Homily For Friday Third Week of Lent Year B, 8th March, 2024

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

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

SHOWING AND EXPERIENCING LOVE IS THE GREATEST THING THAT CAN EVER HAPPEN TO US

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

Homily For Thursday Third Week of Lent Year B, 7th March, 2024

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

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

ARE YOU GATHERING WITH THE LORD OR SCATTERING?

 

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

 

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

 

Dear friends, are we gathering with the Lord or scattering? Today as we listen to the words of God, we are called to turn back to God and abandon our sinful ways in order to remain and gather with the Lord and not scatter. Little wonder, in our first reading today, we heard prophet Jeremiah reminding us of the need to be with the Lord as we make our journey, thereby reminding us of the need to repent and to change our ugly ways of life. Therefore, we must make up our minds to follow the Lord. The world as we know is offering us so many things, good and bad alike.

 

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

 

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

Homily Wednesday Third Week of Lent Year B, 6th March, 2024

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

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR TRUE GREATNESS? THEN KEEP AND TEACH GOD'S COMMANDMENTS

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Homily For Tuesday Third Week of Lent Year B, 5th March, 2024

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

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN OPTION BUT A NECESSITY FOR PEACE AND HAPPINESS

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Homily For Monday Third Week of Lent Year B, 4th March, 2024

Readings: 2Kings 5:1-15, Ps. 42, Luke 4:24-30

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

BE CAREFUL WITH PRIDE FOR IT CAN MAKE YOU LOSE GOD’S BLESSINGS

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

HOMILY FOR THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 3RD MARCH, 2024

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

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

WHAT IS OUR ATTIUDE TOWARDS THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD?

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Dear friends, the question that comes to mind today is: what is my attitude towards the commandments of God? Are we keeping and living according to these commandments of God? Some may say no, but some will say yes because they believe that they have not broken any of the commandments. This no doubt is good and great, but if we have not broken any of the commandments, have we kept them? You may ask what do I mean by keeping them?

 

The answer is simple if you have not broken the commandments, have you been keeping and living by them? Have we sincerely honoured the Lord our God with all our hearts and not use his Holy Name in vain? Have we really kept the Sabbath day Holy? Have we truly and sincerely honoured and loved our parents? We may not have killed anyone, but have we sought to preserve and defend life? We may not have committed adultery, fornication, masturbation, homosexuality and lesbianism, but have we seduced others into committing them or prevented others from engaging in them?

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Homily For Saturday Second Week of Lent Year B, 2nd March, 2024

Readings: Micah 7:14-15.18-20, Ps. 103, Luke 15:1-3.11-32

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

I WILL ARISE AND GO BACK TO MY FATHER AND SAY I AM SORRY

 

Every day of our lives we make choices that we think are good for us. Meanwhile, the root of any choice we make comes from the fundamental option we have made for or against God; to love or to be selfish, to be good or bad, to be holy or sinful. And any choice we make has great consequences which can be positive or negative as we have in the parables of the prodigal son in our Gospel passage today.

 

In this parable, we can identify three main characters: The Father, the elder son and the younger son. The three characters represent the attitude of the group of persons in which Jesus was addressing in the Gospel. First, the attitude of the tax collectors and sinners, who were seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say. Secondly the attitudes of the Pharisees and scribes who complained. And then, Jesus is seen as a righteous man who welcomes sinners and eats with them.

 

Looking at the attitudes of these three characters in the parable, we can deduce that the attitude of the Pharisees and Scribes depicts that of the elder son who is obedient to his father but passes judgment on his disobedient brother, the attitude of task collectors and sinner depicts the younger son who seeks reconciliation and forgiveness from his father. The attitude of the Father can be seen in the person of God (Jesus) who went out to welcome the prodigal son (task collectors and sinners) and goes out as well searching for the elder and dutiful son (Pharisees and Scribes).

 

This parable applies to our present context, where the Church is seen as the merciful Father, who welcomes, accommodates and lavishes her love on both saints and sinners. For we are told in our first reading that no god can be compared with our God: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger forever but delighting in showing mercy? Meanwhile, the saints and the righteous ones in the Church are seen as the elder son who is obedient and faithful to the Father. While sinners, unbelievers are seen as the prodigal son who has travelled to a far distant country seeking to come back to the Father.

 

But the questions we should ask ourselves are: where do I belong in the whole picture of this parable? Am I lost in sin? Have I travelled far away from God and his Church? Where am I now in my relationship with God? What is the state of my life? What is my attitude towards my neighbour, my family, my father, mother, children? What is my attitude towards those who have offended me in grievous ways? What is my attitude towards notorious sinners (armed robbers, murderers, prostitutes, drunkards, drug addicts,  womanizers, liars, the wicked, greedy and corrupt people) can I accommodate them if repented?

 

Dear friends, God is calling us to repentance. Sin has taken us away from God is time to come back, we are lost in a faraway land of sin, is time to come back. It doesn't matter what we have done, or how sinful we may have been, no matter how grievous. God is waiting for us to come back. He wants to hear us say like the prodigal son: I will arise and go to my Father and say Father forgive me for I have sinned against heaven and before you.

 

Friends, God wants to meet us at the confessional, he wants to meet us in the Eucharist, he wants to meet us in those persons we have offended and those who have offered us. He wants to meet us in those we have refused to forgive. He wants to meet us in our families, in your husband, your wife, your children, your neighbours, and your colleagues in the office and marketplace. He wants to meet you in that man who is suffering in prison and hospital because of your unforgiveness. All he wants us to do today is to say, am sorry to those whom we have offended and to forgive those who have offended us.

 

The choice is yours, don't wait until is too late. Why not make a call to someone today and say to him or her am sorry, I have forgiven you, I just realized how wrong I have been, please forgive me. If we can do this, then we will see how blessed our life will be in this Holy season of Lent and we will find reason to rejoice at Easter. Remember that conversion is not just about sinners becoming holy, is more than that. Is about experiencing and acknowledging the love of God every day of our lives.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, sin has separated us for your love, as we listen to your words today, may we come back to you just like the prodigal son, with a repented heart and strong will to remain faithful like the dutiful son, knowing that you as our merciful Father awaits our return. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed weekend.