FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER (MAY 05, 2023) Acts 13:26-33; Ps.26; John 14:1-6 Let not your hearts be troubled In today’s first reading, Paul continues his words of exaltation in the synagogue at Antioch. Here, his historical narrative got to the point where good was repaid with the worse kind of evil. Paul noted that this evil was done because those involved did not recognize the good. They were not able to recognize the good because they had not been listening to the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath. From this we understand that it was the separation from the Word of God that caused this big error of not recognizing and killing the Son of God. Beloved, ignorance of the scripture is dangerous. From the Scripture, we are able to gain not just knowledge and enlightenment but also a kind of spiritual alertness that enables us to be sensitive to what is good and godly. Exposure to God’s Word helps us to have a good grasp of how God works and how to und...

 HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 13:13-25; Ps.89; John 13:16-20 When God is involved In the first reading of today Paul gave a brief history of the life of the people of Israel in the synagogue of Antioch, as word of exhortation. The goal here was not to educate the people on their history but to present the history they already know too well in a way they never understood it. What was unique about how Paul told this history was that he interpreted the events of their past in the light of the action of God. By this, he ruled out the thought of coincidence or the pride of personal effort, and rather channeled the focus on the grace of God. By this, Paul was revealing to the people that the direction of happenings in their history was a result of the purposeful plan of God. The events of their history was not all rosy; there were moments when they were confused and complained that God had abandoned them. There were also times when they derailed from God’s commandme...

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER, (STS. PHILIP AND JAMES) 1Cor.15:1-8; Ps.19; John 14:6-14 Popularity is not a sign of faithfulness Today, we celebrate the feast of St Phillip and St. James – apostles of Jesus Christ; we are presented with two great men who not only used their time, talent and treasure to bear witness to the gospel, but also their very lives. They are martyrs. One thing that is common about these two martyrs is that little is known about them. According to John’s gospel, Philip came from Bethsaida. Before the feeding of the multitude, it was him that Jesus asked how they should buy bread for the crowd. It was also him who persuaded Nathaniel to come and see Jesus. Tradition has it that after Pentecost, he went to preach the gospel in Asia Minor. He suffered martyrdom by crucifixion at Hierapolis in Phrygia. James was the Son of Alphaeus, a brother of Jude Thaddaeus and a cousin to Jesus. The mother, Mary of Clopas was a sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary. ...

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER, (ST. ATHANASIUS) Acts 11:19-26; Ps.87; John 10:22-30 Jesus Christ is truly God and truly Man The life and contribution of St. Athanasius makes us realize that the creed that we profess today, was not formulated without fierce theological debate. Every statement in the creed was arrived at after so much theological deliberations. Today, we are celebrating the contribution of St. Athanasius to the growth of the Faith particularly in the formulation of an article of the faith, namely, that Jesus Christ is truly and fully God. Athanasius wrote and taught to refute the heresy of Arianism. Arianism taught that the incarnation is not possible and sensible because the world is saturated with evil and so, God cannot soil himself by becoming man. Therefore, the Jesus who was truly and fully man, could not have been God. Their rejection of Jesus as God was in a bid to safeguard the divinity of God. However, since Jesus was quite extraordinary, they ta...

Homily for the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker.  Genesis 1:26--2:3. Psalm 90:2,3-4,12-13,14,16. Matthew 13:54-58. 1st May has long been dedicated to working people.  In 1955, Pope Pius XII expressed the desire that on this day, the example of Joseph, the worker, be presented to Christian communities. The contemplation of Joseph is meant to enable us to grasp the meaning of human labour as our way of sharing in the creative power of God and cooperating in the building of a more just and Christian society where greater solidarity is achieved. All work is a collaboration in God's own work of creation. In the first reading, we read the Genesis account of man in the work of creation. Sacred Scripture also tells us that God placed man in the garden of Eden to till and keep it (Gen.2:15). From the moment God created man, He wanted man to participate in his creativeness. Work for man from the beginning is a command of nature. All that original sin was to change the form of this coop...

HOMILY ON THE 4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY) Acts 2:14a.36-41; Ps.23; 1Peter 2:20b-25; John 10:1-10 “ _I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn.10:10b) Theme: Jesus: the Shepherd that truly Pastures On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we are called upon to carefully examine to whom we want to entrust our souls. This decision is key because it determines everything about us both in this life and in the life to come. The one who takes charge of our souls, invariably controls our life. Jesus uses the imagery of Shepherd and sheep to guide us in making this all-important decision. The concern of the shepherd is always about the sheep, irrespective of what this concern may be. There are many things a shepherd can do with a sheep. But there is only one thing a sheep desires from a shepherd. What a shepherd does with the sheep reveals the value he has placed on the sheep. A shepherd could desire a sheep for food, economic reasons or to pasture it for good. Of these t...

HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER  Acts 9:31-42; Ps.116; John 6:60-69 The Fruits of walking in the way of the Lord In the first reading of today, two miracles were worked by the power of the risen Christ through the instrumentality of Peter: Aeneas who has been bedridden for eight years was healed; Tabitha was brought back to life again. The healing of the sick and raising of the dead were signs that were associated with Jesus. For these signs to also be associated with the disciples was a clear testimony to the fact that power of the risen Christ was still with the Church. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension did not translate into his absence from the Church. While the authorities continued to persecute the Church, the common people would have been skeptical if the disciples will be able to continue with the mission of Christ. This skepticism must have been heightened by those unfortunate times when the disciples attempted to perform some works but could not until Jesus ...