Homily For Thursday Fifth Week of Lent Year B, 21st March, 2024

Readings: Gen. 17:3-9; Ps.: 105; John:8:51-59

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

 THE DIVINE IDENTITY OF JESUS

 

A critical reflection of the scriptures it is obvious that Jewish authorities find it very difficult to believe in the teachings of Jesus, but ordinary people who experience his miracles and teachings accepted them as coming from God. Hence, in our Gospel passage, the Jews continue to challenge the identity and personality of Jesus. They could not understand his words and actions. So, they continue to misinterpret the real meaning of what he says because they took it literally.

 

Here, Jesus made a very strange claims on his identity, and insists he would be lying if he were to say he does not know the Father, to emphasized on this Jesus said: truly truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am. This brought more argument with the people who wished to stone him. But, John in this Gospel goes to great length to help us believe that Jesus not only came from God, but is God.

 

This shows us the difference between the way Jesus chooses to reveal himself and the way the Jewish authorities perceived him. Jesus wants us to develop a divine way of looking at things with deeper meaning especially as he brings things to life, just as we heard in our first reading how the promised made to Abraham looks impossible when looked at it literally but divinely came through and well fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: what is your personal disposition and understanding of the personality and identity of Jesus? Who is Jesus to you? As we can see the Jewish authorities do not believe in Jesus, because they could not understand the divine life of Jesus and they could not understand his relationship with God the Father.

 

Because they failed to understand that the Father gives glory to Jesus, since it is His divinity that he manifests and by so doing glorifies the Father. We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God but not rejecting them because we do not understand them. Thus, during this season of Lent, let us turn towards God once again with all our hearts and devote our whole lives in seeking to know Him more.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, as we meditate on your passion this season of Lent, may we experience the power of your presence in order to embrace more deeply your sacred mysteries. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Wednesday Fifth Week of Lent Year B, 20th March, 2024

Readings: Dan. 3:14-20,24-25,28; Ps.: Dan. 3:52-56; John:8:31-42

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

WHY HAVE WE REFUSED TO LEARN THE TRUTH AND BE FREE FROM THE SINFUL THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD?

 

As our Lenten season draws closer to the events of Holy Week, the Gospel reading continues with the contentious dialogue between Jesus and the Jews. Here Jesus told the Jews who believed in him that if they continue to know his word, they will learn the truth and the truth will set them free. But the Pharisees take offense at this statement. That as descendants of Abraham they were free and never slaves to anyone. But this is not the case. In fact, the Jews were continuously enslaved to foreign powers.

 

Nevertheless, Jesus is talking about a different kind of freedom, that is freedom from the slavery of sin. Sin makes us salves to devil. To be free from sin is the desire of every disciple of Christ and this freedom comes from knowing the truth found in the word of God. This is the truth that kept  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from succumbing to the request of  King Nebuchadnezzar to worship the status he has made as we heard in our first reading today. So, they answered: if our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, O king, he will save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have erected.’

 

Dear friends, these men stood for what they belief. Because they have learnt the truth and are free from the sinful things of this passing world. We too are called today to embrace the truth found in the word of God and be free from sin. We are called to stand for the truth we have found in Christ. We are called to defend the faith we profess in Christ. But how many of us who want to be disciples of Christ have truly made his word our home? How much of his word resides in us? Have we not  personally experienced the Lord’s mercy and love through the scriptures? Therefore, we are called to be more devoted and pay heed to the instructions of Jesus who tells us to be truly faithful to God.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, help us to have a personal experience of you through the scriptures and so develop deeper love and interest in your word and find in it true freedom, happiness and peace especially in this challenging moment in our world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you the best of God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Tuesday Fifth Week of Lent Year B, 19th March, 2024

The Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary

Readings: 2 Sam. 7:4-5.12-14.16; Ps. 89; Rom. 4:13.16-18.22; Matt. 1:16.18-21.24

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

IMITATING THE SILENCE VIRTUES OF ST. JOSEPH

 

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of St Joseph Husband of Mary a man of great virtues. Thus, the liturgy presents to us the events preceding the birth of Jesus and invites us to contemplate in a special way the roles of St Joseph in the life of Jesus and Mary.

 

In the Gospel, Mary was presented as a virgin betrothed to Joseph. That means, they were not yet living together, because they were not yet married. Meanwhile, Mary, after the annunciation, came to be with a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. When Joseph realized this, he was heartbroken. What will he do? How is he going to handle this? The Gospel tells us that Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put Mary to shame, resolved to send her away quietly.

 

Joseph seeks to do his will quietly before the angel spoke to him about his mission and role. We could imagine the great trauma Joseph was passing through when we think about the love he has for Mary. But even in these circumstances, he intends to do the will of God and decides, surely with great sorrow, to send Mary away quietly. We need to meditate on these words in order to understand the great trial that Joseph had to endure.

 

Hence, we can see how this Gospel passage reveals to us the magnanimity of Joseph’s heart and soul. How he wished to follow his own plan, but God was reserving another plan for him, a greater mission. Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God, he was deeply sensitive to his secret will, he was a man attentive to the messages that came to him from the depths of his heart. He did not persist in following his own plan, he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, silently he was ready to make himself available to the event of the new mission entrusted to him, what a great virtue.

 

Little wonder, Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, emphasis in his Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, “The Guardian of the Redeemer”, that the silence of St Joseph is a model for contemplating the mystery of God in an attitude of total availability to the divine desires. Showing us that Joseph’s silence does not express an inner emptiness but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart and which guides all his thoughts and actions. It is this great virtues and personality that made him stand out in the fulfilment of God’s promise in our first reading, which St. Paul affirms in our second reading and is well portrayed in the psalmist of today.

 

Dear friends, we really need to embrace these great virtues of St Joseph, especially the virtue of silence. Therefore, let us imitate this virtue of silence and allow ourselves to be filled and guided by silence, especially in a world full of noise and distractions. A world  that encourages neither recollection nor listening to God nor one another. The truth is that, our world is in dear need of people with St Joseph’s kind of virtues, we all are in need of such silence if we really want to make a difference in our society today.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as  we embrace this Holy season of Lent, let us through the intercessions of St. Joseph, cultivate the inner attitude of silence and recollection, in order to fully embrace the spirit of the season so as to joyfully experience the glory of Easter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace filled day.

Homily For Monday Fifth Week of Lent Year B, 18th March, 2024

Readings: Dan. 13:1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; Ps. 23; John:8:1-11

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

HAS ANYONE CONDEMNED YOU? NEITHER HAVE I CONDEMNED YOU, GO AND SIN NO MORE

 

One of the things that separate us from God and one another is sin. It is that which is opposed to God. Sin no doubt has left an ugly legacy on human history. This is evident in our readings today. In the first reading we heard the popular story of Susanna, an innocent and faithful woman, who was blackmailed by two respected elders who lusted over her and wanted to commit sin with her.

 

Susanna stood her ground and refused to submit to those men’s desires, and she almost lost her life to false accusation as the two elders abused their authority of their office by falsely accused Susanna of adultery and promiscuity while it was their own sins that led them to condemning her. But through God’s Spirit and Wisdom Daniel rose up and defended Susanna, forcing the two elders to reopen the investigation when they had almost succeeded in silencing her by condemning her to death. At this point, Daniel trapped the two elders in their own words and false testimonies, and they were convicted by their own words.

 

Also a similar situation occurred in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how the Pharisees led a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus, condemning her to death by stoning in accordance to the Jewish customs and laws, and they attempted to use her as a test for Jesus, hoping that through his response they would trapped him. This is because they know that  if Jesus had condemned the woman, then the people could then say that Jesus was following the example of the Pharisee and therefore discredit his teaching authority. And if Jesus said that the woman should be set free, the Pharisees then could condemn Jesus for siding with a sinner.

 

Here again the wisdom and mercy of God vindicated the woman, when Jesus asked for those who had no sin to cast the first stone on the woman. This is perfectly wise set of words to say in that occasion as it is a reality that every one has sinned before, and the longer that one has lived, the more sins naturally he or she had committed. So they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin any more'.

 

Dear friends such is the love and mercy of God for each one of us. This shows the fact that God loves us all, and his love for us is even greater than the hatred he has on our sins. And for all those who have faith in him and put their trust in him, God will provide for them and protect them, just as he did to Susanna and this adulterous woman. So, God wants us all to repent and be cleansed from our sins, our wickedness, immorality, corruption and selfishness. He is repeating the same words he told the adulterous woman, that she had been forgiven and yet, she must not sin again. Telling us that sin is something that we must struggle to overcome daily, knowing that God is ever loving and merciful towards us, but we must not take his love and mercy for granted and continue to live in the state of sin.

 

Therefore, as we approach the Holy week, Jesus uses these examples to explain to us how God searches for us when we are lost in sin and his joy when our friendship with him is restored. His searching for us cost him his life. This can help us realize how precious we are to him. He never gives up on anyone.

So, are we lost in sin? Have we given up in our struggle against sin? Do you think that your sins are so great that God cannot forgive you? Do you feel lost now? Jesus is waiting for us to come back to him. When was the last time you sincerely fill sorry for your habitual sins and go to confession and obtain mercy?  I just want you to know that God loves you and his mercy will not let you be condemned by sin for you are too precious to be lost in sin.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you never stopped saving those who come to you for mercy, especially when we have separated ourselves from you because of sin. As we embrace your words today. May we experience your mercy once again in our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful week ahead.

HOMILY FOR FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 17th MARCH, 2024

Readings: Jer. 31:31-34; Ps. 51; Heb. 5:7-9; John 12:20-33

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

OUR CHRISTIAN JOURNEY OF FAITH DEMANDS THAT WE DIE TO THE SINFUL THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD

 

In his poem titled: The Ascent of Mount Carmel, St. John of the Cross one of the great doctors and mystics of the Church, while talking about our journey of faith made emphasis on the dark night of the soul, he said: it is a night that has united the Lover with His beloved. The night through which a soul journeys towards that divine light of perfect union with God through love. Explaining the nature of this dark night, St. John of the Cross gave three reasons for calling this journey towards the union with God a night.

 

The first has to do with the point of departure, because the individual must deprive himself of his appetite for worldly possessions. This denial and privation is like a night for all his senses. The second reason have to do with the means or road along which a person travels to this union. Now, this road is faith, and for the intellect, faith is also like a dark night. The third reason pertains to the point of arrival, namely, to God. For God as we know is a dark night for those who are still living in the flesh. Thus, these three nights pass through a soul, or rather, the soul pass through them in order to reach divine union with God.

 

This no doubt, helps us to understand what Jesus is saying in our Gospel passage today, when he talks about his passion saying: Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life will lose it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. For if a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too.

 

Here, Jesus is telling us that the journey towards our God demands great sacrifice that will take away every thing that we so much attached ourselves with. We must be ready to sacrifice all to the point of dying to sin in order to bear fruit of love, just the way a healthy seed dies to the ground in order to germinate and give birth to a three of life that bear fruit of love, peace and kindness. And the seed that Jesus is referring here is himself, who sacrificed everything at the Cross of Calvary to bear fruit of love for all humanity. Therefore, we must learn how to pass through the dark night of this sinful world, by denying ourselves the gross and sinful appetite for worldly possessions, in order to journey through the dark night of faith that will lead us to true love for God and our neighbours.

 

It is this sacrificial love of Jesus that we are called today to embrace. For although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation, as we heard in our second reading today. And in our first reading, we heard prophet Jeremiah reminding us that deep within our hearts God has planted his Laws. And there will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, for we will all know him, the least no less than the greatest. For he will be our God and we shall be his people.

 

Dear friends, what is keeping us today from embracing the love God is offering us? What is keeping us from journeying with our Lord Jesus in this dark night of faith, that helps us to die to sinful things of this passing world, in order to germinate and bear fruit of love? What is it that the world is offering us today, that can be compared to the glory of God and the salvation that the Lord Jesus has worn for us? Why not make up your mind today to embrace the Lord? Why not give up selfishness, pride, corruption, greed and all forms of immoralities in order to join men and women of our time who have given themselves to noble causes for the sake of common good.

 

 For there are great people who today have given themselves to the service of others: they are those who see to the good of others. They are those parents who teach their children the ways of the Lord by their practical ways of life. They are those people who sacrificed to help others who are victims of the challenging moment of our time. They are friends who speak the truth to their friends and stand by it. They are political leaders who stand for what they represent and are willing to renounce power rather than compromise principles. They are teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientist, business men and women who render sincere service to humanity without compromising the truth.

 

It may often seems as if they do not bear tangible results, their sacrifices sometimes seem useless. But they maintain their dignity, they cherish their sense of self worth, they value their sense of righteousness. They are indeed, “dead to sin, in order to bear the fruit of God’s love to the world”. Today, they are sons and daughters of God, who have conquered the sinful pride of this passing world. So, like Jesus, they teach us to understand what it means to be like the angels, what it means to remain faithful to our belief, what it means to have faith and hope in God, what it means to say that this world is not my home. Are you one of those? Can you be one of those? Why not make up your mind today, for the Lord is waiting for our response.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your words today, as we move towards the holy week, may we journey with the Lord in his passion and death to the things of this sinful world, so as to share in his resurrection at Easter, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.

Homily For Saturday Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 16th March, 2024

Readings: Jer. 11:18-20; Ps. 7; John:7:40-53

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

WHY HAVE WE FAILED TO LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE LORD CALLING US TO REPENTANCE

 

One of our great musicians, Bob Marley said in one of his albums that,

 

 “there is a natural mystic blowing through the air, this could be the first trumpet, might as well be the last. May more will have to suffer many more will have to die don’t ask me why. For things are not the way they use to be I won’t tell no lie, one and all have to face the reality now”.

 

Truly we all have to face the realty before us, both small and great, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, young and old, good and bad, holy and sinful. It’s time for us to seek the truth, it’s time to return to our root, it’s time to turn away from evil and pay attention to the signs of the moment just like prophet Jeremiah delivered warnings from the Lord, of the coming destruction for both Judah and Jerusalem.

For this he faced lots of difficulties and persecutions from those who hated and disliked him, especially those who out of pride were irritated by the construction ant words of doom that the prophet Jeremiah delivered to them as we have it in our first reading today (Jer. 11:18-20). But as the people of the kingdom of Judah continued to live in sin and refused to change their ways until they were doom into captivity.

 

In the same way in the Gospel reading, we heard of the same plotting and rejection of the person and massage of Jesus by the Pharisees and the members of the Sanhedrin. They refused to believe in the massage of Jesus and to accept the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, just because they perceived that what Jesus had done were contrary to their way of life and the way they enforced their piety and faith. Hence, out of pride they wished to persecute and condemn him.

 

Dear friends, why have we failed to listen to the voice of Lord? Why have we rejected his messages and call for repentance? Today we are called to pay attention to the massage and signs that God is offering to humanity about the reality of his coming. Telling us that the world as we see it looking so beautiful is passing away and no one knows how and when it will happen. Therefore, we must not let pride leads us to stubbornness and faithlessness so as not to end up acting like the Pharisees, who in their stubbornness refused to listen to Jesus. For this will likely lead us down the path of sin, and those sins will lead us into damnation unless we repent from them.

 

Thus, during this Holy Season of Lent, as the world is passing through turbulent moment, we are encouraged to be more humble and willing to open ourselves to accept God’s massage of truth, to open our ears, our eyes and deepen our senses to feel and know what God wants us to do with our lives. Let us realize the shortness of our mortal lives and existence, and realize how unworthy and corrupt we have been because of our sins. Let us come back to God our shield, for he alone can deliver and save us from this trouble and predicament of this passing world.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have often failed to remain faithful to your words, as we listen to you today, may the difficulties of our daily struggles, deepen our faith and make us more humble and submissive to your will, so as to experience once again your love and comforting grace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a safe and peaceful weekend.

Homily For Friday Fourth Week of Lent Year B, 15th March, 2024

Readings: Wisd. 2:1.12-22; Ps. 34; John 7:1-2.10.25-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

WHAT HAS A VIRTUOUS MAN DONE TO WICKED MEN OF THIS PASSING WORLD?

 

There is no doubt that our societies today are full of evil and wickedness of humanity against one another. So, every day we struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.

 

This ugly action is evident in our readings today. In the first reading, we heard how unsound some people can be in their thinking. This no doubt reveals the thoughts of the wicked people who rejected the message of God’s truth and persecuted the prophets saying, “Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing. He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself the son of God”. Such are the ways of the evil ones.

 

In a similar way in our Gospel, we heard of the opposition against Jesus and the efforts his enemies made to try to harm him. This happened in fulfilment of the prophecy about the suffering Servant of God. It is at this point that Jesus made one of the most revealing statements at the Temple before everyone who gathered at the temple, not long before the beginning of his Passion. He stood firmly against all those who had doubted, rejected and persecuted him, showing how those who refused to believe in him and his truth were blinded by their pride and arrogance, their unwillingness to listen, and their lack of knowledge and faith in him. 

 

Dear friends, what has the virtuous man done to the wicked men of this passing world? Why all this wickedness? As we draw closer to the season of Holy Week, the readings begin to speak about the coming of the Lord’s Passion, the suffering servant of God. For out of pride and selfishness the Pharisees turned against the Lord Jesus. Their malice and worldly concerns and also their ugly desires truncated their faith and obedience to God. In the same way, the root of all this evil in our world today is none other than pride, selfishness, arrogance and over-ambition in our hearts.

 

Therefore, as we struggle against the evil of our time we can take consolation from today’s Psalm which tells us that the Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save. For many are the trials of the just man but from them all the Lord will rescue him, for the Lord ransoms the souls of his servants and those who hide in him shall not be condemned. This is a reminder that God will not forget his faithful ones, but those who have acted with injustice and evil will have to answer for their misdeeds unless they repent from their sins.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle with the ugly situation in our world today, gift us grace not to give up, may we remain faithful in all trials and temptations. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.