The Homily of Friday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 12th March, 2021

 The Homily of Friday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 12th March, 2021

Readings: Hosea 14:1-9, Ps. 81, Mark 12:28-34

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

ALL THAT GOD REQUIRES FROM US IS TO LOVE HIM IN OUR NEIGHBOURS

Oftentimes, when we are faced with the realities of life, we want to know the things that should be our first priority. What should be the most important thing to focus our energy? What should become the foundation of all the things we need to do? In fact, we are always desire to know what is required of us in this life. This is the deposition of one of the scribes in our Gospel passage today, who came to Jesus and asked him question concerning which commandment is the greatest. 

In response Jesus reminds them of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that they knew and recite from their earliest years from which they learnt that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all thy soul, and with all their mind; that is, with all the powers and the more noble faculties of the soul, the mind, the understanding, judgment, and will. Jesus then added that, to love one’s neigbhour is the second priority. 

This is just very practical because, anyone who loves God will naturally love all God’s children who are, of course, in a very real sense our neighbours. We must love every single person because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourself is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do.  

Hence, it is not possible to separate the love of God from the love of neighbour, for it is one commandment with two parts which will be the criterion for the final judgement of God. Thus, prophet Hosea in our first reading calls us to come back to the Lord our God, for our iniquity was the cause of your downfall. It is time to come back to the Lord, who loves us so much.

Dear friends, love is the center of all the teachings of Jesus, for love is the purest gift that God has given to humanity. It is like the stream water, so innocent and pure. A true love is not hidden, it radiates from the innermost being of a person who experience it. If we love God, then, we will see him in others and treat them justly and honourably. We will not hurt our neighbours but do our utmost best to live in peace with them. 

I don’t know if you have ever loved someone and you show it, or someone loves you and you know it? The fact is that, it actually feels right and awesome, because love bring healing and wholeness into people’s lives. Love is peace, Joy, strength and passion, love is stronger than death, it is that nature of God which we share.

   

Therefore, it is by loving God in our neighbours that we can share and experience this nature of God in us and by so doing we will conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and sin. The truth is that, the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today as most families exist by grace and not by love. 

Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all love one another. How I wish we can invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy humanity. Remember, God loves you so much. Do have a lovely day.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in you is the fullness of love, as we listen to your words today, may we truly love you and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful Friday.

The Homily of Thursday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 11th March, 2021

 The Homily of Thursday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 11th March, 2021

Readings: Jer. 7:23-28, Ps. 95, Luke: 11:14-23

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

ARE YOU WITH THE LORD OR AGAINST HIM?

Having journeyed with the Lord in the midst all the ugly situations going on in the world today. It is time to examine our conscience to know if we are still truly with the Lord in this journey of faith. This is the question we need to constantly ask ourselves, because not all those who are journeying with us are really sharing the same faith and destination with us. Thus, how to identify those who are with us in this journey, Jesus made it clear in our Gospel passage today.

In this Gospel Jesus said, that ‘he who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’ This statement was made when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law accused Jesus of using the power of Beelzebub to cast out other demons. Hence, Jesus rebuked them saying that the devil and demons would not have divided among themselves if they were to achieve their goal which is the destruction of humanity. 

Dear friends, today as we listened to the words of God, we are called to turn back to God and abandon our sinful ways in order to be and remain with the Lord. Little wonder, in our first reading today, we heard prophet Jeremiah reminding us of the need to be with the Lord as we make our journey, thereby reminding us of the need to repent and to change our ugly ways of life. Therefore, we must make up our minds to follow the Lord. For the world as we know is offering us so many things, good and bad alike. 

But sometimes the options are so confusing and we must make choices. To make right choice, we need to make a fundamental option that will form a solid base for all the choices we will be making in life. To make this fundamental option, we need to understand not just where we are physically but, where we are existentially in terms of our convictions, goals, desires, dreams and the destination of our soul in this journey of life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we make the examination of conscience, help us to discover who we are and who we are journeying with. May we never be against you and your family the Church as we hope to remain united as one big family of faith, with one Father and one goal which is to be united with you in your heavenly kingdom. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

The Homily of Wednesday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 10th March, 2021

 The Homily of  Wednesday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 10th March, 2021

Readings: Deut. 4:1.5-9, Ps. 147, Matt 5:17-19

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

TRUE GREATNESS IS FOUND IN KEEP AND TEACH THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

The difference between early Christian community and the present day Christianity is the mode of witnessing. The early Christian community practically preached the word of God by witnessing with their lives, while present Christianity are witnessing by preaching the word of God aloud with megaphones and all kinds of powerful sound systems without practicing what they preach thereby misleading people and deceiving one another. 

Hence today in our Gospel passage, Jesus said to his disciples as he is instructing us, that the man who infringes even one of the least of his commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven. Here, Jesus points out that keeping and teaching the commandments of God is the sure way to achieving greatness not just here on earth but also in heaven. 

So, as Christians our duty is to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments by our ways of life, we need to start practicing what we preach, we need to do more of witnessing then preaching. It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to blatant injustice and utter prophetic declarations and denunciation; these kind of words lack real meaning of our faith unless they are accompanied by effective action manifested by our way of life. Hence we need to acknowledge that our authority as Christians come from God who through Moses commanded us in our first reading not to forget the things our eyes have seen, nor let them slip from our heart all the days of our lives; rather, we should tell them to our children and to our children’s children.’

Dear friends, today Jesus tells us that he has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to complete them, so we are not called to compromise the teachings and laws of God to suit our wrong motives and parade ourselves as Christians, teachers, pastors, prophets. Rather we are called to live them out so that our actions should reflect the paternity of God in the way we live and serve others, knowing that true greatness is found in keep and teaching the commandments of God, of which Jesus tell us that the greatest of these commandments is to love God and our neighbour. 

Therefore, true greatness is rooted in our love for God and our neighbours, of which Jesus emphasized that it is too bad to break one of these commandments, but to teach someone else to do the same is a terrible evil thing to do. Thus, we should ask ourselves today, am I breaking these commandments and teaching others to do the same through my attitude and way of life? Am I following my own opinions contrary to the commandments and laws of love which Jesus has taught us by his way of life? Or am I keeping and teaching these commandments through my attitude and by way of life? The answer to these questions are not far from us.

  

LET US PRAY: Lord God, all good things come from you, as we struggle to  sincerely witness our faith and keep your commandments, grant us the grace to keep and teach them by our way of life and so obtain the Joy of true greatness in this world and in your heavenly kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

The Homily of Tuesday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 9th March, 2021

 The Homily of  Tuesday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 9th March, 2021

Readings: Dan 3:2.11-20, Ps. 25, Matt.18:21-35

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

LEARN TO FORGIVE OTHERS FROM YOUR HEART

In our Lord’s prayer which Jesus gave us as a pattern of all prayers and as a fundamental principle of Christian living, there is a portion that point out something so important. This portion says “forgive us our trespasses as we for give those who trespassed against us” (Matt.6:12). By this pray we are making a covenant and commitment that will be a standard by which we are going to be judged as regards our relationship with others and with God. But often times we are not conscious of this principles especially when we have to face the difficult moment of forgiving a grievous offense.

Thus, Peter one of the disciples of Jesus being conscious of this fact, asked Jesus in our Gospel passage today saying: ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy times seven. And he practicalized his answer with an example of a servant who owed his master a great debt that he and his generation cannot pay. But when he pleads for mercy, the master forgave him all the debts. However, this same servant found a fellow servant who owed him as little as one hundred denarii, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him and even when he pleaded for mercy, instead of forgiving him, he puts him in prison according to the norms of the law until he had paid his debt. 

This unforgiven servant did to his fellow servant what the master could have done to him, but did not. So, when the master heard how he treated his fellow servant, handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debts.” Jesus then said, this is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’ For God will apply the principle he has given us in our Lord’s Prayer, which will automatically put us where we properly belongs based on how we have related with other.

In this story, we see the extreme estimate of the debt the servant owed his master, ten thousand talents, even if him and his family had to work their whole life, they would never have been able to pay that debt. So, that’s a huge amount compared to hundred denarii his fellow servant owed him, in fact, there was no comparison between the two debtors at all. However, this will exposed to us the ugly attitude of unforgiveness and also help us to understand that our debt before God is so huge and countless for we cannot be able to pay them. Therefore we are bound, then, to have pity on others and forgive them from our hearts just as God had pity on us and forgives us our sons, for this is the only way to salvation. 

Dear friends, there is no doubt that forgiven a grievous offense can be very difficult, but when this is done, it is like recovery a lost treasure that contains: joy, peace, freedom and healing. Hence, are there people we have vowed not to forgive? Have people hurt us so much that we can’t forgive them? Have we offended people and cannot be humble enough to ask for their forgiveness? Do we think that our sins are so huge for God to forgive? Are we finding it difficult to forgive those who have offended us? 

This Holy season of Lent, we need to pray for God’s grace and courage to forgive people who have offered us, knowing that we are rebellious and proud people, we lack the courage and disposition to forgive. So today, Jesus is asking us to learn how to forgive others always and unconditionally from our hearts, so that God will also forgive us always and unconditionally. Therefore, we must never refuse to forgive or reject an offer of reconciliation in our relationship with God and with our fellow human beings and if this becomes difficult, bring it to Jesus in prayer. 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, today you have made us to realize how unlimited you mercy is, as you exposed how huge our debts are in comparison with the little debts of forgiveness others owe us. As we make it a habit to forgive from the debt of our hearts all those who have offended us, may we discover and experience the hidden treasures that forgiveness brings. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a grace filled day.

The Homily of Monday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 8th March, 2021

 The Homily of Monday in Third Week of Lent Year B, 8th March, 2021

Readings: 2Kings 5:1-15, Ps. 41, Luke 4:24-30

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

DO NOT LET PRIDE DEPRIVE YOU OF GOD’S BLESSINGS

One of the forces that drives the world order today is pride. People can do anything to prove how powerful, influential, popular, wealthy and connected they are before everyone they encounter. Hence, at any little provocation, you see them ranting: "I will show you today who am I", "by the time I finish with you, you will come to know me". I will do this, I will do that... just to prove who they parade themselves to be. Everywhere they go, they want to be highly recognized, they look down on every other person. This ugly attitude is what the devil certainly wants us to have, so that we end up distancing ourselves from God.

The devil does not want us to be saved, and he would tempt us to be arrogant and prideful as we heard in our first reading today in the story of Naaman the Syrian, who went to the land of Israel seeking for healing from the leprosy he had been suffering from. But when Naaman sought the prophet Elisha, he was told to wash himself at the River Jordan seven times, and he would be healed. But he refused out of pride. 

This was exactly how the devil tried to prevent Naaman from finding healing, not just from leprosy but also from his sinfulness and lack of faith, by placing pride, ego and stubbornness in his way. It was at this point that, Naaman’s servant reminded him to be humble and accept the conditions in order for him to be healed since it was a very easy thing for him to do. In the end, Naaman obeyed, humbling himself in obedience to the advice of the servant and was healed.

In the same way in our Gospel passage today, the people of Nazareth refused to listen to Jesus or believe in him because they stubbornly persisted in believing that what they had known earlier about Jesus as the Son of a mere carpenter meant that he could not have attained such power, authority and wisdom. Their prejudices and ego prevented them from having faith as they hardened their hearts and minds against God. As such, the Lord could not do much in their midst, and in the end, making reference to the events of Naaman and the widow of Zarephath. Thus, he left his hometown doing little because of their pride and lack of faith.

Dear friends, pride is the first capital sin, so, do not let pride deprive you of God’s blessings. Thus, we are called today to renounce pride and embrace the courage of humility. We must entrust ourselves humbly to the Lord, because only in this way will we be able to become docile instruments in his hands and allow him to do great things through us and  in our lives. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we have failed to humble ourselves, because of pride and this has deprived us of your blessings. As we listen to your words today, may we learn to humble ourselves and so obtain your blessings and favours. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and favourable week.

HOMILY ON THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

 HOMILY ON THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

Readings: Ex.20:1-17; Ps. 19; 1Cor 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

YOU HAVEN’T BROKEN ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, BUT HAVE YOU KEPT THEM?

Today the third Sunday in the Holy Season of Lent we are all called to reflect on how we have been keeping the commandments of God as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter when we shall encounter the risen Lord. Thus, in our first reading today, we heard how the Lord God revealed his Law and commandments to his people through Moses. This commandments are giving in order to establish good relationships and a covenant between God and the people and also among the people themselves. 

Here, the Lord gave us the Ten Commandments, which we are familiar with, beginning with the first three most important commandment of all, that is, to love the Lord and honour him with all of our heart, our might, strength, and with all of our whole being, glorifying his Holy Name, while honouring and keeping the day he set aside for us to worship him, which we now observe every Sundays as Holy Day for the Lord as we often gathered for the celebration of the Holy Mass as we are doing today.

Following these three commandments, are the other seven Commandments which focused on our relationship with one another, beginning with the commandment to honour our father and mother, so that we may have a long life in the land that the Lord our God has given to us. Then, he commanded us not to kill. Not to commit adultery. Not to steal. Not to bear false witness against our neighbour. not to covet our neighbour’s goods. And not to covet our neighbour’s wife, or properties. These no doubt, tell us that we cannot truly love God unless we also love our neighbors, neither can we truly love our neighbours unless we genuinely have the love of God in our hearts.

Dear friends, the question that comes to mind today is, are we really keeping and living according to these commandments of God. We may say no, some will say yes because they believe that they have not broken any of the commandments. This no doubt is good and great, but if we have not broken any of the commandments, have we kept them? You may ask what do I mean by keeping them? The answer is simple if you have not broken the commandments, have you been keeping and living by it? Have we sincerely honoured the Lord our God with all our hearts and not use his Holy Name in vain? Have we really kept the Sabbath day Holy? Have we truly and sincerely honoured and loved our parents? We may not have killed anyone, but have we sought to preserve and defend life? We may not have committed adultery, fornication, masturbation, homosexuality and lesbianism, but have we seduced other in committing them or prevent others for engaging in them. 

We may not have stolen from people, but have we prevented other from stealing by sharing our goods with the poor and saving them the temptation of stealing as a way of correcting them? We may not have bore false witness against our neighbours, but have spoken the truth and defend the good name of others in order to save them from falsehood? Yes, we may not have coveted our neighbour’s goods, but have defended and protected our neighbour’s goods? We may not have coveted our neighbour’s wife or properties, but have we defended and protected them? We may say how does these concern me? But that is the essence of the commandments, that is, to love and see to the well being of others. To protect and defend the right of others. To guide and correct others when they are doing the wrong things. 

This is exactly what Jesus did in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus came to the Temple of Jerusalem, seeing the wrong things they were doing, decided to clear all the corrupt merchants and money changers who were doing their business in the courtyard of the Temple. Here Jesus had not broken the commandment of keeping the temple holy, but he will not let others to keep break this commandment. They have to be corrected. Hence, he was furious that all of those merchants and money changers were openly doing their business and cheating the people of their hard-earned money right at the very place where God himself dwells. 

Thus, he drove them away saying stop turning my Father’s house into a market for it is a house of prayer and not a den of rubbers. And when he was interrogated he said “destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up”. The sanctuary Jesus is referring here, is the sanctuary which is his body the Holy Church, which he has planned to restore at his resurrection. This salvific work of Jesus is what St Paul is referencing in our second reading when he said: “here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.

Therefore, is not enough to say we have not broken any of the commandments, we need to ask ourselves whether we  are practicing and living by them? For Jesus did not break any of the commandments, rather he lived by them and teaches us to do the same. He has given us the guidance and the path for us to follow through his actions. Hence, we are called today to imitate him.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we listen to your words today, give us the grace and strength to journey with you this Lenten season, so as to remain faithful and be genuinely committed to living and keep the Commandments you have bestowed on us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.

HOMILY ON THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

 HOMILY ON THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 7TH MARCH, 2021

Readings: Ex.20:1-17; Ps. 19; 1Cor 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

YOU HAVEN’T BROKEN ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, BUT HAVE YOU KEPT THEM?

Today the third Sunday in the Holy Season of Lent we are all called to reflect on how we have been keeping the commandments of God as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter when we shall encounter the risen Lord. Thus, in our first reading today, we heard how the Lord God revealed his Law and commandments to his people through Moses. This commandments are giving in order to establish good relationships and a covenant between God and the people and also among the people themselves. 

Here, the Lord gave us the Ten Commandments, which we are familiar with, beginning with the first three most important commandment of all, that is, to love the Lord and honour him with all of our heart, our might, strength, and with all of our whole being, glorifying his Holy Name, while honouring and keeping the day he set aside for us to worship him, which we now observe every Sundays as Holy Day for the Lord as we often gathered for the celebration of the Holy Mass as we are doing today.

Following these three commandments, are the other seven Commandments which focused on our relationship with one another, beginning with the commandment to honour our father and mother, so that we may have a long life in the land that the Lord our God has given to us. Then, he commanded us not to kill. Not to commit adultery. Not to steal. Not to bear false witness against our neighbour. not to covet our neighbour’s goods. And not to covet our neighbour’s wife, or properties. These no doubt, tell us that we cannot truly love God unless we also love our neighbors, neither can we truly love our neighbours unless we genuinely have the love of God in our hearts.

Dear friends, the question that comes to mind today is, are we really keeping and living according to these commandments of God. We may say no, some will say yes because they believe that they have not broken any of the commandments. This no doubt is good and great, but if we have not broken any of the commandments, have we kept them? You may ask what do I mean by keeping them? The answer is simple if you have not broken the commandments, have you been keeping and living by it? Have we sincerely honoured the Lord our God with all our hearts and not use his Holy Name in vain? Have we really kept the Sabbath day Holy? Have we truly and sincerely honoured and loved our parents? We may not have killed anyone, but have we sought to preserve and defend life? We may not have committed adultery, fornication, masturbation, homosexuality and lesbianism, but have we seduced other in committing them or prevent others for engaging in them. 

We may not have stolen from people, but have we prevented other from stealing by sharing our goods with the poor and saving them the temptation of stealing as a way of correcting them? We may not have bore false witness against our neighbours, but have spoken the truth and defend the good name of others in order to save them from falsehood? Yes, we may not have coveted our neighbour’s goods, but have defended and protected our neighbour’s goods? We may not have coveted our neighbour’s wife or properties, but have we defended and protected them? We may say how does these concern me? But that is the essence of the commandments, that is, to love and see to the well being of others. To protect and defend the right of others. To guide and correct others when they are doing the wrong things. 

This is exactly what Jesus did in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus came to the Temple of Jerusalem, seeing the wrong things they were doing, decided to clear all the corrupt merchants and money changers who were doing their business in the courtyard of the Temple. Here Jesus had not broken the commandment of keeping the temple holy, but he will not let others to keep break this commandment. They have to be corrected. Hence, he was furious that all of those merchants and money changers were openly doing their business and cheating the people of their hard-earned money right at the very place where God himself dwells. 

Thus, he drove them away saying stop turning my Father’s house into a market for it is a house of prayer and not a den of rubbers. And when he was interrogated he said “destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up”. The sanctuary Jesus is referring here, is the sanctuary which is his body the Holy Church, which he has planned to restore at his resurrection. This salvific work of Jesus is what St Paul is referencing in our second reading when he said: “here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.

Therefore, is not enough to say we have not broken any of the commandments, we need to ask ourselves whether we  are practicing and living by them? For Jesus did not break any of the commandments, rather he lived by them and teaches us to do the same. He has given us the guidance and the path for us to follow through his actions. Hence, we are called today to imitate him.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we listen to your words today, give us the grace and strength to journey with you this Lenten season, so as to remain faithful and be genuinely committed to living and keep the Commandments you have bestowed on us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday to you all.