Homily For Saturday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th August, 2024. Feast of St. Lawrence

 

Readings: 2 Cor. 9:6-10, Ps.112, John 12:24-26

Fr. Rev. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHEN A SOUL DIES TO THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD IT YIELDS A RICH HARVEST OF  HEAVENLY THINGS 

 

The way people are so engrossed with acquiring the things of this passing world at the detriment of things that edifice the soul makes me wonder if we are actually learning anything from the lives of those who have passed away from this world. Have we taken time to reflect on where all of us and the beautiful things of this world be in the next ten, twenty, forty, eighty and hundred years for those who are strong? I believe the answer to this question will leave a deep silence in our souls as it exposes the foolishness of human greed and selfishness.

 

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today tells us that unless a wheat grain 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 loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

 

Here, Jesus is telling us that the only way to save our lives is by total detachment from the things of this passing world. We must sacrifice the pleasurable things of this world for the sake of the heavenly kingdom because they are not going to follow us when the time comes for us to leave this world. For attachment to things of this world is a distraction from the things of heaven. But when a soul dies to the things of this passing world, it yields a rich harvest of heavenly things.

 

Therefore, what are the things I value so much that need to die in order for me to live more fully in Christ? Because, like a wheat grain, we must sacrifice by dying from the things of this world in order to yield fruit that will sustain us for eternity. Hence, we need to ask ourselves today, what does God require from us in this world? Why are we in this world and where are we going for this world? 

 

Dear friends, all the Lord wants from us is to serve him, to love him and to love our neighbours as well. And Jesus says in our Gospel, If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. For if anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. This is exactly what St. Lawrence, whose memorial we celebrate today, did. Lawrence was one of the deacons of Rome and, as such, was greatly involved in the many important decisions and works in the very heart of the Church in Rome. During the persecution, St. Lawrence was confronted by the Roman prefect through Emperor Valerian, who demanded that he surrender all the properties and material wealth of the Church.

 

Lawrence assembled before the Emperor all the poor, the infirm, the sick and the destitute and presented all of them before the Roman prefect as the true property and wealth of the Church. Then, the Emperor was filled with anger, he ordered that Lawrence should be arrested, imprisoned, and eventually was martyred by being roasted alive on a gridiron, which was made even hotter by the anger of the prefects.

 

As they were burning him, he joked and asked his torturers to turn him over since he was "done" enough on that side. The deacon cheerfully offered himself to the Lord Jesus. Tradition has it that most people in Rome became Christian as a result of the faithful life and the death of this one humble deacon, who let the seed of his life die in order to yield a rich Heavenly harvest.

 

Today the life of St. Lawrence is a great encouragement to us, calling us to the sacrificial life of love for God, the poor and the Church. And St. Paul, in our first reading today, tells us about the great rewards awaiting all those who had been generous in giving and loving the poor and the needy. For the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide us with all the seed we need and make the harvest of our good deeds a larger one, just like St. Lawrence who showed us a great example by his great generosity, love, genuine concern for the poor and the Church.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, Today, we saw in St. Lawrence a great example of how to live, and how to die faithfully to the Gospel. As we reflect on his life, may we come to love you more and strive to detach ourselves from the negative influence of pleasurable things in this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week.

Homily For Friday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 9th August, 2024

 

Readings: Nahum 1:15.2:2.3:1.6-7, Ps. Deut. 32:35-41, Matt 16:24-28

 

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DON’T EVER THINK THAT IT IS EASY TO FOLLOW THE LORD

 

Reflecting on the continuous hostility, persecution and influential powers of the things of this world, I think it is time for us to really think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are ready to live out our faith in the midst of these ugly situations in our societies, which is getting tougher every day. 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.

 

Little wonder Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, says:  ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it, but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?

 

Here Jesus knowing what awaits us in this world, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level, especially in a situation where our faith and Christian values have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God.

 

Thus, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our life experience. Here comes the moment when we have to make radical and difficult choices as disciples of Jesus. It’s time for us to take up our Cross in a sacrificial way and follow the Lord. But what is the cross we are called to take up? Taking up our cross could mean faithfully facing our daily challenges with all their difficulties. It is accepting who we are and what we have and using them to the glory of God.

 

The way of the cross is a way of sacrifice, a way of commitment, a way of love, forgiveness, mercy and compassion, which aim towards the good of the other person. It can be a costly service to a loved one who is ill; it can be embracing illness, even terminal illness or other personal weaknesses, this makes no sense except when we relate it with the suffering of Christ through faith in God.

 

Dear friends, don’t ever think that it is easy to follow the Lord. Little wonder God, through prophet Nahum in our first reading today, promised us that he will not abandon his faithful people in the darkness of this passing world. For he shall crush the wicked and all those who have oppressed his people. He has promised that he will stand by us in the midst of persecution and suffering. For a while, we might suffer, but in the end, those who remained faithful to him will be victorious while the oppressors will be rejected, crushed and destroyed.

 

Thus, to share the glory of Christ, we have to share his suffering because it is impossible to follow Jesus without accepting the cross and acknowledging and embracing all that life has to offer us. So it’s time to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully follow Jesus. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of following him? Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus? What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us from making this radical decision today? It is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow may be too late.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, 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 as we do this, may the cross of Christ be a shining example in our daily struggles, to hold firm in our faith despite all the sufferings and persecutions we may encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Thursday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 8th August, 2024. The Memorial of St. Dominic

 

Readings: Jer. 31:31-34; Ps. 51; Matt. 16:13-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

HOW CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS?

 

As social beings, we often make friends who we can confide in and entrust with our innermost thoughts and plans. But the friendship does not come automatically. There is always a moment when one will want to know if his or her friends can really be trusted if they truly know and understand who we are and what we represent.

 

This is the situation between Jesus and his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus asked them saying: Who do people say the Son of Man is? And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.

 

Here, we see how Peter expressed his conviction about who Jesus is. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. Hence, Jesus stressed that Peter’s faith was a gift from the Father when he said: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.

 

This is because Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal response to Jesus. Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who is Jesus to me personally? For it is not enough to quote the teachings and Catechism of the Church about our faith or the teachings of other theologians and preachers or to respond only from the head but from the heart that is convinced of what it believes in.

 

Today most people are following Jesus without knowing who Jesus truly represents. Some people find it very difficult to embrace the teachings of Jesus because they lack faith and conviction about his personality, even when Jesus has revealed himself to us through his great miracles and teachings. The fact is that Jesus wants us to develop a divine way of looking at things; he wants us to know him deep down in our souls so that we can profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction.

 

This is why he told Simon, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This seems to be the fulfilment of the prophecy and promises in our first reading today when the Lord said: Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. 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, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to mind.

 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: who is Jesus to you? What is your personal experience and conviction about the identity of Jesus? How has your knowledge of Jesus helped other people to come to faith in Jesus? Today we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are with regards to our faith as Christians.

 

We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God, just like St. Dominic whose memorial we celebrate today. Through his personal experience of God, he has helped the faithful to renew their faith and commitment in God and their society through the deepening of their spiritual lives, especially through the use of the rosary as a prayer, which eventually became one of the most popular of all devotions in the Church, through which countless souls have been converted to the Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you revealed to St. Peter the true identity of Jesus, your son; help us to profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. And as we experience the power of your presence, may we embrace more deeply your sacred mysteries. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Remain blessed.

Homily For Wednesday, the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time Year B, 7th August 2024

 

Readings: Jer. 31:1-7; Ps. Jer. 31: 10-13; Matt. 15:21-28

 

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

ACCEPTING THE SCRAPS OF GRACE THAT FALL FROM THE MASTER’S TABLE

 

Most people in our societies today hardly accept who they are. Today, people spend all their resources and energy trying to convince others of what they are not by seeking their approval. This is not the same with the Canaanite woman in our Gospel passage today, who, when she approached Jesus pleading for the restoration of her daughter, was not discouraged because her request was not granted immediately because of her humble background.

 

For Jesus said to her  ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman persisted, kneeling at his feet saying. ‘Lord help me.’ Jesus replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.

 

From this little story, it is clear that the woman was not going to give up, but kept pleading, even from her Canaanite background, to the point of Jesus recognizing her great faith. The irony of this passage is that, in Israel, Jesus was trying to convince people that he was the Messiah, as he was being challenged to prove it with a sign. But here in Gentile territory, he met a woman who was convinced he was the Messiah, so he could not discourage her efforts.

 

But his apparent attempt to put her off was just a test, of which her great faith was proven by the acceptance of her humble background. She accepted the place of a “dog” as a Gentile in relation to Israelites being the chosen children of God to whom the message and grace of the Messiah came first. Hence she accepted that she may not be able to sit down at the Messiah’s table and eat with the “children,” but she should be allowed to pick up some of the crumbs of unmerited mercy and grace of God for the sake of her daughter.

 

Dear friends, we must stop wasting valuable time trying to prove who we are not; let us first in faith, accept who we are and then work hard to improve who we want to be in relation to our faith in God. Let our faith in God help us to accept who we are. Whatever we want to do, let us have faith in God and ourselves and be determined because faith, determination and sacrifice are the secrets of any success in life.

 

Therefore, tell yourself today that you can get that which you desire, plan for it, and work every day for it; you will begin to see a different face in the things you do. The truth is that people are rewarded in public for things they have done for years in private. So, let us learn from the Canaanite woman who accepted who she was and was determined with faith to achieve her dream through humility and persistence.  For the Lord will always intervene in our humble situations in order to elevate us as we heard in our first reading today.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are often very slow to accept who we are and sometimes, because of our humble background, we fail to obtain what we desire. As we come to you today in humility and faith like the Canaanite woman, may we obtain your grace and favours. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Tuesday, the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time Year B, 6th August 2024. The Feast of Transfiguration of the Lord

 

Readings: Dan. 7:9-10.13-14, Ps.97. 2 Peter.1:16-19. Mark 9:2-10

 

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

AN ENCOUNTER THAT REVEALS THE TRUE IDENTITY OF JESUS

 

To know the true identity of Jesus has always been the desire and quest of most people of his time and even in our time. So, today we celebrate the Feast of Transfiguration of the Lord, the mystery and revelation of the true identity of Jesus.

 

The word “Transfiguration” is the combination of two words ‘trans’ meaning change, and ‘figure’ meaning appearance or the outlook of a body. That is, the change in appearance of Jesus reveals his true nature as the Divine Son of God, shining forth from his human nature, unveiling that he was not just a Man but also the great Son of God incarnate in the human flesh. This will help us to understand the true identity of Jesus.

 

This is important because most people today still do not have a grand knowledge of the personality and identity of Jesus and his mission towards the salvation of humanity. So, to make known his identity to humanity, Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, chose three of his disciples, Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone.

 

There in their presence, he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud, there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Beloved Son. Listen to him.

 

So, in this Feast, we remember the revelation of Christ as the beloved Son of the Father, the one we are called to trust and listen to in prayer. An event that occurs to undermine objections to the inevitable event of Parousia, which calls us to a life of faith and radical transformation. A transformation that brings about a new outfit that makes one a new person with a new life, a new mind and a new way of doing things.

 

In this revelation, we recall the presence of the two greatest and most renowned figures from the Old Testament, namely Moses and the prophet Elijah. They represent the law and the prophets which bear witness to the personality and identity of Jesus. To crown all, the voice from the cloud which has also been the symbol of God’s presence with His people bearing witness that Jesus is the Beloved Son of God, calling us to listen to him.

 

Little wonder St. Peter, in our second reading today, tells us that it was not any cleverly invented myths that they were repeating when they brought us the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, for they had seen his majesty for themselves.

 

Peter made us know that Jesus was honoured and glorified by God the Father when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; Listen to him.’ He said they heard this themselves, spoken from heaven when they were with him on the holy mountain.

 

This event also fulfils the vision of Daniel in our first reading, where he said: I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man. He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed. The preface of this feast says that Jesus revealed his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses and filled with the greatest splendour that bodily form which he shares with all humanity, that the scandal of the Cross might be removed from the hearts of his disciples.

 

Dear friends, are we in any way ignorant of the personality, identity and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have we personally experienced the presence of Jesus in our lives? Have we ever encountered Jesus in such a transformative way that changes our sinful ways of life and builds our faith stronger in the Lord? This is the type of encounter we need to have. An encounter that reveals the true identity of Jesus.

 

The truth is, we can change our religion, churches, even our pastors, friends, residence, car or our physical appearance: hair, clothes, colour, even gender, as some people do today. But if we don’t have a transfigurative experience that will bring about a change of mind and heart towards loving God and our neighbours, we will remain the same, and the old experience of unfruitful life will perpetuate itself over and over again. Because everything absolutely changes when we change our minds for good, and that is the essence of today’s feast.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you never cease to make known to your children the mysteries of your Love for humanity, grant that by listening to the voice of your beloved Son, we may personally experience his love in our lives and merit to become coheirs with him, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. As you begin the day, may God bless you with a sound mind and unwavering faith in him.

Homily For Monday Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 5th August, 2024

Readings: Jer.28: 1-17; Ps 119; Matt. 14:13-21

 

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT

 

Humanity is constantly in need of one thing or the other; we are never tired of searching for things that will satisfy our desire for physical and spiritual well-being. This is the situation and condition of the people in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how the people were in search of Jesus for more bread. So, as Jesus stepped ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he took pity on them and healed their sickness and also miraculously fed them.

 

Here, Jesus fulfils his role as the expected messiah who is to liberate his people from all kinds of diseases. The healing touch of Jesus reveals to all those who are in need that God is faithful to his promises. This healing and wholeness are offered as a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom among his people. But Jesus did not just heal the sick, he also fed the crowd when he said give them something to eat.

 

This feeding of the crowd refers back to the journey of the people of God in the desert from Mount Sinai to the promised land, which, in a special way, signifies the event of our Eucharistic celebration. The Eucharist has the same characteristics of this miracle: the community gathered together, the transformation of humble elements into a glorified body of Christ to satisfy our spiritual hunger, which is an abundant gift of God to humanity. In fact, because of the link to the Eucharist, this is the only miracle that is reported by all the four gospels.

 

However, we can interpret this miracle of feeding the crowd in two ways. First, we can simply interpret it as a miraculous event, pointing to the divine origin and mission of Jesus. Secondly, we can interpret the miracle as the fruit of sharing with one another, for it is possible that once the disciples began to share the little food they had with those around, others also who had brought some food with them started sharing what they had and indeed grace multiplied what they have to the point of having left over. How I wish humanity could learn to share our resources with one another; believe me, the world will witness another miracle of the multiplication of resources that will be enough for everyone with left over for future generations.

 

So, as Jesus heals and feeds the physical aspect of humanity, he also knows that we need the food of the Eucharist to sustain us spiritually for our journey to heaven which is our promised land. Here, Jesus did not bring the loaves and fish out of nowhere. Rather, he took what was offered to him and multiplied them greatly. This bread is the gift of the Eucharist, which we receive back from Jesus, whose heart is always moved with pity and compassion towards us.

 

Dear friends, God loves us so much, that he is willing and ready to satisfy our unquenchable hunger for physical and spiritual things. This is what prophet Hananiah, in our first reading, failed to understand, they spoke to please the king and his listeners, saying before everyone that the Lord would help Judah crush the Babylonians and help reverse all the losses and humiliations that they had suffered under them. But this was not the truth; he only said something that everyone wanted to hear by reassuring false hope. Thus, prophet Jeremiah's rebuking him, made it known that God was going to throw him and all the evil agents that were destroying humanity off the face of the earth.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are really hungry and in need of your love and satisfaction both physically and spiritually; feed us once again with your heavenly grace and multiply the little bread and fish we share with others and provide for us the basic needs of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a Fruitful Week.

Homily For Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 4th August, 2024

 

Reading: Exo.16:2-4.12-15; Ps. 78; Eph.4:17.20-24; John 6:24-35

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

“LORD GIVE US THIS BREAD ALWAYS”

 

Reflecting on the ugly situation of hunger, bad governments, greed and selfishness of people and the protests going on in our societies, country and the world at large one can begin to lose hope in humanity and even in God. Today, people are confused; they don’t even know what to believe or who to trust anymore. The questions that come to mind are: To whom shall we run to? What shall we do? Any hope for a better tomorrow? What signs are there for us to see in order to be assured of a better and brighter future for humanity? This present disposition can be likened to the disposition of the people in our Gospel passage today.

 

Here, the Jews who had witnessed the great miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, when confronted with the hard teaching about the person of Jesus, asked Jesus for a sign to prove that he is the Messiah, a sign like the manna which their forefathers ate in the desert as we have it in our first reading today. They said to Jesus that God gave them bread from heaven to eat. For the Jews, the manna was a gift from heaven through their father Moses. So, they wanted such a miraculous sign again.

 

However, Jesus made it clear to the crowd that it was God rather than Moses who provided the manna for the Israelites. Also, he identified himself as the true bread of life that comes from God. That he is God’s divine intervention in our world. He is the gift of God to the world. So he told them solemnly: “I AM the bread of life.”  Using the word “I AM”, he strongly identifies himself with God, a statement that recalls the name God revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exod 3:14). Jesus goes on to say: “Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

 

Thus, the true manna, the true bread from heaven, is the Word of God, which is Jesus, and this Word is what he teaches us to believe in. Today, this Word is now addressed to us, and we shall do well to pay attention to it because with the events going on in the world today, we too can find ourselves in an ugly situation.

 

A situation where we may no longer have faith in God and start doubting his existence as we are now scared of losing our lives, our health, wealth or even our loved ones. The worst of it is not knowing what to believe anymore, especially in the way our society has been structured; people no longer know their left from their right.

 

Thus, St. Paul, in our second reading, says: unless we have failed to hear him properly when we were taught the truth about our Lord Jesus. For assuming that we have heard about him properly and were taught in him, then, we must have given up our old way of life; we must have put aside our old self, which gets corrupted by following our ugly desires. Our mind must have been renewed by a spiritual revolution so that we can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.

 

Dear friends, I don’t know how you have personally experienced Jesus. I don’t know how deep is you’re understanding of Jesus in the Eucharist as the Bread of Life. I don’t know how the world has separated us from Jesus, our Bread of Life. Are you confused about your faith in God?  I don’t know what you are going through now. Does it seem as if all hope is lost and there is no opportunity again for you? Jesus says: I AM the bread of life, blessed is the one who does not lose faith in him. 

So let us ask the Lord to give us this bread always. Of course, he is waiting for us at the Eucharist, where he feeds us spiritually. Therefore, be courageous, do not be afraid. Be patient, do not lose heart. Rather, let us look up to Jesus, the Bread of Life, for he will surely come to save us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, whenever we come to Jesus and bond ourselves closely to him, we are identifying ourselves with You. May we constantly embrace Your love for us in the Eucharist as You feed us daily with the bread of life through Your Word. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.  God bless you.