Our Lady of Perpetual Help

December 31, 2023 Fr. Chy Offor CSSp
Sunday 31 December 2023

The Holy Family Year B

Genesis 15.1-6, 21.1-3, Hebrews 11.8, 11-12, 17-19, Luke 2.22-40

IT WAS BY FAITH THAT ABRAHAM OBEYED

We hear this statement ‘it was by faith’, three times in the second reading of today. It is then very important to reflect on this. It is important because today is the feast of the Holy Family. The first and the second readings give us the story of the first family of God on earth. Abraham is known as the Father of faith. Towards Christmas, when we read about the family tree of Jesus from the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew, we saw that Jesus’ family tree started with Abraham. The first verse of the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel which is the first verse of the New Testament Bible started with this; ‘this is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham’( Matthew 1.1). We can comfortably say then that Abraham was the first son of God though he was never God the Son.

As people of faith, we can equally trace our genealogy to Abraham and this is why we often sing a song that says, ‘Abraham’s blessings are mine….’ We thereby claim the blessings of Abraham through faith, of course the blessings of Abraham is worth it. God blessed Abraham in such a way that, generations after generations have continued to tap into his blessings. In the entire history of the Israelites, we keep hearing that God remembered His covenant with Abraham. This is in such a way that whenever God remembers Abraham, He feels He has to do something, to pour more blessings on his children; (Exodus 2.24, Exodus 6.5, Luke 1.72).

It is important then that we look at the faith of Abraham to see what we can learn from it. If you want to get a good result, model a good process. One of the main characters of Abraham’s faith was obedience; he obeyed God and went in search of a land he never knew if it existed. He took action to demonstrate his faith in God. This action of Abraham involved a great risk because he never knew where he was going, but he trusted God’s direction. We see in these the quality of Abraham’s faith. Faith requires a demonstration, it involves risk and optimism. Abraham was optimistic about what God told him, he never focussed on what could happen if the things he was promised happened to be false, he focussed on the positive and left his father’s house.

Abraham was very patient and enduring, God promised to make a great nation of him when he was 75 years old (Genesis 12.1-4), however it took another 25 years for Abraham to have a son with Sarah at the age of 100 years old (Genesis 21.5). This long period of waiting was challenging to Abraham but he never became negative. At a stage, as we see in the first reading, he even suggested that some man of his household would be his heir. Even at the very weak age of 99, God was still busy promising Abraham that He would make him fruitful and that Sarah who was now 90 years old would bear a child (Genesis 17.6). At this point, Abraham suggested that God should rather bless Ishmael who was equally his son (Genesis 17.18). I can say that Abraham was actually pitying God considering what it would take to make a 90 year old woman to have a child, he might equally be considering that God had been working on this project for more than 20 years without any success yet. But, in all these, Abraham remained positive. He had great respect for his old barren wife Sarah and even pursued the maid who gave him an only son. In today’s world and in many places, Sarah would pursued since she had no child, Hagar who was younger and had a son would be the preferred wife. That was more than four thousand years ago.

The peak of Abraham’s faith came when God asked him to sacrifice the only son through whom He would bless him. It seemed God was never tired of stretching Abraham. Yet, Abraham showed his heroic level of faith, if God Who gave him the child wanted him back, he was ready to give it. There was a story of a woman who was angry with God and her only son who chose to become a Catholic priest instead of giving her grandchildren. She succeeded in dragging her son out of the priesthood in order to get grandchildren. Mind you, she was not looking for a child but grand ones. Abraham was lucky though that God changed His mind, I wonder what he would have told Sarah when he got home after sacrificing Isaac, but I could advise him to stay back on that mountain after the sacrifice.

Faith is not easy. Talk is cheap; anyone can say I believe, anyone can claim and desire the blessings of Abraham. But, it is equally important that we reflect on the content, character and quality of our faith. We do not really need to go through what Abraham passed through, that is the meaning of the Feast of Holy Family, Abraham’s faith won blessings for generations, Jesus’ Blood and grace won salvation for humanity. We are only called to associate with this gift by being part of the family of faith. However, it would amount to irresponsibility for one to join a family just to enjoy the benefits of the family without identifying with the characters of the family, the characters of the Holy Family are the characters of faith; obedience, love, sacrifice, trust, generosity, service, gratitude, positive attitude, endurance, patience. Faith of Abraham was also based on clarity; Abraham asked God for a sign to be sure it was God talking to him (Genesis 15.8), it is very possible to hear voices and to confuse human voices as the Voice of God. There are people who are ready to tell you anything in God’s name even when they do not hear God at all. God is not talkative; He does not speak in vain and His words are neither empty nor void. A man or woman of faith should know how to test spirits and discern the voice of God. If we have itchy ear seeking to hear from God even when He has already spoken through His Prophets and Saints in the Scripture, we might fall prey to the deceit of our minds and manipulations of men (Isaiah 45.19, 1 John 4.1, 2 Timothy 4.3).

As we end the year today, let us take time to renew our faith based on the model of Abraham; he was not only a man of faith but a faithful man. He stood by Sarah even in her barrenness. He remained obedient to God and was humble. He never complained or rebelled against God. He never challenged God for keeping him waiting more than twenty years. He trusted God; when he was asked to sacrifice his only son, he did not disobey, this meant that he knew the power of God. He knew that the God Who made him have a child at the age of 100 cannot fail him. His faith was not naive, he never heard things that were not real. Isaac became the father of Jacob who is also Israel. We see the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus maintaining this obedience of faith. Joseph and Mary never presumed that since they gave birth to the Son of God, they do not need to obey the Laws of Moses. Most times, we start playing God once we are blessed, we isolate ourselves from the norm, we want everyone to worship us, it gets into our heads. Mary and Joseph remained simple even while carrying the greatest gift ever given to humanity. Some people will start playing God once they are blessed, we need to ask God to mature us before He blesses us.

God is a covenant keeping God. In the life of Abraham, we see that He never fails and time means nothing. It was clear that Sarah was actually barren because Hagar was able to conceive for Abraham, yet, God never took the easy path of transferring the blessings to Ishmael, He insisted on blessing Abraham through his wife of faith. This is miracle and God is a God of miracle and wonders. We equally see this faithfulness shown to Simeon who was already old and almost blind, he was promised that he would not die till he sees the Messiah. In the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, God fulfilled His promise to old Simeon. God remained faithful to His promise to Abraham even when those receiving the blessings do not merit it. This is because, it was by faith and not through merit that Abraham was justified.

God is still God of covenant. In Jesus, we have been admitted into the Holy Family of God in faith. We have become heirs of the Promise greater than that of Abraham. We have been given access to the Kingdom, power and glory. Just like Abraham, we must endeavor to do our own parts; the Israelites received the Promise of the Messiah, but today, Christmas which is all about the Messiah meant nothing to most of them. This is because God’s blessings are received as grace through faith and not through human logic. God is not partial, anyone or nation that fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him (Acts 10.34-43). It is our duty to renew our faith on this wonderful feast of Holy family that ends the old year and ushers in the new year. Let us model not just Abraham’s faith but also his wisdom, character, humility, obedience, and generosity. These traits are to be seen in all those who inherited the blessings. We see these in Abraham, we see them in the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, it should be in our Church as a family, we should take it to our biological and social families, and the Blessings of Abraham, and indeed, the Blessings of Jesus are already our heritage through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A CHRISTIAN IS NOT AN ORDINARY PERSON
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Monday 25th December 2023

Christmas Day- Mass at Dawn

Isaiah 62.11-12, Titus 3.4-7, Luke 2.15-20

LET US GO TO BETHLEHEM AND SEE

The promise of the Messiah has been with the Israelites long before the birth of Jesus. It was a promise which everyone looked forward to. We see this in the joy of Simeon when he saw Jesus in the Temple, the same with Anna. We equally see it in the song of Zechariah after he spoke at the naming of John the Baptist. Simeon praised God and was happy to have seen the Messiah as a baby.

This promise was made through various prophets in different ways. We hear one of it in the first reading as Isaiah gave the people a great hope, ‘say to the daughter of Zion, look, your saviour comes, the prize of his victory is with him’. This prize of victory meant according to that prophecy that the people would be called ‘the Holy people, the Lord’s redeemed, the-sought-after, City-not-forsaken. This promise was so great considering what the people were passing through, they have been in exile, many of them had lost their faith in God, though they had returned to Jerusalem, they were still in crises, and the future looked so dark and gloomy.

When the shepherd received the message of the angel, they were filled joy and gratitude; they could not believe that the long awaited promise had become a reality. They rushed immediately to experience this wonder, ‘let us go to Bethlehem and see’, they said. We can understand the meaning of what the shepherd did when we look at what other people did when they got the same message. When Herod the King got the same message from the Wise Men, he said this to them, ‘go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’ Even the Chief priests and teachers of the law who told Herod that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem according to the prophecies, made no attempt to go and see for themselves. They were simply disturbed by the news.

Now, more than two thousand years later, the world is filled with this message, and every year we prepare for this event. Just like in the past, for some people, it is still a joyful message and wonderful event, while for some people; it is equally a disturbing news. Our dispositions and interests determine how we receive and respond to news and events. Herod saw the birth of a new king as a threat to his dynasty and reign, maybe, the Chief priests were disturbed because they never got any visions and never knew how the Messiah would handle them. For the shepherds, it was a great message because it was and is still God’s message. This is what St Paul celebrated in the second reading; the compassion of God, the grace that was unmerited. Jesus is the revelation of God’s kindness and love, this revelation was not on account of our righteous actions or merits said St Paul. It was and is still the demonstration of God’s compassion and grace.

When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they sang a wonderful hymn, ‘glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to men of goodwill’. The message of Christmas is still a celebration of God’s grace, it is still a mystery which we should accept in faith, gratitude and goodwill. We should not feel entitled or think we know better than God how things should be. We have no reason to be disturbed like Herod unless we have a bad will. Let us share the disposition of the shepherds who received the message with joy, spread it to everyone they met, went to Bethlehem to see for themselves and gave glory to God for what they had heard and seen.

The message of God comes to us in different ways; angels appeared to the shepherds, star appeared to the Wise Men, the Wise Men appeared to Herod, the Chief priests consulted the scriptures, yet, what matter the most was how they responded to the message. The situation around us might not be so wonderful, with crises, violence, wars and insecurity continue to rise in so many places, and families face more hardships both politically and economically. Yet we are reminded that God is among us, we do not wait for things to be all right before we believe in the presence, love and power of God. We rather believe in His presence, power and love in order to face any challenge and obstacles. His presence gives us the assurance of victory and hope for glory. His presence in the manger tells us that we have nothing to fear in any situation, it tells us that no matter how low we fall, He will raise us up and no matter how dejected we are, He cares so much and loves us even more. This is the message we give to the world, a message of peace and joy.

With the optimism and faith that this season inspire, we will notice that on the other hand, there are great things happening; new inventions, many people have learnt to use the internet and other tools to make life easier, the carbon emission was reduced giving the atmosphere a fresh breath, we learnt that we can slow down, people learnt to meditate, the list can equally go on, and of course Christmas is here and a new year is coming, may we find great joy, courage, confidence and optimism in the message and promises of the unfailing God Who always comes to make all things new. May we find the star that will guide through the darkness of our times, may we have the angels that will lead us to avoid the Herods, may we share the joy and become channels of blessing, glory and victory through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Christmas and wonderful new year. Shalom!

‘A CHRISTIAN IS NOT AN ORDINARY PERSON’
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Monday 25th December 2023

Christmas Day- Vigil Mass

Isaiah 62.1-5, Acts 13.16-17,22-25, Matthew 1..1-25

A GEEAOLOGY OF JESUS CHRIST, SON OF DAVID

The internet, social media and even the main stream media is agog this season with the recent message of the Pope on marriage and blessing. Many people are confused while others are struggling to defend, explain, clarify and justify. In many cases, more questions and confusions are raised than resolved. If you ask me, this Christmas season would not have been the best time to usher in this message if at it should be ushered in, but, who am I to judge. However, this is not the first time the Church had to defend her stand on issues of faith and morals. It is actually the defence of faith that occupied Matthew and St. Paul in the gospel and the second reading of today. Matthew spent his time and effort to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of David genealogically. Paul had to try to convince the Jews in Antioch that God has fulfilled His promise of sending the Messiah.

To us who are not Jews and do not belong to Judaism, this genealogy of Matthew might not make sense. Personally, I used to see it as one of the most boring passages in Matthew’s gospel. To the Jewish Christians, this is very important because the Messiah must be a descendant of David according to the Prophecy. If the Messiah does not descend from David, then, the Prophecy was wrong, that could equally mean God never spoke to the Prophets. And if one Prophecy was wrong, may be many others could be wrong too. The people were equally worried because the popular opinion among the Jews and their religious leaders was that the Messiah had not yet come. Though they saw the great deeds performed by Jesus, they faced the dilemma of reconciling His Messiahship with the Prophecies that spoke about him. In this light, we can understand Matthew’s effort to track and trace Jesus’ origin back to David.

St. Paul did not spend time to trace Jesus’ genealogy but he still told the people that God has fulfilled His promise by raising someone from David’s descendant as the Saviour. He equally referred to the statement made by John the Baptist. If these statements of Matthew and Paul were easy and simple to understand and accept, every Jew would have believed it. If it was so simple, Paul would not have persecuted the Church while he was defending Judaism. What this tells us is that we need faith and grace of enlightenment to grasp the truth of the Incarnation. Faith requires experience and Divine encounter; Paul’s life and conviction were totally transformed when he encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus. Matthew who wrote the genealogy of Jesus was called from his job as a tax collector. When the light of truth shone on these two men, they were able to perceive the mysteries and wisdom of God revealed in Jesus.

God has revealed Himself in Jesus, He continues to reveal Himself to anyone who is seeking Him with upright heart. God is ready to reveal the truth to us no matter who we are, God is not partial and you do not need to be a Pope or a priest to receive the truth from God (Acts 10.34-43). If we seek the truth, we will always find it. Sometimes the truth is not always clear, we might be confused, we might be even troubled and downcast, yet like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, God accompanies us if we allow Him and He will open our eyes to recognise the truth (Luke 24.13-49). However, if we are only interested in hearing our own voices and the things that would sweeten our itching ears, we could equally miss the truth (2 Timothy 4.3).

This is a season of joy, Jesus is the reason for the celebration. Ignore anything that disturbs your peace. One of the Christmas songs says it clearly; ‘joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her king.’ The angel of Christmas says; ‘I bring you a news of great joy, which will be to all the people(Luke 2.10). Jesus is he focus and our hearts are the rooms we should prepare for him, ‘let every heart, prepare Him room’. His voice brings peace and not confusion; peace to those who are near and peace to those who are far (Ephesians 2.17, Psalm 85.8, Isaiah 57.18-19). Peace often requires patience and endurance. Like the three Wise Men seeking Jesus, we need to keep our focus on the King that is born for us. When the three Wise Men could not get the needed help and direction from King Herod and his Scribes, the Star of David appeared again and their hearts were filled with joy (Matthew 2.9-11). In this season of joy, may we all find the Star of David to guide us all to joy, peace and light through Christ our Lord. Amen. BE MERRY; IT'S CHRISTMAS 🎄

‘A CHRISTIAN IS NOT AN ORDINARY PERSON’
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Sunday 24 December 2023

4th Sunday Advent

2 Samuel 7.1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Romans 16.25-27, Luke 1.26-38

YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TO BUILD ME A HOUSE

David wanted to build a house for God, he was concerned that the tent of God was outside while himself was living in a big house. This gesture from David attracted God’s blessings, but God had first to let David know something very important; ‘you are not the one to build me a house, I am actually the one Who has built you up, built you a house, and I will still do more for you’. This is a kind of summary of what God told David, you are not doing me a favour, I am the One Who has done and is still doing you a favour.

Sometimes, we could think that we are the ones doing God a favour, building a house for God, helping God, even defending God. The truth is, we cannot do God any favour, we cannot in the real sense of it, build any house for God, we cannot defend God, we cannot protect God. Any God we can protect, defend or favour is no more God. This feeling of doing God a favour is why some people refuse to associate with faith or religion, they feel they would be doing something for God, some people even feel that God does not deserve the favour. They do not see the reason why they should do God a favour by worshipping Him. The truth is, God is actually the One doing things for us, we are the ones to seek His favours. We do not come to God because we want to do Him a favour, we come to God to appreciate what He has done for us and to seek for more favours from Him.

In the gospel, we heard it clearly when the angel addressed Mary, ‘do not be afraid, you have found favour with God’. Mary’s response was a sign of obedience to the Will of God, ‘let it be done to me according to your Will’. Later, she would sing Her famous Magnificat, ‘my soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has looked on the lowliness of His handmaid, from now on all generations shall call me blessed’. The things we can give God are the expressions of our gratitude and obedience to His Will. David’s decision to build a house for God was borne out of his gratitude for all he had received from God. David wrote most of the Psalms which were mostly songs of gratitude to God. He was equally chosen as a King after Saul was rejected for his disobedience.

We see David glorifying God in the Responsorial psalm, ‘I will sing forever of Your love O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth’. In the second reading, St. Paul glorified God for giving us the strength to live according to the Good News, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages. Paul acknowledged God’s love in making this mystery clear that it must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is a great thing because the gospel brings light to those in darkness, most of the people in darkness do not actually find the light by themselves, the light of the gospel was brought to them by God’s messengers. The missionaries of the old, risked their lives and travelled far to Africa and Asia to proclaim the gospel of the Light. In the past, St Paul and others risked their lives preaching the gospel in Europe, Christianity was seriously persecuted in the old Roman empire before the gospel of Light was accepted in place of pagan gods.

This message is very important as we get closer to the Christmas celebration, it is a celebration of the gift of God, God gave us a child, His own Son and His name was and is Emmanuel. This is what Christianity is about, it is the celebration of grace, the unmerited gift of God. From the Old Testament, God had always shown His favour, the Israelite recognized Him as their God after He delivered them from slavery. God was first a Saviour to them before they recognized and worshipped Him as their Creator. He continued to lead them and protect them. In Jesus, we see the highest gift of God’s love and desire to be among men, the mystery of Incarnation, the Word taking flesh to dwell among us, is far beyond human logic, how could God become a baby, fragile and tender?

As we get even more closer to this celebration, in spite of the challenges of wars, political and economic crises and hardship, let our hearts be filled with gratitude, let us extend this love of God to all around us as much as we can, let us become gifts to each other, let us appreciate each other, as God enriched our humanity with His divinity, we are called to enrich each other with our hearts and gifts because we are sons and daughters of a loving God, He has poured His Spirit into each one of us, and so, people can experience Emmanuel in us and through us. May the joy of this season increase our humanity and fill us with gladness through Christ our Lord. Amen

A CHRISTIAN IS NOT AN ORDINARY PERSON
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Sunday 17 December 2023

3rd Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)

(Isaiah 61.1-2, 10-11, 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24, John 1.6-8, 19-28.)

BE HAPPY AT ALL TIMES, PRAY CONSTANTLY.

In the second reading this Sunday, St Paul started with this very important message; be happy at all times. As simple as it sounds, this is not an easy task. We would want to be happy at all times, but, is it really easy or even possible? It is very important that we hear this message as we get closer to the celebration of Christmas. From the readings of today, we see that the purpose of Christmas, the birth of Christ is to bring happiness. We see this in the prophecy of Isaiah which is the Manifesto of Jesus’ mission on earth. Jesus was sent to bring good news to the poor, bind up hearts that are broken, proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to those in prison and to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord. That is a happiness manifesto. This manifesto should be the governing spirit of Christmas.

It is a reality that Christmas sometimes could become a season of extortion, frustration, fear, exploitation and destruction instead of a season of joy. I remember that one year, many people traveling home for Christmas were bringing all sorts of oils to me for blessing. Some of these oils bear names that I have never heard before; ‘back to sender oil’, ‘St Michael oil’, ‘fire by fire oil’, ‘anti poison oil’, ‘anti attack oil’, ‘battle field oil’, ‘die by fire oil,’ etc. At a stage, I started to wonder if people were traveling home for celebration or warfare. It became clear that people would often travel to celebrate Christmas only to experience all sorts of evil from their fellow human beings. Most places, this season is a time to make life easier; to sell things cheaper, to pay workers bonus, to give food and items to those who could not afford it. Yet, some people see it as an opportunity to make more money, to increase the prices of things, to make life difficult especially for the poor.

I remember that some workers were owed months of salaries and were told there was no money to pay them, while the man that owed them was busy buying cows and celebrating parties upon parties during the Christmas, and even showed them on television so that the poor people he was owing could see. What could be more heart breaking and wickedness in a season meant for happiness? Charles Dickens in his classic book, A Christmas Carol, said about Christmas season, ‘it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt and Abundance rejoices.’ It is good to remind ourselves as Christians that this season is about happiness, we are meant to carry on the manifesto of Jesus as prophesied by Isaiah in the first reading, we are meant to imitate John the Baptist whose witnessing to the Light was so powerful that people actually thought he was the Christ.

We hear John today in the gospel, trying to convince the people that he was not the Christ, but only a forerunner. This attitude of John is a happiness attitude, many people will lose their Christmas joy and happiness because they want to be someone else, they want to measure up to others, they want to appear as successful as others. John was contented with himself. Being happy is about being yourself, accepting yourself and being grateful for the gift of yourself. Do not kill yourself in an effort to impress people. St Paul said it clearly in the second reading, ‘pray constantly and for all things, give thanks to God’.

Christmas is not a time for feeling depressed, anxiety, worries, frustration and moodiness, it is a season of joy. You must not buy a new car, new clothes, new house, cow, goat, etc. You must not even travel. It is Jesus’ birthday not yours, what Jesus wants from you is to be happy and to share happiness around you; share what you have, the much you can, pay your workers, forgive your offenders, reconcile with your enemies, heal broken hearts, support the weak, visit the lonely, set people free, and be grateful in everything.

The message of happiness may sound far fetched for many especially this year with it’s troubles; a lot of countries are still fighting wars, millions of people are living under temporary shelters and facing the threats of death on a daily basis. Economic melt down is hitting a lot families and organizations, so many people lost their jobs, and we are not yet sure when and how it will end. Many families are weighed down by how to survive on daily basis not to talk about celebration. People are weighed down by debts they do not know how they would be paid or if they would be able to pay at all. Some people are contemplating taking their own lives like others have done. These are not reasons for getting sad, frustrated, depressed and despair. They are actually reason why all hands should be on deck to create happiness, to hold onto what is good as St. Paul said in the second reading, and avoid all form of evil. It was in the midst of hardship and bo***ge that Jesus was sent to the Israelites in cold winter season.

Remember that John had to live on locust and wild honey and wander in the desert just to prepare the Way, what is your own task? St. Paul was telling people to rejoice while he was in chains in the prison. He was not sure how or if at all he would be released from the unjust imprisonment, yet he was happy and shared happiness around him. That is the definition of faith. Remember that happiness is free; fill your mind with positive energy, give a thought about others, give a smile, give a hand, write a message, sing a song, dance together, pray together, take out time for sober reflections concerning the coming year, uplift someone, allow your spirit to be lifted up, be touched by what touches others, keep the candle of hope burning and may whatever you do or give out to make others happy return to you as blessings and rewards thousandfold in Jesus name. Amen.

A CHRISTIAN IS NOT AN ORDINARY PERSON
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