Mary, Exemplary Channel of God’s Glory and Graces; Blessed Virgin Mary;Homily for Saturday of 20th Week of Ord. Time, Yr. B./Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Homily for Saturday of 20^th Week of Ord. Time, Yr. B./Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Fr. Udoekpo, Michael

v  Ezekiel 43:1-7ab

v  Psalm 85:9ab, 10, 11-12,13-14

v  Matthew 23:1-12

Mary, Exemplary Channel of God’s Glory and Graces

Unlike the past two days when we had the memorial of Saints Bernard and Pius X, today we celebrate the memorial of the Queenship of our Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. As instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1954, this celebration commemorate Mary’s participation in the glorious and universal Kingship of God, through her motherly participation and involvement in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. In this feast, Mary is celebrated as the channel, and the mediatrix of graces, protection, blessings and divine glory upon us.

It is this divine glory, the glory of God (kabod ădōnay) that the Prophet Ezekiel celebrate in his vision of a new temple in today’s first reading (Ezek 43:1-7ab). Don’t forget, the theology of the temple. Temple was everything for Israel’s community of faith. It was a sign of God’s love, blessings, protection and presence in their midst.

 Although, physically, statistically and in measurement Ezekiel’s newly reconstructed temple will not match the first temple once destroyed. I mean the temple imagined by David and completed by his Son Solomon in I Kings chapter 6. Ezekiel message is a celebration of hope and fulfillment of God’s promises of reestablishing, and rebuilding Israel and her temple. Today’s vision by Ezekiel present him seeing the glory of the Lord, dancing, hovering over the corners of the new temple. And he received the promise on behalf of Israel, that “this is where my throne (God’s throne) will be.

You will recall in John 13-19 Jesus challenged those who were abusing the temple. In that process and in verse 19, he reminded them “destroy this temple, in three days I will raise it up.” He was referring to himself as the temple of God, the dwelling place of the glory of God that Ezekiel saw in his vision of the first reading.

The role of Mary, the Mother of Christ, in raising Jesus, in protecting Jesus, in nurturing Jesus and in accompanying him through his mission and was finally assumed body and soul to heaven, as we celebrated on August 15, cannot never be overemphasized. She was pure , prudent, modest, humble, chaste and  remained the temple of the Holy Spirit.  In John 2 she interceded and there was wine in Cana in Galilee. She is the source of grace for each of us, imitators of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, where God’s now dwells!

God’s temple, Christ, or of each of is not, and must not be that pharisaic places of honor, of today’s gospel of Matthew 23:1-12, where pride and empty externalism prevails. But, in God’s Temple, the Church of Christ, our body is a sacred space, a holy place, a place of decency, love, hope, fill with faith, optimism. Cleanliness, joy, purity, mercy seat, and respect for the dignity of every human beings and other God’s creatures, including the land, the dust (‘āphār),  the soil (hā’ădāmâ) from which God created human kind(ˊādām), as ably stressed by Pope Francis.

The Church founded by Christ, each of us in our respective continents, countries, states, counties/local government area, clans, towns, villages, stations-outreach, parishes, institutions, catholic schools, universities, seminaries, religious communities and dioceses must be a living example of the temple of God, where peace, dialogue, love, mercy, forgiveness and the glory of God continues to dwell, especially in this difficult time of covid-19 pandemic.  We ask this through the intercession of our Mother Mary, the channel and mediatrix of all graces and divine glory!

Reflection Questions;

1.      Do we in humility see ourselves always as the temple of the Holy Spirit?

2.      Do we trust and encourage others to do so that God and his Glory is always with us?

3.      In what way have we ever defiled God’s temple, the church or our bodies or the sacredness of life?

4.      How often do we promote or respect the role of women in our society?

 

Lord You Alone Can Restore Life and Spirit (ruaḥ) to the Dry Bones!(Ezek 37:4); Homily for Friday of 20th Week of Ord. Time, Yr. B./Memorial of St. Pius X, Pope

 

Homily for Friday of 20^th Week of Ord. Time, Yr. B./Memorial of St. Pius X, Pope- Fr. Udoekpo, M

v  Ezekiel 37:1-14

v  Psalm 107:2-3,4-5,6-7, 8-9

v  Matthew 22:34-40

Lord You Alone Can Restore Life and Spirit (ruaḥ) to the Dry Bones!(Ezek 37:4)

Yesterday we celebrated the memorial of St. Bernard. Today is that of Saint Pius the X, (1835-1914). Born in Venice, became a priest, Bishop and Pope in 1903 with an interesting motto “to renew all things in Christ.”

This motto not only reminds us of the readings of these past days, especially of the prophet Ezekiel’s prophecy of “new heart,” and “new garments,” “new spirit” ( Ezek 36: 25) which we heard yesterday, but affirms today’s prophecy of Ezekiel, that unlike he, who is mortal, human, humble, God’s mouthpiece, God’s representative and son of man, its only God who, who would manifest in Christ of the NT, can renew Israel, forgive Israel, restore Israel and re-established Israel back to the lost land( Ezek 37:1-14). Ezekiel sees and communicates this prophecy through a “vision (chazon) of the dry bones,” as typical of many of Israel’s prophet.

Dry bones, a lifeless object in this context of Ezekiel 37, an exegetical delight to many of my biblical students, metaphorically and symbolically represents the exiled, oppressed, the marginalized, deprived, victimized and “sinful” Israel. Throughout this passage, Ezekiel owe our breath, Israel’s life and spirit (ruaḥ/pneuma) to God. He is the source of all things. For this, God deserves our praise, our love, our thanksgiving and our acknowledgement that “he is the Lord.”

Echoes of this call to praise God, to worship him, to adore him, who gives life and breathe to the dry bones, is heard in today’s responsorial Psalm (Ps 107:1), “gives thanks to the Lord; for his love is everlasting.

It is also heard in the Gospel, Matthew 22:34-40 that calls Christ’s contemporaries, especially the Pharisees and the Sadducee, and of course, each of us today, to love the Lord our God, with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves (Exod 19-24; Deut 5).

Saint Pius the X, who dedicated his life defending the purity of catholic doctrine as well promote the frequent reception of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, no doubt was familiar with Ezekiel prophecy of God as the source of life to the dry bones. A loss of

Each of us, no doubt can points to different dry bones in our lives, in our homes, in our nations, communities and institutions today. Are they a loss of the sense of the sacred? Or of indifference to the plight of the poor, the oppressed and the needy? Or rejection of dialogue and the dryness of political and religious violence, war, hatred of ones’ neighbors, terrorism or bokoharam? What about the ongoing suffering and dryness inflicted on the globe today by corona virus pandemic? What about the pains and rejection caused by loss of a loved one?

 A complete lack of regard for life and the dignity of human person, racism and disrespect to nature our planet could also be counted among modern dry bones, that only God, whom we read in the Bible and daily or frequently received in Holy Eucharist, as promoted by Saint Pius X, can change things for us; reestablish us, restore the ruaḥ (spirit) in us, and bring us and our community, homes, parishes, dioceses, nations back to a newness of life in Christ!

Reflection Questions:

1.      What are our modern dry bones’ experiences?

2.      Do we trust in God as prophesied by Ezekiel that Only God knows how to bring back life and breathe to the dry bones (the exiled Israel)?

3.      When restored, in what ways do we thank, adore, worship God, the source our life, livelihood and land?

 

 

He Washes us Clean and Dresses Us In a New Garment (Ezek 36:25); Homily for Thursday of the 20th Week in Ord. Time Yr. B./Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

 

Homily for Thursday of the 20^th Week in Ord. Time Yr. B./Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

v Ezekiel 36:23-28

v Ps 51:12-13,14-15,18-19

v Responsorial verse Ezekiel 36:25

v Matt 22:1-14

He Washes us Clean and Dresses Us In a New Garment (Ezek 36:25)

The saint we celebrate today, St. Bernard (1090-1153) was a Cistercian abbot and preacher who not only fought for peace and unity within the Church, but as a devotee to our Blessed Virgin Mary, and Jesus, stressed the importance of asceticism, and living a life of obedience and holiness. Saint Bernard no doubt must have read today’s scripture passages (Ezekiel 36:23-28, Ps 51; and Matt 22:1-14) that invite every generation to a newness and holiness of life, over and over again.

In the first reading, Ezekiel 36, that Saint Bernard may have read, the prophet Ezekiel moved away from the yesterday’s theme, the need to have and listen to our Good Shepherd, God, to assuring the repentant Israel of God’s protection, purification of the land, rebuilding of the temple(which we shall see from chapters 40- 47) and newness of heart. It is a divine promise of hope, reversal of fortunes for the remnant and to those willing to take personal responsibility in obedience to the Lord. The responsorial, Psalm taken from verse 35 of Ezekiel chapter 36 says it all, this divine promises; “ I( the Lord) will pour clean water on you(Israel, the remnant, the repentant ones, those who acknowledge their sins as David did in Psalm 51 of today), and wash away all your sins.”

For those who do not harden their hearts, who listen to the Lord, who obey the Lord (Psalm 95:8, the alleluia verse) everything will be new, restored: new hearts, new homes, restored lands, and new ways of doing things.

 Similar messages of newness of heart, and a change that comes with obedience to the Lord is heard in the Gospel, Matthew 22:1-14. Presented in a familiar matthean parabolic manner the kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who hosted a wedding feast and invited various guests. Unfortunately, some of the invitee ignored the invitation, disobeyed him, so to say, while even those who were not invited filled to capacity the wedding hall. Some had no wedding dress at all and were ejected into the outside darkness where pains, wailing and grinding of teeth have become the order of the day. Such is the kingdom heaven yardsticks- repentance, new garments, new hearts, forgiveness, penance, mercy, kindness, obedience, listening to God, purity of hearts are required. It is a place where God must have washed us clean and dressed us in a new garment of love and hope and faith.

These new garments of heart and obedience practice are much more needed today where anthropocentrism, consumerism, materialism, indifference to issues of morality and social justice have become the order of the day. New ways of loving and forgiveness are needed today, where frivolous litigation for material wants have replaced theology of forgiveness and honesty! A newness of heart and new garment of hope is needed today where covid-19 has rattled the world and damaged people’s livelihood. A new heart and a new garment of love are also needed today, in places that politicians have neglected their sense of duty and racism or segregation have threatened global desired unity and peace. And on this memorial day of Saint Bernard we pray for a new way of practicing asceticism and promoting out-reach with material food and support for the poor and the needy of our new world. For he washes us clean and dresses us with a new garment!

 Reflection Questions:

1.     In what ways have the prophet Ezekiel of Exile touched our lives these days, especially today’s passage?

2.     Is there any aspect of our lives that need changes, restoration and renewal?

3.     Could you think of what you have done to bring hope to the hopeless, and a new dress or home to the dress-less and homeless people?

4.     How often do we pray Psalm 51 or Psalm 95:8?

 

 

The Grace and Generosity of the Good Shepherd;Homily for Wednesday of 20th Week In Ord. Time, Yr. B

 

Homily for Wednesday of 20^th Week In Ord. Time, Yr. b. Fr. Udoekpo, Michael

v Ezek 34:1-11

v Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4,5,6

v  Matt 20:1-16

 The Grace and Generosity of the Good Shepherd

Several metaphors, names and imageries have been used throughout the Bible to describe the nature of God’s relationship with his people, Israel; such as Father, Mother, Way, Life, Truth, Light, Holy Warrior, Rock, and the Good Shepherd! This last one, “the Good Shepherd” stands out in today’s liturgy, biblically speaking and in all the readings ( Ezekiel 34, Psalm 23 and in Matthew 20), pointing to care, love, compassion and generosity etc.

  Prior to today’s readings, especially Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23, even going back to Israel’s agricultural neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean or ancient near east, a good shepherd is traditionally, known to lead his flock, feed, his flock, protect, know, nurture, be kind and generous to his flock; while the bad ones does the opposite and exposes their flock to danger, neglect and harms them.

Though within the context of the ancient Israelite exiled- community, it is, to such familiar agricultural community that Ezekiel metaphorically preached, as to who the Israelites, both the lead and the leaders are supposed to imitate and listen to. For Ezekiel, “woe to the shepherds of Israel(that is bad leaders and kings in Israel) who pasture themselves” selfishly, instead of caring for the flock, the people of Israel, the weak, the poor, the needy,  the orphans and the widows, that God had entrusted to them.

Ironically, the kings themselves nor those who asked for a king in 1 Samuel 8, have not kept those laws of the kingship stipulated in the Book of Dueteronomy 17-18. They have not lived up to their expectation, except some like David, Hezekiah and Josiah. Their negligence have led to the loss of the land and the temple, as have been maintained by the deuteronomisitic historians and Israel’s prophet, including Ezekiel.

Thanks be to God, in Ezekiel 34:1-11, the first reading, God will, no matter what, give Israel, especially the remnant, a new Good Shepherd, who would know “the smell of their sheep,” as a Pope Francis would put it (cf. Evangelii Gaudium), protect them selflessly with love and tender care, with a sense of sacrifice, deep faith, generosity, approachability, availability, compassion, diligence and dedication.

Echoes of this Good Shepherd—metaphor, and true nature, of course, was heard in Jeremiah 23, as well as in today’s familiar and delightful responsorial Psalm “the Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want’ (Ps 23:1).

Christologically, he is the one described not only in John 10:10-18, but he is the generous father, or Landowner of today’s Gospel (Matt 20:1-16). He distributes his gifts and blessings to all his servant and children generously and as he deems fit, with a sense divine, mercy and justice. His grace is sufficient unto us, his flock. God, a good shepherd, keeps his promises and covenant love.

The nature of the “good shepherd” we draw from today’s Bible readings challenges us:  modern leaders, politicians, kings, those led, their followers, every citizen, as well, in every aspects of live, to reevaluate our sense of responsibility, the care, the pastoral heart of the priests and of those under formation to the priesthood (cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis of John Paul II of March 25, 19992; Ratio Fundamentalis of Pope Francis,  Dec 2016), the compassion, the availability, docility, listening skills and sense of “smelling the sheep.” Other are, obedience, protective skills to our sheep, orderliness, mercy, forgiving spirit, faith, hope, sense of common good; modesty, self-control, discipline, humility, love for the poor, the sick, the needy; washing and feeding the sheep, in fact, the mind of Christ—are all expected of good shepherds, leaders and followers and citizens, as well, everywhere, especially in this time of covid-19.

Reflection Questions

1.     Do we rely on God as our Good Shepherd?

2.     In our various places of responsibility and leadership, do we work to imitate the grace and generosity of the Good Shepherd, extolled the true in today’s scripture?

3.     What prevents us from sharing God’s love, tender care, compassionate and pastoral hearts with our neighbor

In Humility the Lord Is the Source of All We Have; Homily for Tuesday of the 20th Week in Ord. Time Year B

 

Homily for Tuesday of the 20^th Week in Ord. Time Year B, Fr. Udoekpo, Michael

v Ezek 28:1-10

v Ps/Deut 32:26-27ab, 27cd-28,30,35cd-36ab

v Mtt 19:23-30

In Humility the Lord Is the Source of All We Have

Today’s scripture readings continue from where we stopped yesterday with emphasize on humility, poverty, especially of the spirit, faithfulness to God and making good use of our wealth, and all the riches that God has blessed us with.

Prophet Ezekiel, a mortal, humble messenger of God, was in the forefront during his time in calling and challenging his contemporaries to a life of faithfulness, humility and obedience to God. He has done this by preaching, speaking out and acting prophetically in different ways to communicate God’s displeasure to arrogance, and disobedience of Israel to God.

 In the past few days, we saw him symbolically carrying his exilic baggage and making a hole through the wall. Yesterday, he was asked to symbolically not mourn the death of his wife and not trim his beard.

Today, he mocked and challenges Israel not to pretend to be “god” or “wise”, if they do not trust and worship the God of Israel. Disobedience and unfaithfulness, or any form of idolatry, like worship of wealth and money, surely, will lead them to exile, through the hands of foreigners, like the Assyrians, and the Babylonians etc.

What Ezekiel preached to his generation in the first reading, Christ does the same in today’s Matthew’s Gospel (Matt 19:23-30), that “it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven” and that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”

The point that the Lord makes here is the need for humility, faithfulness, and good use of all that the Lord has blessed us with. It include reaching out to the poor and the needy with all our talents and gifts, knowledge, wisdom, and skills. Nothing should ever separate us from the love of God, nor should we allow riches, or material things to replace our worship of God, who as the responsorial psalm would insist, “deals death and gives life (Deut 32:39c). He is the source of all that we have.

 

Reflection Questions

 

1.     Do we see God as the source of all that we are and have?

2.     How often do we reach out to the poor?

3.     What are modern idolatries and what have we done to avoid them?

 

Do Not Forget God Who Gave You Birth; Homily for Monday of the 20th Week of Ord., Time, Year B.

 

Homily for Monday of the 20^th Week of Ord., Time, Year B. Fr. Udoekpo, Michael

v  Ezek 24:15-23

v  Ps/Deut 32:18-19, 20,21

v  Matt 19:16-22

Do Not Forget God Who Gave You Birth

Today we live in a world that consumerism, subjectivism, materialism or pursuit for money, has almost replaced true worship of God. That is to say, idolatry has become the order of the day in different forms today. To be fair it has always been so, since the beginning of creation, as we find in biblical history, particularly in today’s bible readings.

Prophet Ezekiel’s generation, at least some of them were caught up in their practice of various forms of idolatry, worshiping other gods and disobeying the true God of Israel, which, as listed in Deuteronomisitic History, and confirmed in today’s responsorial Psalm, Deuteronomy 32, led to their loss of the land and the temple.  They were exiled.

You would noticed that since last week, Ezekiel, being “mortal” and “son of man” and called while in exile---- has warned, encouraged, preached and acted out God’s disapproval of Israel’s unfaithfulness. Last week, he acted out, the punishment for such unfaithfulness, exile with his exilic baggage and by making a hole through the wall.

Today, in the first reading(Ezekiel 24:15-23), God directs Ezekiel not to mourn the death of his wife, and not to cover his beard, nor eat customary bread—as signs of God's displeasure with Israel’s, idolatrous practices, as well as an invitation for them to repent and take personal responsibility. Or, never to forget the God who gave Israel birth, and saw them through challenging times, provided and established a covenant with them.

Similarly, the new Moses, Christ, a different kind of prophet, and Son of God, in today’s Matthew’s Gospel challenges the rich young man, who thought he had kept all the 10 commandments, to sell all he had and give to the poor, in order to attain perfection before the Lord.

Obviously, in this interaction, Jesus knew the greatest weakness of the rich young man was idolatry of materialism / money. This is where Pope Francis is also coming from in his recent preaching and writings.  Since his papacy, he has re-emphasized the need for the rich to reach out to the poor, the needy and to those on the margin. In his Laudato si’, he went further steps in challenging modern technocratic culture, extreme capitalism, worship of money, and inordinate anthropocentrism, as against, mankind judicious and ethical use of wealth, respect to other non-human creatures and the planet, as a whole!

We pray, especially in this challenging time of covid-19 for the grace to put on God, and his values first in our dealing with others, and to always consider the poor as we use all the blessings and material things, God has blessed us with.

Reflection Questions:

1.      What would you consider is your modern idolatry?

2.      Do we use our money and wealth wisely for the greater glory of God?

3.      How often do we extend our helping hands to the needy and the poor of our society?

4.      Do we worship God alone, and encourage members of our faith community to do same?

                                                                                       

God’s Blessing Is Inclusive(lәkôl-hā’ammȋm= for all the peoples ): Homily- Twentieth Sunday of Year A,

 

Homily- Twentieth Sunday of Year A, Fr. Udoekpo, Michael

God’s Blessing Is Inclusive

v  Isa 56:1, 6-7

v  Ps 67:2-3, 5-8

v  Rom 11:13-15, 29-32

v  Matt 15:21-28

God’s blessing is inclusive. It is a gift sufficient unto Jews, Gentiles, men and women, eunuchs and non-eunuchs, foreigners and non-foreigners, the poor and the rich. God’s blessings are sufficient to people of all nations and all walks of life.

 These blessings include life, land, property, good health, families, education, and occupations. They include the virtues of faith, hope, and love. They include the gifts of patience and the healing we receive from God when we are sick. These blessings include our communities—particularly the church and her teachings. They include the gift of remembering to pray and to be grateful to God. These are all blessings from God to everyone.

 The subject of the inclusiveness of God’s blessings is at the center of today’s Bible lessons. Psalm 67, for instance, pointedly presents us with a praying community that petitions God, “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you” (Ps 67:3). The question is: Why would the nations, including Israel, praise God? They praise him because of all the blessings and gifts they have received from him throughout history.

 

In the wilderness, God was with the Israelites. He accompanied them through their time in exile. God’s accompaniment of the Israelites through the exile is the background of today’s first reading (Isa 56). In it, the Israelites have just returned from the Babylonian exile. It is a time of high expectations and immense difficulties. There was tension between the returnees (gôlah) and the people of the land, including foreigners who had been living in the area when they were absent and the foreign wives the exiles had married and the children they’d raised in exile. They had limited resources, inefficient leadership, and lack of a place to worship. Suspicion and hostilities abounded, and injustice, discrimination, and segregation prevailed.

 In the first reading, Third Isaiah calls for openness, tolerance, and justice. Isaiah advocates love and universalism in the new community. He says, “Maintain justice, and do what is right . . . for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isa 56:1, 7). Notice that God’s house is a gift from God. Notice also that Isaiah did not say this gift is “for some people,” but “for all people”—Jews and Gentiles, the weak and the strong, the sick and the healthy, the young and the old, males and females, adults and children (kôl-hāmēr šabāth=all who keep the sabbath-v.6/lәkôl-hā’ammȋm= for all the peoples (v.7)

 Saint Paul did the same in his own way during his missionary journeys. He was often seen as a proud champion of universalism in terms of spreading the gospel of Christ to all nations. Though Jewish by birth, he calls himself an “apostle to the Gentiles.” He preached tirelessly and reassured the church, particularly in Rome, of God’s irrevocable mercy and unlimited love to all nations (Rom 11:13-15, 29-32).

 Today’s Gospel reading (Matt 15:21-28) similarly sums up the message of the inclusiveness of God’s healing love and favor to his people. Though he was Jewish, Jesus loved the Canaanite woman. Jesus is merciful to the prayerful, humble, sick Canaanite woman. To start with, the woman in the Gospel is faithful. She is patient. She is gifted with persistence in prayer. Jesus does not care whether she is from the south or the east, the north or the west. He does not care whether she is white or black. All he knows is that she is a faithful child of God. She is a woman of faith “O woman great is your faith” (v.28). She cherishes her gifts. She is healed. She recognizes God as the source of prosperity, the giver of all gifts, and the healer of healers. Any of us could be this woman. Do we pray consistently? Do we cherish our faith and gifts? Are we patient enough? Are we open to one another and to the flow of the Holy Spirit?

 There are problems everywhere today: violence, wars, hostilities, corona-virus, illnesses, and the loss of our loved ones. In every circumstance of our life, it is important to recognize that our very being is a gift from God. The church itself is a gift from God. We are called to be tolerant, receptive, loving, merciful, and welcoming to one another. Our church is a house of prayer. It is a house of faith, a symbol of oneness, justice, humility, and gratitude to God. It is a house of love and a temple of divine mercy for all—Jew, Gentile, or Canaanite.

Reflection Questions:

1. Can you think of any cases of discrimination, racism, tribalism, or exclusivism in your faith community? What have you done to address them?

2. Can you relate to the Canaanite woman of today’s Gospel?

3. Can you relate to the foreigners of today’s first reading? What is your attitude toward immigrants, migrants, guests, visitors, and people you meet?