Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for Wednesday Week 31 Ordinary time - November 4, 2020

DATE : 4/11/2020, Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time (A) EVENT : St. Charles Borromeo (Memorial) COLOUR : WHITE READINGS : Phil.2:12-18; Resp. Psalm 27:1.4.13-14; Luke 14:25-33. THEME: DO NOT BE A HYPOCRITICAL CHRISTIAN Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". As we celebrate the memorial of a great saint today, St. Charles Borromeo, I wish to reflect with us on the theme " Do not be a Hypocritical Christian". Beloved, I have come to discover that in this present age, we have more of hypocritical than authentic Christians. Now, what is hypocrisy? According to the New English Webster Dictionary, Hypocrisy is "the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs." It is also the claim or pretense of having beliefs, standards, qualities, behaviours, virtues, motivations, etc. which one does not actually have. Hence, a hypocrite is one who has perfected the act of dissimulation, pretence and sham. He is a person who says sorry with the lips and utter sacrilegious curses with the heart. He is one who says yes with his lips, but acts the direct opposite in his actions. He is one who does not walk his talk, who wears a mask of goodness in public, but is ravenously evil in private reality. Beloved, in the first reading of today, St. Paul tells us through the letter to the Philippians that we should learn to be consistent in our lifestyle, and try not to have hypocritical character, doing one thing in public and another in private. Truth is, most of us who are Christians today live a life of double standard. We appear pious, act religiously, give the best advice, preach motivational sermons and homilies, speak in tongues almost everytime we pray, dress descently, speak like we can not hurt a fly, walk as if the ground will break if we step on it firmly, and conceal our sexual feelings better than the stoics each time we are in public view. We do all these just so that the Church, priests, friends and others will have the impression that we are good, virtuous or faithful Christians. But in reality, when we are alone without a suspecting onlooker, no one will believe the evil we are capable of. What a pitiable condition of self deception!!! Child of God, I challenge us today, if you have being living a double standard life in the past, I beg of you desist from it. Let your Christianity be an authentic one. Do not be so afraid to please man than you are to please God. Hear me, God is not interested in the number of times we make mistakes, fall to sin, derailed from Him or lived a hypocritical life. No, He is basically interested in the efforts we make at reconciling with Him each time we fail. So, like Christ challenged us through the Gospel of today, let us exhaust all opportunities to make peace with God and live virtuously so that when our time here on earth ends unexpectedly, we may enjoy the glorious bliss of Heaven together with St. Charles Borromeo, whose memorial we celebrate today. God bless you. #End Sars, #End Political Oppression #End Bad Governance #End Hypocritical Christianity Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8) LET US PRAY : Lord Jesus, I surrender my life, my business, my desires, my plans and my all to you. Purify them of all hypocritical inclinations and help me to be true in all my dealings, both in private and public...Amen HAPPY MIDWEEK BELOVED @ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪