Homily For Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th October, 2025

 

Reading: Sirach 35:12-14.16-18; Ps.34; 2Tim.4:6-8.16-18; Luke:18:9-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HUMILITY AND PERFECT CONTRITION IN PRAYER

There is no doubt that 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.

This is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today. For 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 right with God; the Pharisee did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

In this parable, Jesus wants to let us know the importance of praying with the right attitude and disposition, especially those of us who think we are very righteous and often look down on people. For we can draw from this parable a sure remedy for arrogance in our prayer life and acts of piety.

This is important because our prayers and pieties, if done with humility, will be pleasing to God and will even lead us to make frequent acts of contrition for our wrongdoings. But when humility and contribution are lacking our prayers will be presented arrogantly, judgmentally and will be fruitless just like this Pharisee.

So, it is important to have the right attitude and disposition towards prayers. Little wonder Pope Francis said: “It is not enough, therefore, to ask how much we pray; rather, we have to ask ourselves how do we pray, or better, what is the state of our heart during prayers: it is important to examine it so as to evaluate our thoughts, our feelings, and root out arrogance and hypocrisy just like the tax collector.

For we heard how the tax collector stood at a distance proclaiming his guilt and beating his breast in contrition. Hence, we are encouraged to be sorry for our sins. As we know, Contrition, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again. Especially when it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else.

This contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity) and is a gift from God. The second contrition is called “imperfect” which is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It comes out of the consideration of the ugliness of sin or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (which is referred to as the contrition of fear)” (CCC 1451-1453).

Dear friends, in prayer, we are not to give God instructions or present our profile of piety, but our disposition should be that of humility and perfect contrition just 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 told in our first reading today that the man who with his whole heart serves God will be accepted, and his petitions will be carried to the clouds. For the humble man’s prayer pierces the clouds, and he will not be consoled until it reaches the Lord. And the Lord will not be slow in responding or executing his judgment.

This is what we heard St. Paul expressing in our second reading today: “My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. 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”.

Therefore, today we are called to cultivate the right disposition towards prayers, especially that of a humble and perfect contrite heart and learn how to communicate with God the right way.

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. Wishing you a peaceful and joyful Sunday celebration.

Homily For Saturday, Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, 25th October, 2025.

 

Readings: Romans 8:1-11; Ps 24; Luke 13:1-9

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

GOD HAS GIVEN US OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT NOW,  LESS WE PERISH

Reflecting on the ugly situations in our country today and in the world at large, there is no doubt that both the poor and the rich are testifying to it. For we can fill the struggles, the killings, the tears, the disappointments that people are passing through every day. In fact, some people are losing hope in themselves and even in everything they do, as they run up and down seeking solutions. 

The poor are searching for daily bread, upliftment and favour, the rich are seeking protection and good health, while the evil ones are taking advantage of the situation to destroy the little hope and faith of the people. All these are signs from God who gives us the opportunity to repent from our sinful ways of life.

This is what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel passage today when he said: “Do you suppose the Galileans who suffered like this were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No, but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Then with a parable of the barren fig tree, Jesus demonstrated how God has made every moment of our lives an opportunity for us to repent and be fruitful. 

This is clear when he said in the parable, “Look, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the vinedresser replied, “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”  

Such is God’s patience with us for he gives us the opportunity to turn away from our sinful and ugly ways of life. Repentance is the key message of this Gospel, for Jesus makes it clear that those who suffered and were killed were not worse offenders than others; rather, he uses the opportunity to call us to repentance. Note that the purpose of this message is not for condemnation, but for redemption. 

This is why St. Paul, in our first reading, says that God has done what the Law, because of the nature of our flesh, was unable to do. For God dealt with sin by sending his own Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body God condemned sin. He did this so that the Law’s just demands might be satisfied in us, who behave not as our flesh requires but as the spirit dictates. So those who live by the flesh are interested only in what is flesh, but the spiritual are interested in spiritual things.

Dear friends, this call for repentance shows us that it is not too late for us to repent, for this may be the last opportunity. Because we can never tell what will happen in the next moment. We can never tell who is the next to die, we can never know the form it will take or where it will occur, all that matters is for us to repent now that we still have the opportunity. 

For none of those who died yesterday knew that it was going to happen that way. Therefore, let us repent now, for repentance helps us to be well disposed for life and for death. It helps us to live right and at peace with God and with one another. It gives us the courage and confidence to face any situation without fear of death.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, You are the author of our lives, freedom and salvation, all we have are yours, thank you for being with us in our daily troubles, struggles, fears, tears, hope and joy, may you provide for the poor, console the troubled, heal the sick, protect and put simile on the faces of your children today and always as we make effort to repent from our sinful ways. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 24th October, 2025

 

Readings: Romans.7:18-25; Ps 119; Luke 12: 54-59

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHY NOT JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES WHAT IS RIGHT?

As human beings, we are good at discerning the events happening around us in order to predict what the outcome of such events can be in the future. We often read the signs of nature in order to make predictions of what will happen in the future.

Little wonder Jesus, while rebuking the crowd in our Gospel reading today, said: When you see a cloud looming up in the west, you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times the events of this passing world? Why not judge for yourselves what is right?

Here, Jesus condemned the ugly attitudes of the crowds for they can read the signs of nature and so predict the future, but now out of jealousy and selfishness, they have failed to recognise the truth by refusing to acknowledge in Jesus one who comes from God, one who speaks God’s word and acts in the power of God.

So Jesus rebuked them for such a hypocritical attitude. In the second aspect of the Gospel, Jesus is asking us to put things right while there is still time; if not, we should be willing to duly face the punishment for all our wrongdoings.

Thus, St. Paul in our first reading says: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh, for though the will to do what is good is in me, I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, because instead of doing the good things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want.

Dear friends, there are so many signs around us today. What is our disposition towards these signs? Can we identify the signs of our time? How can we understand and interpret them? Why have we failed to understand the sign that tells us that this world is not our home, we are just passing by?

Are we not reading the hand of God in what is going on around us, especially in our country? Now we are called to respond to these signs. What do we think Jesus would do if he were living with us now? Today, Jesus is calling us to discern our actions towards the signs we see in the world we are living in now.

Though, it is very easy to condemn the ugly situation going on in our world today, are we learning anything from it? Do we have any sense of guilt and repentance? Why allow this evil to linger in us by getting into endless arguments and deception when we already know what is right? Why waste so much time arguing about unnecessary things while missing out on the main points that are more basic and challenging?

I think it's time we come back to the real issues, which are justice, honesty, transparency, and equity, equal respect for human life and property. These are the things we all need to put right at all levels and sectors where we find ourselves as we wait on the awesome day of the Lord.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in every event that happens to us, you have your mark on it. Help us to discern the signs of our time, in order to embrace your will for us and to follow you wherever you may lead us as we struggle to overcome the ugly situation in our society. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. May God protect and keep us.

Homily For Thursday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 23rd October, 2025

Readings: Romans 6:19-23; Ps.1; Luke 12: 49-53
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

THE SWORD OF DIVISION AND SEPARATION

The way things are going in our societies today, we really need to think twice about our faith as Christians, and whether we are ready to live out our faith amid the ugly situation in our country today.

The hostility, brutality, persecution and influential powers of the things of this world have eaten deep into the minds of our leaders and are not stopping soon; rather, it will get tougher unless we stop it now once and for all.

Therefore, if we are willing to live out our Christian faith and obligations, then we need to make a radical decision towards our discipleship in a personal and radical way, for these days, it is not enough to say I am a Christian, we must convincingly and radically practice our faith by following the example of our Lord Jesus.

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level when he said: 'Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

Here, Jesus does not directly intend to cause tensions and divisions in family life, but he wants us to accept the consequences that come with the truth of the Gospel teaching, more importantly, when it comes to living out the Gospel message radically, especially in a situation where our family values have been thrown out of caution as a result of secularism, individualism and excess desires for worldly pleasures and possessions, thereby neglecting the things that lead us to God.

So, these hard words of Jesus can only be understood in the light of our life experience, because there are moments when we have to make radical and difficult choices as disciples of Jesus. These moments may wield the sword of division or separation among those people and things which are so dear to us.

However, Jesus does not endorse us engaging in armed conflict, but he warns that we have to struggle to put him first, before family ties, knowing that divisions will surely occur as people have to decide to be for or against God. Hence, he states that the cost of discipleship extends to one even losing their life. Because following Jesus demands the sacrifice of all that one has.

For none of us can become his true disciple if we do not give up our excess desire for worldly pleasures and possessions, and pay our unreserved loyalty and allegiance to God over all other competing loyalties in our lives, including family, self-interest, and possessions.

Thus, St. Paul in our first said that: as once we put our bodies at the service of vice and immorality, so now we must put them at the service of righteousness for our sanctification.

Dear friends, we are called today to make a radical decision to sincerely and faithfully live out our Christian faith and morals. But how much are we willing to let go for the sake of our faith in God?

Why are we finding it difficult to follow Jesus? What are the habitual desires and possessions that are holding us back from making this radical decision today? It is time to come to God with all our hearts, for tomorrow may be too late.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world have weakened our hearts towards you, give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires and attitudes, to hold firm in our faith despite losing people and things that are dear to us, as we ask you to heal and transform our nation once again. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 22nd October, 2025

 

Readings: Romans 6:12-16; Ps. 124; Luke 12: 39-48

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

WHY WE MUST BE READY AND PREPARED AT ALL TIMES?

Adequate preparation is often said to be the secret and foundation of every successful event. This is obvious when we observe how footballers, boxers, athletes, also engineers, doctors and farmers, businessmen and women devote time and energy to rigorous preparation towards achieving their goals.

Then I said to myself, if we can go to this length of rigorous periods of preparation just for things of this passing world, more should be even demanded of us when it has to do with preparing for eternal life.

Therefore, if we can devote such time and energy towards our spiritual life which we often neglect, we will be more awake and prepared for the day of the Lord. This is what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel passage today when he said to his disciples: “Be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house.

You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’ Then he used the parable of the faithful and wise steward to make this point clearer. And he concluded by saying: When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’

In this passage, we have two commands at the beginning and at the end, which are not quite the same. The first command is based on God’s coming at a “hour” you do not know and the second has to do with managing the responsibility entrusted to us. For, just like the householder’s ignorance of the time when the thief would come is the reason why he does not watch.

Thus, our ignorance of the day and time should be the reason for our watchfulness in order to prevent being robbed. So the image of the thief is chosen to illustrate the unexpected approach of the second coming of Christ, which will be a great surprise to those who are asleep, as they will be robbed of Heavenly gifts and even their earthly treasures.

Hence, Jesus commanded us to stay awake, because we do not know either the day or the hour when the Lord will come. To achieve this, St. Paul in our first reading says: that we must not let sin reign in our mortal bodies or command our obedience to bodily passions, we must not let any part of our body turn into an unholy weapon fighting on the side of sin.

Rather, we should offer ourselves to God, and consider ourselves dead men brought back to life; we should make every part of our bodies into a weapon fighting on the side of God; and then sin will no longer dominate our lives, since we are living by grace and not by law.

Dear friends, as we struggle with the ugly situation in our society and in our world today, we must be courageous, wise, patient and prudent, knowing that our lives as Christians demand that we should be alert. We should be prepared at all times and be ready to make sacrifices like the faithful and wise stewards of our Lord. We should be watchful for we know neither the day nor the hour when the Lord will call us.

Hence, we are reminded today that this world is passing away, so we need to stay awake and be ready. We need to look into our inner being, our interior life in order to embrace the life of holiness and self-control that will help us to be more prepared for the coming of the Lord.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we have often failed to listen to your warnings concerning the things of this passing world and the need for us to stay awake and be ready for your coming, give us the grace and wisdom to be well prepared to stand before you whenever you call us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Tuesday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 21st October, 2025

 

Readings: Romans 5:12.15.17-21; Ps. 40; Luke 12:36-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO ARE READY FOR THE MASTER TO RETURN

There are two most important events in our life as a human person. One is well known, prepared and constantly celebrated, that is, our birthday. The other, which is the ultimate, is not known and less attention and preparation is being made for it, that is, the day of our departure from this world.

So, Jesus knowing how important this day is, instructed his disciples in our Gospel passage today saying: “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, wait for him, for happy are those servants if he finds them ready when he comes.”

Here we have a scenario which illustrates the unexpected approach of the coming of Christ which will be a great surprise to those who are asleep as they will be missing out on the heavenly joy and also be deprived of their earthly treasures.

But for those that shall be found awake and ready, the Lord's coming will be a happy day, while for those that are not prepared, it will be very dreadful. Thus our ignorance of the day and time of his coming is the reason for our watchfulness, so we must be awake and ready at all times.

Thus, St. Paul addressing the ugly situation that humanity found herself and the need for us to be ready to come out of it said in our first reading today that: sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned; but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall.

If it is certain that through one man’s fall, so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, has come to so many as an abundant gift of salvation. For this reason, we should be more prepared and ready for that glorious day of the Lord.

Dear friends, we are called today to be ready. We are called to repentance. We are called to embrace the new life the Lord is offering us. We are called to a life of constant struggle towards perfection in order to embrace the Lord whenever he comes.

Therefore, preparation is the key word. Let us not be deceived when the world suggests to us that the day of death is not coming soon so forget who we are, and then, the day and time will take us by surprise.

Rather, let us be like those wise servants who are prepared at all times for the coming of the master. Thus, we must change our disposition, especially as regards our attitude towards the things of this passing world in order to embrace more of the things that will lead us to our heavenly kingdom for we are nothing but travellers in this world.

LET US PRAY, Lord God, today you ask us to be ready for your coming, increase in us the desire to be prepared and ready for that inevitable event of death, so that whenever it comes, it will not be a shock to us, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It's a lovely day, may God bless your efforts and grant success to the works of your hands. 

Homily For Monday Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 20th October, 2025

 

Readings: Romans 4:20-25; Ps: Luke 1: 69-75;  Luke 12:13-21

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

ALL THESE HOARDS OF YOURS WHOSE WILL THEY BE? 

Material possessions are gifts from God and he alone gives us the right to them. But what we possess is meant to help us grow in our relationship with God and neighbours not to separate us from them, because if we are not careful, too much love for material possessions can be an obstacle on our way to God’s Kingdom. 

Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today warns us against covetousness and excessive attachment to worldly possessions which he greatly emphasized with the story of the rich Man Harvest. 

In this story a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I do not have enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?

Here, Jesus tells his disciples about the need to live a life of detachment. He used this story to teach his disciples and all of us about the futility of worldly desires and their pursuits. Thereby showing us the foolishness of human greed, as well as pride and ego. 

For in this man, we see the uselessness of human selfishness, covetousness and excess worldly possession, as he constantly focused only on himself saying I will do this, I will do that, ‘My goods, my fruits, my barns, my soul, etc, without any interest or room for his neighbours or the poor. 

He has no thought of God, nor his servants. If he had looked a little beyond himself, he would have seen many places where he could have bestowed his crops.  Thus, there is a need for us to constantly prune ourselves from excess love for material possessions of this passing world. 

The fact remains, that, material possessions in themselves are good, for we would not survive for long without them, but excess attachment to it at the expense of eternal life is grade-one suicide. No doubt, it is difficult to give out or share our possessions, but the ones who give up everything are the ones who receive more in this life as well as in heaven. 

For St. Paul tells us in our first reading that, since God had made him a promise, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had the power to do what he had promised. This will help us to understand the need to live a detached life.

Dear friends, detaching and sharing what we possess with others especially the poor is a sure way to finding life, peace, and happiness. And Jesus is telling us that it will be difficult for us to enter his kingdom when we choose to attach ourselves to the riches of this passing world. 

Though material possessions are gifts from God and he alone gives us the right to have them, what we possess is not meant to separate us from God, rather, they should help us to grow in our relationship with God and our neighbours.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism is the order of the day, help us to learn how to live a life of detachment and prune us always from the sin of covetousness and pride, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week.