A Strange Peace; too strange for the World to Understand.

Homily for May 1, 2018.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27. 

Going through today’s readings, one would find it difficult to reconcile the promise of peace Jesus talks about in our Gospel passage with the painful experience of Paul who was stoned and left for dead in our first reading. Since the early days of Christianity, the Christian has always been an endangered species, hated and persecuted from all sides yet Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you…”

What type of peace is Jesus talking about when he categorically stated that those who must follow him must first deny themselves, carry their cross and come after him. Can we be peaceful under the weight of the cross? Can we be at peace when we have to suffer all kinds of humiliations, attacks, betrayal, back-stabbing even from our fellow Christian brothers and sisters?

What kind of peace can we possibly get that would silence the pain of a heart troubled from all sides by economic hardship, insecurity, bad governance and less hope for the future? Can a father or a mother prevent himself or herself from being troubled when they do not know where their next meal would come from to feed their children? Can we prevent ourselves from being afraid when there is so much injustice in the land; the guilty walk free and the innocent are silenced?

Dear friends in Christ, if we interpret the peace of Christ with the same understanding of peace as world defines it, we run the risk of getting disappointed with God very quickly. No wonder Jesus added that important phrase: “not as the world gives to I give you.”

The peace of Christ is not one that prevents us from troubles, rather it is a peace that gives us confidence to walk through the “valley of the shadow of death fearing no evil.” it is not a peace that takes away the pains, hurts and persecutions of others but one that enables us to forgive readily and completely like Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary. It is the peace that would ginger Paul to continue the same mission for which he was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead.

It is not the peace of material comfort or physical security but a peace that makes us happy even in our poverty and lack as Jesus would say: “Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Luke 9:58. This peace is not the peace we get when we have soldiers guarding our gate or sophisticated guns beside our bed even while we sleep, it is the peace of turning the other cheek when one has been slapped; a peace of surrendering our security to God alone.

This peace is a strange peace and truly the world cannot understand it.

Today, being the first day of May, when the world celebrates Workers’ Day, the church earmarks this day to celebrate the Patron of Workers who is none other but St. Joseph, the hard-working husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. We celebrate St. Joseph because he was identified as the Carpenter and from him, Jesus learnt how to work to such an extent that his townsmen referred to him as the son of the Carpenter.

We celebrate this great man today who lived his life as a celibate despite his marriage to Mary and went about his duties quietly and humbly so as to highlight the Good News that work is not punishment but an opportunity given to man to transform the world thereby cooperating with God in his ongoing creation.

St. Joseph teaches us that laziness is not the same thing as enjoyment; that he who does not work should not eat; that there is dignity in labour; that if God himself worked in the person of Jesus, we should never be ashamed to employ our creativity and time in working.

Today we pray for workers all over the world; especially workers whose rights and dignity are supressed by the powerful; workers who are being unjustly denied of their wages; workers who face harassment in their place of work; workers who want to work but are searching for employment, some of whom have lost their jobs and are now being tagged as lazy. May St. Joseph intercede for us all. Amen

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may your peace remain with us always. Amen.

Happy New Month. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 5^th Week of Easter, Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. Bible Study: Acts 4:19-28 and John 14:27-31).

The Mother of Jesus was there.

Homily for April 30, 2018.

“When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” John 2:3-5.

As the month of April comes to an end today, we celebrate a Feast that perfectly sets us in the mood for devotion to Mary given that the month of May is Mary’s Month. Today, we celebrate the feast of Mary Our Lady; Mother of Africa.

Our Gospel passage today captures that familiar scene of the Wedding Feast at Cana which basically forms the basis of our devotion to Mary. The role Mary played in actualizing the success of that wedding when they ran out of wine even when Jesus did not intend to work a miracle was truly inspirational.

First, she understood the problem at hand. Mothers have a way of sensing problems even before they become pronounced. They have a way of checking out the tiny little details, they know how to think ahead and make plans where and when necessary. This we see play out excellently in Mary.

Secondly, Mary gave a very important instruction to the servants at the wedding which was perfectly instrumental to the working of the miracle. Her instruction may well be considered as her Gospel. It is an instruction that remains valid for us today: “Do whatever He tells you.” All we need to be successful in life is to trust God enough and just obey his words and what we want will be granted to us.

Thirdly, after the miracle, we do not hear anything from Mary again. She seemed to just disappear into the background. No one gave a vote of thanks to her or mentioned her name as the one who moved Jesus to perform the miracle. Life just went on in the party as usual. This tells us a lot about Mary’s personality; her humility and poverty of spirit. She always considered herself as God’s handmaid, she was never haughty or rude.

When we pray the rosary, miracles do happen but who gets the credit? God. Mary is always comfortable with her background role. She intercedes, she makes things happen and we do not worship her. She does not need our respect even, because, God has already given her the greatest honour any created being can get by making her his mother. There is nothing that we can do to take away or reduce this honour.

We are not told whether Mary was related to the couple but I guess, if that was so, John the beloved who wrote this Gospel would have pointed it out. We believe that for Mary to have cared enough for this couple to ensure Jesus works this miracle, she would also care for us to ensure Jesus answers our prayers.

Our first reading points out the fact that Mary the mother of Jesus was present among the company of the disciples in the upper room where they devoted themselves to prayer. Mary was with them on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church. She was there at the beginning and she remains with us today.

Today we celebrate the fact that Mary intercedes for the whole of Africa as a mother. We know that Mary has some affinity with Africa because this continent acted as a shelter and a safe haven when the life of Jesus was under threat from Herod. There have been so many recorded apparitions in Africa to again prove the point that this continent remains dear to Mary’s heart; one of which took place at Aokpe here in Nigeria.

At a time like ours when our continent is faced with turmoil of various sorts and proportions, when our leaders generally are negative examples of bad leadership, at a time when our continent is beset with the worst economic conditions in the world despite our rich natural and human resources, we need our Mother Mary’s intercession more than ever. We have run out of wine in Africa; people are dying; Christians are being persecuted; there is fear and insecurity, we need to return to our rosaries, we need Mary’s intercession.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may your mother pray for us. Amen.

Happy Month End. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of Our Lady, Mother of Africa. Bible Study: Acts 1:12-14 and John 2:1-11).

Practical Love and Union with Jesus Makes our Prayers Answered.

(Homily for April 29, 2018).

“Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” 1 John 3:21-22.

Last Sunday, we celebrated our Lord Jesus Christ as our Good Shepherd, the one who lays down his life for us, his sheep. Today, being the fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus goes even further to describe himself as the vine while we are the branches. In other words, not only is Jesus our Shepherd (our guardian, our protector, our provider), our very survival depends on him. Just as branches die off when cut from the stem, our true life dies when we are cut off from Jesus.

It is sad to say today that many of us Christians are cut off from Jesus the vine. How? We are very religious but not spiritual. We are very good Church-goers but not real worshipers. There is no street in our society that has less than ten churches; most of which are operated by self-acclaimed, untrained men and women of God as functional business centres just to provide food for themselves and their dependents.  

Every Sunday, our churches are filled up with millions of people, most of whom are in attendance to get a shot at a better life, to kill all those enemies responsible for their poverty, sickness, unemployment etc. and get supernatural wealth all of a sudden. In truth, it is not Christ that we seek but the basic things our government has failed to provide; money, security and overall wellbeing. That is why corruption, crime, evil and immorality continue to increase as new churches open up daily.

How do I know whether I am connected to Christ? Is it by dressing attractively to church (so as to keep the eyes of everyone focused on my hot body)? Is it by rubbing myself on the floor or allowing the man/woman of God abuse me mentally and psychologically? Or is it by sowing the biggest seed, is it even by my faithfulness to tithing? Not at all. Let me state categorically here that tithe is not a prerequisite for going to heaven neither is it a bribe to God. It is a personal act of faith in God as the ultimate provider. In the Catholic Church, tithes are neither compulsory nor condemned. God loves a cheerful (not a fearful) giver.

How do I know whether or not I am connected to Christ? Our readings today give us three answers. 1. PRACTICAL LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. 2. THE EXISTENCE OF SIN IN OUR LIVES and 3. WILLINGNESS TO ABIDE IN GOD’S WORD.

Practical love for one another is one thing missing among Christians today. We lack mercy, we are always suspicious of each other, we engage in unending competitions, we never come to the aid of those in need. The apostles almost put an end to Paul’s missionary enterprise by their poor reception; thanks to Barnabas who spoke on his behalf in Christian charity. We need more Barnabas today. We need people who believe in the goodness of others despite whatever may have been their past.

John tells us in our second reading that our Love for one another should not be a matter of talk but practical action and in truth; that is, in sincerity. We are very good at “sweet-mouth” but we never really help people. And even when we help, we are not sincere because we are always expecting to get back. We only think of ourselves; that is why when we find ourselves in positions of leadership, we loot, we steal, we divert funds.

Secondly, another strong point that tells me whether I am connected to Christ is the existence and frequency of sin in my life. Sin is an offence against God which cuts us away from him; sin makes us hide from God’s presence like Adam and Eve; sin destroys our prayer life; sin brings about self-condemnation and guilt. St. John says: “if our hearts do not condemn us; we have confidence before God…because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” 1^st John 3:21-22. When I am always doing things that are not pleasing to God, it shows I am not connected.

Brothers and sisters, there is too much sin amongst us. Evil has grown in leaps and bounds and our new technologies are not helping much as they help publicise rather than curtail evil. Reports have shown that eighty to ninety percent of pages visited on the internet by smartphone users are pornographic, crime-related, unhealthy and basically ungodly. We are very much informed but morally deformed.

The third point to consider today so as to know whether I am connected to Christ is my willingness to read the Bible. Jesus tells us: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you.” John 15:8. We are more focused in the aspect of asking whatever we will but we completely leave out the aspect of allowing God’s words abide in us. The truth is that we don’t read the Bible. We carry it to show off, we don’t even know which book comes after which. We pick out verses from the Bible at random; of course, verses that sound nice in the ear. This is why I like the Catholic Church, we read whole passages not simply selected verses.

If all you know about the Bible is from what others have preached to you, then you are most likely to be deceived. Like Satan who quoted verses out of context to deceive Jesus, our men and women of God today are specialists in quoting verses to mesmerize the people to get what they want. No wonder they are able to abuse people in the name of signs and wonders. My brothers and sisters, you must read the Bible for yourself oh. Let the words of God abide in you so that you would know the truth and you would know when someone is trying to trick you with the Bible.

It is only when I am truly connected to Christ, when I love my neighbours as myself, when I free my heart of hatred, revenge and indifference, it is only when I free myself from sinfulness, when my heart does not condemn me, and when I abide in God’s word that I can ask and receive whatever I want from God.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, bring me back to you the vine. Cut off from me everything and anything that cuts me off from abiding in you. Cleanse my heart of evil and give me grace to grow above my inclination to sins especially my habitual sins. Wash me O Lord and implant in me the willingness to read the Bible for myself. Amen.

*Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (The Fifth Sunday of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 9:26-31, 1^st John 3:18-24 and John 15:1-8).

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled.

Homily for April 27, 2018.

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me… I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:1-6.

Today, Jesus beautifully assures us: “let not your hearts be troubled.” We may wonder, is it possible to prevent one’s heart from being troubled? The answer is what follows next: “Believe in God, believe also in me.”

Whenever we are really worried about anything, it is an indication of how much faith we have; big faith equals small worries but small faith equals big worries. And you know, life will always give us reasons to be worried, there is no one in this world who has everything in perfect order. Why? We are not yet at home, we are strangers passing through a foreign land.

This is why Jesus speaks of the Father’s house saying in it, there are many rooms. It is only when we get to the Father’s house in heaven that we can have a life without anything to worry about. For now, the world will give us reasons to worry but even at that, let us hold on to our Faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ.

Whenever I am having a very tough time, I imagine myself in a reality show with God and the angels watching me. I think of Job, how Satan obtained permission to test him and I tell myself “this too shall pass.” Tough times come our way was tests. Like a child running a race in the school inter-house-sports, take it that God is standing by the side line cheering you up if you do not give up in times of trial.

Believe that God knows, God sees, God understands, God cares and always wants the best for you. Believe that Jesus who once lived in human flesh and experienced every single possible emotion you now experience perfectly understands what you are going through.

Consider what St. Paul is saying in the first reading. Jesus Christ was persecuted by a people he came to save, a people who were anxiously expecting a Messiah, and even though they did not recognise Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, by their very actions, they helped bring to fulfilment all that the prophets of old said about Jesus.

Dear friends, could it just be that the so-called suffering you may be going through right now is just a fulfilment of God’s ultimate plan for you? The people who killed Jesus did not even know they were helping to prove his authenticity as the Messiah.

Think of this, those people making life difficult for you may just be helping to bring out the best in you, the best that God himself created you to be. Why worry? In fact, the worst anybody can do to you is to take your life. But even at that Jesus assures us, “I am going to prepare a place for you. In my Father’s house there are many rooms.”

Thomas wanted to be very sure so he asked for the way. And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. This means, all we have to do is to follow Jesus because he is both the road and the destination. Once you have Jesus, you have everything.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, increase my faith and cast away my fears and worries. Amen

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 4^th Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 13:26-33 and John 14:1-6).

God’s Work is Servant’s Work.

Homily for April 26, 2018.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.” John 13:16.

One of the temptations of Jesus after his forty-day fast was a temptation to PRIDE. Satan told Jesus to let himself fall from the pinnacle of the temple in the presence of the people so that by so doing, God would send Angels to prevent him from falling and people would begin to revere him assuming he fell from heaven to the earth.

This temptation remains forever rife among ministers of God today; it is the temptation to make ourselves appear larger-than-life, greater than the ordinary, a temptation to make people believe we are closer to God and so therefore, higher, more important, more sophisticated, more intelligent, wiser than other human beings. At times, we speak as though we even hold face to face meetings with God and the Angels daily or that what we hear, no one else can hear.

When you go through today’s Gospel passage, you would see how Jesus used an example to pain the perfect picture of what ministry is all about. It is simply servant’s duty. Being a priest, a pastor, or even a bishop, a general overseer or whatever is a matter of stooping down low to wash people’s feet. The man of God is not greater than the people of God; he is their servant; he works for them.

We get it all wrong when we allow the praises of people enter our heads. We make ourselves so unavailable that we only pick calls from and attend to the pastoral needs of the rich, the top politicians and big donors. Some of us even charge consultation fee. We get carried away by success. We are like that houseboy who makes himself the house owner because his master is not at home and succeeds in making the neighbours believe so.

I am tired of seeing videos and pictures going viral on the internet about the crazy things people do in the name of church. That one is a believer does not mean his or human rights have been taken away. That you go to church does not mean you now lack sense. The church should enhance your dignity as a person not to turn you into a “mumu” like one remote-controlled.

A lot of the worship we give our men of God today rightly belongs to God. We must learn to distinguish between the servant who is sent and the one sending the message. Do not allow the man of God step on your head, insult you, abuse you, or demean you in the name of working miracle or displaying greatness. He is just a servant, just a tool, an instrument through which God speaks and works. Without the power of God at work, he is just like any other man on the street. So why give him credit for what is not really his?

In our first reading today, we hear Paul preach for the first time since his conversion. Will a man who once hated Christianity with a passion suddenly turn around on his own volition and start promoting God’s kingdom? It simply shows us that it is just God at work.

God’s work without humility on our part is just talent-show; it is leveraging on God; taking something from God and then using it to charm the people.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, instil in me the virtue of humility and service. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 4^th Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 13:13-25 and John 13:16-20).*

Fr. Abu.

Be Humble, Worry Less, Be on Guard and Preach the Gospel.

Homily for April 25, 2018.

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:17-18.

Today is the Feast day of St. Mark. One thing that stands out about this great man was that he was a close assistant of St. Peter. He not only accompanied Peter in his missionary journeys, he was his secretary. St. Mark, being learned was the first person to write down the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel was basically what he heard St. Peter preach whenever they went on missionary outreaches.

It is not surprising that today’s first reading comes from a selection of the first letter of Peter where he even refers to Mark as a son. In the same letter, we find some of the best advice for the Christian life which Peter must have taught Mark:

One; Humility especially towards fellow human beings. Never assume you are better than anyone else. You are only different.

Secondly; Worry Less. St. Peter says: “Cast your anxieties on God for he cares about you.” The more you pray with faith, the less tensed you become. Trust that God knows your name, he is your biggest lover and he is All-powerful.

Thirdly; St. Peter says: Be on Guard; be sober (opposite of drunkenness) and watchful. Stand up against the devil. Resist him, firm in your faith. Do not fall asleep in your spiritual life. Do not give room for bad thoughts to grow in your heart, do not skip your daily prayers, do not let sin grow in you in the name of catching fun or enjoying life.

With these three keys; humility, less worry and watchfulness in spiritual matters, the devil cannot mess with you. Indeed, the sky is your limit. Mark was attentive in his spiritual life so much so that he was able to remember the preaching of Peter which he then committed into writing. Again, even as he wrote, we know he was inspired by the Holy Spirit who is the real author of the Bible.

Today, we read the concluding part of Mark’s Gospel which though similar to the conclusion of the other Gospels particularly emphasizes the fact that God worked with the Apostles confirming the message they preached with signs and wonders. Of course, Mark was referring to the miracles worked by Peter which include the healing of the man lame from birth at the beautiful gate, the raising of Dorcas (Tabitha) from the dead and so many others.

The life of Mark teaches us the virtue of humility in service. Mark served Peter as a son would serve his father. This is unlike many of us today who soon grow tired of answering “yes sir, yes sir.” We want to be on our own, we want to build our own churches by fire or by force.

Another lesson we learn from Mark is that he was quick to commit the Gospel he heard to writing. It was from him that the other Gospel writers copied. I urge you to start keeping a journal today. Even if it is only one line you write every day, just do it. If you cannot write, at least learn how to type and start keeping an electronic diary. It may save the life of generations to come after you.

Above all, let us be humble, cast our worries to God, be vigilant in prayers and continue to spread the Gospel message. It is not for us to seek out signs for display, God himself would work signs and wonders that we would even be shocked to see.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, use me like St. Mark, use my talents, use my time, my energy, use me completely and in any way possible to spread your kingdom. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of St. Mark. Bible Study: 1^st Peter 5:5-14 and Mark 16:15-20).

What you Believe Determines where you Belong

Homily for April 24, 2018.

“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.” John 10:25-26. 

Amongst everything a person can be forced to do, the one thing that is just not possible is to force a person to believe something. Faith is an exercise of one’s free will and God respects our freedom either to believe or not to believe. Jesus knew those who did not believe in him but he always felt sorry for them.

And for those who believed in him, Jesus always praised their faith. He was fond of saying to those he cured “Your Faith has made you well.” This was a way of saying, “you also cooperated in your healing by deciding to believe.”

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus makes clear the point that Faith in him is number one characteristic of his sheep. Responding to the Jews who kept pestering him like classroom children asking their teacher question after question (just to discredit what the teacher has said), Jesus said to them: “you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep.”

It is easy to pretend to be a believer but at the core of our being, we cannot pretend about our beliefs. And it is those beliefs we hold strongly that determine our everyday choices, whether we commit sin or not, what we wear, where we go and what we do.

We may deceive ourselves to be Christians but if within our hearts, we do not believe in God or in his power to save; if we are more afraid of the devil, charms and other occult practices; if we believe our destinies lies in fetish traditional practises, then regardless of how many times we go to church, we do not belong to the sheep of Christ.

If we find ourselves visiting native doctors or partaking in ritual activities all because we have problems, it means we never really belonged to Christ in the first place. If we consider prayer as a waste of time or doubt the sacramentals, it just means we are not Christians; we just don’t belong. If we do not believe the commandments of God are valid guides for our life, it just means we do not belong.

Jesus says: “My sheep hears my voice and they follow me, they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Note that Jesus is not referring to any tribe, culture, race or language. The sheep of Jesus are his sheep because of their faith, because they listen to his voice. This is simply what we discover in today’s first reading.

Does it even occur to you that it was among a Gentile-community that persons were for the first time addressed as Christians? They were so called because of their faith. When we who claim to be Christians do not believe in Jesus, when our actions contradict our creed, we are no better than those who haven’t heard the Good News.

We may look down on those who do not go to church, but in reality, they may actually be the real Christians. It is possible that they are the sheep of Christ while we are just the name-bearers. So the question is: “Do I really belong to Christ’s Sheep?”

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, make me realize that it is my faith and not my church attendance that makes me a part of your sheep. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 4^th Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 11:19-26 and John 10:22-30).

You are Either a Shepherd or a Thief.

Homily for April 23, 2018.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10. 

Wherever sheep or poultry or any sort of animals are kept, there are always two likely categories of visitors; the shepherd or the thief. A shepherd feeds the sheep, provides pasture and warmth for them and develops a personal relationship with them; that is, he gets to know the sheep by name.

However the thief conscious of his intention does not enter by the door, he is a stranger to the sheep, and he comes pretending to care for them but eventually all he does is to steal, kill and destroy. As we know, Jesus was clearly referring to the devil, the tempter who comes with temptations of different sorts pretending to care for us while his intention is to kill, steal and destroy.

In a similar vein, we are either shepherds or thieves. There is no middle ground; it is either we are after the wellbeing of those under us or after our own pockets. Again, a thief never enters by the gate but jumps through the fence. This represents the dubious things we do just to get into positions of leadership such as electoral malpractices, joining secret societies, bribing, stealing or even killing our fellow human beings.

A true shepherd does not discriminate between the sheep based on their past or their ethnic affinity. Whereas, the thief thrives by creating division and sowing seeds of hatred and ethnic rivalry among the sheep.  

This was the experience of Peter in the first reading today. In a vision, he was made to understand that the mission of evangelization was never intended to be limited only the traditional Jews but the Gentiles as well. Before God, all men are equal and a good shepherd knows this.

St. Paul would later add in Galatians 3:27-29 “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

Hence the question today is: Am I a shepherd or a thief?

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, shepherd of my soul, give me a heart that welcomes rather than discriminates my fellow sheep. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 4^th Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 11:1-18 and John 10:1-10).

There is no Salvation in Anyone Else Other than the Good Shepherd.

Homily for April 22, 2018.

“This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12. 

All over the world today, there is a lingering problem of the failure of leadership. Time and time again, history has shown us that when we place our hopes on human beings either by voting or electing them into power, they fail us and they fail us woefully. Nonetheless, from time to time, we find a rather small percentage managing to do well but on the overall, it is always a repeat of history.

Who is a shepherd? Jesus answers this question perfectly in today’s Gospel passage. He not only tells us what a shepherd does, he makes an important distinction between a good one and a bad one. Jesus says a shepherd is a person who lays down his life for his sheep. This is the primary function of the shepherd; self-sacrifice for the benefit of others.

There are some people who parade themselves as shepherds but are not, Jesus calls them hirelings. They pretend to be leaders but are simply interested in enriching themselves; they care only about their own stomachs; they employ various forms of divide and rule tactic with the sheep; they politicise the issues of the sheep; they hide under the shadow of religion to destroy the sheep; they cannot make a single sacrifice for the sake of the sheep. When they see the wolf coming, they run!

Jesus them moves on to define the Good Shepherd and the basic quality of the Good Shepherd is that he knows the sheep and the sheep know him. To be a good shepherd is to know your sheep. To be a good leader is to know your people. To be a good father or mother is to know your children. Do I know my sheep?

Unfortunately, many of our so-called leaders are mere hirelings because they do not know their sheep. Recently, the world was shocked to hear a man who calls himself a President and seeks re-election wash down the youths who according to his own words constitute over 60% of his population. This hireling can afford to say this because he does not know what the ordinary youth on the street goes through on a daily basis just to keep mind and body together.

Is it even possible for one hundred million young people to just sit down at home doing nothing waiting for freebies? How come they are still alive in a nation with such harsh economic realities? Truly, bad shepherds are really bad because they don’t know their sheep. They live in a totally different world from those they rule over. They enjoy all the benefits of shepherds, they suck the milk of the sheep, they eat their meat, they use their skins for clothes and shoes, yet they so shield themselves from the ordinary people.

It is sad that these hirelings enjoy the protection of our security agencies. From the man at the top down to the least Government appointee, they move about with heavily armed security men while those they shepherd who are not rich enough to afford the army and policemen as body guards become the victims of kidnapping. O senseless and foolish kidnappers, instead of kidnapping knowledge, inventive skills and enterprise, you are kidnapping poor people. God himself, our Good Shepherd will deal with you.

What kind of shepherd am I? Do I even care about the safety of the life of those under me? What can I do to change the current situation of bad leadership in my country, in my area or even in my home? Am I a good mentor and example to my children, my employees, my students or even the little ones in my neighbourhood or my field of expertise? Do you consider yourself a successful person? Then you should ask yourself; “what is the essence of my success if I cannot help at least one youth around me to be successful?”

Let us conclude with the message of Pope Francis for today’s celebration (World Day of Vocations.) According to the Pope, the next General Assembly of all Catholic Bishops all over the world coming up in October this year shall focus on the topic: “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.” This is Good News. I am happy that the Catholic Church is taking the bull by the horns to really discuss and proffer a way forward for the youths all over the world.

Pope Francis summed up the situation of the world today as “troubled times” but noted that even in the midst of this, God continually comes to encounter us as such there is need for every one of us to listen, discern and live out the word of God while we develop our talents and become instruments of salvation in the world. God calls us to joy and so, by listening, discerning and living out the word of God, we surely find full happiness.

In other for us to listen to God, Pope Francis says we must learn to be quiet. Like Jesus, we must create quiet times for ourselves to be alone in prayer. To discern is to discover one’s vocation; it is a process by which a person makes fundamental choices in dialogue with the Lord starting with the choice of one’s state in life. Finally, living the word is all about following God closely by serving our brothers and sisters. Pope Francis encourages us not to wait till we are perfect before saying “yes” to God. We should not be afraid of our limitation and sins but instead open our hearts to the voice of the Lord.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, my shepherd, you are the corner stone, guard me as your sheep and use me to be a good shepherd to others in whatever capacity I find myself. Amen

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (4^th Sunday of Easter – Good Shepherd Sunday. Year B. Bible Study: Acts 4:8-12, 1^st John 3:1-2 and John 10:11-18).

Lord, to whom Shall we go?

Homily for April 21, 2018.

The words of Peter in today’s Gospel passage calls for some deep reflection.

“Lord, to whom shall we go?” When it comes to God, do we really have a choice? Is there an alternative to God? Where else can we find salvation for our souls? If we do not find God’s words as palatable as we desire and decide to throw the Bible aside, is it in our newspapers or facebook or the latest magazine or novel that we shall find solace and nourishment for our souls?

Dear friends, if we cannot find happiness following the footsteps of God, where else can we turn to?

The people walked away from Jesus and stopped following him because he told them he was going to give them his body and blood instead of the manna (ordinary bread) they were expecting. The question is: Did they eventually find a bread supplier?

Like those who walked away from Jesus, there are many times we walk away from God, either we stop taking prayers seriously, we stop being active in our pious societies, we become less fervent with our devotional activities, or we turn aside from following our conscience and begin to commit sin freely…

There are times we act out of anger towards God or we seek some sort of revenge for unanswered prayers, disappointment or because of certain crisis that God allowed in our lives; crisis that so rock our faith that we start wondering if truly God still exists. Our anger may even be as a result of some scandal we have noticed in the church and so on.

Dear friends, the point is that no matter the reason why we may want to turn our backs on God, the truth is that THERE IS JUST NO ALTERNATIVE.

St. Augustine said: “You have made us for yourself O God and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” We are made by God and made of God, we are part of God and our final destination is God. God is summit of all our human desires and longings. God is the peak, the highest goal of all our needs and quests in life. Nothing compares with God.

Following God is not easy but it is the best option we have. There are times we just have to shut our minds from thinking and just obey God. Peter and the other disciples obviously did not understand what Jesus meant by giving his own flesh to be eaten but they remained with Jesus.

At times, we just don’t understand God or what he wants from us but what do we do? Stay. Yes. Just hang on there. Remain with Peter; don’t go looking for help running helter skelter. If you have prayed to God and the answer is yet to come, trust me, no native doctor in this world, no winch or wizard, no man of God, no prophet or prophetess is capable of doing more than God. They will only compound your problem and leave you worse than you met them.

Hold on. God’s time does not move according to our human wall clock; it has a setting of it’s own. Do you notice that the same Peter who spoke in today’s Gospel passage is the same Peter we see in today’s first reading working miracles in the name of God? Imagine if Peter had walked away from Jesus during that moment of shock when Jesus said they would eat his flesh?

My dear, do you know what you are going to do for God tomorrow?

My dear, don’t quit on God. Don’t give up your prayers. Don’t drop that cross. Your own Easter Sunday will soon come around.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, I have nowhere else to turn to; grant me the grace of final perseverance. May I never turn away from you no matter my situation. Amen

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 3^rd Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 9:31-42 and John 6:60-69).