Homily

Ash Wednesday

It Is Not An Easy Road, But Jesus Walks Besides Us. Courage!

This brief reflection was written by Rev. Fr. Njoku Canice Chukwuemeka, C.S.Sp. He is a Catholic Priest and a member of the Congregation Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers, Province of Nigeria South East. He is currently the parochial vicar of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church Woliwo Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria. For more details contact him on: canice_c_njoku@yahoo.com, canicechukwuemeka@gmail.com 

This week the major feast according to the Church’s liturgical calendar is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the Lenten season of the Church’s Liturgical Year. According to the Church’s teaching, the weekdays of Lent from Ash Wednesday to Saturday before Palm Sunday take precedence over the memorial of saints. This goes to highlight the significance of this feast. As we know very well it not just another opportunity to fulfill one of those obligations that the Church has imposed on us during this period of the year. Rather, it is truly the beginning of the re-living or re-enacting of the experience of the entire Paschal Mystery of Christ.

On Ash Wednesday, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and remind us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are told  Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. We allow ourselves of our own accord to bear the ash on our forehead as a sign that we are ready to follow Christ as he walks the rough path. We bear the ash which though a sign of shame and defeat at the same time signifies for us true Christians the beginning of our Salvation. We bear the ash which though a sign of death is for all true Christians a sure hope that we shall rise with Christ.

Lent does not begin and end with Ash Wednesday as many of us suppose or portray by simply rushing to the church either in the morning or evening of the Wednesday to have the ash placed on their forehead and disappear, only to re-appear perhaps again (if at all they do), during the Easter Vigil Mass. No, this is not the right way to follow Christ this season. It involves periods of fasting especially, on Fridays; abstinence; attending liturgical functions especially, Stations of the Cross; taking good advantage of the sacraments especially, the sacraments of reconciliation and reflection which prepares us for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. To do this requires discipline, courage, perseverance, faith and tranquility of mind. Let us remember the trustworthy saying that: If we die with him, we will also live with him (2Tim.2, 11).

Peace be with you!

Maranatha!!

Homily for 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C

God Chooses & Makes Us Worthy!

This brief reflection was written by Rev. Fr. Njoku Canice Chukwuemeka, C.S.Sp. He is a Catholic Priest and a member of the Congregation Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers, Province of Nigeria South East. He is currently the parochial vicar of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church Woliwo Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria. For more details contact him on:canice_c_njoku@yahoo.com, canicechukwuemeka@gmail.com 

A close look at all our readings today reveals one phenomenon common to all of them. This is the feeling and expression of unworthiness of all the subjects (Isaiah, Paul and Peter) towards God’s call and choice of them for His work. Truly speaking, these personalities were not worthy before God going by what scripture tells us that: There is none as holy as the Lord, and there is no one besides him (I Sam. 2, 2). Also, that: our righteousness is like a filthy rag before the Lord (Ish. 64, 6). Of course, any person who grasps this truth and fact of life is already on the path of salvation, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Pr. 1, 7). This feeling and expression is a mark of a down-to-earth humility on the path of Isaiah who says: I am a man of unclean lips… (Ish. 6, 5); Paul who admitted his unworthiness (I Cor. 15, 9) and finally, Peter who said: leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man. They acknowledged their unworthiness, weakness and vulnerability before God. They acknowledged the fact that by all standards they were not worthy to bear the sacred message of God. Somehow, their humility was an indirect way of drawing God’s attention to the fact that they needed his grace, and blessing in order to succeed. Of course, God knew all these before choosing them, but to this same God, it did not matter whether they were weak or strong. He is the one who calls us, sanctifies and makes us worthy for his work.

In today’s gospel, one question that needs attention is: How can Peter a professional fisherman who in spite of his experiences could not catch any fish throughout the whole night be able to catch men for God? Men who are the most difficult and stubborn of all the species created by God? Of course, of his own accord he was not worthy, but the one who called him knew him better than he knew himself, yet He went for him. He chose him in spite of his unworthiness and made him worthy for the mission. In short, looking at these three figures in today’s readings, the lesson we need to learn is that it is the grace of God that makes us worthy for his mission rather than any special qualities of ours. They only aid us.

At times we feel like Isaiah, Paul or Peter in today’s readings. We feel so unworthy of our call that we can hardly do anything for the sake of the Gospel. Rightly, we should feel so perhaps because of our inadequacies and fear. However, we should realize that it is God who through his grace calls us his sons and daughters, sends us out to work for him and also sustains us in the ministry. Therefore, we are not to be afraid. Rather, we should be docile to the spirit of Jesus Christ and abandon ourselves completely to him for him to make us whole, worthy and useful for spreading the Good News of God’s kingdom. He makes only those who are available worthy and capable for his mission. Let us therefore say like Isaiah Here I am, Lord send me, and Jesus Christ will definitely make us all “fishers of men.”

Peace be with you.

Maranatha!

by

Homily for 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C

Homily for 4th Sunday of Ordinary time
(Liturgical Year C)
Homily Theme: Prophesying With Love
This brief reflection was written by Rev. Fr. Njoku Canice Chukwuemeka, C.S.Sp. He is a Catholic Priest and a member of the Congregation Holy Ghost Fathers and Brothers, Province of Nigeria South East. He is currently the parochial vicar of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church Woliwo Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria. For more details contact him on:canice_c_njoku@yahoo.com, canicechukwuemeka@gmail.com or +23408063767512
THEME: PROPHESYING WITH LOVE
It was St. Augustine who once said: “Love and do whatever you want to do”. The focus of today’s first reading from Jer 1:4-5; 17-19, is a call to action – a call to proclaim the good news to the nations or better still, a call to prophesy to the nations. This call is an imperative. In other words, it is a command which must be obeyed. It is so important to God that we obey this command to the extent that He attached both consequences for failure and reward for obedience for heeding the call. Hence, He warns: Do not be afraid or in their presence, I will make you dismayed. On the other hand, God unlike the Egyptian Pharaoh, (Ex 5:12) never sends us to build towers without providing the straws or materials for the work. He thus promises to provide the strength and protection required to accomplish the prophetic mission he is calling us all to: I for my own part today will make you into a fortified city, a pillar of iron, and a wall of bronze to confront all these land. Let us note the personal pronoun “I” God uses and the commitment he made “…for my own part”. This simply means that the call to this prophetic ministry is not solely our business. Rather, it is a business in conjunction with God. It is a collaborative ministry between us and God, it is a partnership, where each partner provides something to make it work and succeed. We make ourselves available while God provides us with the strength and protection. God is our heavenly and spiritual technical partner. He is the one that gives the prophecy and at the same time the one that motivates and protects us in the cause of carrying out the mission.
All said and done our impetus agitat or driving force for this prophetic mission and endeavor must be LOVE. If love is not at the base of this prophetic mission all our efforts will be a mirage, and in vain. This is what the apostle Paul reminds us of today in the second reading from IICor12, 31 – 13, 13. A prophet who lacks love for God the source and giver of the message, for the good news itself and for the people of God for whom the good news is meant according to Paul is but a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. So love must be at the base and the climax of o every prophetic ministry.
Jesus demonstrated and manifested prophetic and missionary love in today’s gospel from Luke 4, 21-30. It was not difficult for him therefore to win the approval of those he ministered to. How did he do this? With love of course! “…he won the approval of all and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. Without these gracious words which are the fruits and evidence of his love for the Father, the prophetic message he bore, and the people he was sent to, all his efforts would have been in vain and a wasted one.
So today we are privileged to be called by God to be his prophets: to take his words on our lips and to proclaim them to the world. But the gift of prophecy is of no use without the gift of love. Therefore, we need a Christ-like love of the word of God and the world to in order to succeed.
Peace be with you.
Maranatha!

Saint of the Week
Paul Miki and Companions (Martyrs)
This week we have chosen Paul Miki and companions (Martyrs) as our saint(s) of the week. This is first and foremost because of the central theme of this week which is prophesying with love and has its bearing on proclaiming of the good news in love. The Second reason for choosing them is that, these martyrs we celebrate this week were real prophets who carried the good news of Christ to far away foreign land (Japan), where they offered their lives for the sake of the good news. Paul Miki and his companions (twenty five others), were martyred for the faith after being led to the place of execution near Nagasaki by a spectacular journey intended to impress the population. They were all pierced with a lance like their Saviour. Pope Pius IX canonized them in 1862 thus, making them the first martyrs of the Far East.
Today their love for the gospel has helped the Far Eastern Church where they bore witness with their blood hence, bringing to fulfillment the popular saying of Tertullian the lawyer that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church”. Let us pray that God who was the strength of all the saints and who called Saints Paul Miki and companions to eternal life through the cross, may grant us all who venerate them through their intercession, perfect fidelity and witness to the gospel. May he also preserve our own faith until our death.