FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

Homily for Thursday in the 27th week in the ordinary time year II Galatians 3:1-5; Luke 11:5-13 Do not give up! Inculturation of faith in every area of Christian and human life is a tedious task which can only be carried out with the help of the spirit of the Lord who leads the church to the truth. In the first reading of today, St. Paul and Barnabas faced the problem of inculturation. While they preached the risen Christ as the sole source of salvation, the Judaizers continue to counter that by introducing their cultural practices of circumcision, observation of the Sabbath etc as additional conditions through which Christian converts are to be saved. This for Paul undermines the event of the death and resurrection of Jesus. St Paul writes: "You foolish Galatians! Who bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly crucified" ( Gal 3:1). St Paul was not happy with the Galatians for allowing themselves to be fooled into believing that outside of Jesus th...

Homily for Wednesday of the 27th week in the ordinary time year II Galatians 2:1-2,7-14; Luke 11:1-4 Theme: prayerless life is powerless life In today's liturgy of the word, the first reading brings before us the need for us make sure that the Gospel we preach always is in tandem with the teaching of the Apostles. Paul writes: " Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them the Gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not runnings, or had not run, in vain" (Gal 2:1-2). Paul acknowledged that nevertheless the Gospel he preached came through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal 111-12).  He saw the need to lay the Gospel he preached before the Apostles. Hence, the genuineness of all preaching must equally be tested according to the teaching of the Aposltes. Beloved friends in Christ, in our contemporary age where many ministers...

Homily for Tuesday of the 27th week in the ordinary time, year II Galatians 1:13-24; Lk 10:38-42 The first reading of today begins with St. Paul describing his call from God. He says: "But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles...I went away at once into Arabia (Gal 1:15-17). This expression underscores that God was responsible for the apostleship of Paul. It was God's initiative, it was God who marked out the destiny of Paul right from inception. God called Paul to preach Christ among the Gentiles (Gal 1:16) Beloved friends in Christ, like St. Paul, there is a destiny marked out for each one of us. God has his purpose for each one of us. We may be for quite a while unconscious of our destiny but once we have a knowledge of it, duty requires we make stringent effort through obedience to the will of God to live reposibly by it. Hence, as Christians our...

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 27th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II Gal.1:6-12; Luke 10:25-37 Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, in the first reading of today, St. Paul told the Galatians to reject any message that is opposed to the truth of the Gospel irrespective of who is carrying the message – be it an angel or St. Paul himself. He said: "If anyone proclaims to you a Gospel contrary to what you received. Let that one be accursed!". Hence, a message is not authentic on the basis of its bearer but on account of its content – truth. These declarations are also directed to those who thwart the Gospel, pervert the Gospel, water down the Gospel, disrupt its importance and corrupt it. Beloved in Christ, as we have been called in our Christian vocation to be ministers of the Gospel, let us remember that we are "useless servants" who simply do what we have been asked to do. Let us preach the Gospel for what it is and not manipulate it for our own interest. The Gospel readi...

Homily for the 27th Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year C.  Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14; Luke 17:5-10. The theme that links today's three readings is faith. Faith is the central theme that binds together all the readings in today's liturgy In the First Reading, the Prophet Habakkuk complained to the Lord about the triumph of evil over good. He laments the maltreatment of the people of Israel by invaders who flaunt their scandalous behaviour. "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save" (Hab.1:2). To these questions, God, through the Prophet Habakkuk, urges the people of Israel not to give up because of difficulties or situations that seem to shake their faith in God. The Lord answers the Prophet with a call to patience and hope. The day will come when the evil ones will be punished: "Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by fait...

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 26th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II  (MARY QUEEN AND PATRONESS OF NIGERIA – OCTOBER 1, 2022) Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 2:13-15.19-23 Accept to the reign of God Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, today is an outstanding day for us as a country. We are applauding 62 years of liberation. To be independent means to be free. While we may have varied opinions regarding the extent to which we can truly say we are free as a nation, the liturgy of today tells us that what ultimately amounts to true freedom is the establishment of the reign of God. When we allow God to reign over our hearts, then we are truly free. The responsorial psalm captures this as follows: “In his days shall justice flourish and great peace forever. The gospel reading tells us that the reign of God means His triumph over evil in our lives. The devil will always aim at destroying the children of God as exemplified in Herod’s attempt to execute the baby Jesus so that God’s reign is never es...

Homily for Friday of the 26th week in Ordinary time, year II  (Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church).  Job 38:1,12-21; 40:3-5. Luke 10:13-16. In today's liturgy of the word, in the First Reading, God responded to Job out of the whirlwind and asked Job many questions concerning the origin and structure of the universe. "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (Job 38:16). Job replied the Lord: "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you" (Job 40:3). Job has no answer to God's questions about the origins and structures of the universe. Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, the saga of Job demonstrates to us the manner in which God teaches His servants and educates them to enjoy His goodness. Sometimes it may appear punitive in the eyes of humans but in the plans of God, it is chastisement and discipline.  The Gospel reading demonstrates Jesus' pronouncement of woe on Chor azin a...