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Homily For The 32nd Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 63:2-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13. “KEEP YOUR LAMP BURNING!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today the church celebrates the 32 nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Gradually, the church is coming to the end of a liturgical year while preparing to begin a new year. As is characteristic of the last days, the church calls us to be prepared, and in making such preparations, we must be wise and alert. ·        The readings of today do not leave us without a call to order, to make the necessary preparation for the end of the age, even though Scripture tells us that no one knows the day and the hour the Lord will come calling; therefore, the wise thing to do is to always be prepared. ·        The first reading (Wisdom 6:12-16) is popularly referred to as the personification of wisdom. Wisdom is being given a human attribute. Beyond the...
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Homily For The Solemnity Of All Saints, Year A.

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Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 23:1-6; 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12. “BE HUMAN AND BE SAINTLY” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today is originally supposed to be celebrated as the 31 st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Since, as Catholics we celebrate the solemnity of all saints every first day of November hence, we celebrate the solemnity of all saints takes precedence over our usual Sunday celebration. ·        In celebrating today’s solemnity, the church reminds us that we are called to be saints. Saints are not superhumans. They are rather humans with a super disposition to obey and apply the commandments of God. ·        Someone once described a saint as “an ordinary human being who do things in an extraordinary way.” Hence today, we are called to be humans and yet saints. ·        The fact that we are called to be saints also reminds us ...
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Homily For The 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A.

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Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40. “LOVE GOD AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today the church celebrates the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Gradually, the church’s liturgical calendar is winding down, thereby reminding us of and drawing us closer to the fundamentals of Christian existence and relationship, which is love. ·        Today Jesus sets the theme of love for our reflection. Whenever love is mentioned in the Scriptures or in our day-to-day conversations, many people wonder whether the love being spoken of is used as a noun or as a verb. ·        Jesus’ usage in today’s gospel reading is love as a verb. A verb is an action word, a doing word. So, it is not a name or a thing, but what we do in the name of love. ·        Unfortunately, we also live in a socie...
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Homily For The 29th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 67:2-3.5.7-8; Romans 10:9-18; Luke 24:44-53. “BE MISSIONARY!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        On this 29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, the church celebrates this day as World Mission Sunday. The church is always missionary, but this day is set aside to pray for missions and missionaries around the world. Today’s celebration reminds each Christian that we have all been called and sent. ·        Every Christian is a product and a beneficiary of a missionary enterprise. Having benefited from that enterprise, we ought to keep it alive so that others can come to know the message of Christ and that the gospel may reach the ends of the earth. ·        With the various events going on around us and in our world today, the world needs to be re-evangelised again. And no one will do that unless we become missionaries of various degrees. ·  ...
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Homily For The 28th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23:1-6; Philippians 4:12-14.19-20; Matthew 22:1-14. “SALVATION FOR ALL!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        The reading of this Sunday demonstrates the original intentions of God. This intention is that all be saved. All of us, regardless of social class or race, have been invited to the eternal banquet of God. ·        In the gospel reading ( Matthew 22:1-14 ), the kingdom of God is portrayed as a wedding banquet, but this time an eternal wedding banquet which God has prepared for all who faithfully serve him in this world. ·        This wedding banquet was initially supposed to be a VIP wedding with a special “gate pass” and broad-chested men manning the gate to screen all the guests. It was like our own “who is who” wedding. Probably conducted at one of the big cathedrals of his world. With special dress codes and designated tables for guests. ...
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Homily For The 27th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:8.11-15.17-19; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43. “WHERE ARE YOUR FRUITS?” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        God constantly uses familiar images to convey deep and heavenly realities. He uses that which we can commonly understand. The message of salvation is communicated to us using the farmer-plant-harvest relationship. ·        The Joy of every farmer at the end of every planting season is reaping a bumper harvest. He does everything humanly possible to make a good yield. He  seeks the best soil,  plants the best seed, and makes every arrangement to ensure a good harvest. He is devastated and broken when the yield is low. ·        On this 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the use of parables in today’s readings, especially the first reading and the gospel, is to tell us of the pains and disappointment of God when we fail to yield the e...
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Homily For The 26th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-9; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32. “ACTIONS ARE BETTER THAN INTENTIONS!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Many of us have dreams and ambitions that we hope to accomplish someday. Most of those will remain dreams until we take practical steps to bring them into action. ·        In the same vein, our readings of this Sunday admonish us to go beyond lip service or verbal approval to concrete Christian actions. Our actions ought to speak louder than our words. Unfortunately, it is only our actions that can be evaluated, not our intentions. ·        In the gospel reading ( Matthew 21:28-32 ), Jesus uses the parable of the two brothers to teach us an eternal lesson. The two represent the various tendencies of the human person. Sometimes we are quick to accept responsibility and just as quick to back out of it. At other times, we decline a...
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