HOMILY FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B, 10TH MARCH, 2024

Readings: 2Chron 36:14-16.19-23; Ps. 137; Eph 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD STILL LOVES THE WORLD SO MUCH?

 

Today the Holy Mother Church celebrates Laetare ( Rejoice) Sunday, which occurs every fourth Sunday of Lent. It is a special Sunday when we have a brief pause on the penitential nature of the Lenten season to focus more on the joyful expectation of the glorious coming of Easter. Hence we are called to focus our attention on the joy that is to come in Easter in order to help keep our faith focused in the right direction. This we do, knowing that we are in God’s good hands despite whatever challenges we may be facing now. God loves us so much and will never let us be consumed by the ugly situation we are passing through in our world today.

 

Thus, in today’s celebration, we are called to have a little bit of relief from our disposition towards lamenting, regretting and being sorrowful over our sins in order to have a joyful disposition of hope towards the salvation and assurance of God’s love for us which will fully manifest at the resurrection of Christ at Easter. This atmosphere of hope and joy is evident in our first reading today, where we heard of the account of what had happened at the end of the southern kingdom of Judah in Israel.

 

This kingdom was destroyed by the Babylonians who overpowered them, because of their sins and disobedience against God. He made them suffer and endure humiliation, as they witnessed the destruction of their city, their temple and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, as they were taken to exile in Babylon, where they suffered shamefully for many years under the reign of the Babylonians.

 

But God did not abandon them. For he brought light and joy into their heart when he brought them back to their homeland through King Cyrus of Persia, for God still loved them and wanted to reconcile with them since they were his chosen people. This no doubt shows how much God loves his chosen people and will always desire to reconcile with them.

 

Little wonder, our Gospel passage today, talks about the relationship between God and the world.  Telling us that God loves the world and the humanity living in it. He loved it so much that he gave his only Son, who died a shameful and terrible death on a Cross for the sake of his love for humanity. But the question we need to ask ourselves now is: do you believe that God still loves the world? In the midst of all the problems and disasters we face every day can we still say that God loves the world?

 

This is important because it will help us to understand the importance of remaining firm in our faith in God.  We must acknowledge that God loves the whole world, for his love is total and unconditional for every one of his creatures. This he demonstrated on the cross where he poured out his love for the salvation of all humanity.

 

This love is what we are called to bear witness to the whole world. So, as we prepare ourselves in this Holy Season of Lent in repentant and sorrow for our sins, we are also called to be joyful because, we now have hope once again in the everlasting life and eternal joy that Christ will offer us on the Cross, through his suffering, death and resurrection. Thus we rejoice because we have seen the light of our salvation rooted in the loving heart of God for all humanity.

 

Dear friends, we have in one way or another experienced the love of God greatly and personally in our lives. It’s now time to bear authentic witness to this love for all humanity. We are to tell the world how deeply God loves us. We are to demonstrate this love to the world and let this love be felt by those who have lost hope in God, especially at this time when humanity is struggling with the ugly situation of inflation and its effects on our economy. For we are the face of God’s love now, we are the channels of his love and grace now.

 

Therefore, let us extend this love in any form, gesture or manner possible to everywhere that it is lacking. A kind word, a single phone call, a text message, an act of forgiveness, a single prayer, sacrifice, patience and any form of generous act shown to anyone around us or as many people we can reach out to today, reflect this love of God for humanity through us. Let us make Christ our light and love as we embrace his words today

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as we have come to know and experienced your love for humanity in your words today, give us the grace to reciprocate this love in the world through our ways of life using the gifts, talents and resources you have given us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Saturday Third Week of Lent Year B, 9th March, 2024

Readings: Hosea 5:15-6:6, Ps. 51, Luke: 18:9-14

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

LEARN TO PRAY IN HUMILITY AND CONTRITION

 

One of the traditional dimensions of this Lenten season is prayer. Prayer is part and parcel of our Christian life. It is the act of raising our minds and hearts to God. But sometimes we find it difficult to carry out this exercise because we don't understand how or what is demanded of us or the best disposition to prayer.

 

Today in our Gospel passage, we heard how two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.”  While the tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Hence, Jesus said, the tax collector, went home at rights with God; the Pharisees did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

 

Dear friends, in prayer, we are not to give God instructions or present our profile of piety, but our disposition should be that of humility and contrition like this tax collector. We are to present ourselves to God just like a good servant will report for duty and wait for instructions from his master. So, we are to respond in obedience to God's instructions in prayer for there we encounter God in the innermost of our being.

 

Thus, we are called in our first reading to return to the Lord in prayers, for he may tear us to pieces, but he will heal us; he may strike us down, but he will bandage our wounds; since what he wants is love, not sacrifice, humility and not holocausts. Therefore, we have to cultivate the right disposition and learn how to communicate with God the right way through prayer.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we do not know how to pray as we ought, as we listen to your words today, may we learn how to cultivate the right attitude and disposition towards prayers. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. It’s the weekend, wishing you a peaceful and joyful day.

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.