FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 31ST JANUARY 2024 2Sam.24:2,9-17; Ps.32; Mark 6:1-6 Be Discipline in order to receive the Lord In the gospel reading, we see that the activities of Jesus in his country and amongst his own people did not go down well with many persons. Before the coming of Christ, they awaited and desired the coming of the Messiah but now the Christ was before them, they were not disciplined enough to remain committed to their desire to experience the Christ. They acknowledge the greatness associated with his ministry but they were distracted with over-familiarity. For reason of this lack of discipline, Jesus could not do much works amongst them. Because they were distracted with over-familiarity, they thought less of Jesus and would have made mockery of whatever good works he would have done for them. But come to think of it, shouldn’t it have been a cause of great joy for them that it was one of their own that is the Messiah? This teaches u

SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 30TH JANUARY 2024 2Samuel 18:9-10,14b,24-25a; Ps.86; Mark 5:21-43 Persevere in the Lord “If symptoms persist after three days, go see your doctor”. We usually hear this admonition when drugs are advertised or read them on the leaflet of drugs. The basic assumption of this admonition is that the consumption of a particular drug is supposed to improve the condition of the patient after three days. That is a sign that the drug is appropriate for the ailment the patient is suffering from. If, however, the consumption of the drug is not improving the condition of the patient after three days, he/she should stop taking the drug and see a doctor to avoid complications. The above principle best suits the medical profession but will not be appropriate if applied to our relationship with God. God is not a drug that we consume on account of spiritual sickness with the expectation of certain improvement of our consumption of him after some

SERMON/HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 29TH JANUARY 2024 2Samuel 15:13-14,30;16:5-13a; Ps.3; Mark 5:1-20 God Saves without weighing the Cost Man is quite selfish, such that in setting priorities, he considers himself first before others. On the other hand, God is love, and so, when God sets priorities, he puts first things first. The gospel reading of today describes an event where the above fact was clearly demonstrated. The healing of the Gerasene Demoniac is contained in the three synoptic gospels. But the account of Mark is more elaborate because he gave a detailed description of the oppression the demoniac had suffered from the hands of the devil. It was so bad that the best help the people could render (to bind him) proved abortive. Obviously, curing him was something they could not do. When we reflect further on how Mark described the man’s suffering, we can imagine that the man’s case attracted all the pity it could get. Jesus came into the scene and

Sermon/Homily for 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 28th January 2024 Deuteronomy 18:15-20. Psalm 95:1-2,6-7abc,7d-9. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35. Mark 1:21b-28. Theme: Jesus, the Expected Prophet. The first reading announces the coming of a prophet who will speak in the name of God. Moses from his deathbed foretold that God would raise up a prophet like him, and He would put his words in his mouth, and the prophet would speak on God's behalf. Here, the Catholic Church understood this person to be our Lord Jesus, who came at the fullness of time (cf.Heb.1:1). The prophecy of Moses is fulfilled in today's Gospel in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't communicate the word of God the way the rabbis used to; his message is new and proclaims it "with authority." Even the unclean spirit testified to his authority, saying, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). Jesus us

SERMON/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 27TH JANUARY 2024 2Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17; Ps.51; Mark 4:35-41 Do not delay to Repent The encounter between David and Nathan reflect a common human tendency, namely, it is always easier to identify the wrongs in other’s action than the wrongs in our personal action, even when both actions are similar. We tend to find it more convenient to correct others while we justify ourselves. Thus, to enable David understand the gravity of his misdeeds, Nathan wisely conjured the misdeeds of David on a certain rich man in a make-up story. David could relate with the wrong of the rich man but did not see how it relates with what he himself did, until Nathan drew the line of relationship. Beloved, if we want to evaluate our actions and inactions more objectively, let us always try to put ourselves in the shoes of those at our receiving end. Even when our actions are justified, such consideration can at least help us to be more human

SERMON/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II STS TIMOTHY AND TITUS 26TH JANUARY 2024 2Tim.1:1-8; Ps.96; Mark 4:21-25 Collaboration: a sign of Conversion Yesterday, we celebrated the conversion of St. Paul, which we can invariably also say was the beginning of his witnessing to the gospel of Christ. Today, we celebrate Sts. Timothy and Titus who were two great companions of Paul in his missionary endeavour. So the first lesson we learn from these companions of St. Paul is that Paul did not work alone. When we read the first reading of yesterday, we heard Paul giving account of his life prior to his encounter with the Lord on his way to Dasmascus. You will observe his continuous use of the personal pronoun “I”. Before his conversion, Paul’s activities were all about him alone. But with the celebration of Sts. Timothy and Titus, we see that Paul never worked alone after his conversion. His encounter with the Lord on the way to Dasmascus also taught him the essence of

SERMON/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL 25TH JANUARY 2024 Acts of Apostles 22:3-16; Ps.117; Mark 16:15-18 Conversion of Mind-set Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul. Ordinarily, conversion involves a movement from bad to good; from sinfulness to righteousness; from waywardness to holiness. But looking at the life of Saul (before conversion) we cannot really say that he was bad, sinful or wayward. In the first reading of today, Paul himself gave an account of his life before, during and after his conversion. From this account, we come to understand another dimension to the whole concept of conversion. Conversion also entails a movement from the conventional practices or ideologies to the full truth. Before conversion, Paul noted that he had great zeal for God. He was privileged to have been properly educated both formerly and informally. This education taught him that any other way outside Judaism is misleading. So, Paul grew up learn

SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 24TH JANUARY 2024 1Sam.7:4-17; Ps.89; Mark 4:1-20 Consistency breeds Fruitfulness Since the commencement of Jesus’ public ministry, it has never been a challenge to gather people to listen to Jesus. Everywhere Jesus goes, people followed him with the eagerness to benefit from the fruit of his ministry. Such was the case in today’s gospel reading. To come close to Jesus in order to hear from him is good, but it remains only a first stage for conversion. Jesus told a parable to teach the importance of abiding in the Word of God we listen to. Usually, after listening, our hearts are stirred up; we are able to identify areas in our lives that need some adjustments. And so, we want to act on the Word we have heard. Often times, we are courageous enough to begin the process of adjusting our lives with the Word of God. However, where problem often set in is in the area of consistency. When Jesus later explained the parable o

SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 23RD JANUARY 2024 2Sam6:12b-15. 17-19; Ps.24; Mark 3:31-35 In God’s Will is our Peace! In the gospel reading, Jesus’ mother and relations came looking for him. Maybe they came to take him home so that he may eat and rest a little, having being out there all through the day. Going by the demand of the flesh (hunger and rest), Jesus had reasons to go home with his mother and brethren. But he rather chose to find his mother and brethren amongst those who do God’s will. This means that Jesus will always go with and stay with anyone who resolves to do the will of God. Let us resolve today to struggle more to adhere to the demands of the Spirit over those of the flesh. The battle of the Spirit and the flesh is persistent is each and everyone of us. But the more we give in to one side of the battle, the easier it becomes to remain on that side. So, the more we take up the courage to overcome the inordinate desires of the flesh

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE II 2Sam.5:1-7, 19; Ps.89; Mark 3:22-30 Good and Evil have no meeting point In today’s gospel, Jesus is accused of using the power of Beelzebul to do the mighty works that have been associated with him. Notice that this accusation came from the Scribes not the general people. The people heard about Jesus and approached him with faith. When they did so, they received favour from God. The Scribes on the other hand approached Jesus with a doubtful and speculative attitude, this is because the great works and teachings of Jesus constituted a threat to them. They feared that if Jesus continues like this, the people will no longer revere them but turn to Jesus. So, the next thing to do was to put an end to Jesus and his ministry. They have countlessly set traps for him using the law. In most of such instances, Jesus does follow through with them in their gymnastics; he would confront them and thereafter, they will have no justification

Homily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B.  Jonah 3:1-5,10. Psalm 25:4-6ab,6,7bc,8-9. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31. Mark 1:14-20 Theme: How to Answer Christ's Call. Today's Gospel tells us what should characterise our answer to the Lord's call. The Lord, before calling his disciples,  proclaimed the good news from God. It is the news of salvation that gives power to conquer sin. He said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15). This duty of calling people to repentance is very hectic. It requires many hands. Jesus could not do it alone. Hence, Jesus called his first four disciples, and they left everything and followed him. Jesus sought them out at their work, and He drew on their occupation as fishermen to choose a simile by which to tell them what their new mission in life was to be. If we are to follow Christ, our souls like that of his first four disciples have to be free from any attachments:

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II (BLESSED MICHAEL TANSI) Phil.2:1-11; Isa.12; Matthew 13:44-46 The Need to be Selfless In the gospel reading, we are presented with similar actions of a man and a merchant. Both discovered great asset that they priced to be more valuable than all of their assets. For this reason, they sold all that they had to acquire the most valuable asset. Jesus told these parables as he was teaching the crowds about the kingdom of heaven. The valuable assets represent heaven. And so, the goal of the parables is to teach us that heaven is the most valuable asset we can acquire. It is worth any sacrifice we can make for us to belong there. Jesus wants us to understand that belonging to heaven necessarily demands some sacrifices on our path. But then, without the spirit of selflessness, one cannot dare to make sacrifices. A person who is so selfish and thinks only of the self, may unconsciously find it difficult to consider eternity. In the

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II 1Sam.24:2-20; Ps.57; Mark 3:13-19 Respect the anointed The drama between Saul and David continued in the first reading of today. It was obvious to David that Saul sought to kill him not for any wrong he had done but out of jealousy. The natural human tendency is to seek revenge against those who do us evil. When it is not possible to fight back immediately, we often times wait for an opportunity to revenge. But in the first reading of today, David acted like a man who is truly anointed by God. Notice that Saul had not yet changed his mind as regards hurting David. Infact, Saul was in the cave in search of David to kill him. Yet, in this trying time for David, he could still think and talk about forgiveness. David refused to harm Saul for two principal reasons. First, David is aware that he is the Lord’s anointed. He knows that no one is able to hurt him without the Lord’s permission. He knows that he had so far escaped the evi

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE II 1Sam.18:6-9; 19:1-7; Ps.56; Mark 3:7-12 Guild against occasions for jealousy It is part of human nature to desire affirmation. Affirmations sometimes act like incentives that motivate people to do more. But that is only when it is done appropriately. When affirmations are done indiscriminately, even when they are true, they could be distracting. In the first reading, the people were overjoyed with what the Lord had done for them through the instrumentality of David. The greatly feared Goliath has been brought down by a mere boy. Truly, David deserves some accolades. It would have been wise enough for the women to sing the praises of David or the praises of God who has used David. Unfortunately, they sang David’s praises in comparison with Saul’s achievement. In praising David, they were implying that their King has not done so much for them. Therefore, David is greater than the king. While not trying to justify Saul’s jealo

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II 1Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51; Ps.144; Mark 3:1-6 Anointing makes the difference After Samuel had anointed David king, David was not automatically fixed in the palace or adorned with royalty. The anointing of David meant the presence of God in his life in an extraordinary way. This extraordinary presence led David to doing extraordinary things – things that neither those of his age and ability nor those senior and stronger than him could do. It therefore means that the anointing of David made him a vessel for the Lord. We find this well demonstrated in the first reading of today. David was sent by the father Jesse to give food to his brothers at the battle field and seek how the battle was going. The fact that David was hitherto at home means that he was not considered fit to be encrypted into the army. Even when David opted to face goliath, his brothers tried to prevent him; king Saul discouraged him. But David was moved by

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II 1Samuel 16:1-13; Ps.89; Mark 2:23-28 Seek to please the Lord always When the Lord chose Saul as king, he sent Samuel to anoint him as a sign of his election. But when the Lord rejected Saul on account of his disobedience, Saul was not ripped off his kingly position; yet, he remained rejected by the Lord. When Samuel was grieving over Saul, it was due to his spiritual awareness of what had happened. On the physical plane, there was no need to grieve over Saul since he remained king. Now it is not clear whether Saul’s rejection was communicated to him. If it wasn’t, it means that Saul may have thought that there was no big deal about his disobedience. This is where we need to be guided. To lose the grace of God must not necessarily translate to losing some physical or material benefits/endowment. For this reason, we may be tempted to continue to disobey since life seemed to have remained normal thereafter. But the example of Sa

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II 1Samuel 15:16-23; Ps.50; Mark 2:18-22 There is no justification for disobedience The first reading of today ends with God’s rejection of Saul as king because Saul was not faithful to the instruction God gave him through Samuel. The attitude of Saul is so common in our present time. It is an attitude of hiding ones selfishness under the guise of a noble cause. It was clear to Saul that the Lord wanted him to destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites. However Saul tried to find his way through this instruction by claiming that he spared some animals in order to use them as sacrifice to the Lord. He obviously felt, if he puts forward God’s name as an excuse, he would have his way. Beloved, in as much as we learn from this account that obedience is better than sacrifice, let us also learn that God cannot be blackmailed nor cajoured. Today, people continue to make effort to find a way around God’s commandments. It seems as tho

HOMILY FOR THE 2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B 1Sam.3:3b-10, 19; Ps.40; 1Cor.6:13c-15a, 17-20; John 1:35-42 “ _See, I have come, Lord, to do your will”_ (Ps.40:8a & 9a) Our Spirituality versus our Company The first reading of today started with the boy Samuel being present within the temple of the Lord where the Ark of the Covenant was. This was because the mother fulfilled her vow of giving him back to the Lord. However, we see that it took Samuel several attempts before he understood that it was God, not Eli, that was calling him. Samuel living in the temple but not being familiar with God’s voice is rather symbolic; it shows that what brings us into perfect union with God is not our titles or location but our level of responsiveness to the voice and will of God. So, we dare not evaluate our level of intimacy with God on the basis of externalities – God looks at the heart. Therefore, make sure that you are not holy, humble, generous, prayerful, etc, only in the eyes of men. M

MEDITATION/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 13 JANUARY 2024 1Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1a; Ps.21; Mark 2:13-17 God does not give up on anyone A perfect sign of God’s love for man is that he never gives up on anyone. Being love itself, he continues to hope and give everyone the opportunity to belong to him. In today’s gospel, he demonstrated this with Matthew. Matthew was popularly called (and so he was), a tax collector. This nomenclature does not only describe the kind of work he does but also speaks of his moral status as a sinner. Sin was looked at as a communicable disease. Thus, to preserve oneself in holiness, one must keep off from acclaimed sinners. Even though it is true that Matthew was not innocent of the derogatory conception surrounding him, it is also true that such derogatory conception points to the fact that the people have given up on such acclaimed sinners. There is no hope that they could change for the better. It is this general conception

SERMON/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 12 JANUARY 2024 1Sam.8:4-7,10-22a; Ps.78; Mark 2:1-12 Be Grateful! In the gospel reading, we see the hostility of the Jews. They knew that God is able to forgive sins yet they found it blasphemous when Jesus said to the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven”. They wondered how dare Jesus do or say that which only God has the prerogative. The thrust of the problem here was their lack of faith in Jesus as God. Today, we may not exactly have the challenge of accepting Jesus as God, but then, there still abound various forms of overfamiliarity with the persons and things of God in the attitude of some Christians. One sign of overfamiliarity is lack of appreciation. Although Jesus’ audience in today’s gospel left the vicinity amazed and glorifying God, we can imagine that the experience was not same for the Scribes. They were much more concerned about Jesus claiming authority to forgive sins. The moment we begin to see nothing s

SERMON/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 11TH JANUARY 2024 1Samuel 4:1-11, 19-20; Ps.44; Mark 1:40-45 The Power of God’s Presence is not Magical The quality of our relationship with God is dependent on our understanding of him. If our understanding of him is defective, so will our relationship be. That explains why when the penny catechism asked the question: “why did God make you”, the first reason is to know him. It is our knowledge of God that will give quality to our love and service to him. For the people of Israel, they were God’s own people. God could do anything and everything for them just as he destroyed the Egyptians in the red sea for their sake. They saw themselves as even more fortunate to possess the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant meant for them the presence of God; and since only the Israelites had such Ark, they thought that God was their exclusive property. They made no mistake in seeing themselves as specially loved by God. In

SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 10TH JANUARY 2024 1Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20; Ps.40; Mark 1:29-39 The Young need Direction In today’s first reading, God called Samuel. This experience was to initiate a conscious dialogue and covenant between God and Samuel. The call of Samuel is quite different from that of the prophets. When God called Samuel, he ran to Eli on two occasions. This means that the voice he heard was like the voice of a father to the son. By mere calling, the purpose for calling was subtly communicated, namely, God wanted to establish a Father-Son relationship. It was because Samuel identified fatherhood in the voice that was why he ran to Eli. Today, we are called upon to learn from Samuel and Eli. The example of Samuel teaches us that for us to be able to become great, we must surround ourselves with great minds. The caliber of people we mingle and rob minds with, goes a long way in shaping what becomes of our lives. Imagine if Samuel was

SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 9TH JANUARY 2024 1Samuel 1:9-20; 1Sam.2; Mark 1:21b-28 The Power of Listening to God’s Word At various times, we have reflected on the art of Jesus teaching. One thing we have keenly observed is that Jesus teaches before he performs miracles. His teaching is like a theoretical class while the miracle is like a labouratory test. Without the former, there will be no basis for the latter. However, the event of the gospel reading of today improves our understanding of Jesus, such that we come to realize that the above demarcation between Jesus’ teaching and performance of miracle is not always the case. In today’s gospel, the art of performing miracle is subsumed inside the art of teaching. While Jesus taught, a miracle starting happening. Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and taught them in a manner that the people were not quite familiar with; he taught them with authority. This means that the words he used in te

SERMON/HOMILY ON THE FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - YEAR B 8TH JANUARY 2024 Isaiah.55:1-11; Isa.12; Mark 1:7-11 “ _Come; buy wine and milk without money_ ” (Isa.55:1) The Mystery of Christ’s Baptism Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord by John the Baptist. To better understand the mystery of this sacred event in history, there is need to reflect briefly on the baptism of John the Baptist. John was a voice crying in the wilderness, calling the people to repentance, in preparation for the Messiah. This repentance was not without a process; the process for obtaining repentance was through baptism. To gain forgiveness of sins, the people needed to come to John to be baptized. This baptism of John comprised of three components: confession of guilt, a plea for forgiveness and a desire to make a new beginning. So, anyone coming to John for baptism should be ready to enumerate his or her wrong deeds, should regret them as offences against God, thereby seeking the mercy of God and sho

HOMILY ON THE SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD, YEAR B Isaiah 60:1-6; Ps.72; Eph.3:2-3a, 5-6; Matt.2:1-12  _“Arise, shine; for your light has come_ …” (Isa.60:1) Our obligation to beam the Light of Christ! Today, we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world. This celebration is called Epiphany, from the greek word _Epiphanes_ . Unlike the feast of Christ’s presentation in the temple, the Epiphany was not a Jewish rite for Children. What the wise men from the East did for Jesus was not something that was usually done for every child. The act of the wise men was uniquely for Christ and was singly motivated and directed by God himself. In the action of the wise men, God himself showed that Jesus was not merely a child but the expected messiah. It is important that this manifestation was made at the birth of Christ, to show that Jesus did not become the Messiah at some point in his earthly life or after some extraordinary event in his life; Jesus was born as the Messiah

SERMON/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY BEFORE EPIPHANY 6TH JANUARY 2024 1John 5:5-13; Ps.147; Mark 1:7-11 Greatness and Humility! In the gospel reading of today, John first spoke about Jesus to the people using the word “mightier”. From this word, we can understand some background to John’s talk about Jesus. The people were beginning to see and acknowledge the greatness of John. For them, John suited well into the image of the Messiah they were expecting. Since John’s father was a high Priest, it would make sense that the messiah was born of a high priest. So, greatness characterized John both from his ancestry and his unique mission. John did not deny the greatness that was associated with him. To say that Jesus is mightier than himself, is to invariably accept that he (John) is mighty; only that Jesus is mightier. John acceptance of his own greatness does not make him proud or arrogant. See, humility is not seeing or talking less about yourself. Humility starts with acknowledging what you have b

SERMON/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY BEFORE EPIPHANY 5TH JANUARY 2024 1John 3:11-21; Ps.100; John 1:43-51 Strive to love more Since this week, the first reading from the first letter of St. John, has continued to teach on love. It makes sense that this theme of love flows immediately with the liturgy of Christmas. In love, God became man in Jesus. In love, God will undergo passion up till death, in Jesus. Therefore, as we celebrate Christmas and pray for a favourable year of 2024, the Word of God is reminding us that without love we can neither truly celebrate Christmas nor win God’s favour in this New Year. St. John was very exact when he noted that we should not be like Cain who could not love because he was of the evil one. Being of the evil one does not mean that the evil one created Cain but that Cain, through lack of love, gave himself over to the evil one. The example of Cain provides us with a litmus test for knowing if we too have sold ourselves to the evil one: are we still loving? On th

SERMON/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY (WEEKDAY OF CHRISTMAS) 4TH JANUARY 2024 1John 3:7-10; Ps.98; John 1:35-42 Point the Lord to Others Today, John continues his mission as forerunner of the Lord. Each time he sees the Lord, he reminds his listeners that it is the Lord. For this reason, two of his followers left him and went with the Lord. This does not anger John the Baptist because he understands and remains committed to his mission of preparing for the Lord; he is not the Lord. We too have the responsibility of pointing the Lord to those around us. We must do this to the extent that we decrease for the Lord to increase. We are the instruments; Christ is the subject matter. To point the Lord to others is not strictly a matter of preaching the Word. Each time we share what the Lord has given to us in a manner that emphasizes that God is the source, we are pointing the Lord to others. This is something that can only be achieved through humility. Pride beclouds us into thinking that our endowment

SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY (THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS) 3RD JANUARY 2024 1John 2:29-3:6; Ps.98; John 1:29-34 We are Children of God Yesterday, John humbly admitted that he is not the Christ. When the Christ comes, He will do mightier works than himself. John did not just describe the person and mission of Christ, he further showed Him to the world. The context in which John did this is quite striking. Jesus was approaching John, precisely to be baptized by him. This gesture will ordinarily suggest the subordination of the candidate for baptism to the minister. Anyone would have taught that if Jesus is truly greater than John the Baptist, he should not be going to John for baptism; the reverse should rather be the case. John’s exclamation “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” immediately sent the signal that Jesus’ presence before him for baptism was unlike that of others. Jesus later confirmed this signal when He insisted that John should baptize Him just to f

SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY (STS. BASIL THE GREAT & GREGORY NAZIANZEN) 2ND JANUARY 2024 1John 2:22-28; Ps.96; John 1:19-28 Jesus is the Christ Usually, in writing an academic work, it is always necessary to clarify terminologies; not just for readers to understand the meaning of such terms but that they may understand the context in which such terms are employed in the work. When terms are properly clarified, it becomes easy to understand the mind of the writer. This is what John did for the mission of Christ in today’s reading. In both the first and the gospel readings, John is busy clarifying who the messiah is, so that we are not confuse as to who saves us. In the gospel reading, he emphatically stated that he is not the messiah. The Pharisees sent priests and Levites to John to ask if he was the messiah. This is because they could perceive the greatness of his ministry. John said that he is not; meaning that his prophetic acts, however great they may be, are not what saves or wil

Sermon/Homily for the Solemnity of Mary The Holy Mother of God 1st January 2024  Numbers 6:22-27. Psalm 67:2-3,5,6,8. Galatians 4:4-7. Luke 2:16-21. Theme: Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace. On the first of January, Christians celebrate several festive events. We celebrate, first of all, New Year's Day; then we think of the circumcision of Jesus, which took place. St. Luke tells us, eight days after his birth (Luke 2:21); the day was later on dedicated to Mary, Mother of God, and finally, in 1968 Pope St. Paul VI chose January 1st as the "World Day of Peace." The first reading is about blessing. The words of the Lord to Moses is that Aaron and his sons in their office as priests should bless the sons of Israel. In my office as a priest of the New Covenant, I bless you all with these same words as we begin a new year today: "May the Lord bless you and keep you: may He make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you: may He lift up his countenance upon you and g