FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

Homily for Tuesday of the 1st week of Lent  Isaiah 55:10-11; Ps.34; Matt. 6:7-15 Theme: Prayer: a communication of the Heart Prayer is a communication between God and man. A common vehicle for communication is words. So in prayer, we communicate to God and vice versa using words. But in the gospel reading of today, Jesus, trying to teach His disciples how to pray well, admonished them not to heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do. He went on to mention that they gentiles use many words in prayer but these words seem not appreciated in the sight of God. Why? Jesus clearly noted that the plenty words used by the gentiles are empty phrases. This means that the problem with the words is not their many number but their emptiness. But how does words become empty? Words become empty when they do not come from the heart. In prayer, when we are absentminded such that the words we address to God are not emanating from our hearts, then such words are empty. This is because prayer is more of a c

Homily for Monday of the 1st week of Lent Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18;  Matthew 25:31-46. In the first reading, we have the restatement of the Ten Commandments; telling us the wrong we should not do. It is necessary not to do evil, but what good should we do in place of not doing evil?  Today's Gospel is an answer to the above question on the good we must do. The good to be done are known in Catholic tradition as the corporal work of mercy. Jesus exhorts us to extend a helping hand to the hungry by giving them food; quenching their thirst; enabling the homeless and the misdirected to have a sense of comfort and direction; clothing the naked; caring for the sick; and taking time to visit and share with prisoners. Jesus demands that we do these because He is the one present in those who are in need. When we see the face of Jesus in others, we will treat them the way we treat Jesus. The season of Lent is a season of charity through almsgiving. Let our charity affect people directly. When o

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent. Year A Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7. Psalm 51:3-4,6-6ab,12-13,14. Romans 5:12-19. Matthew 4:1-11. Theme: Temptation. On this first Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to reflect on temptation. The first reading tells us of the unfaithful man who lets himself be seduced by evil and chooses to go against the will of God. After their fall, "the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apron" (Gen.3:7). Before their fall, "the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed" (Gen.2:25). Here, nakedness has not only a literal meaning. It does not refer only to the body. It refers especially to the soul. It means that man is deprived of participation in the gift of God's grace, in the gift of God's love, which had been the source of the fullness of the good intended for man. He, by committing sin, is deprived of the supernatural and preternatural gifts that

Homily for Saturday after Ash Wednesday  Isaiah 58:9c-14; Ps.86; Luke 5:27-32 Theme: Follow Jesus Jesus saw Levi the tax collector in today’s gospel reading and perceived his deep yearning for transformation and peace. Levi may have had the good things of life since tax collectors were generally well-t0-do at that time. But there was a vacuum that material acquisition could not fill. Anyone who had eyes were able to see Levi but only Jesus could perceived his true situation that was not apparent. But then, notice that Jesus could only help Levi when he (Levi) obeyed the command: “follow me”. If Levi had not followed Jesus, the consequent great feast in his house would not have happened. Beloved, as Nigerians, we are presently in the situation of Levi. Maybe ours is even worse because our predicament is obvious and glaring. It is true that we are surviving but amidst so many troubles and uncertainties. Today, as we go to the polls to vote, let us listen to those words of Jesus: follow m

Homily for Friday after Ash Wednesday.  Isaiah 58:1-9a;  Matthew 9:14-15. What is the essence of fasting if God does not hear our prayers with all our fasting? God himself has an answer for us in the first reading concerning this question. All religiosity in the season of Lent is empty without justice to God and humanity. "Behold, in the day of your fast, you seek your own pleasure, and oppress your workers. ...... . Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice be heard on high." Fasting that makes our prayers heard by God is that we are charitable, kind, generous to people, and worship God in truth. If our Lenten observance does not enable Jesus to realise these objectives for the good of others, we should rethink and re-evaluate our Christianity. God is tired of faceless Christianity. Still concerning fasting, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in today's Gospel suggest that there is time for fasting and a time for not fasting. He speaks of Himself as the brideg

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Deut.30:15-20; Ps.1; Luke 9:22-25 Do not be discouraged: trust in God We have begun the season of lent in earnest. We are still very fresh in the resolutions or acts of contrition that we have resolved to maintain during this holy season. But then, we can be doubtful as to how far we can carry on with these Lenten observances. Sometimes the experience of shame felt when we fail to meet set targets, seems to suggest that we shouldn’t have set those targets in the first place. When we are focused on our weaknesses and how feeble our strength are, we become afraid that we may fall into guilt arising from failed attempts. About this, the psalmist today is asking us to stop focusing on our feeble strength that seems inadequate to carry us through in our Lenten sacrifices. We should rather focus on the strength that comes from God. The man who places his trust in the Lord will always be blessed. For each day, let us ask the Lord for the strength to pul

The Cardinal virtues of Lent (Homily for Ash Wednesday  Joel 2:12-18. Psalm 51:3-4,6-6ab,12-13,14,17. 2 Corinthians 5:20--6:2. Matthew 6:1-6,16-18. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season. The season of Lent prepares us for Easter, the greatest feast of the liturgical year. During this season, the Church's liturgy unceasingly invites us to purify our souls and to begin again. God invites us in the first reading to come to Him. ""Even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning and tear your hearts and not your garments" (Joel 2:12). We are to come to the Lord with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, in fact, with a sincere repentant heart from our sins, and we will receive His mercy. No matter how terrible our sins may be, they are not big or horrible enough to consume God's mercy for us. As the priest places ashes on our forehead, he reminds us of the words of Genesis. A

Homily for Tuesday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Time  Sirach 2:1-11; Mark 9:30-37  Trust in God at all times The first reading and the Responsorial Psalm underscores the need for complete trust in God. "Commit your life to the Lord, and he will act" (Responsorial Psalm). No matter the tribulations we are passing through, we should never be afraid because the Lord never fails. The first reading tells us: "My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, remain in justice and in fear, and prepare yourself for temptation" (Sir.2:1). In serving the Lord faithfully, the devil will wage serious war against us so that we turn away from the Lord. We are enjoined to remain steadfast to God, whatever the circumstances. We must cling to God and never leave Him so that we will be honoured for our perseverance. To remain steadfast to God requires the virtue of humility. Hence, Jesus, in today's Gospel, said to his disciples, "If anyone would be first, he must be least of a

Homily for Monday of the 7th Week in Ordinary Sirach 1:1-10. Psalm 93:1abc,1d-2,5. Mark 9:14-29 All wisdom comes from God With Faith, all things are possible  "All wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him forever" (Sir.1:1). If wisdom comes from God, we can not seek wisdom without loving God. If we truly want to be close to God, we must be wise. "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." With the gift of wisdom, we can come to the understanding that through prayers, we stay close to God in love, and through fasting, we mortify our flesh so as to be godly, and with prayer and fasting we can defeat the evil spirits in our world. Concerning prayer and fasting, Jesus said to his disciples in today's Gospel, concerning the boy with a mute spirit: "This kind can not be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29).  The boy's father had brought the boy to Christ's disciples, but they could not expel the evil spirit. That the father

Homily for 7th Sunday in ordinary time year A Lev.19:1-2.17-18; Ps.103; 1Cor.3:16-23; Matt.5:38-48 “ _Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect_ ” (Matt.5:48) The Holiness of making a difference By nature, the human person abhors stagnation. We are either struggling to be better than our yesterday or struggling to be better than others. For some, they are struggling with both. This has made the world quite a competitive place. The liturgy of today, while taking a clue from this reality, wants us to prudently apply it in our spiritual life. The liturgy of today calls us to abhor stagnation is our spirituality. We should seek to grow and get better. In fact, we may even seek to get better than others by way of outdoing one another in showing love. The point is, if we are competing in love, then it is a welcome competition. The first reading tells us to grow towards holiness like God; the second reading teaches us to struggle to be better than our very selves by respecting our bodies

Homily for  Saturday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time Hebrews 11:1-7;  Mark 9:2-11 The essentiality of Faith Transfiguration  The first reading tells us about faith. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb.11:1). Faith is conviction. One who has faith is convinced that God is telling the truth. God can never deceive us nor be deceived! Great blessings await those who have faith in God. We have examples of men of faith in God, like Abel, Enoch, and Noah. As a result of their faith in God, wonderful things were done by God through them.  We are encouraged to be people of faith, and that faith will bring about wonderful things in our life if only we listen to God's word in today's Gospel at the Transfiguration, saying, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him" (Mark 9:7). In listening to our Lord Jesus Christ, we must first believe in Him, practise what He has taught, and hope in His promises. We must overcome the obst

Homily for Friday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time.  Genesis 11:1-9; Mark 834--9:1 In the first reading, we have the building of the tower of Babel. In the beginning of this building, the builders said to themselves, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves" (Gen.11:4). The beginning of the failure of this tower was that the builders were only interested in making a name for themselves. They forgot the fact that "If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labour" (Psalm 126:1). Today's Gospel speaks of the cost of being a disciple of Christ. It has to do with making sacrifices; it demands material losses that will gain eternal life for us. Hence, we must be ready to take up our cross, or those aspects of life that have no control, and hand them over to God. We must be ready and willing to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Jesus. We should concentrate on the

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, Gen.9:1-13; Ps.102; Mark 8:27-33 Care for the Earth and for your Neighbour! After the fall of man and the wickedness that reigned in the world thereafter, the destruction by flood followed. Today, in the first reading, we read of a new world after the flood. This new world is starting with Noah and his household. Like Adam and Eve, God charged Noah to be fruitful, to multiply and to fill the earth. Also, He gave Noah dominion over everything created. Doing this a second time speaks of God ardent desire and expectation of man to care for the earth He (God) had created. At this point, we need to ask ourselves if we are agents of love/care or agents of destruction. Are we preserving the earth or destroying it? Whatever joy/satisfaction/benefits that is derived from the destruction of the elements of earth is rather self-destructive. We should not expect to be happy when we act irresponsibly. Moving on, God gave Noah rules on how to liv

Homily for Wednesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time Genesis 8:6-13,20-22; Mark 8:22-26. We have in the first reading the subsiding of the flood, and Noah and his family coming out of the ark. The first thing Noah did was to offer a burnt offering to the Lord. He acknowledged that everything that happened to him, his household, and animals was a result of God's mercy and goodness. Everything about us, especially the gift of our life, is a result of God's mercy and goodness. How do we express our gratitude to God? The Psalmist says, "How can I repay the Lord for His goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise, I will call on the Lord's name." (Psalm 116:12-13). In today's Gospel, we have the healing of a blind man by Jesus. There is something unusual about the way Jesus healed people. Jesus usually cured people instantly, but the healing of this blind man was gradually. To see nothing at all and then see indistinctly was something unique. For this blind

Homily for Tuesday of the 6th week in Ordinary time Genesis 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 10; Mark 8:14-21 Noah and the ark Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees  The first reading from the book of Genesis presents to us the narrative of Noah and the ark. The story of Noah and the ark tells us that it is the will of God to save humanity at all times, even from his sinful state. It submits to us the truth that the continuation of life on earth is substantially dependent on the just.  It says: "The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great on earth...the thought of their hearts was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that he made humankind on the earth, and it grieved his heart" (Gen 6:5-6). The Lord said to Noah: "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation (Gen 7:1).   God save humanity by means of the wood of the ark. The wood of the ark is the symbol of the wood of the cross. Through the cross, Jesus r

Homily for Monday of the 6th week in ordinary time 13th February 2023 Genesis 4:1-15, 25; Mark 8: 11-13 *Cain kills Abel  * No sign shall be given to this generation The first reading tells us of how anger and jealousy in Cain brought about the murder of his younger brother Abel, both of whom were sons of Adam and Eve.  We are told Cain, a farmer, "brought to the Lord and offering of the fruits of the ground" whereas Abel, a shepherd, brought the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions... The Lord accepted the offerings of Abel, but for Cain and his offerings, the Lord had no regard... So Cain was angry" (Gen 4:3-5). The question is why did God not accept the offerings of Cain? Abel offered to God with faith a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain's. Abel approached God in humility and a righteous heart, trusting in God's gracious goodness to make man's unworthy offering acceptable to him. However,  Cain was proud, unrighteous, and faithless before God.  Ca

Homily for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary the Time Year A Sirach 15:15-20; Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37. Theme: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets The first reading underscores that God is neither responsible for sin nor encourages or compels anyone to commit sin. Committing sin is out of our free will. Sirach admonishes us to keep God's commandments because if we do, "they will save us; if we trust in God, we too shall live" (Sir.15:15). It is our choice to choose life or death, good or evil. Whatever we choose will be given to us. The second reading speaks of God's wisdom, which is so different from human wisdom. To trust in God and to live can be said to be that secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. Concerning God's commandments, Jesus, in today's Gospel, says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them" (Matt.5:17).

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  Genesis 3:9-24; Mark 8:1-10 The untold consequences of sin Yesterday, we read of how the devil gave Eve convincing reasons to eat of the fruit in the midst of the garden and to give some to Adam. For every temptation we encounter, the devil gives us all the reasons why we should commit a particular sin. But while doing so, he hides from us greater and more grievous reasons why we should not commit the sin. Often times the much that comes to mind during temptation is that sin is just an offence against God. This could be wrongly interpreted to mean that the only consequence of sin is that God will not be happy. With such interpretation, the devil can further convince us that God’s anger lasts only a while; God will definitely forgive as usual. But the devil continues to hide from us the consequences of committing a particular sin. Unfortunately, we only come to realize these consequences after falling into the temptation. This was th

Homily for Friday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time.  Memorial of St. Scholastica (Virgin).  Genesis 3:1-8;Mark 7:31-37 *The Origin of Sin The first reading tells us the origin of sin. Our first parents disobeyed God out of pride. The devil in the form of serpent deceived the woman, saying, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." They sinned against God because they wanted to be like God. And by this sin, they dragged the rest of creation down with them into what we now call 'Original Sin.' Sin is a disobedience to God, necessitated by pride. They had everything going well for them, but they lost it all. The sin of Adam and Eve can deaden the ears of our minds to hear the true realities of God and life, but our Lord Jesus Christ who made the man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech to ear and speak in today's Gospel has come to liberate us from sin and the power o

Homily for Thursday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time. Genesis 2:18-25; Mark 7:24-30. *The creation of Woman  The first reading continues with the second creation account of the human person. God created a help mate for man because he said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gen.2:18). When God created a woman and the man saw her, he said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Gen.2:24-25). This is the origin of marriage. God established marriage as an institution right from the time of creation. Hence, our Lord Jesus Christ raised marriage in the New Testament to be a sacrament of love between a man and a woman, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman. It is a union between a man and a woman so that through the love established b

Homily for Wednesday of the 5th week in Ordinary time *The second account of creation of Man * what defiles a man? Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17; The first reading tells us of the 2nd account of creation of man. It says: "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breadth of life, and the man became a living being" (Gen 2:7).  God being the sole creator of man brings the implication that human life is sacred. Hence, man in the image of God is both corporeal and spiritual; distinguishing him from the entire visible world. Man is a unity and a duality. Unity means he is one, and duality means he is at the same time body and soul.  Placed in the garden of Eden, God commanded man saying: "You may eat freely of the tree of the garden; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, lest you shall die" (Gen 2:15-17).  God is the lawgiver, the giver of all moral laws. However Adam and Eve disobeyed God and incurred cons

Homily for Tuesday of the 5th week in ordinary time Genesis 1:20-31, 2: 1-4; Mark 7:1-13 *Man created in God's image and likeness * Obedience to God's commandment, more important than tradition of the elders or human religious tradition The first reading of today's liturgy begins by giving us the first account of the creation of Man. It says: " God said, Let us make man in our own image and likeness...make and female he created them" (Gen 1:26-27). The first point to note here is that Man and woman created in God's image and likeness are both human persons with equal dignity. Man is the "Imago Dei". Image and likeness are made so that one can see in them a reflection of oneself. A person admiring his own self in the mirror. Hence, man's intellect, will and authority are to be evaluated in relations to God.  Man is the presence of God on earth, the representative of God on earth, the mouth piece of the glory of God, to make God known and loved in

Homily for Monday of the 5th week in Ordinary time  Saint Paul Miki and Companions Genesis 1:1-19; Mark 6: 53-56 *God is the creator of heaven and earth The First reading of today from the book of Genesis gives us a day-to-day narration of the account of creation. Acknowledging indeed that God is the creator of all there is. It says: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" (Gen 1:1). Obviously, The world did not come into being by accident or chance. It was created and designed by God. Psalm 23:1-2 tells us: "The Lord's is the earth and its fullness,  the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas, and on the water he made it firm".  The goodness of creation proceeded from God who is all good. Creation shares in God's goodness. We are told after every day of creation "God saw that it was good...very good" (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 31) As apparently observed in the sacred scriptures, it is fitting to say that the truth about

Homily for 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 58:7-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16. Theme: You are the Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth. Jesus tells his disciples in today's Gospel: "You are the salt of the earth" (Matt.5:13).  Salt gives flavour to food, makes it pleasant, and preserves it from going bad. It was a symbol of divine wisdom. Hardly any food we can eat, which is not seasoned with salt. It was used in sacrifice by both Jews and Romans alike. Salt is a symbol of the covenant between God and man. For in the Book of Leviticus, we read: "You shall not omit from your grain offerings the salt of the covenant with your God; with all your offerings you shall offer salt" (Lev.2:13). Salt is also a sign of hospitality: "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another" (Mark 9:50). To be  salt of the earth means to be a channel of peace and a witness to love. To be a salt of the earth means to be a bearer of eternal pro