Even Now, Return to the Lord with all Your Heart.

(Homily for March 1, 2017).

Lent is here again; a period of forty days (not counting the Sundays) specially dedicated to deep spiritual renewal in preparation for Easter. According to Pope Francis in his message for Lent 2017: “Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God "with all their hearts” (Joel 2:12), to refuse to settle for mediocrity and to grow in friendship with the Lord. Jesus is the faithful friend who never abandons us. Even when we sin, he patiently awaits our return; by that patient expectation, he shows us his readiness to forgive.”

Every year, the voice of the Prophet Joel ushers us into the season of Lent. In that first reading specially chosen for Ash Wednesday, we hear a message of hope beautifully captured in the first two words: EVEN NOW. When Joel says “even now”, his point of emphasis is to say: Forget about the past, let the by-gone by gone for good. This is a moment to take your eyes off the tiny rear-view mirror and start looking at the large front screen ahead of you. As St. Paul says in our second reading this morning: “Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” You can only be late for something when the adjective “Late” appears before your name. In other words, so long as you are still capable of breathing in and out, there is hope for a better you.

Even now, says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart…” God wants our hearts not our show. That is why Jesus tells us today to beware of practicing piety before men in order to be seen by them. We can actually enter this season of lent externally following the rites and rituals without any inward transformation. It is not enough to receive Ash on your head today and go about your entire day with a mirror ensuring that the ash is still there and that as many people see you with ash on your forehead – this would be mere hypocrisy which Jesus condemns. But then, if we reflect on the meaning of the ash, the fact that we were made from dust and we shall one day return to ordinary dust and if that makes us sober to the point of making up our minds to avoid sin henceforth, then we have done exactly what Jesus demands.

Whatever we do during this season of lent, let us be careful to avoid showing off spirituality. Whether it is prayer, fasting or almsgiving, let us do so secretly and allow these acts bring about an interior conversion in our hearts. As Joel says, we are to return to the Lord not simply because we feel like or because others are doing the same, but so that God will change his mind and bless us rather than punish us for our past sins.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace of genuine repentance. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Ash Wednesday. Bible Study: Joel 2:12-18, 2^nd Corinthians 5:20-6:2 and Matthew 6:1-6; 16-18).

Fr. Abu.

Serving God Demands A Sense of Detachment.

Homily for February 28, 2017.

As we gradually enter the season of Lent; a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving – three elements which require giving on our part, our readings today focuses on giving thereby launching us into the spirit of Lent. When the rich young man walked away from Jesus sorrowfully because of his refusal to let go of his wealth, Peter began to recall how he left his fishing business with its hopes and promises of a comfortable life, how Matthew left his tax collection business, how James and John left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and how the other disciples also left family and possessions behind to follow Jesus.

It was clear to Peter that if they had not agreed to leave so much behind, they would not be Jesus’s closest allies so he exclaimed: “Behold, we have left everything and followed you.” meaning to say: “What would be our gain?” Jesus answered: “a hundred fold in this time and in the age to come, eternal life.” For leaving what they had behind to give their lives to God, they would receive something better in return; eternal life.

The book of Sirach this morning speaks of the beauty of giving to God. “Give to the Most High… he will repay you seven fold.” However, when it comes to giving to God, we must bear in mind that God is not a man who can be bribed. Do not go stealing or committing one atrocity or another only to then come to church to make hefty donation. This is not the type of giving God wants, he will not accept it, such giving is called “unrighteous sacrifice.” It does not bring God’s favour instead it attracts His wrath.

The kind of giving God desires is one that proceeds from a clean heart. It is the giving of our wills to God in full obedience to his commandments, it is the offering of our bodies as temples for his indwelling; it is giving up our love for material goods; detaching our hearts from the things of the world so it can be attached only to God, it is giving ourselves completely as instruments for his service in his vineyard just like Peter and the other disciples. This is the type of giving that attracts reward both on earth and in heaven.

It is rather unfortunate that these days, many go into ministry not to give themselves to God but solely to acquire the very things they ought to give away. While Peter left his fishing business to follow Jesus, today’s ministers go into fishing business of different sizes and shapes. While Matthew left his trade as a tax collector, today’s ministers use the pulpit to seek for government appointments and other secular offices. While James and John left their father in the boat, today’s ministers are busy building houses for their parents, paying school fees and opening businesses for their siblings.

Church has become big time money-making enterprise and “vocation” has become “career” whereby ministers jostle for relevance through ostentatious lifestyles competing with one another who drives the most expensive car or who owns the most expensive mansion. It is no longer a question of who wins more souls, it is now about who is working in the richest parish, who has doctorate degree(s), or who has more connections. Just like in politics, God-father-ism has become the order of the day whereby ministers have to bribe their way either in cash or in kind to “advance” in ministry. One minister can afford to buy the latest car and has chains of them for display because he is close to those at the top but another in a remote community cannot even afford three square meals a day yet it is the same field, the same vineyard.

We make a mockery of God’s work without a spirit of detachment. No one says rich people cannot become ministers but even in their riches, God’s ministers are called to be givers like the Apostles. They are to be generous to one another, at least, share with their collaborators in ministry rather than compete with worldly goods.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to trust you more than money. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 8^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 35:2-15 and Mark 10:28-31).

Fr. Abu.

The Danger of Trusting in Riches.

(Homily for February 27, 2017).

In what constitutes your hope? Where lies your confidence? What do you consider as your insurance against the uncertainties of tomorrow? In God or in your Bank Account. If we decide to sincerely answer this question, we would discover that we trust more in what we have in our bank accounts than in God. And this is a fact! Many times we sing the song: “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow…” but in actual reality, our real confidence for tomorrow is our current account balance, our job, our degrees or even our friends and family. We trust more in what we can see than in what we cannot see!

A real test of where our trust lies is whether or not we can afford to let go of all that we have and trust ourselves to God. A young man came to Jesus desiring to inherit eternal life and after he had passed Jesus’ examination, Jesus then asked him to sell all his property and give the money to the poor but the young man went away sorrowful. He could not afford to give out his wealth because he had placed his trust for survival on riches. Even though he desired to inherit eternal life, his true master was his riches. He believed more in riches than in God. He trusted more in material thing than in the one who created Heaven and Earth.

This is our story. Like this young man, we try to serve two masters, deceiving ourselves that it is God we want to serve when it is money we seek. We hold so dearly to money that we are too afraid to perform acts of charity, we are too afraid to give because we feel we don’t have enough, we fall into temptation and offend God all in a bid to acquire as much wealth as possible forgetting that God can actually provide our needs in abundance if we walk in his light. There is nothing wrong with working hard to create genuine wealth for oneself but there is everything wrong with telling lies, duping people, altering figures, stealing and committing all sorts of atrocities just to make money. If our desire to become rich lands us into sin, then we are saying to God: “I don’t trust you can take care of me so I am taking care of myself.”

Wealth by themselves is not an obstacle for going to heaven, but trusting in wealth over and above God is a grave stumbling block from attaining heaven. This is why Jesus said: “How hard it would be for those who trust in their riches to enter the kingdom of God.” When we trust in riches instead of God, we make riches into gods and our zeal for more riches becomes a form of idolatry. Let us always be conscious that we brought nothing into this world and we shall leave with nothing. No matter how much we acquire, the day we die, our riches will become useless to us. There is no need feeling inferior before a rich person because no matter how rich he or she is, it is the same fate that awaits both of you.

So why offend God because of money? Why try to take care of tomorrow when you do not know if it will come? Why being stingy to those in need when you have a God who is capable of providing more than enough for you? Let us learn from this young man and repent today. As our first reading says: “Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins… return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity…”

All those hefty lies I used to tell because of money, I tell them no more. All those bad things I do because of money, I do them no more. No more joining bad gangs, no more sugar daddies and sugar mummies, no more selling my body for money, no more stealing and changing figures in the office, no more accepting bribes for favours, no more cheating my customers by selling fake products in place of genuine ones, no more, no more. I repent today. I trust my future and its needs to God. I will stop trying to take care of myself and let God do his work. I will seek first His kingdom, I will give out generously, I will help the poor, I will build my treasures in heaven and no longer on earth.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to trust you more than my money. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 8^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 17:20-28 and Mark 10:17-27).

Fr. Abu.

Trust: The Cure Against Worry.

(Homily for February 26, 2017).

Being worried, anxious or troubled is our biggest problem. We never stop thinking, we never stop analysing and dissecting our problems. It is only when we manage to sleep at night that our minds get to rest but even then, our worries during the day metamorphose into bad dreams during sleep. Then we wake up frightened, shaking with fear and then we go about our day again worrying, panicking and expecting the worst to happen. The cycle continues. What a life! If this is your situation, today I want you to say out loud: Enough is Enough!

The simple summary of our readings today is: WORRY NO MORE. Step out of the trap of worrying. Whenever you are worried about something, your mind magnifies it and blows it out of proportion so much so that a minor issue becomes like a mountain before your eyes and your faith crumbles. Worry is Fear mixed with Doubt. Fear that the problem will increase or get worse and doubt in God’s ability and care.

The cure for worry is to Trust God with a childlike confidence. Be rest assured that no matter how terrible your problem is, God is fully aware and like a mother who will never forget the child in her breast, He knows what to do. Even as things are right now with you, God has not abandoned you. The Psalmist today sings: “In God alone be at rest my soul.” Yes, even if all your problems suddenly disappear, you will still be worried. Only God can bring peace to your heart because God alone is our rock, our salvation, our fortress.

Jesus tells us today: “Don’t be anxious about what you shall eat, what you shall drink or what you shall wear.” These are the things that the people of the world regard as their top priority but for us Christians, our top priority should be to seek the Kingdom of God. Forget about food, forget about money, forget about house, car, degree, position and all that, stop asking where these things would come from or who will provide them, just let your only focus be on how to enter heaven, how to avoid sin, how to obey God’s commandments, how to please God every day and God who knows your deepest needs will provide them.

When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God wanted to see if Abraham would put Him over and above his love for Isaac and when Abraham obeyed, God provided a lamb for the sacrifice. This is what happens to us, when things are difficult, we are tempted to put God aside and help ourselves; we steal, convert, lie, cheat, and so on. Because we fail to seek first God’s kingdom, we end up never satisfied, never happy and never at rest. Abraham Maslow said: “man is an insatiable creature.” The man Abraham Maslow was describing is the man who does not know God, the man who fails to seek first God’s kingdom. If we just allow ourselves to focus on how to serve God better and surrender our future and its needs into God, we would live in true satisfaction and deep inner peace.

I have come to discover that what makes us worried is not because God fails to provide, it is because we are constantly comparing ourselves with others. Our desire to outshine everyone else, our attempt to have more money, more of the things of this world makes us serve two masters and it makes what we have look too small, too insignificant and insufficient. Stop comparing yourself with others and start counting your blessings. Stop focusing on your problems and start seeing them as blessings in disguise.

Again our worries are never about today but about tomorrow. Because we are trying to take of a future that does not exist, we worry perpetually as that future never comes to pass. Live each day as if it is your last day and allow God take care the future. Focus on one thing necessary – Seek First God’s Kingdom.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to trust my tomorrow into your hands. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A. Bible Study: Isaiah 49:14-15, 1^st Corinthians 4:1-5 and Matthew 6:24-34).

Fr. Abu.

Let the Children Come to Jesus.

(Homily for February 25, 2017).

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, they are yellow, white and black, they are precious in his sight; Jesus loves the children of the world. Dear friends in Christ, we do our children a great disservice by hindering them consciously and unconsciously from coming close to God. Personally, I am a living testimony of what happens when a child learns to know God at a very early age. I learnt how to read with “My Book of Bible Stories.” That book did not only teach me simple and correct English, it also introduced me to God.

In an age and time where children are now carrying tablets, ipads, laptops and the rest, it pains me that there seems to be no conscious effort to produce applications or platforms that literally brings the children to God. It pains me that as early as six, a child already knows about facebook, instagram and snapchat yet he or she may not have heard anything about Abraham, Isaac or Samson.

Not only are children to be brought to Jesus, we also are to accept Jesus with a childlike attitude. In other words, we should allow no room for pride in our hearts, we should not have an I-know-it-all mentality about God and just as children are able to trust with all their hearts, we should develop an unshakable faith in God’s power. Our first reading reminds us that we are mere creatures, made from dust and endowed with an intelligence that reflects the image of God in us. It also adds that upon creating us God left us with an instruction: “Beware of all unrighteousness.” Even in obeying God’s commandments, we are called upon to take on a childlike attitude – to obey without questioning or selecting.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may I not hinder any child from coming to you. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 17:1-13 and Mark 10:13-16).

Fr. Abu.

Marriage is all about Faithfulness and Friendship.

Homily for February 24, 2017).

It is a thing of divine coincidence that while our first reading today centres on Friendship, our Gospel passage is on the indissolubility of marriage. The best marriage is that which the couples are best friends to each other. It is a grave irony to be married to someone and have another person as a best friend. Such outside-friendships destroy marriages silently and they always create room for temptations to infidelity. Sometimes, we maintain such friendship in the name of seeking advice but even as our first reading says, “Let your advisers be one in a thousand.”

As the book of Ecclesiasticus explains, there are different types of friends and somehow even in marriage, these types of friends exist. There is a friend who is there only for convenience and will not stand by you in the day of trouble. Ask yourself, if your spouse gets locked up in prison, will you still stay and remain faithful in the marriage? There is also a friend who changes into an enemy and will disclose a quarrel to your disgrace. How often do spouses go about narrating issues before the world? You cannot be fighting your spouse in the name of seeking for justice; that would mean transforming yourself from lover to enemy. Again, there is a friend who is only faithful in the time of prosperity but walks away when poverty comes. It is sad to say that many have married for the sake of money only to end the marriage when money was no longer forth coming.

“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he that has found one has found a treasure; there is nothing as precious as a faithful friend.” The question of divorce will never arise if couples decide to be faithful friends to one another through thick and thin; remaining deeply committed to each other for better for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer till death do them apart. By His very nature, God is against divorce. This is because to divorce a person means to give up on a person and despite our sinfulness and unworthiness, God does not give up on us. Since God never gives up on anyone, He does not expect us to give up on our spouses no matter how bad they are or become.

I understand that what I am saying is very difficult to practice, in fact, in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus preached it, even his disciples were shocked and exclaimed: “if that is the case, then it is better not to marry at all.” Dear friends, with God all things are possible. Nothing is beyond repair when God is involved. God will never give up on your marriage as long you yourself refuse to give up. Hang on there even when things are difficult. Divorce is not a solution.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, make me a faithful friend. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17 and Mark 10:1-12).

Fr. Abu.

The Power of Setting Good Examples for the Young.

(Homily for February 23, 2017).

As a little kid growing up back in the days, I still remember the very first scandal I witnessed that shook my bone marrows. It was one I would never recover from. It was a bright Monday afternoon. One of my teachers had given us a test the previous Friday and I happened to score 100% but my teacher was not convinced anyone could score that high without copying from the textbook. So on this Monday afternoon, she took me to the staff room and decided to give me a different test which I was to finish in her presence within the time she allotted.

While I was sweating and cracking my brain, the teachers started discussing among themselves. Not only did their noise distract me, the topic of their discussion was way above my age; it seemed as if they forgot I was there or they felt I was too young to understand. But honestly, by the time I left that staff room I became convinced that none of them would go to heaven! Not just that, I recall how the desire to see and explore what they were saying suddenly developed in me. Even when my teacher later came to the classroom to congratulate me for scoring 100% again, I had no reason to smile; something sacred had damaged in my moral faculty.

Children are fragile not only physically but spiritually. They easily believe whatever you tell them, yet they are easily destroyed. If the foundation is faulty, how can the building stand? The greatest evil anyone can ever commit is to show bad example to children. By so doing, you are not just committing sin, you are also guilty of murder; spiritual murder. Hence as Jesus said: “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he thrown into the sea.”

To avoid falling into this temptation of misleading the young, we must avoid sin at all costs. If you condone sin at all, you never can tell when the little ones are around. That is why Jesus goes further to say that if your hand, your eye or your foot causes you to sin, pluck it off meaning we should never ever give room at all to sin. Believe me, kids of today are way smarter than we think or assume. Back then in primary school, I had a class mate who told me there is a way he can tune his television at home and whatever is showing on their neighbours’ television sets would begin to show on his. This was as far as the 90’s. Now, imagine what kids of today can do.

Never preach something to a kid which you yourself do not believe or practice. If we are not what we claim to be, our kids are the first to find out. We are meant to have salt in us, we are meant to show good example always and spread light continuously whether or not anyone is watching. Don’t teach kids that stealing is bad when stealing is your hobby. Don’t shout at them for not being truthful when right in front of them you tell fat lies to their teachers at school to cover up for your own laziness and irresponsibility. Don’t threaten them for being disrespectful and rude to elders when all they see from you is how you talk down on authority or insult your spouse. Children learn more than we expect and faster than we think! Let us show good example.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, you showed good example by your life; teach me to do likewise. Amen. St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr; Pray for us.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 5:1-10 and Mark 9:41-50).

Fr. Abu.

The Power of a Chair.

(Homily for February 22, 2017).

Today, we celebrate the feast of a chair; one chair, though not like any other chair you know of. It is not made of wood, neither is it made of stone or fibre or brick. It is a chair that governs the entire Catholic Church all over the world; a chair that Jesus himself established which has continued to stand firm since then. This chair is the office of the Pope, an office often symbolized by a key. As Jesus said to Peter, the first Pope: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” In this way, Jesus established the office of the Pope thereby giving authority not just to Peter but to all those who shall occupy that sacred office.

Being a leader is not all about exercising power and control. It is all about service. As we heard Jesus say in yesterday’s Gospel “whoever would be first among you must be last of all and servant of all.” Even as Jesus made Peter the Head of the disciples, he was quite conscious of the fact that this office was not all about lording it over anyone but about service. That is why as we read in our first reading, Peter himself writes: “Tend the flock of God that is in your charge, not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock.”

Today is a day we pray for our Pope who is the visible head of the Church and the representative of Christ on earth. As we pray for him, we also pray for all those who assist him in the exercise of his duties as well as our Bishops, Priests, Religious and Clergy who share in his Apostolic Ministry in various degrees. Our prayer is that they may be inspired by the Holy Spirit to exercise authority by service and good example.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to lead by service. Amen

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Bible Study: 1 Peter 5:1-4 and Matthew 16:13-19).

Fr. Abu.

Humility and Service: Two Powerful Keys for Greatness.

(Homily for February 21, 2017).

The desire to be great is one that is edged deeply in the human spirit. Having been created by a great God, there is something in us that constantly longs for self-actualization, personal fulfilment and respect from others. Just as God desires that we worship him and him alone, we who are made in His image and likeness also desire that others “worship” us; that is why we don’t joke with our self-esteem and public image. However, the way we go about seeking the respect of others can matters alone. Jesus does not condemn the desire to be great, instead he brought a little child into the midst of the disciples to illustrate that true greatness is not really about lording it on others but serving them and bringing oneself down in humility.

Even our first reading today corroborates this fact when it says: “For gold and silver are tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.” Trust me, no one like a like proud person, no one will promote you when you try to prove to them that you are ahead of them. But humility will take you forward. Once upon a time, an accident occurred and a man was at the point of death, people gathered at the scene then a lady dressed in a nurse uniform walked up to the scene and tried to put people away shouting that she is a nurse so they let her walk up to the man. Then she noticed that an elderly woman dressed in mufti was still beside the man so she shouted at the woman: “Please step away, I am a certified and qualified nurse, I know what to do for this man to save his life.” The woman looked at her and quietly stepped aside. Then she tried to apply first aid on the man. As she was still fumbling with him, the woman whispered into her ear: “In case you need a doctor, there is one right behind you.”

I guess you got the message! Humility is the only valid route to true greatness.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to bring myself down. Amen. St. Peter Damian: Pray for us.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 and Mark 9:30-37).

Fr. Abu.

Faith and Wisdom: Two Powerful Keys for Victory over Evil.

(Homily for February 20, 2017).

The episode of the inability of Jesus’s disciples to cure a demon-possessed boy is one that teaches us a lot of lessons. First, it highlights the battle against evil which we constantly face against the devil and his principalities who sometime operate physically by taking possession of persons around us. It is not every person you meet that is normal. Demonic possession does not show on one’s face but as Scripture says; “by their fruits, you shall know them.” Demonic possession also expresses itself in our addiction to sin and inability to overcome temptation or repent from our habits.

Second, it shows that we must be prepared at all times to battle the works of darkness. The disciples could not cast out the demon because as Jesus later explained, “This type can only be driven out by prayer and fasting.” When last did you fast and pray? From this experience, we can see that the disciples ought to have fasted and prayed long before they met the demon-possessed boy. It is a thing of wisdom to be prepared for battle ahead of time.

Thirdly, this episode highlights the love and responsibility on the part of parents. The father of the boy could have abandoned him due to this problem but he decided to carry his son to look for a solution. Even the Father’s presence at the scene was instrumental to the healing of the boy and his prayer is one that we must constantly pray: “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” Fathers, never desert your children.

Fourthly, faith is an all-important weapon we must not only possess but apply. Jesus said: “All things are possible to him who believes.” This means that even while the disciples were trying their best to cast out the demon, none of them was expecting the demon to come out. Faith is a matter of expectations. Noah built the ark because he was expecting the floods. In dealing with difficulties in our lives, our faith expresses itself not in the loudness of our prayers, nor in the speaking of tongues but in our level of optimism about the outcome of the problem.

Finally, this episode reveals the level of disappointment God feels when we are unable to wisely employ our faith in fighting our battles. “How long am I to bear with you?” Note that Jesus also made this same statement when the disciples woke him from sleep when they were facing a storm at sea. By asking this question, Jesus is indirectly saying that the disciples have everything it takes to cast out any demon or solve whatever difficulty they encounter. This is what St. John was saying in 1^st John 4:4, “Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Do you believe what is inside you is greater than all the demons in this world combined? Do you really believe this? Then why are you afraid of them? Don’t you think Jesus is just as disappointed at your fear as he was of the disciples?

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to apply my faith wisely. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 and Mark 9:14-29).

Fr. Abu.

Aim for Perfection.

(Homily for February 19, 2017).

The saying is indeed true that mediocrity is the killer of genius but the struggle for perfection brings out the real star in you. This is so true especially when it comes to practicing the Christian life. Just like in the Beatitudes which we saw a few Sundays ago, wherein Jesus said: “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account,” Jesus is basically asking us today to stretch our limits; to show love to those who hurt us, those who persecute us, those who deprive us of our rights and those who make inconveniencing demands of us.

It is only natural that we save our love only for those who love us in return, it is only natural that we fight those who try to fight us, that we demand our rights and seek justice when offended or that we help only those from whom we stand to gain in the future but Jesus is saying that as Children of a perfect God, we must go beyond the natural, we must go beyond what is expected in the society and behave just like God. We must love those who hate us, refuse to fight back when given slap, and say nothing when offended.

What Jesus is demanding from us for perfection definitely sounds foolish to the world. How can I refuse to stand my ground when someone is oppressing me? How am I expected to keep quiet when I am slapped or forced against my will? How am I supposed to help you when you are of no benefit to me? It makes no sense at all. But this is exactly what St. Paul is talking about in the second reading when he said: “if anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.” To be perfect is to deliberately choose to be foolish according the standards of this world; it is reasoning like God who allows his sun and rain to shine and fall on both the good and the bad.

When the world talks about freedom to use your body according to your own pleasure, perfection demands that we recognise that our bodies do not belong to us but are the temples of the Holy Spirit. When the world talks about fighting for your rights (survival of the fittest), perfection as our first reading says demands striving for holiness, refusing to allow hatred build up in our hearts no matter what people have done to us in the past, refusing the urge to take vengeance against whatever hurt we have suffered, refusing to bear any grudge in our hearts or keep malice with those who have offended us.

So long as we still have enemies or people we have stopped talking to; people we are yet to forgive, so long as we are still planning how to retaliate past wrongs or take back what others have collected from us wrongfully, so long as we are not committed to bodily purity and still indulge in immorality, so long as we only greet those who are good to us, we are not yet perfect Christians. We may be church-going, we may be very active in the Church never missing mass, we may even be holding high positions in the church, we may even be the bishop or priest or senior pastor, as long as these things are in us, we are not yet perfect. Even for me as a priest, if someone offends me now and I stop greeting that person, it means I am no better than any other Christian sitting on the pew who only comes to church once a month.

I know what is in our minds now is to say: “it is not easy oh…” but this is a defeatist approach. Never assume perfection in the Christian life is not easy. Our attitude matters a lot. If we believe it is easy, then we can start working towards it every day and when we make mistakes, we don’t relapse back to our old ways, instead, we get back up, pick up the cross and continue to press on. Aim for perfection and never give up. Begin today by going to embrace that brother or sister or yours whom you have not greeted for the last one month or even one year. Pick up your phone and call that enemy of yours whose call you have sworn never to pick again since the last time you both quarrelled. Reply that text message. Give something to that man or woman who is begging from you even though he or she is totally useless to you. Say something nice to your neighbour today.

Just be good, yes do something good because of God. I have heard people say things like: “If not for God, I will not be helping you. If not for God, I would have slapped you right now and so on and so on.” Yes, do it because of God, do it because you expect God to treat you with that same kindness despite your faults. The Psalmist says: “It is he who forgives all your sins, who crowns you with mercy and compassion… he is slow to anger, he does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults….” Honestly, if God were to treat us the way we treat people, no one will still be alive in this world. Let us be holy as God is holy and be perfect as God is perfect. Treat people the way God treats you. Be slow to anger, overlook the faults of others, be compassionate and merciful, never repay one fault with another, forgive and let go, help people, help and do not hinder.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, increase my holiness. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A. Bible Study: Leviticus 19:1-2.17-18, 1^st Corinthians 3:16-23 and Matthew 5:38-48).

Fr. Abu.

With The Eyes of Faith.

(Homily for February 18, 2017).

I like to describe faith as a special pair of glasses. Like any pair of glasses, once you put it on, you see things in a different light. For instance, there is a type of glass that helps magnify objects used by wrist watchmakers while working on very tiny parts of the engine. Faith is a supernatural glass that helps us see beyond our immediate reality; that is, faith allows us to see things are non-existent to the ordinary eye.

If I attempted to work on a watch engine without the magnifying glass, I will fumble and my mind will not be at peace because I will be like a blind person trying to work my way through. Without Faith, we can never be at peace when it comes to serving God. This is because without faith, we are unable to see the hand of God at work in our life. The book of Hebrews in exhorting us to have faith mentions persons whose faith are exemplary. One of such is Noah. Long before the floods, when the earth was still dry, Noah’s faith enabled him to see ahead of time what would happen and he started building the Ark. Faith not only gives us peace of mind, it also makes us proactive.

In the Transfiguration event, Jesus opened the eyes of Peter, James and John to see His Glory. The transfiguration goes to show that there is more to reality than what meets the ordinary eye. We need to constantly put on the eyes of faith so as to get a full picture of what life holds for us. By being faithless, we only cheat ourselves because there is a limit to what the ordinary eye can see. It takes faith to see that what the bible said about Elijah coming again is true. To the ordinary eye, John the Baptist was just man shouting in the wilderness but as Jesus explains, he was actually the Elijah the prophets spoke about.

Faith not only makes us proactive, it also makes us wise! From the midst of the transfiguration came an instruction: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” It is normal to listen to people or take advice from the world but for the person of faith, Jesus alone deserves our full attention and obedience. When the world says: “assert your ground, kill your enemies and acquire riches in other to be happy”, Jesus says: “blessed are the meek, love your enemies, seek first God’s kingdom and store your treasures in heaven.” The question is: Who do you really listen to?

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, open my eyes so that my faith may be deepened. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 6^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Hebrews 11:1-7 and Mark 9:2-13).

Fr. Abu.