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Homily For The 16th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Psalm 85:5-6, 9-10, 15-16; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43. “THE LORD STILL CARES!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        I hear many Nigerians refer to themselves as their own government. This statement is borne out by the fact that many Nigerians provide for themselves most of the basic social amenities that should ordinarily be provided by the government. The extreme of this practice is that many people now live for themselves alone, charting their own course and doing their own thing because they feel that the Lord has been distant from them. He does not care nor partake in their affairs, so what's the point of paying allegiance to God? ·        If we are in this category, we ought to realise that God is still very much involved in our affairs. “Cut off from me you can do nothing.” (Jn.15:5) He created the world in goodness and therefore he will not abandon it to be overru...
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Homily For The 15th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 64:10-14; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23. “MY HEART: A SEED-BED FOR GOD’S WORD!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        We live in an era where it is increasingly becoming difficult to listen to and put into practice the word of God. People are rather ashamed to profess their faith in public for fear of incurring the wrath of their friends, colleagues, or family members. They know the truth of the gospel and yet refuse to practice it. ·        Examining these trends, a lot of people point to the fact that they fear the ridicule of their friends, some fear the loss of their jobs, and some want to feel accepted by the public. So, they suppress their conscience and the word of God in their hearts. The question that comes to mind is, who are we to be afraid of, a man who is temporal or God who is eternal? Whose friendship will pay us more, friendship with God or with a man? ·  ...
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Homily For The 14th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Zechariah 9:9-10; Psalm 145:1-2. 8-11. 13-14; Romans 8:9. 11-13; Matthew 11:25-30. “LET GOD LEAD!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        We celebrate today the 14 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. It is also the first Sunday of the second half of the year. Despite all odds, it is a great privilege to be counted among the living, and for this we are gathered to thank the Lord, to pledge our continuous allegiance to him, and to ask him for more favours and more blessings. ·        There is no doubt that we live in a very hard time in our country, Nigeria; this hardship has pushed many Nigerians to demand better governance and leadership. Nigerians are beginning to ask questions about our corporate existence as a nation, about our future as one nation, the poor health care systems, the loud call for restructuring, and the various voices of anger and disappointments from the various regions of the countr...
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Homily For The Solemnity Of Ss. Peter And Paul, Year A.

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  Acts 12:1-11; Psalm 33:2-9; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19 .   “FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH ! ”   By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. These two great men are commonly referred to as the fathers or foundations of our Christian faith. While St. Peter is known as the Apostle to the Jews, St. Paul, on the other hand, is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. ·        On the writings, teachings and ministries of these two great men stands our Catholic faith. They both laboured tirelessly to the point of shedding their blood for the faith. That is why our vestments today are red - the symbol of martyrdom. ·        The readings of today point to the fact that both Peter and Paul could not be said to be early comers to faith. St. Peter was originally a fisherman. St Paul was busy persecuting Chris...
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Homily For The 12th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69:7-9.13.16.32-34; Romans 5:12-15, Matthew 10:26-33. “DO NOT BE AFRAID!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today the church celebrates the 12 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. The readings of today call us to develop unreserved confidence in God, knowing that if the Lord walks with us, there is nothing to be afraid of. No harm will ever befall us, and we will surely reach our destination. No wonder scriptures say, “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Rom. 8:31). ·        When we are told not to be afraid, to be fearless, sometimes it sounds easier said than done. When we are confronted with real-life issues, it takes the grace of God for many not to shiver and give up. St. Peter, in the episode of walking on the water, did so at the beginning. Even with Jesus reassuring him not to be afraid, when the reality of life dawned on him, he began to doubt and thus began to sink (M...
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Homily For The 11th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

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  Exodus 19:2-6; Psalm 100:1-3.5; Romans 5:6-11, Matthew 9:36-10:8. “TRUST AND OBEY!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Reflecting on this Sunday’s readings, I cannot help but cast my mind to the popular hymn number 61 of the Catholic Hymn Book. The whole hymn speaks to me personally and also summarises the whole lesson of this Sunday’s reading. ·        The first stanza of that hymn says it all, “when we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way! While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey”. ·        Dearly beloved in Christ, the Lord invites us today to develop a blind trust in the power of his word and to obey all that he has commanded us to do. God loves us so much that he cannot mislead us. ·        In the first reading ( Exodus 19:2-6), we recount the e...
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Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Year A

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Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, John 6:51-58. “THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST: THE FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. The source and summit of our Christian life. We celebrate Christ’s gift of his body and blood to us as real food and real drink (John 6:55). ·        This gift of God to us through his son is not just symbolic but real. On the night before he suffered, he took the bread and chalice and gave thanks to God, blessed, and gave it to his disciples and by extension to us as his body and blood, which is a specific instruction to do this always in memory of him. ·        It is the love of God that inspires this gift. This love does not end in the sacrifice of his son for the redemption of mankind but in the daily gift of himself to u...
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