Homily For Tuesday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 20th January 2026

 

The Feast of Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi

Readings: Phil 2:1-11, Ps. Is.12:2-6, Matt.13:44-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS OUR ULTIMATE TREASURE AND HOW ARE YOU ACQUIRING IT?

There is no doubt in my mind that every human being desires to make it into the kingdom of God. But what will lead us to that kingdom is where people have challenges that will often make it seem as if they are not interested.

Therefore, what are the things that will help us to understand the importance of embracing those things that will lead us to God's Kingdom? This is what we have in our Gospel passage today, where Jesus used two parables to describe to the people that the kingdom of God is the greatest and ultimate treasure anyone can and should acquire.

Here, he describes the kingdom of God as the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. However, the kingdom is open for all, but not all can be suitable to dwell in it; only those who on the judgment day are found suitable can be admitted into the kingdom. Using these parables Jesus explains what the kingdom of heaven is like and what we need to do in order to acquire it.

Thus, in the life of Blessed Michael Iwene Tansi whose Feast we celebrate today, we see a man who understood these parables, one who discovered the great treasure of heaven, sold everything and acquired it. In Tansi, we see how the light of faith was sown in him like the mustard seed grew to give hope to many people.

 Tansi was born in Aguleri, Anambra State, in September 1903, but died in Leicester, England, on 20th January 1964. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Onitsha. He was known for love of neighbour, healing and reconciliation of the people with God, with oneself, with one another and with the created reality.

Tansi dedicated himself not only to daily contemplative prayer but also to active ministry. He evangelized the youth, prepared couples for marriage, visited the sick, was a very good confessor, promoted vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and provided for the needs of the poor.

Hence, in Tanis, we see a man who understood that the kingdom of heaven is so precious and great that it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures.

Dear friends, obtaining the ultimate treasure of heaven requires the sacrifice of all our worldly possessions. Though in the world we have different kinds of treasures. But the question is: what is your ultimate treasure and how are you acquiring it? How are we searching for it? Are we really ready to sacrifice all for this treasure?

So, let us learn from Tansi, whose life shows us how the humble beginning of the Christian faith sown in him was well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to people of the world.

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading says that though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped. For he rather emptied himself in humble obedience to God his Father. Therefore, today we are called to empty ourselves of the passing things of this world in order to humbly acquire the heavenly treasure, just like Tansi, who humbly sacrificed the treasures of this passing world in order to embrace the treasures of heaven.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, the world is full of distractions from false treasures, through the intercession of Blessed Tansi, give us grace to discover the treasures of your kingdom and nurture these treasures in faith, holiness and hospitality which we received during our baptism in order to give up all our attachment to worldly possessions in pursue of the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Feast Day!! 

Homily For Monday Second Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 19th January, 2026

 

Readings: 1Sam.15:16-23; Ps. 50; Mark 2:18-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

PRESERVING THE NEW LIFE OF GRACE WITH THE FRESH SKIN OF GOODWILL 

 

Reflecting one of my favourite communion hymns titled New Life, especially its chorus that says:

New Life! New Life, You came to bring us new life,

New life, New life, we find such Joy in your abundant Life.

 

This hymn calls our attention to the gift of New Life which Jesus is offering to humanity. A gift that differentiates his disciples from other people. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, where we read about the observation made by the disciples of John the Baptist concerning the relationship between Jesus and his disciples and their new ways of doing things. 

So they came to Jesus and asked him questions regarding their manner of fasting and feasting. Jesus used this opportunity to educate them about the New Life of grace which he has come to offer humanity.

 

He said to them: Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast. For no one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth onto an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.

 

Here Jesus gave two responses to the question. First, people do not fast when they are in the company of the bridegroom which is a time for celebration. For Jesus is the groom and as long as he is around, it would be inappropriate for his disciples to fast. However, a time will come when the groom will no longer be with them, then they will surely fast, telling us that fasting should be done at the right time for the right reasons. Moreover, being in a relationship with Jesus is more important, because, what the bridegroom is to the bride, that's what Jesus is to the souls of all who believe in him.

 

Then, in the second response, Jesus shows that he is bringing something totally new which should not be mixed with the old way of life. He emphasized the importance of pouring new wine into fresh wineskins and the need to avoid using a new cloak to patch an old one. Here, the fresh wineskins refer to a new heart that has put off the old cloak of sin and looks forward to the new wine of grace through the process of conversion.

 

So, as his bride, he loves us with a deep and everlasting love. He pays all our debts to God; he supplies all our daily needs; he sympathizes with us in all our troubles; he bears with all our infirmities, and does not reject us because of our weaknesses. He regards us as part of himself:  We share in the glory that he has received from his Father. These are the privileges of all true Christians who are called to the heavenly kingdom.

 

So, Jesus is teaching us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of ritual or ceremonious fasting or feasting. But is about building a personal relationship with God who loves us personally and unconditionally. Little wonder, we heard Samuel telling Saul in our first reading that, in our relationship with God obedience is better than sacrifice.

 

Dear friends, what is that old garment in our lives that we are patching with the new? What is that old wine of habitual sin that we are pouring into the new wineskins of our redeemed and purified souls? today we are called to a fresh response towards embracing the New Life of grace which Jesus is offering us. We are called to put our New Life of grace into the fresh skin of restoration. As we think about these, let us struggle to avoid our old sinful ways of life and fully embrace the new righteous way of life that Jesus is offering us.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, You are the source of our new life, for in Your light we see light. Grant us the grace of true and total conversion so as to find such great Joy in your abundant Life of grace and mercy, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed and favourable week

Homily For Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 18th January, 2026

Readings: Is. 49:3.5-6; Ps. 40, 1Cor. 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

UNDERSTANDING AND PARTICIPATION IN THE MISSION OF JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD

Today is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Liturgical year A, which begins immediately after we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord last Monday. The beauty of this season lies in the fact that it invites us to live our ordinary life as a journey of holiness, faith and friendship with Jesus in order to continually discover our vocation and mission, which is rooted in Christ’s own mission.

Hence, our readings today present to us a call to encounter and follow the Lord, which points out the mission of the Church in proclaiming the word of God and our part in this mission.

Thus, in our Gospel passage, we heard how God has called us through John the Baptist to follow Christ, the Lamb of God and Saviour of the world. This is clear when John the Baptist in our Gospel saw Jesus passing by and declared: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For this is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

Here he is pointing out the essence of Jesus’ mission, telling us about the great Servant of God, whose mission was to bring sinners back to God as we heard in our first reading through prophet Isaiah saying: ‘It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Considering this great task of Jesus, John introduced him as the Lamb of God and not the Lion of God and also described the Holy Spirit as a dove, not a hawk which is more powerful. why? Because the Lamb is the most gentle, harmless and loving creature of God, while the dove is a gentle bird, a symbol of peace and goodwill.

So these images tell us about the person of Jesus and the approach by which he will carry out his mission. Consequently, Jesus, the gentle Lamb of God, gently died for our sins, so that we could live in joy and freedom as God’s children, teaching us to do the same in our relationship with one another.

Thus, how to effectively carryout this vocation and mission is what St. Paul spoke about in our second reading as he addressed the Church and the faithful in Corinth and indeed to all of us Christians, who have been called to follow Christ and have been sanctified and blessed to be God’s chosen people, who are reunited and brought together from the world to bear the fruit of love and holiness of life. Hence, St. Paul addressed us as: the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, he reminded us that we are called to holiness every day of our lives, especially in this ordinary time. He made us to know that we are not meant to defile our bodies through any forms of ugly attitudes such as fornication: for the body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. For God who raised the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too.

Hence, we must keep away from any forms of defilement such as: adultery, fornication and impure thoughts. Because all the other sins are committed outside the body, but to fornicate is to sin against our own body. And our body, as we know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in us to help us in our vocation and mission this year.

Dear friends, today we are called to holiness towards the mission of following Christ the Lamb of God, for there are so many things that are distracting us from our mission and vocation, and are leading us into sin, and we are so attached to them because the world has sexualized almost everything around us. The television, the internet, the music, movies, cartoons, and even our social and religious activities are corrupted by these sexualisation motives.

This, of course, drives and tempts us to commit the sins of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and masturbation. Because we have lost the virtue of self-control towards our sexuality, which of course is the cause of the increase in rape, incest, divorce and all forms of gender transformation going on in our society today. The main point here is for us not to indulge in sins that will ruin our souls.

Therefore, as the year unfolds, we are all challenged to live a holy life as the Lord has taught us. And as we carryout our mission, we are called to follow the way of the Lamb. That is, we are to be the most gentle, harmless and loving children of God. We must be a symbol of peace, compassion and goodwill. We are not to force people to believe in God by the use of intimidation or force, and neither should we use any forms of tricks or false persuasions. Rather, we should be more selfless and forgiving in our interactions with one another, putting aside our pride, ego and selfish desires, knowing that the grace of God is always sufficient for us.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle every day to do your will and respond positively in the mission and vocation entrusted to us, give us the grace to be responsible with our sexuality, especially in this time when the world as lost the true meaning and value of human sexuality, and as a result so many lives and families are being destroyed. Help us we pray to find joy, courage and solace in your saving grace as you guide us through the year. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration. 

Homily For Saturday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 17th January, 2026

Readings: 1 Sam. 9:1-4.17-19.10:1; Ps. 21; Mark 2:13-17

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE LORD CAME TO CALL SINNERS AND NOT THE RIGHTEOUS

The mission of Jesus is often misunderstood by people who feel that they should be the ones to dictate to God what to do. But Jesus will always surprise them and use them to set a good example for the rest of us. This is evident in our Gospel passage today, which presents to us the call of Levi who was a tax collector, a presumably public sinner. As Jesus passed by, he said to Levi, “Follow Me.” This is a present-tense command, which is a call for Levi to leave his old way of life behind and to begin a new life of following him.

But why would Jesus have any interest in a man like this? There is only one word that can answer this question, that is, grace. Despite his ugly occupation, his ugly lifestyle, his failures, and his sins, Jesus loved Levi, and he called him to a new life. The fact remains that, Jesus never condemned anyone nor does he judge people by their past behaviour. He is only interested in what they can be now and in the future. There and then, Levi drops everything and goes after Jesus just the same way Peter and Andrew, James and John had also done.

Later, when Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, several known sinners and tax collectors were at the table with him and his disciples. This was a real scandal for the scribes and Pharisees. For them, if Jesus really was a Rabbi he would have had nothing to do with such people. But Jesus replied: It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous but sinners.

With this statement, we are meant to know that Jesus' whole mission is the salvation of souls and the redemption of people to wholeness. And the best way to achieve this is by having direct contact with them. But we are often not present where people are most in need of hearing God’s message. Sometimes, we tend to side with the Pharisees and feel we should keep away from sinful and ‘immoral’ people.

Dear friends, we need to learn that the Gospel message can most effectively be communicated to those who have lost touch with God and the meaning of life by reaching out to them. We should not be afraid to reach out to people, especially those who have been captured by the things of this sinful world.

For we heard in our first reading today that Samuel encountered Saul and, before anointing him, said: Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart. It was after this encounter that Samuel anointed Saul, for the word of God is something alive and active: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit and can judge the secret emotions and thoughts of everyone of us.

Hence, Jesus' calling Levi to follow him shows that with God, there is great mercy to pardon the greatest sinners. There is grace to change the greatest sinners and make them holy. And this is a great sign of hope for anyone who thinks that God has abandoned him or her because of sin or past ugly ways of life. God is not interested in our past ugly and sinful ways of life. Rather he is interested in what he can make out of us now and in the future.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, your love and compassion for humanity are so great that, even in our sinful and ugly ways of life, you never abandoned us. So Lord, when sin separates us from you, may your grace and providence bring us back. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year A 16th January, 2026

 

Readings: 1 Sam.8 4-7.10-22; Ps. 89; Mark 2:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GET UP, AND PICK UP YOUR BED AND GO HOME?

The sin and evil going on in the world are putting our faith to the test and most people are giving in to this scheme because they lack the strong will to withstand the suffering, sickness and problems that befall us as a result of this evil. People are running up and down seeking solutions. 

While the evil ones are taking advantage of the ugly situation to destroy the faith of the people. In fact, one may begin to wonder if there is still hope for the restoration of humanity from this ugly situation. But the fact remains that God is able and willing to heal and restore humanity once again.

This is evident in our Gospel passage today, when some people brought to him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’ But some scribes doubted his authority to forgive sins, and Jesus, knowing what was in their minds, said: ‘Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? 

Now, which of these is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ he said to the paralytic, ‘get up, and pick up your bed and go off home.’ And the man got up and went home.

Here we see the power and authority of Jesus towards the restoration of the paralytic man carried by his friends. A gesture that signifies the restoration of humanity paralyzed by sins and evil. So Jesus will always begin by forgiving our sins, for sin seems to be the root of the sickness. But sin may be pardoned, yet the sickness not be removed; the sickness may be removed, yet the sin not pardoned. But for Jesus, healing is holistic for those who have faith in God. 

However, this is what the scribes and the Pharisees failed to understand as they doubted and opposed the power and authority of Jesus, just like the Israelites in our first reading today, who rejected Samuel and the Kingship authority of God while requesting a human King. And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for it is not you they have rejected; they have rejected me from ruling over them.’

Dear friends, have we rejected the authority and kingship of God in our lives? Don’t you think that the problem in our world today is a result of our rejection of  God and his kingship in our dealings? So, today we are called to be submissive to the Kingly authority of God and not be like the Israelites and the scribes who were enslaved by their pride and desire to maintain their prestige in society. 

They doubted the power and authority of the Lord and rejected the message of truth. Of which Jesus rebuked them, showing us that truly he has power and authority not just to heal and forgive us, but to restore us and all humanity back to our former glory.

 

Therefore, we are also called to imitate the great faith and love of the friends of the paralytic, the love and faith that radiate from the innermost being of those who exercise it. Let us like them, learn to love and help one another. Because the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today. 

Most families exist only by grace because of the absence of love. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and goodwill in our dealings with one another, believe me, the world will be a temporary home for everyone.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are paralyzed by the sins and evil we are committing against you and the world you created out of our pride, greed and selfishness. As we submit to your kingship and authority in faith, forgive us our sins, heal and restore us once again. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Thursday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 15th January, 2026

 

Readings: 1 Sam. 4:1-11; Ps. 44; Mark 1:40-45

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

EXPERIENCING THE HEALING POWER OF JESUS

There is no doubt that the compassionate love of Jesus in solidarity with human suffering is evident in the scriptures and even in our daily lives. Little wonder, we have great events in the scriptures that illustrate the compassionate concern of Jesus in the struggles of humanity and how he wishes to set us free from the shackles of our troubles.

This is evident in the occasion of our Gospel passage today, where a leper came up and bowed low in front of Jesus and said to him, " If you will, you can make me clean. Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I will! Be clean!’ And immediately his leprosy was cured at once.

Here, the touching of Jesus is very significant since no ordinary person would dare to touch a leper. We can think of the inner healing that must have resulted from the touch of Jesus, that moment of physical contact which the leper had not experienced for a long time due to rejection. Touch is something we all need, but are so often lacking in our relationship with God and one another, and it is even becoming worse with the ugly situation of the coronavirus and the need for social and physical distancing. But this cannot stop Jesus from reaching out to his children who call on him for healing and restoration.

Thus, the leper was despised, feared, shunned and rejected in society, but when he approached Jesus in humility, he became the object of divine attention. We, too, just like the leper, are in need of healing, including the healing that comes from the touch of Jesus. All we need is to approach Jesus in humility, and we will become a person of divine attention.

More so, the story of this leper is a good example of how we sinners can and should appeal to Jesus for cleansing especially from our sins. We should come in faith knowing that God is always willing to cleanse every sinner who comes to Him. So, let us sincerely turn to God once again with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, just like the leper who came to Jesus with faith, knowing that he could heal him and make him better.

This is what all of us must have as well, a strong and genuine faith in God. But we should not be like the Israelites in our first reading today, who only remembered God when they were in need of him. For they have made God a tool to be used only when they need him. That is why when they were defeated in war, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the ark. And when the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel gave a great shout so that the earth resounded. However, they were defeated despite the presence of the Ark of the Lord.

Dear friends, we should never take the gift of God’s presence in our lives for granted. We must learn to utilise any encounter we have with the Lord, for it may be our great opportunity to be restored and what is needed is to put our faith in action by saying Lord, if you will, you can restore me.

So friends, I don’t know what type of leprocious problems you are passing through? Are you weighed down by sin or sickness? Are you feeling helpless and rejected? Or do we know people who are helpless and need some help? Do we feel the need for Jesus’s help in some part of our lives? Let us pause for a moment and imagine Jesus looking at us. How does he see us? What are you saying to us?

Brethren, Jesus in solidarity with human sufferings, wishes to set us free from sickness, troubles, challenges and manipulations from the evil ones. He desires to be with us as we struggle every day to overcome the challenges in our lives, in our families, society and the world at large. Therefore, we should not be afraid to approach Jesus for healing and restoration, all we need is an active faith like the leper in our Gospel passage today.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, humanity is in deep darkness caused by different forms of leprosies and only you can heal and restore us. For you know our innermost being and the challenges we are facing today, come to our aid, we pray and cleanse us from all our physical, emotional, economic, and spiritual leprosies, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Wednesday of The First Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 14th January, 2026

 

Readings: 1Sam. 3:1-10.19-20; Ps. 40; Mark 1:29-39

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

EXPERIENCING THE HEALING POWER OF JESUS AND DIVINE DIRECTION 

As Jesus continued to carry out his mission of preaching, he also showed compassion and care for those who were passing through difficulties. This shows the love and mercy of God for humanity. Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, when Jesus returned from preaching in the synagogue, he entered Simon Peter's house, and behold, Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever. 

This is not a minor sickness in the ancient world. A fever was not only debilitating for a short while, but was often a symptom of a condition that would lead to death. So, Jesus simply raised her up, and the fever left her. She immediately began to serve them, something she was unable to do because of her illness.  Thus, she was able to render her service to the first Christian communities. 

She was healed and restored with new strength so that she may again rise and take up her proper place in the community of God’s people. This clearly shows how and why Jesus came down upon us and by taking up our human nature made it possible for him to identify himself with the struggles of humanity as he embraced us with his love, compassion and care. For he came to heal us from our sins and from all the afflictions we encounter.

Dear friends, God really cares for our well-being, his always ready to help us in our struggles so that we can be well disposed to serve him. Hence, whenever we are sick both physically or spiritually and are cured from this sickness, it is tempting to sit back and accept people’s good wishes and congratulations. These should not be our attitudes; we should rather learn from Peter’s mother-in-law that healing is not just to make us well but to enable us to become active again in rendering service to God and his community.

Therefore, let us learn to trust in the Lord’s power and authority to help us in our struggles. Let us learn from the experience of Samuel in our first reading today, who was guided by Eli to discern the call of the Lord. Let us learn to say Hear I am Lord since you called me, for the Lord is always ready and willing to heal and help us in our struggles.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, we are really sick in need of your healing and compassion. As we struggle every day to serve you and humanity, heal all our illnesses and give us grace to get up and become more active again in order to render more quality services to you and to our communities. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.