Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Nothing In This World Can Satisfy In The End

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Puritanism, which originated in England in the late 1500’s attempts to promote rigidity and austerity, especially in matters of religion or conduct. Simply put, puritans advocate a flight from the goods of this world. Why? Because they consider them evil. But the Catholic Church rejects this belief system and way of life because we are meant to enjoy the world that God has made. In the book of Genesis, we are told that what God has made is good and we are meant to enjoy them. Although the Catholic Church rejects puritanism in all its forms, there is something it is saying that is true; and that thing is the reason why puritanism has lasted this long. We believe the world is created good. We believe we live in the world of good things, but nothing in this world can ultimately satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart. Look around you. There are lots of good things, pleasurable things, yet the hunger of our heart goes beyond this world. For this reason, we should not be drawn completely into the goods of this world. There has to be a balanced approach when dealing with the world. We accept the goods of the world, we enjoy the goods of the world, we say yes to the world, but then in a very serious manner, we detach from the world. We say no to the world. 

Everyone knows there is a restlessness and a longing in all of us. Think of the greatest moments in your life, like the time when you found your sweetheart, when a proposal to get married was made and accepted. Think of the excitement you had when your first child was born, when you applied for your dream job and got it. Think of the time when your team secured a victory, or when you achieved something significant. Think of the time when you met an important person in society, a celebrity. About two weeks ago, I had a dream. And in my dream, I met the great St. Pope John Paul II and we had this wonderful conversation. In that dream, I was shaking with great excitement as I said to him, “Holy Father, it is really good to see you.” I held his hand; with smiles he spoke to me, and there were thousands of people watching us. After my conversation with him, I turned to the people and said, “For everyone here, we have known just one Pope, John Paul II and we are all children of this beloved Pope. At every Mass we attended, the name we all heard is Pope John Paul II.” At the end of it, he blessed me and as people were cheering, I woke up. I tell you, for the next couple of days, I was so happy, so excited that I started a Novena prayer to St. Pope John II. Now, what do these great moments in our life have in common? Although they bring us great happiness, the happiness will eventually fade away. You experience them for a while, and the experience might be really strong and intense, but it does fade away eventually and you find yourself longing again for more pleasure. On every July 4, some of us go out at night to watch the fireworks. When a firework goes off, you see this great display of extremely beautiful lights. My parish in Memphis, Tennessee was located close to the downtown, and from the rectory, I did see what I am talking about here. Watching fireworks, especially the big ones, is really beautiful. But then as you watch and are filled with great delight, what happens? It disappears! In an instant, in the twinkle of an eye, it is gone! And the saddest thing about this experience is that its disappearance happens while you are still enchanted and enjoying its beauty and elegance. I tell you, in many ways, that’s how life is like. In an instant, it appears. We shout with great delight. But then, it vanishes and goes and we are left wanting something more. 

Let’s make it more concrete. What happens when you purchase a beautiful house? You are so elated and people who know you celebrate with you for your achievement. Shortly after that, the thrill wanes. With the passage of time, that beautiful house will start falling apart and needing repair work. The old and smoky car you see on the road, I mean the ones we call “clunker” “jalopy” “hunk of junk” etc was once the most elegant on the road. Some people actually worked extra shifts just to save money and purchase it. Some people might have engaged in criminal activity like selling drugs just to buy it. But today, that car is a piece of junk and worth almost nothing. What about food? Food is essential. We cannot survive without it. From time to time, we enjoy a good and special meal, and there is nothing wrong with that. But after all the enjoyment, it does not take much time to start longing for more food. Sometimes after eating a satisfying meal, I say to myself, “this is it. I’m not gonna eat again today.” But after a few hours, I am hungry again and will require extra discipline to resist going down to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator in search of food. This tells me that my food is not designed to satisfy the deepest longing of my heart. What about entertainment? I love entertainment. I love music and movies, especially edgy horror movies and comedy. Sometimes, entertainment offers us real satisfaction and true happiness. But after a powerful, energetic and enthusiastic display and show, it is over. If you watched the movie in the movie theater, you get up and go home. If you watched it at home, you turn to the next thing to do. The excitement is over and you are looking forward to your next excitement. What about something more substantial like relationships? Relationships are extremely pleasing and satisfying. Marriage is amazing, and reflects God’s love. Some of the best moments in life happen within these relationships. However, like everything else in the world, the joy it brings is also limited. Every marriage or relationship or friendship has good days and bad days. The same event or experience that gave you a heightened sense of joy and satisfaction can be the source of intense sorrow and pain. And in the final analysis, all of our relationships will end because we will all die. Though the hope of meeting again in eternal life consoles us, it is only possible if we end up in the same place and in the halls of heaven. What about honors? Being honored generates some thrilling sensation. I have been honored in my life. There have been times when my professors told me that my research paper is so impressive that if I wanted, they would help me publish them. Did such comments make me happy? You betcha! My happiness was like the fireworks going off. But then, it is over. Here is the stubborn fact: everything in this world is evaporating. No matter what you are enjoying now, it’s not meant to satisfy the deepest longing of your heart.

But why am I spending this time talking about this sad reality? Inside of you, you might be wondering, “What’s the good news in this?” “Why is he depressing us?” By the way,  this is not meant to depress us but to wake us up again to this spiritual reality. Life on earth requires a balancing act. On one hand, accept that this world is good and we are made by God to experience the joy of honor, the satisfaction of food and drink, the warmness of relationship, the amazing benefits of work and all the good things God brings to our life. On the other hand, accept that none of these will finally satisfy you. All the excitements, the great delights, the real pleasures they offer us are but an image of heaven. Accept that in this life, we won’t be perfectly happy. Why? Because there is something in us that longs for something that this world cannot offer. Today’s Gospel (John 6:24-35) is a continuation of the Gospel of last weekend. John 6 begins with a symbolic memorial of the Mass. After Jesus multiplied the loaves and had people eat to their satisfaction, he sensed the crowd had the intention to carry him off to make him king, so he withdrew from there and went to the mountain alone (John 6:15). The next day, some people started to look for him. John says, “When they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Responding Jesus says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God has set his seal.” Every earthly goods in itself is good, but like fireworks that light up the sky at night and then vanish, they too would. It is necessary to work for food, yet food inevitably will perish, just like those it sustains. In contrast to perishable food there is another food that endures for eternal life. Just as natural food sustains bodily life, this food sustains us for eternal life. What’s this food? Jesus calls it the Bread of life. The Catholic Church calls it the Eucharist. Writing about the Eucharist, the great St. Thomas Aquinas said, “The Eucharist contains not just the power of Christ, the Eucharist is ipse Christus, Christ Himself.” This means that Christ himself is the only food that can satisfy us. You can now see why at Mass we joyfully sing, dance, and clap for it is the anticipation of heaven and the celebration of the only food that can ultimately satisfy us.

Beloved sisters and brothers, if you hear people say the Eucharist is merely a symbol and a sign of Christ, please do not believe them even if you view such people as smart and intelligent. I tell you, if the Eucharist is only a symbol and sign, what’s the point? But if the Eucharist is Christ himself (ipse Christus), then the Eucharist is the only food that can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart. This is the very reason why Vatican II insists that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. You can run after these wonderful goods of the world— wealth, power, honor and pleasure etc. but none of them can truly satisfy the deepest hunger of your heart. Only Jesus Christ can do that through the gift of himself— the Eucharist, the Bread of life. Are you not surprised that the real food that can finally satisfy us is not acquired but given? Just as earthly life is a gift and not acquired, so also eternal life. Though we must strive to receive eternal life, in the final analysis it is a gift. So, stop chasing the goods of this world with all your soul, heart, mind, and being. They won’t guarantee lasting joy. Rather, receive the food that guarantees joy, perfect joy, peace, perfect peace. What’s that food? The Bread of life! Jesus himself. 

God bless you!

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The Priceless Lessons Of The Feeding Of The Five Thousand

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 28, 2024 

Apart from the Resurrection, the narrative of Jesus feeding the five thousand people with five loaves and two fish is the only miracle recorded in all the four Gospels. Evidently, the authors of the Gospels considered the miracle a significant one that should not be excluded from their writings. In the words of St. John, “There are many other things that Jesus did” that were not individually described and recorded, that if everything were written down, “the whole world would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). The account we have today is from John’s Gospel (6:1-15). And according to St. John, the number of people fed is five thousand men. But in Matthew’s account, we hear “Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children” (Matthew 14:21). It is the reason why many biblical scholars believe that the actual number of people fed that day could have been 15,000—20,000. 

In his account, John says “Jesus went up on the mountain.” After sitting down, he is surrounded by his disciples. As Jesus looks up, he sees a large hungry crowd of people coming to him. Right away, he asks Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Philip states the impossibility of them providing everyone bread to eat. But the disciples found a boy with five loaves and two fish. Was the boy selling the items? Were the food items his meal? We have no idea. But what we know is that he gives them up to the disciples and Jesus. Then Jesus takes the loaves and fish, blesses them and breaks them into smaller pieces. But the breaking did not stop there. It keeps multiplying until everyone in the crowd has eaten and is full and satisfied. To make this miracle even more delicious, twelve baskets full of leftovers were collected. 

In the light of this amazing miracle, I would like to look at some of the enduring spiritual lessons of this event. First lesson: God is always in control. How? When Jesus asks Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” John says, “He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.” Jesus already knew what he was going to do to feed the people. But he wants Philip and other disciples to be fully aware of what is about to happen. He does not want them to be caught off guard. He wants to increase their faith in divine providence. He wants them to know that in every circumstance, God is always in full control. Don’t ever forget this stubborn fact— God does not need me or you or anybody to accomplish anything. But because he created us in his own image and likeness, God does invite us to participate in his victory. 

Second lesson: the God we worship is a God of multiplication. As the boy handed over his food to Jesus and his disciples, he most likely wondered what difference such a small amount of food would make in feeding the crowd. It’s even possible the boy assumed his food would be returned to him because the need was so great, but his food was far smaller. But when the food was given to the Lord of heaven and earth, he turned it into a buffet that was more than enough to fill the bellies of the hungry crowd. Jesus takes that which is insufficient and uses it to accomplish his purpose. God took an elderly, childless couple— Abraham and Sarah, and made a great nation. He used a small group of people in a house to start a global movement— Christianity. Whatever is given in faith, God can take it and multiply its impact in incomprehensible ways for his vision. 

Third lesson: Sacrifice is needed for multiplication to occur. No matter how you look at this story, the boy really made a great sacrifice. Whether the food was his meal or he was selling them, the fact is that he did make a great sacrifice. Just like the widow who gave two coins in the temple treasury, this unnamed boy gave all that was in his possession. If he was hawking the food items, he would be in trouble when he gets home. If they were his meal for the day, he had starved himself. His decision to give up the food was likely a painful one. But that’s how sacrifice works. Sacrifice is not comfortable; it ushers in discomfort. But sacrificial giving is what we find littered in the Bible. God looked favorably on Abel’s offering because he sacrificed the best. God blessed Abraham because he was willing to sacrifice his son. To the widow in the temple who offered all that she had (two coins), Jesus praised for giving everything she had. So, for our giving to meet Biblical standard, it has to be sacrificial and uncomfortable. The amazing St. Theresa of Calcutta said, “This is the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts.” God uses the sacrifice we make to shape our heart and advance his Kingdom. 

Fourth lesson: When God is involved, miracles happen. Consider how this great event started. It all started from nothing, then to something insufficient, and to abundance. As I already said, the need was greater than the means available. Responding to Jesus’s question of where they can get enough food to feed the multitude, Philip rightly stated that “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” But when the incarnate Son of God got involved, everyone ate as much as they wanted (John 6:11). Jesus did not just meet the need, he lavished them with so much food that there were leftovers. What’s people’s reaction upon witnessing what has taken place? They exclaimed, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Is Jesus a prophet? Yes, but more than a prophet. He is God in human flesh and in the midst of his people. 

Fifth Lesson: learn to trust God at all times. Why would you release your possessions? Trust! Giving and holding possessions loosely requires trust that God will use the resources for his purposes; trust that God will care for your needs; trust that all you are giving— time, talent, treasure etc. is not in vain; trust that God knows about the sacrifices you are making in our parish and trust that your heavenly Father who sees all that is done in secret and public will reward you.

God bless you!

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

What’s In Your Report Card?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 21, 2024

In the Gospel of last Sunday (Mark 6:7-13), Jesus sends the Twelve on their mission to announce the nearness of the kingdom. Now, they have gone out, preached, drove out demons, anointed the sick and cured their diseases. Upon returning, which is our Gospel passage for this Sunday (Mark 6:30-34), they reported all they had done and taught. They probably said something like:  “Lord, we preached about the kingdom of God and called on the people to turn away from their evil ways.” “Lord, guess what happened? At the mention of your name, the devil trembled and we expelled evil spirits.” “Lord, we took your message to virtually every village around us. We preached without fear. We urged people to accept you as their Lord and Savior. We insisted that you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “Lord, some of them opposed and resisted our message and tried to stop us, but we stood firm.” “Lord, in our preaching, we emphasized that God is love, that God is merciful, that God is full of mercy and compassion. We invited people to accept his mercy, healing and goodness.” “Lord, we have made you known around here.” 

The Twelve are giving a report of their accomplishments to the Master of the harvest, that with the word of God, prodigals were saved, lives were turned around, the sick were healed, those possessed by demons were set free. After reporting “all they had done and taught,” Jesus says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” He recognized their weariness and offered them time to rest and recuperate. Why? Because the human person is not a machine that goes on and on. To rest after work has divine approval. More to it, the Twelve accomplished so well the assignment given to them by the Lord. Their report card is a very good one. 

Sisters and brothers, like the Twelve, Jesus too has given us a mission and an assignment to do while we still have life. Do you know what your assignment is? Are you carrying it out steadfastly and joyfully? What role are you playing in the spreading of the Kingdom of God? Are you building up or tearing down? When the Lord calls, what kind of report are you going to give? At the end of that report, do you think Jesus is going to offer you the invitation to come over with him and rest everlastingly? What’s in your report card? 

Check this out! Good or bad report, there’ll surely be a reward!

God bless you! 

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Why Does The Church Exist?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Why does the Church exist? Is it to entertain us? Is it to provide programs for us to be involved in? Is it to babysit the kids on Sunday morning so that parents can catch up on their sleep? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Church exists because:

1. God wants to call people to communion with him. 
2. God wants friendship with us.
3. God wants us to share in his divine life. Simply speaking, God wants to draw all things and all people into a community around him and in him. God is a Fisher of people. 

For the American evangelical pastor, Greg Laurie, the Church exists for three reasons: 

1. For the glorification of God— upward.
2. For the edification of the saints— inward.
3. For the evangelization of the world— outward.

Look at it this way. The Church exists to bring glory to God, not just in a praise and worship service, but also in the manner of our life. Christians are meant to glorify God in their lives, marriages, careers, in every aspect of their lives— in public and private. The Church also exists to build and equip the saints to live out their Christian life by encouraging them to continue to be faithful to God and to be of service to one another. How does the Church accomplish this? By means of the sacraments, Mass, preaching, Bible Study, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, prayers, retreats, fellowships (like Small Group Meetings) etc. Finally, the Church exists to evangelize and propagate the faith. Christians should share their joy and hope of salvation with others as Jesus told them to “go into all the world and proclaim the good news to every creature” (Mark 16:15), Christians should tell others the reason for their hope, the reason of their joy and the reason why they believe in God, pray to God, and look up to God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the Twelve Apostles on their mission to proclaim and announce the nearness of the Kingdom. What do we need for this mission? Among other things, we need three things: one, a keen sense of God as the absolute center of our life. Two, the gift of piety, and three, the fear of the Lord. Now, these terms can sound fussy, puritanical and old-fashioned, but they are actually naming something strong and essential. 

What does the fear of the Lord mean? Does it mean being afraid of God? Not at all! It means that to you, nothing is more important than God. It means that everything in your life is centered around God and subordinate to your love for God. What about piety? What does it mean? Piety means that you honor God above everything else, that you worship him alone. These spiritual gifts will enable you to find true balance; they allow you to know what your life is about. Equipped and endowed with these gifts, you are ready for mission and you can do exploits. 

Sisters and brothers, we can do many things well, but if we don’t spread the word, if we don’t announce the good news, if we don’t invite lax Catholics back to Mass, the praise of God on earth will suffer, the building of the community will weaken, and humanity will completely go off kilter. I tell you this, I wouldn’t want to live in a world where the idea of God is obsolete. The task for us today is this: make it a top priority to invite at least one person back to the Church. 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? Look for someone you can bring back to the church. Don’t relent until you have done this. Standing on the promises of Christ Jesus our King, I say this to you: if you are successful in inviting one person back to church, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34).

God bless you! 

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Identity And Mission Of A Prophet

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 7, 2024

At our baptism, we are grafted, implanted onto Jesus Christ, who has anointed us as priests, prophets and kings. For the sake of today’s biblical readings, which all have to do with different aspects of being a prophet, we will focus on the identity and mission of a prophet. Who is a prophet? A prophet is someone who speaks the truth of God to others. Every baptized person, not just the ordained or the professed religious but all the baptized of the Church is a prophet.

Our first reading is the account of Ezekiel’s call to prophetic ministry (Ezekiel 2:2-5). Speaking, Ezekiel says that the spirit entered into him. What does that imply? It means that prophesy is never a personal opinion or philosophical conclusion. Authentic prophesy always comes from the Spirit of God. Professors in universities can publish articles and share their thinking and philosophical reflection with the public. Newspaper editors can publish their opinions and conclusions on several national issues. There is nothing wrong with those. As for prophets, they do something different. Inspired and motivated by a power beyond them, prophets speak and act. Like other prophets, Ezekiel feels called and sent: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites.” A prophet is always on mission. Seized by God, a prophet can be inspired by a movie he watched or by a conversation he had with someone or by a catch phrase he saw at the back of a car or by a book or an article he read. The message he gets from any of those events compels him to act and to tell others about it.

To whom is Ezekiel sent? He’s sent to his fellow Israelites described in Ezekiel’s prophecy as “rebels.” In the Bible, some figures were sent to foreigners, to people outside Israel— Moses was sent to Pharaoh by God; Jonah was sent to the Ninevites; Daniel was sent to the Chaldeans. But Ezekiel, like Isaiah, Jeremiah etc. is sent to his own people, to the chosen people of Israel who are rebellious against God. Sincerely speaking, being sent to your own people is the most difficult kind of prophetic ministry. Preaching to your own people who know you, especially weaknesses, who know you when you were not a significant fellow, is the hardest. Preaching to outsiders who simply know you as a religious person is much easier than going to your own friends, family and colleagues. And to make things even more difficult for Ezekiel, he is called upon to speak a challenging and judgmental word to Israel. Let’s face it, truth hurts. No one wants to hear that they are not living up to their calling. No one wants to be told that they have rebelled against God. Even people whose lives have completely gone off kilter and they know it don’t want to be told about the state of their lives. It’s a problem we all have. Even when we know we have lost our way and then someone comes and names the  disloyal towards God, we kick and bulk because we don’t like it. But this is exactly Ezekiel’s mission. This is the message that God is sending him to go and deliver to his own people, Israel. 

Where am I going with this detailed narrative? This story is about us. We’re all prophets! And like Ezekiel, we have been sent to the rebellious house of Israel, which is the Church. The Church is the new Israel. St. Paul says we, the Church, have been grafted on the old vine of Israel (Romans 11:17). Truth be told, everybody, this new Israel, the Church, in many ways has gone into rebellion. How? Vatican II says that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. But how many of our brothers and sisters stay away from the Mass? In 2018, 39% of American Catholics attend Mass weekly. Today, only 20% say they attend Mass weekly, pray daily and consider religion very important in their life. The more we accept every worldly view and blend in with the world, the more we go into rebellion against God. St. James made this very clear in his letter when he states, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).

If you are baptized, you are a prophet. Is the prophetic ministry going to be easy? Not at all. Speaking to Ezekiel, God warns him that the people he is sending him to are “Hard of face and obstinate of heart.” More to it, God tells Ezekiel, “Whether they heed or resist… they shall know that a prophet is among them.” God sends Ezekiel to his own people to prophesy. God tells Ezekiel that though they won’t listen to him, he should still go. This is Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s principle. She says, “God calls us not to be successful but to be faithful.” We easily get discouraged by the thought of failing. But Mother Teresa is saying, “Don’t worry about it! Leave the long term success to God. That seed you planted that is taking a long time to germinate, could still make it. Just plant the seed and leave the outcome to God. If there’s someone that should be attending Mass but doesn’t, call them! If you know a member of the Church that has wandered intellectually or morally, challenged them. Mind you, embarking on this project won’t make you popular. Biblical prophets were never popular. Look at Jesus himself. As our Gospel for this week tells us, after performing mighty deeds in Galilee and Judea, Jesus returns to his native place and to his own people. There he spoke in the synagogue, and his people responded not with pride in their son, not with enthusiasm but with negative astonishment: “Where did this man get all this? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” They queried. They were basically asking the question, “Who does he think he is?” 

Sisters and brothers, if you face similar opposition when you function as a prophet, don’t be discouraged. Remember you are called to be faithful, and not necessarily successful. As you prophesy to your sisters and brothers, to your friends and neighbors, whether they accept your message or not, whether they change or not, they should at least know that a prophet is among them. 

God bless you!