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Brothers and sisters we all have a habit to speak of heaven as being “up” and of hell as being  “down,” But deep down we know that neither place can be reached by traversing a physical distance.Indeed, a number of years ago  Pope St John Paul II reiterated the traditional Christian view, saying, that “the ‘heaven’ or ‘happiness’ in which we will find ourselves is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a living, personal relationship with the Holy Trinity” (General Audience, Wednesday 21 July 1999).In other words, “heaven” is not so much a place as it is a state of being.It is good to remind ourselves of this when we celebrate a feast such as the one we celebrate today, the solemnity of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; a day we celebrate our belief that Mary, upon her death, was taken body and soul into heavenly glory, a day we celebrate her passing from death to life, from this our earthly life to the glory of heaven. We are not mere spectators of the marvels God has done in Mary’s life. Yes, Mary, the Mother of God, was the first disciple, the first to say “yes” to Jesus Christ. And all of us who say “yes” to Jesus stand with Mary: we have hope that Mary’s destiny in heavenly glory will also be our destiny; we have hope that the unimaginable joy of eternal life with God will be ours as well; we too look forward to the joy of heaven, as profess in our credo, "I believe... in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come". Amen.

Brothers and sisters, on this first Sunday after Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate one of the greatest mysteries of our Christian faith - the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. No amount of philosophical debate or scientific research can fully explain it. But in today’s celebrations, the church reminds us that the three distinct divine persons Father, Son and Holy Ghost are eternally one and united. They work together for the salvation of the world. In the Trinity, we see a model of our unity. Therefore, let us pray for unity in our relationships, unity our friendships, unity in our marriages, unity within our families and communities. Although our talents, our gifts, social, and economic status are different, let us recognise and pray that like the Holy Trinity we can live and work together as one family of God because, we bear one and the same image and likeness of God. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, today we celebrate Pentecost, a feast that was celebrated by many of the Jews who lived at the time of Jesus. Today we rejoice that the Spirit of God, who is the breath of the world, working invisibly to carry creation towards the Kingdom has been given to us his followers. In the Holy Spirit we believe that there is no time or circumstance, in which God is not somehow invisibly active. Pentecost is not just a season or annual feast for us. It is not simply a fact or event that we commemorate. It is our beginning, our entry point. This Solemnity is our invitation to make our response to the story of our salvation. It is the time when our names are brought into the story, the moment where we enter into the mystery. The presence of the Holy Spirit that enables the Easter alleluia to resonate through every aspect of our lives. The working of the Holy Spirit in us conforms us to Christ. Later on in the reflection today, we will hear more about this brash of a Spirit.May the Homily Spirit continue to lead and guide us in our faith and Mission as followers of Christ.Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord to heaven. But what does Ascension really mean. Is it a sort of "dis-incarnation" whereby God became man, saved us, and then returned to heaven to being God again? No no no. That kind of thinking theologically inacurate. What we celebrate on this Solemnity today is the fact that, Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Word of God who is fully divine, became Flesh, that he took on a human nature, lived among us, died was buried and rose from the dead and taken up to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Christ who is fully God and fully man, ascended to heaven not only as God, but also as man, as the apostles saw him go. Consequently, there is now, at the very heart of the Holy Trinity, a man like us. Simply put, the this feast of the Ascension is a celebration of the fact that humanity is something we have in common with God. May our Lord, Who ascended in glory and Who has shown us His everlasting love, continue to guide us and be with us, and may He strengthen each and every one of us in our path so that we may always ever be ready to embark on the journey of faith and be great witnesses and missionaries of His cause, glorifying Him by our every actions and deeds in life. Amen.

As Christians, we believe in the friendship of God – not because we have loved God first but because God has first chosen to love us. The readings for this sixth Sunday of Easter can be read in terms of friendship - the friendship between God & His people. The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, shows the early Church deliberating about its mission to the Gentiles , whether or not this should even happen. Should friendship with God through Christ be extended to others? Definitely In the second reading from the Book  of the Apocalypse,  we see the image of the new and heavenly Jerusalem in which God is fully realized and welcomed within each human heart. Jesus, in the Gospel, promises the Holy Spirit to instruct us in everything and remind us, His friends of all He has revealed. Brothers and sisters, it is Jesus and His word that we ought first and always to remember. When we look at Christ in Holy scripture, it is clear what He is saying: we need repentance; that salvation is offered us in His redeeming death and resurrection; and that we are called to imitate Him in our mission to the world. We pray for the grace to listen and be true ambassadors for Christ with the mission to reveal God’s love and care to our brothers and sisters in our daily encounters. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, I welcome you to the table of God’s word on this 5th Sunday of Easter in which we continue to glorify the risen Christ. Slowly but surely, Christ approaches his Ascension into heaven.In today’s first reading, Paul encourages us to remain faithful in our missions as disciples of Jesus Christ.Through the vision of John in the second reading, God gives us a glimpse of that kingdom that Paul spoke of in our first reading. And the gospel, Christ gives us a new commandment that will help us to overcome this world and march into the New Jerusalem.Jesus invites us to love one another in our complex world, too. Complex because good and evil are being mixed and mingled together. We often feel tempted to look at our world as our misfortune, as a piece of bad news, whereas we Christians, instead, are responsible for bringing out, to this violent and unfair world, the Good News of Jesus Christ. As we show love to others, the way Jesus had showed us; sacrificial, forgiven and selfless love, may his abiding presence never depart from us. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I welcome you to the table of God’s word on this third Sunday of Easter. The readings for the 4th Sunday of Easter Year C (Good Shepherd Sunday) remind us that Jesus loves the whole world and calls to all people to follow him. In the first reading, Paul and Barnabas are rejected by many Jewish communities they visit and they turn to the Gentiles. The second reading describes people from all over the world worshiping the Lamb of God. And in the gospel, Jesus declares that he knows his sheep and they know him and they cannot be separated.This Sunday, let us pray for our shepherds in the Church – the Pope, the bishops and all priests. We pray that the Lord will help them become more faithful and effective in their ministry, and that they use their authority properly to serve and care for God’s people. In a very special way, let us never forget to pray for the many victims of the shameful behavior and crimes of some unfaithful shepherds in the Church. May Jesus, the Good Shepherd, heal their wounds and ease their pain as they struggle to rebuild their lives. This Sunday is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Let us pray that more young people will answer the call to the priesthood and religious life so that there will be enough true shepherds to care for His flock. Let us also remember to pray for our leaders in government that they may be imbued with sincere humility and true compassion for the people they vowed to serve. But more importantly, let us pray for one another. In our baptism, we shared in the kingship of Christ – a kingship of service. In other words, we are kings or servants.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I welcome you to the table of God’s word on this third Sunday of Easter. The readings of today especially the gospel remind us that God does not stop searching for us or loving us because we have denied or sinned against Him, but He takes the initiative of restoring the broken friendship with Him by offering us another opportunity to make amends, to love and to enter into a deeper and more committed friendship with Him.This Sunday, we continue to come down from the heights of Easter. It is time to start bearing witness to what we believe in our everyday lives, as Peter and John did in the first reading – perhaps even to start preparing for martyrdom, as Christ warned Peter in the Gospel reading.Lord, You do know that we love You. You also know how weak we are. Let us hear Your invitation to express our love for You and our desire for Your mercy. May we offer this love and desire to the fullest extent in caring for your suffering, sick, abandoned and vulnerable children AMEN. 

Today is the second Sunday of Easter. The church and her faithful continue to worship the risen Christ, who is now alive forever. Today is also Divine Mercy Sunday. Today, we celebrate the mercy that God shows to the world by sending his Son to die for our salvation.Brothers & sisters, mercy is godly, it is an attribute of God. Jesus is mercy embodied, His mercy is endless, His mercy is like an ocean with limitless depths. His mercy is from age to age as His and our Mother Mary tells us in the Magnificat. Mercy is an indispensable quality of a true disciple of Christ.In a world full of so much wickedness and revenge, hate & division, we need this mercy. But becuase Christ has no hands, no feet, no head, no body but ours, we need to be merciful for our world to feel this nercy, we need to be instruments, vessels bringing bucket loads of mercy to our friends, families, neighbours, communities, our world. We pray for the grace this Easter season and always to be a people of mercy. Amen

HAPPY EASTER Brothers & Sisters in Christ.The readings this Sunday lay great stress on the facts of Christ’s Resurrection: Christ has died, but he is not dead. He has risen! He is alive!Easter is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain, sorrows and tears. It reminds us that life is worth living. It also gives us strength to fight against temptations and freedom from unnecessary worries and fears.Let us live this Easter with plenty of joy.  Death, sin and sadness, have today been defeated by Jesus Christ… and He has opened the doors to a new life, the real life, the life we owe to the grace of the Holy Spirit. Nobody should be sad. Christ is our Peace and our Path forever and ever. Amen. 

Brothers & sisters today, the 6th Sunday of Lent, The Church celebrates both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. On this day, we remember and relive the events which brought about our redemption and salvation. One woman who was an intimate part of these events was an anonymous lady later named Veronica who out love& pity for Jesus used a cloth to wipe his face and was gifted with the face of Jesus on it.  The name Veronica comes from two Latin words vera (true) and icon (image) and these two words mean true image. This refers to the image of Jesus’ face left on the cloth. As Christians each one of us is supposed to be a Veronica, a true icon, a true image of Jesus.  As we enter into Holy Week, we are challenged to look into the eyes of Jesus, our saviour, giving ourselves, praying for the grace not to be afraid to love … not be afraid to bring Him all of our sins, to bring to him our hurts, our doubts, our troubles, our hardness of hearts, our hypocrisy, the cobtradictions of our lives, our secrets, our everything. … trusting Him with them. When we do this, Jesus will transform us, making us into a true image of Himself. Amen

Brothers & sisters, the readings on thus 5th Sunday lent challenge us to show mercy to the sinners around us and to live as forgiven people, actively seeking reconciliation with God and with one another. Pope st John Paul II ones said that God does not forgive evil but the individual, and he teaches us to distinguish the evil act, which as such must be condemned, from the person who has committed it, to whom he offers the possibility of changing –  We gather today to experience that mercy and compassion of God and to share our the blessings by forgiving and showing mercy to others who have offended us or gone astray.

Brothers and sisters,The readings for the 4th Sunday of Lent, traditionally called Laetare Sunday remind us that God is always waiting for us to return to Him so we can receive the abundance of life he offers us. The first reading tells of how the Israelites celebrated Passover on the plains of Jericho. In the second reading Paul tells us to be reconciled to God. And in the gospel,Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, which is sometimes called the parable of the forgiving father. Laetare is a Latin word that means “rejoice.” Today's Gospel describes the reason for our joy: God's great love for us has been revealed in Jesus. Through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Christ has reconciled us with God and one another.

Brothers and sisters every year on the first Sunday of Lent, our Holy mother Church invites us to meditate on the temptations of Jesus which took place in the desert. The desert was a significant and special place for those at the time of Jesus. Entering its harsh environment was an opportunity to spiritually grow through various challenges and trials. Lent is a season when we like Jesus enter the desert. In fact we enter the desert with Jesus. By overcoming the Devil, Jesus is teaching us that we overcoming temptations like he did was possible.  Our modern day culture tries to convince us that human beings are too weak to combat temptation. Instead it encourages us to take the easy way out and give in, to corruption,  sexual immorality,  selfishness,  greed, jealousy, . We must resist the Devil and temptation through God’s help. Lent is a favourable time God gives us to fast, pray, and give alms to fortify us against temptation. A time for us to enter into our wilderness – those unexplored expanses of our own inner world. A time to turn away from sin, a time to grow as a person and a child of God, a time to deepen our relationship with God a d our neighbour.  We ask for the grace to put all our energy into becoming more faithful to all the Jesus asks of us

Brothers and sisters on this first day of the Lenten season - Ash Wednesday, we are called to repentance by God who tells us to "come back to me with all your heart,fasting, weeping, mourning" and also in the words used when placing the ash on the forehead: “Repent and believe in the Gospel”. The Ashes apart from being a symbol repentance, remind us all, human beings of our mortal nature. Also today, the Lord commands us to fast, give alms and pray. Fasting is not just limited to food alone. In fact Pope Leo the Great said that “Fasting is not simply a reduction in our food intake, but the elimination of our evil habits.” Fasting also helps us to  recognize our own poverty and need & helps us to love both God and neighbour.Let us pray that we will be more open to receive the grace of God during this season & make the best use of it by purifying our hearts, detaching ourselves from some worldly pleasures,  focus more on improving our relationship with God, our brothers and sisters and be more charitable with what God has blessed us with. Amen

Brothers and sisters, on this feast of His resurrection, Jesus challenges - you & I to examine our attitudes and behaviours. He calls us, not just to “talk the talk” but to “walk the walk”.Jesus is talking quite simply here about self-knowledge, self- reflection, self-examination, self-criticism. Jesus invites us to look into our hearts "For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart".  Our attitudes affect our behaviours and our attitudes come from our hearts. Fix our hearts then our behaviours will allign with the message of Jesus, the message of love, care & compassion. Too often we all have tendencies to look at everyone before we look at ourselves. It is the other who must be wrong not us, we say. We have eagle eyes for the mistakes of others while being blind and neglectful of ourselves - our hearts. We pray for the grace to begin the process of change in ourselves especially as we approach the season of lent. So that we can bear good fruit, fruit that will last. Amen 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this 7th Sunday of OT Yr C,  the readings especially the 1st & gospel readings challenge us to reconcile our constant quest for justice with the virtues of mercy and compassion. Because as Christians we are called to model our lives on the new Adam, Jesus, who is full of love, mercy and compassion. In today’s Gospel, He gives us a very important sermon on these essential virtues and elements that must guide our lives and actions as Christians. It is a new commandment because, it over rules the Old Testament law of reprisal attack or retributive justice. There is no doubt that, humanly speaking, it is a very difficult one. However, it demands a lot of sacrifice and courage from us to put it into practice. Let us pray today that we will have the courage to leave vengeance to God and focus on forgiveness that heals our wounds and wipes our stars away.  We also pray that His spirit and grace will enable us to accept the reset of the standards of behaviour that Jesus offers so that we can live those essential virtues and elements in our every day Christian lives. Amen

Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, on this 6th Sunday of OT, the 1st Reading from the Prophet Jeremiah tells us to put our trust and hope in the Lord, not in human beings.The Second Reading from first Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians assures us that our hope in the  resurrection is sure because Christ has been raised from the dead.And in the Gospel Jesus instructs his disciples and therefore us in the paradoxical blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution. “Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced,” because in poverty, we recognize our dependence on God; in hunger, God’s providence; in sorrow for sins, reconciliation with God; and in persecution, the true joy of standing for the Faith with heroic convictions. What makes one blessed is not simply poverty or hunger or sadness or suffering for the Faith but living these in the context of one’s commitment to Jesus and his spirit of sharing. We pray that God will give us his grace to adopt the values enshrined in the Beatitudes in our everyday lives so that we can become instruments of hope & healing in our troubled world. Amen

Brothers and sisters the readings from Holy Scripture this 3rd Sunday of OT Yr makes for compelling listening. We see a facination with the law in the first reading, an appreciation of the fact that together we form the body of Christ each one of us being a different part performing a different role and function. And a recollection of events in the gospel so that they will not be lost and more so that people can better understand Jesus Christ. Jesus also outlines us mission.   The Word of God produces great effects in the lives of true Christians when encounter Him.  In whatever capacity we encounter the Word, may  this Word live in us and move us and others toward salvation. If not already may we begin to live under its influence with the anointing if the Holy Ghost. Amen