Homily For Wednesday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 22nd January 2025

Readings: Heb.7:1-3.15-17; Ps. 110; Mark 3:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HUMAN WELFARE SHOULD NOT BE NEGLECTED BECAUSE OF THE ANY LAW

From the scriptures, it seems like every encounter that the Pharisees had with Jesus was always aimed at finding faults with what Jesus was doing. But to their greatest surprise, Jesus will always escape and use that opportunity to communicate an important message to the people. Such was the occasion in our Gospel passage today.

When on a Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure the man on the Sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him.

But knowing their thoughts he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ Then Jesus said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it? And said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious and began to discuss the best way of dealing with him.

Here we see how Jesus demonstrated his compassionate care for humanity, for the most important thing for God in this world is the human person. That's why he makes all efforts to save humanity from damnation. He desires to see us making an effort to become faithful and holy.

God’s mercy is so deep that he proposed it as the guiding principle for the perfect fulfilment and interpretation of the laws of life. Thus, Jesus, in this passage, has to teach us that humanity’s welfare should not be neglected because of laws and regulations. Nothing should restrict us from doing good to people, not even the laws of the Sabbath.

Therefore, in as much as we desire to honour God’s laws we must seek the good of people as well. This is what the Pharisees have failed to understand, for they are rather fault-finders and self-righteous people who only wish to mislead the people and suppress the truth and the good works of others just because of their selfish desires to sustain their ego, pride and their worldly ambition.

We should not be like them; rather, we should be compassionate and merciful, for that is what we are called to do. We should learn to be courageous and resist any law or people who use laws or their physical position to oppress others.

We should learn from Jesus who in our first reading today was described as the second Melchizedek, who is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and forever.

Dear friends, today we are called to know that no law should restrict us from constantly doing good to everyone. We are called not to be fault-finders who are blindfolded by pride. We must also renounce all sorts of prideful actions and wickedness that may destroy our relationship with others and the purity of our souls.

Therefore, let us be compassionate and merciful, for that is what we are called to do in this life, especially in this moment when our societies and families are really in difficult economic situations.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we often fail to listen to your teaching because of our selfish desires and pride. Help us to always listen to you and be willing to do good, especially in the interpretation and application of laws and regulations. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st January 2025. The Memorial of St. Agnes of Rome

Readings: Heb. 6:10-20, Ps. 110, Mark 2:23-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LAW IS MADE OF MAN AND NOT MAN FOR THE LAW

There is no doubt that human life is guided by laws and principles, for in their absence, we cannot survive or enjoy peace and harmony in our society. But it is so sad to say that we have lost the essence and spirit that governs the making of laws, their interpretation and application. Little wonder Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, teaches us about the essence of making laws.

This is clear from the response of Jesus when the Pharisees criticized the attitude of his disciples, who, on the Sabbath, were seen plucking ears of corn to eat because they were very hungry. This is so because the Pharisees emphasized the strict keeping of the laws of the Sabbath while neglecting the spirit of the law, which has to do with God’s love and mercy.

Thus, for the Pharisees, this would be a transgression of the law of the Sabbath, which prohibits one from doing any work. Jesus responded by quoting the scriptures to indicate that their arguments have no basis.

He recalls that David himself did something which was prohibited because he took the sacred bread of the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat because they were hungry. Jesus ends his response with two important phrases: first, the Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Secondly, the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.

The truth is that the Sabbath was meant to be a day of rest when people would be free to think of God, to give thanks for God’s gifts, and to take care of their health and well-being. However, some religious authorities gradually encroached on the Sabbath with so many regulations that it is no longer serving its true purpose.

Dear friends, how are we interpreting and implementing our religious and societal laws? Laws exist for the good of the people, but oftentimes, we find ourselves seeking more recognition by exercising too much control over other people’s lives under the disguise of laws.

This should not be the case; rather, we should always consider the essence and purpose of making laws, bearing in mind that human needs, which supersede all other human interests, should be the guiding principle of any law, both social and religious.

In fact, the ritual demands of the Sabbath encourage mercy, forgiveness and compassion, which are at the heart of any true religion. Therefore, as we make laws and implement them, let these principles be our guide. For in our first reading, we were told that God would not be so unjust as to forget all we have done, the love that we have for his name or the services we have done and are still doing, for the saints. This is what we see in the life of St. Agnes, whose memorial we celebrate today.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you often show the light of your truth to those who go astray. Grant through the intercession of St. Agnes that we may always embrace your laws, interpret them properly and apply them with mercy and compassion. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 20th January, 2025. The Feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi

 

Readings: Phil 2:1-11, Ps. Is.12:2-6, Matt.13:44-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE TREASURE? 

 

Today we celebrate the feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi; he was born in Aguleri, Anambra State, on September 1903 but died in Leicester, England, on 20th January 1964. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Onitsha. He was known for love of neighbour, healing and reconciliation of the people with God, with oneself, with one another and with the created reality.

Tansi dedicated himself not only to daily contemplative prayer but also to active ministry. He evangelized the youth, prepared couples for marriage, visited the sick, was a very good confessor, promoted vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and provided for the needs of the poor. 

Hence, in Tanis, We see man who understood that the kingdom of heaven is so precious and great that it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures. This is what we have in our Gospel passage today, where Jesus used two parables to describe to the people that the kingdom of God is the greatest and ultimate treasure anyone can and should acquire. 

Here, he describes the kingdom of God as the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. However, the kingdom is open for all, but not all can be suitable to dwell in it; only those who, on judgement day, are found suitable can be admitted into the kingdom. Using these parables Jesus explains what the kingdom of heaven is like and what we need to do in order to acquire it. 

Thus, in the life of Tansi, we see one who discovered the great treasure of heaven, sold everything and acquired it. In Tansi we see how the light of faith sowed in him like the mustard seed grows to give hope to many people. So, the humble beginning of the Christian faith sown in him was well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to people of the world. 

Dear friends, obtaining the ultimate treasure of heaven requires the sacrifice of all our worldly possessions. Though in the world we have different kinds of treasures. But the question is: what is your ultimate treasure? How are we searching for it? Are we really ready to sacrifice all for this treasure? 

St. Paul, in our first reading, says that though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God as a thing to be grapes. For he rather emptied himself in humble obedience to God his Father. 

Therefore, today, we are called to empty ourselves of the passing things of this world to humbly acquire the heavenly treasure, just like Tansi, who humbly sacrificed the treasures of this passing world to embrace the treasures of heaven.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of distractions from false treasures, through the intercession of Blessed Tansi, give us grace to discover the treasures of your kingdom and nurture the treasures of faith, holiness and hospitality implemented in us during our baptism to give up all our attachment to worldly possessions in pursue of the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 19th January 2025

 

Readings: Is. 62:1-5; Ps. 96; 1Cor. 12:4-11; John 2:1-11
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU

Today is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year C, which begins immediately after we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord last Sunday. The beauty of this season lies in the fact that it invites us to live our ordinary life as a journey of holiness, faith and friendship with Jesus. 

This will make us continually discover our vocation and mission, which is rooted in Christ’s own mission. Hence, our readings today present to us guiding principles that will help us to journey with the Lord throughout the course of our journey.

Hence, in our first reading today, we have the message of hope for God’s chosen people who were passing through the most challenging moments in the history of their journey with God. This very disposition and challenge are similar to what we are experiencing in our world today. Thus, we can hear the message of hope from the Lord to his chosen people, his bride who is now dejected like a widow abandoned by her Lord.

So, we can hear the Lord saying through the prophet Isaiah: about Zion, I will not be silent; about Jerusalem, I will not grow weary until her integrity shines out like the dawn and her salvation flames like a torch. For God will no longer forsake you for he shall delight in you, and there will be a new wedding, and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you, for this new wedding will bring about a new beginning.

This new beginning ushers us into the marriage feast in our Gospel passage today, an event that offers us the guiding principles of our Christian journey. Here, we heard how the wedding couple invited Jesus and his disciples on the most important day of their lives, and Mary was also there.

So, when an embarrassing moment came up during the course of the celebration, Mary, in her usual way of helping people, asked Jesus to save the couple from social embarrassment and even when her request was not granted by her son, she had strong faith that he will not refuse her request. So she said to the servants: “ Do whatever he tells you”. 

By this request, Mary, who represents the Church, reveals to us the key to a successful and happy Christian Life. That is to say that, the secret key that opens the treasure of a successful and happy Christian life is to do whatever he (Jesus) tells us. But what did Jesus say we should do? He told the servants: Fill, Draw and Serve.

Telling us to Fill our lives with the water of salvation, which he offers us every day through His words and Sacraments, and when we have filled our lives with the fountain of his presence. Then, we should Draw from the joy it offers and Serve humanity who are really in need and thirsty for the word of God, especially at this moment in our world when humanity really hopes and seeks God’s intervention. Hence, by these words, Jesus gave us the guiding principles for our Christian journey.

Dear friends, let this principle guide all our activities this year. We must learn to fill our minds with positive things so that we can draw from the abundance of our hearts and serve humanity. We must learn to fill our hearts with positive seeds of different virtues and nurture them. Those valuable seeds of goodness, honesty, faithfulness, love, holiness, obedience, charity and making them our values of life. For these are special gifts of God to us.

Little wonder we heard St. Paul speaking in our second reading about the need for us to put into use the gifts we have received from God for the greater good of all. Because there is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them.

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses. And it is our responsibility to put them to positive use for the good of all.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle every day to do your will and respond positively to the mission and vocation entrusted to us, give us the grace to be responsible in applying the guiding principles of filling, drawing and serving one another as we embark on our Christian journey. Help us we pray to find joy, courage and solace in your saving grace as you guide us through the year. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday First Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 18th January, 2025

Readings: Heb.4:12-16, Ps. 19, Mark 2:13-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A CALL TO LEAVE OUR OLD SINFUL WAY OF LIFE AND FOLLOW THE LORD

The mission of Jesus is often misunderstood by people who feel that they should be the one to dictate to God what to do. But Jesus will always surprise them and use them to set a good example for the rest of us.

This is evident in our Gospel passage today, which presents to us the call of Levi who was a tax collector, a presumably public sinner. As Jesus passed by, he said to Levi, “Follow Me.” This is a present tense command which is a call for Levi to leave his old way of life behind and to begin a new life of following him.

But why would Jesus have any interest in a man like this? There is only one word that can answer this question, and that is grace. Despite his ugly occupation, his ugly lifestyle, his failures, and his sins, Jesus loved Levi, and he called him to a new life.

The fact remains that Jesus never condemned anyone, nor did he judge people by their past behaviour. He is only interested in what they can be now and in the future. There and then, Levi drops everything and goes after Jesus just the same way Peter and Andrew, James and John had also done.

Later, when Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, several known sinners and tax collectors were at the table with him and his disciples. This was a real scandal for the scribes and Pharisees. For them, if Jesus really was a Rabbi he would have had nothing to do with such people. But Jesus replied: It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous but sinners.

Hence, Jesus' whole mission is the salvation of souls and redemption of people to wholeness. And the best way to achieve this is by having direct contact with them. But we are often not present where people are most in need of hearing God’s message. Sometimes, we tend to side with the Pharisees and feel we should keep away from sinful and ‘immoral’ people.

Dear friends, we need to learn that the Gospel message can most effectively be communicated to those who have lost touch with God and the meaning of life by reaching out to them. We should not be afraid to reach out to people, especially those who have been captured by the things of this sinful world.

 For we heard in our first reading today 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 or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts of everyone.

Hence, Jesus calling Levi to follow him shows that with God there is great mercy to pardon the greatest sinners. There is grace to change the greatest sinners and make them holy. This is a great sign of hope for anyone who thinks that God has abandoned him or her because of sin or past ugly ways of life. God is not interested in our past ugly and sinful ways of life. Rather he is interested in what he can make out of us now and in the future if we give up our sinful ways of life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, your love and compassion for humanity is so great, even in our sinful and ugly ways of life, you never abandoned us. So Lord, when sin separates us from you, may your grace and providence bring us back. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday First Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 17th January, 2025. The Memorial of St. Anthony Abbot

 

Readings: Heb.4:1-5.11, Ps. 78, Mark 2:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GET UP PICK UP YOUR STRETCHER AND GO HOME

The sin and evil going on in the world are putting our faith to the test and most people are giving in to this scheme because they lack the strong will to withstand the suffering, sickness and problems that befall us as a result of these evil actions.

People are running ups and downs, seeking solutions. While the evil ones are taking advantage of the ugly situation to destroy the faith of the people. In fact, one may begin to wonder if there is still hope for the restoration of humanity from this ugly situation. But the fact remains that God is able and willing to heal and restore humanity once again.

This is evident in our Gospel passage today when some people brought to him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’ But some scribes doubted his authority to forgive sins, and Jesus, knowing what was in their minds, said: ‘Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts?

Now, which of these is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ he said to the paralytic, ‘get up, and pick up your bed and go off home.’ And the man got up and went home.

Here, we see the power and authority of Jesus towards the restoration of the paralytic man carried by his friends. A gesture that signifies the restoration of humanity paralyzed by sins and evil.

So Jesus will always begin by forgiving our sins, for sin seems to be the root of the sickness. But sin may be pardoned, yet the sickness remains; the sickness may be healed, yet the sin not pardoned. But for Jesus, healing is holistic for those who have faith in God.

However, this is what the scribes and the Pharisees failed to understand as they doubted and opposed the power and authority of Jesus just like some of us often do. And those who behave like this, the Lord says, that they will never enter his rest as we heard in our first reading today.

Dear friends, today, we are called not to be like the scribes who were enslaved by their pride and desire to maintain their prestige in society. They doubted the power and authority of Jesus and rejected the message of truth. Jesus rebuked them, showing us that truly he has power and authority not just to heal and forgive us but to restore us and all humanity to our formal glory.

Therefore, we are also called to imitate the great faith and love of the friends of the paralytic, the love and faith that radiate from the innermost being of those who exercise it. Let us like them, learn to love and help one another. Because the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today.

Today most families exist only by grace because of the absence of love. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and goodwill in our dealings with one another; believe me, the world will be a temporary home for everyone.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are paralyzed by the sins and evil we are committing against you and the world you created out of our pride, greed and selfishness. As we come to you in faith, forgive us our sins, heal and restore us once again. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday First Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 16th January 2025

 

Readings: Heb.3:7-14, Ps. 95, Mark 1:40-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW TO APPROACH JESUS FOR HEALING AND RESTORATION 

In the scriptures and even in our daily lives there is no doubt that the compassionate love of Jesus in solidarity with human sufferings is evident.  Little wonder, we have great events in the scriptures that illustrate the compassionate concern of Jesus in the struggles of humanity and how he wishes to set us free from the shackles of our troubles. 

This is evident in the occasion of our Gospel passage today, where a leper, came up and bowed low in front of Jesus and said to him, if you will, you can make me clean. Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I will! Be clean!’ And immediately his leprosy was cured at once. 

Here, the leper was despised, feared, shunned and rejected in society, but when he approached Jesus in humility, he became the object of divine attention. We, too, just like the leper, are in need of healing, including the healing that comes from the touch of Jesus. All we need is to approach Jesus in humility, and we will become a person of divine attention. 

More so, the story of this leper is a good example of how sinners can and should appeal to Jesus for cleansing, especially from their sins. We should come in faith knowing that God is always willing to cleanse every sinner who comes to Him. 

So, let us sincerely turn to God once again with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, just like the leper who came to Jesus with faith, knowing that he could heal him and make him better. 

This is what all of us must have as well, a strong and genuine faith in God. If only we would listen to him today and not harden our hearts as we heard in our first reading today; who knows, today may be our great opportunity to be restored, and what is needed is to put our faith in action and say Lord if you will you can restore me. 

Dear friends, I don’t know what type of leprocious problems you are passing through? Are you weighed down by sin or sickness? Are you feeling helpless and rejected? Or do we know people who are helpless and need some help? Do we feel the need for Jesus’s help in some parts of our life? Let us pause for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at us. How does he see us? What are you saying to him and what is he saying to you? 

Brethren, Jesus in solidarity with human sufferings, wishes to set us free from sickness, troubles, challenges and manipulations from the evil ones. He desires to be with us as we struggle every day to overcome the challenges in our lives, in our families, society and the world at large. Therefore, we should not be afraid to approach Jesus for healing and restoration, all we need is an active faith like the leper in our Gospel passage today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, humanity is in deep darkness caused by different forms of leprosies and only you can heal and restore us. For you know our innermost being and the challenges we are facing today, come to our aid, we pray and cleanse us from all our physical, emotional, economic and spiritual leprosies; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.