DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME SEEKING FOR SIGNS, RATHER BE PREPARED

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 12th October, 2020.

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

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME SEEKING FOR SIGNS, RATHER BE PREPARED 

Oftentimes people want to see signs before they can accept or believe whatever we have to present to them. This is the case with the crowd in our Gospel passage today, as 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 Judgement 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, that these signs will make us to 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 the sign of God’s promise to Abraham as a result of his faith, by comparing between 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 existences, namely our past, sinful and slavery 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 this times, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us to 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 for signs, rather we should 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 carryout our task this week, may your favour be with us now and always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week ahead.

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 11th October, 2020.

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 11th October, 2020.

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

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

OPEN INVITATION TO GOD’S HEAVENLY BANQUET, DON’T BE TOO BUSY

In our hymn book there are hymns that 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 says: 

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 neighbors 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 calls us, be certain not to say.

In this life we are so busy with so many things, that if care is not taking we will miss out from 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 everyday just to earn their daily bread, I thought if we can sincerely put in such amount of effort in order to catch up with the train of eternal life which God is inviting us 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 compared 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, accepted 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 unforgivingness 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, we are called today to put on the wedding garment of love, holiness and open the doors of our hearts to the poor, the marginalized and those rejected by the society. And  God through 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 honor 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. Do have a blessed Sunday celebration.

MORE BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP IT

 Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 10th October, 2020.

Readings: Gal 3:22-29, Ps. 105, Luke 11:27-28

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

MORE BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP IT

Reflecting on our relationship with God, family and neighours, I asked myself which one comes first, because all seem to be important? This is very vital when we relate it to the response of Jesus to a woman in our Gospel passage today, who when Jesus was speaking to the crowd, raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

Here, Jesus highlights that our primary relationship in life is to God. Even the deepest and most natural bonds are created within this primary love of doing the will of God. Mother and family were important to Jesus in his life and at his death; but his real family is centered around the new family relationship that is built among those who hear and keep the word of God. Therefore, our relationship with our family and neighours is actually rooted in our relationship with God whose word is the light that guided our steps.

But the questions remain:  What have we been doing with the word of God we hear everyday? What kind of fruit are we bearing in our family and society? How has the word of God changed our life and disposition towards our family? How has the word of God challenged and propelled us to love God and neighours? The answers to these questions are blowing in the wind. 

Therefore, today we are called to be more practical and attentive towards listening to the of God. We are called to put into action the word we hear everyday. And concerning this new family of Jesus made up of those who hear the word of God and keep it, St  Paul in our first reading tells us that all of us who belong to this family are baptized in Christ and have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of us are one in Christ Jesus.  

Dear friends, whatever we feed grows and whatever we quit feeding dies and feds away. So what are we feeding our soul with? How are we feeding on the word of God? Our society have enough hearers of the word, what we need now is doers of the word of God, men and women who will feed their lives with the word of God and from the abundance of their heart live a life that will influence the society positively. Thus, when we hear the word of God we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our soul. And by so doing we become blessed brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of your words we hear everyday, grant that we may cultivate the habit of hearing and keeping your words, so as to become living instruments of your words in our families, societies and the world at large. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen Do have a blessed and fruitful weekend.

DOT NOT LET ENVY AND JEALOUSY MAKE YOU DENY THE FACT ABOUT DISCERNING SPIRITUAL REALITY

 Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 9th October, 2020.

Readings: Gal 3:7-14, Ps. 111, Luke 11:15-26

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DOT NOT LET ENVY AND JEALOUSY MAKE YOU DENY THE FACT ABOUT DISCERNING SPIRITUAL REALITY

One of the gifts of God to us is the gift of discernment, which enables us to know and distinguish between good and evil spirit. This gift is very important to the office of every leader. But it is sad and unacceptable when a leader decided to misused this gift out of envy and jealousy. This is the attitudes of some of the people in the crowd especially those who belong to the party of the Pharisee as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

For  we heard how Jesus had delivered a man possessed by an evil spirit. The spirit had bound his tongue and made him mute. But when Jesus had cast out the demon from the man and the man spoke, some people in the crowd who belonged to the party of the Pharisees watched this great miracle as it happened said that it was through the power of Beelzebul the prince of demons that he was able to cast the devil out. 

This is because they were adamant in their opposition against Jesus which were propelled by envy and jealousy. That is why they were unable to look beyond their narrow-mindedness and stubbornness in insisting that their way was the true way while others like our Lord Jesus were wrong. But Jesus as usual used the opportunity to correct them by pointing out the mistakes in their argument. Thus, telling us that it does not make sense for the demons to be fighting one another and so be divided among themselves. Because any house that divides within itself can not stand, and as we know the evil ones are always united in their plans to bring about destruction in human activities.

Hence, in our first reading, St. Paul addressing the ugly divisions sowed by the devil in the community of the faithful in Galatia, made us to know that they will collapsed and fallen apart if all of their members continue to divide against each other. Thus they have to make sure that they overcome the divisions among them and seek true unity in Christ, so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might include the pagans, for through faith we all have received the promised Spirit.

Dear friends, we are called today to make proper use of the gift of discernment which the Lord has given us. We must not let envy, jealousy and over ambition make us to deny the truth about the spiritual realities we experience from the Lord. We must not let the devil succeed in sowing the spirit of division among us. We should also ask God to endow us with the spirit of discernment and truth especially this period that we are often faced with the ugly and sad attitude of human deception all over the world.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we struggle everyday with the manipulation of the evils ones, give us the grace to overcome them, may we never be misled by the devil and all of his forces, as they often attempted to sow divisions and dissensions among us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you. 

PATIENT AND PERSISTENCY IN PRAYER

 Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 8th October, 2020.

Readings: Gal 3:1-5, Ps. Luke 1:69-75, Luke 11:5-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

PATIENT AND PERSISTENCY IN PRAYER

Have you been truly in need of something from a friend who is capable of give you what you need but he is so busy to give you what you need now? Or have you been in a situation where you needed something from a friend but cannot get it because you can not reach him easily. Such a situation can make one to be under serious pressure. Then the question that comes to mind is, are we going to give up or persevere in our struggles on waiting or reaching out to him? This kind of disposition is what we experience sometimes when we pray and our requests are yet to be granted.

And this kind of situation is what Jesus is addressing in the story in our Gospel passage today as he continue his teaching on prayer. Thus, telling us that we should approach God with confidence as a friend, persisting until we obtain what we need. We should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until we obtain the answer we need. Just like a boy asking his father for a fish or an egg, knowing that his the father would not give him a snake or a scorpion instead of the fish or egg he had requested. With this illustration Jesus emphasized that if we, who are prune to evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give to those who ask him.

Dear friends, there are times when we asked and we received, sought and found, knocked and it was opened to us. But there were also times when we asked but did not receive, seek but did not find, knocked but the door remained shut. In such moments persistency and perseverance in prayer are what we are called to embrace. For they will help us to understand how to trust God knowing  that he does not need to be informed of our needs, thereby encouraging us never to lose heart. This is certainly one of the biggest challenges of our faith today. People are not just patient with God. We want to have everything right now as it is hot. Patient, persistency and perseverance are very difficult virtue for most people today.

This is what the people of Galatia were lacking that made them to begin to quickly turn away from the faith and St. Paul in our first reading today chastised them for their ugly actions, in embracing the false teachings and ideas promoted by those who did not follow the true teachings of the Church but are quick to follow the ideas of the factions of the Church who taught something different for the true faith. Therefore we should not be like them. Let us learn how to be patient and persevere in our prayers.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we are not patient with you in our prayers, give us the grace to persevere and be persistent in our prayer life and in every other things we do in life, especially in our relationship with others. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 7th October, 2020. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Readings: Gal 2:1-2.7-14, Ps. 117, Luke 11:1-4

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE PATTERN OF ALL PRAYERS

Prayer is a means of communication between God and humanity. It is a close link by which we reach God who dwells in our hearts. It is through prayer we discern the will of God for us. Hence, if we have not been able to discern the will of God for our lives or have not had any personal relationship with God in prayers, then perhaps we should consider to examine our prayer life to know if we have been praying the right way. Thus we can learn the proper way to pray from the prayer Jesus taught his disciples as pattern of all prayers as we have it in our Gospel passage today.

In this prayer we have four traditional dimensions of  prayer which includes: glorification of God, submission, justice and protection. Jesus begins by saying: Father, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come, thereby teaching us that we begin any of our prayers by glorifying God. Following this is our total submission to God’s providence when we say: give us each day our daily bread. Then, we acknowledge the justice and mercy of God when we say: for give us our sins as we for give those we have sinned against us. And finally we ask for God’s guidance and protection when we say: lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil.

This is important because it is the means by which we communicate with our God. But often time we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desired without considering what God desires for us. Some of us end up spending lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we did not mean what we say, because we have wrong disposition born from unforgiving heart which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God.

Dear friends, it is time for us to change our perspective and wrong disposition towards prayers. It is time for us to spend more quality moment in prayer and be connected with God. We must let our prayers also be meaningful and be genuine from our hearts. It is time  for us to improve the quality of our prayer life by imitating Jesus, who always prayed to his heavenly Father at every possible opportunities. In addition to this theme of prayer is the memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary which celebrate today.

An event where we recall the famous victory of the Christian faithful against the enemies of the Church in the battle of Lepanto, where through the prayers and intercessions of Our Blessed Mother Mary the Church became victorious when the situation of the Christian faith were in extreme danger and were bitterly divided by the various heresies and splinter groups appearing at the time due to the reformation movement. Then, Pope Pius V called all of Christendom to pray the rosary fervently, sorting the intercession of Mary the Mother of God that her Son Jesus should be with the faithful fighting for the survival of the Christian faith which was under persecution and trials. And through the power of their dedication to praying the Rosary, God granted victory to his faithful people, and this is root of our October devotion. 

LET US PRAY; Lord God, we do not know how to pray properly, as we carryout our daily devotion, teach us once again how to pray properly, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

HOSPITALITY IS PERFECTED WHEN WE HAVE A LISTENING EAR

 Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 6th October, 2020. 

Readings: Gal 1: 13-24, Ps. 139, Luke 10:28-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOSPITALITY IS PERFECTED WHEN WE HAVE A LISTENING EAR

Listening is one of the vital aspect of the human person, which is very much lacking in most of our communication this days. This is because, oftentimes, we worry about so many things in life, trying to let people hear us without taking time to listen to them. There are people who are always trying to satisfy everyone without listening to the real thing that matters. I have also come across people who are often worried about how to make others feel more comfortable without minding their own discomfort. They are so concerned with pleasing others even when they are not pleased. What a great sacrificial virtue that is not common this days. 

This sacrificial virtue is the attitude of Martha in our Gospel passage today were we have the story of how Martha was so busy trying to make Jesus comfortable when he visited them at their house in Bethany. But when Martha observed that her sister Mary was not helping out in the preparation, rather was busy listening to Jesus, she said to Jesus: “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her”.

Here, Jesus is not condemning this great sacrificial virtue nor condoning laziness. Rather, he is saying that busy without listening and listening without doing is worthless. Hence, he gently correct the impression of Martha who was too busy and distracted with so many things that she risks losing sight of what is really important, that is, listening to Jesus. This is because Martha gives the impression that Mary is just sitting there doing nothing. But, in fact, she is listening to Jesus.

However, Jesus is not telling us to be content with sitting down and listen to his word, for he always insists that listening to his word means putting it into practice. While his objection to Martha request is because she was too anxious and distracted by many things, that she was not able to really listen to him and for Jesus listening is the best option.

Dear friends, in our relationship with Jesus, are we more of listener or more of accommodating and caring? Are we more like Martha or like Mary, for they were both friends of Jesus? Today many of us are so busy and anxious of so many things that we have no time to listen to God speaking to us and addressing the situation we are actually busy trying to solve. Today we are called like Martha to pause and listen, so that we can hear God speaking to us and directing us towards the right path.

Thus, Martha who was known as a friend of Jesus, loved to welcome him into her home, let us learn from her, knowing that hospitality is perfected when we have a listening ear. For it is a great virtue to be hospitable and caring especially when we spend quality time to listen to God and letting him direct and guide us towards carrying out our daily tasks. Hence, let us learn how to listen to God just like St. Paul in our first reading who through listening to God changed from a persecutor to a preacher of the faith he had previously tried to destroy. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are always so busy with the things of this passing world, that we often do not have time listen to you. Give us the grace like Mary to chose the better part which is to truly listen to your word and then be well disposed to be caring and hospitable just like Martha, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.