Homily For Wednesday Seventh Week of Easter Year B, 15th May 2024

 

Readings: Acts 20:28-38; Ps.68; John 17:11-19

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

LORD, SANCTIFY US ONCE AGAIN IN YOUR TRUTH AND ONENESS 

Sanctity, truth and oneness are very vital concepts that any meaningful family, society, group, community or religion will always need in order to achieve their mission and goals. These are very fundamental because of the role they play in ensuring that things are properly done in any environment they exist. Sanctity which is the quality of being holy comes from the Greek word Hagiason which is related to hagios, which means holy, that is to set apart for God’s service. 

So the concept of Sanctity, sets one apart for the particular service he/she has to render. Truth on the other hand comes from the Latin word veritas which means a representation of things as they are. This concept makes one open to the real situation of the realities around him/her. And where these concepts are present openness and tolerance become possible, hence oneness and unity can be achieved. 

Therefore, knowing the importance of sanctity, truth and oneness in achieving any mission and goal, Jesus in his High Priestly Prayer asks the Father to sanctify his disciples in truth and oneness as we have it in our Gospel passage today when he prayed ‘Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one just as we are one… I am not asking you to remove them from the world but to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake, I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.  

Similarly, in our first reading, St. Paul prayed to the elders of the Church in Ephesus to be on their guard for themselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his blood and guide them against fierce wolves who will invade them and will have no mercy on the flock. For there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. 

So, from this passage truth becomes the midst by which the sanctification of the disciples will take place. But the evil in the world is a great hindrance to achieving this. However, their likeness to Jesus is the great ground of hope for they have been consecrated to the truth. And this is the real hope and holiness of all true Christians, for through this, the gift of the Holy Spirit is made available to the Church in order to be sanctified in the truth and so share in the oneness of which Christ prayed. 

This oneness is what the whole Christian community has to achieve and sustain both in nature, will, affection and understanding; not only in their union with Christ, but to one another; abiding together, cleaving to each other, standing fast in one Spirit, having the same designs, and the interest of the mission of the salvation of humanity at heart.

Dear friends, today we are called to embrace the divine truth by which we have been sanctified in order to achieve the goal of unity and oneness of which Christ prayed. This oneness is very important not only as Christians but also as families, communities, co-workers, friends and couples. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify us once more to the truth and so achieve the oneness of which Christ prayed.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, sanctify us once again in the truth of which Your Son Jesus has given us, so, that we may once again achieve oneness in our family, society, in the Church and the world at large through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday Seventh Week of Easter Year B, The Feast of St. Matthias, 14th May 2024

 

Readings: Acts 1: 15-17.20-26; Ps.113;  John 15:9-17

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

IF YOU KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS YOU WILL REMAIN IN MY LOVE

 

One of the greatest gifts of God to humanity is love. 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 love is beyond human nature and when we love, we are actually acting out that very nature of God in us and this can be overwhelming and mysterious because love is the nature of God that we share. Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, Jesus 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.

 

Hence, today as we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias, we see how the apostles worked so hard to keep the Lord’s commandments and remain in his love as they chose Matthias to replace the traitor, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord and then killed himself in regret and grief. Thus, Matthias, one of the earliest followers of Jesus, was chosen in order to complete the number of the Twelve Apostles as we have it in our first reading. History has it that, St. Matthias out of love, went on to serve the Lord and his Church faithfully, for he went on many missions and travelled as far as Ethiopia. He laboured hard to establish the Church and the faith in different places and preached the Good News of the Lord, calling many to conversion and true faith.

 

Tradition has it, that Matthias suffered martyrdom in Colchis in Asia Minor. No doubt that St. Matthias together with the other Apostles gave their life, strength, dedication and their whole heart to serve God and his Church, practising and doing what Jesus had commanded them to do, which is to keep the commandments of God so as to 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 like St. Matthias 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 brings 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.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, You chose St Matthias to become one of the Apostles, grant that through his intercession, we may keep your commandments and remain in your love. And help us to spread this 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. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen  Do have a lovely day.

Homily For Monday Seventh Week of Easter Year B, 13th May, 2024

 

Readings: Acts 19:1-8; Ps.68;  John 16:29-33

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LORD HELP US TO CONQUER OUR FEARS  AND THE TRIBULATIONS OF THIS PASSING WORLD

 

Tribulations and sufferings have been the hallmark of most people’s experience in the world today. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the level of sufferings we are passing through everyday, the sad news we hear and see in our streets, the television and in the social media. These often make us feel hopeless and fearful because the situation is beyond our control.

 

This kind of fearful situation is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, knowing that very soon his disciples are going to face a worse situation, so he said to them “Listen; the time will come, in fact it has come already, when you will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all these so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.”

 

Here Jesus is telling his disciples these, not to discourage them but to prepare them for many troubles and tribulations they are going to face in the future, so that when the time comes they will find peace and confidence in him.  He told them not to worry because he has conquered the world, not in any political or economic sense but in overcoming the evil in the world. So, all our tribulations, sorrow, suffering have been conquered in Jesus through his passion death and resurrection. Therefore, his disciples can share in this victory, as long as they remain faithful and united in peace.

 

Dear friends, this same promise is available for us his disciples, who today are passing through great tribulations and sufferings in the world. We have to be courageous and find strength in words of Jesus who has conquered the world and all it’s evil and tribulations. For today, Jesus is reassuring us that no matter what is happening in our world, he is still in control and will always ensure that we come out victoriously.

 

Thus, as we prepare and wait patiently for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, let us take our fears, sufferings, tribulations, sickness and disappointments to Jesus and ask him to give us the courage and strong faith, so that through the power of the Holy Spirit we will overcome all the ugly situations in our lives, families, societies and the world at large and so enjoy once again the peace of knowing that he is with us always till the end of time.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, may the power of the Holy Spirit come upon us, we pray, so that following your instructions, we may overcome the world and all the trials and tribulations we face everyday through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful week.

Homily For Seventh Sunday in Easter Year B, 12th May, 2024. End of World Communication Week

 

Readings: Acts.1:15-17.20-26; Ps.103; 1 John 4:11-16;  John 17:11-19

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

WAITING ON THE HOLY SPIRIT THE PROMISED  PARACLETE

 

One of the difficult things we don’t like to hear when we are expecting something great to come our way is the word “wait”. The word wait can be very unpleasant to the ears of anyone who is desperately in need of something. But oftentimes, we have little or no option not to wait, and in life, we have a lot of waiting to do. We wait for the day to break, we wait for the month to end, we wait for the traffic, we wait for our admission, interviews, jobs, husband, wife, children, we wait and wait and wait, in fact, waiting on God is a regular message of faith which we hear every day. Waiting can really be difficult and uncomfortable, it can be suicidal for those who lack the virtue of patience. Nonetheless, good and great things are worth waiting for.

 

Today the seventh Sunday of the Holy season of Easter, our disposition is that of waiting. This is because before this Sunday was the Solemnity of the Ascension which we celebrated on Thursday, from which the Church waits prayerfully for the promised Paraclete. So the Church in this waiting disposition anticipates the promised Paraclete who will help her to communicate the message of Christ to all humanity.

 

 This act of communication is very important as the Church celebrates World Communication Sunday today which was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967 as an annual celebration and as we know communication is a very important aspect of our faith and mission.

 

Little wonder, Jesus knowing how difficult this mission can be for his disciples asked them to wait for the promised Paraclete and he also prayed for them as we have it in our Gospel passage today when he said: Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world I have sent them into the world, and for their sake, I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.

 

This prayer is so important in our lives as Christians. It is called the High Priestly prayer of Jesus. Here we heard the Lord Jesus asking the Father to sanctify his disciples in truth and oneness knowing the importance of sanctity, truth and oneness in achieving their mission and goal. We can see the efficacy of this prayer of Jesus in the election of Matthias to the rank of the Twelve Apostles as we have it in our first reading, which can be seen as an example of how communication in prayer is such an important aspect and part of our faith.

 

We cannot be true Christians unless we open ourselves to the Lord and communicate with him regularly in order to know his will for us and others and by so doing dwell in his love. Hence, we heard St John in our second reading saying: My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us.

 

Also, in this High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed for his disciples that the Father should take care of them in the midst of all the evils in the world and that they should be one as he and the Father are one. In this prayer, Jesus shows us that prayer is a form of communication between us and God, whom we should love dearly and wait patiently for His will to be done in our lives.

 

This simply means that we have to learn how to communicate regularly with God and wait patiently for his will to be done. And in like manner, we must learn how to wait patiently with our loved ones, our friends, our family members and relatives, our spouses and others who are dear to us, we must learn how to wait patiently with life activities and the challenges and struggles that come with it.

 

Dear friends, as the disciples are waiting prayerfully for the promised Paraclete, we too are also called to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit this coming Pentecost Sunday. We are called to go to the upper room of our hearts and conscience and wait patiently for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We are called to prepare and wait on the Holy Spirit through the ongoing novena to the Holy Spirit. We are called to wait patiently for the fulfilment of God’s plan for every one of us just like Matthias. Though waiting may be difficult, but good and great things are worth waiting for and being prepared for.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, graciously hear our supplications,  as we wait patiently for the fulfilment of your promise, grant that when the Paraclete comes, may we be disposed to receive him as our Advocate and let him teach us what to do, how to do it, when to do it and give us the grace to do it properly through Christ our Lord. Amen.  Do have a grace-filled Sunday.

Homily For Saturday Sixth Week of Easter Year B, 11th May, 2024

 

Readings: Acts 18:23-28; Ps.47;  John 16:23-28

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO END OUR PRAYERS BY SAYING: “THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD”? 

People often ask why most of our liturgical prayers end with the phrase ‘through Christ our Lord'. Is this necessary since God can hear us directly? Anyway, the answer to this question is found in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask from the Father he will grant in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete... because the Father himself loves you for loving me.’

Here Jesus makes a solemn promise to his disciples that whatever they ask the Father in his name will be granted to them. This is because in Jesus the disciples will experience direct contact with the Father. Thus, his name becomes the link that will usher them into the divine relationship between the Son and the Father. It is through this relationship that the disciples will come to experience the divine privilege that will give them access to their request from God.  

Therefore the Greek word ‘dia’ which can be translated as both ‘by’ or ‘through’ can be linked to the words of Jesus when he said in John 14:6  ‘I am the way. No one can come to the Father except “through“ me’. Thus, Jesus is the way through which we can come to God the Father. For through Jesus, we have obtained access to the grace of being God’s children. 

This does not mean that God is inaccessible. Rather as we know God is a spirit Whose nature is beyond our apprehension and different from our nature that are material and sinful. So to make himself known to us he sent his son to take our flesh upon him and to become human like us in order to free us from the power of sin and death so that we can be closer to him through Christ his Son. Hence, asking God for something through Christ ushers us into the divine grace that gives us access to a divine relationship with God the Father and this has become the normal way for the Church to pray to the Father as we do in all our liturgical prayers

Dear friends, God makes himself known to us through Jesus and we come to him through Jesus. Hence, Christ Jesus has become the divine grace through which we obtain the divine access into the divine life of the Trinity. And this is the source of our joy as Christians. This gives us the divine access to include Jesus in our daily decision-making, and try to see things the way he does and when this happens we transcend ourselves into the divine relationship that will make us open to the will of God and so obtain from him whatever we need since we will be inspired to pray according to his will.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we learn to present our needs to you through your Son Jesus, grant that we may obtain through him the divine access to your will and so obtain favour for all our petitions according to your Holy will through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace-filled weekend.

Homily For Friday Sixth Week of Easter Year B, 10th May 2024

 

Readings: Acts 18:9-18; Ps.47;  John 16:20-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

YOUR SORROWS WILL TURN TO JOY AND NO ONE WILL TAKE YOUR JOY FROM YOU

 

Often when we reflect on the ugly events that happen around us which have caused us deep sorrows, we wonder why God who is so good and powerful permits such events to happen to us. Sometimes we feel we should have avoided such a sorrowful event, hence, we complain and even doubt the power of God whom we thought would have helped us overcome the evil.

 

Thus, Jesus knowing that his disciples would surely find themselves in this kind of situation said to them in our Gospel passage today:  ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy…and that joy no one shall take from you. When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.’

 

Here Jesus is talking about the sorrows the disciples will experience when he goes away after his death and suffering, and the joy they will experience when he soon returns at his resurrection. This does not simply mean that they shall pass from sorrow to joy, rather the sorrow itself shall become joy because it was the necessary cause of their joy.

 

So, Jesus illustrates this with the necessary pain and sorrow of childbirth and the joy of motherhood. An analogy that better explains the pains and sorrows of the disciples, where their pains and sorrows lead directly to a joy that no one could take away from them. A perfect way of explaining what will happen when they see him again and their deepest pains and sorrows will be transformed into purest joys which no one can take away.

 

These are words of encouragement for the disciples who were afraid of what would become of them when Jesus was no longer physically with them. These same words of encouragement are what St. Paul received from the Lord at Corinth when he was scared of what would become of him and his mission as we have it in our first reading, when at night the Lord spoke to him in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ 

 

Therefore, we are to learn from Jesus, whose path to joy went through the awful agony of the cross, knowing that our path to eternal joy may first go through the pains of sorrow for our sins. Because for us to find permanent joy in Jesus, we have to die to self which may lead us through a necessary sorrowful moment that will give birth to a permanent joy that is found in the risen Christ.

 

Dear friends, today we are encouraged to be patient in times of sorrow for God knows how to turn our sorrows of today into a thing of great joy in the future. The sorrow of contrite hearts today becomes the gladness of pardoned tomorrow; the sorrow of hardships, intimidation, abandonment, sickness, poverty and even death will become the great joy of success, victory, healing, freedom and eternal life which no one can take away from us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, grant we pray that our present sorrows will be turned into great joy and lead us to eternal victory through Christ our Lord. Amen.

As we begin the novena to the Holy Spirit today, may the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with the joy of His presence

Homily For Thursday Sixth Week of Eastertide Year B, The Solemnity of Ascension,13th May, 2024

 

Readings: Acts1:1-11; Ps. 47; Eph. 4:1-13; Mark 16:15-20

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

ASCENSION OF THE LORD A CONFIRMATION OF THE REALITY OF HEAVEN 

Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. This solemnity reminds us of that great moment of hope when the Lord triumphs victoriously and is no longer physically present among his disciples and followers, as they can no longer directly see him or touch him as they had been during all the while he was physically present with them. 

We can recall that the Joy of the risen Lord had filled the hearts of his disciples as they experienced his physical presence for the past forty days after his death and resurrection. So on the occasion of today’s solemnity, the Lord Jesus in the presence of his disciples was physically ascended into heaven as they watched him taken away in the cloud, to return to his heavenly Throne, triumphant and victorious. It was a moment of great hope for them as they wished to be with him for eternity. 

However, they have a mission to accomplish, they are to bear witness to the events and testify about it on their missions and pass it down as a true hope for humanity. But this does not mean that the Lord has abandoned or left his disciples, rather he has gone to fulfil his promise of preparing a place for his faithful disciples, and will also send a great Helper to assist them.

Therefore, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord does not mean that Jesus has departed to some place far from people and from the world. Rather it means that he no longer belongs to this world conditioned by a life of corruption and death, as he now belongs entirely to God as the eternal Son, who has purified the filthiness of humanity and raised us into God’s presence by taking with him our flesh and blood in its transfigured form and this is a thing of great hope and joy for all who believe in him. It is this great joy and hope that we celebrate today. An event that shows that humanity has been introduced into the very life of God. 

Hence, from the readings of today, we have the details of this great event and the last instructions of Jesus to his disciples. In the first reading, before the Ascension, Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth. As he said this he was lifted while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight.’ 

While in the Gospel passage, Jesus instructed his disciples saying; Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. As they preached everywhere, the Lord worked with them and confirmed their words with great signs that accompanied them. 

In addition, St Paul in the second reading says: ‘he ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fulfil all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. And so come to unity in our faith and our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. 

Dear friends, the occasion of the Ascension of the Lord is a confirmation of the reality of heaven, which reminds us that God has always been faithful and loving as he fulfils his covenants and promises to humanity. It reminds us of our mission to evangelize the world, to give hope to humanity by letting them know that human hope and life are beyond the boundaries of this passing world.  It reminds us that God will always be with us no matter what we are passing through in this world for he will always provide for us and care for us at all times. Hence, we must have faith in him no matter how challenging and difficult the situation in our lives may be, we must have hope and trust in God that in the end, everything will be fine. 

Let us hold on to the Lord for this occasion is indeed a great time for us to recall the hope that we found in Jesus' triumphant victory over evil, sin and condemnation. Let us celebrate the greatest hope that God has given to humanity by letting us share in the very Life of the Trinity. The hope is that humanity will one day be united body and soul with our Lord and Saviour Jesus. A confirmation of the reality of heaven, for this is the central message of the event of the Ascension that gives great joy and hope to all who believe, which as disciples, we are called to bear witness to the world. 

Therefore, let us share this great hope with the people of the world by letting the light of Christ in us illuminate the darkness and ignorance in the world. Let us share this hope through our words, actions and deeds. Let our presence bring hope and encouragement, not hatred and division. Let our actions bring healing and succour in hopeless situations. Let our deeds inspire humanity to come to know God and embrace the victory Jesus has won for us. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, let this solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension, enkindle in us the passion to love you more dearly and to spread in the world the Joy and hope we have found in Jesus. Let this Joy and hope bring healing, succour, strength and courage that will help us to overcome the ugly and hopeless situations in our lives, families, societies andn the world at large. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.