Homily For Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 20th February 2025

Readings: Gen. 9:1-13; Ps. 102; Mark: 8:27-33

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW CAN YOU DESCRIBE JESUS IN RELATION TO YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH HIM

Following the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today, one can not but repeat this fundamental question of Jesus to Christians all over the world: who do you say I am? Jesus addresses this question to all his disciples.

The people are free to believe whatever they want about Jesus, for Jesus has been carefully preparing his disciples to carry on his work so they ought to know better. They have heard His teachings and witnessed his miracles. What they think of Him should be more critical.

Thus, St. Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again.

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal conviction about the personality of Jesus. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal response about who Jesus is, even though he does not want to associate with the suffering aspect of the life of Jesus, and that was why Jesus rebuked that spirit of fear in him.

Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who do you say I am? 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 he believes in and is really ready to embrace the will of God.

The fact is that Jesus wants us to develop a divine way of looking at things; he wants us to know him deep down in our souls so that we can truly profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. Little wonder God said to Noah in our first reading today: See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you. I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth and every living creature for all generations.

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: who is Jesus to you? What is your personal experience of Jesus? When was your spiritual turning point? Do we have a personal conviction about God that is not based on what people told us of him? How has your knowledge of Jesus helped other people to come to faith in Jesus?

The truth is, we can change our religion, churches, even our pastors, friends, residence, car or our physical appearance: heart, clothes, colour, even gender, as some people do today. But if we don't have a personal experience of God that will bring about a change of mind and heart towards loving God and our neighbours like St Peter, we will remain the same and the old experience of unfruitful life will perpetuate itself over and over again

In case you have not personally experienced him, all you need to do is to sincerely seek God in those common events in your life, and you will realize how much God is willing to reveal himself to you.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you revealed to St. Peter the true identity of Jesus your Son, help us to profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. And as we experience the power of your presence, may we embrace more deeply your sacred mysteries. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 19 February 2025

 

Readings:Gen. 8:6-13.20-22; Ps. 116; Mark: 8:22-26

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

EXPERIENCING THE HEALING TOUCH OF JESUS

Blindness is one of the most difficult human deformities that deprives one of the ability to exercise some of the characteristics of a human person. So, anyone suffering from such deformity constantly looks forward to a day when he or she will be restored. This is the case with the blind man in our Gospel passage today who some people brought to Jesus and begged him to touch him.

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, ‘Can you see anything?’ The man, who was beginning to see, replied, ‘I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.’ Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly.

Here, we see the compassionate love of Jesus in its historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, which springs from the love of God the Father and constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating activity, which is rooted in our faith in God.

In this miracle, Jesus did something quite different from his usual ways of healing. He began by separating himself from his present environment and then putting spittle on his eyes, and the healing took place gradually. After the healing was completed, Jesus asked him not to return to the village from which he came.

This is very significant because oftentimes, our problems are caused and compounded by our present environment. So, for significant change to occur, we need to be separated from our present environment. So Jesus is using this opportunity to teach us in order to lead us out of the present environment that makes us blind to the spiritual realities of our lives.

We need to know that the physical activity of the human person can be linked to the present nature of his environment because the physical is controlled by the interior being of the person.

And when the interior being of a person is engrossed in a wrong environment, then, the ugly fruit of this environment is manifested in the physical activity of the person. This can be likened to the situation Noah was struggling with in our first reading today.

God decided to destroy the face of the earth with a flood in order to give Noah a new environment better than the formal environment corrupted by sins. And God said: Never again will I curse the earth because of man because his heart contrives evil from his infancy. Never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done.

Dear friends, are we suffering in any way as a result of the ugly nature of our present environment? Do we know people who are suffering and in need of God’s intervention? Are we spiritually blind by the present activities going on in our environment? We need to be separated from this ugly situation and environment so that we can be restored completely like the blind man in our Gospel passage today.

Let us, therefore, present ourselves and our Loved ones to Jesus, who is always ready and willing to heal us and set us free from the ugly situation we are passing through because the touch of Jesus heals and restores us completely.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our environment has made us blind both physically and spiritually; as we present our needs before you today, may we experience once again your compassionate love and healing; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 18th February 2025

Readings: Gen. 6:5-8,7:1-5,10 ; Ps. 29; Mark: 8:14-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD GIVE US THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is understanding, which is the ability to perceive an idea or situation mentally and to know and comprehend the nature or meaning of things. Hence, understanding is a gift of God and it is to be prayed and desired by all.

Understanding has a moral character which one has to seek and learn. Understanding, then, involves the cognitive, the spiritual, and the moral. While human efforts are required, the ability to understand comes from God and the true test of understanding is obedience to God.

This is what humanity in our first reading was lacking; they failed to obey what God had instructed them because they lacked understanding of God and his ways as they continued to sin against God.

Thus, when the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was so great on the earth and that the thoughts in his heart fashioned nothing but wickedness all day long. He regretted having made man on the earth, and his heart grieved. Hence, he planned to get rid of mankind, though Noah found favour in God’s sight and he promised to preserve humanity and other creations through him.

Similarly, Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, was disappointed at his disciples’ inability to grasp what he was saying to them or who he really was. They failed to understand what he was capable of doing in their midst. Hence, he asked them over nine questions, which they failed to understand. We can imagine them asking what is it that we do not yet understand?

But they had been witnesses to two extraordinary events done by Jesus: the feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and four thousand with seven Loaves. Yet they do not seem to have grasped the implication of the miracle they had witnessed nor the divine identity of Jesus who had made it possible.

Thus, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember?” These questions reveal that the disciples are really in need of the gift of understanding, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that is given to us to make sense of what is happening around us all the time.

Dear friends, the fact remains that we all need the gift of understanding just like the disciples in our Gospel today. Oftentimes, we are confused about so many things going on in our lives, even concerning our faith. Therefore, let us ask the Holy Spirit for an increase in the gift of understanding.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the source of all understanding; help us to understand your word today, calling us to embrace love sacrificially; give us the grace to truly love you to understand and follow the examples of our Lord and Saviour who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

Homily For Monday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 17th February 2025

 

Readings: Gen. 4:1-15.25; Ps. 50; Mark: 8:11-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT SIGN ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THIS PASSING WORLD? 

 

Oftentimes people want to see signs before they can accept or believe whatever we have to present to them. And sometimes people ask for signs just to discredit someone’s efforts. This is the case with the Pharisees in our Gospel passage today, who asked Jesus for a sign in order to test him. But Jesus, with a sigh that came straight from the heart, said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ 

This response was as a result of pride, which has blindfolded the Pharisees who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah, that very sign that they seek. Jesus presents to us the final recommendations of the end time, pointing out that he is the greatest sign of all time. But this is what the Pharisees want to discredit out of pride and ego.  

This same pride is what we saw in the life of Cain in our first reading today. Cain overcame pride and ego, and he killed his brother because he saw that his offerings were not accepted by God, while the offerings of Abel were accepted by the Lord. As a result, he fell deeper into sin. 

Dear friends, pride can make us blind in such a manner that we will continue to seek signs even when things are clear and obvious in our lives. And Jesus is saying that in the midst of proud people, no sign will be given. But, what signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of this time, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us dread the second coming of the Lord, or do we joyfully embrace it in anticipation? 

Hence, Jesus warns us not to waste our time seeking signs; rather, we should be prepared, and we should remain firm in the faith. He reminds us that he is the only sign that can be given to humanity. Therefore, we are not to be like the Pharisees who are looking for signs, especially in times of trials; rather, we should seek wisdom to make things right.

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, you are the sign that we seek; as we embrace your word today, give us the grace to be humble in order to follow you, our Lord and Saviour. And as we carry out our task this week, may your favour be with us now and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead.

Homily For Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time Year C, 16th February, 2025

 

Readings: Jer. 17:5-8; Ps. 1:1-6; 1Cor.15:12.16-20; Luke 6:17.20-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

ARE YOU AMONG THE BLESSED OR AMONG THE WOES? 

Oftentimes, when we reflect on the ups and downs of life, the struggles, the tears and the disappointments that people are going through every day. We wonder and feel that Life is not fair to some people. But is there anybody who has it all in this world? The truth is that we all struggle every day to make a significant impact in our society. And this significant impact often brings division and separation based on class, social and political affiliation. Hence, we talk about the poor and the rich in relation to what people have and possess.

But this is not the same with Jesus, for today in our Gospel passage, Jesus talks about the blessings of the poor and the lots of the rich in relation to the virtue of humility and pride towards the things of this passing world and the things of heaven. For he said, blessed are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now: you shall laugh. But woe to you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Woe to you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.

Here Jesus is referring to our disposition towards the things of this passing world and the things of heaven. He wants us to realize that we are not living simply to be happy in this life, but we should be conscious of our heavenly home by constantly examining ourselves on the deeper value of our ways of life in the light of what we can bring with us to eternal life. In this teaching commonly known as the Beatitudes, Jesus gave us the qualities that make for a happy and blessed life. To be blessed means to have inner joy and happiness because of God’s favour upon us. While to be called woe is to have sorrow and pain because we have turned away from God.

However, the poor, the hungry and those weeping in this Gospel passage are not just referring to the regular poor and hungry people around us. Rather, Jesus is referring to the fundamental character of the virtue of humility that is rooted in the poverty of the spirit, that consciousness of one’s own weakness and total dependence on God, which can be found in the lives of both regular poor or rich people and can also be lacking in neither depending on one’s disposition.

In all these things, what God wants is for us to be excellent in good virtues, for we heard through prophet Jeremiah in our first reading today, that curse be on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord. He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: but blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, He is like a tree by the waterside that never ceases to bear fruit.’

Dear friends, our societies and, indeed, humanity are in need of more virtuous people rather than rich people. Hence, the Lord said blessed are those who are virtuous and rich, but woe to those who are rich and lack virtue, for they shall soon mourn and weep. And St. Paul, in our second reading, tells us to remind the faithful to do good in accordance with the will of the Lord, whose death and resurrection have purchased for us the price of eternal life. For if our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But we are most privileged people, for as long as we remain faithful in doing Good according to the will of the Lord, we will be rewarded. Hence the psalmist says: blessed the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and all that he does shall prosper

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always engrossed with the pride of life, an ugly attitude that often separates us from you. Grant us the grace of humility so that in our poverty, hunger, mourning and hatred in this world, our lives may aim towards our heavenly kingdom and make us a shining splendour in our families, society and in the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Saturday Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 15th February 2025

Readings: Gen 3: 9-24; Ps.90; Mark 8:1-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

MAN WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT HAS BECOME OF YOU IN THIS PASSING WORLD?

When God created man, he entrusted all his creation to him and gave him regulations to follow in order to ensure the successful fulfilment of this responsibility. But out of pride and selfishness, man disobeyed God’s instructions and regulations, as we heard in our first reading today, and this brought about the downfall of man, who chose to listen to the lies of the serpent and, as a result, committed sin against God.

Thus, when the Lord God called man. ‘Where are you?’ he replied ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ Hence, he was banished from God’s garden, where he should have remained and enjoyed the bliss of God’s presence.

 Nonetheless, God has not abandoned man in this downfall. He is still compassionate and caring and loves us even with our imperfections and our disobedience. His compassion for the sufferings of humanity is so great. This is more evident in our Gospel reading today, where Jesus reveals his compassion towards humanity. This compassionate love of Jesus, in its historical and physical solidarity with human suffering, springs from the love of God the Father.

Here, Jesus had compassion for the people who had been with him for days listening to his words. He then says to his disciples that there is a need for him to give them something to eat before sending them away, lest they may faint on the way since some of them have come a long distance. This compassion of Jesus is meant for us to spread throughout the world in a practical way through our ways of life, especially during these difficult moments in our country.

Dear friends, where are you in your relationship with God? What has become of you in this passing world? God is searching for us. He has not abandoned us even in our imperfections, he still cares about us. All he wants from us is to come back to him and be faithful to him and compassionate to one another. But what is keeping us away from God? How strong is our compassion towards others? Do we know people who are helpless and need some help? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he see them through us? Have I ever felt helpless? Do I feel the need for Jesus’ help in some part of my life?

Today, like Jesus, each one of us is called to reach out to people around us who are really in need of our assistance. This includes our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues and others who we encounter in life. The truth is that you may be the only person who can bring the healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives, especially now that people are really going through financial difficulties.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our fragile and contingent nature propelled by pride and sins have always brought about our downfall, but you have never abandoned us. As we embrace your compassion, give us the grace to look at people around us with the compassionate eyes of Jesus and be of help to them the best we can. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a peaceful weekend.

Homily For Friday Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 14th February 2025. The Memorial of SS. Cyril and Methodius, and St. Valentine’s Day

 

Readings: Gen 3:1-8, Ps.32, Mark 7:31-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY? 

Today all over the world, people are celebrating, especially young people; we are celebrating what they call Valentine’s Day. A day we celebrate love. But today, we are celebrating not just love but the power and victory of love over human selfishness. The seed of this celebration comes as a result of the ugly event that happened on February 14, around the year 270 A.D.,  when Valentine, a holy Roman Catholic priest, who lived in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed. 

But the questions that come to mind are: why was he executed, and how does this ugly event relate to what we are celebrating today? According to history, what happened was that under the rule of  Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns, and the emperor had to maintain a strong army but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. So, the emperor discovered that the men of Rome were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

Thus, to deal with this problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. But Valentine a priest of Rome, realizing the injustice of this declaration by the emperor, defied this order and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, the emperor ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. This ugly event was carried out on February 14, around the year 270.

However, in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius, in honour of this St., decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, which was a pagan celebration of the god of fertility in the name of love, though in an immoral way that is not acceptable to the Christian faith. So in order to replace this feast with something more acceptable, the Pope declared that February 14 be celebrated as St. Valentine's Day in memory of his sacrificial passion for love among the people. Gradually, February 14 became a date for the celebration of love, which is often expressed in different ways, such as exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers to our loved ones.

Thus, Valentine's celebration reminds us of the gift of God's love to humanity. For God loves unconditionally and sacrificially, he loves us till the very end. So, we have to also love one another the way God loves us. We must know that Valentine's Day is not a carnal celebration of love. But more of a sacrificial and spiritual celebration. That is why, as Christians, we do not celebrate Valentine's in a carnal or selfish manner or the sinful way the world celebrates it in the name of boyfriend and girlfriend, committing immorality, fornication and adultery in the name of love, which, of course, is not love, but lust.

Therefore, Valentine’s day for us should be a day we protect and promote true love for one another. It is a day we remember how much we care for one another and what we are to one another. It is a day we build up and nurture long-lasting love, friendships and good relationships with one another.

This is what was lacking in our lives because we have failed to listen to the word of God.  Yes, we go to Church as often as possible; we engage in one spiritual activity or another. But the question is, do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through those activities? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do in the house of God? Are we confused about our faith as a result of ugly events and scandals? The world really wants us to be deaf to the word of God and mute to speak the great things God is doing for us. 

This is evident in our first reading today, where humanity paid deaf hears to the instructions of God by allowing herself to be deceived by the serpent and, as a result of this ugly attitude, separate herself from the presence of God out of pride and selfish desires for deceptive things of this passing world.

Thus, today in our Gospel passage, we hear how Jesus dramatically and figuratively heals us of our deafness and dumbass caused by our constant embracing of the sinful things of this passing world. Hence, when the deaf and dumb man was brought to Jesus for healing. He took the man aside, put his fingers in his ears, touched his tongue with spittle, looked up to heaven and prayed, " Ephphatha! Be opened". Immediately, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosed, and he was able to speak plainly. These same words are used during baptism while touching the ears and lips of the baptized, a gesture that signifies the spiritual openness of one’s heart to God’s words.

Dear friends, out of pride and greediness, we have often separated ourselves from the presence of God and, as a result, have become deaf and dumb to his teachings and instructions. Hence, we all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear and understand fully the message of Jesus and share it with the world. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God as a result of sin, I don’t know how deep our deafness and dumbness are, all I know is that today God is saying to us, fear not, have the courage for the eyes of the blind shall be opened, ears of the deaf unstopped and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. 

So, let us learn to embrace true love for that is the only way we can conquer the ugly attitude of pride in us. Let us learn from SS. Cyril and Methodius and also St. Valentine whose memorials we celebrate today. For they are good examples of what it means to hear the word of God calling us to embrace love sacrificially.

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, we have become deaf and dumb towards your words as we embrace your word today, calling us to embrace love sacrificially. Through the intercessions of SS. Cyril, Methodius and Valentine give us the grace to be humble and to love in order to follow you, our Lord and Saviour, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Love you all.