Homily for Saturday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 11th September, 2021

 Homily for Saturday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 11th September, 2021

Readings: 1Tim. 1:15-17;  Ps.113; Luke: 6: 43-49

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

LET THE  WORD OF GOD PURIFY OUR HEARTS SO AS TO BEAR GOOD FRUITS THAT WILL CHANGE OUR CORRUPT SOCIETY

A tree is known to be either good or bad, healthy or sick by the fruit it produces. In the same way the human heart is known to be either good or bad, holy or sinful, sincere or corrupt by the fruits of our words and actions rooted in our character. Little wonder Jesus in our Gospel passage today said: 

A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart. Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them is like the man who when he built his house laid the foundations on a rock. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations.

Here, as Jesus conclude the sermon on the plain, he tells us that hearing and doing the word of God is building our faith on a rocky foundation, that cornerstone, that solid ground, through the fiercest drought and storms of life, because the fruit of the Word of God in us is seen when tested in the storms of life. He also reminds us that it is not enough to hear the word of God; we must put it into practice. That it is not sufficient to speak about God, we must practice what we speak. We must let the Word of God touch and shape our lives so that we can bear good and healthy fruit . 

For it is a waste of time and energy if our lives do not reflect the Gospel we preach, if we do not hear the words of Jesus and act on them. Hence, we must embrace the word of God in our lives and let it unite us together so that we can bear good fruits even in our corrupt society. And St. Paul in our first reading tells us that: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And himself is the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to him, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make him the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life.

Dear friends, what kind of fruit are we bearing deep down our hearts? How has the word of God changed my life and the lives of those around me? How has the word of God challenged and propelled me to love God and my neighours? Is my attitude towards the word of God like that of the foolish builder who takes short cuts for quick results? Or that of a wise builder who spend time in digging a secured foundations through constant meditation and practice of the word of God? 

Therefore, we must know that whenever we hear the word we must apply it to our daily lives, because that's the only way we can feed our soul and so bear good fruits. This is important because our society today have enough hearers of the word, what we need now is doers of the word, 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. Remember, the houses built by the wise and foolish persons may probably look alike. But the difference is the foundations, which can only be revealed when tested by the storms of life.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, through your Word we find life and hope in Christ your Son who is our all in all, grant us the grace to embrace your word in our lives and so bear good and healthy fruits rooted on a rocky foundation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and peaceful weekend.

Homily for Friday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th September, 2021

 Homily for Friday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th September, 2021

Readings: Tim. 1:1-2.12-14;  Ps. 16; Luke: 6: 39-42

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

IT’S TIME TO GET RID OF OUR LOG OF PRIDE IN ORDER TO HUMBLY REMOVE THE SPECK OF WEAKNESS IN OTHERS

As humans we are quick to always criticize and condemn other people. We are good in seeing people's faults and mistakes. But has it ever occurred to us that, while we are condemning other persons for their faults, and suddenly we realized that our own faults are just as many as theirs? It is this ugly attitude that Jesus is addressing today in the Gospel passage, when he said: Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 

Here Jesus is referring to the blindness from the truth which the Pharisees and the Scribes and indeed most of us and our so called leaders today have decided to embrace as we have neglected the spirituality behind the natural human traditions and laws, to follow the may ritual and routing traditions and laws we have created out of our own selfish desires. For leaders who have the responsibility to lead, guide and teach the people have decided to embrace darkness and falsehood. And the greed, jealousy and wickedness in our hearts have blindfolded us and made us to become blind leaders of the blind. 

Hence, Jesus told us how we have failed to see the log in our eyes while seeking to remove the speck in other's. But what is this log in our eyes? It is the log of pride. Pride makes us to forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride makes us to look down on people. Pride makes us blind. It makes us not to look into our own live. Little wonder pride is the first capital sin. 

Therefore, we are called to humbly look into our lives and identify all those ugly attitudes of pride in us and get rid of them, so that we can humbly correct and accommodate other people’s speck of faults and weakness. Then we can say like St. Paul in our first reading, mercy was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.

Dear friends, do we know people who behave like blind leaders of the blind? Are we one of such leaders? We are called today to constantly examine our conscience to know what kind of leader we are in any capacity we find ourselves. We are called to take away our log of pride in order to humbly remove or accommodate the speck of faults and weaknesses in others. So let us cultivate the right disposition of heart that will make us to be visionary leaders, leading those entrusted to us safely towards the path of truth and eternal life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, there are so many blind leaders in our world today who out of pride are leading humanity into destruction and death, help us to realize that we need to take away the log of pride that makes us blind in order to humbly remove and accommodate the faults and weakness of others thereby leading them to the path of truth and eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily for Thursday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 9th September, 2021

 Homily for Thursday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 9th September, 2021

Readings: Col. 3:12-17 Ps.149, Luke: 6: 27-38

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

A CALL TO CHOSE LOVE OVER HATRED, FORGIVENESS OVER VENGEANCE

A critical look at what is happening in our world today, it is obvious that the world has lost the true meaning of love. For we have abandoned God who is the source and power of love and create for ourselves a mirage in the name love. Today love has become a tool for selfishness, deception, greed and emotional satisfaction. Thus it is extremely difficult to practice the genuine love of neighbours, talk more of the sacrificial love of our enemies.

But that is the demand Jesus makes of all his disciples in our Gospel passage today when he said: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. Hence, St Paul in our first reading says: we are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves and we should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven us; now we must do the same. 

So, in this Gospel, Jesus emphasis that it is natural and universal for human beings to love those who love them. But what makes his disciples different from other people is the ability to love not just everyone but to love their enemies and not take vengeance or bear grudges against one another. By so doing they will be imitating God their heavenly Father, who in his compassionate heart shows equal love to both the good and the bad, not because he is indifferent to morality, but because his love knows no bounds.  

Dear friends, today we are called for a life of deeper virtue of sacrificial love, we are called to perfection, we are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. But when Jesus talks about loving our enemies, he is not telling us to be passive in the face of physical danger or abuse. Rather he wants us to realize that hatred is a dangerous thing and must be handled with great care. Because hatred breeds violence and other things that weakens the human soul. 

The truth is that, our enemies are not necessary those who we are at war with, those making life difficult for us or those who hate us but, those whom we hate. And the best way to destroy our enemies is to discover how best we can make them become our friend, not by hating or carrying out vengeance. How I wish the world will embrace this principle of loving and stretching the hands of friendship and peace to our presumed enemies, by investing more resources on things that bring about peace and friendship with one another, rather than building nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world. For when this is done, then the world will become more peaceful and loving.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, it is difficult and demanding for us to love our enemies, but this is what you are commanding us to do, give us the grace to bear the sacrificial nature of this demand and so become a true sign of your loving presence to those we encounter in life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 8th September, 2021. The Feast of The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

 Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 8th September, 2021. The Feast of The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings: Rom.8:28-30, Ps.13, Matt. 1:1-16.18-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

CELEBRATING  THE NATIVITY OF MARY, A REMINDER OF HER ROLE IN THE SALVATION OF HUMANITY

Every human person has a special role to play in the mystery of this life. Though some seem to have more significant role than others. However, whether significant or not, the truth still remains that we all have a role to play. But the question is, how are we playing this role? Are we playing according to the master plan or against it? 

Mother Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today was chosen in a special way to be the handmaid of the Lord and to play an important part in the history of human salvation and redemption, a role she played according to God's master plan. As handmaid of God she was privileged to be the mother of Jesus our Redeemer. Little wonder our Gospel passage today tells us the history of the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Joseph and Mary the parents of Jesus. 

From this genealogy, we heard how generations came, generations goes, great men and women came and passed on, new generations continue to spring up. This is our own generation, but the questions remain: our genealogy to what extent can it be traced to that of Christ? The things we are doing now to what extent have they been influenced by the events of the passed generations and to what extent are they going to influence the future generations. 

Today, we are reminded that we are playing our own role in the salvation of mankind, our existence means a lot to future generation. And St. Paul in our first reading tells us that God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. For he called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.

Dear friends, Mary’s birthday reminds us of our own birth and our role in the master plan of God. For God has plans for everyone of us. Our existence is not by chance or providence, rather it is by the Divine will of God who made it possible for us to participate in his mystery at this present age. He could have willed for us to exist in the past or in the future or not to exist at all. 

Hence, never take your existence for granted, because in every moment of our existence, there is a role we are playing. Therefore, let us like Mary learn to cooperation with the grace of God and live in accordance to God's plan, for we are all created for a purpose and that purpose is the role we have to play in this world.

LET US PRAY:  Heavenly Father, you created us for a purpose and the birthday of our Mother Mary reminds us of this purpose. Grant that through her intercession we may obtain the grace to live out our purpose in this life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 7th September, 2021

 Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 7th September, 2021

Readings: Col. 2:6-15; Ps. 149; Luke 6:12-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

LEARN TO BEGIN ALL YOUR IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES WITH PRAYERS

Prayer they say is a master key, for Jesus started with prayers and ended with prayer. He does nothing without praying. This is evident in our Gospel passage today where we heard how Jesus after deep prayers called from among his disciples twelve apostles, whom he called and chosen to continue his work of evangelization and mission towards the salvation of humanity, for he needed to have people who will be entrusted with this mission. So, each one of us like the apostles are called by name into a deep personal and intimate relationship with Jesus in order to be sent to bear witness of him in the world. Prayers and absolute commitment are necessary quality for this mission. That is why Jesus did not choose people because of what they were. Rather, he chose them for what they could become under his direction through prayers.

But one of the greatest problem is that we don’t often surrender our plan and mission to God’s will through prayers. So the question that comes to mind are, Will I pray? Will I stop praying? Will I care? Will I risk? Will I let the Lord to lead me in prayer? These are questions of great demands which every true disciple must constantly reflect throughout his life, in order to be aware of the seriousness of the commitment required of everyone of us as disciples of Jesus. Little wonder St. Paul in our first reading today says that we must live our whole life according to that of Christ whom we have received, for we must be rooted in him.

Dear friends,  prayers is the key to evangelization and evangelization is the very nature and essence of the Church. And Jesus gives us the mandate and the commission to evangelize, that is, to announce the Good News to all the nations and to spread the Gospel to every creature. This commission is shared by all those who are baptized both priests and lay faithful. Everyone has a particular responsibility to share in the work of proclamation of the Gospel. Today, we should ask ourselves, how have we proclaimed the Gospel to the world? What efforts are we making to ensure that the mandate Christ entrusted to us is carried out effectively in our generation? 

Therefore, prayer is very essential especially at this moment when the world is confused, because we have removed God out of our daily lives. Prayer is the key at this time when we have placed our hope in the activities of the human person who seems to have taken the place of God. Prayer is the key at this time when our governments, scientists, doctors, lawyers, professors and even pastors assumed the place of God, which of course have brought about the ugly situation we are facing in our societies today. Hence, we are reminded once again about our very mission which is rooted in prayers, for it is time to take this mandate very seriously, because it is our responsibility to fulfil our promises to God and ensure that the Christian faith is preached and sustained in the world and by so doing save humanity once again from sin, death and destruction.

LET US PRAY: Lord God,  without prayers in our lives we are lost in this world, for a lot of us are confused because we have cut ourselves off from You our cornerstone, as we come back to you once again in prayers, may we learn from the prayer life of Jesus and his teaching and by so doing draw humanity back to You once again. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily for Monday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 6th September, 2021

 Homily for Monday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 6th September, 2021

Readings: Col. 1:24-2:3; Ps. 62; Luke 6:6-11

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

EVERY LAW MUST BE APPLIED AND INTERPRETED FOR THE WELL BEING OF HUMANITY

From the scriptures, it seems like every encounter that the Pharisees had with Jesus were always aimed at finding faults with what Jesus is doing. But to their greatness surprise, Jesus will always escape and used that opportunity to communicate an important message to the people. Such was the occasion in our Gospel passage today. 

When on a Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure the man on the Sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But knowing their thoughts he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.’ Then Jesus said to them, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it? And said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was better. But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with him.

Here we see how Jesus demonstrated his compassionate care for humanity, for the most important thing for God in this world is the human person. That's why he makes all efforts to save humanity from damnation. He desires to see us making effort to becoming faithful and holy. His mercy is so deep that he propose it as the guiding principle for the perfect fulfillment and interpretation of the laws of life. Thus, Jesus in this passage have to teach us that humanity’s welfare should not be neglected because of laws and regulations. That nothing should restrict us from doing good to people not even the laws Sabbath. 

Therefore, in as much as we desire to honour God’s laws we must seek the good of people as well. This is what the Pharisees have failed to understand, for they are rather fault- finders and self- righteous people, who only wish to mislead the oppress and suppress the truth and the good works of others, just because of their selfish desires to sustain their ego, pride and their worldly ambition. But we should not be like them, rather we should be compassionate and merciful for that is what we are called to do. And St. Paul in our first reading today says that it is all to bind us together in love and to stir our minds, so that our understanding may come to full development, until we really know God’s secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

Dear friends, today we are called to constantly do good to everyone. We are called not to be faults-finders who are blindfolded by pride. We must also renounce all sorts of sinful actions and wickedness that may destroy the purity of our souls. Therefore, let us be compassionate and merciful for that is what we are called to do in this life especially in this moment when our societies and families are really in chaotic situation.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we often failed to listen to your teaching because of our selfish desires and pride, help us to always listen to you and be willing to do good always especially in applying and interpretation of laws and regulations. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed week ahead.

Homily for Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 5th September, 2021

 Homily for Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 5th September, 2021

Readings:  Is.35:4-7; Ps.146; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

LORD OPEN THE EARS AND MOUTH OF HUMANITY ONCE AGAIN TO HEAR AND LIVE BY YOUR WORDS

Reflecting on the ugly situation of human life in this world, especially how people pay attention to the things of this passing world at the expense of the things of God, how the world has engaged our attention to herself that we have now become deaf and dump to things that concerns our spiritual life. Yes we go to Church as often as possible, we engaged in one spiritual activity or another. 

But the questions that comes to mind are: do we really listen and hear God speaking to us through those activities? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we are doing in the house of God? Are we confused about our faith as a result of the ugly events and scandals we experience and hear everyday? The world really wants us to be deaf to the word of God and mute to speak the great things God is doing for us. This is evident in our daily activities where humanity paid deaf hears to the instructions of God by allowing herself to be deceived by the excess desires and attachment to things of this passing world and as a result of this ugly attitude separate ourselves from the presence of God out of pride and selfishness.

Thus, today in our Gospel passage, we hear how Jesus dramatically and figuratively wishes to heal us of our deafness and dumbness caused by our constant embracing of the sinful things of this passing world which is well demonstrated in the healing of the deaf and dumb man. A man who represents the deafness and dumbness of humanity towards the word of God. Hence, when this deaf and dumb man was brought to Jesus for healing. He took the man aside, puts his fingers in his ears, touches his tongue with spittle, looks up to heaven and prays saying, " Ephphatha! Be opened". Immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosed and he is able to speak plainly. 

This same words are use during baptism while touching the ears and lips of the baptized, a gesture that signifies the spiritual openness of one’s heart to God’s words and will. For our hearts are often deaf to God’s words, because of our excess attachment to things of this world. And our mouths are also sealed by corruption, greed and sinful habits we have embraced. But in our baptism we are brought to Christ just like this deaf and dumb man for healing and restoration, so that we can hear the words of God and apply them in our lives and also express them to all humanity by our words and actions.

Dear friends, out of pride and greediness we have often separated ourselves from the presence of God and as a result, we have become deaf and dumb to his teachings and instructions. Hence, we all need to have our ears  once again so that we can hear and understand fully the message of Jesus and share it to the world. I don’t know how far we have separated ourselves from God as a result of sin, I don’t know how deep our deafness and dumbness are, all I know is that today God is saying to us, fear not, have courage for the eyes of the blind shall be opened, ears of the deaf unstopped and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. 

All we need is to trust God no matter the affliction we are passing through in this world, for he is able to save us from them all. Just as we heard prophet Isaiah in our first reading saying: Say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid. Behold, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you. Then, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy; for water gushes in the desert, streams in the wasteland, the scorched earth becomes a lake, the parched land springs of water. And St James in our second reading tells us not to try combining faith in Jesus Christ with the making of distinctions between classes of people for God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of his Kingdom.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our strong desire for the things of this passing world has made us so deaf and dumb towards your words. Let us hear your voice once more saying to us “Ephphatha, be opened”, so that we can hear your words deep down our hearts and joyfully proclaim it to all humanity through our actions. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday