Homily for Saturday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 1st October, 2022. The Solemnity of Our Lady Queen & Patroness of Nigeria

 Readings: Is.11:1-10, Ps.72, Eph. 2:13-22, Matt.2:13-14.19-23

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

OUR COUNTRY NIGERIA NEEDS A RADICAL TRANSFORMATION FROM GREED AND SELFISHNESS 

The root of all the problems in our world today is the love of power. For people are ready to do anything to be on power and to retain that power. This is what we see in the life of Herod in our Gospel passage today, where the Holy family of Jesus have to flee away to Egypt, because Herod planned to kill an innocent child for the sake of retaining his power. This ugly attitude is not far from us today especially in our country Nigeria which is in the state of distress because of love of power and greediness among the people in power and even the common citizens.

The fact remains that the elements of good and bad seem inherent in human condition, little wonder the world involves both good and bad mixed together. This will help us to understand the reason for the corruption, greediness, immoral and social decadence in our country today. So as we are celebrating our country Nigeria at 62 since our independent, we thank God who has made it possible for us to witness the day. But today’s celebration should plunge us into deep reflection about the ugly condition of this country. We need to ask ourselves, what have we done right? What have we done wrong? How can we do better and what will the future of this country be like? This is because our country Nigeria needs a radical transformation from greed selfishness.

Dear friends, the rate of corruption and greediness in this country is so appalling. People are never tired of acquiring and embezzling public funds for their own selfish gain. The truth is that, we need a radical transformation. A transformation that will brings about a new out fit that makes one a new person, with a new life, a new mind and a new way of doing things. And this is possible only when we understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of greediness, then we will be able to do things the right way and then our country Nigeria will be great again.

For this country will be transformed only when the power of love and goodwill supersedes the love of power, when justice and faithfulness becomes the habit of everyone of us in this country. Then, we can begin to experience that peaceful coexistence and blessings that prophet Isaiah mentioned in our first reading and so bring the hostility going on in our country to the end just like St Paul said in our second reading that we shall no longer be strangers in our own country but true citizens with the saints not just here in our country Nigeria but also in the kingdom of God. 

LET US PRAY:  Lord God, out of selfishness and greediness we have committed a lot of crimes and injustice against one another, grant that through the intercession of Our Lady Queen and Patroness of Nigeria, we may resolve to have genuine love and good will in carrying out our activities in the societies as you guide and direct us to learn how to do the right thing always by letting the power of love to transform the ugly situation in our country. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Month, wishing you a blessed Independence Day celebration.

Homily for Friday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 30th September, 2022. The Memorial of St. Jerome

 Readings:  Job 38: 1.12-21.40:3-5; Ps. 139, Luke 10:13-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

DO NOT LET JESUS SAY WOE! TO YOU FOR FAILING TO EMBRACE THE WORD OF GOD

Reflecting on the ugly and fragile nature of our societies and the world as a whole, especially how the streets are full of people struggling and suffering, the markets are full of people buying, selling, cheating and manipulating others. Our leaders are so busy with acquiring, manipulating and embezzling the common resources, not minding the struggles, the tears, the disappointments that people are passing through everyday, as some people have lost hope in themselves and even in everything they do. We are  blessed with every good thing you can talk about but we have misused them and use them to abuse one another. We are just so busy with everything except the very essence of our existence, that is, the salvation of our souls. 

This ugly and fragile kind of condition is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today as he continues with his reproaches, this time to cities where he had done great miracles, yet the people failed to embrace the life of the Gospel he preached. Hence he reproached them saying: woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you’. 

No doubt, Jesus has taught us about the kingdom of God and proclaimed a message of healing and conversion but his teaching and powerful deeds have not yet been embraced by humanity. Hence, Jesus in this Gospel is not just rebuking the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, but all humanity for not being open to the fruits of his Gospel, calling us to reflect on how we are losing out on what God is offering us. Because God will always have plans to correct us if we are ready to listen to him just like Job in our first reading today, who surrendered to the will of God after he realized the awesome power of God for he was ignorant of it before this encounter.

Little wonder, St. Jerome whose memorial we celebrate today says: that ignorance of the scripture is ignorant of Christ. Hence today, we can recall his great contributions to the Church and the Christian faithful especially for his compilation of the Latin translation of the Greek Bible. Jerome who experienced all sorts of worldly pleasures as a young student of philosophy. But later his conscience led him to conversion into the Christian faith as he renounced all of his past sinful ways of life and devoted himself deeply into the study of the Scriptures, from which comes all his great works we still study today.

Dear friends, we must not let Jesus say woe to us for failing to embrace the Word of God. Though, we might not feel very comfortable with the idea of Jesus rebuking and uttering terrible words of threats on these big and powerful cities that represents all of us and humanity at large. But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: have we really embraced the Word of God we hear everyday? Is the Word bearing fruits in our lives? Can we recognize in this fragile condition the great work that Jesus is doing to save humanity and the need to turn back to God? Do we think that repentance is for others and not for us? Jesus is saying woe to us for failing to embrace and live out the Gospel teachings, because he seem to expect some sort of changes in us when we hear his Words or when we encounter him in prayers. 

Therefore, God is calling us to repentance, He wants to come into our souls and dwells. Today He is rebuking all humanity, He wants us to come to Him for He comes to us more than we go to Him. Hence, if we believe in God, and put our trust in Him, we will have the assurance and guarantee of restoration, for God does not want us to suffer the consequences our sins, that is why He kept reminding us about the up coming danger. But, if humanity constantly refuse to believe in God, we may end up in self destruction. 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace your words today, may we experience your love, joy and healing both physically, materially and more importantly spiritually, as we wait patiently for the restoration of all humanity from the ugly and fragile condition of this passing world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily for Thursday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 29th September, 2022. The Feast of Saints. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels

 Readings:  Rev. 12:7-12; Ps. 103, John 1: 47-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS?

As Christians, for us to be fruitful in our given vocation in life, there is the need for us to build a personal relationship with God and building this relationship is not difficult as some people think, because God desires to have such relationship with us and this he often manifested through the instrument of angels and Archangels. Little wonder we celebrate today the three great Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael who are God’s most powerful instrument for safeguarding the human soul.

In these Archangels we have powerful link to God especially in our constant struggle and the spiritual battle for the sake of our souls. They are categorized based on their responsibilities. Archangel Michael is known as the Prince and defender of the heavenly hosts. He defends us in battle and helps us to be humble, so that we may not fall into pride,  over ambition, greed and vanity like the devil who he defeated and sent away from heaven, so that we can remain firm in our commitment to serving the Lord as we have it in our first reading today (Rev.12:7-12). Archangel Gabriel is known as the Messenger of God. He helps us to have faith in God through his words so that we may always hope in God. While Archangel Raphael is know for the manifestation of the healing and mercy of God, especially for soul corrupted by sin.

This shows us the extent God can go for the sake of saving humanity. The fact is that, God loves us so much and it is not about our love for him, but his own love for us. This is manifested in the life of Jesus who loves us personally and desires to share in our daily struggles through the angels and Archangels. All he demands from us is to acknowledge his presence in our lives and cooperate with his grace, and when such relationship is established our lives will change for good just like Nathaniel in our Gospel passage, who acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God, of which Jesus commended him for his faith and goes on to tell him that he shall see great things in heaven including the angels ascending and descending in the presence of God.

Dear friends, what is our experience of angels and Archangels? Is there any occasion were we can say that we have personally encounter or experience the presence of an angel? What is our relationship with our guardian angels? If none we should desire to have one through our daily activities. For today we are reminded that God through the Archangels manifest his power and presence in human activities and so we are called to always cooperate with the will of God as directed by his angels and Archangels who minister to us. We are called to build a personal relationship with God through his Archangels, who are there to defend, guide and heal our souls from sin and death.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you often send your Archangels to guide and direct our affairs in life. Through their faithful direction and protection, may our life advance boldly along the path of salvation, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you

Homily for Wednesday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 28th September, 2022

Readings:  Job 9:1-12.15-16, Ps. 88, Like 9:57-62                                                                      

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

WHAT EXCUSES DO YOU STILL HAVE FOR REFUSING TO FOLLOW THE LORD TODAY?

The path to success is so rigorous, strenuous and competitive. The strong pass through it and are celebrated, while the weak will always quit or give up. Hence, a lot of people have not been able to achieve their goal in life because, always they have excuses to give. Oftentimes we hear such people saying I want to do this but.., I could have done it but..., I thought of it but… I was almost there but... 

This kind of attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when he said to someone, ‘Follow me’, the man replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ Than another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

Here, Jesus is emphasizing that following him requires a life of total self-denial and the man who requested to follow Jesus had not reflect thoroughly what following Jesus would entail. So Jesus made it clear that following him would mean giving up many of the personal comforts that he enjoyed and perhaps took for granted. However, it may seems that the Lord Jesus was very harsh when he said that those who have chosen to follow him and looked back were not fit for the kingdom of God or that those who died ought to be left on their own to be buried. This is not the case here, rather Jesus is emphasizing that to be his follower requires serious commitment and sacrifices at  all times.

And this is what we see in the life of Job in our first reading where we heard how Job, although was suffering and was passing through many troubles, even friends who abandoned him and even accused him of wrongdoing, but he remained committed to God in righteousness without blaming neither God nor the people for his misfortunes. Thereby teaching each and every one of us how to respond and react in the moment of trials and difficulties.

Dear friends, what excuses are you giving for refusing to follow the call of the Lord? Do you not know that for us to succeed in life and also make it to heaven, we need to pass through some rigorous steps and stop making excuses? Sometimes the rigorousness of the paths may seem difficult and impossible but at the end they form the experience that will propel us to success and sustain us as well.  So as we journey through the rigorous path of success in our mission and vocations, let us be encouraged by the life of  Job, knowing that none of our sacrifices and contribution in the mission of Christ and his Church will be in vain.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, teach us how to faithfully embrace our vocation and mission in life without making excuses. May we be ever more nourished by your word and find in it the fount of grace to journey the path of life, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily for Tuesday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 27th September, 2022. The Memorial of St. Vincent De Paul

 Readings: Job 3:1-3.11-17.20-23; Ps.88; Luke 9:51-56

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

HOW TO PATIENTLY DEAL WITH STRONG OPPOSITIONS OF LIFE 

Oftentimes when we find ourselves in difficult situations caused by our opponent, the first instinct that comes to our minds is to do away with the opponent and ensure that he or she does not exist anymore. Sometimes we feel like crushing anything that stands on the way towards our goal, especially when we think that we have the power and authority do so. 

This is the disposition of James and John in our Gospel passage today, when they said to Jesus: ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ This is because the people of Samaritan village will not let Jesus and his disciples past through their town to Jerusalem. For opposing them the two disciples felt that they should be consumed by fire. But Jesus turned and rebuked his disciples, and then went off to another village.

Here, Jesus is showing us how to deal with opposition of life. For in life we must surely encounter oppositions, but what makes a difference is how we deal with it. In the Gospel the two disciples of Jesus feels that the best way to deal with such opposition is by calling down fire on the opponent, just like most of us will have done if we have the power and authority to do so. However, this is not the same with Jesus, who though had the absolute power and authority to command fire to consume anything he wishes, but in this case, he chooses to flee from the problem not because he was a coward, no, rather because he hoped to experiencing peace and teach us that sometimes the best way to deal with oppositions is to walk away.

This does not mean that he was weak, rather he wants us to understand that a change of location does  not make us weak or remove our enemies, it only changes where the battle takes place. And for Jesus the battlefield is not the Samaritan territory, but the heart of the human person who occupied the territory. Perhaps, Jesus did not come to destroy the people, if he had come for that purpose, he would have destroyed these Samaritans; but he came to save. And so he bears patiently the ignorance of the opposers and we too must learn to do the same, just like Job in  our first reading today who when faced with the oppositions of life remained silent and never give in to the pressures of life. Rather when he broke his silence, he only cursed the day of his birth saying: may the day perish when I was born, and the night that told of a boy conceived. Why did I not die new-born, not perish as I left the womb? 

Dear friends, we must learn from Jesus how to walk away from oppositions of life for the sake of peace. We  should not be like James and John wanting to destroy those that opposed us. Rather we must learn to acquire the spirit of the Lord Jesus; temper our zeal like his; seek to bear patiently with those who stands on our way. Let us seek peace, let us be patient, and forgiving. Let us not allow the feeling of revenge to consume us into hurting those with whom we feel cannot resolve our differences. Let us learn from St. Vincent De Paul whose memorial we celebrate today for he sacrifice his life to help the poor and through the virtue of charity conquered most of his oppositions and those of the poor around him.

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, everyday we encounter oppositions that we feel like crushing and eliminating. Help us to learn from Jesus how to deal with opposition patiently for the sake of peace and harmony in our societies. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily for Monday Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Year C, 26th September, 2022

Reading: Job 1:6-22, Ps.17, Luke 9:46-50

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

TRUE GREATNESS IS FOUND IN HUMBLE SERVICE TO OTHERS AND NOT IN SELFISH AMBITION

The activities and life of the human person are always competitive and comparative in nature, that is why we are often anxious to recognize or be recognized as the strongest, wisest, cleverest, richest. We will always want to know the most beautiful, handsome, most talented and greatest in virtually everything. Little wonder, the most lucrative business and adventures are found among those activities that are competitive such as sports, entertainment and politics because greatness gives more ego to our status.

This competitive and comparative way of life is what the disciples of Jesus displayed in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how they were arguing about who is the greatest among them. This is quite surprising for them to be arguing for such intention just after Jesus had told them that he was going to be betrayed to hands men. This shows that his disciples had not grasped his teaching thereby exposing the danger between the mission of Christ and human selfish ambition as a result of ignorance.

>For Jesus knowing the intentions of his disciples, showed them the way to identify true greatness and one who has such quality using the images of a humble child. Here, Jesus surprised his disciples by linking true greatness to that of humility and simplicity of a little child and also showed how  children can be the subject of a parable that reveals the vanity and deception found in some great persons. Because children are docile, humble, teachable, loving, forgiven and dependent.

Thus, Jesus explains that in the kingdom of heaven, true greatness is found in humility and children serve as a symbol of humility  for they are dependent on adult for everything just as we also are dependent on God. Little children serve as concrete symbol of the simplicity which is a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven. So, in children we see these great virtues of simplicity and humility being placed.

And these act of simplicity and humility are what characterized the life of Job in our first reading today, where Satan said to God that Job’s faith was only strong because he was so blessed and protected by God, but if he should lose them all, then he would surely abandon God and curse him. This is while God allowed Satan to attacked Job and took away everything he had, his great possessions and his  family. But job in simplicity and humility remained faithful to God saying: naked I came from my mother’s womb naked I shall return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back. Blessed be the name of the Lord!’

Dear friends, today we see in the lives of the disciples the danger between human selfish ambition and the mission of Christ especially in the midst of ignorance and pride. Therefore we are reminded that true greatness and ambition are found in humble service to others. But this is exactly what many of us are lacking. For we are so proud, greed and selfish, as we are deeply attached to the pleasurable things of this passing world which prevents us from seeking true greatness that leads to heavenly kingdom. 

 LET US PRAY: Lord God, amidst the danger of selfish human ambition in relation to your mission, we have become so much engrossed with the competitive activities of this world, seeking to be great in things that are passing away, grant that, we may embrace true greatness rooted in the humble service of our neighbours, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and fruitful week ahead.

Homily for Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 25th September, 2022.

 Readings: Amos 6:1.4-7; Ps.146; 1Tim.6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

DO NOT BE GUILTY OF THE SIN OF OMISSION BY NEGLECTING THE POOR LAZARUS AROUND YOU

There is no doubt that the things of this passing world is so beautiful and captivating and God has made it so. For whatever we have in this world is a blessing from God, who wishes to bless us so that through us others will be blessed. But this is not often the disposition of most of us. This is obvious when we reflect on the relationship between the rich and the poor in our society today. Where the poor are neglected and treated as if they are less humans. 

This ugly attitude needs to change when we recall the famous parable of the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, about Lazarus the poor man and a rich man whose doorstep Lazarus often dwelled, hoping for the rich man to give him even the scraps of bread and food that fell from his table, but he was often neglected.

 Here, we heard how the poor Lazarus ended up in Paradise, in the presence of God in heaven with Abraham, enjoying the fullness of God’s inheritance and grace, no longer suffering the pains and torments that he had once endured while he was still alive in the world. Meanwhile, we heard how the rich man descended into the depths of hell, suffering in agony for eternity, without any hope of escape, and even when he begged Abraham to send Lazarus for help, it was impossible for that to happen. 

But what was the offense of this rich man? Is it because he was rich? No, his sin is that of omission, which is the sin of neglecting his neighbour Lazarus when he was obviously in the position to help and provide for him through the excess material goods and providence that God has blessed him with. A sin of omission as we know  is a sin committed by willingly not performing a certain action. For he neglected the commandments of God who has called us to love our neighbours and help the needy. Thus, he has to face the consequences of his sin of neglecting his neighbour who was in need of his help.

This rich man’s name is not known, so one can say that he represents anonymously all the wealthy persons in the societies who have failed to use their resources to help the poor. While the poor man as we heard has a name. He is a specific person for Jesus, who calls him very appropriately “Lazarus,” the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Eleazar,” which means “God has helped.” For Lazarus represents every person who is in need or who suffers unjustly.

It is this unjust action of the rich towards the poor that prophet Amos is addressing in our first reading today. He condemned the oppression of the poor, as well as the judicial system that denied them any hope of obtaining justice. So he had to threaten the rich with divine judgement when he said: Woe to those who  lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall. They shall be the first to go into exile.  

Hence, Amos in this passage addressed the issues of social injustice in the societies. Social injustice as we know refers to how unjust actions are being done in a society. This can occur in situations where the people are treated unfairly, out of greediness, selfishness, corruption, wickedness and discrimination at different level such as age, class, ethnicity, and orientation. These ugly attitudes have a way of separating us from God. So we have to ensure that we are not part of these ugly ways of life.

Little wonder, St Paul in our second reading today says: As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. We  must learn to stand up against any form of injustice, intimidation and oppression of anyone. For there are positive or negative, immediate or  later consequences for all our actions just like the case of Lazarus and the rich man.

Dear friends, the example of the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus, calls our attention to the fact that we are going to be judged not based on what God has blessed us with but, what we have done with what God has given us. So it is important to remind ourselves today that we must also not be ignorant of the poor Lazaruses around us. Those who are less fortunate than we are, should not be neglected, especially those who work for us, our house helps, our poor security personnels, our poor neighbours, and those we encounter everyday in need of our help. 

Remember, no one is too poor that he has nothing to give, even the poor Lazarus offered his sores to dogs who came to lick it. And no one is so rich that he needs nothing, but, the sin of the rich man was the sin of omission, this should not be our lot as we ask God for grace not to neglect the poor Lazarus around us. For we are one in the love of Christ. If we die with him, we will rise up to life.

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the source of all that we have. As we listen to your words today, grant us we pray, the grace to be conscious of the poor around us and ensure we help them in their struggles. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings. Happy Sunday.