Sainthood is For You Also.

Homily for November 1, 2017.

On this first day of the month of November, the Church says we should turn our minds to the millions of men and women who have lived exemplary lives on earth, fulfilled the demands of the Gospel, walked the narrow path, shunned the world and its pleasures, some of them married, some virgins, some religious, some priests even bishops and popes, some doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers, farmers, school teachers, professors, some even traditional rulers, selfless warriors.

The list is just endless. Today, there are three questions I would like us to ask ourselves:

The first question is: Do I really want to be Saint? Then what exactly is holding me back from journeying along the path of this noble aspiration? As I reflect on the lives of Saints today, I need to identify and take away whatever is not saintly in me.

Second question: How Can I Be a Saint? According to John in his revelations, the saints are THOSE WHO HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES AND MADE THEM WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. In other words, those who are spotless as far as sin is concerned.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus presents the beatitudes as guidelines on how we ought to model our lives. Basically the beatitudes talk about shunning worldliness and living according to a very different standard. For instance, the world rejects being poor in spirit, being meek or accepting to suffer but Jesus says those are the very things we should aspire for.

The third question is: How much do I know about the Saints? How many Saints can I describe their life sentence by sentence? If I am able to follow football stars virtually on a daily basis, I know who is injured, who is not playing a particular match and who will feature in the next game, how much I don’t know so much about the saints?

The saying goes that where the mind is, the body always follows. If we occupy our minds everyday with the lives of the Saints, we are consciously placing ourselves on a path to where they are.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may the Saints pray for me. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Solemnity of All Saints. Bible Study Revelation 7:2-14. 1^st John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12).*

Fr. Abu.

Do not live According to the Flesh.

(Homily for October 30, 2017).

“If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” Romans 8:13 

To live according to the flesh is to be ignore God. Living according to the flesh is to be solely concerned about the gratification of the flesh, pleasure and physical passions. St. Paul explains in another passage the things associated with living according to the flesh

“Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21.

If any these things exist in my life, it means I am living according to the flesh and it is an indication that I would not inherit the kingdom of God. The death St. Paul talks about in our first reading today is a death to eternal life; death to the glories of heaven.

Living by the Spirit is putting to check the flesh and its desires; it is allowing the commandments of God guide us daily, even more, living by the spirit is not merely obeying the commandments of God, it is living by the spirit of these commandments, going beyond the mere letter.

Jesus condemns the ruler of the synagogue in today’s Gospel passage because of his hypocrisy; he was simply concerned about the letter of the law of God rather than the Spirit which is love of God and love for neighbour.

When we live according to the Spirit, that is only when we can call ourselves children of Abraham and as children of Abraham Jesus would not allow us suffer. As we see in our Gospel passage, Jesus was willing to cure a woman who was bent over for eighteen years even on a Sabbath day because she too was a child of Abraham.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to conquer my flesh. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 30^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Romans 8:12-17 and Luke 13:10-17).*

Fr. Abu.

Love God by Loving Your Neighbours.

Homily for October 29, 2017.

“You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn.” Exodus 22:22-24

Today, we are called upon to reflect on the basic requirement of God for our lives, the one thing necessary, the most important commandment of all, the sum and summit of everything contained in the bible which according to Jesus in our Gospel passage this morning is LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOUR.

In loving God and our neighbour, we are automatically keeping all the commandments at the same time. If we truly love God, we would not serve other gods, we would not take his name in vain and we would keep the Sabbath day holy. If we love our neighbours (which is another way of saying loving every human being), we would respect our parents, never kill, never steal, never tell lies, and never covert things that belong to others.

It is easy to say we love God but what we fail to realize is that as long as we have hatred in our hearts for our fellow human beings, our love for God is null and void. Hence St. John tells us: “Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” 1 John 4:20.

Again, we cannot really say that we love God when we neglect the poor, the weak and the vulnerable in our society. This is where our first reading today comes in. God warns us in severe terms of the gravity of being unjust and oppressive to those who are disadvantaged, those who have no one to care for them.

In Nigeria today, many State Governors are yet to pay their workers’ salaries, pensioners are dying, there is great hardship in the country, many have forgotten what it means to have three square meals a day. Yet, despite all this, the cost of governance in this country is far higher than even the United States of America. Our Senators, Ministers, Governors etc. are the highest paid in the world.

Not long ago, someone sent me a video of a girl alleged to be the daughter of a Governor spraying thousands of dollars at a party in the United Kingdom while workers are being owed salaries for months in her father’s state. Dear friends, let us ponder on the words of the Psalmist:  

“Blessed is he who considers the poor! The LORD delivers him in the day of trouble; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness thou healest all his infirmities.” Psalm 41:1-3 

I cannot say I love God if I am blind to those living in far worse conditions than myself. What am I doing to help? Do I count my blessings? Do I realize that even when I think I don’t have, I still more than enough to share?

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to love you by loving my neighbours. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A. Bible Study:  Exodus 22:20-26, 1^st Thessalonians 1:5-10 and Luke 22:34-40

Sons of the Soil in God’s House

Homily for October 28, 2017.

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:19-20. 

Baptism is such a powerful sacrament; it takes me away from my natural family, my tribal affiliation and re-births me into a new family; the family of God; the family where I can confidently refer to Jesus to my elder brother.

It will be completely unfair, unjust and insensitive on my part to treat a fellow Christian like a stranger all because he or she does not speak my language or is not related to me by blood. I should be a Good Samaritan who would stop to care for people not minding whether they are Jews or not.

I should grow out of my tiny box where the only persons I consider as human beings are those who just happen to be born from my village or clan. When tribalism affects the selection of persons for certain positions in the House of God, it really calls to question the extent of our conversion to the Christian Faith.

To say certain persons are “most suitable” for the work of evangelization in certain places because they speak the language or understand the people is to betray the power of the Holy Spirit who is the Principal Agent of Evangelization.

It is sad to say this but it is the truth – when foreign missionaries brought the Faith, there were very few Churches but more genuine Christians in Nigeria; today, there are less Christians but more Churches scattered all over the place.

I have every reason to doubt whether Jesus selected the twelve Apostles based on tribal sentiments. This is because our Gospel passage today clearly shows that Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before selecting the Apostles.

Today, we celebrate Simon and Jude, two great Apostles. We remember them not because of the language they spoke or the tribe they belonged to, but their contribution to the spread of Christianity and indeed, this is what really matters.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, use me as your instrument just like the Apostles. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of Saints Simon and Jude. Bible Study:  Ephesians 2:19-22 and Luke 6:12-16).

The Power of God’s Grace.

Homily for October 27, 2017.

“For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:22-25.

By talking about the flesh as weak, useless and captive, by describing the flesh as serving a law of sin, St. Paul wants us to take attention away from the flesh as much as possible!

What St. Paul does here is to paint a picture of a ferocious beast so that we would be able to identify an Angel when we see one. The flesh here is the beast and grace is the Angel. We have no reason to trust our flesh. We can never win the war against sin through our flesh.

To win the war against sin, we don’t have to fight against the flesh as though we can ever conquer it, all we have to do is to keep running again and again to the feet of Jesus to ask for GRACE.

Every temptation should make me drop to my knees to ask for help. We cannot get enough of it. Grace is like the air that we breathe. A few minutes without air can suffocate us to death. So also, a few minutes without constant prayer – asking for God’s assistance, can land us in trouble.

It is just wisdom on our part to use prayer as a wedge against sinfulness. We don’t have to wait till we have fallen into sin before we remember that we ought to have asked for grace beforehand.

This is similar to what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel passage, “as you go with your accuser before the magistrate, MAKE AN EFFORT TO SETTLE WITH HIM ON THE WAY, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.” Luke 12, 57 to 58.

Make an effort to avoid falling into sin by being prayerful. This is wisdom itself speaking.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to always ask for your grace in moments of temptation. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Romans 7:16-25 and Luke 12:54-59).

For the Wages of Sin is Death.

Homily for October 26, 2017.

So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. Romans 6:21-22 

No matter the glamour of sin, no matter the height of excitement or the magnanimity of pleasure it ushers into the body, its reward is always DEATH. So long as it is against what God has said, that action, thought, word or omission is always going to bring sad consequences in the end.

I once wrote a quotation: “You may build a whole palatial empire on lies but it is like building without a foundation. No sooner had you finished building would you watch everything collapse to the ground.” There is no justification whatsoever for sin.

When it comes to sin, I must remind myself constantly that I cannot eat my cake and still have it. I can never escape the consequences of my sins.

When St. Paul says the wages of sin is death, he does not mean we would drop down and die at every sin we commit. However, the fact remains that with each sin I commit, something very precious dies inside me; the death of my ability to resist that same sin, the death of my conscience and the death of my will to do right. The more I sin, the less my chances of living above sin and brings about my eternal damnation.

Jesus says in our Gospel passage this morning that he had not come to bring peace on earth but rather division. My simple interpretation of this passage is that as long as I stand for God, I must not make everybody my friend. I dare not force friendship with the whole world because not everyone will share my views or my passion for holiness.

I must select my friends and be sure they too are have a strong desire as much I do to get to heaven. Whether I like it or not, I must have “enemies” – people who cannot just come close to me because of my closeness to God.

This is the division that Jesus was talking about. It is a necessary division; a division that helps us prioritize God over and above family ties, religious affiliation and tribal sentiments.

If I really understand the gravity of sin, how it brings about death only, then I must be willing to let go of the whole world and even my close family members if that is what it would take to avoid sin.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, help me serve you over above anything else. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Romans 6:19-23 and Luke 12:49-53).

Do not become a Slave to Sin.

Homily for October 25, 2017.

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:16 

Sin is like a poor beggar who comes to my window asking for a tiny loaf of bread. At first I drive him away but he returns and demands for my sympathy. Gradually, I begin to feel sorry for him, then one day I try to let him have a tiny particle of bread.

The moment he receives it, he jumps with gladness but he tells me first to open the window so he can collect it. Still feeling sorry for him, I not only open the window, I even open the door as well and before I know it, sin takes over my house.

From being a miserable beggar, sin becomes a taskmaster. Each time I try to drive it away, he makes me believe I can no longer survive without him. I know what I am doing is wrong yet there seems to be no way I can stop it. I have become a slave! My acts have become habits and my habits have become addictions. I come for confession only to find myself returning to my former ways almost immediately.

St. Paul tells us this morning that there is a way to break free from this vicious circle; there is a way to stop being a slave to my passions and to sin – it is by adopting another Master. Left to myself, I cannot fight sin, all I need to do is to invite another master who in turn will fight the old master and kick him out.

Hence St. Paul says: “Do not yield your members to sin as instrument, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life.” Yield your bodies to God. Give more time daily to prayer and meditation, let your mind be transformed daily by reading the Bible and other holy books. Whenever temptation comes, drop down on your knees and pray. Before you know it, sin will no longer have dominion over you, its power over you will just fizzle out like a candle that goes off when the wind is heavy.

When do I invite this second master? Now. There is no time to waste. Jesus tells us in our Gospel passage to be ready at all times because we do not know when or how the world will end.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, take my heart, my body and my mind; rule me. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Romans 6:12-18 and Luke 12:39-48).*

Fr. Abu.

The Social Character of Sin.

Homily for October 24, 2017.

“Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned…” Romans 5:12 

There is a social character to every sin and every wrong deed we carry out, like oil which spreads to other fingers when one finger touches it, sin not only affects us, it affects others as well.

When faced with temptation I must remember that a single act of righteousness on my part can change the course of my entire generation, a single decision to do what is right can change the history of this nation.

“For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19 

So be good. Be good oh, be good. Be good at all times. Never try to select when to be good and when not to be good because you never can tell the hour that an account of your goodness would be demanded for.

This is what Jesus tell us in the Gospel passage today: “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes” Luke 12:35-37 

Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning! In other words, practice self-discipline, live a morally upright life. And let your lamps keep burning.

You are the light of the earth. A lamp is not kept under the table or hidden, you are meant to be on top, you are not meant to pattern your life according to the standard of world, you are meant to have higher standards. Aspire for heights in spirituality and holiness far higher than what obtains under the table where cockroaches and small insects love to hide.

Your decision to let your light shine today and drop sin behind can change the world for good. Think not about yourself alone but about the far reaching consequences on others. Always ask this question when about to take any decision: “How will this action of mine benefit others and even the millions yet unborn?”

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you gave your life for me, teach me to live not only for myself but for others. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 29^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Romans 5:12-21 and Luke 12:35-38).*

Fr. Abu.

Mission is the Heart of Christian Life.

Homily for October 22, 2017.

Today is World Mission Sunday. Today, we celebrate the fact that the church is missionary by nature as Pope Francis says in his message for this year’s world mission Sunday: if the church fails in her work of mission, “she would no longer be the Church of Christ but one group that soon passes away.”

How does the Church carry out its work of mission? As members of the church, we all are evangelizers and our primary duty is to spread the Good News to the whole world through the witness of our life and the proclamation of the Gospel.

This is why in our first reading this morning, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of the mountain of the Lord as the place that would attract people from all over the world. “And all nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

The whole essence of mission is the fulfilment of this prophecy of Isaiah, bringing the whole world to the mountain of the house of God. Until we succeed in converting the whole world to the Christ, we have not completed our work of mission and it is only when this target is achieved shall we see an end to wars. As Isaiah says: “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift of sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” No wonder one of the messages of our Mother Mary at Fatima is that “war is a punishment for sin.”

It is only when the whole world is converted to Christ that we can talk about world peace. As Pope Francis says in his message for world mission Sunday: “The Gospel is the Good News filled with contagious joy, for it contains and offers new life… that life sets us free from every kind of selfishness and it is a source of creativity in love.” If and only if the world comes to Christ shall we have an end to selfishness, bitterness, fighting, division, “narrowness, racism, tribalism, and to promote everywhere and among all, reconciliation, fraternity and sharing.”

One might begin to wonder, where do we begin from? How do we convert the whole world to Christ?

First, by being converted ourselves. We cannot give what we do not have. If we are Christians only by mouth, if we do not practice what we preach, if our hearts are far from God, we cannot bring others to God. We only begin to preach by preaching to ourselves first, hence Pope Francis talks about the need for a constant exodus – the need to “go forth from our comfort zones… a sense of constant exile to make us aware that we are journeying towards our final home; heaven.” If all I care about is material things in this world, I cannot really say I am converted.”

Secondly, as St. Paul advises us in our second reading, we should always pray for our leaders and those in Government. It is very easy to criticize and condemn our leaders but we fail to understand that without God, they are can do nothing. People in Government are not super-humans, they are ordinary people like me filled with weakness and in need of God’s grace. Let us offer “supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving for kings and all who are in high positions.” If we pray for our leaders with the same power and velocity with which we condemn them, our country will be a better place.

Thirdly, we must actually do what Jesus said in our Gospel passage: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Preaching to the whole world means bringing all men the Sacraments. It is not just about “get a bible-believing church,” it is important that we bring people to the Sacraments especially to Holy Communion which Pope Francis calls the “medicine of immorality.”

The Sacraments are those signs that will accompany believers as the Gospel of Mark puts it. Baptism casts out demons, the rite of baptism contains exorcism. Confirmation makes us speak in tongues because we receive the Holy Spirit, it empowers us as soldiers of Christ such that we can pick up serpents and drink deadly poison and nothing will happen to us. The sacrament of anointing of the sick is the Laying on of Hands that Mark talks about and through it many are made well again, I have seen many miracles happen when I go to anoint the sick.

Finally, as Pope Francis says, “young people are the hope of mission.” CYON, you are the future of the church. If you are a youth and are yet to convert one person to God, you are wasting your energy, your creativity and zeal. Wake up today, use social media to your advantage, and bring the world closer to God. Above all, as we go to the missions, let us also give for the missions.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may the Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization inspire us daily to say “Yes” to you and “Yes” to the ongoing work of Mission. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (World Mission Sunday 2017. Bible Study:  Isaiah 2:1-5, 1^st Timothy 2:1-8 and Mark 16:15-20).

Acknowledge God in Your Everyday Life.

Homily for October 21, 2017.

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9.

Yesterday, Jesus talked about secrets saying that we should never deceive ourselves thinking that anything would remain hidden forever. Those things we assume are not known by others will someday be exposed and if we would not like the outcome, we must ensure that we avoid anything that is bad from the onset.

Today, Jesus goes a little further in this matter. He said we should live our lives in such a manner that we constantly acknowledge God. That is to say, we should be practical Christians, we shouldn’t be Sunday-Sunday church goers. Our Christianity should not end with our names and surnames. It must be real. It must be the very air we breathe.

How do I acknowledge God before others? Now, let’s say I go to a party and I am hanging out with my friends, we begin to talk about the old times and about life in general. One of us is so funny, he cracks very funny jokes as we enjoy the sweet food and drinks on the table.

Suddenly, our conversation begins to shift towards immoral issues and it seems each of us is boasting about things which ordinarily are sinful. We soon start talking about women in a way that no woman would even like and each comment, there is an outburst of laughter – it is like we are enjoying ourselves; having a good time.

At this point in time, does it occur to me to acknowledge God? Do I just keep quiet and flow with the conversation? Do I realize God has just given me a test of faith? An opportunity to preach to my friends even though I am not a priest or sister? Do I realize that by flowing with their useless talk, I now share in their sins even though I may not be partaking in the things they are boasting about since my laughter solidifies their determination to even do more?

What does it mean to acknowledge God before others? It is deliberately standing for God and not just with the crowd. Does my dressing proclaim God? When I go half-naked like our popular musicians or artists, does it acknowledge God? When I get into an argument on the street with a stranger who has just bashed my car, does my reaction proclaim God? When I find myself in a position of authority or power and money is put under my care, do I help myself with it or acknowledge God with my sincerity?

One might ask me, “Father, does it even pay to acknowledge God in our age and time today?” This is a wrong question because we don’t serve God for earthly reward. We serve God because there is just no better way to be alive.

Yes, we may not get everything life has to offer by acknowledging God everyday but like Abraham who “hoped against hope” and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, we must hope for the best by living truly Christ-centered life.

Someone once said: CHRISTIANS ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR DISCOMFORT THAN ABOUT THEIR DISOBEDIENCE. This is very true, we are too concerned about the luxuries of life and we don’t give a damn about sin. We just want God to bless and provide for us but we don’t care how often we offend him.

Today is Saturday. Acknowledge God today!

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help me to choose you above the world. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 28^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study:  Romans 4:13-18 and Luke 12:8-12).