Homily for Thursday, Third Week of Easter Year C, 8th, 2025

 

Readings: Acts. 8:26-40; Ps.66; John 6:44-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DESIRING THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is understanding. It is the second gift of the Holy Spirit, behind wisdom. Through understanding, we gain a certainty about our beliefs that moves beyond faith. It enables one to see more deeply into the mysteries of the faith and judge with certainty all created things.

The essential quality of this gift is the penetrating intuition. For this gift does not only assist in penetrating revealed truths, but also natural realities that are related to the supernatural end.

Thus, understanding is not so much the fruit of studies, but the loving desire and penetrating intuition towards understanding all the Father has revealed. This is exactly what happened to Philip while explaining the scriptures to the Ethiopian Eunuch in our first reading today.

For when he heard him reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet, he asked him, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ The Eunuch replied, ‘How can I understand unless I have someone to guide me?’

Here, the Eunuch seeks the gift of understanding which Philip has already received at Pentecost, and with the help of this gift, he was able to explain the scriptures to him. This is because the mysteries of God’s revelation have been made known to him, and with the Spirit’s prompting, these mysteries can be penetrated and understood by humanity.

 The fact remains that God created us for friendship, and this gift of understanding enables us to understand God’s love, mercy, glory, and power, which moves our hearts to love and live as adopted sons and daughters of God. Little wonder, Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: “No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, for it is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and will hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it”.

Dear friends, we must desire to have the gift of understanding, for this gift penetrates the truths of faith, operates in several ways: disclosing the hidden meaning of Sacred Scripture, revealing the significance of symbols and figures. It gives us deeper insight into the meaning of our faith and the moral teachings which serve as standards for human actions.

This gift imparts a sense of confidence and certainty in our belief. It helps us grasp the reality of heaven,, our beatific vision. It is a gift that is really lacking in our lives, not just as Christians but as individuals living in societies full of confusion and a lack of sense of direction. But, how can we acquire the gift of understanding?

How can the gift of understanding help us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our faith in relation to our struggles with the ugly situations in our world today? The answer is simple: we must learn, just like the Ethiopian Eunuch, to cultivate the habit of listening to the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to speak to us deep down in our conscience.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we listen to your words today, give us the gift of understanding so that we can grasp the meaning of the truths of our faith in relation to our struggles with the ugly situations in our world today. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily For Wednesday Third Week of Easter Year C, 7th May, 2025

 

Readings: Acts. 8:1-8; Ps.66; John 6:35-40

Rev Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, SATISFY OUR STAVING SOULS WITH THE BREAD OF ETERNAL LIFE

What can ever satisfy the human hunger and thirst for peace, wholeness, righteousness, love and joy? These are the things we search for every day of our lives. But we seem to have little or no answer.

This is because we have often failed to listen to God’s words calling us and directing us towards the path of truth, which he has revealed through his son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been speaking to us in our Gospel since his resurrection.

Thus, today, Jesus continues with his teaching on the bread of life; he seeks to draw those who listened to him into a profound relationship with himself. He asks them to believe in his wonderful promises of eternal life. In the same way, he invites us to partake in an indestructible life, to share in the very life of God.

Jesus wants us to know that he is the food of our souls. Our souls are really starving due to sins, and indeed thirsty for holiness, love, peace and purity. In Jesus alone can staving and empty souls find their strength and satisfaction. For in him, there is fullness of life.

The fact remains that Jesus is the bread of life which came down from heaven. And he wants us to commit our souls into his hands. Thus, whenever we experience anything of spiritual hunger and thirst, we must come to Jesus and be satisfied.

This is what was lacking in the life of Saul, who, in our first reading today, worked for the total destruction of the Church after he had witnessed and endured the stoning and death of Stephen. So, he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison. But those who had escaped from him went from place to place preaching the Good News of peace, love holiness and salvation.

Dear friends like Saul, are we weighed down by sorrows in conscience or staving in affection and love, especially in this difficult moment in human history, and thereby acting in ignorance? Or are we like the disciples who, even in the midst of persecution, remained faithful in witnessing the love they have found in Jesus?

Whatever the situation may be for us now, we must know that Jesus is always ready to relieve and restore us whenever we come to him in faith, for in him alone shall we find lasting satisfaction, peace, and love both now and for eternity.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we are thirsty and hungry down within our souls. May we find in the Words of Jesus that satisfactions which our souls so desired and, by so doing, find eternal life. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you the best of God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Tuesday Third Week of Easter Year C, 6th May, 2025

 

Readings: Acts. 7:51-8:1; Ps.31; John 6:30-35

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

EMBRACING JESUS THE BREAD OF LIFE

The ugly situation in our societies, country and the world at large can make someone completely lose hope in humanity and even in God. Today, people are confused; they don’t even know what to believe or who to trust anymore.

The questions that come to mind are: To whom shall we run to? What shall we do? Any hope for a better tomorrow? What signs are there for us to see to be assured of a better and brighter future for humanity in relation to God? This present disposition can be likened to the disposition of the people in our Gospel passage today.

Here, the Jews who had witnessed the great miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, when confronted with the hard teaching about the person of Jesus, asked Jesus for a sign to prove that he is the Messiah, a sign like the manna which their forefathers ate in the desert. They said to Jesus that God gave them bread from the heavens to eat. For the Jews, the manna was God’s gift from heaven. So they wanted such a miraculous sign again, as most people desire today.

However, Jesus made it clear to the crowd that it was God rather than Moses who provided the manna for the Israelites. Also, he identified himself as the true bread of life that comes from God. That he is God’s divine intervention in our world. He is the gift of God to the world.

So he told them solemnly: “I AM the bread of life.” Using the word “I AM”, he strongly identifies himself with God, a statement that recalls the name God revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exod 3:14). Jesus goes on to say: “Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Thus, the true manna, the true bread from heaven, is the Word of God, which is Jesus, and this Word is what he teaches us to believe in. Today, this Word is now addressed to us, and we shall do well to pay attention to it because with the events going on in the world today, we too can find ourselves in an ugly situation.

A situation where we may no longer have faith in God and start doubting his existence as we are now scared of losing our lives, our health, wealth or even our loved ones. The worst of it is not knowing what to believe anymore, especially in the way our society has been structured; people no longer know their left from their right.

Dear friends, I don’t know what you are going through now. Does it seem as if all hope is lost and there is no opportunity again for you? Are you confused about your faith? Jesus says: I AM the bread of life, blessed is the one who does not lose faith in him. For he is waiting for us at the Eucharist, where he feeds us spiritually. Therefore, be courageous, do not be afraid. Be patient, do not lose heart for the Lord will surely come to save us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, whenever we come to Jesus and bond ourselves closely to him, we are actually identifying ourselves with You. May we constantly embrace Your love for us in the Eucharist as You feed us daily with the bread of life through Your Word. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Monday Third Week of Easter Year C, 5th May, 2025

Readings: Acts. 6:8-15; Ps.119; John 6:22-29

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

BEARING AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THE LORD IN OUR DAILY LIFE 

 

In every human heart, there is a secret garden which God has made uniquely for himself and that garden is our conscience. However, God is always at the gate of this garden knocking, but we pretend not to hear him. The truth is that every day, God gives us the grace to experience him and bear witness; he makes himself present in us, but we often ignore him or pretend we do not perceive his presence. 

This was the attitude of the men who sought to kill Stephen out of jealousy in our first reading today, where we heard the account of St. Stephen, one of the first deacons who, full of grace and power, bears witness to the risen Lord before the people. He worked many miracles and great signs among the people. 

But some group of men felt so infuriated and ground their teeth at him since they could not withstand his wisdom. Nevertheless, Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. This he witnessed before them and they saw his face like that of an angel.  

Dear friends, this was possible because Stephen completely opened the door of his heart and found God; he witnessed him with his life. We, too, have been given the grace to bear authentic witness to the faith we have found in Jesus, who tells us in our Gospel passage today to believe in him and work for the food which endures eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering us. That is the eternal food of love, compassion, mercy, kindness, peace and salvation. 

These were the food that Stephen had received from the Lord when he opened the door of his heart, and this same food he offered to the members of the Sanhedrin, but they could not comprehend or withstand it. Therefore, Jesus is calling us to work for these kind of food that comes from the heart of a person who has personally encountered him, the risen Lord. 

So, let us open our hearts to embrace the eternal food of love, compassion, mercy, kindness, peace and salvation which the Lord is offering to humanity to bear authentic witness of him to the world.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, give us the grace and courage to bear authentic witness of Your goodness in the world, especially at this moment when humanity needs You the most. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. As the week begins, be strong, be hopeful and stay safe for God is still in control.

Homily For Third Sunday of Easter Year C, 4th May, 2025. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

 

Readings: Acts.5:27-32.40-41; Ps. 30; Rev. 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD WANTS TO RESTORE THE HIDDEN WOUNDS OF SINS IN US

Today being the third Sunday of the Holy season of Easter, we are presented with the theme of restoration. This is important because we have often fallen and separated ourselves from God as a result of the ups and downs of life. Every day, we are faced with new struggles.

Yes, we struggle for life, we struggle for survival, we struggle against the manipulation of the evil ones. More challenging is the struggles we face within our own self, especially our weakness and sinfulness.

 The effects of this fall and restoration are evident among the disciples of Jesus. All the time they were with Jesus, they struggled to be like him, to follow his ways and to understand him, and it wasn’t easy. In the cause of these struggles, they failed several times; they denied him, suffered, and sinned against the Lord Jesus despite their love for him. But this was well predicted by Jesus who warned them to remain steadfast even in the midst of these struggles.

However, after all the struggles and falls during his passion and death, Jesus decided to strengthen and restore his disciples once again as regards the great task ahead before departing from them. So in the occasion of the Gospel passage today, Jesus said to Peter, the leader of his Apostles: ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’

A second time, he said to him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

Here, we can imagine the disposition of the disciples when seeing the Lord as they sat together around the fire, eating silently the meal which Jesus had prepared and no doubt gazing silently at the Lord’s silence. It must really be a great moment of tension as to how the oppressive silence was to be broken.

Also, how Peter’s heart must have been troubled when the great silence was broken with the words: Simon, son of John, do you love me? These three times questions have a special force in the restoration of him who had three times denied his Master, and now three times declares his love for Him, and he is three times restored and entrusted with a great task of feeding his master’s sheep.

From this gracious act, we see how God, through Jesus, treats a soul conscious of its sinfulness and fault, and in Peter’s disposition, we see an illustration of how a soul, conscious of its sinfulness and fault, should behave before God.

This gracious event is very symbolic not just that the Lord had forgiven Peter for his threefold denial at the moment of his arrest and suffering, but also that, the Lord restored him again as the leader of his flocks and the entire Universal Church.

We can see the effect of this restoration in the response of Peter and the other apostles in our first reading today when they said to the council of Pharisees: ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree.

By his own right hand, God has now raised him up to be a leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel. We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit. And John, in his vision, as we heard in our second reading, said: the Lamb that was sacrificed is worthy to be given power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing.

Dear friends, this is a moment of restoration, for in our struggles in this life, we have done ugly and sinful things that we really regret and don’t want to remember or talk about, just like St Peter and the other disciples.

These things We wish we could have changed or avoided, but there is nothing we can do about them anymore except seek restoration. And this restoration is what Jesus is offering us today as he says: my child do you still love me? Do you really love me? Do you love me more than all the things of this passing world?

All we have to say in the consciousness of our faults and sinfulness is: Lord, you know everything; yes, I truly love you. And just like St Peter, the Lord Jesus will not only forgive us, he will restore us to a greater glory.

So why struggle in silence? It’s time to break open the hidden wounds of sin in our hearts, for the Lord wants to heal and restore us once again so that we can be open and free to receive the Holy Spirit, the promised Paraclete, who will restore us afresh to God’s greater glory.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we anticipate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we come to you today conscious of our faults and sinfulness. Grant us, we pray for your healing and restoration, especially to all Fathers. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Father’s Day.

Homily For Saturday Second Week of Easter Year C, 3rd May, 2025. The Feast of SS Philip and James

 

Readings: 1Cor 15:1-8; Ps.19;  John 14:6-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

LET US LEARN TO FOLLOW JESUS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

The main goal of discipleship is acquiring the mind of the master and the price to pay is desiring to obey and learn from the Master. This is clear with the use of the imagery of Father and Son by Jesus to explain his relationship with God the Father. But oftentimes, the people and even his disciples find it difficult to understand the systematic fashion of this relationship. 

So in our Gospel passage today, Jesus tried to explain this relationship to his disciples when he said to them: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him. Curiously, Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied'. 

But Jesus said: you must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform even greater works because I am going to the Father, and whatever you ask for in my name I will do it. 

Here Jesus is saying that if we want to know God and understand his ways in relation to humanity, all we need to do is to look at him (Jesus) as the Son of the Father who has come to reveal the true image of God to humanity. We are to observe what he does, listen to what he teaches, watch how he behaves, what and who he loves, and what he rejects or defends for, and so do we will discover God in him because, as the Son, he is the true human image of God. He is one with the Father in unity of existence and life, and this is evidenced in the Words he spoke and the works he performed. 

Consequently, those who believe in him are endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit and will do greater works than he has done, for he has gone to the Father and whatever they ask in his name he will do it because they will be asking in accordance with the Holy Spirit in union with the name of the very person of Jesus whose request the Father will always granted.

So today we celebrate the feast of SS Philip and James, two great Apostles of our Lord Jesus, who laboured and worked hard to serve the Lord and brought his Good News to different corners of the world. Their relics are kept together in the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Rome, and from the day of its dedication in 565, these two Apostles have been celebrated together. 

Tradition has it that, Philip evangelized and preached in places like Greece, Asia Minor and Syria. It was during one of his ministries, according to tradition, that he was martyred when, along with Bartholomew, he tried to convince the wife of the local ruler to convert to the Christian faith, and the furious ruler ordered Philip Bartholomew to be crucified upside-down. 

But Philip asked his persecutors to release Bartholomew, which they did, but he remained on the cross, and there he died a martyr. Similarly, St. James the Lesser, as he was called, was also a devoted disciple of the Lord, who was credited with the evangelization and conversion of many peoples, just like Philip and the other Apostles. He was also martyred in Egypt, where he worked greatly in spreading the Gospel and defending the faith he had found in Jesus. 

Dear friends, the questions we need to ask ourselves today are: Do we really believe in God as our Father? Do we personally and truly know and believe in Jesus as the way, the truth and the life? Have we any personal experience of the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The truth is that we can only do great work in his name when we have a personal experience and encounter with the risen Lord, just like the disciples Philip and James, who, after experiencing the risen Lord, sacrificed their lives for the sake of his Gospel. 

Therefore, I don’t know what your experience of the Lord has been. I don’t know what you want God to do for you, I don’t know the prayer points you recite every day, I don’t know how deep your requests are, all I know is that if we truly have a personal relationship with Jesus and believe in him as the way, the truth and the life, we are going to be endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit and will do greater works then he has done, for he has gone to the Father and has promised us that whatever we ask in his name he will do it.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we follow Jesus the way, the truth and the life, help us to carry out our responsibilities effectively. May we, through the intercession of SS. Philip and James have a personal experience of your presence in our lives so that by presenting our needs before you, we may find favour in your presence. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful day.

Homily for Friday in the Second Week of Easter, 2nd MAY 2025. The Memorial of St. Athanasius

 

Readings: Acts.5:34-42; Ps.27; John 6:1-15

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE JOY OF SUFFERING HUMILIATION AND PERSECUTIONS FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST

As the persecution of the early Church continues, today, the members of the Sanhedrin call for council meetings to decide what to do with the apostles. At this council, as we heard in our first reading, Gamaliel, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, suggested that the apostles should be left alone based on past experiences of those who claimed to be great but were letter perished when their leader had died.

So, for him what is happening now with the apostles might be the same. He advises them to have nothing to do with the apostle, that if their purpose or activity is from human origins, it will soon perish. If not, they will not be able to destroy them without fighting God Himself. So they had the apostles beaten and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus. However, instead of being depressed, the apostles left the court full of joy that they had been judged worthy of being beaten for the sake of the Name of Jesus.

Here, they experienced the blessedness that Jesus had spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount when he said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people abuse you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Matt 5:10-12). In our Gospel passage today, we heard how Jesus, out of love and compassion, fed the crowd.

This feeding of the crowd refers back to the journey of the people of God in the desert from Mount Sinai to the promised land, which, specially, signifies the event of our Eucharistic celebration. The Eucharist has the same characteristics of this miracle: Where the community gathers together, and then the transformation of humble elements into a glorified body of Christ takes place to satisfy our spiritual hunger, which is an abundant gift of God to humanity. In fact, because of the link to the Eucharist, this is the only miracle that is reported by all the four gospels.

However, we can interpret this miracle of feeding the crowd in two ways. First, we can simply interpret it as a miraculous event, pointing to the divine origin and mission of Jesus. Secondly, we can interpret the miracle as the fruit of sharing with one another. It is possible that once the disciples began to share the little food they had with those around, others also who had actually brought some food with them started sharing what they had, and indeed, grace multiplied what they had to the point of having leftovers. This shows how much God cares for us, and he will never abandon us no matter the situation.

Dear friends, God loves us so much, so we must learn to joyfully suffer humiliation and persecution for his sake. Hence, in any situation we find ourselves in, we are called to remain firm and faithful to God. We must learn to bear witness to our faith in Christ; though this mandate may seem difficult in our world at this moment, just like in the time of the apostles, the grace of God is sufficient for us.

Therefore, let us not be afraid of witnessing our faith in the world, for God will surely protect us as He protected the apostles. Let us learn from St. Athanasius whose memorial we celebrate today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we proclaim your name to the world, especially in these difficult times, give us, through the intercessions of St. Athanasius, the grace to rejoice even in the midst of persecution, suffering, sickness or death. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.