Homily For Saturday Fifth Week of Eastertide Year B, 4th May, 2024

 

Readings: Acts 16:1-10; Ps.100;  John 15:18-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

THE WORLD HATE YOU BECAUSE YOU DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD

 

There is no doubt that threat breeds fear, insecurity and anger which brings about the negative feeling we call hatred. Little wonder the word ‘Hate’ is often used to express a negative feeling towards something or someone who we presumed to have some threat over us or something related to us. Meanwhile, hatred as we know is the direct opposite of love. This definition is very important in order to understand the teaching of Jesus in our Gospel passage today when he said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you.”

 

Here, Jesus who has been talking to his disciples about love and commanding them to love one another is today warning and telling them that, there is no guarantee that they will be loved in return by the people of the world. He used himself as an example of how they may be treated, that if the world hated and persecuted him so badly, his disciples should expect to be treated the same way. But why would the worldly-minded people hate and persecute Jesus and his disciples?

 

This is because the presence and words of Jesus bring great light and judgment to the darkness of this world, and the people of the world love darkness rather than the Light since their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. So the presence of Jesus the light of the world threatens the people of the world and this breeds fear, insecurity and anger which brings about the negative feeling of hatred for Jesus and those who associate with him.

 

More so, it is important to note that, when Jesus talks about the “world” as we have it in the Gospel passage, he is not referring to the physical world but the people who are so attached to the things of this world. People who have made the things of this passing world their God and have come to trust in their ability to exploit others and acquire the earth as their own. They try very hard to cover their sin and silence the voice of conscience, accusing them of their sins. But here are Christians constantly reminding them of their sins as they strive to live a life of holiness which of course stirs up again all those thoughts and feelings of guilt which they wished to silenced. Hence, this threat breeds fear, insecurity and anger that gives birth to hatred of Christians by worldly-minded people.

 

Dear friends, today we are called to bear witness even in the face of hatred and hostility. Despite the world’s hatred, we should never respond with retaliation or hatred. Yes, there may be times to ask God to judge the wicked. There may be times to shake the dust off our feet and move on, of course, we have to, knowing that we can do so through the Spirit of truth dwelling in us. For through our Baptism, we have received the Holy Spirit in us, which helps us strive to live a life of love and righteousness even in the midst of persecutions and hatred.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty and eternal God, who through the regenerating power of Baptism has been pleased to confer on us the heavenly life, grant us, we pray, the grace to bear authentic witness of your love and peace in the world full of hatred and strife. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a lovely and peaceful weekend.

Homily For Friday Fifth Week of Easter Year B, The Feast of SS Philip and James, 3rd May 2024

 

Readings: 1Cor 15:1-8; Ps.19;  John 14:6-14

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE FATHER? THEN FOLLOW JESUS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

 

The main goal of discipleship is acquiring the mind of the master and the price to pay is obedience and the ability to learn from the Master. This is clear with the use of the imagery of Father and Son by Jesus to explain his relationship with God the Father. But oftentimes, the people and even his disciples find it difficult to understand the systematic fashion of this relationship.

 

So in our Gospel passage today, Jesus tried to explain this relationship to his disciples when he said to them: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him. Curiously, Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied'. But Jesus said: you must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform even greater works because I am going to the Father and whatever you ask for in my name I will do it.

 

Here Jesus is saying that if we want to know God and understand his ways in relation to humanity, all we need to do is to look at him (Jesus) as the Son of the Father who has come to reveal the true image of God to humanity. We are to observe what he does, listen to what he teaches, watch how he behaves, what and who he loves, and what he rejects or defends for by so doing we will discover God in him because as the Son, he is the true human image of God. He is one with the Father in unity of existence and life and this is evidenced in the Words he spoke and the works he performed.

 

Consequently, those who believe in him are endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit and will do greater works than he has done, for he has gone to the Father and whatever they ask in his name he will do it because they will be asking in accordance with the Holy Spirit in union with the name of the very person of Jesus whose request the Father will always granted.

 

So today we celebrate the feast of SS Philip and James, two great Apostles of our Lord Jesus, who laboured and worked hard to serve the Lord and brought his Good News to different corners of the world. Tradition has it that, Philip evangelized and preached in places like Greece, Asia Minor and Syria. It was during one of his ministries, according to tradition, that he was martyred when along with Bartholomew, tried to convince the wife of the local ruler to convert to the Christian faith and the furious ruler ordered Philip and Bartholomew to be crucified upside-down.

 

But Philip asked his persecutors to release Bartholomew, which they did, but he remained on the cross, and there he died a martyr. Similarly, St. James the Lesser as he was called, was also a devoted disciple of the Lord, who was credited with the evangelization and conversion of many peoples just like Philip and the other Apostles. He was also martyred in Egypt, where he worked greatly in spreading the Gospel and defending the faith he had found in Jesus.

 

Dear friends, the questions we need to ask ourselves today are:   Do we believe in God as our Father? Do we personally and truly know and believe in Jesus as the way, the truth and the life? Have we any personal experience of the power of the Holy Spirit? The truth is that we can only do great work in his name when we have a personal experience and encounter with the risen Lord, just like the disciples Philip and James who after experiencing the risen Lord, sacrificed their lives for the sake of his Gospel.

 

Therefore, I don’t what your experience of the Lord has been. I don’t know what you want God to do for you, I don’t know the prayer points you recite every day, I don’t know how deep your requests are, all I know is that if we truly have a personal relationship with Jesus and believe in him as the way, the truth and the life, we are going to be endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit and will do greater works then he has done, for he has gone to the Father and has promised us that whatever we ask in his name he will do it.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we follow Jesus the way, the truth and the life, help us to carry out our responsibilities effectively, may we through the intercession of SS. Philip and James, have a personal experience of your presence in our lives, so by presenting our needs before you, we may find favour in your presence. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful day.

Homily For Thursday Fifth Week of Eastertide Year B, 2nd May, 2024. The Memorial of St. Athanasius

 

Readings: Acts 15:7-21; Ps.95;  John 15:9-11

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

AS THE FATHER HAS LOVED ME SO I HAVE LOVED YOU SAYS THE LORD

 

The word “love” means a lot of things to different people. For some, love is one of the common words we use to express our deep feeling of affection for someone or something. But the fact remains that love is much more than that. Why? Because it is something greater than the nature of the human person. For me Love is God’s nature which he shares with His creatures. It is that nature of God which we share with one another. Love is beyond human nature. When we love, we are actually acting out that very nature of God in us and this can be overwhelming and mysterious because it is the nature of God that we share.

 

Therefore, love is God's greatest gift to humanity. A gift that shows how much He loves us by sending His Son whose life giving sacrifice means salvation for the world. So, the love that Jesus has for us is nothing less than the Divine love that unites the Persons of the Trinity, and Jesus presented this love as life that must continue among his disciples. That is why in our Gospel passage today he said to his disciples: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

 

Dear friends, let us keep the Lord’s commandments, let us embrace Jesus and the love he is offering us. Let us serve the Lord and his Church faithfully by spreading his love everywhere we find ourselves. The truth is that, it actually feels right and awesome to experience and share the love of God. I don’t know if you have ever loved someone and you show it, or someone loves you and shows it? Or somebody loves you and you know it, it is something great and awesome, because love bring life, healing and wholeness into people’s lives.

 

 

Thus, it is by loving God in our neighbours that we can share and experience this nature of God in us and by so doing, we will conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and sin. This is what we see in the life of St. Athanasius whose memorial we celebrate today. For his life inspires us to bear witness to the faith we have found in Jesus, by identifying ourselves with Christ who is the bread of life full of love and goodness. St. Athanasius also thought us to live a life of holiness and to build a good relationship with other people.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we listened to your words today, may we resolve to keep your commandments and remain in your love. Help us through the intercession of St. Athanasius to spread your love to the world and by so doing conquer the hatred, self-centeredness, greed and sin rooted in our families, societies and the world at large. Amen  Do have a favorable day.

Homily For Wednesday Fifth Week of Easter Year B, The Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, 1st May 2024

 

Readings: Gen. 1:26-2:3; Ps. 89; Col. 3:14-15,17,23-24; Matt. 13:54-58

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

THE WORLD IS IN NEED OF FAITHFUL MANAGERS LIKE ST. JOSEPH

 

Today the Holy Mother Church celebrates the memorial of St. Joseph the worker, the great Patron of all workers. This celebration occurs every 1st of May of which the world also celebrates World Labour Day and May Day.  On this day also we begin our May Devotion.

 

Taking about St. Joseph whose memorial we celebrate, Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter entitled Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”) describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a creatively courageous father, a working father, a father in the shadows.

 

Thus in our first reading today, we read that God created man in His image and likeness, and said: let them be masters of all that He created. God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. With this mandate, God made man the master and manager of all that He has created. Hence, from Adam till the birth of Jesus God has entrusted to humanity everything he created but humanity in one way or another has failed to properly manage the things entrusted to them. Now when God wishes to fulfill his promise of redeeming the failed humanity, He needed a true manager to entrust not just His creatures but also His only begotten Son. Thus, God finds in St. Joseph that true manager who will be truly and faithful guardian of His son.

 

So, St. Joseph the Worker ( carpenter) as he is called was upright, virtuous and good in all the things he had done, a hardworking servant of God in all things. He was the one who accepted Mary and her baby and brought the Holy Family safely to Bethlehem, where Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus in a stable, during persecution he took Jesus and Mary to Egypt because of King Herod and his agents who were trying to kill the baby Jesus. It was he who also brought them back to Nazareth, he protected the holy family and raised Jesus properly.

 

Today, due to the important roles and tireless efforts made by St. Joseph to protect the family entrusted to him, he has proved to be a perfect image of God’s faithful manager and has taken up the task of being the Protector of the Universal Church and the Patron of all workers and managers. He was full of virtues and faith, and he dedicated his life to the service of God and managing the task of raising Jesus as his own foster Son, with great dedication, not minding his reputation or his own personal ambitions or desires.

 

Dear friends, all humanity is called to be God’s manager, we are called to manage all the things He created beginning with our lives, but humanity has failed to manage properly God’s creative works and because we mismanaged God’s creatures, humanity has turned the world against herself and today we are all suffering as a result of our mismanagement. Therefore, it is time for all humanity to imitate the example of St Joseph, the faithful manager of God. It is time for us to change our ugly and evil ways of life and begin to take proper care of all the Lord has entrusted to us. It is time for all humanity to assume the role of a faithful manager which we are called to be.

 

Hence, I don't know how faithful you have been in managing your life and other things the Lord has entrusted to you, I don’t know what your experience of the world has been. I don't know how you woke up today, I don't know what troubles your mind. But all I know is that today is another gift of God to us, a new month. I am excited, and hopeful and am going to live it with all joy and strong will to be a true manager of God’s creatures not trying to change things that I could not change or try to fix things that do not want to be fixed.

 

I will not let ugly events of the past distract me today or steal my joy. Rather, I will focus on the blessings that come with the gift of this new month. Like St. Joseph, I will be that true and faithful manager of the Lord. I will constantly follow the directives of the Lord, for his ways are right and the upright walk in them and are safe, but the transgressors stumble in them and perish.

 

LET US PRAY. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of this new month, through the intercession of St. Joseph the worker, make us true managers of the things You created and help us to correct the things we have mismanaged as You heal and restore the world from its ugly situation which was caused by our failure to manage properly the thing you entrusted to us. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Month.

Homily For Tuesday Fifth Week of Easter Year B, The Feast of Our Lady Mother of Africa, 30th April 2024

 

Readings: AActs.1:12-14; Ps. Luke 1:46-55; John 2:1-11

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

MOTHER, HELP US TO DO WHATEVER JESUS TELLS  US

In a special way today, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady, Mother of Africa, a celebration that encourages we Africans to turn to Mary for her maternal intercession and assistance in our daily struggles in life as Africans. Little wonder our gospel passage today presents to us the story of an event that portrays what ought to be our relationship with Jesus and his mother Mary in every event of our daily lives.

Here, we see 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. 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? He 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 the world which is really in need and thirsty for peace, unity love and the word of God to guide us especially at this moment in our world when humanity really hope and seek for God’s intervention. 

Dear friends, we really need to fill our lives with the words of Jesus, which we hear every day. We need to learn from our mother Mary who never ceases to ponder God’s words in her heart. We need to learn how to serve others from the abundance we have received from God. We need to draw from the fountain of grace and gifts that God has given to us in order to build up our families, societies, countries and continents. We need to learn how to sacrifice for the good of others. We need to learn how to intercede for others who are going through difficult moments. But this is possible only when we have filled our empty souls with love, peace, joy and happiness that comes from knowing that Jesus cares so much about us personally and collectively.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the situation of human life in our world today is really frightening, your children in the African continent pray that through the intercession of our Lady Mother of Africa, may we find the strength to do your will always especially in our daily struggle in Africa, as we ask you to protect us from the evil manipulations and agenda of the world’s powers. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Fifth Monday of Easter Year B, 29th, 2024. The Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena

Readings: Acts.14:5-18; Ps115; John 14:21-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LORD LET THE HOLY SPIRIT TEACH AND REMIND US EVERYTHING

 

As the time for Jesus to accomplish his mission drew near, he taught his disciples a lot of things which they had not yet fully understood and there was more to teach them. So, as Jesus continued to teach the disciples about knowing and observing the commandments as a sign of love for him and his Father, as we have it in our Gospel passage today, one of his disciples who could not understand this teaching said to him, ‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world? And Jesus replied ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him'. But as this becomes more difficult for them to comprehend, Jesus said to them: ‘The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.’

Here Jesus who has been the only teacher of his disciples promised them the indwelling of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will take up the task to inspire them and deepen their understanding of the words and actions of Jesus. However, Jesus emphasized that the condition for obtaining all that he has promised is the love expressed in our faith in the Father through him.

 

Thus today, we are called to renew our faith and devotion to God, to renew our love and focus once again on Him with all our hearts, so as to be faithful in all things and at all times. Let us be inspired by the courage and faith of the Apostles, and strive to dedicate ourselves ever more to God. Just like Paul and Barnabas in our first reading, who had the right focus and emphasis in their minds and hearts with unwavering faith and commitment to God as they resisted the temptation of being treated like gods.

 

Hence, they shouted at the people who wanted to offer sacrifice to them, they said to them: ‘Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth. Here we see how they faithfully kept the commandments of God, and remained faithful to Him, as Jesus mentioned in our Gospel passage today.

 

Dear friends, let us resist the temptations of pride, greed, selfishness and corruption present in this world, and do our very best to follow Jesus with all our hearts and with all our strength. Let us make him the very centre of our existence and lives knowing that the holy Spirit, the Advocate will surely teach and reveal to us the deep mysteries of our faith and also help us to overcome the temptations of this world and lead us to God our loving Father.

 

Let us also learn from St. Catherine of Siena whose memorial we celebrate today. Catherine was a lay member of the Dominican Order. She was a mystic and one of the female doctors of the Church known for her holiness, asceticism, and spiritual visions and she was influential in religious and political affairs of the Church.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty ever-living God, there are lots of things we need to know and understand about the faith we have found in you, grant we pray that the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the St. Catherine of Siena may guide our ways, teach us what we need to know and what to do, how to do it, when to do it and grace do it properly. Amen. It's a new week, may the Holy Spirit guide and bless all your efforts.

Homily For Fifth Sunday of Easter Year B, 28th April, 2024

 

Readings: Acts.9:26-31; Ps.22; 1 John 3:18-24;  John 15:1-8

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

ARE YOU STILL CONNECTED WITH JESUS THE TRUE VINE?

 

As we gather today to celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter, we are called to renew our commitment and relationship with God. So Jesus used the imagery of Vine and branches as a metaphorical expression to describe the relationship between him and his disciples which is vital in describing our relationship with God. The root of the vine as we know is the source of life for the branches. It provides the water and nutrients by which the grapes are produced. Without the root of the vine, no fruit could ever be produced. And branches are utterly dependent upon the vine.

 

Thus, after Jesus and his disciples had concluded the meeting in the upper room in Jerusalem where they celebrated the Passover, as they were going, they passed through the vineyards that surrounded the city. This was shortly after the mysterious teaching of Jesus, the disciples were exceedingly anxious and perplexed as to what came next. It was in this disposition and background that Jesus told them the parable of the Vine and the branches as we have it in our Gospel passage today saying: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.’

 

Here, Jesus is saying to them you know how Israel is pictured as a vine which ought to produce good fruit but failed. I am the true, genuine and authentic Vine. By this comment, Jesus was not introducing a new idea by using the metaphor of a vine and branches. Rather he was referring to the Old Testament, where God's vine was Israel. He used them to accomplish his purpose in the world as a branch that is truly connected to the vine which is secured and will never be removed.

 

So, with this parable of the vine, Jesus illustrated the most fundamental secret of a fruitful Christian life. Hence, the major purpose of this parable is for us to be fruitful in our Christian faith. Because, as God’s chosen people, we are expected to produce great, sweet, beautiful, rich fruit of righteousness, holiness, justice, peace and joy to the world. But most of us, just like the Israelites have failed as we produced sour, rotten, stinking, tasteless fruit of sin, corruption, greed, cruelty, exploitation and hatred in the world. This is not the fruit we are supposed to bear.

 

However, there is always room for change just like St Paul in our first reading today, who after he encountered the Lord, turned away from his past and erroneous path, and began to follow the right path which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to him. For he went out preaching with all boldness on the need for repentance from sin and the need to embrace the love of God for humanity. For Paul will not let the ugly situations of his past life separate him from Jesus the true Vine who has shown him such great love.

 

Thus, in our second reading today, we heard of the commandments that God has entrusted to us, the commandments of love that He has revealed before us and which as Christians, we are all expected and obliged to express with one another, by loving God with all of our hearts and at the same time, loving our neighbours in such a way that people will know that truly we are Christians, God’s chosen people, who are rooted in Christ Jesus the true Vine.

 

Dear friends, the questions we need to ask ourselves today are: Am I still connected with the true Vine? What kind of fruit am I producing in this world? What is stopping me from producing good fruit? Do I need to be pruned of my ugly habitual sins? Remember, God prunes a branch so that it may bear more fruit and this pruning is not done only once for it is a constant process.

 

Hence, as branches of Vine which is Christ, our fruit should be the natural outflow of the life of the Vine. For when we are united and identified with Jesus we produce from his Vine the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that sweet and rich wine of love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, self-control, holiness, courage and faith which is lacking in our life, family, society and the world today. Therefore, no matter the ugly situations we may find ourselves in in this passing world, we must not separate ourselves from Jesus the true and the only Vine which is the source of human life.

 

LET US PRAY: Grant, we pray, O God, that we may always find delight in Jesus our true Vine, prune us where we need to be pruned, so that we may faithful bear good fruit, and through the power of the Holy Spirit produce the great wine of your love and peace in our families, societies and the world at large. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.