Homily For Friday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 23rd January 2026

 

Readings: 1Sam.24:2-21; Ps.57; Mark 3:13-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

RESPONDING POSITIVELY TO GOD'S CALL AND MISSION

 

As Jesus continued his work of evangelisation and mission towards the salvation of humanity, he needed people who would be entrusted with this mission. Thus, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus chose twelve apostles out of his disciples. He called and separated them from the crowd so that they would be with him. And he gave them power to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, and to cast out devils.

 

Here, Jesus clarifies the extreme nature of his mission, which he will entrust to his apostles, so that those who would follow him must first count the cost because they will definitely share in his sufferings to share in his glory. Thus, Jesus, who had earlier given the disciples explicit instructions about his mission, makes known to the apostles their specific mission.

 

Consequently, 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. Absolute commitment is a necessary quality for this mission. Jesus did not choose people because of what they were. Rather, he chose them for what they could become under his direction and power.

 

This is what we see in the life of David in our first reading today, where we see the magnanimity of David’s heart, for he refused to kill Saul when he had a perfect opportunity to strike Saul and claim the Kingship of Israel for himself. 

Although he has been chosen as the new King of Israel, that should not have justified him to murder a person in the time of his weakness, and even less so to do so for the pursuit of power and personal glory, as most people do today. This is because David was truly filled with love for God and respect for Saul. He did everything to serve the Lord according to his will and mission for him.

 

Dear friends, how are we responding to God's call and mission? How best are we carrying out this mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and casting out the devil? How are we relating to those we judge to be sinners and those we see as our enemies? 

What efforts are we making to convert them? Remember, as followers of Christ, we are called to journey with Jesus in love and compassion towards others, even in the midst of suffering, rejection, and persecution.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you called and chose us to be with you to bear witness of our salvation to humanity, help us to have the missionary zeal that will enable us to live with integrity, purity and detachment from the things of this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily For Thursday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 22nd January, 2026

 

Readings: 1Sam. 18:6-9,19:1-7; Ps. 56; Mark 3:7-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD WISHES TO SET US FREE FROM THE SHACKLES OF THE EVIL ONES

Today, in our Gospel, Mark provides a summary of Jesus' activities among people from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, and even the pagan regions of Tyre and Sidon. Telling us that Jesus is really concerned about the struggles of humanity and wishes to set us free from the shackles of the devil

As Jesus heals the people and performs great works, most people wish to see Him and to touch Him. The people were so numerous that Jesus himself was concerned with the danger of being crushed by the multitude.

Thus, he asked disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd would not crush him, for they were crowding forward to touch him. And from the boat, he spoke to them and healed the sick, and set free those possessed especially the excluded and the marginalized who came to him with their ailments.

Those who were not accepted in the society of the time were accepted by Jesus. The power of evil, which causes great fear in people, was overcome by Jesus, so we do not need to be afraid of Satan anymore.

Dear friends, Jesus wishes to set us free from sickness and the forces and manipulations of the evil ones. He desires to be with us as we struggle every day to overcome the forces of evil in our families, society and the world at large. Therefore, we should not be afraid to stand firm against the manipulations of the devil, because Jesus will not abandon us in this battle of life.

This is evident in our first reading today in the case of David and King Saul. For out of jealousy for what the women attribute to David as a way of praising God for the victory he gave them through David, Saul has a hatred for David to the point of planning to kill him. This should not be our disposition; rather, we should learn to appreciate what God has accomplished through other people and not behave like Saul, who became jealous of David.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle every day to do your will, may your presence be felt in our midst through Christ our Lord. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Wednesday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 21st January, 2026. The Memorial of St. Agnes

 

Readings: 1Sam. 16:17:32-33.37.40-51; Ps. 144; Mark 3:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

NO LAW SHALL RESTRICT US FROM DOING PEOPLE

From the scriptures, it seems like every encounter that the Pharisees had with Jesus was always aimed at finding faults with what Jesus was doing. But to their greatest surprise, Jesus will always escape and use that opportunity to communicate an important message to the people. Such was the occasion in our Gospel passage today.

When on a Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure the man on the Sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But knowing their thoughts he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’

Then Jesus said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it? And said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious and began to discuss the best way of dealing with him.

Here we see how Jesus demonstrated his compassionate care for humanity, for the most important thing for God in this world is the human person. That's why he makes all efforts to save humanity from damnation. He desires to see us making an effort to become faithful and holy.

His mercy is so deep that he proposes it as the guiding principle for the perfect fulfilment and interpretation of the laws of life. Thus, Jesus in this passage has to teach us that humanity’s welfare should not be neglected because of laws and regulations. That nothing should restrict us from doing good to people not even the laws of the Sabbath.

Therefore, in as much as we desire to honour God’s laws we must seek the good of people as well. This is what the Pharisees have failed to understand, for they are rather fault-finders and self-righteous people, who only wish to mislead the people and suppress the truth and the good works of others, just because of their selfish desires to sustain their ego, pride and their worldly ambition.

But we should not be like them, rather we should be compassionate and merciful for that is what we are called to do. We should learn to be courageous and resist any law or people who use laws or their physical position to oppress others. We should learn from David in our first reading today who courageously confronted Goliath and defeated him despite his intimidating physical appearance and so brought victory to God’s people who were intimidated by Goliath.

This is what we also see in the life of St. Agnes whose memorial we celebrate today. For as a noble young Roman woman, St. Agnes had many suitors and those who were interested in her, but she rejected them all for she had dedicated and consecrated her purity and virginity to God, and will not allowing any of those men to desecrate her virginity and sanctity. So out of pride and jealousy suitors became very angry at her, and reported her to the authorities as a suspected Christian, since to be a Christian was a crime punishable by death.

On account of this, the Roman prefect, named Sempronius condemned her to death and attempted to kill her by various methods. First the attempts by several men to defile her virginity by force failed because they were immediately struck blind before they died. The attempts also to hurt her by other means such as burning on a stake also failed for the flames refused to burn the wood. But eventually she was beheaded by being stabbed in the throat and that’s how Agnes met her end through martyrdom and brought glory to God and his mission.

Dear friends, today we are called to know that no law should restrict us from constantly doing good to everyone. We are called not to be fault-finders who are blindfolded by pride. We must also renounce all sorts of prideful actions and wickedness that may destroy our relationship with others and the purity of our souls. Therefore, let us be compassionate and merciful for that is what we are called to do in this life, especially in this moment when our societies and families are really in chaotic situations.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we often fail to listen to your teaching because of our selfish desires and pride, help us to always listen to you and be willing to do good, especially in the interpretation and application of laws and regulations. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 20th January 2026

 

The Feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi

Readings: Phil 2:1-11, Ps. Is.12:2-6, Matt.13:44-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS OUR ULTIMATE TREASURE AND HOW ARE YOU ACQUIRING IT?

There is no doubt in my mind that every human being desires to make it into the kingdom of God. But what will lead us to that kingdom is where people have challenges that will often make it seem as if they are not interested.

Therefore, what are the things that will help us to understand the importance of embracing those things that will lead us to God's Kingdom? This is what we have in our Gospel passage today, where Jesus used two parables to describe to the people that the kingdom of God is the greatest and ultimate treasure anyone can and should acquire.

Here, he describes the kingdom of God as the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. However, the kingdom is open for all, but not all can be suitable to dwell in it; only those who on the judgment day are found suitable can be admitted into the kingdom. Using these parables Jesus explains what the kingdom of heaven is like and what we need to do in order to acquire it.

Thus, in the life of Blessed Michael Iwene Tansi whose Feast we celebrate today, we see a man who understood these parables, one who discovered the great treasure of heaven, sold everything and acquired it. In Tansi, we see how the light of faith was sown in him like the mustard seed grew to give hope to many people.

 Tansi was born in Aguleri, Anambra State, in September 1903, but died in Leicester, England, on 20th January 1964. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Onitsha. He was known for love of neighbour, healing and reconciliation of the people with God, with oneself, with one another and with the created reality.

Tansi dedicated himself not only to daily contemplative prayer but also to active ministry. He evangelized the youth, prepared couples for marriage, visited the sick, was a very good confessor, promoted vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and provided for the needs of the poor.

Hence, in Tanis, we see a man who understood that the kingdom of heaven is so precious and great that it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures.

Dear friends, obtaining the ultimate treasure of heaven requires the sacrifice of all our worldly possessions. Though in the world we have different kinds of treasures. But the question is: what is your ultimate treasure and how are you acquiring it? How are we searching for it? Are we really ready to sacrifice all for this treasure?

So, let us learn from Tansi, whose life shows us how the humble beginning of the Christian faith sown in him was well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to people of the world.

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading says that though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped. For he rather emptied himself in humble obedience to God his Father. Therefore, today we are called to empty ourselves of the passing things of this world in order to humbly acquire the heavenly treasure, just like Tansi, who humbly sacrificed the treasures of this passing world in order to embrace the treasures of heaven.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of distractions from false treasures, through the intercession of Blessed Tansi, give us grace to discover the treasures of your kingdom and nurture these treasures in faith, holiness and hospitality which we received during our baptism in order to give up all our attachment to worldly possessions in pursue of the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Feast Day!! 

Homily For Monday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 19th January, 2026

 

Readings: 1Sam.15:16-23; Ps. 50; Mark 2:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

PRESERVING THE NEW LIFE OF GRACE WITH THE FRESH SKIN OF GOODWILL 

 

Reflecting one of my favourite communion hymns titled New Life, especially its chorus that says:

New Life! New Life, You came to bring us new life,

New life, New life, we find such Joy in your abundant Life.

 

This hymn calls our attention to the gift of New Life which Jesus is offering to humanity. A gift that differentiates his disciples from other people. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where we read about the observation made by the disciples of John the Baptist concerning the relationship between Jesus and his disciples and their new ways of doing things. 

So they came to Jesus and asked him questions regarding their manner of fasting and feasting. Jesus used this opportunity to educate them about the New Life of grace which he has come to offer humanity.

 

He said to them: Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast. For no one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth onto an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.

 

Here Jesus gave two responses to the question. First, people do not fast when they are in the company of the bridegroom which is a time for celebration. For Jesus is the groom and as long as he is around, it would be inappropriate for his disciples to fast. However, a time will come when the groom will no longer be with them, then they will surely fast, telling us that fasting should be done at the right time for the right reasons. Moreover, being in a relationship with Jesus is more important, because, what the bridegroom is to the bride, that's what Jesus is to the souls of all who believe in him.

 

Then, in the second response, Jesus shows that he is bringing something totally new which should not be mixed with the old way of life. He emphasized the importance of pouring new wine into fresh wineskins and the need to avoid using a new cloak to patch an old one. Here, the fresh wineskins refer to a new heart that has put off the old cloak of sin and looks forward to the new wine of grace through the process of conversion.

 

So, as his bride, he loves us with a deep and everlasting love. He pays all our debts to God; he supplies all our daily needs; he sympathizes with us in all our troubles; he bears with all our infirmities, and does not reject us because of our weaknesses. He regards us as part of himself:  We share in the glory that he has received from his Father. These are the privileges of all true Christians who are called to the heavenly kingdom.

 

So, Jesus is teaching us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of ritual or ceremonious fasting or feasting. But is about building a personal relationship with God who loves us personally and unconditionally. Little wonder, we heard Samuel telling Saul in our first reading that, in our relationship with God obedience is better than sacrifice.

 

Dear friends, what is that old garment in our lives that we are patching with the new? What is that old wine of habitual sin that we are pouring into the new wineskins of our redeemed and purified souls? today we are called to a fresh response towards embracing the New Life of grace which Jesus is offering us. We are called to put our New Life of grace into the fresh skin of restoration. As we think about these, let us struggle to avoid our old sinful ways of life and fully embrace the new righteous way of life that Jesus is offering us.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, You are the source of our new life, for in Your light we see light. Grant us the grace of true and total conversion so as to find such great Joy in your abundant Life of grace and mercy, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and favourable week

Homily For Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 18th January, 2026

Readings: Is. 49:3.5-6; Ps. 40, 1Cor. 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING AND PARTICIPATION IN THE MISSION OF JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD

Today is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Liturgical year A, which begins immediately after we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord last Monday. The beauty of this season lies in the fact that it invites us to live our ordinary life as a journey of holiness, faith and friendship with Jesus in order to continually discover our vocation and mission, which is rooted in Christ’s own mission.

Hence, our readings today present to us a call to encounter and follow the Lord, which points out the mission of the Church in proclaiming the word of God and our part in this mission.

Thus, in our Gospel passage, we heard how God has called us through John the Baptist to follow Christ, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world. This is clear when John the Baptist in our Gospel saw Jesus passing by and declared: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For this is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

Here he is pointing out the essence of Jesus’ mission, telling us about the great Servant of God, whose mission was to bring sinners back to God as we heard in our first reading through prophet Isaiah saying: ‘It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Considering this great task of Jesus, John introduced him as the Lamb of God and not the Lion of God and also described the Holy Spirit as a dove, not a hawk which is more powerful. why? Because the Lamb is the most gentle, harmless and loving creature of God, while the dove is a gentle bird, a symbol of peace and goodwill.

So these images tell us about the person of Jesus and the approach by which he will carry out his mission. Consequently, Jesus, the gentle Lamb of God, gently died for our sins, so that we could live in joy and freedom as God’s children, teaching us to do the same in our relationship with one another.

Thus, how to effectively carryout this vocation and mission is what St. Paul spoke about in our second reading as he addressed the Church and the faithful in Corinth and indeed to all of us Christians, who have been called to follow Christ and have been sanctified and blessed to be God’s chosen people, who are reunited and brought together from the world to bear the fruit of love and holiness of life. Hence, St. Paul addressed us as: the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, he reminded us that we are called to holiness every day of our lives, especially in this ordinary time. He made us to know that we are not meant to defile our bodies through any forms of ugly attitudes such as fornication: for the body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. For God who raised the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too.

Hence, we must keep away from any forms of defilement such as: adultery, fornication and impure thoughts. Because all the other sins are committed outside the body, but to fornicate is to sin against our own body. And our body, as we know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in us to help us in our vocation and mission this year.

Dear friends, today we are called to holiness towards the mission of following Christ the Lamb of God, for there are so many things that are distracting us from our mission and vocation, and are leading us into sin, and we are so attached to them because the world has sexualized almost everything around us. The television, the internet, the music, movies, cartoons, and even our social and religious activities are corrupted by these sexualisation motives.

This, of course, drives and tempts us to commit the sins of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and masturbation. Because we have lost the virtue of self-control towards our sexuality, which of course is the cause of the increase in rape, incest, divorce and all forms of gender transformation going on in our society today. The main point here is for us not to indulge in sins that will ruin our souls.

Therefore, as the year unfolds, we are all challenged to live a holy life as the Lord has taught us. And as we carryout our mission, we are called to follow the way of the Lamb. That is, we are to be the most gentle, harmless and loving children of God. We must be a symbol of peace, compassion and goodwill. We are not to force people to believe in God by the use of intimidation or force, and neither should we use any forms of tricks or false persuasions. Rather, we should be more selfless and forgiving in our interactions with one another, putting aside our pride, ego and selfish desires, knowing that the grace of God is always sufficient for us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle every day to do your will and respond positively in the mission and vocation entrusted to us, give us the grace to be responsible with our sexuality, especially in this time when the world as lost the true meaning and value of human sexuality, and as a result so many lives and families are being destroyed. Help us we pray to find joy, courage and solace in your saving grace as you guide us through the year. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration. 

Homily For Saturday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17th January, 2026

Readings: 1 Sam. 9:1-4.17-19.10:1; Ps. 21; Mark 2:13-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD CAME TO CALL SINNERS AND NOT THE RIGHTEOUS

The mission of Jesus is often misunderstood by people who feel that they should be the ones to dictate to God what to do. But Jesus will always surprise them and use them to set a good example for the rest of us. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, which presents to us the call of Levi who was a tax collector, a presumably public sinner. As Jesus passed by, he said to Levi, “Follow Me.” This is a present-tense command, which is a call for Levi to leave his old way of life behind and to begin a new life of following him.

But why would Jesus have any interest in a man like this? There is only one word that can answer this question, that is, grace. Despite his ugly occupation, his ugly lifestyle, his failures, and his sins, Jesus loved Levi, and he called him to a new life. The fact remains that, Jesus never condemned anyone nor does he judge people by their past behaviour. He is only interested in what they can be now and in the future. There and then, Levi drops everything and goes after Jesus just the same way Peter and Andrew, James and John had also done.

Later, when Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, several known sinners and tax collectors were at the table with him and his disciples. This was a real scandal for the scribes and Pharisees. For them, if Jesus really was a Rabbi he would have had nothing to do with such people. But Jesus replied: It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous but sinners.

With this statement, we are meant to know that Jesus' whole mission is the salvation of souls and the redemption of people to wholeness. And the best way to achieve this is by having direct contact with them. But we are often not present where people are most in need of hearing God’s message. Sometimes, we tend to side with the Pharisees and feel we should keep away from sinful and ‘immoral’ people.

Dear friends, we need to learn that the Gospel message can most effectively be communicated to those who have lost touch with God and the meaning of life by reaching out to them. We should not be afraid to reach out to people, especially those who have been captured by the things of this sinful world.

For we heard in our first reading today that Samuel encountered Saul and, before anointing him, said: Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart. It was after this encounter that Samuel anointed Saul, for the word of God is something alive and active: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit and can judge the secret emotions and thoughts of everyone of us.

Hence, Jesus' calling Levi to follow him shows that with God, there is great mercy to pardon the greatest sinners. There is grace to change the greatest sinners and make them holy. And this is a great sign of hope for anyone who thinks that God has abandoned him or her because of sin or past ugly ways of life. God is not interested in our past ugly and sinful ways of life. Rather he is interested in what he can make out of us now and in the future.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, your love and compassion for humanity are so great that, even in our sinful and ugly ways of life, you never abandoned us. So Lord, when sin separates us from you, may your grace and providence bring us back. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.