HOMILIES FOR March. 9 to 14, 2026 (weekdays). By: Rev. Fr. Clifford Atta Anim.

March 9 Monday: Exod 17:3-7/ Psalm: 94/ Lk 4:24-30

Today’s Gospel shows Jesus responding with prophetic courage to the doubt and hostility he faced in Nazareth, the town where he grew up. After delivering his message in the synagogue, instead of admiration he encountered skepticism from people who thought they already knew him. Their familiarity prevented them from recognizing the deeper truth of who he was. Jesus responded by stating a painful reality, “No prophet is accepted in his native place” (Luke 4.24).

To illustrate this truth, Jesus referred to two well known stories from the Scriptures. First, he spoke about the widow of Zarephath in Lebanon during the time of the prophet Elijah. During a severe drought, Elijah was sent not to the many widows of Israel but to this Gentile woman. Through faith and hospitality she received God’s blessing, her jar of flour and jug of oil did not run empty, and later her son was brought back to life through Elijah’s prayer (1 Kings 17.7–24). Jesus then mentioned Naaman, the Syrian army commander who suffered from leprosy. Although many lepers lived in Israel, it was this foreign officer who was healed when he humbly followed the instructions of the prophet Elisha and washed in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5.1–19).

By recalling these events, Jesus showed that God’s grace often reaches those who are open in faith, even when others who believe themselves to be close to God remain closed in unbelief. His listeners in Nazareth were angered by this reminder. Instead of reflecting on his words, they reacted with fury and drove him out of the town, even attempting to throw him from a cliff. Yet Jesus passed safely through the crowd, because the time for his suffering had not yet come (Luke 4.30).

Life messages

1. We need to face rejection with courage and hope. Like Jesus, we may experience misunderstanding, betrayal, or neglect from people close to us. These moments can strengthen our faith and remind us that God’s mission continues even when others do not accept us.
2. We must avoid rejecting God’s help in our lives. Sometimes pride or familiarity prevents us from recognizing God’s guidance through Scripture, the teaching of the Church, or the wisdom of others. An open heart allows God to work within us.
3. We are called to have the courage of our Christian convictions. Living the Gospel in daily life may bring criticism or opposition, but faithfulness to Christ requires the strength to stand for truth, justice, and love even when it is difficult. God bless you.

March 10 Tuesday:Dan 3:25.34-43/ Psalm: 24/  Mt 18:21-35

First, Jesus teaches that we must forgive others if we want to receive forgiveness ourselves. After teaching the prayer “Our Father,” he adds an important explanation: “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6.14–15). This principle appears throughout Scripture. James later writes that “judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy” (James 2.13). Forgiveness, therefore, is not optional in the Christian life. The mercy we receive from God must flow outward toward others.

Second, in the parable of the unforgiving servant, we are meant to recognize ourselves as the debtor who owed the enormous sum of ten thousand talents (Matthew 18.23–35). This amount represents a debt so large that it could never be repaid. In the same way, our sins against God are many and require his mercy every day. Yet the offenses others commit against us resemble the much smaller debt of a hundred denarii mentioned in the story. Even so, we often find it difficult to forgive those who hurt us. Jesus’ message is clear. As members of God’s family, we must treat one another with the same compassion God has shown to us. Forgiveness requires letting go of calculations and resentments and choosing mercy “from the heart.” God has forgiven the immeasurable debt of humanity through the sacrifice of his Son (Romans 5.8), and that gift calls us to extend the same mercy to others.

Life messages

1. We are called to forgive. Having received God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of others, we must allow that same grace to reach those who have wronged us. Forgiveness protects our hearts from being consumed by resentment and restores the possibility of peace.
2. Forgiveness is often difficult, but God gives us the strength to do it. We can ask for his help by praying for the person who hurt us and entrusting the relationship to God’s healing power instead of holding on to judgment or anger. Even if the pain remains, we can unite it with Christ’s suffering and offer it for healing and reconciliation.
3. We should continue renewing our decision to forgive. Memories of hurt may return, but each time they do we can once again entrust the offender to God’s mercy and pray for God’s blessing upon that person. With God’s grace, forgiveness can grow stronger in our hearts over time. God bless you.

March 11 Wednesday: Deut 4:1.5-9/ Psalm: 147/ Mt 5:17-19

Today’s Gospel passage from the Sermon on the Mount presents Jesus speaking with great respect about the Law of Moses. Matthew records these words partly to reassure early Jewish Christians who were accused by their fellow Jews of abandoning the Law. Ironically, Jesus himself would later be falsely accused of breaking the Law and would be condemned to death. In this teaching, Jesus makes it clear that the Scriptures of the Old Testament are the Word of God and therefore carry divine authority. The Mosaic Law was given to guide people in honoring God and living in love toward one another. Its moral teachings, especially those rooted in the natural law, remain important because they reflect God’s will for human life. However, Christians are not required to follow the ceremonial and ritual regulations of the Old Testament, since those practices belonged to particular stages in salvation history.

In the time of Jesus, different Jewish groups understood the Law in different ways. Some thought of it mainly as the Ten Commandments. Others meant the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Still others included the entire collection of the Law and the Prophets. In addition, there was a large body of oral traditions developed by the scribes. Jesus respected the divine law given through Moses and the teachings of the prophets, but he criticized the heavy burden of human traditions that often overshadowed the true purpose of the Law. Many Jews believed that the Torah was the eternal revelation of God given to Moses. Jesus affirmed its importance but declared that he had come not to abolish it but to fulfill it (Matthew 5.17). In other words, he would bring out its deepest meaning and complete its purpose. As the Word made flesh, he reveals God perfectly and shows how the Law should be lived.

The Ten Commandments themselves rest on two basic principles, reverence and respect. The first commandments call people to reverence God, honoring His name, keeping the holy day, and respecting parents. The remaining commandments emphasize respect for human life, fidelity in marriage, honesty, justice, and respect for the property and dignity of others. Jesus fulfilled the Law by restoring these principles to their true meaning and by teaching that genuine righteousness is rooted in a right relationship with God and with one another.

Life messages

1. When we obey God’s commandments and the teachings of the Church, we should remember the deeper principles of reverence for God and respect for others that stand behind them.
2. Our obedience should be motivated by love and gratitude toward God. When we recognize the many blessings we have received, following God’s will becomes not a burden but a joyful response to His goodness. God bless you.

March 12 Thursday: Lam 7:23-28/ Psalm: 94/ Lk 11:14-23

Today’s Gospel presents Jesus responding firmly to a serious accusation made by the scribes. After witnessing his miracles of healing and exorcism, they claimed that Jesus was driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Their accusation attempted to discredit the divine power working through him. Jesus answered this slander with a series of logical and spiritual arguments.

First, Jesus explains that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan were casting out Satan, his own kingdom would collapse. Such an idea makes no sense because the devil would not work against himself (Luke 11.17–18).

Second, Jesus points out that Jewish exorcists were also known to cast out demons. If the scribes claimed that Jesus acted through the power of Satan, they would have to admit that their own people were doing the same. This argument exposes the inconsistency and unfairness of their accusation (Luke 11.19).

Third, Jesus declares that his authority comes from God. By the power of the Spirit of God he defeats the forces of evil. Using an image, he describes the devil as a strong man guarding his possessions. Yet when someone stronger arrives, that stronger one overpowers him, takes away his weapons, and frees what he had held captive. In this image, Jesus presents himself as the one who has come with divine power to overcome Satan and liberate humanity from evil (Luke 11.20–22).

Finally, in another account of the same conflict, Jesus gives a serious warning. By stubbornly rejecting the clear work of God and deliberately calling it evil, the scribes were committing a grave sin. Their refusal to acknowledge the truth hardened their hearts and prevented them from repenting. This is why Jesus warns about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the rejection of God’s saving action even when it is clearly revealed (Mark 3.28–30).

Life messages

1. We must be careful not to allow ourselves to be influenced by evil. When we listen to temptations and follow them, we gradually allow sin to gain power in our lives.
2. Our hearts must remain filled with God’s Spirit. Prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments keep our souls spiritually strong and leave no room for the influence of evil.
3. Ignoring God’s word weakens our spiritual defenses. When we neglect the guidance God gives through Scripture and the teachings of the Church, we become more vulnerable to sin.
4. We must guard our senses and our thoughts. What we allow our eyes, ears, and minds to absorb can either strengthen our faith or open the door to deception and spiritual confusion. God bless you.

March 13 Friday:Hos 14:2-10/ Psalm: 80/ Mk 12:28-34

A scribe who accepted both the written Law and the oral traditions of Judaism listened carefully as Jesus answered the Sadducees who had tried to trap him with the hypothetical case of a woman who had been married successively to seven brothers. The Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, intended to ridicule Jesus’ teaching about life after death. When Jesus skillfully answered them and affirmed the truth of the resurrection, the scribe was impressed. With genuine respect he approached Jesus and asked him to state which commandment of the Law was the most important (Mark 12:28; Matthew 22:34–36).

In the Judaism of Jesus’ time there were two parallel tendencies. Some teachers multiplied the requirements of the Law, expanding the Mosaic tradition into many detailed rules and regulations. Jewish scholars commonly spoke of the 613 commandments found in the Torah. At the same time, other teachers tried to summarize these numerous commandments into a brief statement that captured the heart of God’s will. The scribe’s question therefore reflected an important theological discussion among Jewish teachers of the time.

Jesus’ response was both simple and profound. Instead of inventing a new rule, he quoted directly from the Scriptures. First he cited the opening words of the Jewish Shema, the daily prayer of Israel found in Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). Then Jesus joined this commandment to another passage from the Law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). By bringing these two commands together, Jesus revealed the true heart of the entire Law. Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable. True religion is expressed in loving God directly and in loving others in whom God’s image is present (Genesis 1:27).

Jesus’ teaching shows that love for neighbor flows from love for God. Every human person bears the image of the Creator and is therefore worthy of dignity and respect. To honor the image is to honor the One whose image it is. Moreover, our neighbors are children of the same heavenly Father and have been redeemed through Christ (Romans 5:8). Christian love for neighbor is therefore not merely a feeling but a concrete commitment expressed through actions, generosity, forgiveness, and service. This is the self-giving love often described in Scripture as agape (John 13:34–35). To illustrate what such love means in practice, Jesus later told the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing that a true neighbor is anyone who responds with compassion and mercy to a person in need (Luke 10:29–37).

Life messages

1. We are called to love God wholeheartedly. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength means placing His will before our own desires. It requires seeking His guidance in every aspect of life, spending time in prayer and worship, and continually asking for His mercy and forgiveness (Matthew 6:33; John 14:15).
2. We must love others as God loves them. God’s will is that we recognize His presence in every person. This love is shown when we help those in need, encourage the discouraged, forgive those who hurt us, and pray for one another. Such love goes beyond differences of race, social status, education, wealth, or background, because in every person we encounter a brother or sister created and loved by God (1 John 4:20–21; Galatians 3:28). God bless you.

March 14 Saturday: Hos 6:1-6/ Psalm: 50/ Lk 18:9-14

Today’s Gospel recounts the strong response Jesus gives to the scribes who attempted to discredit one of his miracles. After witnessing Jesus cast out demons, they accused him of doing so through the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Instead of acknowledging the clear work of God, they tried to portray the miracle as the work of evil. Jesus answered this accusation with calm authority and logical reasoning, exposing the weakness and falsehood of their claim (Luke 11:14–23; Mark 3:22).

First, Jesus points out the obvious contradiction in their accusation. He explains that any kingdom divided against itself will collapse. If Satan were casting out Satan, his own kingdom would be destroyed. Evil does not work to defeat itself. Therefore, the idea that Satan would assist Jesus in driving out demons is completely unreasonable (Luke 11:17–18).

Second, Jesus challenges the scribes by referring to the Jewish exorcists who were known to perform similar acts. If Jesus were casting out demons by the power of Satan, then logically the same accusation would have to be applied to those Jewish exorcists as well. By raising this point, Jesus reveals the inconsistency and prejudice behind the scribes’ claim (Luke 11:19).

Third, Jesus explains the true source of his authority. He declares that it is by the power of God that he drives out demons. Using a vivid image, he compares Satan to a strong man guarding his possessions. Yet when someone stronger arrives, that stronger one overpowers him, takes away his weapons, and divides the spoils. Through this illustration, Jesus reveals himself as the one who is stronger than Satan and who has come to defeat the power of evil and liberate those held captive by it (Luke 11:21–22).

Finally, Jesus issues a serious warning to his accusers. In the account given in Mark’s Gospel, he tells them that by deliberately attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to evil, they are committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Their sin becomes unforgivable not because God refuses mercy, but because their hardened hearts refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoing and therefore refuse to repent and seek forgiveness (Mark 3:28–30).

Life messages

1. We must be aware of the influence of evil. When we listen to temptation and follow sinful inclinations, we gradually allow the influence of the evil one to shape our choices and actions (1 Peter 5:8).
2. Our souls must remain filled with God’s Spirit. Regular prayer, reflection on the Word of God, and faithful participation in the Sacraments strengthen our spiritual life and leave no room for evil to take root (Ephesians 5:18).
3. Ignoring God’s word opens the door to sin. When we neglect the guidance of Scripture and the teachings of the Church, we weaken our spiritual defenses and become more vulnerable to temptation (James 1:22).
4. We must guard our senses and our thoughts. What we allow into our minds through sight, hearing, and imagination influences our spiritual life. Careful discipline over our senses helps us resist deception and remain faithful to God (Philippians 4:8). God bless you.