Homily For Tuesday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 27th June, 2023

Reading: Gen. 13:2.5-18; Ps.15; Matt. 7:6.12-14

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

LEARN TO FOLLOW THE NARROW GATE OF LOVE AND SACRIFICE THAT LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE

 

Life is a temporal assignment, a journey which begins in the morning so beautiful, full of expectations and hope, but the sojourner have no knowledge of his/her destination, purpose and end. The only guide is his/ her willingness to constantly following the directives of the Sender who communicates his plans and purposes to those who care and willing to listen.

 

Thus, the emptiness and shortness of life makes me to reflect on my future as a human person and the question that comes to my mind is: "where will you and I, and the beautiful things of this world be in the next one, ten, twenty, forty, eighty and hundred years for those who are strong? The deep silence in my soul could not offer me any answer to this question. Rather, it exposed me to the foolishness of human greediness, corruption and selfishness. Hence, I asked myself what does God really requires from us in this world? And how can we really identify the path we are called to follow?

 

I found a consoling answer to this question in our Gospel passage today, where Jesus said “always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.” And he added “Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many are following it; but narrow is the gate and hard is the road that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

 

Here, Jesus described how humanity have failed to embrace the life of truth, holiness and love for God and for one another because it seems difficult and narrow to them. For they prefer to follow the destructive ways of life that is born out of pride, greed and uncontrollable desire for worldly things. And  the things of this passing world are so captivating and many people are captured by its seductive power and are greatly following it.

 

This is exactly what was causing problem between Abram and Lot in our first reading today. For we heard how dispute broke out between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and those of Lot’s.  Accordingly Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no dispute between me and you, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land open before you? Part company with me: if you take the left, I will go right; if you take the right, I will go left. This shows us how pride, greed and sins leads to division and our downfall.

 

Dear friends, life is indeed very short and the road that leads to death and destruction is truly wide and very captivating, of which many are captives of its seductive power. But the road to life are becoming narrow more and more because humanity are working so hard to expand the seductive road and gates of destruction against the narrow gate of life. So, let us learn to follow the narrow gate of love and sacrifice that leads to eternal life .

 

Therefore, to embrace the narrow gate and road that leads to eternal life, we must work harder by resisting all the temptations and sinful things of this passing world and embrace the life of love and sacrifice which Jesus has offered us. Let us turn towards God with all our hearts by removing from our hearts all forms of pride, greed and unhealthy desires that lead us astray down the path of destruction.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, our journey of life depends on you and today you have called us to follow the narrow gate of love and sacrifice. But the seductive road of this passing world is really captivating and many are victim of its power. Grant us the grace to resist it and journey through the path and gate that leads to eternal life, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. May God bless your little efforts in life and guide you always.

Homily For Monday Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 26th June, 2023

Reading: Gen. 12:1-9; Ps.33; Matt. 7:1-5

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

HOW TO MANAGE THE LOG OF PRIDE IN US AND THE SPECK OF WEAKNESS IN OTHERS

 

One of the ugly attitudes of the human person is the urge to often criticize, judge and condemn others without looking into our own faults. Have we ever experienced a situation where it happened that, while we were condemning other people for their faults and suddenly we realized that our own faults are just as many as theirs, for this do happen often in our relationship with one another.

 

This ugly attitude is what Jesus is addressing today in the Gospel passage, when he said “ Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the speck in your brother’s eye and never notice the log in your own? Deal

 

Here, Jesus is referring to the improper and prideful attitudes of many of the Pharisees, the scribes and teachers of the Law and many others like them who self acclaimed righteousness has led to criticism and condemnation of other people. For they have failed to see the log in their eye while seeking to remove the speck in other's. But what is this log in our eyes? It is the log of pride, greed and self-righteousness.

 

These log of pride, greed and self-righteousness make us to forget who we are and claim who we are not. Pride as we know is the first capital sin, it makes us to look down on people, pride makes us blind. It makes us not to look into our own lives to see and accept how wrong we can be. This is because we are often controlled by our ego and pride, our human ambitions and desires, for we like to always be in control and superior to others.

 

But this is not the same with Abram in our first reading today, who because of his humility was called by the Lord for a special mission. For the Lord said to him, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing. Such is God’s grace for those who are humble and accommodative of other people's weakness.

 

Therefore, today 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 weaknesses. So instead of pointing out what is lacking in others, we must look into ourselves, and find ways or how we can make good use of the opportunities that God has given us to show good examples to others. We are to discard all our prideful, wicked and sinful ways of life and replace them with genuine love for one another, with new zeal and sincere commitment to telling one another the truth in all humility.

 

Dear friends, we are called not to judge, because, sometimes  that which we judge in others, we ourselves are doing worst. Hence, Jesus is challenging us today to think differently about how we live our lives. Calling us to look into our inner being, our interior life, that part of us that we hide from one another.

 

Let us purify them in humility, so that we can be pure and free to help others in the struggles with their weakness. Therefore, it’s time to look into ourselves and take away our prideful ways of life, so as to humbly accommodate the weakness and faults of others especially in our families, societies and the world at large, knowing that no one is perfect without the other.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us the grace of humility and capacity to always look within us in other to be more aware of our inadequacies, and so become more gentle in dealing with others, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and grace-filled week.

Homily For Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 25th June, 2023

Reading: Jer. 20:10-13; Ps. 69; Rom. 5:12-15; Matt.10:26-33

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

FEAR NOT FOR GOD IS WATCHING OVER YOU AND YOUR DAILY STRUGGLES

 

One of the most common human emotions is fear, which describes our emotional reaction to something that seems dangerous. It is like an instinct programmed into the nervous system through which we sense danger or the threat of harm or pain whether physically, psychologically or spiritually. Oftentimes we encounter things that triggers the emotion of fear especially in our world today where everyday we struggle with all kinds of troubles and uncertainties projected by the evil ones, and people are doing everything they can to overcome them.

 

And sometimes, when children of God are confronted with ugly situation, they don't know what to do and out of fear they fall victim and helpless. In fact, the ugly situation in our country today, has instigated great fear in the lives of people, that it seems to most people that God, His Church and even the  government have abandoned them. This is obvious because, we have lost our connection with God.

 

But the fact remains that God and His Church have not abandoned us, for he is ever and always closer to us more than we can ever imagine. Little wonder today in our Gospel passage, Jesus tell us to fear not for he will watch over us. He says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted.

 

So, there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows” The bird sparrows were the food of the poorest people for they could be purchased for the cheapest price.  But God is providentially involved when one of these birds falls to the ground. Showing us that God who is sovereign over the sparrow is also sovereign over something as little as the hairs of our head.

 

Thus, we are encouraged not to give up as we encounter great percussions, troubles and challenges, just like Jeremiah in our first reading, who was treated badly, persecuted and endured all sorts of trials, indignities, humiliation and discomfort on account of his message of truth. Yet, he trusted in the Lord and committed himself wholeheartedly to God’s protection, knowing that the Lord’s faithful will always triumph against the wicked and all those who are persecuting them. This is exactly what Jesus is reassuring us when he said do not fear those who can destroy the body, but rather fear the One Who can destroy both body and soul. Moreover, the phrase do not be afraid is seen in the scriptures about 366 time as an assurance of God’s presence and protection in our journey of life.

 

Therefore, we must trust that God will always protect and provide for us no matter how difficult and challenging the situation may be for us. Little wonder St. Paul in our second reading today calls us to trust in God, even though we may have allowed ourselves to dwell in sin and fear, we should embrace the love of Jesus who in his glorious sacrifice on the Cross has delivered us from sins and death. For just as the disobedience of Adam brought sin into the world, the presence of Jesus has brought life and salvation for all.

 

Dear friends, do you know why there are so many troubles, wickedness and persecution in our societies today? This is because humanity have lost a treasure and that treasure is the fear of God. The scripture says that the fear of Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But today we lack this wisdom, because we have no fear of God in us. We will rather fear humans who have lost their consciences in sinful things of this passing world and have foolishly built and attribute for themselves powers and authority that belongs only to God. Thereby, forcing us to worship them instead of God our creator, just for us to wake up and realize how foolish and wrong we are in believing and worshipping them, because they are no more, and all their powers and wealth are now decaying in the presence of another set of foolish individuals who will begin to fight over these vanities, for we will never learn from the mistakes of the dead.

 

This is because we have forgotten that we are just managers of whatever we have in this passing world including our lives. Yes we are not the owner of anything, we only manage things entrusted to us, for God is the real owner of all things that we have. So, do not be afraid for God is watching over us and our daily struggles.

 

But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: do we still have faith in God? Are we really courageous enough to withstand the scourges of persecution, knowing that God will surely protect us? Do we listen and hear God speaking to us through our daily activities? Do we still see the hands of God in what we do? Are we really convinced of what we do with the gift of knowledge, skills and talents God has given us? Do we pay attention to the word of God we hear everyday in the house of God, the streets and through other means of communication? Perhaps we are the one who have abandoned God and now we are confused and afraid as a result of our greediness and selfishness that are destroying our societies today.

 

Brethren, no matter how we feel about the situation in our lives, our families, societies and country, no matter how terrifying they may seem to appear, we are called not to give up on God or His Church or the human agents through whom His help comes to us, for God has not abandoned His people. We all need to have our ears opened, so that we can hear and understand fully the message God is communicating to us through this difficult moment in our society.

 

For God is saying to us, fear not, come back to me, have courage for the storms will soon be over. If we turn to God with all our heart, He will restore us and heal our world. Therefore, we should not let fear control or destroy us, rather we should have faith in God knowing that at night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, there are many things that frightens us everyday and course us to fear, grant us the grace of courage to remain steadfast even in the midst of all the troubles and challenges of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a spirit filled Sunday.

Homily For Saturday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 24th June, 2023. The Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist

Reading: Is.49:1-6; Ps.139; Acts 13:22-26; Luke: 1:57-66.80

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF YOUR NAME AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING YOUR BIRTH

 

One of the most significant day in our lives is our birthday, this day often comes with joy and praise. And in the mood of joy that a life has been born, one of the things that comes to mind is giving a name to the baby as an identity based on the circumstances surrounding the birth.

 

This great and joyful event is what we are celebrating today. The Solemnity of the birth of St. John the Baptist, the only person, who’s birthday is celebrated in the Church’s liturgical calendar, besides that of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, because of his role in the history of the salvation of humanity. 

 

This event is very important and necessary, because in it we talked about the name given to him. In fact the naming of objects and persons is an important ritual found in scripture. We can recall in the book of Genesis (Gen.2:19-20), when God created Adam and gave him the responsibility of giving names to all creation. So the act of giving a name to people has been a traditional event not only in the scriptures but in every human culture. 

 

On account of this, our Gospel passage today, gives us the record of the events of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. From the passage, significant and surprising things happened on the birth and naming of John the Baptist, of which we can identify three unusual features: first the old have given birth. Secondly, the child has a strange name “John” derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning " YAHWEH is gracious", a name which no one bears in the family and thirdly, Zechariah's dumbness is taken away on account of giving this name, which brought great joy to the people and they praised God.

 

However, such remarkable events caused the crowd to fear and perceived that something different and surprising is happening, things worth remembering. Showing us that, when God names a child, that child is significant in his universal plan for humanity.

 

Hence, John’s birth was prophesied by the prophets as we have in our first reading today, to be the last among the prophets, for his role was to prepare the people and to finally proclaim the coming of the Messiah who will fulfill the long awaiting plan of God for the salvation of humanity. And in our second reading, St. Paul gave us an account of how John in humility carried out his mission as he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. And before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.

 

No doubt the mission of John the Baptist was quite challenging as he encountered many obstacles just like other prophets before him. He faced strong opposition and rejection from the Pharisees who doubted and challenged his teaching and works of baptism and repentance of which many people believed in him. But John fearlessly confronted some of the Pharisees calling them wicked, brood of vipers and hypocrites. He also courageously confronted king Herod with the truth on account of his illegal and sinful relationship with Herodias his brother’s wife, and this led to his martyrdom and his mission decreasing while Jesus increases.

 

Dear friends, we all have a significant place in the plan of God. Our names are not just a common ceremony. It is a testimony of God’s plan for us. Why not take out time today to reflect on the meaning and circumstances surrounding our births and our names. For by God’s grace we will understand better who we are and what our mission and purpose on earth are. And by so doing, we will faithfully stand for the truth of what we represent and fulfill our plans and purposes, just like John the Baptist who stood for the truth of his mission and offered it to everyone, whenever and however it will best bring conversion to sinner even at the cost of his head.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you created each one of us to fulfill your plan on earth and in our names we bear the mystery of our mission and purpose. Grant us through the intercessions of St John the Baptist, the grace to faithfully and courageously fulfill our mission and purpose in this world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed and joyful weekend.

Homily For Friday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 23rd June, 2023

Reading: 2Cor 11:18.21-30; Ps.34; Matt. 6:19-23

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

WHY HAVE YOU MADE THEM THE ULTIMATE TREASURES OF YOUR LIFE?

 

Everyday under terrible scourges of the sun and noisy street, people struggle to acquire things that they value as treasures of life. The quarreling and fighting, the early morning rush, the traffic jam, the aggressive words all just to acquire things of this life and people are never tired of acquiring properties for themselves and their generation yet to come, forgetting that all these things sooner or later passes away as we ourselves expire from this world.

 

Thus, in our Gospel passage today we are called to reflect on what should be our ultimate treasure and how we can acquire it. For Jesus said: Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

Here, Jesus knowing how humanity are so attached to the things of this passing world and have made them their ultimate treasures, calls how attention to what should be our ultimate treasure. He made us to know that GOD and His kingdom is the greatest and ultimate treasure anyone can and should acquire. For it will be a waste of time trying to store up our treasures in this world, because the world as we know is passing away likewise the things in it. The world is not a safe place to store one’s ultimate treasures. The safest place to store up our treasures is in God our heavenly Father. For heaven itself is the ultimate treasure that cannot be compared to anything whatsoever we have in this world. And it is so precious and great, that it is worth more than our entire life and our worldly possessions and treasures.

 

Little wonder, St Paul in our first reading tells us that it is a waste of time boasting about our worldly possessions and achievement. For there is nothing to boast about in this passing world. And if there is anything to boast at all, it should be the things that show our weakness. Therefore, we must do all that it takes to ensure that our focus is on things of heaven  and how to acquire it. Because losing it over the temporal pleasure, joy, glory, fame, power and influential things of this passing world will be complete foolishness. For none of them last forever and what good is it for us to gain the whole world but loses our soul out of God’s kingdom.

 

Dear friends, the questions we need to ask ourselves today are: where and what is our ultimate treasure in this life? Why have we made the things of this passing world our ultimate treasure? If the Lord should give us opportunity to make request of what our heart desires, what will be your request? How many of us are paying attention to ultimate heavenly treasures? How many thinks and search for the ultimate treasure of our souls? How many desires to personally discover God in our lives knowing that he is the ultimate treasure anyone can acquire in this world?

 

How I wish we will understand the shortness of this life, the emptiness of this passing world and the danger of losing our soul out of greediness for the things of this passing world. Then, we will sincerely desire to experience God personally, because in him lies the ultimate treasure of life. And discovering God personally is the greatest treasure one can ever have.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, the world is full of distractions coming from false treasures of this passing world, give us a wise and discerning hearts in order to give up all our attachment to worldly possessions in pursue of the heavenly and ultimate treasure of your kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Thursday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 22nd June, 2023.

Reading: 2Cor 11:1-11 ; Ps. 111; Matt. 6:7-15

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

THE SEVEN GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF ALL PRAYERS

 

The key to success is rooted in the understanding of the principles that guides any project or things that one embraces in life. Without a good understanding of the principle guiding any project one will struggle more with little or no success. Hence, it is important to struggle to understand the principle guiding any thing we do in order to be successful.

 

Little wonder, Jesus knowing how important the act of prayer is to humanity, taught his disciples the principle and pattern of all prayers as we have it in our Gospel passage today, when he said: “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we also have forgiven all who trespassed against us. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from evil one”.

 

Here, Jesus knowing that prayer is an essential part of our faith through which we grow in our relationship with God, and become more connected to Him, gave us seven principles that should guide all our prayers. This prayer contain series of statements and petitions in which we affirm our relationship with God, with the people around us and with the world in general. In it contains a statement of faith, obligations and commitment as the foundation through which these seven principles are fulfilled.

 

The first principle is to acknowledge God as “Our Father”. A call for unity that requires faith, obligation and commitment. Here we acknowledge God not just as my Father, but as Our Father and the ‘our’ includes every single person who lives or has ever lived on this earth. The second principle calls us to reverence the name of the Lord as we say: “Hallowed be thy name “ yes, God’s name is holy no matter what we say or think. However, we make this prayer for our sake more than for His. Because from the holiness of His name comes the root of our faith and strength, so we are praying that God’s name be held in  deepest respect by people everywhere.

 

The third principle calls us to have the vision of God’s kingdom, hence we pray saying: “Your kingdom come”, that is, we pray that humanity should consciously and willingly embrace the love and kingship of God which He is offering us. The forth principle invites us to dispose ourselves to embrace the will of God as we pray saying: “Your will be done on earth, as in heaven”. This is very important for it helps us to discern and be disposed to pray and live in accordance with the will of God.

 

The fifth principle calls us to learn how to be contented with what we have against all forms of selfishness and greediness as we say: “Give us today our daily bread,” of which God surely provides. The sixth principle calls us to make an examination of conscience and to seek reconciliation knowing how weak we are, hence we pray saying: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgiven those who trespassed against us”.

 

Here we make a serious commitment and obligation, asking that the condition for God’s forgiveness of our sins should be based on our readiness to forgive those who have offended us. Finally the seventh principle calls us to have total confidence in God’s providence, protection and guidance as we pray saying: “And do not put us to the test, but save us from evil”, here we acknowledge our weaknesses and our total dependence on God’s help against all the evil forces of this world.

 

Dear friends, I have no doubt that we know our Lords prayer, but knowing it is not enough, we have to pray it devotedly, but praying it is not enough, we have to believe in what we pray for, but believing is not enough, we must put it into practice in our daily lives. This is because, often time we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desired, without considering what God desires for us. Some of us spend lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we did not mean what we say because we have wrong disposition born from unforgiving heart which must be redirected before we can get a positive response from God. 

 

Therefore, it’s time for us to embrace these seven principles and change our perspective and wrong disposition towards prayers. It is time for us to spend more quality moment in prayer and be connected with God. We must let our prayers to be meaningful and genuine from our hearts. It is time for us to  improve the quality of our prayer life by imitating Jesus, who always prayed to his heavenly Father at every possible opportunities.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, in prayer we communicate more closely with you, please teach us how to pray for we really do not know how to pray as we ought, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a favourable day.

Homily for Wednesday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 21st June, 2023. The Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Reading: 2Cor 9:6-11 ; Ps. 112; Matt. 6:1-6.16-18

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

LEARN TO PRACTICE YOUR RELIGIOUS PIETY AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICES SECRETLY

 

There are three principle disciplines that guide all our religious pieties, this disciplines include: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. They can be rightly extended to every act of righteousness and services rendered to humanity. These disciplines have not been properly understood or implemented by people, for most people see this disciplines as an opportunity to display their piety in order to gain cheep human popularity and admiration.

 

The negative attitude towards these religious discipline has been greatly adopted by many people including religious leaders who should know better. Therefore, it is this ugly and negative attitude that Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, when he warns his disciples not to indulge in any form of outward display of their religious pieties so as to attract the admiration of others. Here Jesus presented how we should properly carryout our religious pieties and obligations, and any service we render for the sake of humanity.

 

Using each of these three spiritual disciplines, he gave us the basic formula saying: That we should not blow trumpets in the streets to draw the attention of everyone when we give alms to the poor. We should not say our prayers in the most conspicuous places so that people will marvel at our holiness and when fasting, we should not put on gloomy and drawn looks so that everyone will know that we are fasting. Then he calls us not to be like the hypocrites who displays their charitable deeds, for they have received their reward. After which he instructed us regarding the secret practice of piety and promise us that God will reward us for any piety practiced in secret.

 

Thus, Jesus calls us to carryout our religious pieties and obligations to humanity secretly, for when it is done in the secret we will receive great reward from God and as recipients of these rewards, we will be surprised, because we have no idea that we did anything remarkable or that anyone noticed our charitable acts. For we certainly did not perform the charity to gain rewards. Rather, it is the combination of our selfless, sacrificial and unassuming attitudes that opens the channel by which God dispenses His blessings upon us.

 

Little wonder St. Paul tells us in our first reading today saying: “Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver”. This is exactly what we see in the life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga whose memorial we celebrate today. Though born into a wealthy family, he renounced the world’s riches and honour in order to live a life of service, simplicity, holiness and piety. For we are called to humbly look into our lives and identify all those ugly attitudes of pride in us and get rid of them.

 

Dear friends, we are called to cultivate the right attitude towards our religious pieties and carry them out with the right intention and purpose, and not just for any selfish purpose.  Therefore, it is important that we have the right disposition and direction towards our religious pieties and shun all forms of worldly interest or rewards, so as not to be distracted by the vanity of the things of this passing world. Let humility, faithfulness, sacrificial love be the driving force towards all our religious pieties and every other things we do for the good will of humanity.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously grant us through the intercession of St. Aloysius the gift of humility and sacrificial attitude towards our family, religious and societal obligation and responsibilities. May we carry them out faithfully and selflessly with right attitude and good intentions. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.