Homily For Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 14th September, 2025. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

 

Readings: Num. 21:4-9, Ps . 78, Phil.2:6-11, John 3:13-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE HOLY CROSS A SYMBOL OF THE SACRIFICIAL LOVE OF CHRIST FOR HUMANITY

A lot of people in our societies today put on the cross without knowing the true meaning of the cross and what it represents. They just feel that the cross is a fashionable object that makes them look good and feel important, but this is not the case because the cross is more than that. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast is so important to our Christian faith because the Holy Cross is a symbol of the sacrificial victory of our faith.

This Feast began when St. Helena discovered the relic of the true Cross on which Jesus was crucified, which was preserved in Jerusalem. A sacred relic that represents the mystery of the unending love of God for humanity. Though the cross in the eyes of early Christians had no beauty, it was a sign of sorrow, a symbol of courage, an expression of faith which stood outside the city walls, decorated only with decaying corpses of Christ's faithful who died for their faith in Christ. They are left on the cross as a threat to anyone who believes in Jesus.

But today, the cross has become the universal image of Christian belief, an instrument of salvation which often appears in Christian artworks and countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewellery and other religious activities. Here we can see how this ugly event has turned into a glorious act, which shows the power of God over evil. For God is the source of victory, he has the power to turn an ugly situation into a glorious one through the power of love.

Little wonder our Gospel passage today, talks about the relationship between God and the world. Telling us that God loves the world and the humanity living in it. He loves it so much that he gave his only Son, who died a shameful and terrible death on a cross for the sake of his love.

God loves the whole world and his love is total and unconditional for every one of his creatures. For God reveals his love, his greatest glory, when his Son was lifted up on the cross, for there the victory of our salvation was achieved, and at the cross, Jesus tells us everything and solves all our difficult problems.

Just like the Israelites in our first reading, who had sinned against God and were punished on account of their sins, complained as they asked Moses to intercede for them, and God said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live. This very symbol is a prefiguration of the Cross of Christ.

And St. Paul in our second reading tells us that though Jesus in the form of God, but he humbled himself by accepting death on a Cross and God exalted him and gave him the name which is above all other names, so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus to the glory of God the Father.

Dear friends, as we reflect and celebrate the exaltation of the Holy Cross and its saving power in our Christian life, let us deeply look at the Cross. What do we see? How do we feel about the Cross? What does the Cross represent in our lives? Do we feel the love of Jesus expressed for us on the Cross?

Can we perceive the expensive price of our salvation? We are called today to tell the world how deeply God has loved us. We are to demonstrate this love to the world and let this love be felt by those who have lost hope in God especially at this time when humanity is struggling with the ugly situation of inflation and political crisis.

Therefore, let us extend this love in any form, gestures or manner possible to everywhere that it is lacking. A kind word, a single phone call, a text message, an act of forgiveness, a single prayer, sacrifice, patience and any form of generous act shown to anyone around you or as many people you can reach out today, can reflect this love of God for humanity through us, for we are the face of God’s love now, we are the channels of his Mercy and compassion.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we celebrate the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, may we experience once again the power of your love for humanity, and give us the grace to reciprocate this love in the world by our way of life, using the gifts, the talents and resources you have given us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Feast Day to all the priests and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Lagos.

Homily For Saturday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 13th September 2025. The Memorial of St. John Chrysostom

 

Readings: 1Tim. 1:15-17; Ps 113; Luke: 6: 43-49

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR STORE OF LIFE? GOOD OR BAD?

A tree is known to be either good or bad, healthy or sick by the fruit it produces. In the same way, the human heart is known to be either good or bad, holy or sinful, sincere or corrupt by the fruits of our words and actions rooted in our character. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today said:

A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them is like the man who, when he built his house, laid the foundations on a rock. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations.

Here, as Jesus concludes the sermon on the plain, he tells us that hearing and doing the word of God is building our faith on a rocky foundation, that cornerstone, that solid ground, through the fiercest drought and storms of life, because the fruit of the Word of God in us is seen when tested in the storms of life.

He also reminds us that it is not enough to hear the word of God; we must put it into practice. It is not sufficient to speak about God; we must practice what we speak. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives so that we can bear good and healthy fruit.

For it is a waste of time and energy if our lives do not reflect the Gospel we preach, if we do not hear the words of Jesus and act on them. Hence, we must embrace the word of God in our lives and let it unite us together so that we can bear good fruit even in our corrupt society.

And St. Paul in our first reading tells us that: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And himself is the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to him, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make him the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life.

Dear friends, what kind of fruit are we bearing deep down in our hearts? How has the word of God changed my life and the lives of those around me? How has the word of God challenged and propelled me to love God and my neighbours? Is my attitude towards the word of God like that of the foolish builder who takes shortcuts for quick results? Or that of a wise builder who spends time digging a secure foundation through constant meditation and practice of the word of God?

Therefore, we must know that whenever we hear the word, we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our souls and so bear good fruit. This is important because our society today has enough hearers of the word; what we need now are doers of the word, men and women who will feed their lives with the Word of God and from the abundance of their heart live a life that will influence society positively.

Remember, the houses built by the wise and foolish persons may probably look alike. But the difference is the foundations, which can only be revealed when tested by the storms of life. Therefore, let us learn from the life of John Chrysostom, whose memorial we celebrate today. For he is known for his deep love for God and heavenly things which he well demonstrated by his excellent preaching skills and was given the name Chrysostom which means “golden mouth” as he is usually called “John of the golden mouth,” because he utilised the gifts God gave him and used them for heavenly glories.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, through your Word we find life and hope in Christ your Son, who is our all in all, grant us the grace to embrace your Word in our lives and so bear good and healthy fruits rooted in a rocky foundation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and peaceful weekend.

Homily For Friday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 10th September 2025

Readings: Tim. 1:1-2.12-14;  Ps. 16; Luke: 6: 39-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

DEALING WITH THE LOG OF PRIDE AND THE SPECK OF WEAKNESS IN US

As humans we are quick to always criticize and condemn other people. We are good at seeing people's faults and mistakes. But has it ever occurred to us that, while we are condemning other persons for their faults, we suddenly realise that our own faults are just as many as theirs? 

It is this ugly attitude that Jesus is addressing today in the Gospel passage, when he said: Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 

Here Jesus is referring to the blindness from the truth which the Pharisees and the Scribes and indeed most of us and our so-called leaders today have decided to embrace as we have neglected the spirituality behind the natural human traditions and laws, to follow the may ritual and routing traditions and laws we have created out of our own selfish desires. 

For leaders who have the responsibility to lead, guide and teach the people have decided to embrace darkness and falsehood. And the greed, jealousy and wickedness in our hearts have blindfolded us and made us to become blind leaders of the blind. 

Hence, Jesus told us how we have failed to see the log in our eyes while seeking to remove the speck in others. But what is this log in our eyes? It is the log of pride. Pride makes us forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride makes us look down on people. Pride makes us blind. It makes us not look into our own lives. Little wonder pride is the first capital sin. 

Therefore, we are called to humbly look into our lives and identify all those ugly attitudes of pride in us and get rid of them, so that we can humbly correct and accommodate other people’s specks of faults and weaknesses. Then we can say, like St. Paul in our first reading, mercy was shown me, because until I became a believer, I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.

Dear friends, do we know people who behave like blind leaders of the blind? Are we one of such leaders? We are called today to constantly examine our conscience to know what kind of leader we are in any capacity we find ourselves. We are called to take away our log of pride in order to humbly remove or accommodate the speck of faults and weaknesses in others. So let us cultivate the right disposition of heart that will enable us to be visionary leaders, leading those entrusted to us safely towards the path of truth and eternal life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, there are so many blind leaders in our world today who out of pride are leading humanity into destruction and death, help us to realize that we need to take away the log of pride that makes us blind in order to humbly remove and accommodate the faults and weakness of others thereby leading them to the path of truth and eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 11th September, 2025

Readings: Col. 3:12-17 Ps 149, Luke: 6: 27-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HOW CAN I LOVE MY ENEMIES?

A critical look at what is happening in our world today, it is obvious that the world has lost the true meaning of love. For we have abandoned God, who is the source and power of love, and created for ourselves a mirage in the name of love. Today love has become a tool for selfishness, deception, greed and emotional satisfaction. Thus it is extremely difficult to practice the genuine love of neighbours, talk more of the sacrificial love of our enemies.

But that is the demand Jesus makes of all his disciples in our Gospel passage today when he said: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robbed you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you.

If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. Hence, St Paul in our first reading says: we are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves and we should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven us; now we must do the same.

So, in this Gospel, Jesus emphasises that it is natural and universal for human beings to love those who love them. But what makes his disciples different from other people is the ability to love not just everyone but to love their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. By so doing, they will be imitating God, their heavenly Father, who in his compassionate heart shows equal love to both the good and the bad, not because he is indifferent to morality, but because his love knows no bounds.

Dear friends, today we are called to a life of deeper virtue of sacrificial love, we are called to perfection, we are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. But when Jesus talks about loving our enemies, he is not telling us to be passive in the face of physical danger or abuse. Rather he wants us to realize that hatred is a dangerous thing and must be handled with great care. Because hatred breeds violence and other things that weaken the human soul.

The truth is that our enemies are not necessarily those with whom we are at war, those making life difficult for us or those who hate us, but those whom we hate. And the best way to destroy our enemies is to discover how best we can make them become our friends, not by hating or carrying out vengeance.

How I wish the world would embrace this principle of loving and stretching the hands of friendship and peace to our presumed enemies, by investing more resources in things that bring about peace and friendship with one another, rather than building nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world. When this is done, the world will become more peaceful and loving.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, it is difficult and demanding for us to love our enemies, but this is what you are commanding us to do, give us the grace to bear the sacrificial nature of this demand and so become a true sign of your loving presence to those we encounter in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Wednesday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 10th September 2025

 

Readings: Col. 3:1-11 Ps.145, Luke 6:20-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHERE DO YOU BELONG? WOE OR BLESSED?

Oftentimes when we reflect on the ups and downs of life, the struggles, the tears and the disappointments that people are passing 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 accomplished.

But this is not the same with Jesus, for today in our Gospel passage, Jesus talks about the blessings of the poor and the woes 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. 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 dependent 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. Now we can understand why the woe to the rich and blessings for the poor

Dear friends, our world needs more virtuous people than rich people. However, 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. Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading says: Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God.

That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god. This is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry.

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 toward our heavenly kingdom and make us a shining splendour in our family, society and in the world at large. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 9th September, 2025

 

Readings: Col. 2:6-15; Ps. 145; Luke 6:12-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHY WE MUST CULTIVATE THE ACT OF PRAYER LIKE JESUS

In the scriptures, it is obvious that Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer, especially during every important event in his mission. He does nothing without prayers. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how Jesus, after deep prayer, called from among his disciples twelve apostles, whom he called and chose to continue his work of evangelisation and mission towards the salvation of humanity, for he needed to have people who would be entrusted with this mission.

So, each one of us, like the apostles, is called by name into a deep personal and intimate relationship with Jesus in order to be sent to bear witness to him in the world. Prayers and absolute commitment are necessary qualities for this mission. That is why Jesus did not choose people because of what they were. Rather, he chose them for what they could become under his direction through prayer.

But one of the greatest problems is that we don’t often surrender our plan and mission to God’s will through prayer. So the question that comes to mind is, Will I pray? Will I stop praying? Will I care? Will I risk it? Will I let the Lord lead me in prayer?

These are questions of great demands which every true disciple must constantly reflect throughout his life, in order to be aware of the seriousness of the commitment required of every one of us as disciples of Jesus. Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading today says that we must live our whole life according to that of Christ whom we have received, for we must be rooted in him.

Dear friends, prayers are the key to evangelization and evangelization is the very nature and essence of the Church. And Jesus gives us the mandate and the commission to evangelize, that is, to announce the Good News to all the nations and to spread the Gospel to every creature. This commission is shared by all those who are baptized both priests and lay faithful.

Everyone has a particular responsibility to share in the work of proclaiming the Gospel. Today, we should ask ourselves, how have we proclaimed the Gospel to the world? What efforts are we making to ensure that the mandate Christ entrusted to us is carried out effectively in our generation?

Therefore, prayer is essential, especially at this moment when the world is confused because we have removed God from our daily lives. Prayer is the key at this time when we have placed our hope in the activities of the human person who seems to have taken the place of God.

Prayer is the key at this time when our governments, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and even pastors have assumed the place of God, which, of course, has brought about the ugly situation we are facing in our societies today.

Hence, we are reminded once again about our very mission which is rooted in prayers, for it is time to take this mandate very seriously because it is our responsibility to fulfil our promises to God and ensure that the Christian faith is preached and sustained in the world and by so doing save humanity once again from sin, death and destruction.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, without prayers in our lives we are lost in this world, for a lot of us are confused because we have cut ourselves off from You our cornerstone, As we come back to You once again in prayers, may we learn from the prayer life of Jesus and his teaching and by so doing draw humanity back to You once again. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable. 

Homily For Monday, Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 8th September 2025. The Feast of The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Readings: Rom . 8:28-30, Ps . 13, Matt. 1:1-16.18-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

GOD HAS CREATED YOU FOR A PURPOSE

God, in his eternal design, made it possible for every human person to have a special role to play in the mystery of this life. Though some seem to have a more significant role than others. However, whether significant or not, the truth still remains that we all have a role to play. But the question is, how are we playing this role? Are we playing according to God’s master plan or against it?

Mother Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today, is a good example of those who played their role according to God’s master plan. For she was chosen in a special way to be the handmaid of the Lord and to play an important part in the history of human salvation and redemption.

A role she played according to God's master plan. As handmaid of God, she was privileged to be the mother of Jesus, our Redeemer. Little wonder our Gospel passage today tells us the history of the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Joseph and Mary the parents of Jesus.

From this genealogy, we heard how generations came, generations go, great men and women came and passed on, and new generations continue to spring up. This is our own generation, but the questions remain: to what extent can our genealogy be traced to that of Christ?

To what extent have the things we are doing now been influenced by the events of the past generations, and to what extent are they going to influence future generations?

Today, we are reminded that we are playing our own role in the salvation of mankind; our existence means a lot to future generations. And St. Paul in our first reading tells us that God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose.

They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. For he called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.

Dear friends, Mary’s birthday reminds us of our own birth and our role in the master plan of God. For God has plans for everyone of us. Our existence is not by chance or providence, rather it is by the special will of God who made it possible for us to participate in his mystery at this present age. He could have willed for us to exist in the past or in the future or not to exist at all.

Hence, never take your existence for granted, because in every moment of our existence, there is a role we are playing. Therefore, let us, like Mary, learn to cooperate with the grace of God and live in accordance with God's plan, for we are all created for a purpose, and that purpose is the role we have to play in this world.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, you created us for a purpose and the birthday of our Mother Mary reminds us of this purpose. Grant that through her intercession we may obtain the grace to live out our purpose in this life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.