Homily For Saturday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 17th October, 2026. The Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch

 

Readings: Eph 1:15-23, Ps. 8, Luke 12:8-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT ARE THE SINS THAT CANNOT BE FORGIVEN AND WHY?

Today, as Jesus continues to instruct his disciples on how to relate to him, he made a very vital statement that is so important and different from his usual messages, when he said in our Gospel passage today: “If anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels. Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

From this frightening passage, Jesus reveals to us that sins, no matter how grievous, can be forgiven, but there is a particular sin that will not be forgiven. That is the sin against the Holy Spirit. But what is this sin against the Holy Spirit? And why would it not be forgiven?

The sin against the Holy Spirit is rooted in one's outright rejection of God’s grace of salvation offered to us through the Holy Spirit‘s incessant invitations and warnings. This happens when the will of a person is hardened against God’s mercy and goodness.

Hence the sin against the Holy Spirit is “unforgivable” because it is the sinner himself who rejected God’s forgiveness. This is so because God respects the freedom which He has given us, for he respects a sinner’s decision to firmly refuse to be forgiven.

Thus, this sin, traditionally has been seen as a sin of final impenitence, or presumption, which occurs in a situation where someone sinned gravely and then either fails to have any sorrow for that sin or simply presumes on God’s mercy without truly repenting. And this lack of sorrow closes the door to God’s mercy against the sinner.

To make this clearer, Pope Pius X, in our catechism, made us know that there are six elements of this sin against the Holy Spirit, which include: Firstly, despairing of God’s salvation, which occurs when a person completely loses hope of salvation by judging and undermining the divine mercy of God.

Secondly, the presumption of God’s salvation occurs out of pride, when a person cultivates in his soul an idea of his perfection by believing that his salvation has been guaranteed by what he has done.

Thirdly, by denying the truth of faith recognised as such by the Magisterium of the Church, by considering his understanding to be greater than that of the Church and the teachings of the Holy Spirit even after an exhaustive doctrinal explanation. This attitude is referred to as the sin of heresy.

Fourthly, envying the grace that God gives to other people. This occurs when one detests other people's gifts and possessions, wishing to have everything alone, thereby going against the law of love for one’s neighbour.

Fifthly, obstinacy occurs when someone resolves to remain firmly in sin and continues in error even after receiving the light and help of the Holy Spirit by separating him/herself from God’s will and rejecting His salvation. Lastly, by final impenitence. This occurs as a result of the complete rejection of God and the invitation of the Holy Spirit during one's entire lifetime even at the hour of death.

Dear friends, we must be very wise, for many false prophets and teachers are operating under the power of the devil, leading people away from God. Today Jesus is promising us the Spirit of truth that will give us a special sign for distinguishing true doctrine and true teachers from the false ones.

Therefore, let us constantly ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace of discernment to distinguish between good and false prophets and teachers in order not to let them lead us to sin against Him (Holy Spirit).

Little wonder St. Paul, in our first reading today, says: may the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.

So, let us learn how to be true Christians in our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God who has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus.

This is what we see in the life of St. Ignatius of Antioch whose memorial we celebrate today. He was one of the most prominent of all the early Church fathers, who helped to establish a solid foundation for the Church in Antioch and also the Universal Church. He wrote extensively to the other Church communities. But he was martyred by being thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheatre, where he defended his faith to the very end.

LET US PRAY: O God, you promised to send us the Spirit of truth; grant us that we will always stand and witness to the truth we have found in Jesus against all the false influential prophets and teachers in our society today and never sin against the Holy Spirit. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful weekend.

Homily For Friday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A. 16th October 2026

Readings: Eph. 1:11-14; Ps. 32; Luke 12:1-7

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY WE SHOULD FEAR HE WHO CAN DESTROY THE SOULS AND THE BODY

The word “FEAR” is often defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. Little wonder, threats, intimidation, torture and fear are some of the powerful ways of silencing people from expressing their views, opinions and faith.

Hence, Jesus, knowing the difficulties and challenges his disciples would encounter, needed to train and instruct them properly, so they could stand firm amid threats, opposition,n and persecution that might bring fear.

Thus, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus continues his instruction on what it means to be a firm disciple in light of the mission he is about to entrust to his apostles.

He began by saying, What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. Fear not: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

As disciples, these encouraging words of Jesus are very apt especially now that we are passing through difficult moments of intimidation, persecution, brutality, killings, war, genocide, poverty, sickness, greed, immorality and famines in our families, societies, country and the world at large.

This ugly condition can make someone completely lose hope in humanity and also in God. But Jesus does not want us to lose hope; rather, he wants us to be firm and strong disciples who will stand firm and courageously face the ugly situations we encounter every day. For Jesus needs firm disciples who will speak and stand for his Gospel no matter the cost.

He says we should not fear the threats, intimidation, torture and brutality of people who claim to be powerful because of the office they occupy. We should not give in to some of these powerful ways of silencing people from expressing their views, opinions and faith. Yes, all over the world, there are struggles against injustice, protests against intimidation and brutality against innocent people, especially in our country.

Hence, we, the youths, are out seeking justice, equity and good governance. We must not stop or give up on our struggles. We must continue to speak and condemn evil without fear, but with the assurance that the Lord is with us, despite everything that we may be suffering and enduring because of the sins and wickedness of the evil ones.

Thus, St. Paul in our first reading says: It is in Christ that we were claimed as God’s own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things as he decides by his own will.

Dear friends, today we are called to be firm disciples of Jesus who has conquered fear, for our purpose in life is to become Jesus in deeds and character. By so doing, we will have confidence that God will enable us to carry out the work that he has entrusted to us, even amid persecution, knowing that neither the human person nor the devil can affect our souls.

We can be confident of God’s ultimate care for us because He knows even the number of hairs on our heads. Thus, as true disciples of Jesus, we must have confidence and remain firm in faith even during persecution, intimidation, brutality, suffering and sickness, because, His love and care for us surpass all our challenges.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, our society is full of threats, intimidation, brutality, torture and fear from people who are entrusted with authority and ought to protect the interests of humanity. Grant us the grace to resist their evil and ugly attitude and to stand firm amid all the opposition and persecutions we may encounter in our daily lives, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a blessed day.

Homily For Thursday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 15th October, 2026. The Memorial of St. Thérèse of Ávila

 
Readings: Eph 1:1-10, Ps. 98, Luke 11:47-54

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LEARN TO ACCEPT THE PURIFYING FIRE OF TRUTH AND NEVER SUPPRESS IT

Today in our Gospel passage, Jesus continued with his reproach on the Scribes and the Pharisees for hardening their hearts from his teaching, therefore behaving like their ancestors. Little wonder, Jesus, in his reproach, said: woe to you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed!

In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building. Hearing this the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him. They tried to force answers from him by setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

Here, Jesus was speaking to the people about the ugly attitudes and wickedness of humanity, well manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees. For on the various occasions when we ought to obey the Lord, we prefer to live and act in accordance with our own selfish and proud attitudes. Hence by reproaching us, Jesus is reminding us that this is not the right path for us to follow.

Instead, we should be more faithful and pay more attention to God’s words and teachings. This he had repeatedly communicated to us through the prophets, which we often rejected. Similarly, despite all the signs and wonders Jesus had done for humanity, we still refused to have faith in him.

To understand this great sacrifice of the Lord, St. Paul, in our first reading, says: blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and spotless and live through love in his presence. Telling us how much God loves us and how necessary it is for us to listen to him.

This is what we see in the life of St. Theresa of Avila whose memorial we celebrate today. She was one of the most prominent members of the early Church, who helped to establish a solid foundation for the Church. A life she embraced so deeply and became a renowned mystic and holy woman. With the help of St. John of the Cross, she was a very important figure in the renewal and reformation of the Carmelite order through which she established the Discalced Carmelites.

St. Theresa of Avila is one of the few female Doctors of the Church because of her immense contribution to the faith through her writings and way of life, by which she sought to return the Christian faith to its purer state. So, let us learn from her how to be true Christians in our way of life, words and deeds. Let us learn to put our trust in God who has promised to keep us from falling away from the true faith we have found in His Son Jesus.

Dear friends, why do we often feel bad when we hear people telling us the truth? Why do we often set traps to catch up with innocent people because they are telling us the truth we don’t want to hear? Today, we are called not to be like the Scribes and Pharisees, who, out of pride and selfishness, rejected the words of Jesus and sought to kill him.

Rather, we should be more humble and disposed towards the words of God we hear every day. We should make efforts to transform our lives and faith closer to that of Jesus. We should stop opposing and setting traps for people because they are telling us the truth or refuse to follow our opinions. Let us stop building on the past ugly and evil attitudes of people who have gone before us just like the scribes and Pharisees.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, out of pride we often wish to eliminate those who correct us. As you reproach our ugly attitudes of pride and selfishness today, may we be filled with the longing for true holiness and humility; we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily for Wednesday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B, 14th October, 2026

Readings: Gal 5:18-25, Ps. 1: 1-6, Luke 11:42-46

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY DO WE PREFER TO LOOK GOOD OUTSIDE BUT INSIDE IS SUPER UGLY AND DIRTY?

The condition of our society today calls for deep reflection, as so many things that appear to be good are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful and draw the admiration of people, but within them are full of dead men's bones and all sorts of corruption. They call it packaging, the popular term people use to describe how they make things that aren't very good look extremely good, and it has made us lose focus on how we ought to do things right.

This ugly attitude of the human person is what Jesus is condemning today in our Gospel passage. He continued to challenge the hypocritical attitude of the scribes and Pharisees, which is not different from the attitude of most of us.

He said: Alas for you Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and the love of God! These you should have practised, without leaving the others undone. Alas for you Pharisees who like taking the seats of honour in the synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares! Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it!

Here, Jesus is challenging us to think differently about how we live our lives. He is challenging us to look at what is going on in our inner being, our interior life, that part of us that we hide from one another. For most people, the things we see around us today are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly appear beautiful and draw the admiration of people, but within us are outright ugliness and all sorts of corruption, like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it.

This is because, like the scribes and the Pharisees, we are interested mostly in the external beauty of things around us while neglecting their essence. We are self-satisfied, and often think that we are above the law. We often want to look good from the outside but remain ugly and dirty within.

Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading, tells us that, when self-indulgence is at work in us, the results are gross indecency, fornication, and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things.

He then encouraged us to embrace the interior life of the spirit, which brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control, for when we are led by the Spirit, no law can touch us.

Dear friends, why do we prefer to look good outside but inside is super ugly and dirty? What is the state of your interior life? Is it like a whitewashed tomb? Today we are called to build our interior life strong and stop living a fake life of packaging. We are challenged to change our ugly ways of life, to change from within us. This may seem very difficult. But, we need to change in so many ways, especially as regards our attitude towards things in this passing world. For God is calling us to repentance; he wants to come into our souls and dwell.

But he cannot dwell in a heart that is like a whitewashed tomb. Thus, Jesus is rebuking all humanity; he wants us to stop living a life of deception, immorality and corruption in the name of packaging. Rather, we should build up our interior being by embracing the things of the heart such as justice, mercy, love and compassion.

LET US PRAY: Loving Father, help us to build our interior life strongly in your love for we are living in a world of whitewashed tombs of deception, immorality and corruption. Give us grace to be wise enough to discern what is right and pleasing to you. And as we struggle with the ugly situation of this life, may you guide and direct our paths. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Tuesday, Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, 13th October, 2026

Readings: Gal 5:1-6, Ps. 119, Luke 11:37-41

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LET OUR INTERIOR LIFE BE PURIFIED AND OUR WHOLE LIFE WILL BE PURE

Our society is full of artful deception, dishonesty and fraudsters. Integrity has become a virus to be eliminated. Morals and virtuous acts are no longer valuable. Heroes of deception and fraudsters are honoured, decorated and celebrated. This unhealthy attitude of humanity is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today. For when a Pharisee invited Jesus to dine at his house, he was surprised that Jesus had not first washed before the meal.

But Jesus said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.

Here, the Pharisees were so much interested in the outward appearance and the ‘letters’ of the Law that they neglected the ‘spirit’ of the Law. However, Jesus made it clear that the purity of the human person is not based on the outward appearance of a person but, on the good fruit of virtue that comes from the human soul, because outwardly we may appear to be good and pious, but in reality, our hearts are full of wickedness, immorality and sin.

Little wonder St. Paul, in our first reading, reminded us that our salvation is due to our faith in God and not just to the Law or obedience to the Law. That is why he rebuked those who forced and demanded that every member of the Christian faithful should embrace circumcision according to the Law of Moses. Therefore, let us know that without faith, all of our good actions, obedience and the observances of the Law will be empty and meaningless.

Dear friends, the true nature and purity of the human person come from within our interior life. So, today we are called to look within ourselves, and purify our inner being and so make our outward appearance reflect our inner being.

We must ensure that our faith in God is pure and genuine by letting our whole lives be inspired by virtuous and truthful actions in our daily activities. Therefore, we must let our attitudes begin to change our society that is full of artful deception, dishonesty and fraudsters. Let our lives bear good fruits of integrity, love, purity and faith.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our hearts are full of corruption, greediness, wickedness and immorality; give us the grace to purify our lives with virtues of integrity, honesty, purity and love. We ask this through Christ our lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day

Homily for Monday Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 12th October, 2026

 

Readings: Gal 4:22-24.26-27.31-5:1, Ps. 113, Luke 11:29-32

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY ARE WE STILL SEEKING FOR Signs? 

Often, people want to see signs before they can accept or believe what we present to them. This is what the crowd in our Gospel passage today did: they asked Jesus for signs. He said to them, ‘This is an evil generation that asks for a sign!

But the only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah, telling us that, on Judgment Day, the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here with us, that is, Jesus himself.

Here, Jesus presents to us the final recommendations of the end time, pointing out that he is the greatest sign of all time just like Jonah was to the people of Nineveh. He insists that we should pay rapt attention to the signs nature is giving us concerning the end-time events, and that these signs will help us have hope founded firmly on the word of God, which drives away fear and despair, knowing that the kingdom of God is very near to us.

He also warns us about following those who claim to know when the end is coming. For we may see many of the signs written in Scripture happening already in our time, and people are terrified, looking for someone to show them the way. We should know that Jesus is the only Way, the Truth and the Life.

And St. Paul in our first reading today reminded us of the sign of God’s promise to Abraham as a result of his faith, by comparing the two sons of Abraham, the one born earlier to the slave Hagar, namely Ishmael, and the one born of his wife, Sarah, the promised son, Isaac, born as promised by God.

Thereby giving us the contrast between the two states of our existence, namely our past, sinful and enslaved life, and our new and purified life which we obtained through our baptism, the greatest sign of our redemption.

Dear friends, what signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of these times, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us dread the second coming of the Lord, or do we joyfully embrace it in anticipation? Remember, Jesus warns us not to waste our time seeking signs; rather, we should repent and be prepared. We should remain firm in faith.

He reminds us that he is not just the sign of Jonah, but something far greater than Jonah, and without him in our lives, we will be lost, because the future lies in his hands and nothing can destroy or hurt us as long as we remain faithful to his commands. Nonetheless, what he requires of us in this world is for us to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in a world full of confusion and deception, help us to remain faithful in following our Lord Jesus knowing that he is the greatest sign of all times. And as we carry out our task this week, may your favour be with us now and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead. 

Homily for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 11th October, 2026

Readings: Is.25:6-10, Ps. 23, Phil 4:12-14.19-20. Matt. 22:1-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHY HAVE WE BECOME TOO BUSY TO HONOUR THE LORD’S OPEN INVITATION TO HEAVENLY BANQUET

In our hymn book, some hymns are based on some of the parables in the scriptures; one of them entitled 'I can not come to the banquet, composed by Miriam Therese Winter gives us the summary of our Gospel passage today and the first and last stanzas of this hymn say:

1. A certain man had a feast on his fine estate in town,

He laid a festive table and wore a wedding gown

He sent invitations to his neighbours far and wide

But when the meal was ready, each one of them replied!

CHORUS:

I can not come!

I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now,

I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow,

I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum,

Pray hold me excused, I cannot come!

2. Now God has written a lesson for the rest of mankind,

If we're slow in responding, He may leave us behind,

He's preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day,

When the Lord and Master call us, be certain not to say.

In this life we are so busy with so many things that, if we do not take care, we will miss out on the essence of our existence. Each day, the streets are full of people struggling and bobbling; the markets are full of people buying and selling, and people rising very early in the morning and coming back late at night.

This shows us how much effort people put in every day just to earn their daily bread; I thought, if we can sincerely put in such an amount of effort in order to catch up with the train of eternal life, which God is inviting us to in today’s Gospel passage.

Today, from the parable of the marriage feast, the Lord offers us again an invitation to the banquet of heaven. An invitation which is God's free act of kindness, as He wishes to dine with us. No one deserves it anyway, and He is not obliged to invite us, nor are we expected to honour his invitation.

Hence in the parable, those who think that they deserve to be invited are too busy to enter the banquet hall. But the poor in spirit and the humble who know that the love God has for them is completely gratuitous accept his invitation with joy.

Thus, today we are called not to be too busy to come to our heavenly banquet. For God’s banquet is his Church; good and bad, saints and sinners are invited, for the Church is made up of saints and sinners. The bad are expected to become good while sinners are expected to repent and put on a new garment of holiness and love.

As Christians, today we are reminded of our wedding garment, the new suit we put-on on the day of baptism. Therefore, we cannot go on wearing the old garments of sins of pride, greed, adultery, fornication, theft, drunkenness, selfishness and unforgiveness, which will throw us into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen.

Dear friends, why have we become too busy to honour the invitation of God to his heavenly banquet? Today we are called to honour his invitation and put on the wedding garment of love, holiness and open the doors of our hearts to the poor, the marginalised, and those rejected by society.

And God, through the prophet Isaiah in our first reading, promised to gather us together from all the foreign countries, and bring us home to his Holy mountain, where the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food.

On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations; he will destroy death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth. And St. Paul in our second reading encouraged us to be disposed to cope with whatever situation we find ourselves now, for God in return knows how to fulfil all our needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus our Lord.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, today we are reminded of the invitation to your heavenly banquet. As we honour this invitation, help us to put on the wedding garment of love, holiness, forgiveness, and mercy which we embraced in our baptism. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed Sunday celebration.