Homily For Friday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 1st November, 2024. Solemnity of All Saints

 

Readings: Rev. 7:2-4.9-14, Ps.24, 1John 3:1-3, Matt. 5:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHO ARE THE SAINTS AND WHY MUST WE CELEBRATE THEM? 

Today, the Church celebrates two special events; the first one is the gift of another new month, of which I say happy new month to you all. The second, which is the most important, is the solemnity of All Saints. The Church, as we know, is not just the physical structure we have all over the place; no, the Church is much more than that. The Church is the body of Christ, and every one of us is a member by virtue of our baptism.

This Church is divided into three groups, that is the militant Church, the suffering Church and the triumphant Church. The militant Church are all of us, especially the baptized, who are still inhabiting and struggling with the human flesh. But immediately after death, we belong either to the suffering Church or the triumphant Church.

The suffering Church is the souls that belong to the body of Christ but are still in need of purification. While the triumphant Church are the souls that have been purified by the blood of the Lamb and are united with Christ. They are the saints that we are celebrating today.

Thus, every first November, the Church presents to us the solemnity of All Saints. A day we celebrate the triumphant Church that is all the saints known or unknown to us who have triumphed victorious to heavenly glory, which, of course, reminds us that we are called to grow in holiness and to become saints, for that is our primary goal in life.

This solemnity dates back to the 7th century, and the occasion of its introduction was the conversion of the ancient Roman Pantheon into a Christian Church. Emperor, Phocas gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Church and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints about the year 608. But later in the year 731, Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in St. Peter’s Church in honour of all the saints, and since then, the solemnity of All Saints has been celebrated all over the world.

Therefore, in this great event, we are called to imitate the heroic virtues of the saints by living a life of beatitudes as peacemakers, pure of heart, meek, humble and merciful, as Jesus teaches us in our Gospel passage today. In our first reading, St. John in the Book of Revelation tells that these saints are the people who have been through great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.

Also, in our second reading, he made us know that we are already the children of God, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; but when it is revealed, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is. And everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself and try to be as pure as Christ.

Dear friends, why must we celebrate the saints? We celebrate the saints because they remind us of our universal vocation to holiness. Through their intercessions, they strengthen us in our struggles towards our goal, which is to attain eternal life. They help us to recall our communion with God along with the triumphant church and our duty to pray for the suffering Church. The saints remind us that we are pilgrims on this earth.

Therefore, this solemnity strengthens our faith in the teachings of the Church. No doubt all of us want to become saints, and oftentimes, we really want to live a holy life, but there are always obstacles on our way to holiness; these obstacles make us so aware of our sins, our weaknesses and our failures.

Yes, we are sinners, but so are the saints. They only relied on God’s mercy and grace and so we too. We cannot become holy through our efforts alone we need to cooperate with the grace of God. Remember, anything worth having is worth making sacrifices for, and the more it’s worth, the more significant sacrifices we should be willing to make for it. If holiness is necessary for one to attain heaven. Then it is worth all the sacrifices Jesus mentioned in the beatitudes.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as a militant Church on earth, there are a lot of troubles and challenges we are struggling with; help us through the intercession of all the saints to overcome them and so make it triumphantly to your heavenly kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy new month and a blessed All Saints celebration.

Homily For Thursday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 31st October, 2024

Readings: Eph.6:10-20, Ps 144, Luke 13:31-35

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

TAKE UP YOUR WEAPON OF WARFARE AND CONQUER THE EVIL AROUND YOU

In this world, we struggle with so many things, and we often encounter ugly events and challenges that cause us sorrows and ties. And most times we don't know how to manage those moments. This is because there is an active presence of evil in the world, which manifests itself in different forms. So, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.

Today, St. Paul, in our first reading, encouraged us to be strong and prepared against the attacks and assaults from the evil one, and its wicked forces. He said: Put on the whole armour of God to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against flesh and blood that we have to struggle, but against the principalities and powers originated from the darkness of this world.

 So stand your ground, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and put on the integrity of life for a breastplate, wearing shoes on your feet with that eagerness to spread the gospel of peace and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to put out the burning arrows of the evil one. And then take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. He told us to be firm in our faith in God and to be ready to resist those who are going to try to harm us and bring us down.

This is exactly what Jesus did in our Gospel passage today when some of the Pharisees warned him to leave the area where he was teaching because Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great was after him. This warning was just a way of trying to get rid of Jesus by frightening him using external forces and authority under the name of Herod. But Jesus was not moved by all their threats. For he knows that his mission is part of God’s larger plan which can not be interrupted by any external forces and authority. Hence, he ignored them and continued with his work of healing the people and liberating them from evil ones

Dear friends, our lives are in God’s hands, for we are part of God’s larger plan, and nothing will happen to us that conflicts with God’s wishes and plans for us. All we need is to embrace the whole armour of God in faith, with the belt of truth buckled round our waist, and put on integrity of life for a breastplate, with eagerness to spread the gospel of peace while carrying the shield of faith so that we can use it to put out the burning arrows of the evil ones, using the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. By so doing, overcome the ugly situation we face every day in our societies and families today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and oftentimes, we don’t know what to do. As we embrace your words today, grant that we may find the courage and strength to conquer our fears and struggles against the evil ones, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you and fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 30th October 2024

Readings: Eph.6:1-9; Ps 145; Luke 13:22-30

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

LEARN TO PASS THROUGH THE NARROW DOORS OF LIFE

Life is nothing but a temporal assignment, a journey which begins in the morning so beautiful, full of expectations and hope, but the sojourner does not know his/her destination, purpose and end. The only guide is his/ her willingness to constantly follow the directives of the Sender, who communicates his plans and purposes to those who care and are willing to listen.

Thus, the emptiness and shortness of life make me reflect on my future as a human person and the question that comes to my mind is: "Where will you and I, and the beautiful things of this world be in the next one, ten, twenty, forty, eighty and hundred years for those who are strong? The deep silence in my soul could not offer me any answer to this question. Rather, it exposed before me the teachings of Jesus in our Gospel passage today when he said: try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. For once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.

Here, Jesus calls our attention to the reality of life which we must not take for granted. There is a need for us to follow the teachings of the Lord, for humanity has failed to embrace the life of truth, holiness and love for God and one another. Though this seems difficult and narrow to follow, we prefer to follow the destructive ways of life that are born out of pride, greed and uncontrollable desire for worldly things. There is no doubt that the things of this passing world are so captivating, and many people have been captured by its seductive power and are greatly following it. We must not be victims of this ugly situation. Rather, we must learn to submit ourselves to the directives of the Holy Spirit for he is always ready to guide us along the narrow ways of life.

Little wonder St. Paul, in our first reading today, says that you can be sure that everyone, whether a slave or a free man, will be properly rewarded by the Lord for whatever work he has done well. And those of you who are employers, treat your slaves in the same spirit; do without threats, remembering that you and them have the same Master in heaven.

Dear friends, learn to pass through the narrow doors of life. The worst thing that can happen to us at the last moment of our life is to hear the Lord say: I do not know where you come from. The fact remains that life is indeed very short, and the road that leads to death and destruction is truly wide and very captivating, of which many are captives of its seductive power. But the road to life is becoming more and more narrow because humanity is working so hard to expand the seductive roads and gates of destruction against the narrow gate of life.

Therefore, we are called to embrace the narrow gate and road that leads to eternal life. We must work harder by resisting all the temptations and sinful things of this passing world and embracing the life of love and sacrifice which Jesus has offered us. So, let us turn towards God with all our hearts by removing from our hearts all forms of pride, greed and unhealthy desires that lead us astray down the path of destruction.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our journey of life depends on you, and today, you have called us to follow the narrow gate of love and sacrifice. But the seductive road of this passing world is really captivating, and many are victims of its power; Grant us the grace to resist it, but we journey through the path and gate that leads to eternal life; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. May God bless your little efforts in life and guide you always.

Homily For Tuesday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 29th October 2024

 

Readings: Eph.5:21-33, Ps 128 , Luke 13:18-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE WORD OF GOD NEEDS A FERTILE HEART TO GROW LIKE A MUSTARD SEED

In the scriptures, it is obvious that Jesus often likes to use a simple story to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson when addressing the people regarding very important things. So, 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 told us two parables, the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the Yeast, using them to describe the nature of God’s kingdom, which he came to establish in the hearts of humanity.

In these parables, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed growing from the Word of God spoken to the hearts of his few disciples which will grow and spread in the hearts of all humanity. This analogy focuses on the size of the seed that grows to become a mighty tree that gives shelter and salvation to all.

Here also, Jesus is not just speaking of the size of the mustard seed, but the faith of the people as that of a mustard seed. Telling us that just as the mustard seed responds to the word of God and grows into a mighty tree, so will the faith of the people grow into great vessels through hearing and doing what the word of God says. However, God has given humanity the freedom to choose whether to hear his word and embrace the faith to bear the fruits of the kingdom or to reject it and perish.

More so, this analogy of the mustard seed symbolizes the humble beginnings of the Christian faith which is well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to all the people of the world. However, we need to know that there are good-for-nothing seeds present in this world to deceive people from listening to God’s word, seeds such as fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness and all sorts of sinful acts.

Those who embrace these good-for-nothing seeds follow the dictates of their hardened hearts and will soon be thrown away as good-for-nothing because they have not listened to God’s words. Hence, St. Paul, in our first read, encouraged us to embrace the good seeds of God’s words in our families by giving us the principles that will guide the relationship between husband and wife using the analogy of the relationship between Christ and his Church.

Dear friends, the word of God needs a fertile heart to grow like a mustard seed. But in the world today, we have different kinds of seeds. So, the question remains, what kind of seeds are we embracing and watering in our lives today? Are we watering valuable mustard seeds of faith and love or weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness and all kinds of sinful deeds that will destroy us?

Today, we are called to quit watering these weeds because that's what the enemies want, and we must not fall into their traps. Rather, we are called to water those valuable mustard seeds of faith, love, holiness, hospitality, obedience, and charity and make them our values of life. When we feed and water such values, we will grow stronger like the mustard tree where people may find solace and so build up God’s kingdom.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as you sow the seeds of your word in our hearts, give us the grace to water and grow it into the mustard tree of faith, holiness and hospitality that will usher us into your kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Monday Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 28th October, 2024. The Feast of SS. Simon and Jude, Apostles

Readings: Eph.2:19-22; Ps  19; Luke 6:12-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

A CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP AS FELLOW CITIZENS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD

Will you leave? Will you care? Will you risk? Will you let the Lord lead you? These are questions of great demands which every true disciple must constantly reflect through in life in order to be aware of the seriousness of the commitment required of every one of us as disciples of Jesus. This great demand is presented to us in our liturgy today as we celebrate the feast day of the great apostles St. Simon and St. Jude, and our readings propel us to reflect on our call to discipleship. 

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus, after deep prayers, called from among his disciples twelve apostles of which Simon and Jude were part of the twelve. Simon also known as the Zealot, was a member of the Zealots, the extremists who fought for the freedom of the Israelites against the Romans at the time of Jesus. While St. Jude, often referred to as St. Jude Thaddeus, was a member of the extended family of Jesus.

These two apostles, along with others, followed the Lord faithfully throughout his ministry. Simon, though a member of the Zealot, abandoned his previous life as a freedom fighter to a great missionary along with St. Jude Thaddeus, who was the probable author of the Epistle of St. Jude. These two apostles together served the Lord reached out to many peoples, and evangelized many nations. That is why both of them are celebrated together today, because of their missionary zeal and commitment to God even to the very end of their lives.

 

Tradition has it that Simon spread the Gospel to places like Persia and Armenia, Egypt and Ethiopia and along with Jude, they evangelized throughout Judea, Samaria, Persia, Armenia and other places. Sadly, after many decades of missionary activities, these two great apostles were martyred in Lebanon. They committed themselves wholeheartedly to the mission of Christ and his Church; they converted many and established firm foundations of the Christian faith in many places. Little wonder St Paul, in our first reading, tells us that we are fellow citizens of God’s household that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations and Christ Jesus himself as its main cornerstone.

Dear friends, evangelization is the very nature and essence of the Church. And Jesus gives us the mandate and the commission to evangelize, that is, to announce the Good News to all the nations and to spread the Gospel to every creature. This commission is shared by all those who are baptized both priests and lay faithful. Everyone has a particular responsibility to share in the work of proclamation of the Gospel. Today, we should ask ourselves, how have we proclaimed the Gospel to the world? What efforts are we making to ensure that the mandate Christ entrusted to us is carried out effectively in our generation? 

Therefore, at this moment when the world is confused because we have removed God from our daily lives, at this time when we have placed our hope in the activities of the human person who seems to have taken the place of God, at this time when our governments, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and even pastors assumed the place of God, which of course have brought about the ugly situation we are facing in our societies today. We are reminded once again about our very mission, for it is time to take this mandate very seriously because it is our responsibility to fulfil our promises to God and ensure that the Christian faith is preached and sustained in the world and by so doing save humanity once again from sin, death and destruction that we have caused for ourselves.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are lost in this world, we are confused because we have cut ourselves off from You our cornerstone, as we come back to You once again, please give us the grace to preach the Gospel following the examples of saints Simon and Jude, may we learn from their teaching and walk faithfully in the footsteps of Christ and by so doing draw humanity back to You once again.  We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 27th October, 2024

Readings: Jer. 31:7-9; Ps. 126; Heb.5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD, THAT I MAY SEE!

Nature has made us know that one of the most important organs of the human body is the eyes. The Eye is the organ of sight, it is the most important organ for locating and observing the world around us because the eyes help us to see and observe things. It’s a complex organ that takes in information and sends it to the brain to process and create a command for the whole body.

To understand the importance and safety of this organ, the eye has three layers: the outer layer is fibrous and protective, the middle layer is vascular, and the eyeball is surrounded by a layer of orbital fat for its safety. This is because any eye-related symptoms can be a clue to issues affecting the whole body. Now we can understand the difficult situation of Bartimaeus and the intervention of Jesus in our Gospel passage today

There is no doubt that Jesus has deep compassion for human difficulty and suffering, which springs from the love of God the Father and constitutes the basis of the Church’s liberating activities. This, of course, manifests in different ways in the scriptures and the life of the Church.

Hence, we can see how Jesus manifested his compassion for human suffering in the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who gave us a complete lesson about faith, expressed with total simplicity in front of Christ Jesus. He had faith enough to cry out to Jesus as he passed by, even when he was scolded by the people close to him. His need for Jesus was so great that he cried all the louder: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

Then Jesus asked him a very important question: “What do you want me to do for you?” So even though his need was obvious, Jesus wanted him to mention it. In the same way today, Jesus is asking us: my child what do you want me to do for you? Why not like this blind beggar and tell Jesus what you need? Even though he knows your needs, you still need to present them before him. This blind man needed his eyesight restored, so he said aloud to Jesus, “Lord, that I may see!” And Jesus said: ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.’

Here, we will understand the importance of our physical and spiritual sight. Here we understand the need to ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can see. Most of us are physically and spiritually blind we need to say: Lord, that I may see! Many ugly situations in our lives, family, society and country require us to ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can see.

Are you struggling with difficult situations? Are you confused? Are jobless? Are you looking for a life partner? Are you about to start up something? Are you sick? Are you under bondage or addicted to drugs and sinful attitudes? Is your life falling apart because of your old age or past mistakes? Tell the Lord to open your eyes so that you can see the foresight and insight of life like Bartimaeus.

Today, we see in Bartimaeus, a man whose faith led him to put off his former identity as a blind beggar and cry in hope for restoration. Bartimaeus’s faith involves knowing, believing, proclamation, prayer, personal encounter, liberation and following Jesus. More so, Jesus, in this healing, reveals his compassion towards human sufferings and wants us to imitate Bartimaeus’s faith in our struggles and challenges of life.

Little wonder we heard the Lord through prophet Jeremiah in our first reading today saying: Shout with joy for Jacob! Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout: ‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’ See, I will bring them back from the land of the North and gather them from the far ends of the earth; all of them: the blind and the lame, women with children, women in labour: a great company returning home.

They had left in tears; I will comfort them as I lead them back; I will guide them to streams of water by a smooth path where they will not stumble. Yes, the Lord cares and loves his people. He wishes to gather us together from where we are scattered, humiliated and lost in the world in order to share in his heavenly kingdom which our Lord Jesus came to establish in the hearts of humanity.

Thus, in our second reading, we heard that our Lord Jesus Christ is the saviour of all humanity and the High Priest of all, appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, and so he can sympathize with those who are ignorant or uncertain.

Here, we see the power and mandate of Christ to all towards the missionary activities of the redemption of humanity. So, from the Priestly function of Christ, we all share in the Priestly missionary mandate of Christ which requires sacrifice of all we have: our time, talents, resources and even our lives. Therefore, what obstacles are stopping us from being part of these missionary activities and achieving our goals in life?

Dear friends, what is that obstacle in your life that distracts and limits you from achieving your goals and passion? What is the one thing you need in your life? Have we ever felt helpless? Do we feel the need for Jesus’ help in some part of our lives? Do we know people who are helpless and in need of some help? How strong is our compassion towards them? Let us look at them for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at them. How does he see them? Why not, in faith, present our needs before Jesus, who is willing and ready to help us?

Friends, our country is going through a difficult time due to bad leaders who have put us in a helpless situation. Like Bartimaeus, we need to cry out to God for help. But, what do you really want the Lord to do for you? What is that one thing we need in this country? Let us present it before the Lord today just like Bartimaeus.

So, like Jesus, each one of us is called today to reach out to people around us who are really in need of our assistance. This includes our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues and others who we encounter in life. The truth is that you may be the only person who can bring the healing and compassion of Jesus into their lives today.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the Eucharist today, help us to overcome the obstacles in our lives. May we experience once again your compassionate love and grant our hearts desire according to your Holy will, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.

Homily For Saturday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 26th October, 2024

Readings: Eph.4:7-16, Ps 122 , Luke 13:1-9
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO REPENT LESS WE PERISH

With the ugly situation in our country today, there is no doubt that both the poor and the rich are testifying to it suffering in our society. Hence, we can feel the struggles, the scarcity of food and resources, the kidnappings, the killings, the flooding, the tears, and the disappointments that people are passing through every day. Some people are losing hope in themselves and even in everything they do as they run up and down seeking solutions.
 
The poor are seeking daily bread, upliftment and favour; the rich are seeking protection and good health, while the evil ones are taking advantage of the situation to destroy the little hope and faith of the people. All these are signs from God who gives us the opportunity to repent from our sinful ways of life.
 
This is what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel passage today when he said: “Do you suppose the Galileans who suffered like this were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No, but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Then with a parable of the barren fig tree, Jesus demonstrated how God has made every moment of our lives an opportunity for us to repent and be fruitful.
 
This is clear when he said in the parable, “Look, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.” 
 
Such is God’s patience with us for he gives us the opportunity to turn away from our sinful and ugly ways of life. Repentance is the key message of this Gospel, for Jesus makes it clear that those who suffered and were killed were not worse offenders than others; rather, he uses the opportunity to call us to repentance. Note that the purpose of this message is not for condemnation but for redemption.
 
This is what St. Paul is emphasizing in our first reading saying: we shall not be children any longer, or be tossed one way or another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practising deceit. But if we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together.
 
Dear friends, this call for repentance shows us that it is not too late for us to repent, for this may be the last opportunity. Because we can never tell what will happen in the next moment. We can never tell who is the next to die, and we can never know the form it will take, or where it will occur. All that matters is for us to repent now that we still have the opportunity.
 
Therefore, let us repent now, for repentance helps us to be well-disposed in life and for death. It helps us to live right and at peace with God and with one another. It gives us the courage and confidence to face any situation without fear of death.
 
LET US PRAY: Almighty, ever-living God, You are the author of our lives, freedom and salvation; all we have are yours. Thank you for being with us in our daily troubles, struggles, fears, tears, hope and joy. May you provide for the poor, console the troubled, heal the sick, protect and put simile on the faces of your children today and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and safe weekend.