Reflection/Homily: Feast of the Holy Family (December 27 2015)

Theme: The Glories of the Holy Family

Today being the first Sunday in the octave of Christmas, the Holy Mother Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family. It is a celebration of the triumph of grace and virtue over nature. The members of the Holy family experienced several challenges like we are experiencing today but they did not allow these challenges to distract the peace, love and unity that existed among them. The gospel reading (Luke 2:41-52) presents us with one of such challenges – the difficulty of finding Jesus when he was missing for three days. Others include the misunderstanding between Mary and Joseph when Mary conceived without Joseph’s collaboration, the difficulty of finding a place at Bethlehem, etc. 

This feast is still relevant to our present society when most families are on the verge of disintegration. It offers us an opportunity to reflect on the virtues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and see how we can apply them in our lives to make our individual families holy after their examples. To do this better, we shall briefly examine their individual lives and find out what lessons we can learn from them.

Reflection/Homily: Seventeenth (17th) Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B (July 26 2015)

Reflection/Homily: Seventeenth (17^th) Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B (July 26 2015)

Theme: What is your Loaf of Bread?

Recently, I once attended a function that lasted more than it was necessary. I didn’t take my breakfast before setting out for the event and when the event was unnecessarily being prolonged, I became very hungry and looked forward to the light refreshment. Unfortunately, the organizers of the event didn’t anticipate a very large guest that the provisions they made were obviously insufficient for all that so many persons including myself went home disappointed, hungry, and angry. In the first reading (2 Kings 4:42-44), we see a different scenario. Elisha’s servant was asked to distribut twenty barley loaves among a crowd containing about a hundred men and he wondered if the loaves would ever be enough for all but at the end of the story, the crowd all ate and there were some left over. In the gospel reading (John 6:1-15) too, the disciples wondered about the sufficiency of the five loaves of bread and two fish which were to be used to feed a crowd containing about five thousand men. At the end of the story, when Jesus blessed the loaves and fish, the crowds all ate and there were twelve baskets filled with left overs. 

Reflection/Homily: Thirty-First (31st) Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year C (November 3 2013).

Reflection/Homily: Thirty-First (31^st) Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year C (November 3 2013).

Theme: Radical Conversion and Transformation on Encountering Christ

Today’s gospel reading (Luke 19:1-10) presents us with the encounter Zacchaeus had with Jesus which led Zacchaeus to a radical conversion and transformation. Jesus was passing through Jericho when Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Similarly, Jesus constantly passes through our lives in the experiences we have, places we visit and persons we meet. Like Zacchaeus do we make any effort to encounter him even in the least possible way? 

Encountering Jesus simply means giving him the attention he needs in other for us to be converted to him and be transformed. In our encounter with Jesus, we are only but recipients of divine favour. It is Jesus who truly works for us to encounter him. Like the parables of the lost sheep and coin, he is the owner looking for his own. But there could be a number of things that could prevent us from encountering Jesus.

Ordinarily speaking, Zacchaeus though short would have seen Jesus if there were no crowd surrounding him. His inability to see Jesus was not so much dependent on his size because it was no fault of his. Instead, it depended more on the surmountable obstacle the crowd imposed on him. Therefore, he needed to go away from the crowd in other to see and encounter Jesus.

Reflection/Homily: Thirtieth (30th) Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year C (October 27 2013)

Reflection/Homily: Thirtieth (30^th) Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year C (October 27 2013)

Theme: Humility: The Path to Righteousness

Today’s gospel reading (Luke 18:9-14) presents us with the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican who went to the Temple to pray. According to this parable, the Pharisee thanked God for his righteousness while the tax collector being mindful of his sins asked God for pardon. Surprisingly, Jesus approved only the prayer of the Publican and was dissatisfied with the prayer of the Pharisee. Ordinarily speaking, there is nothing wrong in thanking God for living a righteous life. This Pharisee is supposedly a devout Jew who lived even more than he was expected. He recognized the need for thanksgiving and went ahead to thank God. As the object of his thanksgiving, he presented his religious credentials.

However, there are a number of issues associated with his prayer. He was not wrong in his methodology but in his disposition. In his prayer, we see a feeling of superiority over others especially sinners. When we flaunt our religious credentials, we are no better than this Pharisee. Most often, we boast of how piously we have lived our lives. A catholic in the shoes of this Pharisee is likely to thank God for being a good catholic and not a protestant or non-Christian. He would boast of receiving communion, going for confession and fulfilling his financial obligations.

SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD (JANUARY 8 2012): A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the epiphany of our Lord. Epiphany is a kind of theophany which is God’s revelation and manifestation of Himself. In the bible, we see several instances of this divine manifestation. In the Old Testament, we recall the incidence of the burning bush where God revealed His name as I AM. In the New Testament, the baptism of Jesus is another example of theophany. God revealed Himself in the Voice of the Father who spoke about the Son, in the Son who was being baptized and in the Holy Spirit who descended on the Son in the form of a dove.  In today’s theophany, God is revealing and manifesting Himself this time not to the Jews but to Gentiles whom He guided to the birthplace of Christ through a star. We shall therefore reflect on some interesting aspects of the readings that will help us appreciate the epiphany better.

In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah invites us to rise and shine

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI ON THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD (JAN 1ST 2012)

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

On the first day of the year, the liturgy resounds in the Church throughout the world with the ancient priestly blessing that we heard during today’s first reading: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26). This blessing was entrusted by God, through Moses, to Aaron and his sons, that is, to the priests of the people of Israel. It is a triple blessing filled with light, radiating from the repetition of the name of God, the Lord, and from the image of his face. In fact, in order to be blessed, we have to stand in God’s presence, take his Name upon us and remain in the cone of light that issues from his Face, in a space lit up by his gaze, diffusing grace and peace.

SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD: A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS (JAN 1 2012)

In a particular kingdom, there existed this custom of the prince taking a wife before he inherits the throne of the father. After the death of the ruling king, the Prince was faced with the task of choosing a wife before his coronation as the next king. The Prince had to make it open for every young girl in the kingdom to exhibit her qualities and draw his attention. Several young girls started wearing sexy clothes to seduce the Prince but he was not moved.  Some began to wear wonderful hairstyles but the Prince was not moved. Others prepared delicious meals and presented them to the prince but he was not delighted. Every young girl made an attempt in several ways but the Prince was not moved not because he was very difficult to be pleased but because they did not know what exactly he so desired of a woman more so of a wife. Only one woman had a perfect knowledge of this. This woman was like the rest of women in the kingdom, while some valued her, others despised her. She was very dear to the Prince because of her glaring personality, but no one dared to consult her or win the Prince’s heart through her.

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HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI ON CHRISTMAS EVE

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit”, which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared”. This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas. Formerly, people had spoken of God and formed human images of him in all sorts of different ways. God himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf. Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day). But now something new has happened: he has appeared. He has revealed himself. He has emerged from the inaccessible light in which he dwells. He himself has come into our midst. This was the great joy of Christmas for the early Church: God has appeared. No longer is he merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of him on the basis of mere words. He has “appeared”. But now we ask: how has he appeared? Who is he in reality? The reading at the Dawn Mass goes on to say: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” (Tit 3:4). For the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God himself might not be good either, that he too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real “epiphany”, the great light that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness. Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed”: this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.

CHRISTMAS DAY MASS: A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS (25TH DECEMBER 2011)

In a certain kingdom, there existed a very wealthy king. This king was known to be very generous, merciful and just. He never compromised anything for evil and always maintained his subjects were disciplined. He was comfortable but his only problem was that he had no child to succeed him. This caused him so much distress until he adopted a little boy who grew up as his son and became an heir to the throne. He provided everything possible to make life comfortable for him in the palace. He made him little less than himself and gave him the freedom to do everything except to sit on his throne until he is crowned king. The king ordered all the servants to obey the prince. One day while the king was asleep, some foreign visitors came to see the king and a servant suggested to the prince to appear as the king and attend to the visitors since he was an heir to the throne. The prince clothed himself as the king and attended to the visitors. When the king learnt of this, he was enraged and sent the son away. The son suffered outside the palace and wished he could return. He lost the hope of inheriting the kingdom, became sick and was under captivity. The king later had pity on the son and was looking for a way to recall the boy. One day, he sent out a messenger to announce the good news of forgiveness, deliverance and restoration to this son. Imagine the joy this son would have on seeing the messenger advance towards him with the message of hope.

CHRISTMAS VIGIL MASS: A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS (24TH DECEMBER 2011)

Today marks the beginning of the Christmas season. It is a season of joy and celebration for all. But more importantly, it is a period when God the Father reveals himself in the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit. This whole season is about God’s revelation of himself and to understand this concept of revelation well, it is pertinent we begin from the root. The word “Revelation” is an anglicized form of the Greek apokaluptein which can be divided into apo and kaluptein. The preposition apo means ‘far from’, ‘after’, ‘away from’ while the verb kaluptein means ‘to hide’, ‘to cover’,’to veil’. The verb apokaluptein could therefore mean ‘far from hiding’ or ‘away from covering’, etc, as much as you can add up the words. In the context of Christian revelation, the rendition that is ad rem is ‘far from hiding or covering’. That is to say that for God, revelation means ‘far from hiding or covering Himself, which implies revealing Himself. In this season of Christmas, God reveals His love for mankind by giving us His son (cf. John 3:16). He also reveals his plan to save the world. Revelation is a form of theophany, that is, God manifesting Himself.

In the history of the Israelites, God manifested Himself among several ways as the God who saves. He saved them from slavery in Egypt, saved them through the desert, etc, until they entered the Promised Land. Within this period, God warned them to be faithful to His ordinances else they will be taken into captivity (cf. Deut 28:58,64). When they could no longer observe God’s commandments, they were taken into cativity by the Babylonians. There they suffered and wept. God had to reveal His plan to save them through the Prophet Isaiah who announced the Good News that God was coming to save them as we saw in the first reading. 

In the gospel reading, we see another form of revelation, God revealing Himself, this time not through the prophets but in His Son Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin in a manger. God also revealed the birth place of Christ to the shepherds through the angels. God’s revelation of Himself through His son was to bring about our salvation through his death and resurrection. That is why St. Paul in the second reading reminds us that we did nothing to merit the salvation brought to us by Christ, rather, God sent His Son out of love and compassion for us.

Today, we reflect on God’s revelation of Himself to humanity through the new born child, we also see in the gospel, the shepherds’ response to this revelation in Christ Jesus. Their response was that of adoration as they hurried to visit the child Jesus with his parents in the stable. The gospel records that they left glorifying God after adoring and praising the new born king. As the Christmas season begins today, God is revealing himself in a special way to us as the new born king. How do we respond to this revelation? Are we happy to receive Christ in

4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR B (DECEMBER 18): A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS

For the readings click here 

The Catechism of Christian Doctrine (CCD) No. 30 affirms that the chief powers of the soul are the memory, the understanding and the will. Of all these, the will is the most difficult to be influenced against one’s desire. The will is the faculty by which a person decides to perform an action out of conviction and motivation. Psychologists have also confirmed that the will is the strongest faculty to be bent in man against his desire. To demonstrate this point, I will share this funny experience I had during my last apostolic work in a remote parish. There was this young boy who insulted a senior during the catechism class. I asked the young boy to kneel down for insulting an elder and the boy retorted: “though I am kneeling down in your eyes, in my mind I am standing up”. This illustrates that the willpower is in the mind and that is very difficult to be bent even in justifiable circumstances.

3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR B: A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS

 For the Mass Readings click here

Every religion seeks to assure its adherents of the presence of a supreme being. Christianity as a religion assures us of this presence of God which is manifested in two major ways. The first is the universalized presence which we see in the immanence and transcendence of God, that God is everywhere. The second is the localized presence which means that God is not just in His creation alone but that He localizes His Divine Presence in Sacred Places like the Ark of the Covenant, the Church, in the Word of God and in a more concrete way the Holy Eucharist regarded as the Real Presence. In the Word of God, we see God revealing His presence in the salvation history (soteriology). The Word was God since the beginning but God started revealing it to communicate His will to us.

In this period of advent we anticipate the arrival of the revealed presence of God in an incarnate form, the Word made flesh. This Word is Spirit and Life (cf. Jn. 6:63). In the first reading, we see this Spirit at work in the prophecy of the third Isaiah written shortly after the return from exile. This Spirit brings the Good News of salvation and deliverance to all. This prophecy was however, fulfilled in the gospel reading in the person of Christ. He was the Word that was God in the beginning (cf. Jn. 1:1) and the One anointed with the Spirit at baptism (cf. Mt. 3:16). Jesus confirmed the fulfillment of this prophecy in himself after reading the scroll in the temple (cf. Lk. 4:18-19).

2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS (04. DEC. 2011)

For the readings at mass click   here

A certain time in the lives of the Israelites, they offended God by indulging in all sorts of immorality and idolatry and the wrath of God fell on them. They were taken into captivity by the Babylonians where they suffered and wept terribly (cf. Ps. 137) until God had mercy on them because of his faithful love and promised to send them someone who will deliver them from captivity. 

That was why in the first reading, we see God consoling them through the Deutro-Isaiah. God was sending a prophet to console them. This consolation was not without a responsibility to amend their ways by repenting from their sins and coming back to God. The Lord was coming to save them, liberate them and shepherd them back to the Promised Land. 

1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR B): A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS (27. NOV. 2011)

For the readings of today's mass click here.  

 

Today, the Church is launched into a new liturgical year. The Sunday readings for this new liturgical year will be coming from Year B and the weekday readings from Week II. This new liturgical year brings something very unique and special for Anglophone countries. The New English translation of the Roman Missal takes effect today. To my readers in Nigeria, Russia, Great Britain, Russia, US, Germany, Italy, Philippines, India, Australia, etc, I wish you all a happy new liturgical year. Be assured of my prayers for you as we keep on sharing God’s word on this blog. I am confident that you will remain my good readers and that you will also help to publicize my little effort by recommending this blog to your friends through the social media and networks. May God bless you the more. 

THE SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING: REFLECTIONS (NOV. 20. 2011)

 Click here for today's readings.
                                           
                                              A REFLECTION ON THE READINGS

Today, we are celebrating the kingship of Christ. Christ is the king of the universe, in him all things hold their being. In a special way, this solemnity of Christ the King draws to mind the tripartite connotations of Christ’s kingship for us – the Christological, Ecclesiological and Eschatological connotations. 

33RD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A: READINGS AND REFLECTION

First Reading

Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

When one finds a worthy wife,

her value is far beyond pearls.

Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,

has an unfailing prize.

She brings him good, and not evil,

all the days of her life.

She obtains wool and flax

and works with loving hands.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her fingers ply the spindle.

32ND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A: READINGS AND REFLECTION

First Reading

Wis 6:12-16

Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire;
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil

31ST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A: REFLECTION

The priest is a minister of God, called by God to minister to the people of God. By virtue of our baptism, we become priests sharing in the tripartite offices of Christ as priests, prophets and kings. This is the common priesthood of all the faithful. From this common priesthood, God still calls certain men in a special way to take up wholly and entirely the office of Christ’s priesthood as ministerial priests through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

31ST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A: READINGS

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10

A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts,
and my name will be feared among the nations.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.