Homily For Saturday First Week of Lent Year B, 24th February, 2024

Readings:  Deut.26:16-19, Ps.119, Matt. 5:43-48

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

THE LIFE OF PERFECTION REQUIRES SACRIFICIAL LOVE

 

Naturally, people desire to love and be loved, to relate and be in the company of those whom they love. Nobody enjoys being among those who detest them and cause them pain and sorrow. That is why people naturally sacrifice for those whom they love in order to keep their friendship and companion. But it takes greater love and sacrifice to do good to people who detest us and cause us sorrow and pain since it is difficult and unnatural to sacrifice for such people.

 

This sacrificial life of love is what Jesus calls us to embrace in pursuit of the life of perfection. Little wonder he says in our Gospel passage: ‘If you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ 

 

Here Jesus emphasises that though 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. For by so doing we will be imitating the perfection of God our heavenly Father, who shows equal love to all and calls us to a greater life of sacrificial love and deeper virtue towards perfection. Hence, we are called in our first reading today to keep the laws of the Lord, to keep and observe them with all our heart and with all our soul so that we will be a people consecrated to the Lord and by so doing become perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect.

 

Dear friends, the life of perfection requires sacrificial love. So, today are called to a life of deeper virtue through love that leads to perfection. We are called to choose love over hatred and forgiveness over vengeance. Hatred breeds violence and other things that weaken the human soul, but love unites and heals. The fact is that God desires peace for humanity and this peace is what Jesus came to bring in the world, to restore the peace that God intended for all creation from the first day of creation. So today all of us are called to offer this peace to the world full of hatred, greed and violence. This we are called to accept and live out day by day in every way we can.

 

Therefore, friends, it’s time for us to stretch out the hands of friendship and peace to everyone both friends and enemies alike, by investing more resources in things that bring about peace and friendship with one another, rather than building a nuclear weapon that breeds more violence and hatred in the world. For by so doing the world will become more peaceful and loving.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, today we are called to live a life of perfection through sacrificial love. But the cross of the sacrificial life of love is so heavy, give us the grace to truly carry it by forgiving our enemies and striving towards the life of perfection that offers peace, mercy, compassion and love to distressed humanity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Friday of the First Week of Lent Year B, 23rd February, 2024

Readings:  Ezek. 18:21-28, Ps.130, Matt. 5:20-26

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

UNDERSTANDING THE APPLICATION OF GOD’S MERCY AND JUSTICE

 

Most of the time, we often find it difficult to understand the way God operates, especially as regards to his relationship with humanity. This is because humanity has failed to understand how God’s mercy and justice are applicable in our relationship with him and with one another. Little wonder, today in our first reading, the prophet Ezekiel demonstrated to us how God’s mercy and justice will be a standard for judging humanity.

 

Here, he made us know that those who are righteous if they fall into sin and wickedness, will be judged by those same sins they committed, and if found wanting, they will be condemned because of them. On the other hand, those who are wicked, if they repent from their wickedness and act righteously, will be pardoned and saved because of the righteousness and faith that they have shown through their repentance.

 

So when the upright man renounces his integrity to sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he has committed, for this is God’s justice in action. But when the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding, honest and holy, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die, this is God’s mercy in action. For we cannot separate God’s mercy and justice, because they are the same. The fact remains that, God is not interested in our past sinful ways, but in our present state of life.

 

Hence, Jesus in our Gospel passage today, calls us to a deeper virtue, when he said to his disciples, If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. That is, we must strive to deepen our virtue towards righteous deeds. We must become agents of peace and reconciliation. We must be a symbol of God’s mercy and justice in a world full of corruption and greed.

 

Dear friends, we are called today to experience this mercy and justice of God uniquely. Thus, we have to be vigilant always and strive to be righteous before God and man. Today, we have to make a fundamental choice to live a holy life and never to return to our sinful ways of life. We must struggle every day to grow in righteousness and never give up no matter the situation we are passing through. We should always reflect on what this justice and Mercy of God mean in our lives as we strive every day to remain faithful to God’s commandment of love and peace. 

 

LET US PRAY, as we struggle every day towards holiness and perfection, may we be guided by the Holy Spirit and strive to remain towards the path of righteousness and never go back to our sinful and ugly ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s Friday, wishing you God’s grace, mercy and favour.

Homily For Thursday First Week of Lent Year B, 22nd February, 2024

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

Readings: 1Pete 5:1-4, Ps.23, Matt. 16:13-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

YOU ARE PETER, AND ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH

 

Today in a special way the Church celebrates the Supreme Chair of Saint Peter. A feast that marks the establishment of an organized Christian community under the leadership of St. Peter and his successors (that’s the Popes throughout the ages). There is no doubt that the supreme authority belongs only to God, and he alone decides who to endow his authority and also delegates to exercise it among his people. Such is the occasion in our Gospel passage today where the gift of faith given to Peter by God was the rock on which Jesus built his Church and bestowed his authority on him.

 

In our Gospel, we heard how Jesus stresses that Peter's faith is a gift from the Father when he said: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

 

Here the key represents the authority to open the gate of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to judge whether to admit or to refuse. While the expression “binding and loosing” refers to the doctrinal decisions and disciplinary power of the office of  St. Peter, that is, the faculty to impose and to lift, a guarantee that Peter’s decisions in the exercise of his ecclesial function are valid in the eyes of God because the faith given to Peter by God is the rock on which Jesus built his Church and that is why in the iconographic tradition we see the keys in the hand of Peter.

 

This gift of faith comes from a personal response of Peter, when he professed that Jesus is Christ the Son of the living God. Hence, our faith requires that we give a personal answer to the question: who is Jesus to me personally? It is not enough to quote the scriptures and the teachings of the Church about our faith or the teachings of other theologians and preachers. Or to respond not only from the head but from the heart that is convinced of what it believes in.

 

Dear friends, today’s feast reminds us of the need to truly profess our faith in God and be united as one family of God and by so doing overcome the ugly events of division, manipulation and multiplication of Churches going on in Christianity today. We are called to really examine our conscience to know where we are as regards our faith as Christians. Today we are called to be convinced of who we are and recognize the authority Christ has bestowed on his Church entrusted to St. Peter of which the get of underworld shall not prevail against it. To exercise this authority St. Peter in our first reading tells us to be the shepherds of the flock of God which has been entrusted to us: we should watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it; not for sordid money, but because we are eager to do it.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, all authority belongs to you alone, as you have bestowed on your Church the authority and delegated her to exercise it among your people, may this gift unite us more closely to your Son Jesus, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Do have a fruitful day.

Homily For Wednesday of the First Week of Lent Year B, 21st February, 2024

Readings: Jonah 3:1-10, Ps.51, Luke 11:29-32

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

WHAT SIGNS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? THE SIGN OF JONAH IS ALL WE HAVE

 

Oftentimes, when we reflect on our struggle with the ugly situations in our lives, our families, societies and the world at large, we sincerely wish that God should give us a sign from heaven as a way of showing us some definitive guidance or direction towards addressing the situation. When these signs are not forthcoming we feel bad and begin to question God or even doubt his presence in our lives.  This was the disposition of the crowd in our Gospel passage today.

 

Where we heard how those who were listening to Jesus were anxious to know what signs to look out for when the End Times came. But Jesus said to them: “The only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. Hence, Jesus states that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.  The “sign of Jonah” in this passage refers to Jesus’ Crucifixion, death, his three days in the tomb and his Resurrection.  Just the way Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale. 

 

Thus, Jesus in this Gospel was referring to our first reading (Jonah 3:1-10), where because of the preaching of the prophet Jonah, the whole city of Nineveh went into great mourning and repentance before God. Everyone from the King, who issued the order to the whole city and its people to repent from their sins, right down to the lowest among the people, all humbled themselves, tore their clothes and wore sackcloth as a sign of penance. The point here is that  Jesus’ death and resurrection are the signs that will be given.  We should seek nothing other than this sacred mystery of our faith. This is the sign and actions that the Lord Jesus is talking about when he addressed the people who doubted him and demanded miraculous wonders and signs from him.

 

So, here Jesus strongly condemns those seeking signs because he wants us to seek him through the gift of faith rooted in the mystery of his death and resurrection. Every question, problem, struggle and confusion in our lives can be addressed when we enter into the great mystery of our redemption. So, seeking a sign other than this would be wrong, in that, it would be a way of saying that the death and resurrection of Jesus is not enough sign for us.

 

Dear Friends, as we embrace the activities of this Holy season of Lent, Jesus is calling us to repent for sins that make us blind in such a manner that we will continue to seek signs even when things are clear and obvious in our lives.  But the questions we need to ask ourselves are: what signs are we seeing around us today? How can we interpret the signs of this time, the signs that tell us that this world is passing away? Do these signs make us dread the second coming of the Lord or do we joyfully embrace it in anticipation?

 

Hence, Jesus is warning us today not to waste our time seeking for signs, rather we should be prepared, and we should remain firm in the faith. He reminds us that he is the only sign that can be given to humanity. Therefore, we should not join the crowds to look for signs, especially in times of trials, rather we should seek wisdom to make things right by turning our eyes to the central mystery of our faith which is the life, death and resurrection of Christ, where every question can be answered and every grace is obtained.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, you are the sign that we seek,  as we embrace your word today give us the grace to recognize that in the Paschal mystery of Christ, we find the true sign we desire and so obtain the answer and directions to our daily struggles. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Year B, 20th February, 2024

Readings: Is. 55:10-11, Ps.34, Matt. 6:7-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

PRAYER AS A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

 

One of the three traditional dimensions of the Lenten season is prayer. This is important because it is how we communicate with our God. So we are called today to reflect on the meaning and right principles of prayer as we progress through this season of Lent.

 

Little wonder, in our Gospel passage today, Jesus knowing how important the act of prayer is to humanity, taught his disciples the principle and pattern of all prayers 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, gave us seven principles that should guide all our prayers. This prayer contains a series of statements and petitions in which we affirm our relationship with God, with the people around us and with the world in general. 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”. This is 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 of him. However, we make this prayer for our sake more than for his sake. Because from the holiness of his name comes the root of our faith and strength, 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 to say: “Your kingdom come”, that is, we pray that humanity should consciously and willingly embrace the love and kingship of God that he is offering us. The fourth 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 because it helps us to discern and be disposed to pray and live by the will of God.

 

The fifth principle calls us to learn how to be contented with what we have and reject all forms of selfishness and greed as we say: “Give us today our daily bread,” 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 serious commitment and obligation, asking that the condition for God’s forgiveness of our sins should 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”, so 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 how to say Our Lord’s Prayer, but knowing it is not enough, we have to pray it devotedly, but praying it is not, we have to believe in what we pray for, but believing is not enough, we must put it into practice in our daily lives because prayer is a form of relationship with God. This is why Jesus is always praying with God the Father a sign of the importance of this relationship. But oftentimes time we treat prayer wrongly when we consider prayer as a means to only achieve what we desire, without considering what God desires for us. Some of us spend lots of time reciting the prayers and yet we do not often mean what we say because we have wrong dispositions born from unforgiving hearts 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 moments in prayer and be connected with God. We must make 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 opportunity.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in prayer we build a strong relationship with you, teach us how to pray more devotedly, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you God’s favour and blessings.

Homily For Monday of the First week of Lent Year B, 19th February, 2024

Readings: Lev. 19:1-2.11-18; Ps.19; Matt. 25:31-46

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

WHERE DO YOU BELONG, ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OR ETERNAL LIFE?

 

As we continue with our Lenten journey, we are called today to look to the future with more insight into the ultimate goal of humanity, which is eternal life. This is evident in our Gospel passage today in which we heard of the account of the event of the Last Judgment when all of creation shall be judged by the Lord Jesus himself, as he returns to the world as a triumphant King and judges humanity based on our actions, deeds and faith. Then will be time for great separation, when the good will be separated from the bad, holy from sinful, righteous from evil, sheep from goats of which their deeds will reveal our true identity.

 

Thus, the Lord will say to the righteous and those who have extended their love, care and affection for the needy, the poor and the afflicted, “Well done,  Come you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.”

 

But the wicked and the sinful he will say “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” For they were judged by their refusal to follow the example of Christ our Lord, especially in his love, care and compassion towards one another. But had chosen to remain selfish, greedy, corrupt and wicked. Hence we are called to look towards the parousia, when all those who embraced Christ will be raised, having overcome all the hostile forces of this passing world.

 

Dear friends, we must know that in our daily lives, we are making choices between eternal punishment and eternal life, for our actions show where we truly belong.  This is important because we are living in a world full of greed and selfish people, who are swallowed in values of egoism and materialism, with uncontrollable desires for pleasure. We are called today to embrace the teachings of Christ who has called us to live a life of love, care and compassion for one another. We are called to look into the future we an eye of hope and faith. Little wonder we are reminded in our first reading about the commandments of God, which call us to live a life of holiness, integrity, honesty and love.

 

Therefore as we journey through this Lenten season, let us turn toward our Lord  Jesus following his teaching. Remember, following him means carrying our cross, forgetting ourselves, and faithfully obeying his commandment of sacrificial love. For it is by the blood of his cross, that Jesus reveals his sacrificial love, not in saving his life, but in offering it as a ransom for our salvation. Thus, trying to do away with the cross in our lives deprives our souls of these true love and loyalty to Christ our Lord who today wants to reign supreme in our hearts and souls.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we journey through this Lenten season, amidst the hostile forces and evil of this passing world, may we be victorious in all our struggles and endeavours. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you a fruitful week.

Homily For First Sunday of Lent Year B, 18th February, 2024

Readings: Genesis 9:8-15, Ps.25, 1Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

                                                                                                  

ARE YOU ENSLAVED BY SIN? IT IS TIME TO COME BACK TO GOD

The sinful and ugly situation in our society today has turned humanity into slaves, we have become slaves to so many things that sometimes we don’t know how to break out of them. We have become slaves to so many sinful situations that we don’t know how we get into them or how to get out of them. Some of us have given up struggles with them. Some of us are at the point of giving up. Some of us are now becoming masters of this sinful and ugly situation. Some of us are searching for help because we find ourselves drowning in these sinful and ugly behaviours. So what should we do? How can we come out of this situation?

 

To break out of this ugly and sinful situation the Holy Mother Church calls us to make a forty-day journey with the Lord. So today being the first Sunday in this Holy Season of Lent, we are reminded that it is forty days set aside by the Church for us to come back to God for the renewal and rediscovery of ourselves in God, for we are in need God's help to overcome our daily struggle against sin and temptations which darkens our spiritual life.

 

So, the Lenten season is another opportunity for us to reconnect to God, to be reconciled with Him and to find our place once again in God’s loving grace. It is a time for us to turn away from excessive desires for worldly things so as to overcome many temptations we encounter in this world and focus our attention more closely on God. 

 

Hence the Church is offering us the opportunity during this Holy season to reflect on who we are, our mission and our purpose in this world.  The Holy season of Lent is a moment of deep reflection, a season that prepares us for that great event of Easter. It is a season when listening to God’s words leads us to develop some inner attitude that helps us become more aware of our Christian obligations and dignity. It is a period when the Church invites us to enter into a journey of repentance and penance that will lead us to an encounter, conversion, reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration.

 

This Lenten journey is marked especially by three traditional dimensions that are: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three traditional dimensions were demonstrated by Jesus in our Gospel reading today. Where Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, was led to pray and fast for forty days in the wilderness and there he was tempted by the devil, just the way Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil, who planted the seeds of pride and greed in the hearts of humanity.

 

We can recall that in the beginning of time, God created everything all good and perfect, and He made the first man, Adam and his companion, Eve, to live in the wonderful Garden of Eden. This means that mankind, all of us were meant to live with God by his grace and love, to enjoy the wonders of God’s providence and blessings forever. However, we fell into sin as we were unable to resist the temptations to sin because of pride and greed and so separate ourselves from God’s presence.

 

But time and time again God has always extended his hands of mercies towards humanity, he always wants to bring us back to himself just as we heard in our first reading today. For when humanity’s sinfulness was so deep God wished to wipe away humanity. However, Noah having found favour with God was saved along with his family and other creatures who obeyed the command of God through Noah. So, having wiped away the rest of creation along with sinful humanity, God spoke to Noah and his sons saying, ‘See, I establish my Covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.’

 

Referring to this great and sad event, St. Peter in our second reading tells us that, when Noah was still building that ark which saved only a small group of eight people ‘by water’, God was still waiting patiently, that those who refused to believe may repent. He tells us that the water is a type of baptism which saves us now, and which is not just the washing off our physical dirt but a pledge made to God from a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, now that he has made the angels and authorities and Powers his subjects.

 

So Jesus, who has come to redirect the hearts of humanity back to God, calls us to repent from our sins and believe in the Gospel he has brought for us, which we promised to uphold in our baptism. When we promised to reject sin and Satan with all his empty promises and shows, while embracing God and his son Jesus who has come to save us from sin and death. Therefore, we are called to imitate Jesus in prayer. Through prayer, we make room for God in our lives and express our desire to enter into a deep friendship with the Lord. Hence, we need to spend more time with God just like Jesus, bearing in mind that we cannot live by bread alone, we need the spiritual food of God's Word. Thus, we are called to withdraw from the world in order to encounter God and truly profess our faith in him. 

 

Dear friends, God is calling us in this Holy season of Lent, to come back to him. The world has taken us far away from him; it's time to come back. Sin has made us its slaves, it is time to come back. Sin has separated us from God; it's time to reconcile with him. Greediness, slots, unforgiveness, love of power and money, ambition, and unhealthy friendships have separated us from God; it’s time to come back to him. It is time to say am sorry Lord, am sorry for having deviated from you. It’s time to let go of hurtful feelings, malice and bitterness in our hearts. It’s time to say yes to God and no to all the distracting things of this world.

 

It’s time to love, to share, to bear with one another's failings. What is stopping us from embracing this opportunity? Is it fear of the future? Or fear of failure or death? Fear not, for the Psalmist tells us that God’s ways are faithfulness and love for those who keep his covenant. Thus, God is calling us to repentance; he is offering us a new life. He is offering us the opportunity to gain our life back and obtain the grace to overcome sin and temptations. For he will create a pure heart in us and put a steadfast spirit within us. Don't miss this opportunity; don't let it pass you by.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we embrace the events of this Holy season, may you give us the right disposition and fill our hearts with joy, peace and love. For those who find it difficult to live the Christian life, may they learn to draw strength and grace from Jesus to resist the devil and all of his empty shows. Happy Sunday, wishing you a fruitful Lenten season.