Homily For Wednesday Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 5th February, 2025. The Memorial of St. Agatha

 

Readings: Heb. 12:4-7.11-15, Ps.103, Mark 6:1-6

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

NEVER GIVE UP BECAUSE OF THE WAY PEOPLE TREAT YOU NOW

In life, people are quick to neglect and look down on others, who they believe cannot offer them anything good at the moment. They are quick to forget that everyone, no matter the present condition is a potential instrument for God's blessings. This is the ugly attitude of the people of Nazareth in our Gospel passage today.

For when Jesus came to his home town and taught the people in the synagogue in such a way that they were astonished, but instead of embracing the message of Jesus, they treated him with contempt and in their pride they said: ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers and sisters here with us? Where did he get all these?’

Thus, out of pride and contempt, the people rejected the blessings God had for them. And like the prophets of old, Jesus was not accepted by the very people to whom he had been sent. Because the people showed only little faith, he was only able to cure a few of the sick. But he went on to teach in other villages, while there were some great works done in his hometown. So, if he is not allowed to do good where he would, he must do it some other place.

Therefore, he had to move on, he did not insist on convincing those whose minds were closed. Consequently, they miss out on the blessings he is offering them. So, in their pride,, they treated him with contempt. Today, this kind of ugly attitude is what stops people from doing good because they don’t want to be treated with contempt, and as a result, a lot of people have been deprived of their blessings out of human pride and contempt.

Dear friends, do not treat anyone with contempt, for everyone is a potential instrument of God’s blessings and favour. And if we want to make a difference in life, we should be ready to ignore what people are saying about us now, we have to forget our past failures and our humble beginning. People may not appreciate us now; they may even say all kinds of things about us just to humiliate and discourage us.

But we should not give up, for we are told in our first reading that in the fight against sin, we have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death and when the Lord corrects us, we should not treat it lightly or get discouraged when he reprimands us. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. God is treating us as his sons and daughters, of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness.

Therefore, we should put all our obstacles behind us and work hard for our dreams, give our time to them, sacrifice our sleep and comfort, sweat for it, plan for it, overcome all our terrors of opposition, enduring pains and obstacles, with the help of God we will succeed and become a source of God's blessings. Then we will sing joyfully to God our strength and all the people will gather about us in praise of our God. And they will say: Is not this the Carpenter's sons or daughters? Where, then, did they get all these? Yes, that's who we are, for Jesus is the Carpenter of our success and salvation.

This is what we see in the life of St Agatha of Sicily, whose memorial we celebrate today, for Agatha, who, from her very early years, was notably beautiful. And because of her love for Jesus, she dedicated her life to God as a consecrated virgin. But this did not stop men from desiring her. One of the men who desired Agatha was Quintianus, and because he was of a high diplomatic ranking, thought he could force her to turn away from her vow and so force her to get married. His persistent proposals were consistently turned down by Agatha.

So Quintianus, knowing she was a Christian during the persecution of Christians by Decius, had her arrested and brought before the judge. Too bad for Agatha, because, Quintianus was also the Judge. Hence, he sentenced Agatha to prison in a brothel to see if she would change her mind. But noticing that Agatha was enduring all the torture with a sense of cheer, he commanded she be subjected to a worse form of torture, he ordered that her breasts be cut off.

Amid this torture, Agatha prayed to Jesus and committed her suffering soul to his care. And with tears falling from her eyes she died a virgin and martyr. Today she is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, rape victims, wet nurses and a powerful intercessor for people who suffer from fire outbreaks.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, oftentimes in our pride we treat people with contempt because of their humble background, give us the grace to realize that everyone is a potential instrument of your blessings and favour to humanity, and as we struggle towards our goals, may you crown all our efforts and sacrifices with success. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Homily For Tuesday Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 4th February, 2025

 

Readings: Heb. 12:1-4; Ps.22; Mark 5:21-43

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

PUT YOUR FAITH INTO POSITIVE ACTION AND IT WILL YIELD THE RESULT YOU DESIRE

In our societies today people are going through a lot of difficulties. So, every day, we struggle against these troubles and tribulations, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them. But oftentimes, it seems as if we are not making progress because we don’t have enough faith to subdue our challenges, and out of fear, we fall victim and are helpless. The fact remains that we have faith, but we have not been able to actively and radically put it into action like the synagogue official whose daughter had died but came to Jesus for help and also the woman with a haemorrhage in our Gospel passage today.

In this passage, one of the officials came to Jesus and said, ‘My daughter is desperately sick, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.’ Jesus then rose and his disciples followed him to the official’s house. On their way, a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years came behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak, I shall be well again.’

So, Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again. When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the crowd making a commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and the girl arose.

Here, the father of this little girl had faith and radically put his faith into positive action, for he confessed great faith in the resurrection. He believed that even Jesus’ slightest touch would restore life in his daughter, likewise, the woman with a haemorrhage. This story of the little girl and the woman with haemorrhage has interesting similarities: Both were called “daughters”, and both were restored at the demonstration of radical faith in the touch of Jesus. The woman had been ill for twelve years, and the little girl was twelve years old. Both the woman and the little girl have been cut off from normal societal activities.

On the other hand, there were also differences between them. First, the official is an influential man in the community, but the woman is unclean and an outcast. The man approaches Jesus boldly, but the woman approaches him timidly. The girl was raised based on the father’s radical faith; the woman was restored through her own faith, for she was very sure that the very moment she touched the Lord’s cloak,k, all her troubles were ended, for her body was made whole again.

This woman and the little girl actually represent the sinful humanity in need of God’s mercy, salvation and restoration. The faith and intercession of the synagogue official signifies the great intercessions of the saints and the people of God towards the restoration of humanity. The woman’s bleeding signifies the iniquity of all humanity who are defiled by the constant shading of innocent blood through violence, wars and abortions, thereby making humanity unworthy of God’s presence. Her reaching out to touch Jesus and her restoration signifies the effort each one of us needs to make to reach out to God to be restored and, finally, the willingness of Jesus to heal all of us just as he had healed the woman from all of her troubles and restored the girl back to life. But this requires that we radically put our faith into action.

Dear friends, we are called to put our faith into positive action. For if we have no faith in the Lord and refuse to put our faith in action, we will suffer, and there is no hope for us. I don’t know why we are often stubborn and often hardened our hearts and minds by refusing to trust the Lord, who is so generous and compassionate.

Today, therefore, we are made to know that it is not enough to have faith; we must radically put our faith into action no matter the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection as we heard in our first reading. For it is through active faith that we can reach out to God in prayers and so obtain what we desire.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of faith, give us the grace and courage to put our gift of faith into positive action that yields positive results. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Monday Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 3rd February 2025

 

Readings: Heb. 11:32-40, Ps.31, Mark 5:1-20

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE PRESENCE OF JESUS DRIVES AWAY THE EVIL ONES

There is no doubt that there is an active presence of evil in the world, which manifests itself in different forms and occasions. This is really obvious in the time of Jesus, for he seemed to have lived in a world of hostility, political and family divisions, as well as the conflict between good and evil, just like we have in our world today. Thus, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.

Hence in our Gospel passage today, we see how the presence of Jesus terrifies the evil ones which had possessed a man for a long time and have been tormenting the community. These unclean spirits were so fierce that no one could pass that way. So when the man saw Jesus, he ran to him and said: ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!’ For Jesus had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, and they came out from the men and immediately entered the swine, and the swine rushed into the lake and perished in the water.

Here, we are called to recognize that the presence of Jesus in the world brings about victory over the evil one. For demons recognize Jesus as the power of God. And his power over demons is a direct defeat of the evil one. While the restoration of the man possessed, signifies the inauguration of God's kingdom in the world and the healing of God’s people, who had sinned and disobeyed God by abandoning his precepts and laws, preferring instead the wicked ways of life and worldly practices which leads to destruction.

Dear friends, today, each and every one of us is called to seek good and not evil, to promote justice and integrity, knowing that no matter how great our sins may have been, God alone has the power to heal us and to bring us back to Himself. And Jesus has given us the gift of his presence in the person of the Holy Spirit, which God has bestowed on us in our baptism. In this gift resides the power and authority to confront the evil of this world and overcome it.

Thus, in our first reading, we are challenged to imitate our heroes of faith, who, though they were weak people, were given the strength to be brave in war and bring victory to God’s people. For Jesus has won the greatest victory for us by setting us free from sickness, evil forces and manipulations of the evil ones. He desires to be with us as we struggle every day to overcome the evils in our lives, our families, our societies 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.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of evil and wickedness; give us the grace to seek what is good and hate what is evil, and as we struggle every day to do your will, may your presence be felt and drive away all evil forces in our midst through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings this week.

Homily For Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 2nd February, 2025. The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. (World Day For Consecrated Life)

 

Readings: Mal.3:1-4, Ps.24, Heb. 2:14-18, Luke 2:22-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS INTO THE TEMPLE OF HUMAN HEARTS

Today, in a special way, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation. An event that takes place forty days after the birth of Jesus at Christmas. A day we are reminded of the event of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem. This event serves three purposes; the first is the redemption of the first-born male, which according to the law of Moses, was set apart for God. The second purpose is the purification of Mary, which is done after giving birth, and the third is the Presentation of Jesus into the temple of God, which dwells in human hearts.

Hence, in our Gospel passage today, St Luke explained that Mary and Joseph wished to fulfil all the prescriptions of the law in order to emphasize that Jesus was born into a family of simple people, lowly but of steadfast faith: a family that belonged to the poor of Israel the true People of God. It is important to note that these three purposes are the purification of the mother, the redemption of the son and the presentation, aimed at giving an account of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of God, which dwells in human hearts. A symbol of the reality that shows the act of offering the Son of the Most High to the Father who sent him.

Hence, this becomes the confirmation of the words of the Prophet Malachi which we heard at the beginning of the first Reading: “Behold”, says the Lord, “I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming to purify the sons of Levi. Then the offering will be pleasing to the Lord” (3:1- 4), thereby indicating the role of the child.

The same child Jesus, who is immediately presented in the Temple, is the same person who, as an adult, would purify the temple of our hearts (Jn 2:13-22). Above all, he would make himself the sacrifice and the High Priest of the New Covenant, as we heard in our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. A passage which tells us about the new priesthood instituted by Christ the High Priest.

For which he will suffer greatly as prophecy by Simeon in our Gospel passage concerning both the Child Jesus and Mary the Mother when he said: “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, a sword will pierce through your soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Thus, this is pointing out the salvation which Jesus will bring to his people, that which he embodies in himself, as he passed through the Cross, the violent death by which he was to vanquish death and transform humanity with the sacrifice of his life through love. Hence, he becomes the true Light of the world of which Simeon and Anna proclaimed as a revelation, that Jesus was to be the High Priest of all, who is to absolve and redeem all mankind from their sins. By so doing becomes the true Light that enlightens every man who is born into this world.

Dear friends, today, as we encounter Christ, the true Light of the world presented in the temple of our hearts, let us, of course, allow ourselves to be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let us share in its splendour, and be filled with its radiance so that no one remains in the darkness. Let us bring this Light of Christ into our families and our homes so that through sharing in his light, we may be brought out of the darkness that covers our lives as individuals, families, communities, societies, country and the world at large.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we celebrate the presentation of your Son Jesus today, let the light of his presence dispel the darkness in our lives, in our families, societies and so illuminate our paths as we struggle and journey in faith towards achieving our goals and purposes in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you. 

Homily For Saturday Third Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 1st February 2025

Readings: Heb. 11:1-2.8-19, Ps. Luke 1:69-75, Mark 4:35-41

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HAVE YOU TEL THE LORD ABOUT THE HEAVY STORMS IN YOUR LIFE? 

In this scripture, we often hear stories of how people struggle with heavy storms as they are assailed through the sea. Today our fisherman and the Marine men who were into the sea business can tell us better what it means to be on the sea with heavy storms. A situation where the need to look for a Saviour is highly expected. Such was the case with the disciples of Jesus in our Gospel passage today. It is a story about the disciples’ panic and fear of perishing as a result of the heavy storm that is affecting their boat. 

As this heavy storm was almost breaking their boat, the disciples could not believe that Jesus was asleep while they were afraid and needed help from anywhere. So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Teacher, do you not care if we perish? And Jesus said: “Peace! Be still!!” And the Storm ceased and there was a great calm. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ The men were astounded and said, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him.’

This story signifies God’s chosen people on a transit of faith, frightened by the guilt of sin and wounded by the waves of the sea, the abode of evil forces and monsters of this world. The boat can be taken as a symbol of the faith of the Church and the people of God struggling with the world’s principalities and powers, while the storms are symbols of heavy persecution and suffering by the people of God. 

And Jesus is saying: why are you so frightened, you men of little faith. Little wonder we are told in our first reading that only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. For it was by faith that Abraham when put to the test, offered up Isaac in obedience to God.

Dear friends, have you told the Lord about the heavy storms in your life? There is no doubt that there is an active presence of evil in the world, which manifests itself in different forms as a storm in our lives. So, every day is a struggle against the malice of the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.  Do not be frightened by the storms of this passing world,  have faith in God. 

Today, Jesus is inviting us into his boat of life, thereby calling us to journey on this boat with unwavering faith and a repented heart because the world is being tossed around by the waves of evil forces, the enemies of humanity. And it is only God who can subdue it, for he has promised to restore us back to himself. 

Therefore, I don’t know the great storms of doubt and fear in your soul? I don’t know if you are under the power of the evil forces of this world. I don’t know how long and heavy the storm has been in your life. All I know is that with great faith in God, the heavy storms in our lives will become calm, for Jesus will surely rebuke the violent storms in our hearts so that we can experience once again the calmness of his peace and joy. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God. As we struggle every day to overcome the ugly situation around us, grant that the violent storms and waves of bondage in our lives, our families and the world will end in a wonderful calm that brings peace to our souls. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful and joyful New Month.

Homily For Friday Third Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 31st January, 2025. The Memorial of St. John Bosco

 

Readings: Heb. 10: 32-39, Ps.37, Mark 4:26-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GROWING YOUR FAITH LIKE THE GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED

In the scriptures, 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 things that are very important. 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 the parable of the mustard seed, using it to describe the nature of God’s kingdom which he came to establish in the hearts of humanity. 

Here, Jesus compares 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 to the hearts of all humanity. This analogy focuses on the size of the seed that grows to become a might tree that gives shelter and salvation to all.

More so, Jesus is not just speaking of the size of the mustard seed, but also the faith of the people as that of a mustard seed. Telling us that just as the mustard seed responded to the word of God and grows into a might tree, so will the faith of the people grow into great vessel through hearing and doing the word of God and so build up the kingdom of God. 

Nevertheless, these two analogies of the mustard seed symbolize 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. Hence, in building the kingdom of God, we are reminded in our first reading that we will need endurance to do God’s will and gain what he has promised. For we should not be the sort of people who draw back, and are lost by it; rather, we should be the sort of people who keep faithful until our souls are saved in our heavenly kingdom. 

Dear friends, we need to let our knowledge of God’s kingdom grow like that of mustard seed, knowing that in the world today we have different kinds of seeds. But the question remains, what kind of seeds are we embracing and watering in our lives today? Are we watering valuable mustard seeds of faith, love, holiness, hospitality, obedience, charity that will lead us to God’s kingdom? Or are we watering weeds that are distracting us from attaining heaven. We  must stop watering such weeds, rather let us feed ourselves with valuable mustard seeds. For 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.

This is what we see in the life of St. John Bosco whose memorial we celebrate today for despite the challenges and oppositions he faced in life, he remained committed to his work as a priest and made great impacts in the lives the youths of his time and even in our time for through many people who sharing in his spirituality, he founded the Order of the Salesians of Don Bosco, one of the great religious orders in our society today.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as you sow the seeds of your word in our hearts, give us the grace to grow it into the mustard tree of faith, holiness and hospitality and by so doing build up your heavenly kingdom, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Thursday Third Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 30th January 2025

Readings: Heb. 10: 19-25, Ps.24, Mark 4:21-25

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO LISTEN WITH YOUR EARS

The ears which consist of the pinna are organs of hearing. It is a gift from God through which we have the faculty of being able to perceive sounds and recognize something in an auditory way. To exercise the faculty of this organ effectively we must learn to use it to listen attentively to information. The world, no doubt, is full of noise, echoing different things in our minds through our ears.

But what are we feeding our ears with? How are we using these organs? How has this organ helped us in our spiritual life amid this noisy world? How have we managed the noise in our lives, in families and in society which distracts us from listening to God? What are the things we hear or listen to? The Word of God we hear every day. How has it developed our relationship with God and our neighbour?

Therefore, when Jesus said in our Gospel reading today, “he who has ears let him hear”, he is referring to our ability to listen to God's Word and act on it even amid this noisy world. Thus, what Jesus means is that the person who seeks to gain some spiritual insight into what he is saying will have that insight increased when they listen.

Whereas whoever does not listen to him will end up in spiritual ignorance. To avoid this, we are reminded in our first reading that through the blood of Jesus, we have the right to enter the sanctuary in a new way that he has opened for us, which stirs a response in love and good works when we listen to Jesus.

Dear friends, by listening, hearing and following Jesus, we grow in familiarity with his voice and hear him more. And by so doing we make Jesus the light of our lives placed on the lampstand to give light and insight to our souls as individuals, family and society, illuminating all the darkness around us.

 LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our ears are gifts from you; help us to use them properly. And as we carry out our activities today, may our ears hear the consoling words of Jesus guiding and directing us towards the light of his presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Remain blessed.