Hence, we need to spend more time with God just like Jesus, bearing in mind that we cannot live by bread alone, we need the spiritual food of God's Word. Thus, we are called to withdraw from the world in order to encounter God and truly profess our faith in him. 

 

Dear friends, God is calling us in this Holy season of Lent, to come back to him. The world has taken us far away from him; it's time to come back. Sin has made us its slaves, it is time to come back. Sin has separated us from God; it's time to reconcile with him. Greediness, slots, unforgiveness, love of power and money, ambition, and unhealthy friendships have separated us from God; it’s time to come back to him. It is time to say am sorry Lord, am sorry for having deviated from you. It’s time to let go of hurtful feelings, malice and bitterness in our hearts. It’s time to say yes to God and no to all the distracting things of this world.

 

It’s time to love, to share, to bear with one another's failings. What is stopping us from embracing this opportunity? Is it fear of the future? Or fear of failure or death? Fear not, for the Psalmist tells us that God’s ways are faithfulness and love for those who keep his covenant. Thus, God is calling us to repentance; he is offering us a new life. He is offering us the opportunity to gain our life back and obtain the grace to overcome sin and temptations. For he will create a pure heart in us and put a steadfast spirit within us. Don't miss this opportunity; don't let it pass you by.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace the events of this Holy season, may you give us the right disposition and fill our hearts with joy, peace and love. For those who find it difficult to live the Christian life, may they learn to draw strength and grace from Jesus to resist the devil and all of his empty shows. Happy Sunday, wishing you a fruitful Lenten season.

Homily For Saturday after Ash Wednesday, 17th February, 2024

Readings: Is. 58:9-14; Ps. 86;  Luke 5:27-32

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE LORD HAS COME NOT FOR THE VIRTUOUS BUT FOR SINNERS TO REPENT

 

Jesus who on account of his mission to save humanity had to make choices of people who would be his instruments of evangelization in the world. No doubt Jesus had been calling people from different works of life to be part of his mission, but today’s call and choice of Levi, also known as Matthew, a man identified with sinners because of his work as a tax collector, was quite strange to some people.

 

Little wonder in in our Gospel passage today, Jesus called a tax collector named Levi to follow him, and he obeyed, leaving everything behind and following him. The call of Levi differs from the call of the other apostles because Levi was a tax collector a profession that is labelled to be sinful since the collectors extort excess taxes from the people for personal profit and enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens. They are thus held in great contempt.

 

However, to follow Jesus, Levi must abandon his ugly but lucrative job. By so doing, he needs to also cut himself off from his old network of friends. So, it seems likely that, in a spirit of joy, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to a great feast in his house and his fellow task collectors were present. But the Pharisees felt bad and offended about Jesus sharing a meal with such kind of people regarded as "sinners". So, they complained to his disciples, but Jesus had to correct this notion when he said: "It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance. 

 

Here we heard the innermost desire of Jesus for sinful humanity in need of salvation. The call of Levi is like the call of each of us, a choice that demonstrates Jesus' desire for sinners to repent. For all he desires is mercy and not sacrifices, repentance and not pride. Jesus is calling us to repentance, he is inviting us to make a fundamental choice for God just like Levi, who though sinner, rose and followed Jesus at his call for repentance, we too are to respond to this invitation without delay. Let Levi be an inspiration and hope for all sinners.

 

Dear friends, the task collectors were seen as dirty, unworthy, wicked, corrupt and evil people who were generally shunned by the rest of the society. The Pharisees looked down on them and they severely criticized Jesus for eating in the house of Levi. But they failed to realize that just like the tax collectors, they were sinners in need of God’s mercy.

 

The truth is that all of us are sinners who have been privileged to have such a loving, caring, compassionate and merciful God, who is always willing to embrace us and heal us from our afflictions of sin. For we are sinners who have been called to a new existence with God, to embrace a new life filled with God’s grace and free from the corruption of sin. Because God despises our sins, but not we sinners. Hence, we are called to let go of our sinful occupation in order to embrace a more glorious one. For God has promised us through prophet Isaiah in our first reading, that if we do away with the yoke of sin, the clenched fist, the wicked word, if we give our bread to the hungry, and relief to the oppressed, then our light will rise in the darkness, and our shadows become like noon.

 

Therefore, as Christians during this season of Lent, we should draw ourselves closer to God by asking ourselves how are we responding to God's call for repentance. How are we relating with those we judge to be sinners, what efforts are we making to convert sinners? Remember, we are all invited to follow Jesus along the way of salvation and not to condemn or judge anyone.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, despite our sinfulness, you called and chose us to be instrument of your salvation to all humanity. Through the intercession of St Matthew, give us the grace to make good choices that will help us to respond positively to your call for repentance and evangelization. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful weekend.

Homily on Friday after Ash Wednesday, 16 February, 2024

Readings: Is. 58:1-9; Ps. 51;  Matt. 9:14-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO FAST WITH RIGHT INTENTION AND PURPOSE

 

Fasting is one of the spiritual exercises we do during this season of Lent. Fasting as we know is the willful refrainment from eating for some time as a means of getting our minds focused on God our creator while realizing the reality that our lives are not self-sufficient. Fasting helps us realize just how fragile we are and how much we depend on things beyond ourselves. Fasting is not just about putting on sackcloth and ashes on oneself as were customary in the past to show repentance and regret, but more importantly, fasting must be accompanied by a change of heart from within and not just the outside.

 

Hence, today prophet Isaiah in our first reading tells us to fast with the right intention and purpose. This is not just fasting but also all other sorts of observances and practices during this Lenten season. We must have the right disposition and direction as we move along through this time of purification and repentance. This Lenten season is a good time for us to reorientate ourselves and our lives, as we seek to redress our sins and our past wicked ways of life and embrace once again God’s love and mercy.  For that is the kind of fasting that pleases God and yields positive results.

 

 Thus, in our Gospel passage today, the disciples of John the Baptist criticized Jesus and his disciples for not fasting as the Law of Moses has prescribed fasting on certain days as a custom which they observed with great passion and zeal. The Pharisees fasted and did all that because they wanted to be praised for what they had done and they liked it when others looked up to them for their piety and commitment. But Jesus tells his disciples that they should not fast with such intention, rather fasting must be for a purpose and should be done at the proper time. He said to them: Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

 

This is because, Jesus is the groom and as long as he is around, it would be inappropriate for his disciples to fast. However, a time will come when the groom will no longer be with them, then they will surely fast, telling us that fasting should be done at the right time for the right reasons. Moreover, being in a relationship with Jesus is more important, because, what the bridegroom is to the bride, that what Jesus is to the souls of all who believe in him. So Jesus is teaching us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of ritual or ceremonious fasting or feasting. But is about building a personal relationship with God who loves us personally and unconditionally.

 

Dear friends, we can make the best use of this Lenten season by turning ourselves and our whole being towards God through fasting. We should not let ourselves be distracted by the vanity of the things of this passing world. This is a time we are called to humble ourselves before God and refrain from all the corrupt ways of life, pride, greed and ambition which lead us to sin and death. This type of fasting is what pleases God and yields positive results. Therefore, through our fasting let us sincerely repent from our sins and make the best use of this opportunity that God has given to us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this world through fasting, may we open up our hearts to you and sincerely reject all our sinful habits and so embrace the life of holiness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday after Ash Wednesday, 15 February, 2024

Readings: Deut. 30:15-20; Ps. 1;  Luke 9:22-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEARN TO CHOOSE LIFE OVER DEATH BY DAILY CARRYING YOUR CROSS

 

Reflecting on the continuous hostility, persecution and influential powers of the things of this world, I think is time for us to think twice about our faith as Christians, and whether we are ready to live out our faith in the midst of these ugly situations in our societies, which are not stopping soon, for it is getting tougher every day. Thus, if we are willing to live up to our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way.

 

Concerning this radical decision, we are called in our first reading today, to make choices between life and death, blessing or curse. And we are encouraged to choose life, so that we may live in the love of the Lord our God, obeying his voice and following him; for in him consists the true meaning of life. Therefore, we are to choose that one path that leads to life, while rejecting those that lead to evil and death.

 

Similarly, this same choice was presented by the Lord Jesus to his disciples in our Gospel passage today, as he revealed to them what he would have to endure for the salvation of humanity, how he is to be betrayed and made to suffer, crucified and die on the Cross, a most painful and humiliating death. In the end, he said that those who believe in him should take up their crosses daily and follow him. That though they may lose their lives physically in the eyes of the world, they will gain it in the eternal glory that is to come.

 

Dear friends, as we journey through this Lenten season, Jesus is presenting the same choice to us, for we have to choose between enjoying all that this world has to offer us, all the materialistic pursuits and excess desire for the pleasurable things around us, all the pursuits for excess money, possessions and wealth, the accumulation of vain fame and glory which in reality are separating us from God and Jesus is calling us to turn away from these worldly things and embrace the way of the Cross that teaches us to love, to sacrifice, to forgive, to embrace peace, to share with one another for in it we attain holiness of life.

 

Therefore, we are called today to deny ourselves the pleasurable things of this passing world in order to take up our Cross and follow the Lord. It’s time to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully follow Jesus. But how much are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of following him? Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus? What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? Thus, it is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow may be too late.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we decide to journey with Jesus today, help us to make the right choice by embracing the way that leads to life while rejecting our excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world which have weakened our hearts towards you. May the cross of Christ be for us a shining example in our daily struggles, so as to hold firm in our faith, despite all the sufferings and persecutions we may encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Ash Wednesday, 14 February, 2024

Readings: Joel  2:12-18; Ps. 51; 2Cor 5:20-6:2; Matt. 6:1-6.16-18

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

COME LET US RETURN TO THE LORD

 

There is no doubt that the situation of things in our world today has made us so busy. We are so busy that sometimes we do not remember to examine our conscience to know how far we have separated ourselves from God.  We have forgotten that every day is an opportunity to return and come close to God.  So, today being Ash Wednesday we are called to return to God as we begin a new journey towards our God.

 

It is the day we begin our forty-day Lenten journey that leads us to the joy of Easter. And as tradition may have it, the beginning of Lent is marked with the blessing and imposition of Ash on our forehead. This act of putting on Ashes symbolizes our human fragility, filth and mortality which is in dear need of God’s mercy and redemption. Calling us to remember that we are dust, and unto dust, we shall return but will raise us again.

 

So, being a season of sober reflection on the journey towards our God, we are called for a change of attitude and behaviours during this Lenten season. In fact, in our first reading, prophet Joel calls us to return to the Lord with all our heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Here, he emphasises the phrase “with all my heart”. This means turning to God from the depths of our thoughts and feelings, from the roots of our decisions, choices and actions.

 

The prophet further tells us to return to the Lord our God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, ready to relent of evil. More so, in our Gospel passage today Jesus gave us the regulations we need to follow in order to faithfully return to God as he calls us to be careful not to parade our good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this we will lose all reward from our Father in heaven.

 

But the question that comes to mind is, with the pleasurable things of this passing world, is it possible for us to truly return to God with all our hearts? I believe so because there is a force say Benedict XVI, that does not reside in our hearts, but that emanates from the heart of God to us. It is the power of God’s mercy and grace. Therefore a return to the Lord is possible with God’s grace which is a reality in our lives only when we let his grace penetrate our inmost being.

 

Hence St. Paul tells us in the second reading, that we cannot let this holy season pass us by, because it is offered to us as a unique opportunity that reminds us about the high cost of the reconciliation offered to us at the cross on which Jesus was hung. Hence, the call to return to God with all our heart in this Lenten journey leads us through the cross, following Christ on the road to Calvary, which demands the total gift of ourselves.

 

This call is a way in which we learn every day to come out more and more from our selfishness and our closures, to make room for God who opens and transforms the heart through constant listening to His Word and making it the light that illuminates our paths. This we do following the three fundamental practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting as a sign towards the Lenten journey of returning to God with all our heart. 

 

Dear friends, knowing that we are dust and unto dust we shall return, what is keeping us from returning to the Lord who has the power to raise us again? What is That ugly attitude that often separates us from our God and one another? Oftentimes we promise to return to God but lack the courage and discipline to fulfil that promise. So, this season is another wonderful opportunity to decide to return to the Lord. I don’t know what sin you are struggling to overcome. I don’t know how grievous our sins are. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God. All I know is that God’s mercies are greater than whatever sin we may have committed. All we have to do is to make that bold decision to return to him who loves us so much and always willing to welcome us whenever we come back to him.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we make up our minds to journey towards you these forty days, may your grace be with us to help us utilize the opportunities you are offering us, especially to repent and strive to live a holy life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a grace-filled Ash Wednesday.

Homily For Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 13 February, 2024

Readings: James 1:12-18; Ps. 94; Mark: 8:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LORD GIVE US AN UNDERSTANDING HEART

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Thus, Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand?” This question, reveals that the disciples are really in need of the gift of understanding, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is given to us to make sense of what is happening around us all the time.

 

Dear friends, the fact remains that we all need the gift of understanding just like the disciples in our Gospel today. We need to ask the Lord to give us an understanding heart. Often, we are confused about so many things going on in our lives even concerning our faith, our families, our work, our vocation and every other thing around us.

 

Little wonder St. James in our first reading today says: make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice, he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first fruits of all that he had created. Therefore, let us ask God the Father to send the Holy Spirit for an increase in the gift of understanding.

 

LET US PRAY:  Lord God, you are the source of all understanding, help us to understand you better and as we struggle with our daily activities endow us with an understanding heart, so as to break down the walls of confusion that press on in our heart. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Do have a blessed day.