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