Homily For Saturday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 24th August, 2024. Feast of St. Bartholomew

 

Readings: Rev. 21:9-14, Ps. 145, John 1:45-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

CAN YOU BE THAT PERSON OF INTEGRITY  LIKE ST. BARTHOLOMEW?

 

Reflecting on the ugly situation in our society today, where morals and virtuous actions are no longer valuable and fashionable as the society seems to be living, promoting and celebrating artful deception, dishonesty, corruption and fraudsters. Integrity has become a virus to be eliminated as quickly as possible while heroes of deception and fraudsters are honoured and celebrated.

 

Today, we are called to change this ugly attitude and learn from St. Bartholomew, whose feast we celebrate today. A man of integrity whom Jesus, in our Gospel passage, gave a great compliment when he met him and said, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.” For there was no deception in him. Jesus could see right away that he was forthright, honest, open, plainspoken, straightforward, innocent and unpretentious.

 

Bartholomew is commonly known as Nathaniel in the Gospel according to John. A name which means “gift of God” and tradition has it that he preached the Gospel to Armenia, where he embraced martyrdom by being skinned alive before being beheaded. He is now known to be the patron of butchers, plasterers, and tanners, and he is also invoked to intercede in cases of convulsions.

 

Bartholomew thought that nothing good could come out of Nazareth, but when he encountered Jesus, he exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the son of God”, Jesus acknowledged his faith and promised him that he would see the heaven-opened angels ascending and descending. This can be like what the angel revealed in our first reading, saying: ‘Come here, and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’

 

We heard that the spirit took him to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed him Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond.

 

This teaches us that we should not underrate people because of their humble background. But like Phillip, who introduced Jesus to Nathaniel, we are called to share our experience of Jesus with those we encounter in life, no matter their background and ideology.

 

Dear friends, the world needs people of integrity like St. Bartholomew, for we are called to imitate him. So, let us be that sign of integrity in a world full of corruption and deceit. Let our everyday encounter with Jesus help to transform us, and by so doing we can transform the ugly situation in our societies and the world at large through our witnessing.

 

Therefore, let us, like Bartholomew, be courageous and exemplary in our actions so that, living by our faith and doing what the Lord has commanded us to do, we may become great instruments that will win more people and save many more souls for the Lord.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, today we are reminded of the need to live a life of integrity in a world full of deception and corruption. Grant us through the intercession of St Bartholomew, the grace to embrace your word and experience your presence in our lives and so change our ugly and sinful ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you uncommon favour from the Lord this weekend.

Homily For Friday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 23rd August, 2024

 

Readings:  Ezek. 37:1-14, PS.107, Matt. 22:34-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT OF GOD?

 

As human beings, we always desire to know what is required of us in this life. This is even more serious when we are faced with the realities of life, then we wish to know the things that should be our priority. What should be the most important thing to focus our energy on? What should become the foundation of all the things we need to do?

 

This is the deposition of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in our Gospel passage today, who came together and asked Jesus questions concerning which commandment is the greatest. In response Jesus reminded them of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that they knew and recited from their earliest years from which they learned that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all thy soul, and with all their mind; that is, with all the powers and the more noble faculties of the soul, the mind, the understanding, judgment, and will. Jesus then added that to love one’s neighbour is the second priority.

 

In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do. Jesus set the standard of love not just by the love he was able to show but also by the depth of love which he showed by dying and rising for our salvation.

 

An event that prophet Ezekiel prophesied in our first reading talking about the rising of the dried bones, which represents the ugly condition of the great soldiers of the chosen people of God, who are saying, our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” But the Lord says I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of life again.

 

Dear friends, the question we need to ask ourselves today is: do we truly love God and our neighbours? This is important because love is the centre of all the teachings of Jesus, for love is a gift from God to humanity. It is like the stream water, so innocent and pure. True love is not hidden; it radiates from the innermost being of a person who experienced it. If we love God, then, we will see him in others and treat them justly and honourably. We will not hurt our neighbours but do our utmost best to live in peace with them.

 

The truth is that the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today, as most families exist by grace and not by love. Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all loved one another. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy community.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in you we found the fullness of love, for you made us to share in your love. Grant that we may truly love you and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day

Homily For Thursday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 22nd August, 2024. The Memorial of the Queenship of Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Readings: Ezek. 36:23-28, Ps.51, Matt. 22:1-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DON’T BE TOO BUSY TO RESPOND TO GOD’S INVITATION TO HIS HEAVENLY BANQUET

 

 A songwriter, Miriam Therese Winter composed one of the hymns in our hymn book entitled 'I can not come to the banquet, which gives us the summary of our Gospel passage today and the chorus and the last stanza of this hymn says:

 

CHORUS:

I can not come!

I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now,

I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow,

I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum,

Pray hold me excused, I cannot come!

 

Now God has written a lesson for the rest of mankind,

If we're slow in responding, He may leave us behind,

He's preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day,

When the Lord and master call us, be certain not to say.

 

In this life, we are so busy with so many things that if care is not taken, we will miss out on the essence of our existence. Today, the streets are full of people struggling and bobbling, the markets are full of people buying and selling and people rising very early in the morning and coming back late at night. This shows us how much effort people put in every day just to earn their daily bread; I thought we could sincerely put in such an amount of effort in order to catch up with the train of eternal life which God is inviting us in today’s Gospel passage.

 

For today, from the parable of the marriage feast, the Lord offers us again an invitation to the banquet of heaven. An invitation which is God's free act of kindness, as He wishes to dine with us. No one deserves it anyway, and He is not obliged to invite us nor are we compared to honour his invitation. Hence in the parable, those who think that they deserve to be invited are too busy to enter the banquet hall. But the poor in spirit and the humble who know that the love God has for them is completely gratuitous accepted his invitation with joy.

 

Dear friends, what is our response to God’s invitation to his heavenly banquet? Are we so busy with the things of this passing world? We are called today not to be too busy to come to our heavenly banquet. For God’s banquet is his Church, good and bad, saints and sinners are invited, for the Church is made up of saints and sinners. The bad are expected to become good while sinners are expected to repent and put on a new garment of holiness and love.

 

As Christians, today we are reminded of our wedding garment, the new suit we put on on the day of baptism. Therefore, we cannot go on wearing the old garments of sins of pride, greed, adultery, fornication, theft, drunkenness, selfishness and unforgivingness which will throw us into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen.

 

Thus, we should put on our wedding garment of love and holiness and open the doors of our hearts to the poor, the marginalized and those rejected by society. For God, through the prophet, Ezekiel in our first reading, promised to gather us together from all the foreign countries, and bring us home to our land and shall pour clean water over us in order to cleanse us from all our defilement. He will remove our hearts of stone, give us a new heart, and put a new spirit in us to make us keep His laws and sincerely respect his observances. Then, we shall be his people, and He will be our God as we see in the life of Mary, whose memorial of her Queenship we celebrate today.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, every day you invite us to your heavenly banquet. As we honour your invitation today, just like May, may we never be distracted by the vain glory of this passing world? We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a successful day.

Homily For Wednesday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 21st August, 2024. The Memorial of St. Pius X

 

Readings:  Ezek.34:1-11, PS.23, Matt. 20:1-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHY ARE YOU STANDING IDLE ALL DAY? YOU GO INTO MY VINEYARD TOO

 

Oftentimes, when we are passing through the dark moment of life, it seems as if all hope is gone. We put up all our energy and enthusiasm struggling and hoping for a better and brighter moment. Sometimes it seems as if that brighter moment won’t come. The truth is that our time of favour and success is not determined by how long or strenuously we have struggled but by our disposition towards God's time of grace and generosity, for God alone decides how to reward us for our efforts. All we need is to be disposed to do his will at all times because life is all about being ready and present for your time and turn, so we have to wait for God’s time and our turn.

 

This is what the parable of the vineyard labourers in our Gospel passage today is teaching us, especially as regards our disposition towards embracing the kingdom of God. So from the Gospel, the landowner went beyond justice, for motivated by compassion, he employed labourers at different times and in the end, he decided to pay them the same wages as agreed with those who were hired first, of which they felt bad for the landowner’s generosity towards those hired last.

Here the human mind suspects injustice, while the heart of God sees only an opportunity to be generous. This generosity of God calls us to be generous, too, but out of envy, we often selfishly consider ourselves more deserving than others.

 

However, we can identify three kinds of persons from this parable: First, those who are like the landowner who hires people to get a job done but with sympathies for those to be employed. Secondly, the unemployed are waiting desperately in the marketplace and thirdly, the labourers who consider themselves more deserving than others.  Thus, we all need to ask ourselves, among these three groups where do I belong? This is important because the way workers and labourers are being treated in our societies these days is appalling. For those who are meant to lead and shepherd, the people are taking advantage of the people they are called to shepherd.

 

Hence, God, through the prophet Ezekiel, in our first reading, addressed the shepherds who ought to guide and feed the sheep, but are now feeding on the sheep, scattering them in order to select their choice and feed on their milk, wear their wool, eat their flesh, enriching and fatling themselves from their products. While treating the sheep harshly and brutally, abandoning the sick, the weak and the strayed.

 

This shows us how the leaders of our society have betrayed their mission. Instead of promoting a just society in accordance with the plan of God, they are using their authority to enrich themselves while oppressing the people entrusted to them. Therefore, let us imitate St. Pope Pius X, whose memorial we celebrate today, for as a loving shepherd, he is known for his love for God and his neighbours in simplicity of heart.

 

Dear friends, today, the duties neglected by our leaders are going to be taken over by God himself, who is the Good Shepherd. He assures us that even though we are the least, the nobody and most neglected in the eyes of the world, He will not forget us, for He has time and plan for everyone and will continue to provide for our daily needs. But warns the leaders that they should change their greedy and sinful ways because when the Lord’s time comes, the last will be the first and the first, last. For in his kingdom, there is time and plan for everyone with equal grace and equal status.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, today you promised to take good care of your sheep yourself as you warn us to change from our sinful, greedy and corrupt ways of life. Help us to change and be more caring and loving and to always be disposed to doing your will. As we go about our daily activities, may your favour follow us even to the last hour, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily for Tuesday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 20th August, 2024. The Memorial of St Bernard

 

Readings: Ezek.28:1-10, Deut.32:26-36, Matt. 19:23-30

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEARN TO BE HUMBLE AND DETACHED FROM THE MATERIAL RICHES OF THIS PASSING WORLD

 

The rate at which people illegally acquire and are attached to material things of this passing world is so alarming, and this has serious consequences towards the well-being of the common man in society. However, material possessions are gifts from God, and he alone gives us the right to them. But what we possess is meant to help us grow in our relationship with God and our neighbours, not to separate us from them, because if we are not careful, too much love for material possessions can be an obstacle on our way to God’s Kingdom.

 

Little wonder Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, says:  “I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”. When the disciples heard this they were astonished. And they said, “Who can be saved, then?” Jesus gazed at them and said, “For men, this is impossible; for Go,d, everything is possible”.

 

Here, Jesus tells his disciples about the need to live a life of detachment. They saw how the rich young man was so sad when Jesus demanded that he should share his possessions with others in order to acquire treasures in heaven by following him. Thus, there is a need for us to be pruned from our excess love for material possessions because, for a camel to enter through a narrow gate, it must kneel in order for its load to be taken off. We, too, must learn how to be humbled and detach ourselves from excess attachment to material things of this passing world.

 

The fact remains that material possessions in themselves are good, for we would not survive for long without them, but excess attachment to them at the expense of eternal life is grade-one suicide. No doubt, it is difficult to give out or share our possessions, but the ones who give up everything are the ones who receive more in this life as well as in heaven. And prophet Ezekiel, in our first reading, warns us concerning the issue of pride, for most of us, like the people of Tyre who, because of their possessions, are being swollen with pride, see ourselves as gods, while we are nothing but a mere instrument in God’s hands.

 

Dear friends, what is your attitude towards the material things of this passing world? How have the material things of this passing world distracted us from God?  Are we still detached from the material things of this passing world? How willing are we to detach and share what we possess with others, especially the poor? This is a sure way to find life, peace and happiness.

 

And Jesus is telling us that it will be difficult for us to enter his kingdom when we choose to attach ourselves to the riches of this passing world. Though material possessions are gifts from God and he alone gives us the right to have them as his manners. However, what we possess as managers is not meant to separate us from God; rather, it should help us to grow in our relationship with God and our neighbours.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism is the order of the day, help us through the intercession of St. Bernard to learn how to live a life of detachment and prune us always from the sin of pride, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 19th August, 2024

 

Readings:  Ezek. 24:15-24, Deut.32:18-21, Matt. 19:16-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DON’T BE SO MUCH ATTACHED TO THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD FOR YOU WILL LEAVE THEM ONE DAY
 

In our societies today, people can go to any length to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence and power that will last from the fourth to the tenth generation without thinking of that which will lead to eternal life. This is quite disturbing when we reflect on the negative effects of this situation in our societies and families today.

 

 This ugly behaviour is exactly the mindset of the young man in our Gospel passage today, who claimed to have kept all the commandments without realizing that he has actually abandoned the fundamental principle of the commandment, which has to do with loving and caring for our neighbours, especially the poor.

 

So Jesus draws his attention to this fundamental principle of our human existence, when he said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me”. This really touched his ego and pride, so he suddenly became very sad and dejected and went away sorrowfully.

 

This is why a proud and possessive person will find it difficult to remain faithful in their relationship with God and their neighbours just like the people of Israel in our first reading, who have constantly been disobedient and proud in their relationship with God and their neighbours, an ugly attitude that is leading them to destruction.

 

Thus, God addressed them through the prophet Ezekiel, telling them that unless they changed, they would all be crushed and conquered by the Babylonians. For their city, their whole kingdom, their king and people, their proud Temple built by King Solomon would be torn down and destroyed, all because of their infidelity to God’s commandment.

 

Dear friends, what is it in this passing world that you are so much attached to? Today, Jesus touched the very thing that this young rich man was not ready to give up: his money, his houses, his credentials, his power, pride and all his wealth. But, if we are honest enough, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go of if Jesus should make the same demand of us. Things we would not like God to ask us to give up.

 

In fact, it might be a good thing today for us to ask ourselves, what would be the most difficult thing for us to give up if Jesus should ask us to do so. It might be something we own, like our house, or it might be a relationship, or our job, or our wealth. Whatever we possess that will separate us from our mission of following Jesus and loving our neighbours, today we are called to give them up and come follow the Lord.

 

LET US PRAY, Heavenly Father, we are so much attached to things of this passing world, help us to know that excess attachment to our earthly possessions could be an obstacle on our way to your Kingdom. Give us the grace to let go of things that often separate us from you as we learn to share with our neighbours especially the poor. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen Do have a great week ahead

Homily For Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 18th August, 2024

 

Reading: Prov. 9:1-6; Ps. 34; Eph.5:15-20; John 6:51-58

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

MY FLESH IS REAL FOOD AND MY BLOOD REAL DRINK FOR YOUR SOUL
 

Life, no doubt, is a great mystery. It is a mystery that requires our attention towards understanding how to make decisions with what it offers to us. We may not be able to have a complete understanding of the mysteries of life. However, when we embrace its signs and symbols, it reveals itself more for our understanding. But if we neglect these signs and symbols, we will become lost and confused, and if care is not taken, we will miss out on the real fruits of this life's mysteries.

 

 We will understand this reality better when we reflect on the event in our Gospel passage today. In this event, we heard how Jesus engaged the people in a very important discussion about the reality of life mystery and his sacrificial love for humanity. A discussion that was very strange and difficult to comprehend.

 

 He said to them “I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world… I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.

 

This teaching seemed so hard and difficult to understand as many disciples of Jesus withdrew from him and abandoned him just like some of our brethren in faith chose to abandon this same truth of our faith concerning the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. However, their abandoning of Jesus does not make him change his statement.

 

But for those Apostles who stayed, he made known this mystery at the Last Supper and on the Cross at Calvary when he instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist by presenting the Bread and Wine as his Body and Blood which he offered as a sacrificial love for humanity and gave his disciples power and authority to do this in memory of him.

 

This very mandate of Christ is what the Church is doing at every celebration of the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, where Christ through the priest who acts ‘in persona Christi’ by the power of consecration, transubstantiate the Bread and Wine into his Real Body and Blood and offer it to God His Father as an unbloodied sacrificial love for humanity.

 

This means that the substance and essence of the bread and wine the priest blessed and offered to God at the celebration of the Holy Mass has truly become the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself, under the appearance of bread and wine through the mystery of Transubstantiation. Thus, through the word ‘transubstantiation’ from the two words ‘Trans’ which means ‘change’ and ‘Substantiate’ meaning ‘substance or essence’, we can explain the mystery of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Here, we have the change of the whole substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ through the prayer of consecration by Christ Himself through the priest in the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Therefore, at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, through the power of the Holy Spirit the substance of bread and wine become the Real and Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ Jesus, just in the same way he spoke at the Last Supper saying ‘This is My Body, which shall be given up for you’, ‘This is the Chalice of My Blood, the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant, which shall be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins’.

 

This he fulfilled at the Cross in Calvary, where he offered himself; Body, Soul and Divinity for the salvation of humanity. Hence, we share in this grace of salvation when we participate fully in this sacrificial offering of God’s love for humanity. That is why the Church defined the Eucharist as the sacrament of the true body and blood of Jesus Christ, together with his Soul and Divinity, under the appearance of bread and wine. However, the appearances of bread and wine remain in the Holy Eucharist, for we cannot see Christ with our bodily eyes in this sacrament. But we do see him with the eyes of faith. But this is difficult for those who do not have faith and are ignorant.

 

Little wonder St Paul advised us in our second reading today saying: Be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like wise and intelligent people and not like unwise and senseless people. Because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what is the will of the Lord. Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.

 

To understand more about this mystery, we were told in our first reading today that Wisdom has built herself a house; she has erected her seven pillars, slaughtered her beasts, prepared her wine, and laid her table. She has despatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the city’s heights: ‘Who is ignorant? Let him step this way.’ To those who are without sense, she says, ‘Come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared! Leave your folly and you will live, walk in the ways of perception.

 

This is important because Christ Jesus has offered us his body and blood, having won eternal redemption for us. He has purified our inner self from dead actions so that we can offer our service to the living God. The fact remains that in the Eucharist, we are physically and spiritually fed, for Christ gave us his body and blood not just for us to survive in this world, but for us to gain eternal life and come to share in his love.

 

Dear friends, what is our understanding of the mysteries of life and the presence of Christ in the Eucharist? What is our relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist? What is our attitude towards the Holy Eucharist? What is our experience of Jesus in the Eucharist? How has the Eucharist we receive almost every day changed our lives positively? How has the Eucharist influenced our lives to sacrifice for the good of humanity? Do we still have that strong desire to receive Christ in the Eucharist? Do we still believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Do we still feel the love of Jesus in the Eucharist?

 

 How often have we abused the Eucharist and treated the body of Christ without due reverence? How often have we received the Eucharist unworthily? The answer to these questions is blowing in the wind because we have forgotten that anyone who received the Eucharist in an unworthy state received judgment unto his or herself (1 Cor. 11:27-29). Anyone aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession ( CCC. 1457).

 

Therefore, we must receive the Eucharist worthily and reverently. These are the benefits we gain when we receive the Eucharist worthily: first, we gain eternal Life and renew the life of grace we received at Baptism. We also gain forgiveness of Venial Sins, we receive spiritual joy, Supernatural Protection and closeness to the Trinity. Yes, the Eucharist fills our hearts with love and thanksgiving. It gives us hope that God is with us in our daily struggles. In the Eucharist, we have a personal communion with Christ. For it keeps us in one communion with God, the church and with one another. It reminds us of God's constant presence with humanity and his love for us.

 

So, today we are called to embrace the love of God present in the Holy Eucharist, the power of God’s mercy for sinful humanity. We are called to deepen our understanding of the rich mystery of our faith in the Eucharist. Today we are called to change the way we relate with Jesus in the Eucharist. We are called to strive to worthily receive the Holy Eucharist. We are called to be grateful for this Sacrificial love of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and form the habit of adoring Christ our Lord present in the Holy Eucharist. We are called to let the love of his presence transform our souls into that purest love that will renew our families, our societies, our country and the world at large.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, through the sacrificial love of your Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, grant us the grace to constantly experience your presence within us, especially in the midst of doubt, ignorance, persecution, trials and uncertainties of life. May the Eucharistic Power of Christ's love fill our hearts once again and so renew the hatred, greed and corruption in the hearts of sinful humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.