Fr.Charles Ezejide

Acts 1:12-14; Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8; 1 Peter 4:13-16, John 17:1-11. “THE PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the seventh Sunday of Easter. The last Sunday before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This Sunday is special because Jesus discusses his parting wishes with his disciples and prays for the church he was leaving behind. ·        Dearly beloved in Christ, it is not coincidental that last Sunday, Jesus promised his disciples a parting gift, which is the Holy Spirit, and today he prays specifically for the church and the leadership of the church he was leaving behind so that they may be strongly united and guided. ·        This is exactly what we see in the unity of the College of Apostles in the first reading (Acts 1:12-14). Having witnessed the ascension of Christ into Heaven, they remained united in pray...

Acts 8:5-8. 14-17; Psalm 66:1-7. 16.20; 1 Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21. “PREPARING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        The church celebrates today the sixth Sunday of Easter. For over six weeks now, the resurrected Lord has continuously manifested his power on the life and mission of the church through his apostles. ·        Today the Lord, through the readings, set our gaze on the eminency of the Holy Spirit and what we ought to be doing to dispose ourselves for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that spirit that makes us cry “Abba Father” (Gal. 4:6). ·        Dearly beloved in Christ, in a few days, the Lord will ascend to heaven in the full view of his disciples to make real his promise to them, “Unless I go, the advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come” (John 16:7). ·        The gospel reading (John 14:15-21) specifically tel...

Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 32:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9, John 14:1-12.   “FOLLOW THE WAY!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, the church celebrates the fifth Sunday of Easter. This is indeed the day the Lord has made, and we rejoice and are glad in it. Today is a day to be grateful to God for the special gift of life; no wonder the opening verse of the gospel enjoins us: “Do not let your heart be troubled!” ·        Can one find a banana on a mango tree? The answer is definitely No! But sadly enough, many of us look for the right things in the wrong place. We look for joy in places saturated with sadness, we look for peace in places ravaged by war. ·        Today, the Lord Jesus invites us to complete followership because in him is the fullness of redemption. In him is the fullness of Joy and gladness. But the question we must ask ourselves is, whom do we seek? Where do...

Acts 2:14, 36-41; Psalm 23:1-6; 1 Peter 2:20-25, John 10:1-10.   “THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        The 4 th Sunday of Easter is traditionally known as the “Good Shepherd Sunday” or the “Vocations Sunday”. This day is set aside to pray for vocations in the church that God may raise for himself good shepherds for his vineyard because “the harvest is rich, but the labourers are few” (Matt. 9:37). ·        Growing up, there is hardly any child who could not recite Psalm 23 from the beginning to the end without reading from the bible. We prayed it at the assembly ground, we wrote it as tests in schools, and we adopted it as our favourite Psalm, clearly telling the world that Christ is our Shepherd and if the Lord is our Shepherd, there is nothing we shall want. ·        Today, our readings call us to a deeper commitment to the words of that Psa...

  Acts 2:14, 22-23; Psalm 15:1-2, 5, 7-11; 1 Peter 1:17-21, Luke 24:13-35. “A LONG WALK TO EMMAUS!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        Today, we celebrate the third Sunday of Easter. These are indeed uncertain times. We need a good dose of hope and courage in the word and promises of God. There is nothing that makes our hope and joy possible beyond the Easter experience. The Easter experience assures us that since Christ died and rose again, we have a sure hope for an afterlife despite all odds.        While the news that Christ died and is now risen from the dead filled many with Joy and courage, some others were devastated and decided to return to normal life, return to their former ways. They were unsure if that news was anything to go by. ·        This is the story of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus in the gospel reading. Their names were not given, which means that it ...

  (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY) Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31.   “ MERCY MEANS COMMUNITY AND COMMUNION!” By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide. ·        On this second Sunday of Easter, the church celebrates the solemnity of Divine Mercy. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have become the eternal beneficiaries of the mercy of God. If God has shown us mercy, we too ought to show mercy to those around us. ·        This Divine Mercy Sunday was initiated by Pope Saint John Paul in the year 2000 during the canonisation mass of St. Maria Faustina. This Holy nun took it upon herself to spend time before the Eucharistic Jesus pleading for the mercy of God upon the whole world. ·        The message to pray for the mercy of God upon the whole world was entrusted to St. Maria Faustina following the two World Wars. Jesus told Sr Fausti...