Homily For Fourth Sunday of Advent Year A, 21st December, 2025

 

Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14;  Ps. 24; Rom. 1:1-7; Matt. 1:18-24.

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

IF GOD IS WITH US, ARE WE STILL WITH GOD? 

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday that ushers us into the Holy Season of Christmas, the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, an event that reminds and reveals to us the great plan of God towards redeeming humanity. Little wonder our readings today focused on the revelation of God’s plan to dwell with us and redeem us. 

Hence, we heard in our first reading how the prophet Isaiah, when the people of God were passing through crises, war and oppression, told King Ahaz to ask for a sign from the Lord, no matter how deep. But in false humility, Ahaz said he would not put the Lord to the test. In response, Prophet Isaiah said: ‘Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of my God, too? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us”

These prophetic words came to fulfilment in the life of Mary at the event of Annunciation, who, having received this message from the Angel Gabriel, accepted God’s will and plan for her. For she is about to have a Child without any human relations but by the power of the Holy Spirit. This grace-filled event reveals the special role that Mary is playing in God’s plan for human salvation. 

But when Joseph realised this, he was heartbroken since Mary was betrothed to him and he loved her so much. But what will he do? How is he going to handle this? The Gospel tells us that Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put Mary to shame, resolved to send her away quietly before the angel in a dream spoke to him about his mission and role in the salvation of humanity.

Here, we see the magnanimity of Joseph’s heart and soul. How he wished to follow his own plan, but God was reserving another plan for him, a greater mission. Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God; he was deeply sensitive to his secret will and was a man attentive to the messages that came to him from the depths of his heart. He did not persist in following his own plan; he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, silently, he was ready to make himself available to the event of the new mission entrusted to him. What a great virtue.

Little wonder the Angel said to him: Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’ as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

Thus, St. Paul in our second reading today said: this news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name. This means that Jesus is the Word of God made Flesh and dwells with us. He is the “Emmanuel” God with us.

But the question before us today remains: is God still with us? If the answer is yes, are we still with God? These questions are very important because a deep reflection on what is going on in our societies and the world at large, one will surely have doubts about the presence of God in so many activities and events in our lives today. I have heard people asking very pertinent questions concerning the circumstances around them, saying: Is God still with us, especially with the present situation in their lives? Is God still with us in this present situation in our country, our societies and our families? Is God still with us with the sad news of killings and kidnappings of innocent souls in our society? 

Is God still with us when greedy men and women are looting the common fund and resources of our nation? Is God still with us when bribery and corruption have become a way of life? Is God still with us when we make and promulgate bad polices and regulations that are destroying human lives and our environment? Is God still with us when immorality and wickedness have become the fashion and a way of life? Is God still with us, brothers and sisters, when true love is seen as a scam or an impossible virtue? Is God still with us when holiness, honesty, integrity, hard work, life of sacrifice and sincerity have become old school? Is God still with us?

Dear friends, the answer to these questions is not blowing in the wind, because God is with us much more than we can ever imagine. But the question remains, are we still with God? Are you standing with him? Is my way of life showing that I am still standing with God? For one thing is sure, you can choose to be with someone but you can not force anybody to remain with you. God has chosen to be with us, and he is always with us, but are we with him? 

Are we still paying attention to him? Are we listening to what he is saying to us? Are we not running away from God? Are we not saying to him, Leave us alone so that we can do whatever we want? Are we not feeling restricted by the presence of God around us? Are we not saying to God, I don’t want you now, come only when I need you? And after we have separated ourselves from God, now we are calling on him whom we have abandoned even when he had never abandoned us. 

Therefore, it is time to come back to God, for he is very much with us. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God; it is time to come back, for he is coming to be with us. I don’t know how tough our activities this year have been, but what is important now is that God is with us, but are we with him? He wants to help us, are we going to listen to him? He wants to guide and save us, are we going to follow him? If the Lord is with us, are we going to remain with him?  

We have left God and followed our own plans, and the results are obvious. Why not learn to follow the plan of God like St Joseph and Mary?  But, like King Ahaz, we have abandoned True Love, holiness, honesty, integrity, hard work and the results are very obvious: hatred, wickedness, corruption, greed, killing, and kidnapping. Now let us come back to God who is always with us. For the psalms today says: Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and a pure heart, who desires not worthless things. Who has not sworn to deceive his neighbours? 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, only the soul for whom you have done great things can truly proclaim with fitting praise the joy of your presence. As we embrace your words today, may we always remain with you who is always with us as we joyfully surrender our whole life, our senses, our troubles, our barrenness and loneliness in anticipation of you coming who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful Sunday celebration. 

Homily For Saturday Fourth Week of Advent Year A, 20th December, 2025

 

Readings: Is. 7:10-14; Ps. 24; Luke 1:26-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

DO NOT BE AFRAID, YOU HAVE FOUND FAVOUR WITH THE LORD

As the great event of Christmas draws very near, the liturgy in a special way today, reminds us about the mysterious event of the Annunciation of the Lord, an event that marks nine months before the birth of Jesus at Christmas, recalling the very moment when our Lord and Saviour was conceived in the womb of Mary.

Here we see how she responded to the revelation of God’s Good News through the Archangel Gabriel saying: I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your Word. With this response, the Word became flesh and dwells among us through a humble Virgin, thereby revealing the arrival of the long-awaited Saviour into the world as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

In our first reading, we heard how King Ahaz also received a revelation from God through Prophet Isaiah, of the coming of God’s salvation to his people. But Ahaz refused to accept the sign, out of false humility, saying that he would not put God to the test even when the prophet had specifically said that God would give him a sign. This shows a lack of faith and disobedience from King Ahaz, which is quite opposite to that of Mary, who humbly accepted God’s will.

When comparing the response of Mary to that of Ahaz, who further led the people of Judah into sin, as he did not follow or obey God’s laws. We will see that his lack of faith is indeed opposite to Mary’s total submission to God, his pride and false humility are opposite to Mary’s total humility and devotion to God. Hence, Mary has become a role model for all of us, as her obedience and willingness to accept her role as the Mother of God and Saviour is something that all of us as Christians should also emulate in our own lives.

Dear friends, this year has been filled with a lot of uncertainty, sorrow and grief, challenges and trials, obstacles, difficulties and suffering all over the world. But we are consoled in today’s Gospel passage that talks about the Annunciation of our Lord and Saviour with the words of the angel, telling us not to be afraid, for we have won God’s favour. This is to make us know that the Lord has special plans for us, if only we can be humble and submissive to God’s will just like Mary, so we too can say in faith: “let it be done to me according to your will”.

Thus, we are called to draw strength, faith and courage from Mary in her total submission to God’s will, knowing that despite all the darkness, sorrow and uncertainties in our country today. God will not abandon his people. His promise of salvation is a reality that we will surely experience.

Therefore, let us entrust ourselves in humility to God just as Mary had done. Let us ask for his mercy and forgiveness as we also forgive one another. It is not the time to judge people or lose faith. Rather, it is time to pray for each other as we grow stronger in faith and in our love and devotion to God. Knowing that he is closer to us in these turbulent times, for he does not fail in his promises.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as the event of Advent comes to its peak, the occasion of the annunciation reminds us of your promises and plans to redeem humanity, as we listen to your words today, may we respond positively to your requests and so be filled with the joy of your presence, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Friday Third Week of Advent Year A, 19th December, 2025

 

Readings Judges 13:2-7,24-25, Ps. 71, Luke: 1:5-25

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU

Oftentimes, things happen in our lives that we can not explain how and why they happened. This is to tell us that we are unique and special, because, in our uniqueness, we come to realise that God has a special plan for everyone. This is evident in our readings today, where we are presented with the message about the visits of the angel announcing the birth of great men, born to barren women, in the Old and New Testament scriptures.

In our Gospel passage, we have Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist and the unnamed mother of Samson in the first reading today. They remind us that God is in control of human history and intervenes graciously in favour of the helpless and despised. For he knows how to guide us towards his plans for us.

Thus, the Angel Gabriel was sent to bring good news to Zechariah, who did not believe his words. The first message of the angel to Zechariah was: “Do not be afraid!” Up until now, most people do not know the plan of God for them and this causes fear in their lives. So, the message of the angel continues to be valid, “do not be afraid”, for God has a plan for everyone and through prayers, God reveals his plan for us.

Dear friends, the greatest plan of God is the salvation of our souls, to reconcile the heart of humanity toward their Creator, to reconstruct the fabric of human relationships and to build up a community of love and holiness. This was the mission of Samson, John and also the mission of Jesus and continues to be the most important mission and plan of God today through his Church. But, how are we contributing towards this mission? Remember, it is on this mission that we discover the purpose and plan of God for each one of us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, every day we struggle to identify ourselves with your plans for us, grant that we may faithfully follow your plans and find joy in doing them, no matter how difficult they may be, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and fruitful week.

Homily For Thursday Third Week of Advent Year A, 18th December, 2025

 

Readings Jer. 23:5-8, Ps. 72, Matt.1:18-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE OF PLAYING OUR ROLE IN THE ECONOMY OF LIFE 

As we continue the preparation for the birthday of our Lord Jesus, the liturgy today presents to us the events preceding the birth of Jesus and invites us to contemplate especially the roles St Joseph played in the life of Jesus and Mary, as our gospel passage today presents to us how Jesus Christ was conceived. A challenging moment in the lives of Mary and Joseph.

Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, was found to be with a child; but Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare Mary’s publicity, decided to send Mary away quietly with great sorrow. 

He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit, she will bear a Son, and you shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from sins. We could imagine the great trauma Joseph was going through when we think about the love he has for Mary. But even in these circumstances, he intends to do the will of God.

Hence, we can see how this Gospel passage reveals to us the magnanimity of Joseph’s heart and soul. How he wished to follow his own plan, but God was reserving another plan for him, a greater mission. Joseph was a man who always listened to the voice of God; he was deeply sensitive to his secret will and was a man attentive to the messages that came to him from the depths of his heart. 

Joseph did not persist in following his own plan; he did not allow bitterness to poison his soul; rather, silently, he was ready to make himself available to the event of the new mission entrusted to him. This reveals to us how deep and great St. Joseph’s holiness of life was.

Dear friends, the challenge to every baptised Christian is to live a holy life, and God cannot abandon us in this struggle. For he promised us in the first reading to raise up for us a righteous branch who shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in our land. He shall save the needy when they cry, the poor, and those who are helpless. Look at how the Lord helped Joseph in the challenging moment of his life, giving him grace to cooperate with his will, even when it seemed difficult. He said to him, “Do not fear”. 

So like Joseph, we should not fear to face those challenging moments of disappointment, pain, sorrow, guilt, betrayals, complex and complicating situations in our lives, for by combating them comes our victory and through the power of the Holy Spirit our souls are purified and the will of God is made manifest in our lives. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, give us the grace to imitate the silence and holiness of St Joseph, especially in a world full of noise, iniquities and distractions. A world that encourages neither recollection nor listening to you nor one another. Grant us the grace to cultivate the inner attitude of silence and recollection to fully embrace the spirit of this season to joyfully experience the glory of Christmas. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a grace-filled day.

Homily For Wednesday Third Week of Advent Year A, 17th December, 2025

 

Readings Gen.49:2.8-10, Ps. 72, Matt 1:1-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW CAN MY GENEALOGY BE TRACED TO THAT OF CHRIST? 

Advent season, as we know, is divided into two parts: the first, which runs from the first Sunday until the 16th of December, dwells on the second coming of Christ, the eschatological aspect of Advent. 

While the second aspect, which focuses on the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem, runs from today, 17th -24th December. Hence, the best way to begin this second aspect of Advent is by reflecting on the genealogy of Jesus Christ our Saviour as we have it in our Gospel passage today. 

From this genealogy of Jesus, we can observe that generations come, generations go, great men and women came and passed on, new generations continue to spring up as God continue to unveil his plan for humanity. 

Just as he revealed to Jacob in our first reading today when he gathered all of his sons and their own families, and said his parting words as he was about to die. He blessed all of his children, some more than others, and from among all of the children, Judah stood out to be the one who received a more favourable blessing.

This shows how the Lord had revealed through Jacob what he was going to do for the people of Israel and for humanity. Judah's kingship over all Israel was given to David, who became the rightful king and God’s chosen one, and God promised that David’s house would rule over Israel forever, which is evident in the genealogy of Jesus. 

Dear friends, this is our own generation, but the question that comes to mind is: to what extent can our genealogy be traced to that of Christ? Can my way of life be linked to that of Christ and his genealogy? 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? 

Therefore, let us use this great opportunity of the Advent season to open our hearts, our minds and our whole beings for the Lord. Let us return to the Lord and focus our attention on him as we renew our faith in him and play our role in his plan of redeeming humanity.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we open our hearts to embrace your coming, may you continue to watch over us and guide us in our journey of faith and as we struggle with the ugly situation in our world today, may the Holy Spirit, teach us what to do today, how to do them, when to do them and give us the grace to do them properly. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. May God bless and guide your ways today and always.

Homily For Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent Year A, 15th December, 2025

 

Readings Zeph. 3:1-2,9-13, Ps. 33, Matt. 21:28-32

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO CHANGE YOUR MIND AND DO THE RIGHT THING

One of the gifts that God gave to humanity is the gift of freedom. This freedom, though, comes with great responsibility, since we are responsible for whatever comes out with regard to how we manage our freedom. We are free to choose whatever we like, but we are also responsible for the consequences of our choice. 

However, because of our fragile nature, we often make grievous mistakes in our choices even when God has given us all the necessary guidelines towards making the right decision, but out of disobedience, we frequently fail to follow these guidelines. Today we are meant to know that repentance and obedience are necessary dispositions towards attaining our ultimate goal in life, which is eternal life.

This is exactly what today’s Gospel passage is addressing, when Jesus, in the parable of the Two Sons, said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, “My Son, you go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went. 

The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, “Certainly, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did the father’s will?’ ‘The first’ they said. Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. 

Here, we see how repentance and obedience helped this first son to make the right decision about his father’s request while the second son failed because of negligence, irresponsibility and disobedience. 

Thus, the second son represents those of us Christians who promised to work for God’s kingdom but have failed, and so exclude ourselves from the kingdom. While the first son represents those ‘sinners’ who first chose to go their own way but now have repented and begin to follow the way of the Lord, by so doing, they have gained access to God’s kingdom. 

So in the first son, we see someone who reflected on his decision, realised that he was wrong, and decided to make it right by taking full responsibility for his decision. For when the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. But if the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. 

This is because the righteous would perish for their sins of disobedience, while sinner would be saved by their act of repentance and obedience. This tells us the importance of repentance and obedience when rooted in humility, for they are necessary dispositions towards attaining eternal life.

This disposition is exactly what Prophet Zephaniah is emphasising in our first reading when he called us to repentance so that when that day comes, we need feel no shame for all the misdeeds we have committed against the Lord. Thereby teaching us the right disposition that we all have been called to show in our daily lives especially in our relationship with our God and with others.

Dear friends, in our journey of life, have we made wrong decisions, but find it difficult to change our minds and put things right? Are we thinking of leaving the right path to follow the sinful paths because of the ugly condition we are passing through now? 

Are we thinking that our righteous ways of life have not been fruitful because sinners are gaining more ground than we are? Are we living in sin now thinking that God will not punish us? Or are we thinking that it is not possible to repent now because of the gravity of our sins? 

The truth remains that God is watching and waiting for us to change our minds. He is waiting for us to decide to make things right and take responsibility for our actions. He is watching and waiting for us to repent and have the right disposition to make the right decisions, but his waiting can not be for eternity. All we need is the right disposition that is rooted in humble obeisance and repentance of our sinful and ugly ways of life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we have often abused the gift of freedom which you have given us and have strayed from the path you have made for us as a result of our sinfulness. Give us the grace of true repentance in humble obedience as you guide us through the right path of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday of the Third Week of Advent Year A, 15th December, 2025

 

Readings Num. 24:2-7,15-17, Ps. 24, Matt. 21:23-27

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

RECOGNISING THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS

In our dealings with people, we are often requested to make reference to authorities in order to back up our claim to know or possess anything. And when such authority is not available, we may not be taken seriously.

Little wonder our gospel passage today presents to us the fundamental question concerning the source of Jesus’ authority, namely, whether it is divine or human. Here, the chief priests and elders were more concerned to learn whether Jesus had received the proper human authorisation by questioning the source of his authority.

In response, Jesus draws their attention to John the Baptist and his authority, and by so doing, he implies that the source of John's authority is the source of his as well. Thus, anyone who correctly identifies the source of John's authority will definitely identify the source of Jesus’ own as well. Therefore the questions we need to ask ourselves are: What is our notion about the authority of Jesus?

Do we have any doubt about the authority of Jesus? How much of this authority dwells in you? The crowds identified the source of John and Jesus’ authority as divine, have we personally identified the divine authority of Jesus in our lives? Why not ask him to manifest his power and authority once more in your life?

Little wonder we heard how Balaam in our first reading acknowledged the authority of God, saying: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, oracle of the man with far-seeing eyes, the oracle of one who hears the word of God. He sees what Shaddai makes him see, receives the divine answer, and his eyes are opened. How fair are your tents, O Jacob! How fair your dwellings, Israel! A hero arises from their stock, he reigns over countless peoples. His king is greater than Agag, his majesty is exalted.’

Dear friends, as we go on with our programmes this Advent season, we need to open up our hearts to truly embrace the authority of the Lord Jesus. We need to build up our interior lives around his authority. We need to be closer to God and continue to prepare ourselves physically and spiritually as we anticipate the coming of our Lord Jesus in our hearts and in our souls. For there he awaits our response to his invitation to holiness and love.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in your divine authority we build our confidence and hope. May you continue to direct and guide our ways and bring our plans and purposes to a successful end, through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s another week, wishing you the best of God’s favour and blessings.