Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - November 1, 2020 - All Saints

Homily of the Feast of All Saints, 2020 Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24:16, 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12 Amen, amen, blessings and glory, wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, Power and might, belong to our God, forever and ever, amen. (Worship exclamation of all the angels who stood around the throne of God in St. John’s vision in the first reading, Revelation 7:12.) The Catholic Church holds and teaches that the Church exists simultaneously in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory. The Church in heaven is called Church Triumphant, the Church on earth is called Church Militant, and the Church in purgatory is called Church Suffering. The unity of the Church in heaven and the Church on earth is called Communion of Saints. It is based on this unity that we are celebrating today, the Feast of All Saints. This communion continues tomorrow, November 2, when we will commemorate All Souls, the Church Suffering, in a special way. In our celebration today, we pray that the saints in heaven intercede for us. They were close to God while they lived on earth. Now, they are with God in heaven; they intercede for us. That is why Catholics pray in the intercession of the saints. In the first reading, St. John saw “a vision of heaven, and of a great multitude, which no one can count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” Only a few saints out of the multitude of saints in heaven are canonized and celebrated. Today, we celebrate all the saints. Indeed, our loved ones who have gone before us and our ancestors are included. Therefore, it is not out of place to plead with our departed loved ones and our ancestors who lived godly life to intercede for us. The Catholic Church teaches that we take or include saints’ names for Baptism and Confirmation, so that those saints we take as our patron saints intercede for us, and we strive to imitate the life they lived. The priest who baptizes or the bishop who confirms cannot stop anyone from choosing names of celebrities for Baptism or Confirmation. But it is more spiritually beneficial to choose saints names for the sacraments. The Church Militant is a pilgrim church. Our destination is Church Triumphant. Therefore, while on earth, we need to live lives that will enable us to join the Church Triumphant in heaven. The second reading says, “Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.” Jesus gives us the beatitude in the Gospel that can guide us in our effort here on earth to join the Church Triumphant. How triumphant would our world be if we, ourselves, our leaders and our rulers be guided by the beatitudes? An explanation of the meaning of the beatitudes: · To be poor in spirit means to be lowly, to be self-contained, and not greedy. · To mourn means to grieve over sin and evil and to make effort to stop them. · To be meek means to be gentle, not antagonistic, and able to live and work with others. · To hunger and thirst for righteousness means to stand up for or fight for justice. · To be merciful means to be involved in all kinds of works of mercy and charity. · To be clean of heart means to be without guile and corrupt practices. · To be peacemakers means to be instruments of peace. · To be persecuted for the sake of righteousness means to put one’s life on the line in order to fight against injustice. St. Theresa of Lisieux advises that becoming a saint or going to heaven is only achieved by doing extraordinary and mighty deeds. She advises us not to aim at going to heaven by doing great things, but by doing small things with great love. She calls this the simple way, a simple and direct path to heaven. Also, Miriam C. Hunter writes, “Why were the saints, saints? Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful; patient when it was difficult to be patient. And because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still; and kept silent when they wanted to talk. And because they were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable…” With human being, it is difficult, but with all things are possible. Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - 25, 2020

Homily of Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year A, 2020 Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40 In the first reading, the Israelites had left Egypt, and were no longer under Pharaoh and the laws of Egypt. The reading is a section of the guiding rules God gave to the Israelites on how to take care of the weak and the needy among them. The reading mentions aliens, widows, orphans, and the poor. These guiding rules are as important to us today as they were in the time of Exodus considering how badly aliens, immigrants and refugees are currently treated in many parts of the world. Also, xenophobia has become a worrisome problem in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, too, in many countries, governments’ and institutions’ policies favor the rich and the powerful, leaving the poor and the underprivileged to their fate. In some countries, the plight of the poor and the underprivileged is very ugly because of bad government, corruption, and injustice. The sin of heartless coveting and forceful possession of what should be the inheritance of orphans and widows was rampant among the Israelites at that time. That was why God gave them the rule, “You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.” While injustice against widows and orphans is still huge among some cultures in our world today, by extension, ‘widows’ and ‘orphans’ represent the suffering poor, the underprivileged, the unemployed, the marginalized, the powerless, the voiceless, helpless, and so on. In our society, their conditions are made worse by the heartless coveting and forceful possession of what should belong to them by corrupt and mischievous people. We continue to pray for the repentance of those who oppress the poor; those who steal, kill, and plunder; and the corrupt and mischievous people. We may not be xenophobic, or be among the oppressors of the poor. But on our part, in our homes, in our neighborhood, in our organizations, and in our church community, in our environment; what efforts do we make to help those in need? Do we participate in programs directed at helping and supporting the hungry, the weak, the sick, the elderly, the homebound and the poor? What is our effort to see that there is justice and fairness, that no one is cheated, or dispossessed of his or her rights and privileges, or marginalized? Answering the question, “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Love of God is not possible without love of neighbor. Human beings are images of God. St. John’s letter explains, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother is a liar; for whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). This means that the first law, love of God, is determined by the second law, love of neighbor. Love of neighbor is the only channel through which we can love God. Love of neighbor is the step on the ladder through which we climb to God. Where there is no love of neighbor, there is no love of God. Jesus makes it clearer when he says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). How do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Is it possible? We know stories of heroes, heroines, and saints who showed greater love to their neighbor than to themselves. Some of these men and women of goodwill put their lives in the line of danger or sacrificed their lives to save their neighbor. Such people challenge us. The Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 helps us to understand how to love our neighbor as ourselves: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” According to Jewish Rabbi, Hillel, (who was said to have lived around the time of Jesus), “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary on it.” St. Paul’s 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 enlightens us with the kind of love through which we can love our neighbor as ourselves: the love that is patient, kind, not jealous, not pompous, not inflated, not rude, not seeking its own interests, not quick-tempered, not brooding over injury, not rejoicing over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Let genuine love rule our hearts and our actions; everything else will fall in place. Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - October 18, 2020

Homily of Twenty Ninth-Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year A, 2020 Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalm 96:1, 3-5, 7-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21 Today is World Mission Sunday. It is a Sunday set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activities through prayer and sacrifice. We are invited to, constantly, pray for the success of the Church’s missionary activities all over the world. In addition to our prayers, we are, also, invited to offer material and financial support to the Church’s missionary activities. We are all missionaries, either by going to the missions, or by praying for missionaries or by giving to support or sustain the missions. Also today, in a special way, we pray for men and women of goodwill who have sacrificed their resources to support God’s work in the missions. Pope Francis, in his message for World Missionary Day, 2020, draws our attention to Prophet Isaiah’s response to his calling, “Here am I, send me” (Isaiah 6:8). The pope writes, “This is the ever new response to the Lord’s question: ‘Whom shall I send?’ This invitation from God’s merciful heart challenges both the Church and humanity as a whole in the current world crisis. … God continues to look for those whom he can send forth into the world and to the nations to bear witness to his love, his deliverance from sin and death, his liberation from evil. … The celebration of World Mission Day is also an occasion for reaffirming how prayer, reflection and the material help of your offerings are so many opportunities to participate actively in the mission of Jesus in his Church.” The readings present to us individuals God sent on various missions. In the first reading is King Cyrus. Although he was a Persian pagan king, God anointed him and gave him the mission to set the people of Israel free from the Babylonian captivity. In the second reading are Paul, Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy. God gave them the mission of preaching the Good News. We recall that Paul was a persecutor of Christians, but God made him “a chosen instrument” (Acts 9:15). Silvanus and Timothy were converts to Christianity. They became Paul’s co-workers and great missionaries. That God used Cyrus, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy as his chosen instruments, not minding their past and former ways of life, is an encouragement that God calls everyone and wants to use everyone to continue the mission of Jesus at various levels. Everyone is qualified! However, God gives mission graces to those who accept the call. The mission of Jesus which the Church and all of us are to continue is as in Luke 4:18, proclaim good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, bring recovery of sight to the blind, and set the oppressed free. And as in Matthew 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons.” And as in Matthew 25:35-40, give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, and visit prisoners. The mission of Jesus is in faraway lands, and within and around us. There is mission for everyone. Pope Francis wrote in 2019, “I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptized man and woman is a mission… Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love.” Let us, therefore, not stifle the spirit of mission in us by refusing the invitation to mission. Let us not stifle the spirit of mission in anyone else by what we do or what we say. Let us pray to have the spirit of mission like Paul, Silvanus and Timothy and other great missionaries through whose sacrifice Christianity reached the ends of the earth, and has survived till our time. In the Gospel reading, the Pharisees and the Herodians were bent on stifling the spirit of mission in Jesus by persecuting him. They plotted to entrap him. In the same way, Churches and Christians are persecuted all over the world. Churches and Christians are persecuted either by targeted punitive government policies, or denial of rights and privileges, or forceful acquisition of Churches’ and Christians’ properties, or destruction of Churches’ properties and forcing Christians to flee from their homeland, or killing of Christians and missionaries. Jesus forewarned his followers to expect persecution since he, himself, was persecuted (John 15:20). We pray for the persecuted Churches and Christians all over the world, that their faith may not fail. We pray that Christian leaders may stand up and stand firm to resist the Evil One and his agents prowling around and devouring Christians and Christianity. Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Eight Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - October 11, 2020

 

Homily of Twenty-Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year A, 2020

 

Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23:1-6; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14

 

The first reading is Isaiah’s prophecy of the mission of Jesus Christ. Every word in the first reading is fulfilled in Jesus: “A feast of rich food and choice wines… The veil that veils all peoples, he will destroy, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. [He] will wipe away the tears from every face; the reproach of his people he will remove… Behold, our God to whom we looked to save us!” Jesus provided all these when he came. He is still providing them in our time. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

 

The Gospel is the parable of the wedding feast. The Jews who refused to accept Jesus were those who either had excuses or ignored the wedding invitation. Those who were gathered from the streets to fill the hall were the Gentiles. Why, then, was someone who was called from the street be punished for not having dressed in a wedding garment?

 

In the ancient Middle East marriage feasts, special wedding garments were provided by the host, so that everyone dressed well. To refuse the wedding garment provided, freely, by the host and decided to remain in shabby clothing was an act of disobedience, and a dishonor to the host and the celebration.

 

The parable can be applied to various areas of spiritual and earthly journeys. The parable reminds us that heavenly banquet awaits us after our earthly journey. The wedding garment is life in Christ which we must put on in order to enter into eternal life. St. Paul writes in Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17, St. Paul writes, “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” We must, therefore, discard the shabby clothes of sin (desires of the flesh) and put on Christ.

 

For us Catholics, the Holy Eucharist is our earthly wedding banquet which is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. An important wedding garment to receiving the Holy Eucharist worthily is being in a state of grace. As sinners, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the most effective channel of being the state of grace. St. Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 11:27, “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). 

 

The guest’s refusal to wear the wedding garment and his resultant harsh punishment remind us of the deadly consequences of the sin of disobedience. The sin of disobedience made Adam and Eve to lose the paradise of Eden. Sin of disobedience made Lucifer to lose his angelic position in heaven. Sin of disobedience made King Saul to lose his kingship and his kingdom, and so on. Many people have lost their lives in all kinds of accidents due to refusal to obey rules. Many people have lost their vocations, jobs, marriages, positions, benefits, associations, talents, and so on, due to disobedience. Many people have health issues due to disobedience to health and medical rules. We hear it often said, “Keep to rules, and rules will keep you.” This maxim extends to both spiritual and temporal lives.

 

Virtues of humility and obedience help us to have a better understanding of the second reading. Humility and obedience help us to survive in all circumstances: whether “being well fed or going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.” In humility and obedience, we are strengthened by God, who helps us to do all things. In humility and obedience, we trust God who fully supplies whatever we need, “in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Amen.

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - October 4, 2020

 

DATE :4/10/2020

 EVENT : 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

 COLOUR: GREEN

 READINGS : Isaiah 5:2-7; Responsorial Psalm 79:9.12-16.19-20; Phil. 4:6-9; Gospel Accl. John 15:16; Matthew 21:33-43.

 

 THEME: WHAT HAS GOD NOT DONE TO MAKE YOU REPENT

 

 INTRODUCTION :

                   Greetings beloved people of God and fellow pilgrims. I welcome you to the 27th Sunday in the Ordinary time of the Church. (An Ordinary time is the season when the Church has no particular celebration). On this Sunday, beloved friends, I wish to reflect with us on the theme, "What Has God not Done to Make You Repent". Beloved, it is good that I begin today's homily by stating clearly that the primary reason why Christ incarnated, went through the Pascal mystery  and why the Church of God is still standing today is so that all of humanity will repent, denounce their old ways and be saved. Hence, the very day everybody in the world repents and acknowledges Christ as God of heaven and earth, I believe the Church would cease to exist. But until then, we will keep preaching and calling each other to repentance.

 

   Beloved, often times I can not help but wonder how God would be feeling whenever He looks down upon us and considers how much efforts and sacrifices He has put in for us to turn from our evil ways. Yet all His efforts met a frustrating defiance and resistance in the hearts of man. I can imagine how discouraged, disappointed and heartbroken God feels right now. However, in this time of utilitarianism, consumerism and economic addiction, most persons would easily give up on any business or project which refuses to yield the desired result or profit after spending much on it. Yet God has not given up on His project of saving you and I.

 

    In today's first reading and in the Gospel, we are told how a vineyard owner tried his best to make sure the vineyard gets enough fertilizer, water, manure, digging, weeding, mulching and trimming for it to produce a good harvest. But to his greatest disappointment, the vineyard produced below expectation, such that he was not even able to taste a single fruit from that which his own hands have planted. Is this not the case between we and God today? Ask yourself, what benefit is God deriving from me since I came into existence? What are the fruits which my life has produced? What has God not done for me? Has He not given me life, family and friends, health, connection, travel mercy, academic quifications, job, children, wife and husband. Has He not given me food, shelter, clothing, favours, protection and assigned angels to watch over me? Has He not given me the priceless gift of His only begotten Son and my Catholic faith? Now I ask again: What else do you want God to do to make you repent.

 

    Child of God, I wish to tell us that God is not happy with you, with me and with the entire Church. In fact He is disappointed in us, and like Isaiah prophesied in the first reading, God is going to knock us down and lay us waste in His anger if something is not done and done fast. I pray that we may resolve in our hearts today to repay God with good fruits for His goodness to us. God bless you

       

OH that today you would listen to his voice harden not your heart (Ps.95:7-8).

 

 LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, thank you for all the benefits which you have given us, I am sorry for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us, help me by your grace to live a life that will bear good fruits from today onwards....Amen

 

 HAPPY SUNDAY TO YOU.....( Barka da Lahadi)

                                                                                               

 @Fada  Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara MSP.⛪

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - October 4, 2020

 

Homily of Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year A, 2020 

 

Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:9, 12-16; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

 

The first reading is a parable and Isaiah’s prophecy of the conquest of Jerusalem and Judah by Assyria in 701 BC, which was God’s punishment to the Israelites for their ingratitude and godlessness. Judah was God’s cherished vineyard that produced wild grapes instead of good grapes. Instead of judgement and justice, there were bloodshed and outcry from the oppressed.

 

In the Gospel, Jesus told the chief priests and the elders a parable about the tenants who rebelled against the landowner. They assaulted and killed the landowner’s servants. They also killed his son. Jesus presented this parable as a prophesy about himself, concerning his rejection by the chief priests and the elders, and his crucifixion by them. Jesus ended the parable with a quotation from Psalm 118:22, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

 

Builders at the time of Jesus used stones to form pillars for buildings. Not every stone was suitable for forming pillars. A special kind of stone was used. Jesus referred to himself as the special stone which the chief priests and the elders rejected.

 

Many countries and their rulers are like the vineyard of God in the first reading, and the wicked and ungrateful tenants in the Gospel reading. God blessed the countries with resources to benefit the citizens. Instead of good judgement and justice, what we see are greed, corruption, bloodshed and outcry. In those places, human being turned God’s blessings to curses. We pray that God raises up ‘Assyria’ to rescue his oppressed children.

 

God gave human being a beautiful world and the authority to subdue everything in the world. Then, human being turn against God and reject him. In many places, God is removed from politics, administration, judiciary, economy, business, science, technology, morality, education, mass media, medicine, family, and religion. I mention religion because some religious leaders and their followers worship mammon rather than God. It was Aristotle who said that nature abhors a vacuum. When God is removed, someone else takes over, and that is the Evil One. Any place, government, country, community, institution, family, religion, or individual where God and Jesus are removed, the Evil One takes over. The result is, ‘wild grapes’ in form of injustice, sufferings and crimes, and outcry.

 

In one way or another, we all are God’s vineyards (as in the first reading), and his tenants (as in the Gospel reading). As vineyards who have received so much blessings from God, we are to be grateful to him; and we are to bear good fruits. As tenants (stewards) we are to be productive and accountable. We are not to be destructive, rebellious, and unaccountable.

 

St. Paul, in the second reading, gives us a guide to bearing good fruits, to being productive, and to being accountable. He tells us to keep before us and to pursue “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise.”

 

Finally, as stewards of God’s work, let Jesus be our cornerstone; in good times and in bad times, in sickness and in good health, in riches and in poverty, in joy and in sorrow, in happiness and in sadness, and in want and in plenty. In all circumstances, let Jesus be our cornerstone. If Jesus is our cornerstone, St. Paul tells us in the second reading, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and mind.” Amen.

 

A praise song that acknowledges Jesus as the cornerstone (pillar) says,

You are the pillar that holds my life.

You are the pillar that holds my life.

Master Jesus, you’re the pillar that holds my life.

Master Jesus, you’re the pillar that holds my life.