YEAR A: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (2)
YEAR A: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
HOMILY THEME: DO RENDER A HELPING HAND
BY: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU
HOMILY: OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
READINGS: JONAH
YEAR A: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
HOMILY THEME: DO RENDER A HELPING HAND
BY: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU
HOMILY: OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
READINGS: JONAH 1:1-17; 2:1.10, PS. JONAH 2, LUKE 10:25-37
prophecy of Hosea 6:6 states categorically that God desires mercy, not sacrifice and Christ repeats same in Matthew 9:13 when he told the Pharisees, to go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’. The highpoint of all these is found in Jesus’ exhortation in Luke 6:36 that we be merciful just as our heavenly father is merciful.
Being a neigbour or rendering a helping hand to those in need implies being merciful. The Samaritan who showed mercy to the victim of brigands on the road to Jericho proved to be a loving and caring neighbour to a brother in need and Jesus tasks us to “Go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:37). Have we not the poor and needy around us today, don’t we have the hungry and weary around us? What about the sick, afflicted, aged and helpless; the weak, destitute, the orphans, widows and widowers; don’t we have them around? Talk about the many jobless hence hopeless people in our neighbourhoods; how have we been neighbours to them? Jesus speaks to our consciences today to “Go and be Good Samaritans to those needy and sincerely helpless folks around us.”
Brethren, Jonah couldn’t understand why God would show mercy to Nineveh the city that was wrapped in wickedness and sin. Simply put, Jonah was not merciful! God insisted that Jonah honours his mission pursuant to the salvation of the Ninevites. Today too, many of us are like Jonah; we are Jewish in our reasoning (they localized God’s saving help). We embrace the better than thou kinda attitude, we are highly judgmental, we are condemnatory in our dealings with others and we’d rather have God destroy or withhold his favours from the so called ‘Bad’ people. God invites us to be Christian in our dealings with our neighbours. That we be Good Samaritans to them, vouching for their welfare even as we work for ours.
God challenges us today to shun every form of segregation and division and work for the good of all. We may do well to remember that we are all God’s children made equally in his image and likeness. We may note that we are Human before black/white; Nigerians before this or that tribe. We may want to realize too that at the end, we all will be judged by One God who is father of us all and desires that we be merciful and kind to all.
We are called today to reflect faithfully on this wonderful prayer of the Church, the rosary, second only to the Holy Mass and discovering the many delights it has, pray it always. It is a perfect form of prayer in times of war, violence, animosity and hate, strife and pain, economic recession, poverty and so on. It is one prayer Nigeria needs now more than ever before. It is a family prayer and a Church prayer too. Indeed, it is a prayer for all seasons and all peoples. According St. Louis Marie de Montfort, “Never will anyone who prays the Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood”. May Our Lady Queen of the Rosary intercede for us.
DO FEED AND EDUCATE THE POOR
