FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 5HT WEEK OF EASTER, (OUR LADY, MOTHER OF AFRICA) Act 1:12-14; Lk.1; John 2:1-11 Do whatever He tells you As a Church in Africa, today, we celebrate our Lady of Africa. Africa as a continent is rich in culture, human and natural resources but shamefully marred by many kinds of problems because of greed and the mismanagement of these resources. Consequently, today’s gospel calls us to reflect on how the Blessed Virgin Mary saved a couple from the shame of lack of wine on their wedding day. The first thing we must note is that this miracle was the first public sign of Jesus; which means that before then, Jesus was not known to be a miracle worker. Therefore, Mary and Jesus were not invited on the basis of Jesus’ supernatural power but for some other relationship they may have had with the couples. When they ran out of wine, obviously, they must have sought different ways to remedy the situation. Meeting Jesus and/or Mary would not have been one of the options bec...

HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER 29TH APRIL 2024 Acts 14:5-18; Ps.115; John 14:21-26 Committed to authentic listening The first reading of today records the healing of a cripple at Lystra. The process through which this cripple was healed leaves us with so much lessons. First, Paul and Barnabas were not engaged in a prayer session or a miracle crusade. Their intention was simply to preach God’s word and through it, bring the people to accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Lystra was a pagan city. So, Paul and Barnabas busied themselves with telling the people about the goodnews of Jesus Christ and the mighty works that accompanied Him. The cripple who had never walked since birth, gave a listening hear to the message preached by Paul. He listened to the point that his faith started building up from what he was hearing about Jesus of Nazareth. His whole being was so engrossed with the goodnews that the faith that which was building up in him started to cause him to have ...

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B 28TH APRIL 2024 Acts 9:26-31; Ps.22; 1Jn.3:18-24; John 15:1-8  _By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples._ (Jn.15:8) Abide in Jesus and bear good Fruits! The readings of today remind us that we have been providentially placed in a position of close connectivity with Jesus so that we may bear fruit in plenty. This theme is pregnant with meaning. We must bear in mind that providence expects fruitfulness from each one of us. To make this possible, God gives us all what is required to make us fruitful, while preserving our freedom. To be fruitful, we must remain with Jesus and we must make judicious use of our union with Jesus. Invariably, we risk becoming fruitless when we either do not abide in Jesus or when we abide in Jesus but fail to produce fruits. But what does it mean to be fruitful. Fruit is characteristic of plants. In the process of growth, so many development take place i...

SERMON/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER 27TH APRIL 2024 Acts 13:44-52; Ps.98; John 14:7-14 Let us continue in God’s Word After Paul had revealed to the people that it was their ignorance of the Scripture that led them to crucifying the Saviour, the people were cut to their hearts. They obviously told the story to those who were not in the synagogue that Sabbath day. And so, the next Sabbath, the whole city gathered together. It is interesting to note that the multitude did not gather because they heard that miracles happened and desired such for themselves. If at all they desired miracles, it was the miracle of being enlightened by God’s Word so that they repent and desist from whatever misdeed they do as a result of ignorance of God’s Word. They gathered in their number because they humbly admitted that they were acting in ignorance. Their gathering was a humble submission that they did not know it all about the Word of God. Now, we should ask ourselves, what do we do wit...

HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER Acts 13:26-33; Ps.2; John 14:1-6 Jesus is our Security Security is something very important for every living thing. Virtually all that a man does is geared towards securing himself both for the present and in the future. Nothing else makes sense to a man when his life is threatened. Only a secured mind can meaningfully contribute to the growth and development of a community. In today’s gospel reading, the security of the apostles seemed to be taken away from them. They had left everything and followed Jesus because they believed that they would be secured with Jesus than with their former pre-occupations. Now, Jesus is telling them of his impending betrayer and death. They had expected that Jesus will help defeat the Romans who persecuted them at that time. Through this defeat, they will be stake holders in the new-world, and so their lives will be ultimately secured. Now, their calculations seems to be falling apart. Jesus is going to die; n...

SERMON/HOMILY ON THE FEAST OF ST. MARK THE EVANGELIST 25TH APRIL 2024 1Peter 5:5b-14; Ps. 89; Mark 16:15-20 The Face of Jesus in times of Persecution   The gospel of Mark is generally considered to be the oldest of the four gospels. In fact, Scripture scholars hold that the other gospels relied on the gospel of Mark that explains why Mark’s gospel is the shortest of them all. If you are writing commentary on a work, it is most likely that your commentary will be more elaborate than the work itself. In writing, Evangelist Mark was preoccupied with revealing the identity of Jesus. In the prologue (1:1-15), he introduces Jesus to the reader and also reveals his identity as Christ, the Son of God. The gospel is divided into two parts. In the first part (1:16-10:52), the fundamental question of who Jesus is, is answered. Amongst so many attempts, Peter eventually said: “You are the Messiah” (8:29). It is in the second part of the gospel (11:1-16:20) that the true identity of Jesus is fi...

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF EASTER 24TH APRIL 2024 Acts 12:24-13:5a; Ps.67; John 12:44-50 Being Docile to the Holy Spirit In today’s first reading, we realize that it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to discover the particular mission for which God calls us. It is the Holy Spirit who enlightens us on how to accept and live out God’s will for our lives. At the Annunciation, the message of the Angel troubled the heart of Mary and she wondered how possible it is for her to fulfill what was outlined for her. The angel made it clear that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that she will be able to carry out her missionary mandate. Prior to His Ascension, Jesus specifically told His disciples to wait for the out pour of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the primary agent of Evangelization. It is the license without which the vehicle of evangelization cannot be driven. Without the Holy Spirit there is no commissioning; and unless we are commissioned, we cannot be a...