Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, 2022

When God Calls, Drop Everything

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Beloved in Christ, today’s Gospel narrative presents us two points that are pretty obvious, and a third one that requires deeper interpretation. The first point is that Jesus’ purpose is not to destroy those who reject him— this includes the Samaritans, who hated the Jews, as a result would not let Jesus pass through their town because he was a Jew on his way to Jerusalem. From the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, and from his parable of the Good Samaritan, we can decode what Jesus thought of the Samaritans. The second point reemphasizes what I have always taught and preached about— that when God calls, drop everything for nothing could be more important. When God calls us, we must follow unconditionally and not turn back or delay unless he permits it, as he did when he spoke through Elijah to Elisha. 

As for the third point, its meaning is not so clear. The Gospel passage says that as Jesus and his disciples were on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus’ response was, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” What does that mean? What is the point of that reply? Was Jesus complaining of the lack of hotel accommodations? Not at all! He is also not complaining about the lack of hospitality from the Samaritans. His point is that if we want to follow him, we too should be prepared for inconvenience, discomfort, suffering and rejection. Be ready to lose your natural place of rest and your comfort zones. Those who want to be disciples of the Lord should be able to leave possessions, responsibilities, and cherished relationships in order to be fully committed to the reign of God. Salvation is free, but it has to be received with complete devotion to God’s reign. If our Lord didn’t get nice-treatment, we should not expect to get it, unless we are willing to compromise and don’t give to the world the whole Jesus. If we give the whole Jesus to the world, we will definitely get what the historical Jesus got— hatred, rejection, condemnation, betrayal, lies and injustice. But if we give just parts of Jesus that the world already knows, has and likes, we are likely going to be friends of the world. To that St. James warns that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). 

Sisters and brothers, whatever it is that God is asking you to do for him right now, I want you to know that there is always a good reason why God is asking such from you. You may not know what that good reason or reasons are. As a matter of fact, to know it with certitude means you are God. Since we are not God and not as wise as God, we may never know the reason why God is calling and inviting us to do something for him. If you have been told to do or endure something that you completely understand, it wouldn’t be the true God who spoke to you. So what is the practical bottom line? It’s very simple, and perhaps too simple for us. All we need to do are two things: trust and obey. Do the opposite of what Adam and Eve did. The great Saint Catherine of Sienna wrote about her encounter with God. She went on a retreat for the sole purpose of knowing more about God and herself. Throughout the retreat, her prayer was, “God, who are you and who am I?” For three days she prayed this prayer for over a hundred times, but no answer came. As she was getting ready to leave the retreat grounds, she decided to ask one more time: “Who are you and who am I?” Finally an answer came in a revelation: “I am God and you are not!” In that four words answer lies the whole of divine revelation. 

Homily for the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, Year C

Satisfying The Deepest Hunger

Rev. Marcel Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, June 19, 2022

The miracle of the feeding of the thousands with five loaves and two fish must have been so popular in the early Christian communities, for the story to be found in all four Gospels. Luke’s version says that crowd of people had gather around Jesus when they heard that he had retired to Bethsaida. Moved with pity, Jesus taught them and cured their sick. But as the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve Apostles became concerned about what this great crowd of people would eat. So they came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” On the surface, their suggestion sounds reasonable. It seems to be coming from a sincere concern and care for the people. But at the depth, they are attempting to scatter those whom Jesus has magnetically drawn to himself. These folks came to be fed by the Fountain of Life himself. Instead of attending to their suggestion, Jesus challenges them, “You give them something to eat.” Not ready to give up, the Twelve protest and say, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we go and buy food for these people.” Ignoring their complaint, Jesus instructs them to gather the crowd in groups of about fifty. Then, taking the loaves and fish, Jesus said a blessing over them, broke them, and then handed them to the disciples for distribution. Everyone in the crowd of about five thousand ate until they were satisfied. 

Now the hungry people who came to Jesus in this story stands for the hungry human race, who have been hungry and starving for what will satisfy from the time of Adam and Eve to the present day. Sadly, we like our human progenitors, Adam and Eve, have tried to fill up the emptiness with wealth, pleasure, power, honor, and the lust to dominate, but none of it works, none of it has satisfied and filled us. After getting all we want, we are still hungry. We still feel empty. Why? Because the deepest hunger of the human heart cannot be found in what is acquired. It is a gift, God’s gift of himself. God is the deepest hunger of the human heart. We have all been wired for God and God is nothing but love. It is only when we conform ourselves to the way of love, only when we empty out all our ego, that we are filled. The five loaves and two fish symbolize that which has been  given to us, all that we have received as a grace from God, that is, our life, our very existence, our being. If we appropriate it, misuse it, not spend it, we lose it. But if we hand it over and surrender it to Jesus our Savior, then we will find it transfigured and multiplied, even to the point of using it to nourish many people. 

Sisters and brothers, consider what Jesus did after praying over the bread and fish. He hands the loaves and the fish to the disciples, who in turn give them to the people. So at the climax of the narrative, the disciples themselves became the instruments of nourishment, setting the loaves and fish before the people. What does this mean? It means that the Body of Christ, Mystici Corporis Christi (the Mystical Body of Christ), the Church of Jesus Christ is not an unstructured, egalitarian society but rather a structured society, governed and ordered hierarchically. It means that the Church is the means, the vehicle through which Christ fed and nourished hungry people and through which he continues to feed and nourish the hungry people of the world. This hunger can sometimes be physical— that’s why we have Catholic Charities, St. Vincent the Paul, Mary’s Place and several other charitable organizations that provide the material needs of the poor. On the whole, this hunger is mostly spiritual. A great number of people can provide their material needs. A good number of you listening to me now are able to afford your material needs. The times we collected gift cards, groceries and toiletries and distributed them to the poor, a sizable number of people who came to be helped are not even our parishioners. Many of you don’t need handout from the parish. Materially, you are okay. But every Sunday, you are here. For some of you, it is everyday. Why are you here in the church? Where do you keep coming? To be fed spiritually! We are all hungry, and the kind of hunger we have can only be satisfied by Jesus. The divine life of Jesus is always received either directly or indirectly through the sacraments of the Church. That’s why we keep coming to church. The lifeblood of the Ecclesia is grace, and the ordinary means by which that grace is made available to us are the sacraments, the visible signs of an invisible power. Can these sacraments be obtained from a grocery store and department store? Not at all! It is always through the Church properly governed. So, it is not enough to be spiritual, we must be religious and be actively connected to the mystical body of Christ. It is even insufficient to proclaim Christ without being a member of his Body. 

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, it is important to remember that in the Eucharist, Jesus feeds us. The Eucharist is the most profound demonstration of God’s mercy and love. It is the greatest showing off of compassion. His desire to stay with us at all time and become our Real Food and Drink is God’s mercy at its apogee. May our hunger always bring us to Christ the Fountain of life. Amen. 

Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

The Primary Doctrine Of Christianity

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, June 12, 2022

Today we come to the wonderful Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We come to Trinity Sunday which follows Pentecost. The Trinity: the strangest and most distinctive of all the doctrines of Christianity. The Trinity: the preacher’s nightmare, which has been characterized in a number of ways—some good, some bad. But what do we make of the Trinity? We invoke the Trinity every single time we make the sign of the cross. Every time you begin your prayer with “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” you invoke the Trinity. Yet a lot of us live our spiritual lives as if the Trinity does not really matter at all. Mind you, the doctrine of the Trinity does not define God, it reveals God. The great American Catholic theologian and philosopher, Peter J. Kreeft said that “Other mysteries of our faith tell us what God has done in time (the creation, the Incarnation, the Resurrection), but the Trinity tells us what God is in eternity.” How come the Trinity? In our Gospel today (John 16:12-15), the Church sets things up really well for us by giving us an amazing text that highlights, that shines a spotlight on the reality of the Trinity. Jesus speaks to his disciples about the reality and existence of two other divine Persons: the Spirit of Truth and his Father. Jesus tells his disciples that he has a lot to tell them, which they cannot bear at the moment. But that when the Spirit of truth comes he will guide them to all the truth. He tells them that the Spirit of truth will reveal to them things that are coming. He says that the Spirit will glorify him and will take from what is his and declare it to them. Jesus also tells them that everything his Father has is his.

From the text of today’s Gospel, we can see that the doctrine of the Trinity was not the invention of the early or medieval Christians. It was not invented by the Second Vatican Council fathers. It is biblically based. The starting point for Christian theology is first of all Jesus Christ himself. On the one hand, he called God his Father, prayed to him, loved him, taught his teaching, and obeyed his will. On the other hand, he claimed to be one with, and equal to the Father. As his ministry was coming to an end, he began to speak about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. He promised to send the Spirit. The Bible, which is the scriptural data from which the Church drives the doctrine of the Trinity says that the Father is God (John 5:18); that Jesus, the Son of God is God (John 8:58); and that the Holy Spirit is God (Matthew 28:19).

Now why is God a Trinity? Because God is love. By its very nature, love requires threeness: the lover, the beloved, and the act of love between them. God is Trinity because God is in its completeness love itself. Because God is love, love is the supreme value. Because love is the supreme value, it is the meaning of our lives, for we are created in God’s image. The fact that God is a Trinity is the reason why love is the meaning of life and the reason why nothing makes us as happy as love: because that is inscribed in our design. We are happy only when we stop trying to be what we were not designed to be. Dogs are not happy living like cats, and saints are not happy living like sinners. 

As I said already, the Trinity tells us what God is in eternity and why God is a Trinity. It also tells us that God does not exist in solitary individualism but in a community of love, fellowship and sharing. God is not a loner. As the great St. Pope John Paul II said, “God in his deepest mystery is not a solitude but a family, since he has in himself fatherhood, sonship, and the essence of the family, which is love.” Therefore anything Christian in search of godliness must shun every tendency to isolationism and individualism. We become who God created us to be when we are in relationship with God and with the people of God.  

Homily for the Feast of Pentecost, Year C

Pentecost And The Mass Shooting In Our Nation

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Feast of Pentecost, Year C

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Today we celebrate the great Feast of Pentecost, which is the coming of the Holy Spirit the Comforter. What is the job description of the Holy Spirit? What is the Holy Spirit coming to do? To form the church! Our today’s first reading (Acts 2:1-11) shows that the first work of the Holy Spirit is the formation of an ekklesia (a church), which will subsequently transform the world. The Holy Spirit is meant to prepare us to enter into relationship with Jesus and then embark on the mission of transforming the world or in the language of Psalm 104, “renew the face of the earth” by means of the Church. In the words of the Nicene Creed (I believe in one God…), this ekklesia is said to be “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.” How come?

The Church is one. This quality of oneness or unity can be seen from the early formation of the ekklesia. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that in the morning of Pentecost, the Apostles together with the Blessed Mother Mary gathered in one place for prayer. The Spirit draws and brings all the followers of Jesus together in unity. Although there is diversity and variety of personalities, pastoral emphases, theological schools etc. in the ekklesia, the community of Jesus is meant to be united. It is only when we are united that we can possibly unify the world. It was the great Origen of Alexandria who said, “Where there is division, there is sin.” The Church’s missionary task is to overcome division, wherever it is found. Jesus wants the Church to become one; He also wants the world to become one by means of the Church. At the Last Supper, before Jesus died, he prayed, “that they may be one, just as you, Father, and I are one” (John 17:22).

Secondly, the Church is holy. The Church is meant to be holy. We are all meant to be holy. What is holiness? It is striving to be like Jesus. None of us can achieve this without the help and involvement of the Holy Spirit. Everything in the life of the Church— sacraments, the Eucharist, the liturgy, preaching, prayer, bible study, devotions, adoration, the witness of the saints etc. is meant to make us holy. I am always appalled when I encounter Christians, especially Catholics who profess strong devotion to prayer, to the sacraments, doctrines and practices of the Church, yet are clearly filled with hatred. Hatred opposes love, and one clear effect of holiness is love. Jesus loves saints and sinners. He loves saints f0r who they are, and He loves sinners for who they could become. Hatred is a sign of unholiness. If you have passionate commitment to the sacraments, to prayer, to the Church’s teachings while at the same time is filled with hatred, know this now: all your devotions are fine, but in your case, they are not working.” The night before he died, Jesus said, “This is how the world will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Love, which is willing the good of the other and doing something about it is the flag of the Holy Spirit. 

Thirdly, the Church is catholic. The ekklesia of Jesus is meant for all people of the world— black, white, brown and for all languages— Igbo, Swahili, French, English, Spanish, Vietnamese etc. It is meant to bring the entire world to Christ; to bring the wandering ones to Jesus. He himself said, “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). But bringing the wandering ones to Jesus should not be done by way of compulsion or violence or threat of violence or imposition. In the past, such tactics have been used by some Christian missionaries. The task of the Church is simply to be the light and salt for the whole society, and to be the leaven that makes the dough to rise. Authentic missionary activity does not suppress the plurality of cultures, rather it evangelizes the culture via love. I want everyone to be a Catholic Christian, but I cannot force people or support laws that force people to become Christians. Jesus didn’t do it. He only invited people to freely follow him.

Finally, the Church is apostolic. What does it mean? The word “apostle” is derived from the Geek word apostelein, which means “to send.” The twelve Apostles were sent into the world to evangelize after being empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Church exists primarily to make disciples for Christ. If we stop doing it, we will become irrelevant. When was the last time you told someone about your faith? When was the last time you prayed and reflected over the Bible with your family?

This year, it is providential that we are celebrating the Feast of Pentecost at a time when we are confronted yet again with mass shooting here in our country. So, as we celebrate the coming of the Comforter, we offer our prayer of comfort for our brothers and sisters in Buffalo, Uvalde and Tulsa. The past few weeks have been very difficult for a lot of people. Lots of tears and blood have been shed. Each time there is a mass shooting, we pray, light candles, and our political leaders make speeches or issue statements. Incidentally, the overwhelming majority of people in this great country have been Christians— which is to say, people who are baptized into the divine life, filled, at least in principle, with the Holy Spirit. If Christians have been the dominant presence in our country for many centuries, why isn’t there more unity and love? Why is there so much mass shooting in America? We are told that all these shooting are done by people with mental health problem, but is America the only country with people with mental issues? Actually those who say these shootings are perpetrated by mentally ill people are talking down on the country. Because what that says to other nations is that America is littered with mentally sick people. That America is not really beautiful. That America is sick. After the shooting in Uvalde, it was reported that presidents of Russia and China, two authoritarian leaders were mocking America. Let me say this: every country has mentally sick people. The difference is that in America, there is more availability of guns, and not just guns but the kind of guns used by the US army in war front. I understand the Second Amendment says that the right of people to keep and bear arms… shall not be infringed. I get that. But when the founding fathers included that section into the Constitution, did they really mean any type of arms including the one used by the 18 year old boy in Uvalde? I am not a constitutional lawyer or scholar, but I know something is wrong somewhere. As we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, I urge you to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, but then get out of the Upper Room. Influence and evangelize the culture. Light the fire of love in the family, in the streets, in the halls of government, in the world of communication, in business and industry, in schools, and in the hearts of your friends and neighbors. The constant mass shooting in our nation can be reduced by love. Let’s stop blaming mental health alone. What about the absence of love in our family, politics, state, communities and even in our Church? Where love and charity abide, there God is found.