DAILY HOMILIES #Mary

Never forget that God sees everything. Nothing is hidden from him, not even the secret thoughts and intentions of our hearts. It is better to be good than to pretend to be good. People may be clapping for you thinking you are good but when the time comes, your evil deeds will be exposed.

Today’s feast is a reminder that God does not force his way into our lives. He works in us only with our consent. As one Saint said, God created us without our consent but He will not save us without our consent. We always have a choice either to say “Yes” or “No” to God’s plans for our lives. Great things happen when we allow God to have His way in our lives.

If we want our children to grow strong and wise, we must, like Mary and Joseph constantly present them to God. Never neglect to bring your children to church. Let them attend catechism classes. Let them be at Sunday School. It is very important. Do not assume that your children will get to know God or make the right choices in life on their own. Bring them to God. As the book of Proverbs says: “Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Prayer is never about commanding God; it is pleading with God knowing that He is not our servant but our Father. Hence, obedience to God should naturally proceed from our prayer. After pleading with Jesus, Mary said: “Do whatever He tells you.” How can you be asking from God when you are not ready to do whatever He tells you?

Finally, let us join our psalmist today to pray: “O God be gracious and bless us.” It is good to receive powerful prophetic utterances on this first day of the New Year but today should not be your last day of stepping your feet into the church this year. The blessings you receive today are not different from the blessings of every other day. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread – not our yearly bread. That is to say, Jesus wants us to pray every day. Continue to pray, don’t stop.

Without forgiveness, there cannot be a holy family. If your love is to last, you must forgive one another repeatedly; seventy-seven times seven times. As St. Paul says: “Forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you.” (Colossians 3:13)

Are there promises you have made to God when things were rough for you, yet, long after God heard your prayer, you refused to fulfill your part of the promise? Do you even remember God when things are going well for you? Lastly, are you currently going through a storm, don’t worry, storms do not last forever. Keep telling yourself, “This too shall pass.” Tough times don’t last but tough people do.

God is not pleased with the Proud. God does not recognize those who believe that they are self-made; those who live as if God is not necessary; those who never go down on their knees to pray; those who consider going to church as a waste of time; those who depend on themselves or on other people rather than God. One quality of proud people is that they consider Thanksgiving a waste of time or money.

Like Jesus Christ, we all have two names; one which appears on our certificates and one which defines who we are. Although the names we bear may vary, the kind of life we live must reflect our real identity - Christianity. People should not only call us Christians; they must also see Christ in us.

The fact that God has showered certain gifts and blessings on us does not remove our free will. God may have called you before you were born but He would not force you to say “Yes” to this call. God who made you without your cooperation will not save you without your cooperation.

Only one thing is needed: Faith. Mary has chosen the good portion; to sit at Jesus’ feet in prayer and adoration, to listen carefully to Jesus’ words by meditating on the Bible, to trust deeply that in the midst of the chaos, we can afford to sit still with Jesus.

As we celebrate our independence today as a country, today is also an opportunity to remind ourselves of our dual citizenship; the fact that we are not just Nigerians but Christians as well. And as St. Paul would tell us in our second reading today, because Christ died on the cross, he has broken the dividing wall that separated nations.