Homily For Friday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 27th September, 2024. The Memorial of St. Vincent De Paul

 

Readings: Readings: Eccl. 3:1-11, Ps.144, Luke 9:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND CONVICTION ABOUT THE LORD JESUS?

 

In life there is always a moment when we will want to examine and know if our friends can really be trusted, if they truly know and understand who we are and what we represent? This is because, as social beings, we often make friends who we can confide and entrust with our inner most thoughts and plans. But this friendship does not come automatically, it is developed gradually.

 

This is the situation between Jesus and his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus asked them saying: Who do people say I Am?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this. For the Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.

 

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal 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. This is because Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal encounter with the person of 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 teaching of Jesus because they lack the faith and conviction about his personality, even when Jesus had 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 our soul, so that we can profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. This faith is necessary in order to accommodate and overcome the ugly event of persecutions, condemnation and blackmail that we encounter everyday.

 

Little wonder, the book of Ecclesiastes in our first reading today  tells us that there is time for everything, for every purpose, and everything will indeed happen as God wills it, and not up to us to decide what will happen to us, as there are indeed many things out there beyond our control and understanding. For what does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, but man on his own cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.

 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and great works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: what can I say is my personal experience of Jesus? Have I personally encountered and identified our Lord Jesus in my life? How has my 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 as regards to our faith as Christians. We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God, but not rejecting them because we do not understand them. Therefore, let us turn towards God once again with all our hearts and devote our whole lives in seeking to know Him more and more.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you revealed to Peter the true identity of Jesus your Son, help us through the intercessions of St. Vincent to personally identify the personality of Jesus in our lives and so profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 26th September, 2024

 

Readings: Eccl. 1:2-11, Ps.90, Luke 9:7-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE MAN WHO IS ANXIOUS TO SEE JESUS

 

Oftentimes, we hear people expressing the phrase: guilty conscience, which is used to express the ugly condition of human conscience, that part of our life that tells us whether what we are doing is right or wrong. For if you have a guilty conscience, you feel guilty about something because you know it was wrong. But if you have a clear conscience, you do not feel guilty because you know you have done nothing wrong.

 

This is the situation Herod finds himself in our Gospel passage today who out of pride and selfishness had killed John the Baptist thinking that by that he could silence the voice of truth, but when he heard of the great works of Jesus and could not comprehend it, he perceived that John the Baptist, the voice of truth had returned to life again, when he said: John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus.

 

Here, we see the guilty conscience of a man who is anxious to see Jesus because of his ugly role in the death of John the Baptist. This is what happens to us whenever we tried to take the role God in our relationship with others. And this ugly attitude is what a lot of people are practicing today and as a result many people are suffering the consequences of guilty conscience. This is because most of us are so much attached to worldly things, we have not realized the emptiness of this passing world. We have let our pride, our ego and our selfish desires to blind fold us from the true realities of life.

 

Little wonder our first reading today taken from the book of Ecclesiastes, tells us that vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For what does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun, today we are alive, tomorrow we are no more. Generation goes, and generation comes, but the earth remains forever. Acquiring wealth later to realize at death bed that all is vanity vanishing.

Thus, we are meant to know that there are many things in this world that are beyond human comprehension and understanding, because God’s ways of doing things are beyond human capacity to understand fully his plan. All we need to do is to remain docile and faithfully follow his plans for us and not be like Herod and his guilty conscience. 

Dear friends, what is the essence of our existence in this world? What does God really required from us in this life? Are you having guilty conscience of any kind? What are the things that make us have guilt conscience? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing? Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world, for nothing last forever. So, we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have come to you with our guilty conscience, for we are so much attached to things of this passing world, with little or no attention to your teachings. Help us to realized that without you life and all we have is nothing but vanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 25th September, 2024

 

Readings: Prov. 30:5-9, Ps.119, Luke 9:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE SACRIFICIAL NATURE OF OUR MISSION AS CHRISTIANS

 

The way things are going in our world today, we really need to think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst hostile environment. Because the hostility, persecution and the influential power of things of this world seems as if they are not stopping soon for they are getting tougher. Therefore, if we are really willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations towards the mission of Christ, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way.

 

This is what Jesus is teaching his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when he called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’

 

Here, Jesus does not directly intend to cause tensions and divisions, but he wants to expose the sacrificial nature of our mission. Hence, Jesus demands a total commitment towards the journey of discipleship once begun or not beginning it at all. Because, following Jesus demands the sacrifice of all that we have. For none of us can become his disciple if we do not give up our excess desire for worldly pleasures and possession, and pay our unreserved loyalty and allegiance to Jesus over all other competing loyalties in our lives including family, self-interest, and possessions.

 

Dear friends, we are called today to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully carryout the mission of Christ entrusted to us . But  how much are we willing to let go for the sake of the mission of Christ? Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus?  What is that habitual desires and possessions that are holding us for making this radical decision today? It is time for us to let them go in order to focus more on the mission Christ has entrusted to us. Therefore, let us to follow in the examples all the other great disciple who had given their time, energy and even lives for the salvation of many souls.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, today we are called to a sacrificial journey of Christ mission. Because our excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world have weakened our hearts towards our mission, give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires, so as to hold firm in our faith despite losing people and things that are dear to us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 24th September, 2024. Today Is My 5th Priestly Anniversary (Do Pray For Me)

 

Readings: Prov. 21:1-6.10-13, Ps.119, Luke 8:19-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHERE DO YOU ULTIMATELY BELONG?

 

One of the psychological and spiritual needs of the human person is the sense of belonging, this need is just like the need for food, clothes and shelter. The feeling of belonging is fundamental to our sense of happiness and well-being, for it gives value to life and help us in coping with some painful emotions as it improves our motivation. Hence, we often want to belong and identify with one another, to our friends and families, to our culture and from one association and group to another.

 

However, one of the common and safest place to belong is our families, especially when it is rooted in the family of God. So today in our Gospel passage, Jesus speaks about belonging to his family and his relationship with members of his family. For when he was told that his mother and brothers were standing outside and want to see him’. He said: my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’

 

Here, Jesus speaks of two ways the people around him could be identified as members of his family. First, he talked about those who belong to the family of his birth that is, his mother, father and relations. Then his other family which is made up of those who do the will of God.

 

This family he says, is his true family where doing the will of God is the only way of belonging to this family. This is not to say that Jesus is rejecting his biological family; to do so would be contradicting his own teaching about loving ones parents and loving ones neighbours. However, Jesus is using this opportunity to emphasize that our relationship with God is more important and should be based on our total commitment to doing the will of God through him.

 

Surprisingly, Mary the mother of Jesus belongs to both sides of the family, for she gave birth to Jesus and also was the first to do the will of God when she  said, “let it be done unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). For this reason she is the first disciple of Jesus and a model for all Christians.

 

Thus, to be a Christian or a disciple is to enter into the family of Jesus and embrace a new relationship with God and with one another and this is the most important place to belong. All other bonds, including those of blood should be considered secondary. Because, belonging to God is fundamental to our basic relationships, prior to all human relations.

 

For we belong first to God before belonging to our families, after which we all go back to God where we ultimately belong, which will be determined by how we have done the will of God here on earth. And our first reading taking from the book for proverbs tells us that a man’s conduct may strike him as upright, but the Lord, however, weighs the heart.

 

Dear friends, where do we ultimately and truly belong? Do you belong to the true family of Jesus? As Christians, we claimed to belong to God, do our attitudes and decisions show that we truly belong to God? Do we not often commit ourselves to things contrary to the faith we professed in God? So, today we are called to do the will of God always in order to truly belong to that true family of Jesus where love of God and love of neighbour unites us together.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we truly belong to you, give us the grace to always do your will and as we carryout our activities today, grant success to the works of our hands, through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Monday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 23rd September, 2024. The Memorial of St Pio of Pietrelcina

 

Reading: Prov. 3:27-34; Ps. 15; Luke 8:16-18

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

LET THE LIGHT OF YOUR FAITH ILLUMINATE THE DARKNESS AROUND YOU 

 

Light is a very familiar words in the scriptures, it is a symbol that represents awareness, knowledge, and understanding. Light clarifies, illuminates, inspires, defeats darkness, shines fully and freely, it guides, stimulates and motivates, provokes action, it irritates those who like darkness, confirms truth, purifies, exposes sin, warms and assures us of safety and also facilitates progress.

 

Little wonder, Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light.

 

So, as people who have been purified by the light of Christ through our baptism, we are entrusted with the mission of illuminating the darkness around us. For during our baptism, we were given candle light which we are to kept brightly burning as a flame of faith in our hearts as we journey with others towards our heavenly kingdom. This therefore, clearly defines our role in the mission of Christ, which is to illuminates darkness and reflects the glory of God in the darkness of the passing world.

 

Hence, every Christian is called by God to influence the world positively through the light of our faith and goodness, as we heard in our first reading, the book of proverbs which says: My son, do not refuse a kindness to anyone who begs it, if it is in your power to perform it. Do not say to your neighbour, ‘Go away! Come another time! I will give it you tomorrow’, if you can do it now. Do not plot harm against your neighbour as he lives unsuspecting next door. This is necessary for it helps us to be true light to our neighbours and those we encounter in life.

 

Dear friends, the focus of today’s message is that all of us are called to positively influence the lives of humanity by our attitude and character which should be like that of purifying light. Where there is darkness we should let the light of Christ illuminate. Where pride, selfishness, corruption and greed have brought darkness, let the light of our good attitude and character illuminate it once again. Where sin and immorality have made humanity filthy and ugly, let our light of holiness purify. Therefore, we must not let our lights be hidden under the darkness of the passing world, rather we must let it shine anywhere we find ourselves for we are the light that humanity desires to behold.

 

This is what we have in the life of St. Pio, whose memorial we celebrate today. He is a good example of a disciples who was like a light to others, for he understood the sacrificial nature of the mission of Christ and lived by it. Many came to believe in God through him and many were strengthened in their faith through his works and piety. Though St. Pio experienced great difficulties in the cause of his mission, this was so serious that they almost have his faculty of hearing confessions taken from him because of his spiritual experiences and grace.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle everyday to truly carryout the mission entrusted to us, give us through the intercessions of St. Pio, the grace and courage to dedicate ourselves, our time, our energy and effort to becoming true light  that illuminate our families, society and the world filled with darkness of sin and evil. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.

Homily For Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 22nd September, 2024

 

Readings: Wis. 2:12.17-20;  Ps.54; James 2:4:3; Mark 9:30-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

THE DENGER OF HUMAN SELFISH AMBITION

 

Human life and activities are always competitive and comparative in nature, that is why we are often anxious to recognize or be recognized as the strongest, wisest, cleverest, richest. We will always want to know the most beautiful, handsome, most talented and greatest in virtually everything. Little wonder, the most lucrative business and adventures are found among those activities that are competitive such as sports, entertainment and politics. This is because we feel great participating in such events and greatness gives more ego to our status. But this has brought about the ugly attitude of selfish ambition among people.

 

So, this  selfish ambitious, competitive and comparative way of life is what the disciples of Jesus displayed in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how they were arguing about who is the greatest among them. This is quite surprising for them to be arguing for such intention just after Jesus had told them that he will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again. This shows that his disciples had not grasped his teaching thereby exposing the danger between the mission of Christ and human selfish ambition as a result of ignorance.

 

Hence, St James in our second reading today says: wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done. For where do these wars and battles between ourselves first start? Is it not precisely in the desires fighting inside our own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly.

 

Little wonder, 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 that of 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 adult for everything just as we also are dependent on God. Little children serve as concrete symbol of the 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, today we see in the lives of the disciples the danger of human selfish ambition and how to deal with it in relation to our family and the mission of Christ especially in the midst of ignorance and proud people. For we heard how the  wicked often wish  to treat virtuous people as heard them in our first reading saying: Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us. Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his endurance to the test. Such are their ugly ways of thinking, we must not be like them.

 

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. For we are so proud, greed and selfish, because we are deeply attached to the pleasurable things of this passing world which prevents us from seeking true greatness that leads to 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. Happy Sunday, do have a blessed and fruitful week.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 21st September, 2024. The Feast of St. Matthew AP & Evangelist

 

Readings: Eph 4:1:-7.11-13, Ps.19, Matt. 9:9-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

“I DID NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE”

 

In life we make choices and the choices we make everyday communicate our inner most desire which also determine how meaningful, valuable, healthy and fruitful our lives and mission are going to be. This is not different in the life of Jesus who on account of his mission to save humanity had to make choices of people who will be his instruments of evangelizing in the world. Though, Jesus had been calling people from different works of life to be part of his mission, but today’s call and choice of Matthew a man identified with sinners because of his work as a tax collector, was quite strange to some people.

 

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today after Jesus had called Matthew to follow him, he had a dinner in his house and while at the dinner, it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’  

 

Here we heard the inner most desire of Jesus for sinful humanity in need of salvation. The call of Matthew is like the call of each of us, a choice that demonstrates Jesus' desire for sinners to repent. For all he desires is mercy and not sacrifices, repentance and not pride. Jesus is calling us to repentance, he is inviting us to make a fundamental choice for God just like St Matthew, who though sinner, rose up and followed Jesus at his call for repentance, we too are to respond to this invitation without delay. Let St. Matthew be an inspiration and hope for every one of us. Let him be an example that will remind us that there is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. For he is capable of transforming our ugly ways of life into a glorious instrument for human salvation.

 

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew, we are called to imitate him. For tradition has it that after his conversion, Matthew became a great evangelizer, who went about preaching the Good News to many people. It was told that he went to Ethiopia where he had a growing communities of Christ faithful. And according to tradition, he was martyred while celebrating the Holy Mass on the Altar, after he rebuked the local king in Ethiopia who lusted and desired to have his own niece who had dedicated herself in holy virginity to God. Here we see how Matthew, who was once a sinner was called and transformed into great saint and great instrument of evangelization.

 

Dear friends, St Paul in our first reading tells us that each one of us, has been given our own share of grace in Christ mission. For some are called to be apostles and evangelist like Matthew; some prophets; some pastors and teachers; so that together we are united in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. But how are we contributing to this mission? What is our disposition towards the call of Jesus? Our choice in life is it reflecting our faith in the mission of Christ?

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, despite our sinfulness,  you called and chose us to be instrument of your salvation to all humanity. Through the intercession of St Matthew, give us the grace to make good choices that will help us to respond positively to your call for repentance and evangelization. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing a blessed week ahead.