BE PREPARED, KEEP YOUR LIGHT BURNING AND ALWAYS MAKE READY YOUR OIL OF PURITY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 8th November, 2020.

Readings: Wis 6:12-16, Ps.63, 1Thess 4:13-18, Matt. 24:1-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

BE PREPARED, KEEP YOUR LIGHT BURNING AND ALWAYS MAKE READY YOUR OIL OF PURITY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Preparation they said, is the secret and foundation of every successful event. This is obvious when we observe how footballers, boxers, athletes, also engineers, doctors and farmers, business men and women devote time and energy in rigorous preparation towards achieving their goals. Then I realized that adequate is truly the heart of any successful event. But if we can go to this length of rigorous periods of preparation just for things of this passing world, it will be even more demanding when it has to do with preparing for eternal life. 

Thus, if we can devote such time and energy towards our spiritual life which we often neglected, we will be more awake and prepared more than the ten maidens in our Gospel passage today, who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. When the bridegroom delayed in coming their lamps burned out and as they went out to get more oil, they missed out since the door was shut after the bridegroom had passed.

In this parable, Jesus emphasized on the need for us to be well prepared for the coming of God’s kingdom, warning us not to be like the foolish five maidens who were not well prepared and missed out when the bridegroom came because they run short of oil. The oil here is so symbolic, as we know in the scriptures, oil is made from the seed of the olive tree, which symbolizes goodness, fruitfulness, purity and righteousness, these great viruses like oil sustain and fuels the light of our souls which  shines in the world to enlighten the darkness around us. 

Hence, these great virtues are what the wise maidens took as extra oil. While the foolish ones abandoned them. So as the coming was delayed, they all drowsed off, and when the time actually came, the foolish ones realized that they were not good enough. There oil of goodness, purity, and righteousness had burned out, and their light had stopped burning, so they had nothing with which to replenish it. Thus, their contribution to the light of the world was no more, for they were fruitless.  They had become lazy and begin to do things that they are not supposed to be doing. So now that the time is ripped, they had nothing to keep their lamp burning for the bridegroom that was coming. 

Dear friends, our life as Christians demands that we should be alert, we should be prepared at all times and be ready to make sacrifices like the five wise maidens. Because so many people will be caught unprepared when they realize that the day of the Lord has finally come, and they have nothing to show to God for all the gifts he has given us. Little wonder we are told in our first reading to be wise for wisdom is found by those who seek her. And St. Paul in our second reading tells us about the need to be vigilant and prepared, we should not claim to be ignorant. 

Therefore, we should be watchful for we know neither the day nor the hour when the Lord will call us. We are reminded today that this world is passing away, so we need to stay awake and be ready. We are called to abstain from things that will separate us from our God, as we look into our inner being, our interior life in order to embrace the life of holiness, goodness, purity and self-control for they are the extra oil that will help us to be more prepared. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we 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 and ready to stand before you whenever you call us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.  Happy Sunday and peace be with you.

LIVING A LIFE OF INTEGRITY IN THE MIDST OF CORRUPT AND SINFUL WORLD

 Saturday 31st week in Ordinary Time Year A, 7th November, 2020.

Readings: Phil 4:10-19 , Ps.111 , Luke 16: 9-15

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LIVING A LIFE OF INTEGRITY IN THE MIDST OF CORRUPT AND SINFUL WORLD

Walking through the streets I observed how people are struggling with the things of this life, I can feel their passion, their determination and willingness even in the midst of corruption and challenges of life. How I wish we can put such energy in working towards the things that edifice our soul. 

This is what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel passage today when he said; use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. For the man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

Here, we have the continuation of yesterday’s parable of the dishonest steward, in which today Jesus explained its meaning and how it can be related to the lives of the people, telling us that we should careful not to fall into the temptations of money and other worldly pleasures which are trying to lead us away from God and the salvation he has given us. 

Dear friends, today we are called to live a life of integrity. Each and every one of us are called to be good manager of and custodians of whatever blessings and resources God has given us, for we are all reminded that we have been called to follow the Lord and to devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly. And St. Paul in our first reading tell us that there is nothing we cannot master with the help of the One who gives us strength.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we listened to your words today, may we not be carried away by the things of this passing world. Rather give us the grace to a life of integrity and to develop our societies positively, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace filled weekend.

PRUDENTLY USE THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD TO WIN YOUR SALVATION

 Friday 31st week in Ordinary Time Year A, 6th November, 2020.

Readings: Phil 3:17-4:1 , Ps.121 , Luke 16: 1-8

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

PRUDENTLY USE THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD TO WIN YOUR SALVATION

The elements of good and bad seem inherent in human person, little wonder the world involves both good and bad mixed together. This will help us to understand the reason for corruption, greediness, immoral and social decadence in our world today. But even in the midst of all these ugly situation, we are expected to be wise and smart in our deals with the thing of this passing world.

Little wonder, in the Gospel passage today, Jesus tells the parable of this dishonest steward who, having acted unjustly and having being exposed by his master, went to great lengths to make friends of his master’s debtors in order to secure his future. In this parable, Jesus is not telling us to be dishonest, but he wants us to know that we can learn even from this dishonest servant how to prudently use the things of this  passing world to gain our salvation. Thus, Jesus points out that we too should be smart but not exactly like the dishonest steward, using dishonest wealth to exploit others as most rich people do today. No, instead we his disciples are to use our wealth to win souls for the kingdom and safe guard our own soul. 

But more importantly, if we understand the principle that says that everything we own is a gift from God, then we will realize that God is the owner of everything and that we are His stewards. As such, we are to use the Master’s resources to further the Master’s work and not the contrary. In this contest, we are told to be generous with our resources and use it for the safety of our souls and the growth of God’s kingdom. 

Dear friends, today, we are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are with regards to our vocation as Christians. How can we best harness the things entrusted to us so that they can be source and midst of safeguarding our souls surrounded by corruption and greediness. We are called today to be wise and smart, for if the worldly minded people can be smart in their dealing, we too should be smarter in our struggles for the salvation of humanity. We should utilize the resources available to us and use them to secure our salvation.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in our struggles with the ugly situation in our societies today, give us the grace and skills to manage the resources entrusted to us and use them properly for the salvation of humanity, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s Friday, wishing you a fruitful day.

GOD WILL NOT LET US TO BE LOST IN THIS SINFUL WORLD

 Thursday 31st week in Ordinary Time Year A, 5th November, 2020.

Readings: Phil 3:3-8 , Ps.104 , Luke 15:1-10

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

GOD WILL NOT LET US TO BE LOST IN THIS SINFUL WORLD

It is natural and common for any human person to desire to seek and find any valuable thing he/she have lost. Some people even have sleepless nights over their lost items. Some can go to any length hoping to recover any of their valuable commodity that is lost. If we can do this just for perishable things of this passing world, don’t we think that God will do even much more to save every single soul he created in his own image and likeness. 

Little wonder in our Gospel passage today, Jesus  while addressing the Pharisee who accused him of welcoming sinners, tells us the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin which illustrate the unrelenting love of God for each of us, especially sinners. 

In these parables, we see two examples of people searching for what is precious to them. And when they found it their joy was so great. So, Jesus uses these examples to explain to us how God seeks us when we are lost in sin and his joy when our friendship with him is renewed. His searching for us cost him the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. 

This can help us to realize how precious we are to him, that he never gives up on anyone except those who chose to be lost. All we need is for us to return to God who is patiently waiting for us. Just like St. Paul in our first reading who told us that because of Christ, he has come to consider all he has as nothing. For nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.

Dear friends, are we lost in sin? Have we given up in our struggle with sin? Do you think that our sins are so great that God cannot forgive us? Do we feel lost now? Jesus is searching for us, he is waiting for us at the confessional. When was the last time we visited him at the confessional? Just know that he loves us and we are too precious to be lost in this sinful world.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are lost in this passing world due to our sinfulness, Seek out humanity once again from the wilderness of sins, so that we may return back to you, just like the lost sheep and the lost coin and so rejoice and praise you once again with the angels. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP DEMANDS GIVING UP ALL THAT WE POSSESS

 Wednesday 31st week in Ordinary Time Year A, 4th November, 2020. The Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo

Readings: Phil 2: 12-18 , Ps.26 , Luke 14:25-33

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP DEMANDS GIVING UP ALL THAT WE POSSESS

A true disciple must constantly reflect through life in order to be aware of the seriousness of the commitment required of him/her. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today, takes his discourse on discipleship to a radical and difficult level when he said: ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’

Here, Jesus teaches about the cost of discipleship. That there is a price to be paid. However, Jesus does not directly intend to cause tensions and divisions in family life, but he wants us to accept the consequences that comes with the truth of the Gospel teaching, more importantly, when it comes to living out the Gospel message in a radical way, 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, 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 choice 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. Thus, 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 his life. For none of us can become his disciple if we do not give up our excess desire for worldly pleasures and possession, and pay our unreserved loyalty and allegiance to God over all other competing loyalties in our lives including family, self-interest, and possessions.

Dear friends, how much are we willing to let go for the sake of discipleship. Do we find it too demanding? In what ways? Is giving up ‘all my possessions’ realistic and if not what does this passage means to me? Whatever my response maybe, may God give us the grace to grow in freedom, to be ready to follow and to serve him in a new way and also be able to speak to the Lord about the points of difficulty in paying this cost. For St. Paul in our first reading tells us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling, just like St. Charles Borromeo whose memorial we celebrate today, for though he came from a wealthy family of Medici, he dedicated himself entirely to serving his people in a very sacrificial way.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the excess desire for the pleasurable things of this passing world have weakened our hearts from becoming a good disciple, give us courage and grace to let go of our ugly desires, so as to hold firm in our faith despite losing people and things that are dear to us. And through the intercession of St. Charles Borromeo, may we be outstanding in merit of his virtues and abounding in good fruit by our work and way of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

OPEN INVITATION TO GOD'S KINGDOM DON’T BE TOO BUSY TO COME

 Tuesday 31st week in Ordinary Time Year A, 3rd November, 2020. The Memorial of St. Martin De Porres

Readings: Phil 2:5-11 , Ps.22 , Luke 14:15-24

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

OPEN INVITATION TO GOD'S KINGDOM DON’T BE TOO BUSY TO COME

Invitation to event and social gathering are part of humanity's social ways of life. And as usual Jesus often uses the things we are very much familiar with to teacher us a very important lesson. So on the occasion of our Gospel passage today Jesus tell the parable of the great banquet, how a man planned a large banquet and sent out invitations, but those invited turned it down, so he opened the invitation to all who cares to come. Jesus ends the parable by saying that “not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet”

Here, their excuses for not coming to the banquet are not realistic. Because no one buys land without seeing it first, and the same can be said for buying oxen. And what, exactly, would keep a newly married couple from attending a social event? All the excuses in the parable show insincerity on the part of those invited. Hence the invitation is opened up to society’s maimed and downtrodden. The fact is that, those who ignored the invitation to the banquet chose their own punishment, they missed out and the master respects their choice by making it permanent: they would not “taste of my banquet”, he said. 

So it will be with God’s judgment on those who choose to reject Christ or are so busy to respond to his invitation, they will have their choice confirmed, and they will never taste the joys of heaven. Therefore, let us learn to honour the invitation of God in humility, just like Christ Jesus whose state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross as we heard in our second reading today.

Dear friends, the kingdom of God is opened for us today, let us not be too proud or busy to embrace it for the blessings of the kingdom are available to all who will come to Christ by faith. Let us learn to be humble and charitable with the gift God has given us, just like St. Martin De Porres, whose memorial we celebrate today. For he was known for his care for the poor and the sick, using his knowledge in medicine and extraordinary spiritual gifts with a profound life of prayer, humility and penance. And today he is known as patron saint of African Americans.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are too busy with the things of this passing world, as we hear about the invitation to your Heavenly Kingdom today, may we embrace it with all humility while imitating St. Martin De Porres whose life is rooted in the humility of Christ your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

COMMEMORATING AND PRAYING FOR SUFFERING SOULS IN NEED OF PURIFICATION

 Monday 31st week in Ordinary Time Year A, 2nd November, 2020. The Commemoration if All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day.)

Readings: Wis.3:1-9 , Ps.23, Rom 5:5-11 , Matt. 5:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

COMMEMORATING AND PRAYING FOR SUFFERING SOULS IN NEED OF PURIFICATION

As customary in the seminary, every 2nd November we often visit the cemetery to pray for the souls of the Faithful Departed. In 2017, I was privileged to be among those to visit a cemetery at Oke Are in Ibadan. On our way to the cemetery which is located on a hill in the heart of Ibadan, passing through the market and streets all I could see were people struggling, buying and selling, fighting and cursing each other, beggars, sick people and poor alike, among the people were the rich, the educated, their leaders both traditional and political. 

But getting to the cemetery I saw in a wall names and dates of some men and women who had passed on from this interesting community. Than I asked myself in my deep reflection, where will all of us in this beautiful community be in the next hundred years? Where are all these people whose names are listed in this wall? Where they like us before? Are we going to be like them later? With this is in mind I realized that there is time for everything in this world, a time to be born, and a time to die, a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to break down and a time to build up (Eccl: 3:1-11).

Little wonder the Church in her wisdom asked us every 2nd November, a day after the solemnity of All Saints, to commemorate and pray for all the faithful departed (All Souls), especially the suffering Church, that is, those souls that belong to the body of Christ but are still in need of purification. So today we remember our loved ones who have gone before us into eternal life. 

This we do not in grief but in the spirit of faith and hope, knowing that they are living in communion with us as they share in the resurrection of Christ. Just as we heard in our first reading that the souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God for those who are faithful will live with him in love; since grace and mercy await those he has chosen. And St. Paul in our second reading tell us to rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation in order to live a beatific life which Jesus gave us in our Gospel passage today.

Dear friends, do you know that you can offer some little help to souls struggling to attain heaven our beatific vision? Do we know that there are helpless souls who only rely on our help to attain the beatific vision? What am I willing to do for this helpless souls? Before now, have I even thought of it that my departed brethren need my assistance in other to reach their destination. Am I sure that I can avoid this state of suffering and purification? Do we ever remember that our loved ones may be there now?

Perhaps while they were in this life, they were of great help to us. Do we realize that our prayers and sacrifices represent the key to release them and we can use it if we want to? Do we care about using it? Therefore, as we remember the souls who are passing through this rigor of purification, it would be good for us to offer some prayers of intercession especially for our loved ones as plenary indigence awaits us when we do this devoutly today or any day in this month of November at the Holy Mass or at the cemetery. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we commemorate and pray for all souls today, may the light of your mercy shine upon them, especially those who are in need of your mercy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a favourable week.