FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

REDISCOVER THE SPIRIT OF SILENCE Elijah's success story that proceeded from Mount Carmel seems to be a very temporary one. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab sort to kill him. So he fled through the wilderness to the Mountain of God, Mount Horeb (1kings19:18). There we are told he encountered God in the sound of a gentle breeze. “There was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire a sound of sheer silence” (1kings 19:11-12). God was in the sound of sheer silence. Hence, Elijah listened to the words of instruction from the Lord. Dearest brothers and Sisters in Christ, we are reminded today of the significance of Silence and solitude in our Christian life. Alone with none but thee my God. It is in apt silence that we can hear the word of God. S

DON'T GIVE UP,  BE PERSEVERANT IN PRAYER After the annihilation of the false prophets of Baal from the country and the people had accepted Yahweh as their God, Elijah sort through prayer to God the invocation of rain upon the land. We are told “Elijah went up the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees” (1kings 18:42). He prayed fervently and perseveringly till God granted his request. We are told that for ‘seven times Elijah sent his servant to go up and look towards the sea to observe the climate change and only but on the seventh time did the servant observe a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand rising out of the sea’ (1kings 18:43-44). Elijah in his commitment to prayer did not give up after the first count, he persevered, endured, and persisted even up to the seventh time until he saw the manifestation of God.  Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded once again of the essentiality, necessity, and

TRUTH DOES NOT DEPEND ON A MAJORITY VOTE 1kings 18:20-39; Matthew 5:17-19 In his book “Life in Christ”, Fulton Sheen opined that “the majority is not always right. In the field of the relative, he maintained, the majority may be right but not in the field of the absolute. Truth, he declares, does not win when numbers alone become decisive. Numbers alone can decide a beauty queen, but not justice. Beauty is a matter of taste, but justice is tasteless. Right is still right if nobody is right, and wrong is still wrong if everybody is wrong”. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if the numbers of those ‘for’ and ‘against’ were to be the determinant factor for ascertaining the true God in the contest which took place on Mount Carmel between Prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal, just as we do have at the ‘National Assembly’ or ‘State House of Representatives’, then Elijah would have lost out woefully. On the one hand are Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, even supported by the king and t

EVEN THE POOR CAN PROVIDE CHARITY 1kings 17:7-16; Matthew 5:13-16 Ordinarily, the poor is psychologically construed to think in terms of what he or she is to receive rather than what he or she is to give. By extension, the Poor, most times think that they are exonerated from performing acts of charity; that accomplishing charitable works is in the domain of the rich alone. After all, one who is poor is assumed not to have, and even when he or she has a little, it isn't meant to be shared but to be preserved for personal welfare. However, little do the Poor know that “blessed is the hand that gives than the one that receives”. Brother and Sisters in Christ, the Widow of Zarephath had proven otherwise; that even the poor can be providers of charity and not necessarily beneficiaries. The widow and her son, even in their abject poverty prioritized from the little they had, the welfare of the prophet Elijah who made an appeal to be given a morsel of bread to eat. The Widow knew quite ap

  THE DANGER OF THE ENEMIES WITHIN ( HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER)  Acts 20:28-38; Jn 17:11-19 Today, we hear of Paul's farewell discourse to th e elders of Ephesus. Paul told them “keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock (Acts 20:28-29). Paul, while instructing the elders was cautious of the reality that the wolves that lurk within the church to destroy it are far more dangerous than the wolves that operate from outside of the church. This is similar to the warning Jesus gave to his disciples “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt 7:15). The history of the Church seems to have substantiated this stern warning so much so that the heresies that erupted in the church came from

  THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (FEAST) Zephaniah 3:14-18within the 1:39-56 MARY: MODEL OF CHARITY In the liturgy of the word today, we hear the narrative of Mary, hurriedly visiting her cousin Elizabeth who in her old age conceived a son and was in her sixth-month pregnancy, at the Hill Country of Judah. Having received such news from the Angel Gabriel, Mary could ascertain forthwith the necessities of her cousin in such a demanding situation. Consequently, she made haste to the home of Zachariah (Lk 1:36). The scripture succinctly detailed the dramatic encounter that took place between Elizabeth and Mary; of how the child in the womb of Elizabeth leapt for joy at the greeting of Mary, and Elizabeth was filled instantly with the Holy spirit in the home of Zachariah. Sequel to that Mary chanted the Magnificat, praising God for his graciousness. Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, Mary comprehended above all else the most important gift to offer to her cousin Elizabeth i

  HALF-BAKED KNOWLEDGE IS DANGEROUS  (Acts 17:15,22-18:1 ;John 16:12-15)  The ultimate quest of the human person is to acquire knowledge. The capacity to have a comprehensive understanding of things significantly distinguishes the human person from other world creatures. This is why knowledge, according to Francis Bacon is Power. For who knows, conquers everything. In today's liturgy of the word, we are told that Paul made a speech before the council of the Areopagus in Athens, “men of Athens”, Paul declared, “I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled around admiring your sacred monuments,  that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well the God whom I proclaim is the one whom you already worship without knowing it”. (Acts 17: ). The people of Athens, though they pride themselves as philosophers, Paul underscored them as extremely scrupulous and ignorant on religious matters; by implication, their kno