Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 7th October, 2025

  

Readings: Jonah 3:1-10, Ps. 130, Luke 10:38-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE ACT OF LISTENING IS WHAT THE LORD REQUIRES FROM US

Listening is one of the vital aspects of the human person, which is very much lacking in most of our communication these days. This is because, oftentimes, we worry about so many things in life, trying to let people hear us without taking the time to listen to them. 

Some people are always trying to satisfy everyone without listening to what really matters. I have also come across people who are often worried about how to make others feel more comfortable without minding their discomfort. They are so concerned with pleasing others even when they are not pleased. What a great sacrificial virtue that is not common these days.

 

This sacrificial virtue is the attitude of Martha in our Gospel passage today where we have the story of how Martha was so busy trying to make Jesus comfortable when he visited them at their house in Bethany. But when Martha observed that her sister Mary was not helping out in the preparation. 

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

 

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

It is this act of listening that saved the people of Nineveh in our first reading today because when they listened to the preaching of the prophet Jonah, the whole city of Nineveh went into great mourning and repentance before God. For everyone who listened to Jonah beginning from the King, who issued an order that the whole city and its people should repent from their sins, right down to the lowest among the people, all humbled themselves, tore their clothes and wore sackcloth as a sign of penance.

 

Dear friends, in our relationship with Jesus, are we more of the listener or more accommodating and caring? Are we more like Martha or like Mary, for they were both 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 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.

We can link this situation to the memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, which we are celebrating today. An event where we recall the famous victory of the Christian faithful against the enemies of the Church in the battle of Lepanto, where through the prayers and intercessions of Our Blessed Mother Mary the Church became victorious when the situation of the Christian faith was in extreme danger and was bitterly divided by the various heresies and splinter groups appearing at the time due to the Reformation movement. 

Then, Pope Pius V called all of Christendom to pray the rosary fervently, invoking the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, that her Son, Jesus, would be with the faithful, fighting for the survival of the Christian faith, which was under persecution and trials. And through the power of their dedication to praying the Rosary, God granted victory to his faithful people, and this is the root of our October devotion.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always so busy with the things of this passing world, that we often do not have time to listen to you. Give us the grace like Mary to choose the better part, which is to truly listen to your word and then be well disposed to be caring and hospitable, just like Martha. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 6th October, 2025

 

Readings: Jonah 1:1-17;2:1-10; Ps. Jonah 2:2-7; Luke 10:25-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR INHERITING ETERNAL LIFE

As humans, we are always desiring to know what life requires of us, especially when we are faced with the realities of life. We often want to know the things that should be our priority. So we always ask questions that will help us in addressing most of the challenges we encounter. These questions are sometimes meant to test our ability towards understanding the realities of life.

This is the deposition of the lawyer in our Gospel passage today, who came to Jesus to test him by asking him questions concerning the requirements for inheriting eternal life. This lawyer backing up his question with his knowledge of the Ten Commandments, referred to the 'Shema Israel’,

This is the prayer that the people of Israel knew and recited from their earliest years, from which they learned that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind and to love their neighbour as well. In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do.

But this lawyer needed more clarification concerning these requirements, so he asked Jesus a second important question when he said: Who is my neighbour? At this point Jesus did not just explain, he illustrated who a true neighbour should be with the famous story of the good Samaritan. In fact, from the story, Jesus did not just answer the question: ‘Who is my neighbour?’

He also demonstrates what a true and righteous neighbour should be like, thereby showing us that our neighbours are often those we least expect to be neighbours. For our neighbour can be anyone, even the ones we most despise or fear, just like the good Samaritan, and this tells us that a true neighbour shows compassion, love, and care and makes sacrifices for others.

Dear friends, love is the centre of all the teachings of Jesus, for love is a gift from God to humanity. It is like the stream water, so innocent and pure. True love is not hidden; it radiates from the innermost being of a person who has experienced it. If we love God, then, we will see him in others and treat them justly and honourably. We will not hurt our neighbours but do our utmost best to live in peace with them. This is what Jonah is struggling with in our first reading today.

The truth is that the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today as most families exist by grace and not by love. Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all loved one another. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy community.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, in you, resides the fullness of love. Grant that we may truly love you and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.

Homily For Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 5th October, 2025

Readings: Habak.1:2-3;2:2-4; Ps.95; 2Tim.1:6-8.13-14; Luke 17:5-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HOW CAN MY FAITH MOVE MOUNTAINS?

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 used an analogy of a mustard seed to illustrate the importance of faith. This is very important, for oftentimes, we think that we have faith enough to face whatever challenges come our way.

But the fact remains that we can only know the level and capacity of our faith when we are truly faced with situations that overwhelm our physical, mental and spiritual abilities. Then we will realise that what we think we have as faith is nothing but a shadow of reality.

That is why Jesus exposed the sacrificial nature of discipleship as regards to faith and forgiveness, when he let them know that they must learn to forgive as often as they are offended. Realising how difficult this may be his apostles said to him Lord increase our faith and Jesus using the analogy of the mustard seed said: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you”

Here, Jesus decided to use the analogy of a mustard seed to give us a lecture about having a perfect and complete faith that moves mountains. And mustard seed, as we know, is the smallest of all seeds, which grows to produce the largest of all shrubs. So with the analogy of the mustard seed in relation to faith, Jesus emphasised that if we have the smallest genuine faith, we can do all things.

So, just like the mustard seed, so small but produces the largest of all trees. Therefore, if we begin to nurture our faith to grow and be strengthened from a small, humble beginning, it will grow to the point that it can help us to perform and achieve greater things and conquer the most difficult situations that at first would appear impossible in our lives. So our faith moving mountains implies that spiritual ability to make all difficult and stumbling situations vanish through the gift of faith well nurtured in Christ, the Mustard Tree.

Little wonder prophet Habakkuk, encouraging us in our first reading today, says that God will never abandon his people, for everything will happen in due time for those who have faith, if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without delay. For behold, he whose soul is not upright in God shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

That is why we are told that faith is a supernatural gift of God, which enables us to believe without doubting whatever God has revealed. But when a precious gift is given to us and we fail to put it to use, whose fault is it? The fault of the person who gave us the gift? No. The fault of the gift itself? No. Or the fault of the receiver who has failed to put the gift to positive use? Yes.

So, this gift must be nurtured and put into use if we want to gain from it. Hence, St. Paul in our second reading today said: Beloved, I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control.

He continues: Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. For you have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you.

Dear friends, we must learn to put into positive use the gift of faith God has given us before it can move mountains. And if we want to grow in faith, we must cultivate the humble habit of a mustard seed, which, though small, has the potential of becoming great when exposed to a fertile environment.

For us to have the faith that moves mountains, we must be well disposed to embrace the power of God in our lives, we must desire to have a personal experience of the power of God at work in the world and acknowledge that in him comes our victory over every situation we encounter.

Therefore, we are called to let every moment of difficulties and trials lead us to grow in faith and knowledge of God’s power and authority. So, I don’t know what you are passing through now, especially as regards your faith in Jesus. I don’t know what you are asking God to do for you. I don’t know how ugly the situation in your life has been, I don’t know whatever sickness you're passing through or how abandoned and rejected you feel right now.

I don’t know how stubborn and impossible your situation has been. All I want to let you know is that Jesus has not stopped thinking and caring about you. All you have to do is be confident and put into positive use the gift of faith God has given you the day you were baptised. Do not let that precious gift waste while you suffer for nothing.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, faith is your supernatural gift to humanity, grant that we may embrace this gift even as little as that of a mustard seed, in order to move out of our lives the tough mountains that are crushing us in our daily lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday, wishing you a blessed Month.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 4th October, 2025. The Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi

Readings:  Bar. 4:5-12.27-29; Ps 69 Luke 10:17-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE JOY OF OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE HEAVEN

In the mission of Christ, there are so many things that can make us happy and oftentimes we hope to have more of them. But there is one goal that should be the basis for all our desires. 

And this is what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel passage today, for when his disciples came back rejoicing with the report of how they were victorious on the mission he sent them. 

Jesus said to them:  ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.

Here, Jesus made it clear that the true joy and goal of our mission as Christians is to make heaven, and he warns us to be careful and make sure our priorities and motivations are centred on this one goal of making it to heaven. 

Little wonder Jesus, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.  Thus, if we are ready to open our hearts in humility and simplicity, God himself will reveal many things to us about himself.

Just like St. Francis of Assisi, whose memorial we celebrate today. He was known for his deep spirituality towards listening to the Word of God and his humble act of charity to the poor and needy. He once said we must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others.

Dear friends, this is what we see in the life of Prophet Baruch in our first reading today, when he made a great revelation to the people of Israel, saying:  I suffer loneliness because of the sins of my own children, who turned away from the Law of God. 

Take courage, my children, call on God: he who brought disaster on you will remember you. As by your will you first strayed away from God, so now turn back and search for him ten times as hard; for as he brought down those disasters on you, so will he rescue you and give you eternal joy.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, today we are made to know that the true Joy of our mission is to make heaven, grant that through the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, may we experience the true Joy of your heavenly kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 3rd October, 2025. The Memorial of St Therese Of The Child Jesus

 

Readings: Bar 1:15-22; Ps. 79; Luke 10:13-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GOD EXPECTS A CHANGE WHENEVER WE ENCOUNTER HIM IN HIS WORD

Reflecting on the ugly and fragile nature of our societies and the world as a whole, especially how the streets are full of people struggling and suffering, the markets are full of people buying, selling, cheating and manipulating others.

Our leaders are so busy with acquiring, manipulating and embezzling the common resources, not minding the struggles, the tears, the disappointments that people are passing through every day, as some people have lost hope.

Though we are blessed with every good thing you can talk about, we have misused them and use them to abuse one another. We are just so busy with everything except the very essence of our existence, that is, the salvation of our souls.

This ugly and fragile kind of condition is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today as he continues with his reproaches, this time to cities where he had done great miracles, yet the people failed to embrace the life of the Gospel he preached.

Hence, he reproached them, saying: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you’.

No doubt, Jesus has taught us about the kingdom of God and proclaimed a message of healing and conversion, but his teaching and powerful deeds have not yet been embraced by humanity. Hence, Jesus in this Gospel is not just rebuking the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, but all humanity for not being open to the fruits of his Gospel, calling us to reflect on how we are losing out on what God is offering us. Because God will always have plans to correct us if we are doing wrong.

 In our first reading, we heard how, from the day when the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until today, we have been disobedient to the Lord our God, we have been disloyal, refusing to listen to his voice.

Dear friends, we must not let Jesus say woe to us for failing to embrace the Word of God. Though we might not feel very comfortable with the idea of Jesus rebuking and uttering terrible words of threats on these big and powerful cities that represent all of us and humanity at large. But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: have we really embraced the Word of God we hear every day? Is the Word bearing fruit in our lives?

Can we recognise in this fragile condition the great work that Jesus is doing to save humanity and the need to turn back to God? Do we think that repentance is for others and not for us? Jesus is saying woe to us for failing to embrace and live out the Gospel teachings, because he seems to expect some sort of changes in us when we hear his Words or when we encounter him in prayers.

Therefore, God is calling us to repentance; He wants to come into our souls and dwell Today, He is rebuking all humanity. He wants us to come to Him, for He comes to us more than we go to Him.

Hence, if we believe in God and put our trust in Him, we will have the assurance and guarantee of restoration, for God does not want us to suffer the consequences of our sins; that is why He kept reminding us about the upcoming danger. But, if humanity constantly refuses to believe in God, we may end up in self-destruction.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace your words today, may we, through the intercession of St. Therese, experience your love, joy and healing both physically, materially and more importantly spiritually, as we wait patiently for the restoration of all humanity from the ugly and fragile condition of this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 2nd October, 2025. The Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

 

Readings: Neh. 8:1-12; Ps.19; Matt.18:1-5.10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

CELEBRATING OUR HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS

As humans, we often experience some level of favour, providence and protection which we do not expect. Sometimes we wonder how we managed to escape some dangerous actions on our way or what has inspired and sustained us in doing great works.

The answer to this question is found in the memorial we are celebrating today, that is, our Holy Guardian Angels whom God had set before us, to be our guide and protector in our constant struggle against war that rages in our souls. In this angel we celebrate God’s loving care for each and every one of us, for God sends them to guide and to protect us. They are higher beings than us, but God put them at our service.

The angels have one goal in mind, which is the glorification of God, which, for our sake, consists in our salvation and sanctification. They are prepared to do anything to procure our salvation and increase our sanctification. So, angels do protect us physically, but more than that, they protect us spiritually, especially guiding and protecting our souls from the danger of sin and condemnation.

The angels do this by putting in us a holy fear, or contempt for those evils we know we should avoid. They enlighten our minds in order to help us to know the good we ought to do and the evil we are to avoid, this they do by acting upon the sensible part of our souls, our emotions and sentiments, and so inspire us with joy, peace and the favour of God. For God communicates his message to us through their mediation.

Thus, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus tells us to be humble like little children in following the directives of our Guardian Angels and not be rebellious. As he also warned us from misleading the little children in their faith or in harming them, for their Angels in heaven are constantly interceding for them. He said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Little wonder in our first reading we heard how this rebellious attitude of the human person brought about the capture and exile of the people of Israel. But having gained their freedom, they decided to hear and meditate on the word and laws of God, which, when the word was read and interpreted, they mourned, but Ezra said to all the people, ‘This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not be mournful, do not weep.’ For the people were all in tears as they listened to the words of the Law.

Dear friends, God has always provided for us and protected us. He often sends his Angels before us. All we have to do is to trust in the Lord and follow the directives that our Guardian Angels have proposed for us. Because, they are always before God interceding and praying constantly for us.

They often speak to us and communicate the message of God to us, but we are often too busy and distracted by the noisy things of this passing world, which the devil has been using to lead us astray. We can not give in to his schemes if we remain faithful and attentive to our Holy Guardian Angels.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of our Guardian Angels, today we ask that through their intercession may we always find favour in your sight and before men, and always be defended by their protection and rejoice eternally in their company as we say: Angel of God, our guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits us here. Ever this day be at our side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 1st October, 2025. The Solemnity of Our Lady Queen & Patroness of Nigeria. Happy New Month

 
Readings: Is.11:1-10, Ps.72, Eph. 2:13-22, Matt.2:13-15.19-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

COME LET US FIX OUR COUNTRY CONSUMED BY GREED AND SELFISH PEOPLE

The root of all the problems in our world today is the love of power. People are ready to do anything to be in power and to retain that power. This is what we see in the life of Herod in our Gospel passage today, where the Holy family of Jesus had to flee to Egypt, because Herod planned to kill an innocent child for the sake of retaining his power.

This ugly attitude is not far from us today, especially in our country, Nigeria, which is in a state of distress because of the love of power and greediness among the people in power and even the common citizens.

The fact remains that the elements of good and bad seem inherent in the human condition; it is little wonder that the world involves both good and bad mixed together. This will help us to understand the reason for the corruption, greediness, immoral and social decadence in our country today.

So, as we are celebrating our country, Nigeria, at 65 since our independence, we thank God who has made it possible for us to witness the day. But today’s celebration should plunge us into deep reflection about the ugly condition of this country. We need to ask ourselves, what have we done right? What have we done wrong? How can we do better and what will the future of this country be like?

Dear friends, the rate of corruption and greed in this country is so appalling. People are never tired of acquiring and embezzling public funds for their own selfish gain. The truth is that, we need a radical transformation. A transformation that will bring about a new outfit that makes one a new person, with a new life, a new mind and a new way of doing things.

This is possible only when we understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of greediness, then we will be able to do things the right way, and then our country, Nigeria, will be great again.

For this country will be transformed only when the power of love and goodwill supersedes the love of power, when justice and faithfulness become the habit of every one of us in this country. Then, we can begin to experience that peaceful coexistence and the blessings that Prophet Isaiah mentioned in our first reading.

This will bring the hostility going on in our country to an end, just like St Paul said in our second reading that we shall no longer be strangers in our own country, but true citizens with the saints not just here in our country, try, Nig,eria, but also in the kingdom of God.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, out of selfishness and greediness, we have committed a lot of crimes and injustice against one another. Grant that through the intercession of Our Lady Queen and Patroness of Nigeria, we may resolve to have genuine love and goodwill in carrying out our activities in the societies and our country. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Month, wishing you a blessed Independence Day celebration.