Homilies (Page 32)

Beyond Ashes: (The Imitation of Christ) The Language of Love Joel 2:12-18; 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Looking into the eyes of her beloved, a woman promises: “in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer . . . . I will love you until death do us part!” Although this promise is made while hoping for the best, unfortunately, some have to literally live that out by supporting their spouse in their poverty and ill-health. The good news is that the promises made prepare couples for the best, as well as for the worst. And, when they have to support each other inRead More →

You are Gods: Reclaim your Identity! Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48 Believe it or not, it was prophesied in Psalm 82:6, the gospel of John 10:34 talks about it, and today, in our second reading, St. Paul confirms it—“You are Gods, all of you, children of the Most High” (Psalm 82:6). If last Sunday you thought that Jesus was commanding the impossible, that he was talking about keeping of commandments, you are very much mistaking. Jesus is talking about who you and I are: we are gods, as such, we should behave like gods, not like human beings—simple mortals. Our nature andRead More →

I am the Man  Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37 You probably remember where that came from—“I am the man”. Well, it came from the incident between Nathan and David, after David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). The prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin telling him the story of a man with many sheep, who had a visitor but was unwilling to offer any of his many sheep to be killed and a meal made for his visitor, instead, he took his neighbor’s only sheep and sacrificed for his guest. King David, on hearing the story, swore to killRead More →

We are redeemable! Isaiah 58:7-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth” and “you are the light of the world”. These two declarative statements tell the dignity of every Christian. Literally speaking, human beings are neither salt nor light, otherwise we should be in restaurants and homes as seasoning for people’s food  (table-salt) or substance on earth (gas/petroleum/hydrogen) as sources of energy for combustion engines and bulbs to light up streets and homes. Yet, human beings are still salt and light in other ways, that is why we need to pay attention to the contrasts within the gospel reading ofRead More →

Have we Failed? Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40 Reflecting on my missionary experience in Cameroon, I recall a statement by late Archbishop André Wouking of Yaoundé. It was during his pastoral visit to St. Mark’s Parish, and a woman asked him, in French: “Your Grace, why do you have bad priests?” Archbishop Wouking said, in reply: “it is what you, parents, sent to me that I returned to you; you sent me bad children to become priests, and now they are back to you as your priests”. He added, “the priests are the reflection of what their families and society are”. Today, February 2,Read More →

Recruitment Day: Being a Word-Fighter Isaiah 8:23-9:1-3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23  Wildfires have come to be regular occurrences in our lives, whether they be the current Australian experience, American reality or Canadian seasonal cases. These occurrences, in addition to house fires and arsonists’ ventures, make fire-fighting very important today. Homes and vehicles have fire-extinguishers and communities have fire-stations. The irony of all these fires is that they cannot extinguish themselves, human beings are always needed to fight fires of all kinds and propositions. Thanks to human solidarity, fires everywhere are attended to, even if that requires assistance from other countries and communes. Well,Read More →

What is your SMELL? Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34 Maybe not so much for human beings, but “smell” plays a vital role in the animal kingdom: at least, it marks boundaries and territories, in addition to group identity. Little did I know that “smell” is also important for human beings and, today, I realize that it is vital for Christianity. As a young minor seminarian, I went for morning Mass with another seminary at a sisters’ convent chapel. As we stepped into the convent, it took barely seconds before the seminarian with me asked the sisters, whether his Mother was in thatRead More →

Baptism-of-the-Lord: When Human Beings are the Visible Christ/Substituting for Christ Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17 In many sports that are played around the globe, there are many substitutes, other players with whom to replace the players on the pitch or arena. It is the contrary of putting all the eggs in one basket. Coaches have realized that things do go wrong, injuries, accidents, red cards, time out, infractions, and there comes the need for a substitute, replacement player. It so happens that substitute players go on to make a significant difference in a game — make the home-run, score the winning goal orRead More →

Not the Star, Jesus is the Way Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12 We love to be stars, we struggle hard to distinguish ourselves, we want to be different. Our society looks for talents: American Idols, The Oscars and Emmy Awards, Canadian Screen Awards, Big Brother Naija, Britain’s Got Talent, etc. Today, Epiphany Sunday, God proposes to you and I how to be stars, not for the earthly fame and money that comes with it, but a singular life changing STARDOM – a possessor of salvation! The language of the first reading and the drama of the gospel reading give us a perspective onRead More →