DAILY HOMILIES #church

In today’s first reading, God instructs the people of Israel to consecrate themselves and wash their garments to prepare to behold His face. This experience sends a strong message: To meet God, one must prepare by cleansing oneself internally (of sins) and externally (of dirt). In other words, meeting God demands being in a State of Grace.

Today, we celebrate the memorial of Mary, the mother of the Church. Having completed the seven weeks of Easter, today is a day for us to pause a while and remember the unique role of Mary in the course of the whole Easter festivities and, in particular, to examine the total weight of the words Jesus spoke at the foot of the cross: “Behold, Your Mother.”

Jesus tells us today: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:10-12)

Very often, we complain about our unanswered prayers forgetting that most of the time, God provides the things we need without us asking. These are blessings we take for granted.

Hostility towards others is a sign of the absence of true inner spirituality. Just as Jesus’ detractors were hostile to him looking for faults at every instance, we could relapse into such hostility and forget the essence of our faith in God is love for our neighbor. Once we no longer love others, our worship of God becomes mere religiosity.

If you know a Christian who steals, develop a hatred for stealing yourself. If you know a cleric who is unfaithful to his vows, become the Christian who is faithful to his or her spouse. You cheat yourself if you walk out of the church because of something that Jesus Christ already warned us before now.

What is the essence of speaking in tongues if there is no love in our hearts? What is the essence of shouting and jumping in the church if upon going back to our homes, we bear grudges, think evil thoughts, and allow sin dominate our lives? If the gift of speaking in tongues was necessary on the day of Pentecost to aid the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, I believe that what we need most today in Nigeria, (a country at the brink of destruction because of corruption at all levels) is the gift of telling the truth and acting according to our conscience. Elections are just around the corner again and so many lies are flying about. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to avoid making the same mistakes over again.

“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little