Homily For Tuesday Fourth Week of Lent Year C, 1st April, 2025. (Happy New Month)

 

Readings: Ezek. 47:1-9.12 , Ps. 46, John 5:1-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DON’T GIVE UP THE LORD WILL SOON INTERVENE IN YOUR SITUATION

In this life, there is a principle that we need to understand, that is, the principle that says that every day is a gift from God. Which, of course,, is another great opportunity to experience and encounter the Lord. So, I don't know how you woke up today, I don't know what troubles your mind. But all I know is that today is another gift of God to us; I am excited and hopeful and am going to live it with all joy, not trying to change things that I could not change or try to fix things that do not want to be fixed.

But I will do my best to overcome my daily challenges knowing and hoping that one day I will hear Jesus saying to me, do you want to be healed again? Rise, take up your pallet and walk, just as he said to the sick man in our Gospel reading today. Here we see how a man who was struggling every day to overcome the ugly situation in his life was healed by a single command from Jesus.

This happened on a day like every other day when he heard Jesus saying: do you want to be healed? As the man was busy narrating his past failed efforts of having no one to put him into the pool when the water was disturbed, Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your pallet and walk, and immediately he was restored.

This great and miraculous event brought deep joy into the life of a hopeless man who, out of joy, went about expressing his healing. And this draws the attention of the people who marvelled at what had happened to him. However, the Jews were more concerned about the Sabbath law rather than the mercy and love of God. An ugly attitude that sometimes happens among us where we disregard the good of others over laws and regulations.

Dear friends, the Lord wishes to heal us no matter the duration of the situation we are going through. But we shall not let the ugly and failed events of the past distract us from receiving God’s blessings today. We should rather focus on the blessings that come with the gift of today.

We must learn to follow the directives of the Lord, knowing that he will lead us to the healing water that flows east down to the Arabah from the sanctuary and in it, we shall find every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal, thereby making all things wholesome again as we heard in our first reading today.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, a lot of people are passing through a difficult situation which has lingered for a long time. As we listened to your words today, may we hear the voice of the Lord saying: arise, take up your pallet and go home. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It's Tuesday, may the Holy Spirit guide your paths and bring your plans and purposes to a glorious end.

Homily For Monday of Fourth Week of Lent Year C, 31st March 2025

  

Readings: Is.65:17-21 , Ps. 30, John 4:43-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED HIS PEOPLE

The ugly situation in our world today, may seem to most people that God has abandoned his people. It may seem as if the Church is not doing enough for its people. It may seem as if our governments have failed. But the fact remains that God is ever and always closer to us than we can ever imagine. He has always desired that we pay attention to his teaching and directives through his Church, the scientists and those of our leaders who are making sincere efforts to ensure the good of the people. 

But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through the daily activities we experience? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do with the gift of knowledge, skills and talents God has given us? Do we pay attention to the word of God we hear every day in the house of God, on the streets and through other means of communication? Perhaps we are the ones who have abandoned God, and now we are confused and afraid as a result of this ugly situation in our societies and in the world.

Dear friends, no matter how we feel about the situation we are passing through today, we are called not to give up on God or his Church or the human agents through whom his help comes to us, for God has not abandoned his people. We all need to have our ears opened so that we can hear and understand fully the message God is communicating to humanity through the ugly situations we are passing through today. 

For God is saying to us, fear not, come back to me, have courage for the storms will soon be over. And if you turn back to me with all your heart, I will restore your land, no more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days as we have it in our first reading today. In the Gospel, Jesus says to the court official: “Go home, your son will live”,, and the man believed him and went home. By the time he got home, his son was healed.

Therefore, we must have faith in God and sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to his Holy name. For his anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. Our world He will redeem from the ravage of corruption, pride, selfishness, sin and shame. 

LET US PRAY, Lord God, you are the source of all that is good; as we listen to your words today, may you grant our hearts desires so that we may obtain the Joy of your presence to build our faith strongly firm in your words. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.

HOMILY FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C (LAETARE SUNDAY), 30TH MARCH, 2025. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

 

Readings: Jos. 5:9.10-12; Ps. 34; 2 Cor.5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3. 11-32

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

I WILL ARISE AND GO BACK TO MY FATHER AND ASK FOR HIS MERCY

Today, the Holy Mother Church celebrate Laetare Sunday, an event that occurs every fourth Sunday of Lent. It is the only Sunday we are called to Rejoice during this Lenten season. It is a special Sunday when we have a brief pause on the penitential nature of the Lenten season to focus more on the joyful expectation of the glorious coming of Easter celebrations. Hence we are called to focus our attention on the joy of Easter in order to help keep our faith focused in the right direction.

Brethren, every day of our lives, we make choices that we think are good for us. But the root of any choice we make comes from the fundamental option we have made for or against God; to love or to be selfish, to be good or bad, to be holy or sinful. And any choice we make has great consequences, which can be positive or negative, as we have in the parables of the prodigal son in our Gospel passage today.

In this parable, we can identify three main characters: The Father, the elder son and the younger son. The three characters represent the attitude of the group of persons in which Jesus was addressing in the Gospel. First, the attitude of the tax collectors and sinners, who were seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say. Secondly, the attitudes of the Pharisees and scribes who complained, and then Jesus, who is seen as a righteous man who welcomes sinners and eats with them.

Looking at the attitudes of these three characters in the parable, we can deduce that the attitude of the Pharisees and Scribes depicts that of the elder son who is obedient to his father but passes judgment on his disobedient brother, the attitude of task collectors and sinner depicts the younger son who seeks reconciliation and forgiveness from his father. The attitude of the Father can be seen in the person of God (Jesus), who went out to welcome the prodigal son (task collectors and sinners) and went out as well searching for the elder and dutiful son (Pharisees and Scribes).

This parable is also applicable to our present context, where the Church is seen as the merciful Father who welcomes, accommodates and lavishes her love on both saints and sinners. Meanwhile, the saints and the righteous ones in the Church are seen as the elder son who is obedient and faithful to the Father. While sinners, unbelievers are seen as the prodigal son who has travelled to a far distant country seeking to come back to the Father.

But the questions we should ask ourselves are: where do I belong in the whole picture of this parable? Am I lost in sin? Have I travelled far away from God and his Church? Where am I now in my relationship with God, what is the state of my life? What is my attitude towards my neighbour, my family, my father, mother, children? What is my attitude towards those who have offended me in grievous ways? What is my attitude towards notorious sinners (armed robbers, murderers, prostitutes, drunkards, drug addicts, womanizers, liars, the wicked, greedy and corrupt people)? Can I accommodate them if they repent?

Dear friends, today we are exposed to human sinfulness and God’s mercy. For we heard the Lord in our first reading saying to Joshua, ‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’

Hence, God is calling us to repentance. Sin has taken us away from God. It is time to come back; we are lost in a faraway land of sin, and it is time to come back. The excess desire for the things of this passing world has separated us from God; it is time to come back. Unforgiveness, greed, corruption, wickedness, resentment and jealousy have separated us from God; it is time to come back to God.

 It doesn't matter what we have done or how sinful we may have been, no matter how grievous. God is waiting for us to come back. He wants to hear us say like the prodigal son: I will arise and go to my Father and say, Father, forgive me for I have sinned against heaven and before you.

Little wonder St. Paul, in our second reading today, said that God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself. For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. Since it was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handling this reconciliation

Friends, God wants to meet us at the confessional, he wants to meet us in the Eucharist, he wants to meet us in those persons we have offended and those who have offered us. He wants to meet us in those we have refused to forgive. He wants to meet us in our families, in your husband, your wife, your children, your neighbours, and your colleagues in the office and marketplace. He wants to meet you in that man who is suffering in prison and hospital because of your unforgiveness. All he wants us to do today is to say, am sorry to those who we have offended and to forgive those who have offended us.

The choice is yours, don't wait until is too late. Why not make a call to someone today and say to him or her, I have forgiven you? I just realized how wrong I have been; please forgive me. If we can do this, then we will see how blessed our life will be in this Holy season of Lent and we will find reason to rejoice at Easter. Remember that conversion is not just about sinners becoming holy; it is more than that. It is about experiencing and acknowledging the love of God every day of our lives.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, sin has separated us for your love; as we listen to your words today, may we come back to you just like the prodigal son, with a repented heart and strong will to remain faithful like the dutiful son, knowing that you as our merciful Father awaits our return. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration..

Homily For Saturday Third Week of Lent Year C, 29th March 2025

Readings: Hosea 6:1-6, Ps. 51, Luke: 18:9-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE AND DISPOSITION TOWARDS PRAYER

Prayer is part and parcel of our Christian life. It is the act of raising up our minds and hearts to God. But sometimes we find it difficult to carry out this exercise because we don't understand how or what is demanded of us or the best disposition to prayer.

Today in our Gospel passage, we heard how two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.”

While the tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Hence, Jesus said, the tax collector went home at rights with God; the Pharisees did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

Dear friends, we are called to cultivate the right attitude and disposition towards prayers. For in prayer, we are not to give God instructions or present our profile of piety, but our disposition should be that of humility and contrition like this tax collector. We are to present ourselves to God just like a good servant will report for duty and wait for instructions from his master. So, we are to respond in obedience to God's instructions in prayer, for there we encounter God in the innermost part of our being.

Thus, we are called in our first reading to return to the Lord in prayers, for he may tear us to pieces, but he will heal us; he may strike us down, but he will bandage our wounds since what he wants is love, not sacrifice, humility and not holocausts. Therefore, we have to cultivate the right disposition and learn how to communicate with God the right way through prayer.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we do not know how to pray as we ought, as we listen to your words today, may we learn how to cultivate the right attitude and disposition towards prayers. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s the weekend, wishing you a peaceful and joyful day.

Homily For Friday Third Week of Lent Year C, 28th March, 2025

 

Readings: Hosea 14:1-9, Ps. 81, Mark 12:28-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

LOVING GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOURS IS ALL THAT IS REQUIRED OF US 

 

Oftentimes, when we are faced with the realities of life, we want to know the things that should be our priority. What should be the most important thing to focus our energy on? What should become the foundation of all the things we need to do? In fact, we always desire to know what is required of us in this life. This is the deposition of one of the scribes in our Gospel passage today, who came to Jesus and asked him a question concerning which commandment is the greatest.

 

In response Jesus reminds them of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that they knew and recited from their earliest years from which they learnt that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all thy soul, and with all their mind; that is, with all the powers and the more noble faculties of the soul, the mind, the understanding, judgment, and will. Jesus then added that to love one’s neighbour is the second priority.

 

This is just very practical because anyone who loves God will naturally love all God’s children, who are, of course, in a very real sense,e, our neighbours. We must love every single person because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do. 

 

Hence, it is not possible to separate the love of God from the love of neighbour, for it is one commandment with two parts which will be the criterion for the final judgement of God. Thus, prophet Hosea, in our first reading, calls us to come back to the Lord our God, for our iniquity was the cause of our downfall. It is time to come back to the Lord, who loves us so much.

 

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

 

I don’t know if you have ever loved someone and you show it, or someone loves you and you know it. The fact is that it actually feels right and awesome because love brings healing and wholeness into people’s lives. Love is peace, Joy, strength and passion; love is stronger than death; it is that nature of God which we share.

  

Therefore, it is by loving God in our neighbours that we can share and experience this nature of God in us and by so doing we will conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and sin. The truth is that the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today as most families exist by grace and not by love.

 

Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all loved one another. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy humanity. Remember, God loves you so much.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in you, is the fullness of love; as we listen to your words today, may we truly love you and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a lovely day.

Homily For Thursday Third Week of Lent Year C, 27th March, 2025

 

Readings: Jer. 7:23-28, Ps. 95, Luke: 11:14-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

ARE YOU WITH GOD OR AGAINST GOD? 

Having journeyed with the Lord in the Midst of all the ugly situations going on in the world today. It is time to examine our conscience to know if we are still truly with the Lord in this journey of faith. This is the question we need to constantly ask ourselves because not all those who are journeying with us are really sharing the same faith and destination with us. Thus, how to identify those who are with us in this journey is what Jesus made clear in our Gospel passage today.

In this Gospel, Jesus said ‘he who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’ This statement was made when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law accused Jesus of using the power of Beelzebub to cast out other demons. Hence, Jesus rebuked them, saying that the devil and demons would not have divided among themselves if they were to achieve their goal, which is the destruction of humanity. 

Dear friends, today, as we listen to the words of God, we are called to turn back to God and abandon our sinful ways in order to be and remain with the Lord. Little wonder, in our first reading today, we heard prophet Jeremiah reminding us of the need to be with the Lord as we make our journey, thereby reminding us of the need to repent and to change our ugly ways of life. Therefore, we must make up our minds to follow the Lord. The world as we know it is offering us so many things, good and bad alike. 

But sometimes the options are so confusing and we must make choices. To make the right choice, we need to make a fundamental option that will form a solid base for all the choices we will be making in life. To make this fundamental option, we need to understand not just where we are physically but, where we are existentially in terms of our convictions, goals, desires, dreams and the destination of our soul in this journey of life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we make the examination of conscience, help us to discover who we are and who we are journeying with. May we never be against you and your family, the Church, as we hope to remain united as one big family of faith, with one Father and one goal, which is to be united with you in your heavenly kingdom. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Third Week of Lent Year C, 26th March, 2025

 

Readings: Deut. 4:1.5-9, Ps. 147, Matt 5:17-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HOW TO OBTAIN TRUE GREATNESS

To be great is the dream of most people, but often time, when reflecting on the emptiness of life and the things of this passing world, I can not but ask myself: what is that thing that one really needs to obtain in life that will be referred to as true greatness? I find the answer to this question in our Gospel passage today.

In this Gospel passage, Jesus while describing what true greatness means said to his disciples as he is instructing us, that the man who infringes even one of the least of his commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven. Here, Jesus points out that keeping and teaching the commandments of God is the sure way to achieving greatness not just here on earth but also in heaven.

So, as Christians, we obtain true greatness by keeping and teaching the commandments of God. It is our duty to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments by our ways of life. Therefore, we need to be serious about how to carry out our responsibility towards keeping and teaching the commandments of God. We need to start practising what we preach; we need to do more witnessing than preaching.

It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to blatant injustice and utter prophetic declarations and denunciation; these kind of words lack real meaning of our faith unless they are accompanied by effective action manifested in our way of life. Hence we need to acknowledge that our authority as Christians comes from God who through Moses commanded us in our first reading not to forget the things our eyes have seen, nor let them slip from our hearts all the days of our lives; rather, we should tell them to our children and to our children’s children.’

Dear friends, today Jesus tells us that he has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to complete them, so we are not called to compromise the teachings and laws of God to suit our wrong motives and parade ourselves as Christians, teachers, pastors, prophets. Rather we are called to live them out so that our actions should reflect the paternity of God in the way we live and serve others, knowing that true greatness is found in keeping and teaching the commandments of God, of which Jesus tells us that the greatest of these commandments is to love God and our neighbour.

Therefore, true greatness is rooted in our love for God and our neighbours; Jesus emphasized that it is too bad to break one of these commandments, but to teach someone else to do the same is a terrible,, evil thing to do. Thus, we should ask ourselves today, am I breaking these commandments and teaching others to do the same through my attitude and way of life? Am I following my own opinions contrary to the commandments and laws of love which Jesus has taught us by his way of life? Or am I keeping and teaching these commandments through my attitude and my way of life? The answers to these questions are not far from us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, all good things come from you, as we struggle to sincerely witness our faith and keep your commandments, grant us the grace to keep and teach them by our way of life and so obtain the Joy of true greatness in this world and in your heavenly kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.