Fr.Charles Ezejide

  1 Samuel 16:1.6-7.10-13; Psalm 23:1-6; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41. “THE CHOICES OF GOD” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, which is the 4 th Sunday of Lent, is traditionally known as the “Laetare Sunday”. It is so-called because the church wants us to rejoice in the joyful anticipation of Easter. Since Easter is closer to us than when we started this Lenten journey, we must rejoice because our redemption is close at hand. ·        Today, more than ever, there are many reasons why we should be joyful. We should be joyful because God’s ways are not the ways of man, and if men were God, then maybe we would have all perished. ·        This is exactly what we see in the choice of God for David in the first reading (1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10- 13) over the rest of his brothers. Humanly speaking, David fell short of the requirements to be King in Israel, but here we se...

Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95:1-2.6-9; Romans 5:1-2. 5-8; John 4:5-42. “LENT: A SEASON OF HEIGHTENED “THIRST” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Fasting, Prayer, and Almsgiving are the three pillars of Lent. While fasting, a lot of people employ various models of fasting, especially from food and drink. Those who fast from food and drinks or embark on “dry” fasting, that is, fasting without drinking water, are not aliens to what being thirsty is. The tongue can be really dry and yearning for a drink. The question is, what do you thirst for when you thirst? ·        Today, the church celebrates the third Sunday of Lent. Our journey with Jesus in the wilderness is far spent. We are almost halfway into the journey of self-denial and self-discipline. And because the journey is halfway done, our temptations are gradually becoming unbearable. ·        In the first reading (Exodus 17:3-7), ...

  Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 33:4-5.18-22; 2 Timothy 1:8-10; Matthew 17:1-9. “SHIFTING GROUNDS FOR THE KINGDOM” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the second Sunday of Lent. On this day, we continue in our struggle to conquer sin and the self, so that we may be focused on God. Can we say that we are making progress on our journey with Jesus in the wilderness? ·        This season of Lent enjoins us to keep up the struggles; it is difficult, and temptations are heightened especially as the day goes by, but we must realise that the more sin grows, the more the grace of God abounds (Rom. 5:20). We should use this grace of God to fight against sin and temptation. ·        Dearly beloved in Christ, we cannot master the self, conquer the self and flee from sinful passions and inclinations to sin if we do not daily find time to be “alone”. I repeat, the ...

  Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Psalm 51:3-6.12-14.17; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11. “THE BEAUTY OF BEGINNINGS ” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the first Sunday of Lent, Year A. In this season, we journey with Jesus in the wilderness. This journey in the wilderness is a moment for reflection, repentance, and renewal. ·          On this first Sunday, the reading of the day wants us to reflect on the beauty of beginnings. New beginnings are often met with resistance, suspicion, and doubt, but once we dare to make the first move, it becomes our reference point from then on. ·        In our spiritual lives, we also have beginnings. These beginnings may be when we first received the faith, when we were baptised, when we received our first Holy Communion, when we were confirmed, and when we attended our first Life in the Spirit seminar. Th...

Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119:1-2,4-5, 17-18,33-34; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37. “CHOOSE YOUR CHOICE!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the 6 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. On this Sunday of the year, the Lord invites us to make choices that will guarantee us eternal life. The God who called us to be Christians does not impose himself and his ways upon us. God lays out the different options available to us and invites us to make our choice. ·        Dearly beloved in Christ, it is most likely true that most of us were baptised as infants and at that time, we did not even have what it takes to make choices. Our faith was chosen for us. Our baptismal name was also chosen for us. ·        Today, the Lord presents us with a golden opportunity to take ownership of our faith. He presents us with the option to choose him again now as an inf...