Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 22nd October 2024

Readings: Eph.2:12-22, Ps.84:9-14, Luke 12:36-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WILL YOU BE READY WHEN THE LORD SHALL COME?

There are two most important events in our life as a human person. One is well known, prepared and constantly celebrated, that is, our birthday. The other, which is the ultimate, is not known and less attention and preparation is being made for it, that is, the day of our departure from this world.

So, Jesus, knowing how important this day is, instructed his disciples in our Gospel passage today, saying: “Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, wait for him, for happy are those servants if he finds them ready when he comes.”

Here, we have a scenario which illustrates the unexpected approach of the coming of Christ, which will be a great surprise to those who are asleep as they will be missing out on the heavenly joy and also be deprived of their earthly treasures. But for those that shall be found awake and ready, the Lord's coming will be a happy day, while for those that are not prepared, it will be very dreadful. Thus our ignorance of the day and time of his coming is the reason for our watchfulness, so we must be awake and ready at all times.

And St. Paul, in our first reading, made us know that we are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: we are citizens like all the saints and part of God’s household. We are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets as its foundations and Christ Jesus himself as its main cornerstone. For this reason, we should be more prepared and ready for that glorious day of the Lord.

Dear friends, will you be ready when the Lord shall come? For we are called today to be ready. We are called to repentance. We are called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life of constant struggle towards perfection in order to embrace the Lord whenever he comes. Therefore, preparation is the key word. Let us not be deceived when the world suggests to us that the day of death is not coming soon so forget who we are, and then, the day and time will take us by surprise.

Rather, let us be like those wise servants who are prepared at all times for the coming of the master. Thus, we must change our disposition, especially as regards our attitude towards the things of this passing world, in order to embrace more of the things that will lead us to our heavenly kingdom, for we are nothing but travellers in this world.

LET US PRAY, Lord God; today, you ask us to be ready for your coming; increase in us the desire to be prepared and ready for that inevitable event of death so that whenever it comes, it will not be a shock to us, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It's a lovely day, may God bless your efforts and grant success to the works of your hands.

Homily For Monday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 21st October, 2024

 

Readings: Eph 2:1:10, Ps.100, Luke 12:13-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

IF THE LORD SHOULD MAKE DEMANDS OF YOUR SOUL TODAY, YOUR WORLDLY POSSESSIONS, WHOSE WILL THEY BE?

There is no doubt that the material things of this passing world are very necessary for our well-being. They 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 towards God’s Kingdom. Little wonder Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, warns us against covetousness and excessive attachment to worldly possessions. This he greatly emphasized with the story of the Rich Man’s Harvest.

In this story a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his farm, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I do not have enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night, the demand will be made for your soul and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?

Here, Jesus tells his disciples about the need to live a life of detachment. He used this story to teach his disciples and all of us about the futility of worldly desires and their pursuits. Thereby showing us the foolishness of human greed, as well as pride and ego. For in this man, we see the uselessness of human selfishness, covetousness and excess desire for worldly possession.

He constantly focused only on himself, saying I will do this, I will do that, ‘my goods, my fruits, my barns, my soul, etc, without any interest or room for his neighbours or the poor. He has no thought of God, nor his servants. If he had looked a little beyond himself, he would have seen many places where he could have bestowed his crops. Thus, there is a need for us to constantly prune ourselves from excess love for material possessions 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.

For St. Paul tells us in our first reading that we all, like those in the past, are living sensual lives, ruled entirely by our physical desires and our ideas; so we that by nature we were as much under God’s anger as the rest of the world. But God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ.

Dear friends, if the Lord Should call us today, what becomes of our souls and our worldly possessions? Today, detaching and sharing what we possess with others, especially the poor, 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, what we possess is not meant to separate us from God; rather, they 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 to learn how to live a life of detachment and prune us always from the sin of covetousness and pride; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week.

Homily For Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 20th October, 2024. World Mission Sunday

 

Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Ps. 33; Heb. 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR DISPOSITION TOWARDS THE MISSIONARY MANDATE OF CHRIST?

The true sign of a healthy Church is seen and established by the missionary activities carried out by the people of God. This is a fact we all must understand because going on a mission is an important aspect of our Christian faith.

So, today, we celebrate the World Mission Sunday, which began in 1926 by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Rerum Ecclesiae. To mark the 98th World Mission Sunday this year we are presented with the theme "Go and invite everyone to the banquet" (cf. Mt 22:9). So, the “banquet" explains a celebration of community, an open dialogue of faith, and a testament to our commitment to welcome, first and foremost, our brothers and sisters on the margins of society.

Here, we are called to reflect on the missionary mandate that Jesus gave us, thereby reminding us that we are called to be missionaries, professing our faith to the whole world, telling them about the truth and love of God which we have found in Jesus Christ our Lord.

As Christians, all of us, by virtue of our baptism, have received this mission from Jesus. It is not reserved for any group of persons such as the clergy, religious or missionary societies. But every baptized person is obligated to be part of the missionary activities of the Church by witnessing with our lives and by supporting the missionary activities which we are called to do today and always.

But why must we go on a mission? The reason why we must go on a mission and also support missionary activities is that we are beneficiaries of missionary sacrifices of others who had experienced the awesome gift of God’s love and goodness and made them known to us. Secondly, we have, in so many ways, experienced the love of God and his benevolence, so we must extend the same to others.

But the most important reason why we must go on a mission is to establish and constantly renew the knowledge of God’s Kingdom in the hearts of humanity as Jesus commanded us to do. We need to let humanity know about the salvation our Lord Jesus has won for us by revealing the awesome love of God for all humanity.

We will understand the importance of this missionary mandate when we reflect on the ugly attitudes of most people in our societies today and how we are so obsessed with the love of power. People are ready to do anything just to grab power and sustain it. People kill, kidnap, blackmail and condemn others because of their ambition to hold power and sustain it. This ugly attitude of humanity is well displayed in our Gospel passage today when the two sons of Zebedee requested Jesus that he should promise that they should sit one at his right hand and the other at his left in his kingdom.

This unfortunate request was made while Jesus was telling his disciples about his passion and death. But instead of reflecting on the seriousness of the words of Jesus, they were busy quarrelling over who grabs power as most people do today, especially in our country, Nigeria, where many people are suffering and cannot afford their daily meals, but some are busy enriching themselves with the resources of the nation.

Little wonder when the other ten disciples heard about the request made by these two sons of Zebedee, they were indignant with the two brothers. Perhaps because they had misinterpreted Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom and presumed that it would be a kingdom in which they would have honour and prestige like most people think today.

But Jesus called them and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Dear friends, what is your disposition towards the missionary mandate of Christ? How are you contributing to this mission? As we carry out this missionary mandate, we must know that true greatness is found in sincere and humble service to others and not in ambition for power nor by plotting against others.

This ugly attitude is what we often experience in our families, societies and our country today. Where people do all kinds of evil in order to grab power and sustain it. But this should not be the same with us, for we heard what prophet Isaiah in our first reading today said about Jesus: by his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself. And since he offers his life in atonement, he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.

Therefore, I don’t know what your experience has been as regards the missionary mandate of Christ. I don’t know which of the characters in our readings can best describe our attitude towards this mission. Are we like the sons of Zebedee? Is our attitude like that of the ten disciples? Is our attitude like that of the pagan rulers who lord it over others? Whichever category we fall in, we must change and have the right disposition which is a call for sacrificial love for God and for humanity.

Today we are called to be humble like Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. For he is the supreme high Priest who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall receive mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help as we heard in our second reading today.

Therefore, as missionaries and leaders, we should see ourselves as servants and not seek after status beyond our reach or plot the downfall of others. Remember, ambition can be a good thing but only if it is kept in check and if pursued for the right reasons, that is, to serve others.

 LET US PRAY: Lord God, as missionaries, we are often consumed by excess love for power, which we often misuse and abuse. As we listen to your teaching today, may we learn to use the power and authority entrusted to us in humble service for the common good of all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 19th October, 2024

 

Readings: Eph 1:15-23, Ps. 8, Luke 12:8-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

Today, as Jesus continues to instruct his disciples on how to relate with him, he made a very vital statement that is so important and different from his usual messages, when he said in our Gospel passage today: “If anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels. Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

From this frightening passage, Jesus reveals to us that sins, no matter how grievous, can be forgiven, but there is a particular sin that will not be forgiven. That is the sin against the Holy Spirit. But what is this sin against the Holy Spirit? And why would it not be forgiven? The sin against the Holy Spirit is rooted in one's outright rejection of God’s grace of salvation offered to us through the Holy Spirit‘s incessant invitations and warnings. This happens when the will of a person is hardened against God’s mercy and goodness.

Hence the sin against the Holy Spirit is “unforgivable” because it is the sinner himself who rejected God’s forgiveness. This is so because God respects the freedom which He has given us, for he respects a sinner’s decision to firmly refuse to be forgiven. Thus, this sin, traditionally has been seen as a sin of final impenitence, or presumption, which occurs in a situation where someone sinned gravely and then either fails to have any sorrow for that sin or simply presumes on God’s mercy without truly repenting. And this lack of sorrow closes the door to God’s mercy against the sinner.

To make this clearer, Pope Pius X, in our catechism, made us know that there are six elements of this sin against the Holy Spirit, which include: Firstly, by despairing of God’s salvation, which occurs when a person completely loses hope of salvation by judging and undermining the divine mercy of God.

Secondly, the presumption of God’s salvation occurs out of pride, when a person cultivates in his soul an idea of his perfection by believing that his salvation has been guaranteed by what he has done. Thirdly by denying the truth of faith recognized as such by the Magisterium of the Church, by considering his understanding to be greater than that of the Church and the teachings of the Holy Spirit even after an exhaustive doctrinal explanation. This attitude is referred to as the sin of heresy.

Fourthly, by envying the grace that God gives to other people. This occurs when one detests other people's gifts and possessions, ns, wishing to have everything alone, thereby going against the law of love for one’s neighbour. Fifthly, obstinacy occurs when someone resolves to remain firmly in sin and continues in error even after receiving the light and help of the Holy Spirit by separating him/herself from God’s will and rejecting His salvation. Lastly, by final impenitence. This occurs as a result of the complete rejection of God and the invitation of the Holy Spirit during one's entire lifetime even at the hour of death.

Dear friends, we must be very wise, for many false prophets and teachers are operating under the power of the devil, leading people away from God. Today Jesus is promising us the Spirit of truth that will give us a special sign for distinguishing true doctrine and true teachers from the false ones. Therefore, let us constantly ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace of discernment in order to distinguish between good and false prophets and teachers in order not to let them lead us to sin against Him (Holy Spirit).

Little wonder St. Paul, in our first reading today, says: may the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. So, let us learn how to be true Christians in our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God who has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus.

LET US PRAY: O God, you promised to send us the Spirit of truth; grant us that we will always stand and witness to the truth we have found in Jesus against all the false influential prophets and teachers in our society today and never sin against the Holy Spirit. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 18th October 2024, The Feast of St. Luke The Evangelist

Readings: 2Tim. 4:10-17; Ps. 145; Luke 10:1-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS THE MISSIONARY MANDATE OF CHRIST?

Especially today, the Holy Mother Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke, one of the four great Evangelists of our Christian faith. According to traditions St. Luke was probably a Hellenised Jew or a Greek who embraced the Christian faith as one of the earliest converts among the earliest disciples of Jesus Christ.

He was known as a physician and highly educated and intelligent, which made it possible for him to be able to give us a well-detailed account of the most important events about the life and ministry of Jesus in the Gospel account according to Luke and the life and mission of Christ’s disciples in Act of Apostles as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

No doubt St. Luke, through his Gospel account, has converted many to the Christian faith, turning many people towards the Lord and calling them to embrace his truth and love. Therefore, Luke has proved himself to be a great disciple by demonstrating the act of being a good missionary, for we heard in our Gospel passage today how the Lord appointed seventy-two persons and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he was to visit.

He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!

Here, Jesus gave us the nature and requirements for carrying out his missionary mandate successfully. So, to continue this great mission, he invites his disciples and sends them out, commanding them to see themselves as someone who gives freely of the good they have received from God. Hence, we should offer to others what we have received from God just like St Luke, knowing that it has cost us nothing.

We must live a life of detachment that is, in this mission, we are to depend totally on God's providence. Unfortunately, many of the disciples have to face rejection and persecution from people who, through their rebellious attitude, have refused to believe in God even though He has always been so patient, loving, caring and forgiving us.

So, as we celebrate this feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, let us be inspired by his faith and commitment. Let us follow his examples as we carry out our missionary mandates, no matter how insignificant they may be. We should not underrate our efforts or think that we can't be like St. Luke because of our background or level of exposure.

Rather, we should know that God has called his disciples from different backgrounds and works of life, the poor, the rich, some educated, some illiterate, some privileged and powerful, while others are weak and not too significant. So, our background and level do not matter. What is important is our attitude towards the missionary mandate entrusted to us at any level we find ourselves.

But dear friends, what is our attitude today towards the missionary mandate of Christ? How has the Word of God shaped our lives? How are we contributing towards the missionary mandate of Christ? Today, as we celebrate the feast of St Luke, we recall his great contributions to the Church and the Christian faithful. For just as St Luke gave us the Gospel account and the Act of the Apostles as inspired by the Holy Spirit, we as disciples of Christ, have also received a lot from God and his saints without payment; we should learn to give without expecting reward.

Today we are called to acknowledge with gratitude all that we have received from God and give freely to others that which we have received. For this act of charity will purify us from pride and self-righteousness, because we are all recipients of God's love, mercy, forgiveness, favour, protection, healing and deliverance. So, we must offer to others these same gifts which we have received.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, today, as we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, you gave us the requirements and nature of our missionary mandate. Help us to effectively follow these requirements just like St Luke did. We ask this through Christ our Lord Amen. Have a favourable week.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 17th October, 2024. The Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch

 

Readings: Eph 1:1-10, Ps. 98, Luke 11:47-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO SPEAK TRUTH?

Today in our Gospel passage, Jesus continued with his reproach on the Scribes and the Pharisees for hardening their hearts from his teaching, therefore behaving like their ancestors. Little wonder, Jesus, in his reproach, said: woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed!

In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building. Hearing this the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him. They tried to force answers from him by setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

Here, Jesus was speaking to the people about the ugly attitudes and wickedness of humanity, well manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees. For on the various occasions when we ought to obey the Lord, we prefer to live and act in accordance with our own selfish and proud attitudes. Hence by reproaching us, Jesus is reminding us that this is not the right path for us to follow.

Instead, we should be more faithful and pay more attention to God’s words and teachings. This he had repeatedly communicated to us through the prophets, which we often rejected and also killed the prophets. Similarly, Jesus despite all the signs and wonders he had done for humanity we still refused to have faith in him.

To understand this great sacrifice of the Lord, St. Paul, in our first reading, says: blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and spotless and live through love in his presence. Telling us how much God loves us and how necessary it is for us to listen to him.

This is what we see in the life of St. Ignatius of Antioch whose memorial we celebrate today. He was one of the most prominent of all the early Church fathers, who helped to establish a solid foundation for the Church in Antioch and also the Universal Church. He wrote extensively to the other Church communities. But was martyred by being thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheatre, where he defended his faith to the very end.

Dear friends, why do we often feel bad when we hear people telling us the truth? Why do we often set traps to catch up with innocent people because they are telling us the truth we don’t want to hear? Today, we are called not to be like the Scribes and Pharisees, who, out of pride and selfishness, rejected the words of Jesus and sought to kill him.

Rather, we should be more humble and disposed towards the words of God we hear every day. We should make efforts to transform our lives and faith more closer to that of Jesus. We should stop opposing and setting traps for people because they are telling us the truth or refuse to follow our opinions. Let us stop building on the past ugly and evil attitudes of people who have gone before us just like the scribes and Pharisees.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, out of pride we often wish to eliminate those who correct us. As you reproach our ugly attitudes of pride and selfishness today, may we be filled with the longing for true holiness and humility; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Wednesday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 16th October, 2024

Readings: Gal 5:18-25, Ps. 1: 1-6, Luke 11:42-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS THE STATE OF YOUR INTERIOR LIFE? IS IT LIKE A WHITEWASHED TOMB?

The condition of our society today calls for deep reflection, as so many things that appear to be good are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful and draw the admiration of people, but within them are full of dead man's bones and all sorts of corruption. They call it packaging, the popular terminology used by people to describe how they make things that are not too good to look extremely good, and this has made us lose focus of how we ought to do things right.

This ugly attitude of the human person is what Jesus is condemning today in our Gospel passage. As he continued to challenge the hypocritical attitude of the scribes and Pharisees which is not different from the attitude of most of us. He said: Alas for you Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and the love of God! These you should have practised, without leaving the others undone. Alas for you Pharisees who like taking the seats of honour in the synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares! Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it!

Here, Jesus is challenging us to think differently about how we live our lives. He is challenging us to look at what is going on in our inner being, our interior life, that part of us that we hide from one another. For most people and the things we see around us today are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful and draw the admiration of people but within us are outright ugliness and all sorts of corruption like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it.

This is because, like the scribes and the Pharisees, we are interested mostly in the external beauty of things around us while neglecting their essence. We are self-satisfied, and often time think that we are above the law. We often want to look good from the outside but remain ugly and dirty within.

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading, tells us that, when self-indulgence is at work in us, the results are gross indecency, fornication, and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. He then encouraged us to embrace the interior life of the spirit, which brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control, for when we are led by the Spirit, no law can touch us.

Dear friends, what is the state of your interior life? Is it like a whitewashed tomb? Today we are called to build our interior life strong and stop living a fake life of packaging. We are challenged to change our ugly ways of life, to change from within us. This may seem very difficult. But, we need to change in so many ways, especially as regards our attitude towards things in this passing world. For God is calling us to repentance; he wants to come into our souls and dwell.

But he cannot dwell in a heart that is like a whitewashed tomb. Thus, Jesus is rebuking all humanity, he wants us to stop living a life of deception, immorality and corruption in the name of packaging. Rather, we should build up our interior being by embracing the things of the heart such as justice, mercy, love and compassion.

LET US PRAY: Loving Father, help us to build our interior life strongly in your love for we are living in a world of whitewashed tombs of deception, immorality and corruption. Give us grace to be wise enough to discern what is right and pleasing to you. And as we struggle with the ugly situation of this life, may you guide and direct our paths. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.