Homily For Wednesday Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 30th July, 2025

 

Readings: Ex. 34:29-35; Ps. 99; Matt 13:44-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

SEARCHING FOR THE ULTIMATE TREASURE OF LIFE

From the day we were born till the day we die, our lives can be likened to one who is searching for something so precious, like a treasure. And at the point of death, it appears as if one has found all he or she has been searching and looking for, and then sells all he or she has in order to abandon all they have in this world in order to buy that which they have found. Thus, today we are called to reflect on what should be that precious and ultimate treasure. 

So, in the Gospel passage today, 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. He said to them: the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. Again, he said, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value, he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.

Here, the parables describe the kingdom of God as the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. Though the kingdom is open for all, not all can be suitable to dwell in it; only those who on the 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. The essence of these parables is to remind us 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. 

Therefore, we must do all that it takes to ensure that we acquire it, losing it over the temporal worldly pleasure, fame, power and influence of the things of this passing world will be complete foolishness. For none of them last forever, and what good is it for us to gain the whole world but lose our souls out of God’s kingdom. For it is the glory of this kingdom that made the skin on the face of Moses in our first reading shine so much that the people of Israel would not dare to come near him.

Dear friends, what are you searching for in this passing world? What is your ultimate treasure in this life? How many of us are paying attention to this ultimate heavenly treasure? How many of us think and search for this ultimate treasure of our souls? 

One thing brought us into this world, and there is only one thing we can leave in this world, and there is only one thing we can take away from this world as our ultimate treasure, that is Love. Yes, Love is our ultimate treasure and as we know God is Love.

So,  how many of us desire to personally discover God in our lives? How I wish we would understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of losing our souls out of greed for the things of this passing world. 

Then, we will sincerely desire to experience God personally, because in him lies the greatest and ultimate treasure of life. And discovering God personally in our lives is the greatest treasure anyone can ever have. Remember, God is Love, have you discovered Love? Then you have discovered God and His Kingdom.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of distractions from false treasures, give us a wise and discerning heart in order to give up all our attachments to worldly possessions in pursuit of True Love, the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Tuesday, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 29th July, 2025. The Memorial of SS. Martha, Mary and Lazarus

Readings: Ex. 33:7-11.34:5-9.28; Ps. 103, Luke 10:38-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DON’T BE TOO BUSY AND ANXIOUS ABOUT THE THINGS OF THIS PASSING WORLD. LEARN TO LISTEN TO GOD 

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saints, Martha, Mary and Lazarus very close family friends of Jesus. In this family, we see what should be a good example of our attitude towards Jesus in our families. In our relationship with Jesus, we often do not know what Jesus requires from us.  Oftentimes, we worry about so many things in life, and this often distracts us from relating to Jesus properly. But Jesus will always have a way of teaching us how to relate to him despite our different charisms and dispositions. 

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

 

Here, Jesus is not condemning this great sacrificial virtue nor condoning laziness. Rather, he is saying that being busy without listening and listening without doing is completely worthless. Because in our relationship with him, Jesus wants us to learn how to listen to him even in our busy schedules. 

Hence, he gently corrected the impression of Martha who was too busy and distracted with so many things that she risks losing sight of what is really important, that is, listening to Jesus. This is because Martha gives the impression that Mary is just sitting there doing nothing. But, in fact, she was listening to Jesus. 

However, Jesus is not telling us to be content with sitting down to listen to his word, for he always insists that the best way of listening to his word is by putting it into practice. His objection to Martha is that she was too anxious and distracted by many things, so she was not able to really listen to him, and for Jesus, listening is the best option. 

This act of listening to God is what the people in the first reading today failed to do. That is why in our first reading, Moses, while praying for the people of Israel who have failed to listen to God, said: ‘If I have indeed won your favour, Lord,’ I beg. True, they are stiff-necked people, but forgive us our faults and our sins, and adopt us as your heritage. 

Dear friends, in our relationship with Jesus, are we more of a listener or more of an accommodating and caring person? Are we more like Martha, Mary or Lazarus for they were all close family friends of Jesus? Today, many of us are so busy and anxious about so many things that we have no time to listen to God speaking to us and addressing the situation we are actually busy trying to solve. 

Today we are called like Martha to pause and listen, so that we can hear God speaking to us and directing us towards the right path. Remember, Martha who was known as a friend of Jesus, loved to welcome him into her home, let us also learn from her, for it is a great virtue to be hospitable and caring especially when we spend quality time to listen to God and letting him direct and guide us towards carrying out our daily tasks without being distracted by the things of this passing world. 

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are anxious and worried about so many things, but indeed only one thing is needed, give us the grace to truly listen to your word and so have a caring and hospitable family just like St. Martha, Mary and Lazarus. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Monday Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 28th July, 2025

 

Readings: Ex . 32:15-24.30-34; Ps. 106; Matt. 13:31-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHAT KIND OF SEED ARE YOU NURTURING  IN YOUR HEART? 

Using a simple story to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson has always been one of the characteristics of Jesus when addressing the people regarding very important things. By couching his teaching in parables, Jesus made certain points much clearer to his audience. 

This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where he told us two parables: the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the Leaven,

using them to describe the nature of God’s kingdom, which he came to establish in the hearts of humanity. 

In the scriptures especially in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus used the mustard seed in two different analogies. First, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed growing from the Word of God spoken to the hearts of his few disciples, which will grow and spread to the hearts of all humanity. This analogy focuses on the size of the seed that grows to become a mighty tree that gives shelter and salvation to all.

The second analogy of the mustard seed is found in Matt. 17:20. In this analogy, Jesus is not speaking of the size of the mustard seed, but the faith of the people as that of a mustard seed. Telling us that just as the mustard seed responds to the word of God and grows into a mighty tree, so will the faith of the people grow into a great vessel through hearing and doing the word of God. However, God has given humanity the freedom to choose whether to hear his word and embrace the faith so as to bear fruits of the kingdom or to reject it and perish. 

Nevertheless, these two analogies of the mustard seed symbolise the humble beginnings of the Christian faith, which is well nurtured and watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to all the people of the world. However, we know that there are good-for-nothing seeds present in this world to deceive people from listening to God’s word. 

Such seeds include: fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness and all sorts of sinful acts. For those who embrace these good-for-nothing seeds follow the dictates of their own hard hearts and will soon be thrown away as good-for-nothing, because they have not listened to God’s words.

Therefore, let us not embrace such good-for-nothing seeds; rather, we should learn to embrace the mustard seed of faith entrusted to us and nurture it. We must let the word of God dwell in his heart and bear great fruit that will become a great instrument for God’s salvation for humanity. We are also entrusted with different seeds of responsibilities that seem very little as a mustard seed, but are we nurturing them to grow into great trees for God’s Kingdom?

Dear friends, in the world today, we have different kinds of responsibilities in the form of seeds. But the question remains, what kind of seeds are we embracing and watering in our lives today? Are we watering valuable mustard seeds of faith and love or weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness and all kinds of sinful deeds that will destroy us? 

Today, we are called to quit watering these weeds because that's what the enemies want, and we must not fall into their traps. Rather we are called to nurture and water those valuable mustard seeds of faith, love, holiness, hospitality, obedience, charity and make them our values of life. For when we feed and water such values, they will grow stronger like the mustard tree where people may find solace and so build up God’s kingdom.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as you sow the seeds of your word and faith in our hearts, give us the grace to grow it into the mustard tree of love, holiness and hospitality. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.

Homily For Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 27th July, 2025. The World Day For Grandparents and the Elderly

 

Reading: Gen. 18:20-32; Ps. 138; Col. 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

PRAYER REQUIRES PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE AND PERSISTENCE DIALOGUE WITH GOD

As contingent beings, it is common for human beings to reach out to other people when we need something. And oftentimes we seek the intervention of God, especially in some difficult needs and situations.  No doubt that a good number of us have in one way or the other looked up to God or people for help. 

I don’t know if you have ever been truly in need of something from a friend who is capable of giving you what you need, but you have not found a way to ask him to give you what you need now? Or have you been in a situation where you needed something from a friend but couldn't get it because you didn’t know how to reach them easily? Such a situation can put one under serious pressure. 

Then the question that comes to mind is, are we going to give up or persevere in our struggles on waiting or reaching out to him? This kind of disposition is what we experience sometimes when we pray and our requests are yet to be granted because we don’t really know how to dialogue with God in prayer.

Hence, the disciples of Jesus, knowing how important prayer is, and having watched Jesus pray, asked him to teach them how to pray, as we have it in our Gospel passage today, where Jesus taught them our Lord’s Prayer. As we know prayer is a means of communication between God and humanity. It is a close link by which we reach God who dwells in our hearts. It is through prayer that we discern the will of God for us.  Thus we can learn how to dialogue with God in prayer from this prayer Jesus taught his disciples the pattern of all prayers 

In this prayer, we have four traditional dimensions of prayer, which include: glorification of God, submission, justice and protection. Jesus begins by saying: Father, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come, thereby teaching us that we begin any of our prayers by glorifying God. 

Following this is our total submission to God’s providence when we say: Give us each day our daily bread. Then, we acknowledge the justice and mercy of God when we say: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And finally, we ask for God’s guidance and protection when we say: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil.

This tells us that we should approach God with confidence as a friend, persisting until we obtain what we need as Jesus illustrated with the story of a father and his son and a man who had a visitor and needed the help of his neighbours. With this illustration, Jesus emphasised that if we, who are prone to evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give to those who ask him. 

So, we should learn how to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until we obtain the answer we need. Just like a boy asking his father for a fish or an egg, knowing that his father would not give him a snake or a scorpion instead of the fish or egg he had requested. 

This is what Abraham demonstrated in our first reading when he kept asking for God’s mercy on behalf of the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But more than Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord Jesus sacrificed his life for the redemption of humanity. 

This is what St. Paul in our second reading today made us know when he said: The Lord has brought you to life with him, he has forgiven us all our sins. He has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to pay; he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross. This of course, shows us how God is willing to hear us whenever we call on him in prayer.

 Dear friends, as contingent beings, there are times when we ask and we receive, seek and find, knock and it is opened to us. But there were also times when we asked but did not receive, sought but did not find, knocked but the door remained shut. In such moments, persistence and perseverance in prayer are what we are called to embrace. 

These will help us to understand how to trust God knowing that he does not need to be informed of our needs, thereby encouraging us never to lose heart. This is certainly one of the biggest challenges of our faith today. People are not just patient with God. We want to have everything right now as it is hot. Patient, persistence and perseverance are very difficult virtues for most people today. Let us learn from our elderly people whom we celebrate today. For their lives teach us patience and perseverance. 

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

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

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

Homily For Saturday Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th July, 2025. The Memorial of SS. Joachim and Anne

Readings: Ex . 24:3-8; Ps. 50; Matt. 13:24-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF EVIL IN THE WORLD CREATED BY GOD WHO IS ALL GOOD 

Oftentimes when we reflect on the ugly events that happen around us, we wonder why God, who is so good and powerful, permits the evil we see and experience in the world He created. And sometimes, the evil ones are so cruel that we wish that God should just wipe them away from the face of the earth, and when this does not come forth, we complain and even doubt the power of God over this evil. 

The answer to this ugly phenomenon is found in the parable of today's Gospel passage. Here the sower has sown good seed in his field for a healthy wheat harvest. But in the dark of night, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. 

So when the plants came up and bore grain, the weeds appeared as well. What Matthew most likely refers to as weed is darnel or cockle, a harmful weed that closely resembles wheat and is common in Israel. The difference between darnel and real wheat is evident only when the plants mature and the ears appear. 

So, when the servants notice the weeds, their first response is to question the quality of the seed. Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from? When the master replies that an enemy has sown the weeds, the slaves are anxious to take care of the problem, to root those nasty weeds immediately. 

But the master restrains his servants, saying that in gathering the weeds they would uproot the wheat along with them. He orders them to let both grow together until the harvest. Then he will send out his reapers to collect and burn the weeds and to gather the wheat into his barn.

 

In this parable the one who sows the good seed is Jesus, the field is the world, and the good seeds are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Jesus does not, however, say who the servants represent. Perhaps they represent the disciples or anyone who has questioned why God allows evil to grow and thrive, and wishes to take matters into his or her own hands and root out the evil around. 

But this will not be easy, because, it is not so easy to tell the weeds from the wheat as their roots are intertwined below the ground. Thus, rooting out the weeds would uproot the wheat as well, doing more damage to the crop than leaving the weeds to grow. 

Therefore, let us learn from SS. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose memorial we celebrate today. In the midst of the challenge of weeds of this passing world, they were entrusted with the task of nurturing and bringing up Mary as a great instrument for God’s salvation for humanity.

Dear friends, most of us are victims of evil weeds in our world. Today, as we wish to remove these weeds in our lives, Jesus wants us to learn how to be patient and trust God in times of trouble and tribulations, for he alone knows the best time and how best to deal with the evil ones. For when that time comes He will gather all evildoers and throw them into the furnace of fire. 

But the problem is that we are not patient with the Lord; we often behave like the Israelites in our first reading today, who, after listening to the commandments of God, said: ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey them.’ But just a few days later they abandoned the teachings of the Lord. Therefore, we must learn to be patient with the Lord, especially in times of troubles and tribulations.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our hearts are full of weeds of different corruptions and evil planted by the evil ones. As we wait on you, may you guide and protect us from the malice of the evil ones. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 25th July, 2025. The Feast of St. James, Apostle

Readings: 2Cor 4: 7-15, Ps 126:1-6, Matt: 20:20-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

TRUE GREATNESS IS FOUND I HUMBLE SERVICE TO OTHERS AND NOT IN DOMINATION 

To be great is one of the desires of every human person; it is that which makes us utilise the unique gift God has given us, from which we serve Him and our neighbours responsibly. However,  human greediness and selfishness have made us see greatness as domination and subjection of others competitively and comparatively. Today as we celebrate the feast of St. James,  we heard in our Gospel passage how the disciples of Jesus were struggling with this competitive and comparative attitude. 

This is because the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request from Jesus saying, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ And Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking’. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.” 

So, other disciples became angry because James and his brother John, through the intercession of their mother, desired to have key leadership positions in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus. But Jesus let them know that the transcendent power and authority to lead belong to God and whoever He wishes to share it with. 

 

Here, Jesus prophesied that James and his brother John would "drink of the same chalice" of suffering as himself, since the two brothers had asked to be seated at his right and his left in his kingdom, and he told them that they would be with him in a far different way than they expected. 

Thus, James suffered martyrdom for the sake of the kingdom, for he was beheaded in Jerusalem at the orders of Herod Agrippa. His death is the only biblical record we have of the death of one of the Apostles, and he was the first to give his life for his Master. He embraces true greatness not by domination and subjection, but by service, sacrifice and dedication to the faith he has found in Jesus, which he wishes to share with others.

So, today we celebrate the feast of a great man, who, along with his brother John and Peter, was part of the inner circle of Jesus. So like St. James, we are encouraged to seek true greatness in humility of service and sacrifice even at the point of losing everything. 

St. Paul also encouraged us in our first reading to be steadfast for we are affiliated in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. Knowing that true greatness is found in humble service and not in domination or subjection of others. For good leaders serve the community, they subdue arguments and divisions, they maintain unity in times of distress and act as role models for the young just like St. James. 

Dear friends, today, we are all called to seek true greatness in humble service of others and not in domination. We are called to utilise the unique gift God has given us and use it to serve Him and our neighbours responsibly in any capacity we find ourselves, bearing in mind that one should not strive to be a leader but a servant because leadership is a gift from God. Remember, true greatness is found in our sacrificial service to others, not in competitive and comparative subjection and domination of others. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you have taught us that true greatness is found in the sacrificial service to humanity, give us the grace to live a life of sacrifice and humility. And through the intercession of St. James, may our lives be a good example of true greatness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.

Homily For Thursday Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 24th July, 2025

 

Readings: Ex . 19:1-2.9-11.16-20; Ps. Dn. 3:52-56, Matt 13:10-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LET US LEARN TO LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LORD IS SAYING TO US

Reflecting on the present situation of our country, I must say that it is obvious that we are like sheep desperately in need of a shepherd, as the present leaders have shown that they are not and cannot be the Messiah we are looking for, since we have continually been involved in doing evil.

We have abandoned the God who has blessed us with all the good things of life in order to embrace the gods of money, wealth and have made ourselves gods to others. What we have in our country today are corrupt, greedy and selfish people who are like a leaky cistern that can not hold water because we have failed to listen to the voice of God calling us to repentance.

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, we heard Jesus saying: “The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So, you will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive.

For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull from hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me”.

Here, we see the Lord’s sadness and anger at us for our selfishness, greed and ingratitude. For we are constantly disobeying God through our sinful, rebellious and unwilling attitudes to embrace and properly utilise what God has given us for the good of all. Thus, we constantly take God’s patience and kindness for granted. We have taken His mercy and compassion for granted.

Today, we are called to come back to God with all our hearts so that He will respond to our needs. For he will restore the fortune of the poor and put our enemies to shame as they will come quaking and trembling in fear of the Lord because of all the evil they have committed against humanity.

For we heard the Lord saying to Moses in our first reading today: ‘I am coming to you in a dense cloud so that the people may hear when I speak to you and may trust you always. Go therefore to the people and tell them to prepare themselves today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing and hold themselves in readiness for my coming.

Dear friends, without God in our lives we are nothing. So we are called to listen to the voice of the Lord calling us to repentance. Let it not be business as usual, for the righteous God will send a good shepherd to His people, who will shepherd us with his staff of justice, mercy, forgiveness and fidelity. Though not in the manner we expect. He will not lead us in any campaign against our corrupt and selfish leaders.

But he will lead us in a campaign against an even more formidable foe, the devil and his agents. And when he has succeeded in overcoming them, our leaders and their corruption and selfish way of life will be taken care of. Then, his kingdom of peace and justice will be established and it will last forever. All we need to do is to trust in the Lord, ask him for directions and be docile to his words.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have abandoned your ways out of selfishness and greediness. Help us to change this ugly way of life, so as to embrace your word and become a vessel of love. May Christ, our good shepherd, guide our paths and lead us into his own dwelling place forever and ever. Amen. Have a blessed.