Homily For Tuesday Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 1st July, 2025. HAPPY NEW MONTH

 

Readings: Gen. 19:15-29; Ps. 26; Matt 8:23-27

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE LORD IS STILL WITH US EVEN IN OUR DAILY STORMS OF LIFE

Have you been in 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.

With this heavy storm 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, ‘Save us, Lord, we are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?’ And with that, he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and all was calm again. 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 storm is a symbol of heavy persecutions and suffering by the people of God. And Jesus is saying: Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith.

Today, Jesus is calling us to journey on this boat of life with an unwavering faith and a repentant 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, just like Lot and his family in our first reading today.

For the angels urged Lot, ‘Come, take your wife and these two daughters of yours, or you will be overwhelmed in the punishment of the town of Sodom and Gomorrah and so they escaped the destruction.

Dear friends, the Lord is still with us in our daily storms of life. So why are you so frightened by the storms of this passing world? Why is your faith shaking because of your present situation? Though, 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 if you are in the town of Sodom and Gomorrah. I don’t know if you are heading to destruction? All I know is that with great faith in God, the heavy storms in our lives will become calm, for Jesus and his angels will surely rebuke the violent storms in our hearts so that we can experience once again the calmness of safety, peace and joy.

LET US PRAY: O 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 will end in a wonderful calm that brings peace in our souls, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a Fruitful and Joyful Month.

Homily For Monday Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 30th June, 2025

 

Reading: Gen. 18:16-33; Ps. 103; Matt. 8:18-22

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

LEARN TO FOLLOW THE LORD WITHOUT MAKING EXCUSES 

The path to success is so rigorous, strenuous and competitive. The strong pass through it and are celebrated, while the weak will always quit or give up. Hence, a lot of people have not been able to achieve their goal in life because they always have excuses to give. Oftentimes we hear such people saying I want to do this but.., I could have done it but..., I thought of it but… I was almost there but... 

This kind of attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when  one of the scribes came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’

Here, it seems as if the Lord Jesus was very harsh when he said that those who have chosen to follow him have no place to call their own or that those who died ought to be left on their own to be buried. This is not the case here; rather, Jesus is emphasising that to be his follower requires serious commitment and sacrifices at all times. 

That following him requires a life of total self-denial, and the man who wishes to follow him most reflects thoroughly what following Jesus would entail. So Jesus made it clear that following him would mean giving up many of the personal comforts that one enjoys.

This is evident in the life of Abraham who was called to detach himself from his family in order to follow the Lord. And having separated himself completely from his family, he was able to relate with God more closely to the point that God can not hide anything from him. So in our first reading today, we heard how knowing about the destruction that was about to come before Lot, his brother, Abraham interceded on their behalf.

Here, Abraham was bold enough to bargain with God, as businessmen or women do when bargaining with a customer. Who could imagine someone bargaining with God who owns the universe? At first, we may think Abraham to be a bit rash to do such a thing. But the truth is that God was actually encouraging Abraham in the virtue of prayer. 

Remember, God took the initiative by revealing His purpose to Abraham, His friend, who was moved to pray, based on what he knew of God’s character, attributes and person. This is possible when we choose to give up everything and follow the Lord. 

Dear friends, for us to succeed in life we need to pass through some rigorous steps and stop making excuses. Sometimes the rigorousness of the paths may seem difficult and impossible, but in the end, they form the experience that will propel us to success and sustain us as well. 

So as we journey through the rigorous path of success in our mission and vocations, let us be encouraged by the life of Abraham, knowing that none of our sacrifices and contributions in the mission of Christ and his Church will be in vain.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, following you requires giving up everything, teach us how to faithfully embrace our vocation and mission in life without making excuses. May we be ever more nourished by your word and find in it the fount of grace to journey the path of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week.

Homily For Thirteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time Year C. 29th June 2025. The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

 

Reading: Acts. 12:1-11; Ps. 34 ; 2 Tim. 4:6-8.17-18; Matt. 16:13-19

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

EMBRACING YOUR UNIQUE MISSION JUST LIKE SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

There is something deep and unique about every person as regards the master plans of God for humanity. But sometimes it takes personal experience to discover this uniqueness. I don't know if you have ever had an experience that made you think about your purpose on this earth, as you realise the emptiness of this life. A kind of experience that turns pride into humility, sinfulness into righteousness, an experience that changes your perspective about things or people?

This is the kind of experience Saints Peter and Paul, whose solemnity we are celebrating today, had with Jesus on different occasions that made them change their perception of life as they embraced their mission and mandate from Jesus. 

Their very encounter with Jesus brought a great transformation. Thus, Simon left his fishing profession and became a Fisher of men and a preacher of the word of God with a new name, Peter the Rock on which Jesus built his Church, the same thing with St. Paul.

This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where Peter demonstrated an act of faith as he gave an inspired answer to the question about the personality of Jesus. And Jesus stresses that Peter's faith is a gift from the Father when he says: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 

Here the key represents the authority to open the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to judge whether to admit or to refuse. While the expression “binding and loosing” refers to the doctrinal decisions and disciplinary power of St Peter. that is, the faculty to impose and to lift. This is a guarantee that Peter’s decisions in the exercise of his ecclesial function are valid in the eyes of God. 

And that is why in the iconographic tradition we see the keys in the hand of Peter,  because, the faith given to Peter by God is the rock on which Jesus built his Church. This is what St Peter expressed in our first reading today when he said: “Now I know that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen”.

Meanwhile, Paul’s encounter brought true conversion in his life and changed his perspective about Christians with a new identity, changing his name from Saul to Paul. A name indicating his new mission as the Apostle of the Gentiles. Little wonder that the iconographic tradition represents St. Paul with a sword. The image of the sword refers to his entire mission of evangelisation, and that was the instrument with which he was killed. 

No doubt that St. Paul carried out his mission with all his zeal and passion, he is regarded as one of the apostles, and today his works still speak about the effect of his personal encounter with Jesus. Hence, we heard him saying in our second reading: I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his appearing.

Thus, the relationship between Peter and Paul is designed by God for the mission entrusted to them. Their lives are symbols of unity in one missionary mandate of Christ. St. Peter was entrusted with the leadership of all the Apostles and the Church, while St. Paul was empowered and entrusted with the mission to the Gentiles (Gal . 2:8). For this mission, they both suffered martyrdom for the faith and their love for God and the mission entrusted to them by Jesus.  

This very sacrificial life of love is what we are celebrating today, as being represented in different images and statues of Saints Peter and Paul as seen in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica, in the seminaries and in parishes, of which they are easily recognizable by their respective attributes: the keys in the hand of St. Peter and the sword held by St. Paul, showing us the fraternal zeal and unity of these two Apostles on their way to martyrdom for the love of Christ. 

Dear friends, like Saints Peter and Paul we must learn to bring our unique mission into one missionary mandate of Christ. This is important following the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today. 

Hence, we are called to examine our conscience to know where we are with regard to our faith as Christians, we are called to be convinced of who we are and the need to truly unite together in God and His Church entrusted to St. Peter of which the get of the underworld shall not prevail against it. 

LET US PRAY: Almighty and ever-living God, as we begin our day with the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, create in us we pray, a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit of true faith within us, so that your Church may truly be united as one. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.  Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Saturday, Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 27th June, 2025. The Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Reading: Gene. 18:1-15; Ps. Lk. 1; Matt 8:5-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

CONTEMPLATING ON THE IMMACULATE HEART OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Biologically, the heart is the main organ in the circulatory system of the human body. It is the structure primarily responsible for the circulation of blood and transportation of nutrients in all parts of the body. This special task uplifts the role of the heart as a vital organ whose normal operation is constantly required. In biblical language, “heart” indicates the centre of the human person where his sentiments and intentions dwell.

Yesterday we celebrated the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Heart where we embrace God’s infinite love and mercy for humanity and His will for our universal salvation. Following the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Immaculate Heart of His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Hence today, the liturgy invites us to venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people.

Here we recall Mary’s great love for God, her faith and piety, her commitment to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and how she loved her Son dearly from the moment of conception, his birth, his finding in the Temple and even up to his passion of the Cross. We contemplate that when Mary followed her Son faithfully as he picked up his Cross and bore that burden to Calvary, she bore and pondered all these sorrows deep within her Immaculate Heart.

This is the event we celebrate today, where we recall how Mary having struggled to understand the mysterious events in the life of her Son Jesus, stored up all these events in her heart. A heart that is propelled by love and filled with genuine faith in God, a heart so pure and contemplative. For such is the immaculate heart of Mary, having been conceived without sin, and pure from any taints of evil and wickedness.

Yet, this loving and caring Immaculate Heart has to endure great sorrows and in the midst of these sorrows she did not stop being loving, compassion and caring to her Son and also to all of us, as she fulfills the mandate entrusted to her by Jesus at the Cross of Calvary saying: Mother behold your son and son behold your mother. By this mandate, all of us are blessed to have been placed under the maternal care of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a great saint and our role model.

Dear friends, today we are called to imitate and embrace the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose maternal care we have been commended by Jesus at the Cross of Calvary. So, let us like Mary express our faith in God just like the Roman centurion in our Gospel passage today, who sorts help for his sick servant, he approached Jesus for healing, but when Jesus accepted to come to his home, the centurion hesitates, feeling unworthy of Jesus’ presence in his home, said to him “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed”.

What a great faith, unlike Sarah in our first reading who doubted the promise of the Lord. But we are truly fortunate to have received such abundant love and compassion from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary his mother, who is also our loving mother. Let us therefore cultivate a heart that mirrors that of our mother, let us imitate the purity of her heart, let us be caring, loving, contemplative and compassionate in our relationship with one another.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we imitate the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, graciously grant that through her intercession we may be a worthy temple of your glory and make our hearts a loving, caring and compassionate vessel for all through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life)

 

Reading: Ezk.34:11-16; Ps. 23; Rom. 5:5-11; Luke 15:3-7

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

CELEBRATING THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS WHERE TRUE LOVE ABIDES

Today, the Church celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. An event that occurs every Friday after Sunday, in which we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In this solemnity, the Church invites us to contemplate and celebrate the love of God pouring forth from the Most Loving Heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd, whose heart was pierced for the salvation of humanity.

A great act of love which God revealed through his influences on mystic saints such as St. Gertrude the Great, which was made more obvious through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the revelation she had around the 17th century.

In this revelation, the Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showed her his heart and the anguish and sorrow which he had for the sins and disobedience of humanity, despite the incomprehensible act of love, compassion and mercy that God has lavished upon us.

Then the Lord said to her: “Behold the Heart that has loved so many men, and yet, instead of gratitude, all I received were ingratitude…” and asking in particular that the Friday after the week in which the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is celebrated should be dedicated to him as the Feast of reparation to the Most Sacred Heart. The Lord also promised St. Margaret Mary that all those who devoted themselves to His Most Sacred Heart with faith will be protected and receive the graces of God.

So, the long development of these revelations led to the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus as we have it today. Though it was Pope Pius IX who extended and placed this great Feast and Solemnity in its current form and honour.

Moreover, this great feast also marks the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life, keeping in mind that the priesthood is the product of Christ's sacrificial heart of love for humanity.

Hence, we remember all of us priests who have been called to model ourselves after the life of Christ’s love by giving ourselves to the ministerial priesthood, that we may truly model ourselves and our hearts after that of the Most Sacred Heart of Christ the Good Shepherd.

Let us be filled with love for all humanity while recognising that the priestly life is a very difficult undertaking, especially in our world today. Let us be supported by all, knowing that priests, though humans just like everyone, have their flaws and imperfections, but we are at the same time held up to a much higher expectation to care and guide the people of God.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all our difficulties, challenges, daily temptations and pressures of life, we are called to abide in the loving heart of Christ, for he who abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:7-16). Little wonder, St Paul in our second reading says: The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us.

For we were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man, though, of course, for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die, but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

Therefore, in this solemn feast our devotion is rooted in the mystery of God’s love; for it is precisely through the Sacred Heart of Jesus that the Love of God for humanity is sublimely manifested in all its effect and power especially for souls thirsting for God’s mercy, for in it we find the inexhaustible source from which we draw the water of life that refresh and revives the thirsty souls of sinful humanity and make us new and alive again.

Hence we are called today to abide in this love of Christ which flows from the pierced heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who when entrusted with a hundred sheep, losing one, would leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it as we heard it in our Gospel passage today.

 In our first reading today we heard the Lord saying: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. I will pasture my sheep, I will show them where to rest–it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. For I shall be a true shepherd to them.

Dear friends, true love is found in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. So, every Christian is called to embrace the love of God which he poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so as to become a wellspring which gives life of love to others. For we ought to be offering life-giving water to a parched and thirsty world.

We are called to embrace that love which propelled Jesus to lay down his life for his friends and also to forgive his enemies, for that is what this solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus represents. We are called to contemplate the mystery of love in the heart of a God who is full of compassion, bestows his love upon humanity through his Son.

Though humanity has rejected his love, but God does not lose heart in the face of ingratitude or rejection by the people he loved and chosen; rather, with infinite mercy he sends his only-begotten Son into the world to take upon himself the fate of a shattered love, so that by defeating the power of evil and death he could restore humanity once again from our slavery of sin and death back into a life of grace and open up his Sacred Heart of love once again for all who wishes to embrace it.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, grant that we, who glory in the loving Heart of your beloved Son and recall the wonders of his love for us, may be made worthy to receive an overflowing measure of grace from that fount of heavenly gift of love which he offers to humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Please pray for me today and for the sanctity of all the Priests).

Homily For Thursday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th June, 2025

 

Reading: Gen. 16:1-12,15-16; Ps.106; Matt. 7:21-29

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

LISTENING AND DOING THE WILL OF GOD IS WHAT IS REQUIRED OF US.

One of my favourite hymns in our hymn book says:

In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song! This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled when striving cease! My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.

This hymn draws my attention to our Gospel passage today, where Jesus says: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?”

Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men! And he continues, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: for it was founded on rock.

Here Jesus calls our attention to something very important. He reminds us that it is not enough to hear the word of God; we must put it into practice. It is not sufficient to speak about God, but we must practice what we speak. We are called not merely to hear God’s word but to daily put it into action. Hearing or reading the Word is important, but that is not enough.

We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives. For it is a waste of time and energy if our lives do not reflect the Gospel we preach if we do not hear the words of Jesus and act on them. The truth is that the houses built by wise and foolish persons may probably look alike. But the difference is the foundations, which can only be revealed when tested by the storms of life as we heard in our first reading concerning Abram’s household as regards Sarai and Hagar.

Dear friends, what are we doing with the word of God we hear every day? What kind of fruit am I bearing? How has the word of God changed my life and the lives of those around me? How has the word of God challenged and propelled me to love God and my neighbours?

The fact remains that, hearing and doing the word of God is building our faith on a rocky foundation, that cornerstone, that solid ground, through the fiercest drought and storms of life, because the fruit of the Word of God in us is seen when tested in the storms of life.

Thus, is my attitude towards the word of God like that of the foolish builder who takes shortcuts for quick results? Or that of a wise builder who spends time digging a secure foundation through constant meditation and practice of the word of God?

Therefore, when we hear the word we must apply it to our daily lives because that's the only way we can feed our soul. Our society has enough hearers of the word, what we need now are doers of the word of God, men and women who will feed their lives with the word of God and from the abundance of their hearts live a life that will influence society positively.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, through your Word we find life and hope in Christ who is our all in all, grant us the grace to be doers of your Word and not just hearers, in order to build our faith on a rocky foundation in Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Wednesday, Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 25th June, 2025

 

Reading: Gen. 15:1-12.17-18; Ps.105; Matt. 7:6.15-20

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

LEARN TO DISCERN GOOD PROPHETS  FROM FALSE PROPHETS

 A tree is known to be either good or bad, healthy or sick by the fruit it produces. In the same way, the human heart is known to be either good or bad, holy or sinful, sincere or corrupt by the fruit of our words and actions, rooted in our character. 

Thus, in our societies today, many false influential powers have a grievous effect on our lives coming from various sources under the guise of good but are in fact leading us astray. Every day, many false prophets and teachers are increasing and are deceiving the people. So, there is a need for us to examine these influences.

Little wonder that Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. A sound tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.”

Here, Jesus is calling our attention to this ugly situation in our societies today, where false prophets and teachers are deceiving people. He tells us to be careful and discerning to know false prophets from true ones. He made us know that by the fruits they bear we shall know them. 

A true prophet draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart, while a false prophet draws what is bad from the store of his bad thoughts. Because a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. So it is not sufficient to speak about God, we must practice what we speak. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives so that we can bear good and healthy fruit. 

Dear friends, as God’s prophets what kind of fruits are we known for? The ugly attitude of deception, manipulation, exaggeration, corruption, and flamboyant lifestyle of false prophets and preachers in our societies today can really make it difficult for people to become true and faithful believers in our world today. 

Little wonder that people are scandalised by the actions and behaviour of some preachers and teachers. Some have given up their faith, some are about to give up, some are just confused while a lot of people are just holding on to the little faith they have based on their little personal experience and encounter with the Divine.

Therefore, we must be very wise for many false prophets are operating under the power of the devil. Let us come to Jesus who has promised us the Spirit of truth that will give us a special sign for distinguishing true doctrine and true teachers from the false ones. 

Hence, let us constantly ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace of discernment to distinguish between good and false prophets and teachers. Let us also be true Christians by our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God just like Abram in our first reading today, for God has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our societies are full of deception, false prophets and teachers, send us the Spirit of truth to discern the truth from the false. May we always stand and witness to the truth we have found in Jesus against all the false influential prophets and teachers in our society today. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.