Homily For Wednesday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 1st October, 2025. The Solemnity of Our Lady Queen & Patroness of Nigeria. Happy New Month

 
Readings: Is.11:1-10, Ps.72, Eph. 2:13-22, Matt.2:13-15.19-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

COME LET US FIX OUR COUNTRY CONSUMED BY GREED AND SELFISH PEOPLE

The root of all the problems in our world today is the love of power. People are ready to do anything to be in power and to retain that power. This is what we see in the life of Herod in our Gospel passage today, where the Holy family of Jesus had to flee to Egypt, because Herod planned to kill an innocent child for the sake of retaining his power.

This ugly attitude is not far from us today, especially in our country, Nigeria, which is in a state of distress because of the love of power and greediness among the people in power and even the common citizens.

The fact remains that the elements of good and bad seem inherent in the human condition; it is little wonder that the world involves both good and bad mixed together. This will help us to understand the reason for the corruption, greediness, immoral and social decadence in our country today.

So, as we are celebrating our country, Nigeria, at 65 since our independence, we thank God who has made it possible for us to witness the day. But today’s celebration should plunge us into deep reflection about the ugly condition of this country. We need to ask ourselves, what have we done right? What have we done wrong? How can we do better and what will the future of this country be like?

Dear friends, the rate of corruption and greed in this country is so appalling. People are never tired of acquiring and embezzling public funds for their own selfish gain. The truth is that, we need a radical transformation. A transformation that will bring about a new outfit that makes one a new person, with a new life, a new mind and a new way of doing things.

This is possible only when we understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of greediness, then we will be able to do things the right way, and then our country, Nigeria, will be great again.

For this country will be transformed only when the power of love and goodwill supersedes the love of power, when justice and faithfulness become the habit of every one of us in this country. Then, we can begin to experience that peaceful coexistence and the blessings that Prophet Isaiah mentioned in our first reading.

This will bring the hostility going on in our country to an end, just like St Paul said in our second reading that we shall no longer be strangers in our own country, but true citizens with the saints not just here in our country, try, Nig,eria, but also in the kingdom of God.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, out of selfishness and greediness, we have committed a lot of crimes and injustice against one another. Grant that through the intercession of Our Lady Queen and Patroness of Nigeria, we may resolve to have genuine love and goodwill in carrying out our activities in the societies and our country. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Month, wishing you a blessed Independence Day celebration.

Homily For Tuesday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 30th September, 2025. The Memorial of St Jerome

 

Readings: Zec.8:20-23; Ps.87; Luke 9:51-56

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW TO DEAL WITH STRONG OPPOSITIONS IN OUR LIVES

Oftentimes when we find ourselves in difficult situations caused by our opponent, the first instinct that comes to our minds is to do away with the opponent and ensure that he or she does not exist anymore. Sometimes we feel like crushing anything that stands in the way towards our goal, especially when we think that we have the power and authority to do so.

This is the disposition of James and John in our Gospel passage today, when they said to Jesus: ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ This is because the people of Samaritan village will not let Jesus and his disciples pass through their town to Jerusalem. For opposing them the two disciples felt that they should be consumed by fire. But Jesus turned and rebuked his disciples, and then went off to another village.

Here, Jesus is showing us how to deal with the opposition in life. If we must surely encounter opposition, what makes a difference is how we deal with it. In the Gospel, the two disciples of Jesus feel that the best way to deal with such opposition is by calling down fire on the opponent, just like most of us would do if we had the power and authority to do so.

However, this is not the same with Jesus, who though had the absolute power and authority to command fire to consume anything he wishes, but in this case, he chooses to flee from the problem not because he was a coward, no, rather because he hoped to experiencing peace and teach us that sometimes the best way to deal with oppositions is to walk away.

This does not mean that he was weak; rather, he wants us to understand that a change of location does not make us weak or remove our enemies, it only changes where the battle takes place. And for Jesus, the battlefield is not the Samaritan territory, but the heart of the human person who occupies the territory.

Perhaps, Jesus did not come to destroy the people; if he had come for that purpose, he would have destroyed these Samaritans, but he came to save. And so he bears patiently the ignorance of the opposition and we too must learn to do the same, just as we heard prophet Zechariah in our first reading saying: there will be other peoples yet, and citizens of great cities. And the inhabitants of one city will go to the next and say, “Come, let us go and entreat the favour of the Lord, and seek the Lord of Hosts.

This is what we see in the life of St. Jerome, whose memorial we celebrate today, for he experienced all sorts of worldly pleasures as a young student of philosophy. But later his conscience led him to conversion into the Christian faith as he renounced all of his past sinful ways of life and devoted himself deeply to the study of the Scriptures, from which come all his great works we are still studying today. For he said that ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of God.

Dear friends, in today’s scriptural passage, we must learn from Jesus how to walk away from opposition for the sake of peace. We should not be like James and John, wanting to destroy those who opposed us. Rather, we must learn to acquire the spirit of Lord Jesus; temper our zeal like his; seek to bear patiently with those who stand on our way. Let us seek peace, let us be patient, and forgiving. Let us not allow the feeling of revenge to consume us into hurting those with whom we feel we cannot resolve our differences.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, every day we encounter opposition that we feel like crushing and eliminating. Help us to learn from Jesus how to deal with opposition patiently for the sake of peace and harmony in our societies. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Monday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 29th September, 2025. The Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

 

Readings:  Rev. 12:7-12; Ps. 103, John 1: 47-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF ARCHANGELS IN OUR LIVES AND MISSION 

As Christians, for us to be fruitful in our given vocation in life, there is a need for us to build a personal relationship with God and building this relationship is not as difficult as some people think, because God desires to have such a relationship with us and this he often manifests through the instrument of angels and Archangels. Little wonder we celebrate today the three great Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, who are God’s most powerful instruments for safeguarding the human soul.

In these Archangels, we have a powerful link to God, especially in our constant struggle and the spiritual battle for the sake of our souls. They are categorised based on their responsibilities. Archangel Michael is known as the Prince and defender of the heavenly hosts. He defends us in battle and helps us to be humble, so that we may not fall into pride,  over ambition, greed and vanity like the devil, whom he defeated and sent away from heaven. 

This is to help us remain firm in our commitment to serving the Lord as we have in our first reading today (Rev.12:7-12). Archangel Gabriel is known as the Messenger of God. He helps us to have faith in God through his words so that we may always hope in God. Archangel Raphael is known for the manifestation of the healing and mercy of God, especially for souls corrupted by sin.

This shows us the extent God can go for the sake of saving humanity. The fact is that God loves us so much, and it is not about our love for him, but his own love for us. This is manifested in the life of Jesus who loves us personally and desires to share in our daily struggles through the angels and Archangels. 

All he demands from us is to acknowledge his presence in our lives and cooperate with his grace, and when such relationship is established our lives will change for good just like Nathaniel in our Gospel passage, who acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God, of which Jesus commended him for his faith and goes on to tell him that he shall see great things in heaven including the angels ascending and descending in the presence of God.

Dear friends, what is our experience of angels and Archangels? Is there any occasion where we can say that we have personally encountered or experienced the presence of an angel? What is our relationship with our guardian angels? If none we should desire to have one through our daily activities. 

For today, we are reminded that God, through the Archangels, manifests his power and presence in human activities, and so we are called to always cooperate with the will of God as directed by his angels and Archangels, who minister to us. We are called to build a personal relationship with God through His Archangels, who are there to defend, guide and heal our souls from sin and death.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you often send your Archangels to guide and direct our affairs in life. Through their faithful direction and protection, may our lives advance boldly along the path of salvation, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 28th September, 2025

Readings: Amos 6:1.4-7; Ps.146; 1Tim.6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

UNDERSTANDING THE SIN OF THE RICH MAN AND THE SACRIFICE OF THE POOR LAZARUS

There is no doubt that the things of this passing world are so beautiful and captivating, and God has made them so. For whatever we have in this world is a blessing from God, who wishes to bless us so that through us others will be blessed. 

But this is not often the disposition of most of us. This is obvious when we reflect on the relationship between the rich and the poor in our society today. Where the poor are neglected and treated as if they are less human. 

This ugly attitude needs to change when we recall the famous parable of the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, about Lazarus the poor man and a rich man whose doorstep Lazarus often dwelt, hoping for the rich man to give him even the scraps of bread and food that fell from his table, but he was often neglected. While the poor Lazarus was rich with sores, he offered his sores to those who came to lick them. 

Here, we heard how the poor Lazarus ended up in Paradise, in the presence of God in heaven with Abraham, enjoying the fullness of God’s inheritance and grace, no longer suffering the pains and torments that he had once endured while he was still alive in the world. 

Meanwhile, we heard how the rich man descended into the depths of hell, suffering in agony for eternity, without any hope of escape, and even when he begged Abraham to send Lazarus for help, that couldn't happen. 

But what was the offence of this rich man? Is it because he was rich? No, his sin is that of omission, which is the sin of neglecting his neighbour Lazarus when he was obviously in the position to help and provide for him through the excess material goods and providence that God has blessed him with. 

A sin of omission, as we know, is a sin committed by willingly not performing a certain action. For he neglected the commandments of God who has called us to love our neighbours and help the needy. Thus, he has to face the consequences of his sin of neglecting his neighbour who needed his help.

This rich man’s name is not known, so one can say that he represents, anonymously, all the wealthy persons insocietyhave failed to use their resources to help the poor. While the poor man, as we heard, has a name. He is a specific person for Jesus, who calls him very appropriately “Lazarus,” the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Eleazar,” which means “God has helped.” Lazarus represents every person who is in need or who suffers unjustly.

It is this unjust action of the rich towards the poor that Prophet Amos is addressing in our first reading today. He condemned the oppression of the poor, as well as the judicial system that denied them any hope of obtaining justice. So he had to threaten the rich with divine judgment when he said: Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall. They shall be the first to go into exile.  

Hence, Amos, in this passage, addressed the issues of social injustice in society. Social injustice, as we know, refers to how unjust actions are being done in a society. This can occur in situations where the people are treated unfairly, out of greediness, selfishness, corruption, wickedness and discrimination at different levels such as age, class, ethnicity, and orientation. These ugly attitudes have a way of separating us from God. So we have to ensure that we are not part of these ugly ways of life.

Little wonder, St Paul in our second reading today says: As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. 

We must learn to stand up against any form of injustice, intimidation and oppression of anyone. For there are positive or negative, immediate or later consequences for all our actions just like the case of Lazarus and the rich man.

Dear friends, we can now understand the sin of the Rich man and the sacrifice of the poor Lazarus. So, the example of the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus calls our attention to the fact that we are going to be judged not based on what God has blessed us with, but on what we have done with what God has given us. So it is important to remind ourselves today that we must also not be ignorant of the poor Lazaruses around us. 

Those who are less fortunate than we are should not be neglected, especially those who work for us, our house helps, our poor security personnel, our poor neighbours, and those we encounter every day in need of our help. 

Remember, no one is too poor that he has nothing to give, even the poor Lazarus was rich with sores, and he offered his sores to the dogs who came to lick them. And no one is so rich that he needs nothing, but the sin of the rich man was the sin of omission; this should not be our lot as we ask God for grace not to neglect the poor Lazarus around us. For we are one in the love of Christ. If we die with him, we will rise up to life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the source of all that we have. As we listen to your words today, grant us we pray, the grace to be conscious of the poor around us and ensure we help them in their struggles. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings. Happy Sunday.

Homily For Saturday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 27th September, 2025. The Memorial of St. Vincent De Paul

Readings: Zech. 2:1-5.10-11; Ps. 31; Luke 9:43-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

REFLECTING ON THE REALITY OF DEATH

I once visited a cemetery and I saw on a wall names and dates of so many men and women who had passed on from the community. Then I asked myself in my deep reflection, where are all these people whose names are listed on this wall? Where did they like us before? Are we going to be like them later? Where will all of us in this beautiful community be in the next hundred years? The answers to these questions are difficult to understand because we don’t think about the inevitable event of death

This is not different from what Jesus is reminding his disciples in our Gospel passage today, where after his great miracles, when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: that the Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men and they will put him to death. But they did not understand him. For we heard in our first reading today that: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. And when he was asked, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to find out her breadth and her length.

Dear friends, today we are reminded about the true reality of life, that we all are going to die one day and the dust of our flesh and bones will return to the earth while our Spirit retire to God, knowing that we will be held accountable for how we lived this life. We are going to give back to God the gift of life he has given us, because our life is a temporal assignment. 

So, why not start living this life according to the present reality since we do not know how and when we are going to account for it? Why not accept joyfully who we are now as we work hard to be better tomorrow? Remember, everything is in the hands of God; we brought nothing into this world, and we are taking nothing out of it. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our life is meaningless without you. Grant that we may realise the shortness of this life and so prepare to give an account of how we have lived our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen God bless you 

Homily For Friday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 26th September, 2025

 

Readings: Readings: Hag. 2:1-9; Ps 43 Luke 9:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW HAVE I UNDERSTOOD AND EXPRESSED THE PERSONALITY OF JESUS? 

In life, there is always a moment when we will want to examine and know if our friends can really be trusted, if they truly know and understand who we are and what we represent. This is because, as social beings, we often make friends with whom we can confide and entrust our innermost thoughts and plans. But this friendship does not come automatically, it is developed gradually.

This is the situation between Jesus and his disciples in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus asked them, saying: Who do people say I am?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this. For the Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.

 

Here, we see how Peter expressed his personal conviction about who Jesus is. He did not have to quote any authority, because his response was a clear and sincere knowledge of who he professed Jesus to be. This is because Peter’s gift of faith comes from his personal encounter with the person of Jesus. 

Thus, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: Who is Jesus to me personally? For it is not enough to quote the teachings and Catechism of the Church about our faith or the teachings of other theologians and preachers or to respond only from the head, but from the heart that is convinced of what it believes in. 

Today most people are following Jesus without knowing who Jesus truly represents. Some people find it very difficult to embrace the teaching of Jesus because they lack the faith and conviction about his personality, even when Jesus had revealed himself to us through his great miracles and teachings. 

The fact is that, Jesus wants us to develop a divine way of looking at things. He wants us to know him deep down in our souls, so that we can profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. This faith is necessary in order to accommodate and overcome the ugly event of persecutions, condemnation and blackmail that we encounter every day in our societies.

Little wonder, we heard the Lord in our first reading saying: A little while now, and I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and the treasures of all the nations shall flow in, and I will fill this Temple with glory. Mine is the silver, mine the gold! It is the Lord of Hosts who speaks. The new glory of this Temple is going to surpass the old and in this place I will give peace. 

Dear friends, having heard the teachings and great works of Jesus in the scriptures and traditions of the Church, the question remains: what can I say is my personal experience of Jesus? Have I personally encountered and identified our Lord Jesus in my life? How have I understood and expressed the personality of Jesus? How has my knowledge of Jesus helped other people to come to faith in Jesus? 

Today, we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are as regards our faith as Christians. We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God, but not rejecting them because we do not understand them. Therefore, let us turn towards God once again with all our hearts and devote our whole lives to seeking to know Him more and more.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you revealed to Peter the true identity of Jesus, your Son. Help us to personally identify the personality of Jesus in our lives and so profess our faith with deeper meaning and conviction. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday, Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 25th September, 2025

Readings: Haggai 1:1-8; Ps. 149; Luke 9:7-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DEALING WITH A GUILTY CONSCIENCE

Oftentimes, we hear people expressing the phrase: guilty conscience, which is used to express the ugly condition of human conscience which is that part of our life that tells us whether what we are doing is right or wrong. For if you have a guilty conscience, you feel guilty about something because you know it was wrong. But if you have a clear conscience, you do not feel guilty because you know you have done nothing wrong.

This is the situation Herod finds himself in our Gospel passage today who out of pride and selfishness had killed John the Baptist thinking that by that he could silence the voice of truth, but when he heard of the great works of Jesus and could not comprehend it, he perceived that John the Baptist, the voice of truth had returned to life again, when he said: John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus. A situation that shows the behaviour and character of a guilty conscience.

Here, we see how the guilty conscience of Herod made him shiver concerning the personality of Jesus in relation to John the Baptist. This is what happens to us whenever we try to take the role of God in our relationship with others or treat other people badly. And this ugly attitude is what a lot of people are practising today, and as a result, many people are suffering the consequences of a guilty conscience.

This is because most of us are so attached to worldly things. We have let our pride, our ego and our selfish desires blind us from the true realities of life. Little wonder, the Lord in our first reading said: Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, and put on clothes but do not feel warm.

Dear friends, have you offended God or other people, and do you have a guilty conscience about it? What are the things that make us have a guilty conscience? What is the essence of our existence in this world at the expense of injustice to other people? What does God really require from us in this life? Do you know that without God everything in life is vanity vanishing?

Therefore, let us not be carried away by the beauty of the things of this passing world by hurting other people, for nothing lasts forever. Hence we should remain steadfast in our faith in God, who has called us to love him and to love one another. Let us remain faithful to Christ’s mission and be committed wholeheartedly to what God has called us to do.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we have come to you with our guilty conscience, for we are so much attached to things of this passing world, with little or no attention to your teachings. Help us to realise that without you life and all we have is nothing but vanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.