Homily For Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 28th September, 2025

Readings: Amos 6:1.4-7; Ps.146; 1Tim.6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

UNDERSTANDING THE SIN OF THE RICH MAN AND THE SACRIFICE OF THE POOR LAZARUS

There is no doubt that the things of this passing world are so beautiful and captivating, and God has made them so. For whatever we have in this world is a blessing from God, who wishes to bless us so that through us others will be blessed. 

But this is not often the disposition of most of us. This is obvious when we reflect on the relationship between the rich and the poor in our society today. Where the poor are neglected and treated as if they are less human. 

This ugly attitude needs to change when we recall the famous parable of the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, about Lazarus the poor man and a rich man whose doorstep Lazarus often dwelt, hoping for the rich man to give him even the scraps of bread and food that fell from his table, but he was often neglected. While the poor Lazarus was rich with sores, he offered his sores to those who came to lick them. 

Here, we heard how the poor Lazarus ended up in Paradise, in the presence of God in heaven with Abraham, enjoying the fullness of God’s inheritance and grace, no longer suffering the pains and torments that he had once endured while he was still alive in the world. 

Meanwhile, we heard how the rich man descended into the depths of hell, suffering in agony for eternity, without any hope of escape, and even when he begged Abraham to send Lazarus for help, that couldn't happen. 

But what was the offence of this rich man? Is it because he was rich? No, his sin is that of omission, which is the sin of neglecting his neighbour Lazarus when he was obviously in the position to help and provide for him through the excess material goods and providence that God has blessed him with. 

A sin of omission, as we know, is a sin committed by willingly not performing a certain action. For he neglected the commandments of God who has called us to love our neighbours and help the needy. Thus, he has to face the consequences of his sin of neglecting his neighbour who needed his help.

This rich man’s name is not known, so one can say that he represents, anonymously, all the wealthy persons insocietyhave failed to use their resources to help the poor. While the poor man, as we heard, has a name. He is a specific person for Jesus, who calls him very appropriately “Lazarus,” the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Eleazar,” which means “God has helped.” Lazarus represents every person who is in need or who suffers unjustly.

It is this unjust action of the rich towards the poor that Prophet Amos is addressing in our first reading today. He condemned the oppression of the poor, as well as the judicial system that denied them any hope of obtaining justice. So he had to threaten the rich with divine judgment when he said: Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall. They shall be the first to go into exile.  

Hence, Amos, in this passage, addressed the issues of social injustice in society. Social injustice, as we know, refers to how unjust actions are being done in a society. This can occur in situations where the people are treated unfairly, out of greediness, selfishness, corruption, wickedness and discrimination at different levels such as age, class, ethnicity, and orientation. These ugly attitudes have a way of separating us from God. So we have to ensure that we are not part of these ugly ways of life.

Little wonder, St Paul in our second reading today says: As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. 

We must learn to stand up against any form of injustice, intimidation and oppression of anyone. For there are positive or negative, immediate or later consequences for all our actions just like the case of Lazarus and the rich man.

Dear friends, we can now understand the sin of the Rich man and the sacrifice of the poor Lazarus. So, the example of the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus calls our attention to the fact that we are going to be judged not based on what God has blessed us with, but on what we have done with what God has given us. So it is important to remind ourselves today that we must also not be ignorant of the poor Lazaruses around us. 

Those who are less fortunate than we are should not be neglected, especially those who work for us, our house helps, our poor security personnel, our poor neighbours, and those we encounter every day in need of our help. 

Remember, no one is too poor that he has nothing to give, even the poor Lazarus was rich with sores, and he offered his sores to the dogs who came to lick them. And no one is so rich that he needs nothing, but the sin of the rich man was the sin of omission; this should not be our lot as we ask God for grace not to neglect the poor Lazarus around us. For we are one in the love of Christ. If we die with him, we will rise up to life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the source of all that we have. As we listen to your words today, grant us we pray, the grace to be conscious of the poor around us and ensure we help them in their struggles. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings. Happy Sunday.

Homily For Saturday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 27th September, 2025. The Memorial of St. Vincent De Paul

Readings: Zech. 2:1-5.10-11; Ps. 31; Luke 9:43-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

REFLECTING ON THE REALITY OF DEATH

I once visited a cemetery and I saw on a wall names and dates of so many men and women who had passed on from the community. Then I asked myself in my deep reflection, where are all these people whose names are listed on this wall? Where did they like us before? Are we going to be like them later? Where will all of us in this beautiful community be in the next hundred years? The answers to these questions are difficult to understand because we don’t think about the inevitable event of death

This is not different from what Jesus is reminding his disciples in our Gospel passage today, where after his great miracles, when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: that the Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men and they will put him to death. But they did not understand him. For we heard in our first reading today that: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. And when he was asked, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to find out her breadth and her length.

Dear friends, today we are reminded about the true reality of life, that we all are going to die one day and the dust of our flesh and bones will return to the earth while our Spirit retire to God, knowing that we will be held accountable for how we lived this life. We are going to give back to God the gift of life he has given us, because our life is a temporal assignment. 

So, why not start living this life according to the present reality since we do not know how and when we are going to account for it? Why not accept joyfully who we are now as we work hard to be better tomorrow? Remember, everything is in the hands of God; we brought nothing into this world, and we are taking nothing out of it. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our life is meaningless without you. Grant that we may realise the shortness of this life and so prepare to give an account of how we have lived our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen God bless you 

Homily For Friday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 26th September, 2025

 

Readings: Readings: Hag. 2:1-9; Ps 43 Luke 9:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW HAVE I UNDERSTOOD AND EXPRESSED THE PERSONALITY OF JESUS? 

In life, there is always a moment when we will want to examine and know if our friends can really be trusted, if they truly know and understand who we are and what we represent. This is because, as social beings, we often make friends with whom we can confide and entrust our innermost thoughts and plans. But this friendship does not come automatically, it is developed gradually.

This is the situation between Jesus and his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus asked them, saying: Who do people say I am?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this. For the Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.

 

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal conviction about who Jesus is. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. This is because Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal encounter with the person of Jesus. 

Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: Who is Jesus to me personally? 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 it believes in. 

Today most people are following Jesus without knowing who Jesus truly represents. Some people find it very difficult to embrace the teaching of Jesus because they lack the faith and conviction about his personality, even when Jesus had revealed himself to us through his great miracles and teachings. 

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 profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. This faith is necessary in order to accommodate and overcome the ugly event of persecutions, condemnation and blackmail that we encounter every day in our societies.

Little wonder, we heard the Lord in our first reading saying: A little while now, and I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and the treasures of all the nations shall flow in, and I will fill this Temple with glory. Mine is the silver, mine the gold! It is the Lord of Hosts who speaks. The new glory of this Temple is going to surpass the old and in this place I will give peace. 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and great works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: what can I say is my personal experience of Jesus? Have I personally encountered and identified our Lord Jesus in my life? How have I understood and expressed the personality of Jesus? How has my knowledge of Jesus helped other people to come to faith in Jesus? 

Today, we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are as regards our faith as Christians. We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God, but not rejecting them because we do not understand them. Therefore, let us turn towards God once again with all our hearts and devote our whole lives to seeking to know Him more and more.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you revealed to Peter the true identity of Jesus, your Son. Help us to personally identify the personality of Jesus in our lives and so profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 25th September, 2025

Readings: Haggai 1:1-8; Ps. 149; Luke 9:7-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DEALING WITH A GUILTY CONSCIENCE

Oftentimes, we hear people expressing the phrase: guilty conscience, which is used to express the ugly condition of human conscience which is that part of our life that tells us whether what we are doing is right or wrong. For if you have a guilty conscience, you feel guilty about something because you know it was wrong. But if you have a clear conscience, you do not feel guilty because you know you have done nothing wrong.

This is the situation Herod finds himself in our Gospel passage today who out of pride and selfishness had killed John the Baptist thinking that by that he could silence the voice of truth, but when he heard of the great works of Jesus and could not comprehend it, he perceived that John the Baptist, the voice of truth had returned to life again, when he said: John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus. A situation that shows the behaviour and character of a guilty conscience.

Here, we see how the guilty conscience of Herod made him shiver concerning the personality of Jesus in relation to John the Baptist. This is what happens to us whenever we try to take the role of God in our relationship with others or treat other people badly. And this ugly attitude is what a lot of people are practising today, and as a result, many people are suffering the consequences of a guilty conscience.

This is because most of us are so attached to worldly things. We have let our pride, our ego and our selfish desires blind us from the true realities of life. Little wonder, the Lord in our first reading said: Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, and put on clothes but do not feel warm.

Dear friends, have you offended God or other people, and do you have a guilty conscience about it? What are the things that make us have a guilty conscience? What is the essence of our existence in this world at the expense of injustice to other people? What does God really require from us in this life? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing?

Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world by hurting other people, for nothing lasts forever. Hence we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another. Let us remain faithful to Christ’s mission and be committed wholeheartedly to what God has called us to do.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have come to you with our guilty conscience, for we are so much attached to things of this passing world, with little or no attention to your teachings. Help us to realise that without you life and all we have is nothing but vanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 24th September, 2025

Kindly Keep Me In Your Prayers As I Celebrate My Priestly Anniversary Today 

Readings: Ezra 9:5-9; Ps.Tobit 13; Luke 9:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

“TAKE NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY”

The way things are going in our world today, we really need to think twice about our faith as Christians, whether we are actually ready to live out our faith in the midst hostile environment. Because the hostility, persecution and the influential power of things of this world are not stopping soon rather, it will be getting tougher. 

Therefore, if we are really willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations towards the mission of Christ, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way.

This is what Jesus is teaching his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when he called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 

He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’

Here, Jesus does not directly intend to cause tensions and divisions but he wants to expose the sacrificial nature of our mission. Hence, Jesus demands a total commitment towards the journey of discipleship once begun or not beginning it at all. Because, following Jesus demands the sacrifice of all that we have. 

For none of us can become his disciple if we do not give up our excess desire for worldly pleasures and possessions, and pay our unreserved loyalty and allegiance to God over all other competing loyalties in our lives, including family, self-interest, and possessions. 

This is the situation Ezra in our first reading was addressing when he said: My God, I am ashamed, I blush to lift my face to you, my God. For our crimes have increased, until they are higher than our heads, and our sin has piled up to heaven. But now, suddenly, the Lord our God by his favour has left us a remnant and granted us a refuge in his holy place.

Dear friends, we are called today to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully carry out the mission of Christ entrusted to us. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of the mission of Christ? Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus?  

What are those habitual desires and possessions that are holding us back from making this radical decision today? It is time for us to let them go in order to focus more on the mission  Christ has entrusted to us. Therefore, let us follow the examples of all those who had given their time, effort and even lives for the salvation of many souls.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, today we are called to a sacrificial journey of Christ's mission. Because our excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world has weakened our hearts towards our mission, give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires, so as to hold firm in our faith despite losing people and things that are dear to us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 23rd September, 2025. The Memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

 

Readings: Ezra 6:7-8.12.14-20; Ps.122; Luke 8:19-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DOING THE WILL OF GOD IS THE ONLY WAY TO BELONG TO THE TRUE FAMILY OF JESUS

One of the psychological and spiritual needs of the human person is the sense of belonging, this need is just like the need for food, clothes and shelter. The feeling of belonging is fundamental to our sense of happiness and well-being, for it gives value to life and helps us in coping with some painful emotions as it improves our motivation. Hence, we often want to belong and identify with one another, with our friends and families, with our culture and from one association and group to another.

However, one of the common and safest place to belong is our families, especially when it is rooted in the family of God. So today in our Gospel passage, Jesus speaks about belonging to his family and his relationship with members of his family. When he was told that his mother and brothers were standing outside and wanted to see him. He said: My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.’

Here, Jesus speaks of two ways the people around him could be identified as members of his family. Firstly, he talks about those who belong to the family of his birth, that is, his mother, father and relations. Then his other family which is made up of those who do the will of God.

This family, he says, is his true family, where doing the will of God is the only way of belonging to this family. This is not to say that Jesus is rejecting his biological family; to do so would contradict his own teaching about loving one's parents and loving one's neighbours. However, Jesus is using this opportunity to emphasise that our relationship with God is more important and should be based on our total commitment to doing the will of God through him.

Surprisingly, Mary the mother of Jesus belongs to both sides of the family, for she gave birth to Jesus and also was the first to do the will of God when she said, “Let it be done unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). For this reason she is the first disciple of Jesus and a model for all Christians.

Thus, to be a Christian or a disciple is to enter into the family of Jesus and embrace a new relationship with God and with one another and this is the most important place to belong. All other bonds, including those of blood, should be considered secondary. Because, belonging to God is fundamental to our basic relationships, before all human relations.

For we belong first to God before belonging to our families, after which we all go back to God where we ultimately belong, which will be determined by how we have done the will of God here on earth. And our first reading we heard how the chosen people of God through the help of King Cyrus and Darius. Rebuild the Temple that was destroyed out of disobedience. And now they came back as one family to joyfully dedicate this Temple of God.

Dear friends, where do we ultimately and truly belong? Do you belong to the true family of Jesus? As Christians, we claim to belong to God, do our attitudes and decisions show that we truly belong to God? Do we not often commit ourselves to things contrary to the faith we professed in God?

So, today we are made to know that doing the will of God is the ultimate way of belonging to the true family of Jesus. Therefore, we are called to do the will of God always in order to truly belong to that true family of Jesus where love of God and love of neighbour unite us together.

This is what we see in the life of St. Pio, whose memorial we celebrate today. He is a good example of a disciple who belongs to the family of God. For he understood the sacrificial nature of doing the will of God through the mission of Christ and lived by it. Many came to believe in God through him and many were strengthened in their faith through his works and piety.

Though St. Pio experienced great difficulties in the course of his mission, this was so serious that they almost had his faculty of hearing confessions taken from him because of his spiritual experiences and grace.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we truly belong to you. Give us the grace to always do your will, and as we carry out your activities today, grant success to the works of our hands, through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Monday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 22nd September 2025

 

Reading: Ezra 1:1-6; Ps. 126; Luke 8:16-18

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

YOU ARE A LIGHT THAT ILLUMINATE THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD

Light is a very familiar word in the scriptures; light is a symbol that represents awareness, knowledge, and understanding. Light clarifies, Illuminates, Inspires, defeats darkness, shines fully and freely, it guides, stimulates and motivates, provokes action, irritates those who like darkness, confirms truth, purifies, exposes sin, warms and assures us of safety and also facilitates progress. 

Little wonder, Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light.

So, as people who have been purified by the light of Christ through our baptism, we are entrusted with the mission of illuminating the darkness around us. During our baptism, we were given candlelight which we are to keep brightly burning as a flame of faith in our hearts as we journey with others towards our heavenly kingdom. This, therefore, clearly defines our role in the mission of Christ, which is to illuminate darkness and reflect the glory of God in the darkness of the passing world. 

Hence, every Christian is called by God to influence the world positively through the light of our faith, just like Cyrus, king of Persia, in our first reading, who was the light that illuminated the darkness in the midst of the people of Israel who were in exile. 

For he ordered the people to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple of God, and so free them from the darkness of exile and slavery, and brought the light of hope to the people.

Dear friends, the focus of today’s message is that all of us are called to positively influence the lives of humanity by our attitude and character which should be like that of purifying light. Where there is darkness we should let the light of Christ illuminate. Where pride, selfishness, corruption and greed have brought darkness, let the light of our good attitude and character illuminate it once again. 

Where sin and immorality have made humanity filthy and ugly, let our light of holiness purify. Therefore, we must not let our lights be hidden under the darkness of this passing world; rather, we must let them shine wherever we find ourselves.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle every day to truly carry out the mission entrusted to us, give us the grace and courage to dedicate ourselves, our time, our energy and effort to becoming true light that illuminates our families, society and the world filled with darkness of sin and evil. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.