Homily For Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 23rd May 2024

 

Readings: James 6:1-5; Ps.49; Mark: 9:41-50

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

IF YOUR HAND SHOULD CAUSE YOU TO SIN, CUT IT OFF

 

The way things are going in our societies today, we really need to think twice about our faith as Christians, and whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst of the ugly situation in our country today. Because the way people are so attached to the things of this passing world is really disturbing, for this no doubt is affecting our Christian values and principles.

 

So, if we are willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way, for these days, it is not enough to say am a Christian, we must convincingly and radically demonstrate it.

 

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level when he said: anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’

 

Here, Jesus wants us to accept the consequences that come with the truth of the Gospel teaching, more importantly, when it comes to living out the Gospel message radically, especially in a situation where humanity is deeply engrossed in sinful things of this passing world and the values of human life have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures and possessions, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God.

 

So, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our life experience, because there are moments when we have to make radical and difficult choices as disciples of Jesus. These moments may require the sacrifice of some aspects of our physical appearance for we must not let them distract us from our heavenly glory. Hence, St. James in our first reading today, points out ways in which we can be distracted by the excess desires for riches of this passing world and as a result can misuse and abuse the various gifts and talents God has given to us.

 

Dear friends, today we are called to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully live out our Christian faith and morals. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of our faith in God? Why are we finding it difficult to follow the instructions of Jesus? What are the habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today?

 

Friends, whenever sin, selfishness and corruption have made our life tasteless, let the salt of our good attitude and character make it tasty. Where sin and immorality have made humanity filthy and ugly, let our salt of holiness purify. Remember, if we lose the value and taste of who we are as Christians, the world will trample upon us because we will be good. Therefore, it is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow may be too late.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world have weakened our hearts towards you, give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires and attachment to them, so as to hold firm in our faith despite losing things that are dear to us, This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 22nd May, 2024

 

Readings: James 4:13-17; Ps.49; Mark: 9:38-40

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

ANYONE WHO IS NOT AGAINST US IS FOR US

 

There is no doubt that the Christian faith can be very demanding and ambiguous for those who do not understand the sacrificial nature of our missionary life. To deal with these challenges, we must learn to discipline ourselves and collaborate with one another. So discipline and collaboration must be central to the Christian mission since the Christian faith comes across different categories of people which requires that there should be room to accommodate one another in that single language of sacrificial love towards Christ’s missionary mandate.

 

This very discipline and collaborative nature of our faith is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today when John said to him, master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name, and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.

 

Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples and all of us about doing the works for the glory of God, saying that we should not stop people from doing the good works of God even if the people do not belong to the same group as us. This is because, the disciples of Jesus saw some people who were doing works in the name of Jesus, casting out demons and healing in his name, and they tried to stop them from doing so. Why? Because the disciples having received from Jesus the authority and power to perform miracles they wanted to keep these gifts and authority exclusive to themselves. But Jesus rebuked such a selfish attitude shown by the disciples because Jesus desires that everyone who wishes to do the work of God should be accommodated regardless of their background and affiliations.

 

Dear friends, by the virtue of our baptism and confirmation we have received the same Spirit of God, that gives us the authority to do great works for God. And St. James in our first reading today said everyone who knows what is the right thing to do and doesn’t do it commits a sin.

 

Therefore, we too have been entrusted with the missionary mandate of Christ. So, is our responsibility to make good use of the various gifts and opportunities God has given us by ensuring that we discipline ourselves and learn to accommodate other people’s gifts and charisms. We must learn how to collaborate and accommodate other people who speak the one true language of Christ which is sacrificial love.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who has always been our guide. Through the intercessions of St. Polycarp, help us to be more accommodating and collaborate with one another as we carry out your missionary mandate of love for each another. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 21st May 2024

 

Readings: James 4:1-10; Ps.55; Mark: 9:30-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

TRUE GREATNESS OVER HUMAN SELFISH AMBITION

 

The struggles of life always have a way of propelling us towards seeking to be ahead of other people. This desire makes us ambitious about acquiring things and holding high positions in any community we find ourselves. This is the disposition of the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel reading today.

 

Here, Jesus was telling them about his passion, death and resurrection, but they were arguing among themselves about who was greatest among them, though they tried to figure out what Jesus was saying. Yet they were afraid to ask him rather, their ambition was to be an important personality, wealthy or celebrity.

But, Jesus knowing the ugly intentions of his disciples, showed them the way to identify true greatness using the images of a humble child. Here, Jesus surprised his disciples by linking true greatness to the humility and simplicity of a little child and also showed how children can be the subject of a parable that reveals the vanity and deception found in some great persons. Because children are docile, humble, teachable, loving, forgiven and dependent.

 

Thus, Jesus explains that in the kingdom of heaven, true greatness is found in humility and children serve as a symbol of humility as they are dependent on adults for everything just as we also are dependent on God. Little children serve as concrete symbols of simplicity which is a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven. So, in children, we found these great virtues of simplicity and humility. Hence, parents should encourage their children to participate in activities where they display these virtues.

 

Dear friends, true greatness is found in humble service and not in human selfish ambition. For today we see in the lives of the disciples the danger of human selfish ambition and how to deal with it in relation to the mission of Christ especially in the midst of ignorance and proud people. Little wonder St. James in the first reading made us know that all the wars and fighting come from the corruptions of our hearts, it is right to mortify those lusts that cause war in our hearts. James accurately describes strife among Christians with the terms wars and fights. And these battles that happen among Christians are bitter and severe, and the source of these wars and fights is rooted in the carnality of mind and heart.

 

Therefore, we are reminded that true greatness and ambition are found in humble service to others. But this is exactly what many of us are lacking. We are so proud, greedy and selfish, as we are deeply attached to the pleasurable things of this passing world which prevents us from seeking true greatness that leads to the heavenly kingdom.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, amidst the danger of selfish human ambition in relation to your mission, we have become so much engrossed with the competitive activities of this world, seeking to be great in things that are passing away, grant that, we may embrace true greatness rooted in the humble service of our neighbours, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and fruitful day. 

Homily For Monday Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, The Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church (Mater Ecclesiae) 20th May, 2024

 

Readings: Gen. 3:9-15.20, Ps.86; John 19:25-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

CELEBRATING MARY AS OUR MOTHER

 

As the Holy season of Easter comes to an end with the celebration of Pentecost yesterday, the Church continues with the second face of the Ordinary Time of the liturgical calendar. This begins with the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church.

 

 Although today’s Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church is new, the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, is very ancient. It was Pope Francis, who established the celebration of this Memorial in 2018, which is to be celebrated annually on the day following the Solemnity of Pentecost. Pope Francis said he wished to establish this Memorial in order to encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.

 

Hence, the Memorial of Mary Mother of the Church is established in order to remind us that Mary is indeed the Mother of all of us. For as God’s chosen people, Mary has been entrusted to us to be our loving Mother, and to whom we have also been entrusted as her own beloved adopted sons and daughters, through Christ, her Son, who shares his divinity with us as he elevates our humanity, as we have it in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus entrusted his mother to John saying: Woman, behold your Son, then to the disciple he said, Behold your mother.

 

Here, Mary assumes the role of the Mother of the Church, while the disciple represents all of us Christians, who are members of God’s Church and therefore have become children of Mary, God’s own beloved Mother, and she is indeed, the Mother of the Church, the Mother of all Christians. Thus, Mary had always been with the Church as she has always been with the Apostles and the other leaders of the Church, for she is full of grace and had borne Christ who is the Head of the Church. So it is worth honouring her with the title Mater Ecclesiae, the Mother of the Church. For she was the New Eve resisted the temptations of Satan and remained completely faithful to the Lord as she followed her Son, the New Adam, to the foot of the Cross. Thereby fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy at the very beginning, as we heard in our first reading today.

 

Dear friends, as we celebrate Mary, as our Mother, the Mother of the Church, we entrust all our struggles, suffering, persecutions, challenges, trials and difficulties into her maternal care, in order to remain faithful and survive through the turbulent times and challenges of our time. Let us learn to remain faithful like Mary and never take our faith for granted. Let us remain steadfast knowing that Mary, the Help of all Christians is our Mother and Consoler.

 

LET US PRAY, Lord God, as we celebrate the Memorial of Mary Mother of the Church, grant us through her intercessions, all the graces and courage we need in order to conquer all our fears and challenges of life and so look forward to the coming of Christ our Lord and Saviour. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Pentecost Sunday Year B, 19th May, 2024

 

Readings: Acts.2:1-11; Ps.104; Gal. 5: 16-25;  John 15:26-27.16:12-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

COME HOLY SPIRIT MAKE US KNOW YOU EXPERIENTIALLY

 

We have gathered here today to celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. Today we receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Today the promised Paraclete has come, the Comforter has come, the purifying fire has come. An experiential encounter with the Holy Spirit. Today all children of God are empowered once more to conquer the world with the Good News of Christ's salvation.

 

Today the fears, the shame, the weakness of sins, the lukewarmness, the lockdown and all the barriers that hold us captive in the upper room of fear and shame have now been consumed by the power of the Holy Ghost, which we receive afresh today. For we have been set free and empowered to transform the world once again with the truth of the Gospel of Christ.

 

This is the fulfilment of the promise Jesus made to his disciples in our Gospel passage today when he said to his disciples: ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset. ‘I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth.

 

This promise was made when, after the Last Supper and the ugly event of his passion, death and resurrection, a sense of loss and fear saddened the hearts of the Apostles. But their sadness will not be long, for Jesus will not abandon them, he will not leave them orphans. He will send the Counsellor, the power of Love, the Spirit of the Father. And this Spirit will enable them to understand that his work is a work of love:  love of the One who gave himself, love of the Father who has given him and love for humanity whom he has come to save.

 

Thus, this is the mystery of the Pentecost we are celebrating today as we have it in our first reading, when on the Pentecost day the disciples were in a room of lockdown and fearfulness, and suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

 

Such is the work of the Holy Spirit, who illuminates the human spirit and reveals in it, the image of Christ Crucified and Risen, in order to become more like him, bearing the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ. It is in this image of love, that the greatness of the Pentecost event is perceived.

 

There are seven gifts and twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit, the seven gifts include wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. While the fruits which are perfections that the Holy Spirit infused in us as the first fruits of eternal glory are as follows: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

 

Among all these gifs and fruits, love is the most important of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, just as it is also the most important of all the Christian virtues. Without love, all the good things we have accomplished mean nothing. Hence, St Paul advised us in our second reading saying: If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you. But when self-indulgence is at work in you the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; enmity and strife, jealousy, bad temper and selfishness; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, carousing and similar things.

 

However, Paul continued by saying: I warn you now, as I warned you before those who behave like these will not inherit the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very different and they include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, to embrace the Spirit of love that will help us to accommodate each other’s gifts and talents, for we, though separate individuals are united as one body and one Spirit in one baptism.

 

Dear friends, today the power of the Holy Spirit of love has been poured upon us, so we are called and empowered to go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News of God’s love to humanity. There are many people in our world today who have not experienced the true love of God in their hearts, because they are distracted by various worldly concerns and their selfishness, as they keep hurting each other and causing trouble and suffering to one another. These should not be our attitude.

 

Let our actions and deeds bear the fruit of this love of God not only to such people but to our fellow brethren by showing genuine care and concern for each other. Let us not close our doors of love because we continually want to feel secure and do not want to be disturbed by others or by God. Rather let us like the apostles break open the doors of our hearts, for Christ overcomes our enclosure to bring us love and peace and build a bridge between heaven and earth, so that we can climb up on this bridge of love to reach him and together with him, we too can reach all humanity, beginning with our families, societies and to the ends of the Earth.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we lift our hearts together with Mary our mother in the Spirit of Pentecost, singing the Veni Sancte Spiritus, may the Holy Spirit of love come down upon all your children wherever we may be and fill our hearts with the fire of his love. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Amen. Wishing you a Spirit-filled Pentecost celebration.

Homily For Saturday Seventh Week of Easter Year B, 18th May, 2024

 

Readings: Acts 28:16-20.30-31; Ps.11; John 21:20-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

HOW WILL YOU FEEL TO BE THE DISCIPLE WHOM THE LORD LOVES?

 

One of the greatest mysticists and doctors of the Church,  St. John of the Cross says in the first stanza of his poem entitled: The Living Flame of Love, “O living flame of love that tenderly wounds my soul in its deepest center! Since now You are not oppressive, now consummate! if it be Your will: tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!” This flame of love is the Holy Spirit that bathes the soul encounters it in glory and refreshes it with a divine life of love in which the will of the soul is united in the most sublime flame of love for God in Jesus.

 

This may be the situation in the life of John the beloved one of the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today, which made the scriptures described him as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. What a great description of anyone’s personality. This disciple had a peculiar share in the love of Christ and was admitted to great nearness and freedom with him that gives him the liberty that no one has among the disciples. This is evident by his leaning on the breast of Jesus at the suggestion of Peter, to ask him at the Last Supper, who was to be the traitor.

 

The fact is that it is a great thing to love Jesus and be loved by Jesus. Yes, Jesus loved all his disciples, yet within that circle of love, there was an innermost place in which the beloved John was favoured to dwell. For those who display an extraordinary love for one, are all the more capable of great affection to many; therefore, because Jesus loved John most, he has an enhanced estimate of his love than the other disciples. Though John was raised, but others were not lowered, rather they were raised with him.

 

John was in more intimate communion with Jesus than others. He was always wherever Jesus was. When all the disciples sit at the table, even Peter is not nearest to the Lord like John, for John will lean his head upon the bosom of Jesus with earnest, eager, intense affection. Jesus loves him not just as a disciple but as a dear friend whose personality as a young individual has the most profitable opportunity of becoming eminent piety. He was the only disciple who was nearer to Jesus and his mother at his passion and death.

 

Hence, Jesus entrusted his mother to him saying Son behold your mother, mother behold your son, because in John, Jesus has found a soul that truly loves. And the more a soul loves God, the more it desires that God be loved and honoured by all and the greater this desire becomes, the more the soul labours toward that end in all possible means and this is evidenced in all the works of John the beloved.

 

Dear friends, have you ever felt loved by God personally? Have you ever been identified as one whom God loves? How will you feel to be the disciple whom the Lord loves? Have you personally desired to be an instrument of God’s love for humanity? Have you ever paid the price of sacrificial love? Have your love ever been rejected by those you loved most or have rejected those who loved you most?

 

Today we are called to examine our conscience to know if there is any sign of true love of God and neighbours in us. We are called to make ourselves available for God’s love to abide in us. We are called to build a personality that gives room for love to flow in us and through us. As we anticipate the solemnity of Pentecost tomorrow, we are called to open our hearts for the Holy Spirit to enkindle in us the fire of his love so that our souls will be transformed in love. May this fire of love be extended to our families, societies, country and the world at large.

 

LET US PRAY: Loving Father, inflame our hearts once again with the fire of your love. Grant that we may personally and collectively experience your divine love for us and all humanity through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Homily For Friday Seventh Week of Easter Year B, 17th May 2024

 

Readings: Acts 25:13-21; Ps.103; John 21:15-19

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LORD, YOU KNOW EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU

 

The ups and downs of life have been a great experience and challenge to humanity. Hence, every day is a new struggle. Life struggles, struggle for survival, struggle against the manipulation of the evil ones, more challenging is the struggles of our self, especially our weakness and sinfulness.

 

These struggles are evident in the life of the disciples of Jesus. All the time they were with Jesus they struggled to be like him, to follow his ways and to understand him and it wasn’t easy. In the cause of these struggles they failed, denied, forsaken, and sinned against the Lord Jesus despite their love for him. But this was well predicted by Jesus who warned them to remain steadfast even in the midst of these struggles.

 

However, after all the struggles and falls during his passion and death, Jesus now needed to strengthen his disciples for the great task ahead before departing from them. So on the occasion of the Gospel passage today, Jesus said to Peter the leader of his Apostles: ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

 

A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me? and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

 

Here we can imagine the disposition of the disciples when seeing the Lord as they sat together round the fire, eating silently the meal which Jesus had prepared, and no doubt gazing silently at the Lord’s silence. It must really be a great moment of tension as to how the oppressive silence was to be broken and how Peter’s heart must have been troubled when the great silence was broken with the words: Simon, son of John, do you love me? These three times questions have a special force in the restoration of him who had three times denied his Master, and now three times declares his love for Him, and he is three times restored and entrusted with a great task of feeding his master’s sheep.

 

From this gracious act, we see how God through Jesus treats a soul conscious of its sinfulness and fault; and in Peter’s disposition, we see an illustration of how a soul, conscious of its sinfulness and fault, should behave before God.  This gracious event is very symbolic not just that the Lord had forgiven Peter for his threefold denial at the moment of his arrest and suffering, but also that, the Lord restored him again as the leader of his flocks and the entire Universal Church.

 

Dear friends, in our struggles in this life we have done ugly and sinful things that we are really regretting and don’t want to remember or talk about them just like St Peter. Wishing we could have changed or avoided them, but there is nothing we can do about them anymore except to seek restoration. And this restoration is what Jesus is offering us today as he says: my child do you still love me? Do you really love me? Do you love me more than all the things of this passing world?

 

All we have to say in consciousness of our faults and sinfulness is: Lord you know everything, yes I truly love you. And just like St Peter, the Lord Jesus will not only forgive us, he will restore us to a greater glory. So why struggle in silence, it’s time to break open the hidden wounds of sin in our hearts, for the Lord wants to heal and restore us once again so that we can be open and free to receive the Holy Spirit the promised Paraclete, who will restore us afresh to God’s greater glory.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we anticipate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we come to you today conscious of our faults and sinfulness, grant us we pray for your healing and restoration through Christ our Lord. Amen. Remain blessed.