Fr.Charles Ezejide

  Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 23:1-6; Romans 5:5-11; Mark 15 :33-39; 16:1-6. “MAY THEY REST IN PEACE, AMEN ! ” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide ·        Today, we commemorate the souls of the faithful departed. We recall our brothers and sisters who have walked this earth and have returned to God their maker. It is a beautiful thing to pray for the dead, and it is one of the corporal works of mercy. ·        When we pray for the dead, we remind ourselves that death is a debt which we all must pay when the time comes. That time is known to God alone. Our worry should not be if or when it will come. Our prayer should be that when it comes, we may be ready to meet our maker. ·        Today, as we celebrate the feast of all souls, we turn our focus on the old church doctrine on purgatory, which is a place of purification. Those we pray for today are the souls undergoing purification, that ...

  Sirach 35:15-17, 20-22 ; Psalm 34:2-3.17-19,23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 1 8:9-14.   “ALL ARE WELCOME ! ”   By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the 30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We are gradually edging closer to the end of the church’s liturgical season. There is no better time to remind us that all are welcome in God’s presence – both saints and sinners are all God’s children. ·        God is our loving father and does not despise any of his children, regardless of our human weaknesses. God desires that all be saved. That is why Jesus boldly declared that “I have come not to call the righteous but sinners.” In another place, he said, “There is more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than ninety-nine righteous persons.” ·        The church of God should be where anyone who comes in should feel welcome and proud to share ...

  Exodus 17:8-13 ; Psalm 120:1-8; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 1 8:1-8. “PRAYER IS KEY ! ” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Last Sunday, the Gospel taught us about the prayer of thanksgiving. A grateful heart is pleasing to God, for it is humble, obedient, and full of trust in divine providence. This Sunday, we have another lesson on prayer, and this time it is about the prayer of petition. The Lord tells us that, “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.” ·        Our simple catechism teaches us that prayer is the raising of our minds and hearts to God. It is a communication link between us and God. If there is no relationship, there can be no communication. ·        For many of us, it does not just make sense to pray since we think that God no longer answer prayers. If our prayer is delayed, that is when we should be...

  2 Kings 5:14-17 ; Psalm 97:1-4; 2 Timothy 2:8 -13 ; Luke 1 7:11-19.   “GRATITUDE NOT ATTITUDE ! ” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·         It is often said that familiarity breeds contempt. And over-familiarity with spiritual things can lead to a closeness to Christ without intimacy with Christ. This familiarity can oftentimes lead us to attitude rather than gratitude. ·         Today we reflect on the theme “the power of gratitude or thanksgiving”. A lot of us have become so used to God that the things of God do not matter to us anymore. We have become used to enjoying favours from God that we think that thanking God is unnecessary. ·         We have been unfaithful to God but God has always been faithful hence we take God for granted that he will always be God while we can be anything we want to be. ·         Today ...

  Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ; Psalm 94:1-2,6-9; 2 Timothy 1:6 -8, 13-14 ; Luke 1 7:5-10. “GOD IS NOT DEAD ! ” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Sometimes, when we find ourselves in an awkward spot when the problems of this world seem to overwhelm us, plans are failing, ends are not meeting, business is not moving well, our health keeps failing us, etc., all these add up together can make us tarry and lose faith and hope in God. ·        While we are celebrating our 65 th National Independence Day as a nation, I cannot help but observe people’s disposition towards the celebration. You will notice a lot of dissatisfaction, disinterest, and a total loss of the sense of patriotism. Those who are celebrating are celebrating either because of the kind of job (teachers, military, paramilitary, diplomats, government officials, and civil servants), hence they must go out for a match pass, whether they like it or ...

  Amos 6:1, 4-7 ; Psalm 45:6-8; 1 Timothy 6:11 -16 ; Luke 1 6:19-31.   “THE SIN OF OMISSION ! ”   By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        The sin of omission is not just a matter of simple negligence or oversight. It is a very serious sin because it is rooted in selfishness and wanton disregard for others. It is caused by one’s unwillingness to get out of his comfort zone and the desire to remain undisturbed in his peaceful and comfortable little world. ·        The prayer “Confiteor” which we often say as follows “ I confess to almighty God and you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God” ·  ...