FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

HOMILY ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Isa.12; Luke 1:39-56 Encountering Jesus through Mary’s Visitation Before His Ascension, when Jesus spoke to His disciples about his impending departure, He assured them that His departure does not mean His absence because the Holy Spirit will come to guide them to the truth. Since Jesus is the truth, the Holy Spirit guides us to discover Jesus. It is this guidance of the Holy Spirit to discover Jesus that we celebrate in the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast does not just mean to say that Mary visited Elizabeth; they were cousins and so, she would have done that a number of times. This feast rather outlines the first visit of the Mother of God (to Elizabeth). Mary had just been told by the Angel Gabriel that she will be the Mother of God. Immediately she goes to visit Elizabeth. Through her greeting, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit who also guided her to discover

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE EIGHT WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE I (MAY 30, 2023) Sirach 35:1-12; Ps.50; Mark 10:28-31 The command to GIVE Last Sunday, we celebrated the giving of the Holy Spirit to man. Yesterday, Jesus, while hanging on the cross, gave us His mother and gave His mother to us. For these past two days, what we have seen is the total self-empting of the Christ to humanity – the fullest expression of love. In Jesus, God gave man everything. The readings of today teach us how well we can reciprocate this uncommon kind gesture of total self-empting; it is by being charitable to others too. Since we have received freely, we must give freely. In the first reading, the author of the book of Sirach talked about different levels of giving. First, he talked about the giving of our obedience and docility to God. This giving is foundational to others forms of giving. God desires that we become holy by keeping his commandments. Without righteousness, whatever we claim to do in God’s na

Mary is our Mother too-HOMILY FOR MONDAY AFTER PENTECOST – MEMORIAL OF MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH MAY 2023 Gen.3:9-15,20; Ps. 87; John 19:25-34 Mary is our Mother too Today we celebrate the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church. This celebration focuses on the relationship between Mary and the Church of Christ. In the first reading of today, we saw the fall of our first parents. They fell because they disobeyed God. When Adam was asked why he fell, he blamed it on Eve who gave him the forbidden fruit to eat. By this, the co-operation of woman was clearly highlighted in the fall of humanity. It became necessary that the co-operation of a woman be also highlighted in the rise of humanity. This was what Jesus ensured in the gospel reading. While already at the point of death, he would not die until he had completed his work for man. Since he was in the business of emptying himself for humanity, leaving man with his mother too was something very important. So, he established a Mother-Son

HOMILY FOR SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST SUNDAY, YEAR A Acts 2:1-11; Ps.104; 1Cor.12:3b-7.12-13; John 20:19-23 “ _They were all filled with the Holy Spirit_ ” (Acts 2:4) Understanding the workings of the Holy Spirit The first reading of today opens with: “when the day of Pentecost had come…” Truly, this is the long awaited day we have been preparing for. Many of us, in not all, have entered this day with some huge expectations, namely, that we shall experience the presence and impact of the Holy Spirit within us and it will bring about huge manifestations in/for us. Our expectations is fueled by the nine days novena preparations we undertook before this day. For some, the novena was a moment of silent prayers and meditations; for some, it was a period of vocal and spontaneous/radical prayers. Maybe there are some too who were too busy to do a novena but are not without expectations for this day. But what do we expect the Holy Spirit to do for us and with us? The readings of today make us unde

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 15:13b-21; Ps.103; John 21:15-19 Seek consolation in Jesus! It is sometimes easier to bore suffering when other persons are involved. But if one happens to be suffering alone, the pain seem to be more. In the gospel reading of yesterday, Jesus revealed to Peter how he (Peter) was going to die; through martyrdom. When Jesus was making this revelation, he was not addressing all the disciples but Peter alone. The painful death that awaited Peter was more painful since it was for Peter alone. In the gospel reading of today, Peter inquired how another disciple was going to die. If the disciple was also to experience martyrdom, Peter would have been consoled that he was alone. But if not, maybe Peter would have inquired why his case was sadly different. Maybe this was part of the reason Jesus did not directly answer Peter’s question. The answer Jesus gave Peter was as good as saying “mind your business”. Beloved, many of us today behave

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 25:13b-21; Ps.103; John 21:15-19 Jesus does not doubt our capacity to love one another. hence, he trusts in us We cannot apply the principles of the world to the kingdom of God if we must cooperate with God in establishing His kingdom here on earth. When people seek positions in the society, they write beautiful manifestos or curriculum vitae stating how qualified they are for the positions they desire. Such positions will invariably improve their standard of living. The gospel reading of today presents us with a contrary principle with which God operates. First, God does not call us because we are qualified but because He wants to qualify us. God bestows His gifts on us not because we deserve it but because He wants to work in and through us. And so, Jesus bestowed authority on Peter today despite the fact that Peter denied him three times. The only qualification Jesus demanded of Peter was love. It was necessary that Jesus demanded

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps.16; John 17:20-26 Persevere in doing good! It is often said that the reward of good work is more work. This is because one who has been faithful in little things can be presumed to be faithful in greater things compared to another who has not shown faithfulness at all in what is little. In the social sphere, we find it easy to accommodate the above idea. An employee to whom the employer always assigns duties will feel privileged because such indicates that the employer trusts him or her so well. It also indicates that the employer will handsomely reward the employee someday. This general conception may attract the envy of other employees. However, it seems difficult for us to understand how this principle also applies in our spiritual journey. To lead a good Christian life is a good work. Always, God rewards such good work by putting us in more situations where our goodness can turn things for the better. So, if

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 20:28-38; Ps.68; John 17:11b-19 Teach and Know the Truth Teaching is a very powerful concept. It involves the transmission of knowledge in an atmosphere that is psychologically submissive to the learner. Teaching can be either through words or actions. In the first reading of today, Paul continued his testimony to the elders of the Church in Ephesus of how he has taught the believers. His teaching was able to make such great positive impact because he taught the truth of the gospel. However, Paul calls the elders to due diligence because just as teaching the truth is able to bring about massive positive influence, so also false teaching will bring about massive negative influence. To guide against false teaching, first, Paul recommended that the Church of the Lord should be properly feed. Feeding, here, means to continue to preach/teach the truth. There is no better way of discarding darkness than by igniting light. If we must era

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 7TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 20:17-27; Ps.68; John 17:1-11a The Mission is the Lord’s Both the first and the gospel readings of today contain farewell speeches. In the first reading, Paul, on his way back to Jerusalem where he will experience imprisonment and trials, called to himself the elders of the Church at Ephesus and addressed them. He did this because, when he departs, the elders will be responsible for shepherding the local Church. Paul began his address not just by reminding them of what he has taught them but of how he has lived amongst them. He was confident that he has fully bore on himself the tenets of the gospel such that imitating him was tantamount to imitating Christ. I find this very striking! Paul was always conscious of the fact that the mission was not he’s but the Lord’s; meaning that someday, he will not be in the picture. Hence, he consciously groomed to maturity Christians who will be able to continue the mission. This means that in the c

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 7TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 19:1-8; Ps.68; John 16:29-33 Anticipate the Holy Spirit Today we encounter Paul on his third missionary journey to Ephesus. He encountered some disciples of John who had become disciples of Jesus Christ. These disciples had received the baptism of John but Paul told them that they needed the baptism of Jesus. The baptism of John was that of repentance while that of Jesus was for the reception of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of Jesus does not come as something original which discards the baptism of John as if it were fake; rather John’s baptism necessarily precedes Jesus’ baptism. Both become necessary for salvation. Again, it is not as if the baptism of John was devoid of the action of Christ. No! If it was ever able to wash away sins, it could only have been by the power of God because only God can forgive sins. The lesson here is that we need both repentance and the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Sacrament of Baptism

HOMILY ON THE 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A Acts 1:12-14; Ps.27; 1Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11a “ _Father, the hour has come; glorify your son that the Son may glorify you_ ” (Jn.17:1) The Glory of Faithfulness Together, the readings of today give us another dimension of the word “glory”. Ordinarily, we will understand glory to mean splendor or magnificence. It is often time hoped for as the reward God will give to those who are faithful to Him till the end of time. So, when we ask God to glorify us, we asking for a glimpse of the splendor which is associated with Him. But today, we come to realize that glory also means faithfulness. To be glorified also entails to be faithful. This understanding is obvious in the gospel reading of today. The gospel reading is the beginning of the “Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. It is that soul-touching prayer that Jesus made for his disciples at the verge of his passion. At that point, Jesus prayed essentially for two things: the grace to finish his earthly

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 18:23-28; Ps.47; John 16:23b-28 The Holy Spirit and Knowledge In this season of the novena to the Holy Spirit, many of us are waiting upon the Holy Spirit so that at Pentecost He will possess us. In order to possess the Holy Spirit or fan into flame the gifts we have earlier received, we feel the need to make this all-important prayerful preparation. However, from the example of Apollos in the first reading of today, we understand that added to prayerful preparation, we must also seek knowledge. Yes, Jesus promised that when the Spirit comes, He will guide us into the truth. This does not mean that we are going to be passive in the process of being guided into the truth. There is a place for human effort. As we are undergoing the Pentecost novena, how much have we learnt about the Holy Spirit from the Scriptures, good theological books and other media? Apollos was able to do much in preaching that the Christ was Jesus because he was we

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER (MAY 19, 2022) Acts 18:9-18; Ps. 47; John 16:20-23a Sorrow turned to Joy Jesus spoke of sorrow and Joy to his disciples in today’s gospel reading. Both were in relation to Him. His physical departure will bring sorrow upon the disciples but their steadfastness to the Faith will win them eternal Joy from the Lord; a joy that is neither based nor can be taken away by another. For us today, the experiences of sorrow and joy is something we have to accept in the course of living out the Christian life – we cannot afford to deny any of them and still hope to be authentic in our practice of the faith. The challenge in accepting these realities of sorrow and joy is that the world will always be at the opposite end. When we are sorrowful, the world will be happy; when we are happy, the world will be sorrowful. Therefore, we cannot afford to be of the world. For the disciples, the departure of Christ will make them more vulnerable to the Scribes and t

HOMILY ON THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD Acts 1:1-11; Ps.47; Eph.1:17-23; Matt.28:16-20 He has gone to prepare a place for us Today is a joyful day. The event of today gives full meaning to everything that had happened to and around Christ right from when his birth was spoke about by the prophets. Today, we finally know who has the true power and the final say. Today, the question of “where did this man come from?” has been definitively answered. The one who came from heaven has returned to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The ascension of the Lord brings to an end the physical presence of Jesus on earth. The purpose of the incarnation (our redemption) has been accomplished; man has been reconciled to God. The ascension teaches us that our physical presence on earth will end too; but whether we shall to heaven like the Lord, is dependent on if we remain reconciled to God. The incarnation was a public event and so was the ascension. Jesus will not be a S

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER (MAY 17, 2023) Acts 17:22-18:1; Ps.148; John 16:12-15 The Holy Spirit – Teacher of Truth! In today’s gospel, Jesus says: “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth”. Like God the Father, we cannot learn about the Holy Spirit in the labouratory but from what has been revealed and from our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Today, Jesus reveals to us that the Holy Spirit is the teacher of truth. Since Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, it simply means that the Holy Spirit teaches us about Jesus himself. No wonder Jesus said “He will glorify me”. From the opening sentence of today’s gospel, it is clear that we have many more things to learn. In as much as we have many things to say to/ask from God, the Lord himself has many more things to teach us through the Holy Spirit. This calls for attentiveness. To live under the unction of the Holy Spirit means to be dispose to learning. This learning does not take a f

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 16:22-34; Ps.138; John 16:5-11 Don’t loose your vision of Jesus! Have you ever found yourself in a situation wherein you were “disappointed” in God for allowing the worse you dreaded and prayed against to happen still? Have you ever felt that all your efforts in following Jesus and obeying His commandments were futile because you felt lonely when you needed Jesus most? Yes, we have had a number of such experiences. But the readings of today, instruct us that our feels at such moments of our lives do not encapsulate the truth about Jesus’ relationship with us. Jesus has not left you just because you felt he has left you. Often times, what seem like awful experiences for us may be part of God’s plan in achieving something great in and through us. But then, how do we distinguish between a challenge that purposefully willed by God and a challenge that is not? The answer is: once we are on the right path and have done our best about the situ

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 16:11-15; Ps.149; John 15:26-16:4a A Sense of Appreciation! The disciples have been going from place to place preaching the goodnews of Christ. They have shown so much zeal and commitment to this course. Whenever the message was accepted, they were obviously filled with joy. Whenever the message was rejected, they refused to be discouraged. In fact, when they lives were in danger, they kept preaching the Word. This kind of zeal is usually associated with someone who has an ulterior motive or a personal gain in championing a course. If we attribute this thought to the missionary endeavour of the disciples, it will mean that their preaching was not selfless, but that they had something personal to gain. If this is true, it will further mean that those who accept the goodnews, were doing the disciples a favour. But this was not the case! The disciples were motivated by a sincere desire to obey Christ command to go make disciples of all nati

HOMILY FOR THE 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A Acts 8:5-8.14-17; Ps.66; 1Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21 “ _If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the father, and he will give you the Holy Spirit”_ (Jn.14:15) Holiness: the habitat of the Holy Spirit Today, the liturgy talks about the Holy Spirit. This talk with continue till Pentecost and run through the end of the Easter season. So, in a sense, we can say that we have entered the season of the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, there seem to be an established hunger for the Holy Spirit in the hearts of many Christians today. Possessing the Holy Spirit is something some Christians are proud about. It is believed that possessing the Holy Spirit enables us to see in some extra-ordinary ways, do some extra-ordinary things and live a more victorious life over our enemy, the devil. When we consider the gospel reading of today, we see that these expectations are not out of place. Jesus himself said that receiving the Holy Spirit is

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 16:1-10; Ps.100; John 15:18-21 Discover how God speaks to you From the first reading of today, we understand that in the missionary endeavours of the disciples and the early Christians, they remained open and docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. They allowed the Spirit of God to take the lead and direct them to where the gospel must be preached at every point in time. They never chose a place based on its viability or the generosity of the people but on the direction of the one who owns the mission. While Paul and Timothy travelled through Phrygia and Galatia, they understood that the Holy Spirit did not want them to speak the word at Asia. When they attempted to go into Bithynia, they also understood that it was not the plan of God for them. But when Paul saw in a vision, a man of Macedonia, he understood that they Lord wanted them to go preach the gospel in Macedonia urgently. The point here is that the disciples had a manner

Homily for Friday of the 5th Week of Easter.  Acts 15:22-31. Psalm 57:8-9,10-12. John 15:12-17. In the first reading, we have one of the very first canons of the Church: "For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from unchastity. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell" (Acts 15:28-29). The Church was wise in sending persons as well as the letter. Letter alone would at times not convey the message. Persons reading the letter and explaining its contents would bring the message home to the listeners! Likewise, the law of the Church needs to be explained. God never ceases to work in mysterious ways. The pagan community in Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas ministered and to which Judas were sent to confirm with their words, what the Apostles wrote in the letter  was the first communi

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 15:7-21; Ps.96; John 15:9-11 What matters most is keeping the Commandments The Church in Jerusalem sat to consider the issue of circumcision of the gentiles. Now, the issue was: should the gentiles be circumcised before they can become members of the Christian community? Since for the Jews, circumcision was in line with their covenantal relationship with God, can someone become God’s without being circumcised? To resolve this issue, the apostles and elders simply paid attention to experience; that is, to what the Lord was saying to them all through their evangelization of the gentiles. Peter first narrated how the Lord commissioned him to preach to the gentiles. As he preached to them, the Lord gave them the Holy Spirit, the same way the Spirit was given to the Jewish believers. Peter noted: “God made no distinction between us and them”. Thereafter, Paul and Barnabas narrated the signs and wonders God had done among them through the ge

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER 10th May 2023 Acts 15:1-6; Ps.122; John 15:1-8 The Tenacity of the Word of God As the early Christian community contended with external oppositions and suffered varying degrees of persecutions, they also had to deal with some internal issues. One of such internal issues is found in today’s first reading: how should the gentile converts be assimilated into the body of Christ. This question had never been attended to because the experience of gentile conversion was a new one. Remember that Peter was accused by the believers of preaching to the gentiles; and he narrated how he had a vision and the events that followed. It became clear that the message of salvation was meant for the gentile world too. But how were they to be incorporated? There were basically two opposing views. One party opined that gentile converts needed to be circumcised according to the custom of Moses. The other party argued that circumcision was not to be made compulsor

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 14:19-28; Ps.145; John 14:27-31a An unwavering commitment It is one thing to do what is right, but it is a different thing to do the right thing with the right intention. Now, only what is done is obvious; the intention is not immediately obvious. There are various ways in which we can try to decipher the intention behind the actions of others, or by which our own intentions can be made manifest. Amongst these other ways is our attitude when doing the right thing begins to cause us great discomfort. It is only one who is doing the right thing with an attitude of selflessness that will not be deterred at such moments. In the first reading of today, Paul was dragged out of the city and stoned. The goal was to kill him; infact, he was left alone when they thought he was dead. Even though Paul did not die, it goes to show the intensity of the persecution melted out against him at Lystra. But as soon as his strength could carry him again, Pa

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 14:5-18; Ps.115; John 14:21-26 Committed to authentic listening The first reading of today records the healing of a cripple at Lystra. The process through which this cripple was healed leaves us with so much lessons. First, Paul and Barnabas were not engaged in a prayer session or a miracle crusade. Their intention was simply to preach God’s word and through it, bring the people to accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Lystra was a pagan city. So, Paul and Barnabas busied themselves with telling the people about the goodnews of Jesus Christ and the mighty works that accompanied Him. The cripple who had never walked since birth, gave a listening hear to the message preached by Paul. He listened to the point that his faith started building up from what he was hearing about Jesus of Nazareth. His whole being was so engrossed with the goodnews that the faith that which was building up in him started to cause him to have an unusual desir

HOMILY ON THE 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A Acts 6:1-7; Ps.33; 1Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12 “ _It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve at tables” (Acts 6:2b)_  Blossom in your Natural Habitat Before his ascension, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go make disciples of all nations. This necessitated that a Christian community should be formed. How this community will fare was something that the apostles learnt from experience. They practically learnt how to live together from the way they handled each problem that confronted them. Even today, every problem can become an opportunity to learn how to live better if only we allow the Spirit of God to direct us in all we do. Sometimes, it takes a negative experience for a positive impact to be made in our lives. In the first reading of today, we are told at the beginning that a dispute arose amongst the believers as regards the daily distribution of food. The feeling of injustice leads to mutual suspicion and

Homily for Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter Acts 13:44-52; John 14:7-14. In the first reading, the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia rejected God's word preached by  Paul and Barnabas. Their rejection yielded great result. The Gentiles heard God's word, "they were glad and glorified the Lord; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). When a door of opportunity is closed, let us look for another door that the Lord opens for us. Every disappointment is a blessing if we allow God's will to be done in every situation. "All things work together for good for those who love God" (Rom.8:28). Philip said to Jesus in today's Gospel, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied" (Jon14.8). Jesus answered him, He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). To have seen the Father in our Lord Jesus Christ demands faith. It is faith alone that can make one see the Father in the Son, and that is why Jesus told Phil