FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 21ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1Thess.3:7-13; Ps.90; Matthew 24:42-51 Be Ready! Usually when examinations are drawing near, some teachers use different styles in giving the students hint on the kind of questions they should expect. Like such teacher, Jesus in today’s gospel reading, gives us hint on what our end will look like. The hint is that there will be no sign that the end is coming when it will come. The end, our end will come when every other thing seem to be going well and when the thought of the end hardly crosses the mind, then suddenly, it will come. So, Jesus advices that we should always be ready. Jesus did not ask that we should be idle as we wait for death; he is not asking us to be enveloped with fear for that Day, he simply tells us to be ready. The end is not a calamity; rather, it is a necessary step for transition to eternity. When we are ready, the end becomes a visa to our eternal home. But how are we to be ready? The gospel acclamation ans...

Homily for Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time.  1 Corinthians 2:9-13. Psalm 139:7-8,9-10,11-12ab. Matthew 23:27-32. St. Paul tells the Thessalonians in the first reading on the need for them to work, giving as an example of how he and his companions worked night and day to earn their living so as not to be burdens to anyone. In addition to their work, Paul also exhorted them on the need to be holy, righteous, and blameless. Lastly, he thanked God for the life of the Thessalonians, who put into action what they were taught and heard. Like the Thessalonians, we are called to take our work seriously. Through working well, we begin to see God's presence in our work. Work is now the path to personal sanctification and salvation. It is the constructive moment of fraternal charity. Jesus, in today's Gospel, continues his message of "Woe" to the scribes and the Pharisees for not being able to reconcile their religious practices with their way of living. They do thing...

Homily for Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time.  Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist.  Jeremiah 1:17-19. Psalm 71:1-2,3-4a,6-6ab,16l5ab,17. Mark 6:17-29. Today, we recall the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Lord. His death hints at the future fate of Jesus and some of his disciples who will also die witnessing the truth. He is the only saint who is honoured by the Catholic Church on both the occasion of his birth and of his death. Today's passage from St. Mark's Gospel narrates the details of John's martyrdom within the context of the evil schemes that were planned in order to silence him. Herod ordered his execution as recorded in today's Gospel. Herod is one of the most pitiful individuals in the Gospel. Despite the position of Herod's authority, John preached repentance, not fearing the rich or the powerful. His message of truth justice and truth is blind to person(s) in front of him; the One who sent him is more impor...

Memorial of St. Augustine Bishop and Doctor of the Church Homily for Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time.  1 Thessalonians 1:1-5,8b-10. Psalm 149:1b-2,3-4,5-6a,9bc. Matthew 23:13-22. We begin the first reading this week from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. Paul is full of praise for the Thessalonians because of their faith, openness, and acceptance of God's word. Their faith is reflected in action. There is absolutely no point in professing faith if one is not ready to practise it. Our faith in God must shape our conduct by which we look to God as the source of our life, trusting that His love will lead us in our journey to the fullness of life God has planned for us. In today's Gospel, we hear Jesus condemning the scribes and the Pharisees for their pretence and religious hypocrisy. They are concerned more with outer appearance than inner value, thereby pretending to be what they are not. They want  to impress people while their hearts are far from God...

Theme: Faith in Christ, the Rock On Which the Church is Founded.-HOMILY FOR THE 21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 27th August 2023 Isaiah 2219-23. Psalm 138:1-2a,2bcd-3,6,8bc. Romans 11:33-36. Matthew 16:13-20. In the first reading, a reference is made to "key of the house of David" (Isa.22:22) foretelling the removal of power of the leaders of the people of Israel of the Old Testament, and the transfer of that power to Christ, who in turn handed it to Peter as the head of the Church founded by Christ. The mention of the key of authority seems to be the reason why this reading was chosen today, where today's Gospel describes the giving of the key to Peter. Prophet Isaiah tells Shebna, who was removed from his position of controlling access both to the city and to the king, because he was abusing his power by urging King Hezekiah to revolt against Assyra and call Egypt to his aid. For this, Shebna will be deposed, and, in his place, a true steward will be appointed by Yahweh. I...

The Mature Christian-HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 26th August 2023 Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17; Ps.128; Matthew 23:1-12 The Mature Christian Often times, the mistakes or misdeeds of some religious leaders or those who are looked up to as role models, constitutes a reason for some others to give up making effort to live a upright live. They will usually say: “if ……could do such a thing, then who am I?” Today, Jesus says to us that we should obey the teachings of those who teach since what they are teaching is from God. However, the fact that one occupies an exalted or religious position does not immune the person from falling or making mistakes. Ordination does not remove the humanness of a Priest. Therefore, in listening to what he preaches, we should not presume that all that he does is right. An action is not right because it was carried out by a man of God. An action is right because it is in consonance with the commandment of God. Therefore, when it is heard ...

Seek to Love-HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 25th August 2023 Ruth 1:1.3-6.14b-16.22; Ps.146; Matthew 22:34-40 Seek to Love In Matt.22:23-33, some Sadducees came forth to test Jesus about the Resurrection of the dead. When the Pharisees saw that Jesus was able to put up with the Sadducees, they came forward to Jesus in today’s gospel to test him too; this time, about which commandment is most important than the others. This question rather revealed the ignorance of the Pharisees about the Law. The question of what is most important presupposes that there are varieties of things (Laws) present. However, the commandments or the Law were actually different sides of a coin. Every law is born of love and is geared towards love. It is because God wants us to love that is why he gave the Law through Moses. With this understanding, the question of which commandment is most important becomes irrelevant. One lesson we learn here is that authentic love makes us practice equity...