Homily For Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 13th October, 2024

Readings: Wis. 7:7-11; Ps. 90; Heb. 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT ABOUT US WHO HAVE LEFT EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW YOU?

There is no doubt that our world is full of wonderful things that captivate our attention. A critical observation shows that we are so much attached to these things without minding the Consequences that comes with them. For people can go to any length to acquire properties, treasures, fame, influence and power that will last from forth to their tenth generation, without thinking of how to acquire that which will lead them to life eternal.

This is exactly the mind set of most people today, and this is not different from the disposition of the rich man and some of the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today, little wonder Peter asked Jesus a very important question about sacrificing everything for the sake of following him. This is because they watched the rich man walked away from Jesus because he could not let go of his riches and follow Jesus.

So, in response, Jesus draws his attention to the fundamental principle of our human existence, when he said to him: My children, ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

And Peter continued, what about us who have left everything to follow you? Jesus said: ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, not without persecutions now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.

Here, Jesus is not condemning human riches, so we should not think that he is asking or demanding that we should surrender all of our wealth and worldly possessions. No, that was not what he intended and we should not interpret the Gospel passage literally. Rather, what Jesus is saying is that we should learn to live a life of detachment in order to follow him wholeheartedly. That means, we must put God first and above every other things. We should not allow our worldly possession, fame, wealth, influence and power to separate us from God and our salvation.

So, Jesus is reassuring us that all those who have given everything and committed their time and efforts, and are making sacrifices for the sake of his kingdom would not be disappointed nor left without rewards. Their reward in the end will be truly great, for God remembers those who love him and has given themselves for his sake. He will guide them and remain with them throughout their journey no matter how tough it may be.

Thus, we should not depend completely on worldly possession and power for they can rob us of true wisdom. Little wonder the psalmist says that in his riches man lack wisdom, he is like the beasts that are destroyed. This is true because in his riches man lack the fundamental principle of wisdom which is the fear of the Lord and we know that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Hence in our first reading today we are told to seek wisdom rooted in the word of God and esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones; for compared with her, we held riches as nothing. And our second reading tells us that the word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.

Dear friends, what is the essence of our existence in this world? What does God really required from us in this life? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing? So today Jesus addressed the very thing that most people are not ready to give up. Those things such as money, houses, credentials, love of power, pride and wealth. But, if we are honest enough, we will admit that we all have some things we would be very slow to let go if Jesus should make the demand of them. Those things we so much attached ourselves with and would not like God to ask us to give them up for the sake of following him.

In fact, it might be a good thing today, 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 some thing we own like our properties, treasures, fame, influence and power or our wealth; it may be a relationship, or our job, or our habit and attitudes. So, whatever we posses 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, because in leaving them for the sake of Jesus, we actually gain all in abundance.

Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world, for nothing last forever. Rather, we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another, for that is all that the Lord has required from us in this life.

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. Happy Sunday to you all.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 13th October, 2024

 

Readings: Gal 3:22-29, Ps. 105, Luke 11:27-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP IT 

 In our relationship with God, family and neighours, which one do we think comes first, because all seem to be important? This is very vital  when we relate it to the response of Jesus to a woman in our Gospel passage today, who when Jesus was speaking to the crowd, raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

Here, Jesus highlights that our primary relationship in life is to God and this is obtained by doing his will. For even the deepest and most natural bonds are created within this primary love of doing the will of God. Mother and family were important in the life of Jesus and even at his death; but his real family is centered around the new family relationship that is built among those who hear and keep the word of God. Therefore, our relationship with our family and neighours is actually rooted in our relationship with God whose word is the light that guided our steps.

But the questions remain:  What have we been doing with the word of God we hear everyday? What kind of fruit are we bearing in our family and society? How has the word of God changed our life and disposition towards our family? How has the word of God challenged and propelled us to love God and neighours? The answers to these questions are blowing in the wind. 

Therefore, today we are called to be more practical and attentive towards listening to the word of God. We are called to put into action the word we hear everyday. And concerning this new family of Jesus made up of those who hear the word of God and keep it, St  Paul in our first reading tells us that all of us who belong to this family are baptized in Christ and have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of us are one in Christ Jesus.  

Dear friends, whatever we feed grows and whatever we quit feeding dies and feds away. So what are we feeding our soul with? How are we feeding on the word of God? Our society have enough hearers of the word, what we need now is doers of the word of God, men and women who will feed their lives with the word of God and from the abundance of their heart live a life that will influence the society positively. Thus, when we hear the word of God we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our soul. And by so doing we become blessed brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your words we hear everyday, grant that we may cultivate the habit of hearing and keeping your words, so as to become living instruments of your words in our families, societies and the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen Do have a blessed and fruitful weekend

Homily For Friday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 11th October, 2024

Readings: Gal 3:7-14, Ps. 111, Luke 11:15-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A HOUSE THAT DIVIDES WITHIN ITSELF CAN NOT STAND

Discernment is one of the gifts of God, which enables us to know and distinguish between good and evil spirit. This gift is very important to the office of every leader. But it is sad and unacceptable when a leader decided to misused this gift out of envy and jealousy. This is the attitudes of some of the people in the crowd especially those who belong to the party of the Pharisee as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

For we heard how Jesus had delivered a man possessed by an evil spirit. The spirit had bound his tongue and made him mute. But when Jesus had cast out the demon from the man and the man spoke, some people in the crowd who belonged to the party of the Pharisees watched this great miracle as it happened said that it was through the power of Beelzebul the prince of demons that he was able to cast the devil out.

This is because they were adamant in their opposition against Jesus which were propelled by envy and jealousy. That is why they were unable to look beyond their narrow-mindedness and stubbornness in insisting that their way was the true way while others like our Lord Jesus were wrong. But Jesus as usual used the opportunity to correct them by pointing out the mistakes in their argument.

Thus, telling us that it does not make sense for the demons to be fighting one another and so be divided among themselves. Because any house that divides within itself can not stand, and as we know the evil ones are always united in their plans to bring about destruction in human activities.

Hence, in our first reading, St. Paul addressing the ugly divisions sowed by the devil in the community of the faithful in Galatia, made us to know that they will collapsed and fallen apart if all of their members continue to divide against each other. Thus they have to make sure that they overcome the divisions among them and seek true unity in Christ, so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might include the pagans, for through faith we all have received the promised Spirit.

Dear friends, we are called today not to be mischievous, rather we should make proper use of the gift of discernment which the Lord has given us. We must not let envy, jealousy and over ambition make us to deny the truth about the spiritual realities we experience from the Lord. We must not let the devil succeed in sowing the spirit of division among us. We should also ask God to endow us with the spirit of discernment and truth especially this period that we are faced with the ugly and sad attitude of human deception all over the world.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle everyday with the manipulation of the evils ones, give us the grace to overcome them, may we never be misled by the devil and all of his forces, for they often sow divisions and dissensions among us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th October, 2024

Readings: Gal 3:1-5, Ps. Luke 1:69-75, Luke 11:5-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO BE PATIENT AND PERSISTENT IN PRAYERS

Have you been truly in need of something from a friend who is capable of give you what you need but he is so busy to give you what you need now? Or have you been in a situation where you needed something from a friend but cannot get it because you can not reach him easily.

Such a situation can make one to be under serious pressure. Then the question that comes to mind is, are we going to give up or persevere in our struggles on waiting or reaching out to him? This kind of disposition is what we experience sometimes when we pray and our requests are yet to be granted.

And this kind of situation is what Jesus is addressing in the story in our Gospel passage today as he continue his teaching on prayer. Thus, telling us that we should approach God with confidence as a friend, persisting until we obtain what we need. We should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until we obtain the answer we need.

Just like a boy asking his father for a fish or an egg, knowing that his the father would not give him a snake or a scorpion instead of the fish or egg he had requested. With this illustration Jesus emphasized that if we, who are prune to evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give to those who ask him.

This is what the people of Galatia were lacking that made them to begin to quickly turn away from the faith and St. Paul in our first reading today chastised them for these ugly actions, in embracing the false teachings and ideas promoted by those who did not follow the true teachings of the Church but are quick to follow the ideas of the fractions of the Church who taught something different for the true faith. Therefore we should not be like them. Let us learn how to be patient and persevere in our prayers.

Dear friends, prayer requires asking, seeking and knocking at God’s door patiently and persistently. Though, one may say I have been praying for God’s intervention in some ugly situations but it seems as if no answer has been given. The fact is that God answers all our prayers if we are patient with him.

For he may not grant us what we want because as a caring Father, he gives us what we truly need, and not what we wanted. But are we willing to trust the Lord and be patient with him? Are we willing to seek the Lord and to make the effort to find him and to follow him wherever he leads us to? Do we have the courage and the love of God in our hearts.

No doubt we are full of energy, zeal and passion, ready to face the challenges and struggles of yet another day. But the question we need to ask ourselves is, what are we doing concerning the present situation in our lives, our family, societies and country?

It may seem as if all hope is gone, but the Lord is saying to us today, that we should ask, and it will be given to us; search, and we will find; knock, and the door will be opened to us. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Let us all not be afraid to seek the Lord and ask him for blessings, protection and guidance.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are struggling with so many ugly situations in our lives, families, societies and the world at large, as we pour out our hearts to you in prayer seeking and knocking, may you grant our heart desires according to your will and guide our ways today and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 9th October, 2024

Readings: Gal 2:1-2.7-14, Ps. 117, Luke 11:1-4

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE RIGHT DISPOSITION TOWARDS PRAYER

As human beings communication is part and parcel of our lives and prayer is one of the important means of communicating between God and humanity. It is a close link by which we reach God who dwells in our hearts. It is through prayer we discern the will of God for us.

Hence, if we have not been able to discern the will of God for our lives or have not had any personal relationship with God in prayers, then perhaps we should consider to examine our prayer life to know if we have been praying the right way. Thus we can learn the proper way to pray from the prayer Jesus taught his disciples as pattern of all prayers as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

In this prayer we have four traditional dimensions of prayer which includes: glorification of God, submission, justice and protection. Jesus begin by saying: “Father, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come”, thereby teaching us that we begin any of our prayers by glorifying God. Following this is our total submission to God’s providence when we say: give us each day our daily bread.

Then, we acknowledge the justice and mercy of God when we say: for give us our sins as we for give those we have sinned against us. And finally we ask for God’s guidance and protection when we say: lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil.

This is important because it is the means by which we communicate with our God. But often time we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desired without considering what God desires for us. Some of us end up spending lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we did not mean what we say.

THIS is because we have wrong disposition born from unforgiving heart which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God. This is what St. Paul was emphasizing in our first reading today when he reminded the Galatians how he stood firm in defense of the Gentiles before Peter and the Jews.

Dear friends, as contingent being there are times when we asked and we received, sought and found, knocked and it was opened to us. But there were also times when we asked but did not receive, seek but did not find, knocked but the door remained shut. In such moments persistency and perseverance in prayer are what we are called to embrace. For they will help us to understand how to trust God knowing that he does not need to be informed of our needs, thereby encouraging us never to lose heart.

This is certainly one of the biggest challenges of our faith today. People are not just patient with God. We want to have everything right now as it is hot. Patient, persistency and perseverance are very difficult virtue for most people today.

Therefore, it is time for us to change our perspective and wrong disposition towards prayers. It is time for us to spend more quality moment in prayer and be connected with God. We must let our prayers also be meaningful and be genuine from our hearts. It is time for us to improve the quality of our prayer life by imitating Jesus, who always prayed to his heavenly Father at every possible opportunities.

But some of us end up spending lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we did not mean what we say, because we have not learnt how to dialogue with God in prayer especially when we have wrong disposition born from unforgiving heart which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we are not patient with you in our prayers, because we don't know how to dialogue with you in prayers. Give us the grace to learn how to dialogue with you and to persevere and be persistent in our prayer life and in every other things we do in life, especially in our relationship with others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 8th October, 2024

 

Readings: Gal 1: 13-24, Ps. 139, Luke 10:28-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

ARE YOU TOO BUSY AND DISTRACTED LIKE MARTHA? LEARN TO LISTEN TO GOD LIKE MARY

Listening is one of the vital aspect of the human person, which is very much lacking in most of our communication this days. This is because, oftentimes, we worry about so many things in life, trying to let people hear us without taking time to listen to them.

There are people who are always trying to satisfy everyone without listening to the real thing that matters. I have also come across people who are often worried about how to make others feel more comfortable without minding their own discomfort. They are so concerned with pleasing others even when they are not pleased. What a great sacrificial virtue that is not common this days.

This sacrificial virtue is the attitude of Martha in our Gospel passage today were we have the story of how Martha was so busy trying to make Jesus comfortable when he visited them at their house in Bethany. But when Martha observed that her sister Mary was not helping out in the preparation, rather was busy listening to Jesus, she said to Jesus: “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her”.

Here, Jesus is not condemning this great sacrificial virtue nor condoning laziness. Rather, he is saying that busy without listening and listening without doing is worthless. Hence, he gently correct the impression of Martha who was too busy and distracted with so many things that she risks losing sight of what is really important, that is, listening to Jesus. This is because Martha gives the impression that Mary is just sitting there doing nothing. But, in fact, she was listening to Jesus.

However, Jesus is not telling us to be content with sitting down and listen to his word, for he always insists that listening to his word means putting it into practice. While his objection to Martha request is because she was too anxious and distracted by many things, that she was not able to really listen to him and for Jesus listening is the best option. So, are you more too busy and distracted like Martha? Learn to listen to God like Mary and it shall be well with you.

Dear friends, in our relationship with Jesus, are we more of listener or more of accommodating and caring? Are we more like Martha or like Mary, for they were both friends of Jesus? Today many of us are so busy and anxious of so many things that we have no time to listen to God speaking to us and addressing the situation we are actually busy trying to solve. Today we are called like Martha to pause and listen, so that we can hear God speaking to us and directing us towards the right path.

Remember, Martha who was known as a friend of Jesus, loved to welcome him into her home, let us learn from her, knowing that hospitality is perfected when we have a listening ear. For it is a great virtue to be hospitable and caring especially when we spend quality time to listen to God and letting him direct and guide us towards carrying out our daily tasks. Hence, let us learn how to listen to God just like St. Paul in our first reading who through listening to God changed from a persecutor to a preacher of the faith he had previously tried to destroy.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always so busy with the things of this passing world, that we often do not have time listen to you. Give us the grace like Mary to chose the better part which is to truly listen to your word and then be well disposed to be caring and hospitable just like Martha, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 7th October, 2024. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

 

Readings: Gal 1:6-12, Ps. 111, Luke 10:25-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT THE LORD REQUIRES OF US

As humans we are always desiring to know what life requires of us, especially when we are faced with the realities of life. We often want to know the things that should be our first priority. So we always ask questions that will help us in addressing most of the challenges we encounter. These questions are sometimes meant to test our ability towards understanding the realities of life.

This is the deposition of the lawyer in our Gospel passage today, who came to Jesus to test him by asked him question concerning the requirements for inheriting eternal life. This lawyer made reference to the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that the people of Israel knew and recite 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 and to love their neigbhour as well. In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. These are what the Lord requires of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do.

But this lawyer needed more clarification concerning these requirements, then he asked Jesus a second important question when he said: who is my neighbour? At this point Jesus did not just explained, he illustrated who a true neighbour should be with the famous story of the good Samaritan. In fact, from the story Jesus did not just answer the question: ‘who is my neighbor?’ He also demonstrate what a true and righteous neighbour should be like, thereby showing us that our neighbours are often those we least expect to be a neighbours. For our neighbour can be anyone even the ones we most despised or feared just like the good Samaritan and this tells us that a true neighbour shows compassion, love, care and makes sacrifice for others.

And St. Paul in our first reading addressing the people of Galatia concerning what it means to be a good neighbour spoke clearly against all those who misinterpreted the Scriptures and twist the truth for their own selfish purposes and by so doing sowed seed of divisions and confusions among the Christian communities. Thereby, warning us that if anyone should preached a version of the Good News different from the one they have already preached to us, whether it an angel from heaven, he is to be condemned for committing such sin against God and against his neighbours.

This is what the memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary we are celebrating today represents. An event where we recall the famous victory of the Christian faithful against the enemies of the Church in the battle of Lepanto, where through the prayers and intercessions of Our Blessed Mother Mary the Church became victorious when the situation of the Christian faith were in extreme danger and were bitterly divided by the various heresies and splinter groups appearing at the time due to the reformation movement.

Then, Pope Pius V called all of Christendom to pray the rosary fervently, sorting the intercession of Mary the Mother of God that her Son Jesus should be with the faithful fighting for the survival of the Christian faith which was under persecution and trials. And through the power of their love and dedication to praying the Rosary, God granted victory to his faithful people, and this is root of our October devotion.

Dear friends, love is the center 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. A 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 love one another. How I wish we can 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: Almighty God, in you resides the fullness of love, grant that through the intercessions of Our Lady of the Rosary 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. Do have a fruitful week ahead.