Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for the 7th day in the octave of Christmas Year B - December 30, 2020

DATE : 31/12/2020, Thursday of the First Week of Christmas year (B)

 EVENT : Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

 COLOUR: White

 READINGS : 1John 2:18-21; Resp.

Psalm 95:1-2,11-13; John 1:1-18.

 THEME: BEWARE OF ANTICHRISTS THIS  SEASON

    Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this Thirty First and last day of December 2020, I wish to reflect with us on the theme: " Beware of Antichrists this Season". Beloved, permit me to use this opportunity to congratulate you for making it to the end of this year. It is neither by power nor by might, but by my Spirit says the Lord God of hosts. Beloved, even as I heartily congratulate you for surviving the difficulties that came with this year, As a priest of God, I wish to warn you to be careful of the kind of house of prayer or voice of prophecy that you allow to lead you into the coming year. From every satanic and antichrist prayer houses and evil laden prophecies deliver us oh Lord.

    Beloved in Christ, judging from the tone of voice and contextual background of the community in which St. John wrote his first letter, we get the feeling that the Original Gospel of Christ has been bastadised and adulterated by fake and dangerously evil individuals, who parade themselves as preachers, pastors, prophets and seers like the Nicolaitanes, Simon Magnus, Cerinthus, Diotrephes, and Philetus. More so, in the first reading of today, 1John 2:18-21, St. John refers to these "scavengerous" gospel mongers as antichrists and enemies of the faith because the motive of their preaching and prophesying is advertently anti-Christian. They are deceivers, who are only interested in cheap popularity, fame, fat tithes and new year offering collection. So I beg of you, do not allow the temporal and passing conditions of this year, to make you to fall prey to their lying lips and deceptive prophecies. You have been feed and trained in the true knowledge of God in the Catholic Church by your priests, do not throw this precious gift away just for a sweet sounding  pot of porridge as Esau did.

      Child of God, instead of making frenzied search for a powerful prayer house to spend the crossover night, into 2021 as you have always done in the past. I wish to encourage you in the light of the prevailing scourge of Corona Virus and its consequent reatrictions, sit quietly and take a look at how you spent this year. Count the number of opportunities that slipped through your fingers, mark the mistakes you made, record the good you failed to carry out, write down the good things you achieved, reflect on how your relationship with God went, take note of those you have offended and thank God for the privileges you enjoyed as you meditatively ask him to take charge of the coming year as he promised (Prov. 3:5-6).

Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8).

  Do not be afraid for you will be remembered in my priestly prayers throughout this month. God bless you

#End Sars,

#End Political Oppression

#End Bad Governance 

 

 LET US PRAY :Lord Jesus, all I have to say is THANK YOU.....

 The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.

 May Almighty God bless you the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit......Amen

 HAPPY CROSSOVER TO THE NEW YEAR BELOVED FRIENDS

@ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP.

Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for Holy Family Sunday Year B - December 27, 2020

DATE : 27/12/2020, the First Sunday of Christmas Year (B)

 EVENT : Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Feast).

 COLOUR: WHITE

 READINGS : Gen. 15:1-6,21:1-3; Resp. Psalm 105:1-2,3-4,5-6,8-9; Heb.11:8.11-12.17-19; Luke 2:22-40.

 THEME: WHAT LESSON CAN WE LEARN FROM THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

    Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this First Sunday of Christmas which we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I wish to reflect with you on the theme: " What Lessons Can We Learn from the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph". Beloved, before proceeding with today's homily, I would like to congratulate and welcome you to this last Sunday of the year 2020. I know that this year is not the best of year for most individuals and families, but we continue to give thanks to God for at least sparing us to witness this day in the land of the living, I pray with Joel 2:25, that in the coming year, the good Lord will bless us exceedingly and repay all that the locust ate from us in 2020.

     Beloved, like the Psalmist sang in Ps. 133:1, "Behold how good and pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell in peace and unity". I make bold to say, Behold how even more good, pleasant, admirable and enviable it is, for family members to live in love, peace, harmony, trust, tolerance, patience and understanding. This love and peace which exist in family life, come and draw strength from the pure and undilute love which exist among the Godhead. Thus, dearest in Christ, the family is the bed rock of every society, for from it, relations, clan, community, tribe, and nation emerge. Now, since the family is the first and oldest divine institution, it is apt that Jesus begins his mission of sanctification from the very core of society, namely, the family. Thus, Jesus choose to be incarnated into a human family to show us the dignity and importance of family. Moreso, the basis of family is the union for life of one man and one woman, who cease to be two individuals but one flesh (Cf. Gen. 2:23,14), not necessary for procreation, but for companionship and love, and this is also open to the blessings of children.

    Child of God, the various readings of today, present us with different aspects of family life. In the first reading, Gen 15: 1-6, we see how Abraham trusted in the promises of God, and embarked on a journey which he neither knows where it will lead him. He was also ready to sacrifice anything to God, even his son Isaac, as can be seen in the Second reading of Heb. 11:11-12. All these qualities which existed imperfectly in Abraham and Sarah, found perfection in the Family of Joseph and Mary. Thus, Joseph trusted Mary so well not to be a flirt or unfaithful even after discovering she was with child. How many men can do that today. Like Abraham, Joseph also believed and followed the instructions of the Angel, when he took Mary and escaped to Egypt. Finally and most importantly, both Mary and Joseph loved themselves dearly and were ready to make sacrifices and accept the pains of marriage, when they had to squeeze into an Inn to deliver the child Jesus in a manger. They were also ready to endure the sorrows and hurts that may come in family life, when they carefully listened to all that Simeon and Anna said about the future of the child Jesus in their arms.

   Beloved, as we celebrate with joy the feast of Holy Family today, I wish to say to you, family life is a journey with unknown destination, it is a sacred institution coming from God, it is a blessing that comes with responsibilities, it is a path to holiness, and a call to share in the divine action of creating and sustaining life. Thus, a family without Christ will definitely have crisis, a family without Christ is anything but holy, for it is only with the presence of Christ in a home that holiness and peace can be achieved. So, as we celebrate this feast today, let us not allow the enemies of family life such as divorce, indivudualism, distance, lack of communication, prayerlessnes, migration, and LGBT tendenciea, to triumph over authentic and admirable family life that Christ Jesus has blessed us with.

  Do not be afraid for you will be remembered in my priestly prayers throughout this month. God bless you

          Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8)

 LET US PRAY : Lord Jesus, you sanctified the union of Mary and Joseph with your presence, as we celebrate your nativity this period, may you also grace our life and family with your divine presence........

The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.

 May Almighty God bless you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit......Amen

   HAPPY HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY BELOVED.

  @ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪

Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for Christmas Day - December 25, 2020

DATE : 24/12/2020, Vigil Mass of Christmas Year (B)

 EVENT : CHRISTMAS EVE

 COLOUR: WHITE

 READINGS : 1 Isaiah 52:7-10; Resp. Psalm 98:1.2-3ab.3.cd-4.5-6; Heb. 1:1-6; John 1:1-18.

 THEME: JOY!!! JOY!!! JOY!!!

    Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this day of Christmas, I wish to reflect with you on the theme: " Joy!!! Joy!!! Joy!!!. Beloved, one of the words that best qualifies the sentiment of almost every human person during this Christmas season is the feeling of joy. On a general sense, joy is described as the response of the mind to any pleasurable event. It is a feeling that touches the deepest springs of emotion, and finds expression in external acts such as, dancing, leaping, shouting, singing and sharing of gifts as we can see all around us. True and authentic joy is always a natural outcome of fellowship with God. For as the Psalmist says in Ps. 16:11, "In his presence is fullness of joy and plentiful gladness". In the Old Testament, the Idea of Joy is expressed with the Hebrew Simchah (1Sam. 18:6), which could either mean, rejoice, exult, gladness excited, etc. And God is frequently the source and object of true joy. The Greek word for joy in the New Testament is chara, and it is seen to be the best state of mind for the believer and the appropriate  response in every condition, as Jesus did.

    In the first reading of today, the prophet Isaiah told us that messengers are racing to Zion with good news, watchmen are raising their voices with shouts of joy, and the entire nation is exalted to break forth into joyful song because, the Lord has come to visit and console his people. This same, sentiment is expressed by the Psalmist who invites all the earth to shout to the Lord and to ring out their joy. The author of the second reading of today, Hebrews 1:1-6, also beckons on us to see and have reason to rejoice, for all the prophecies of redemption and consolation which God made with men of old, has been fulfilled in our own day. For with the birth of Christ today, human nature has been sanctified and exalted, and we have received the powers and special grace of being called children of God. A privilege which not even the greatest of prophets of old had.

    Child of God, as we celebrate Christ-Mass today,  let us rejoice and celebrate, let us exult and spread the joy around, let us shun every activity contrary to the spirit of God and of virtue. Listen to me beloved, the coming of Christ is chiefly for our salvation, so, let us not in the pretext of celebrating Christ's nativity, sink deeper into the dungeon of sin and so wander very far beyond the redeeming arm of Jesus. May God bless you and increase you joy.

  Do not be afraid for you will be remembered in my priestly prayers throughout this month. God bless you

          Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8)

 LET US PRAY : Lord Jesus, may your coming this Christmas fill my heart with exceeding joy and rid me of all bitterness and hatred...

 The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.

 May Almighty God bless you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit......Amen

   HAPPY CHRISTMAS BELOVED.

  @ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪

Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for Thursday Week 4 of Advent - December 24, 2020

 

DATE : 24/12/2020, Thursday of the Fourth week of Advent Year (B)

 EVENT : Mass of the Weekday

 COLOUR: VIOLET/ PURPLE

 READINGS : 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-12,14,16; Resp. Psalm 88:2-5,27,29; Luke 1:67-79.

 THEME: A SON: THE PLEDGE OF POSTERITY

    Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this Twenty Fourth day of December, I wish to reflect with you on the theme: " A Son: The Pledge of Posterity". Beloved in Christ, one of the major reasons for quarrel and polygamy in most families is the inordinate quest for a male heir. This desperate search for a son is caused by the heavily patriarchal and patrilinear nature of most cultures of the world, which lays emphasis on the male child as the rightful heir and line of ensuring the continuity of a blood lineage. Moreso, as a natural tendency, Apart from companionship that comes with family life, another reason why people marry is the human person desire to be immortalised. And this can be attained by ensuring that posterity continues.

   In the first reading of today, God made a heart cheering promise to David that of his posterity there shall be no end. What a cheerful news this must have been for king David, to be given the divine assurance that he shall be immortalised and that his dynasty shall last forever. I believe David must have died a fulfilled man. Now, this eternal promise of God about David's posterity was concretised in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, whose birth we eagerly await in few hours from now. He it was who has come to unite all peoples into a universal adoption as the sons and daughters of God, that we may participate in the posterity of David. Thus, that son which was promised to David, as a pledge that his posterity will continue, is also the son of Joseph and Mary, and the Son of God.

   So beloved. the joy of Christmas is not merely that a child was born, but that this child that was born came to destroy the powers of death, of extinction and of mortality which was our lot by virtue of our sinful merit and to restore us back to the posterity of holiness and immortality which was originally ours from creation. I pray that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, will continue to be our pledge of redemption and immortality as we celebrate his nativity this Christmas... Amen

  Do not be afraid for you will be remembered in my priestly prayers throughout this month. God bless you

          Oh that today you would listen to his voice harden not your hearts (Ps.95:7-8)

 LET US PRAY : Lord Jesus,  you are the fulfilment of God's promise, help me to gain the promise of immortality of the children of God....

 The Lord be with you....... and with your Spirit.

 May Almighty God bless you in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit......Amen

  @ Fada Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP. ⛪