Homilies (Page 30)

Trinity: Becoming Ambassadors of God (Love) Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18 Growing up in rural Nigeria, education was a powerful tool for inclusivity, globalization and universalism. We were taught the power of relationships and the respect of the other. Seniors or old people were given priority because of their past contributions to society. We were encouraged to reach out to peoples all around the world through “pen pals”: we wrote letters to people we never knew, but were convinced they are humans just like ourselves. All complexes had no place, only humanity mattered. So many years later, one wonders where those goodRead More →

Pentecost: The Power Within John 20:19-23 We all dream of a good life, life without problems and obstacles. Soon enough, we realize that our dreamed life comes up against obstacles—fears of foes and failure, the consciousness that we cannot do and go it alone—our limitations. Sometimes we pray to God for help, at other times we do our best to mitigate known obstacles. In desperation, we often politicize and commercialize our lives, thinking that solutions will come by influencing others politically in our favor or use money to pay our way. The apostles also knew these obstacles, they struggled with them as we do today.Read More →

Times and Pentecost: The Continuous Intervention and Presence of the Holy Spirit in the World Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 Why do we talk of 1900 or 1960 or 2020? Obviously time is the measure of human activities, and astronomical and galaxic movements help human beings to talk about times and seasons. This is not the case for a Christian. What is “time” for a Christian? “Time” is always in reference to Christ and the salvation he wrought for humanity. When a Christian talks of centuries and millennia, it is always in reference to the Christ event. Even within Scripture itself, timeRead More →

Prayer: Making God Present and Active in the World Acts 1:12-14; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11a Once upon a time, Jesus Christ physically walked down the streets of Palestine, visited friends and foes, loved, healed, and saved all through his death on the Cross of Calvary. Now, with the Ascension over with, the question is: Is God still with us? Through Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7), the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus is present in the Holy Eucharist, in the Presiding Priest at Mass, in the gathered Eucharistic assembly, in the Sacraments and in his Word. Today, our liturgical readings take up the idea ofRead More →

Ascension Thursday, 2020 Heaven is our Home, Jesus is our GPS Do not ask scientists about Heaven, because they do not know where to find it. Of all the places they have been able to locate, Heaven is not one of them. The closest they have come to Heaven is the statement, “Heaven doesn’t exist”. Come to think of it, how does science get its knowledge—by discovery! For instance, America didn’t exist, up until Christopher Columbus “discovered” it; River Niger didn’t exist before Mungo Park “discovered” it. My friends, beware of those who “discover things,” because they are yet to discover themselves! How can thingsRead More →

From Junk Food to Junk Life – Changing Course through the Holy Spirit Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21   In our world today, everything is up for sale and everything is up for grabs, including human lives, and it is fast grabbing the human soul too. The power that rules the world is money, not even religion is free from its shackles. To be on sale is to have a dollar sign attached to everything. In fact, everyone is a potential seller and buyer, it just depends on what commodity is in question. Better still, trade by barter is back – everythingRead More →

Service to our neighbors as Christianity 101: Healing our Hypocrisy  Acts 6:1-7; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12 Doctors, nurses and caregivers are dying, because of Covid-19! What a pity, but it is true: those trained to protect others, are also casualties and victims! Videos have gone viral showing doctors, nurses and caregivers absconding from their jobs for lack of protection from Covid-19. But community after community line up, either in honking cars or at a safe distance, to thank and show gratitude to doctors, nurses and caregivers for their courage, sacrifice and love of humanity terrorized by Covid-19. Our collective appreciation of music as therapeuticRead More →

Let us “Hear” the World, But “Listen” to Jesus Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10 Every human being, by default, has the sense of hearing, except for cases of deformity or hearing loss. Cases of deformity and hearing loss, sometimes, hearing-aids are very useful for such persons, otherwise, people of that category couldn’t be blamed for failing to hear what is said to them and around them. Interestingly, even persons with hearing deformity can listen – listening engages the other senses! “Hearing” is the ability to be aware of the noises around us. In fact, we now live in a noise polluted environmentRead More →

“Stay with Us”: When Jesus Heals our Blindness! Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 They were blind! They had been blind! They shall always be blind, except with the opening of their hearts and minds. The blindness of the eyes is not our subject matter, but that of the heart and mind. With the eyes, we see the configuration of the world. Everything has its place. We navigate around objects to avoid accidents and collisions. Our power of differentiation comes to play; our creativity apportions values and importance to things. With a heart bereft of God, and a clouded mind—blindness remains. Only GodRead More →