Fr Dufe Joseph

26/07/2025

Saturday 26 July 2025
16th Week in Ordinary Time Year C
Saints Joachim and Anna
Ex. 24:3-8; Matt. 13:24-30
Fr. Dufe Joseph OFM Cap.
Of what use is the parable of a man who sowed seed in his farm to a man who does not even own the smallest plot of farm land; a man who has never as much as held a farm tool in his hand. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is likened to a man who sowed seed in his field – good seen, not just any type of seed. This man had taken his time, sorted out the good seed, prepared the ground for it, and then sowed it and went off, hoping to have a great harvest on his return. And that is precisely when the enemy set in. The enemy sets in when all that is good has been set on motion. Then he tries to reverse the order of things by sowing just the opposite of what every good farmer would have loved to do – he sowed w**d, that which is supposed to be removed during the w**ding period. Normally w**d is not sown, it grows on its own, of its own accord, unwanted, and as its name says, it is just to be “w**ded”.

The enemy is not just a w**d sower, he is w**d itself, unfit for life in society. His schemes are always to bring to destruction all the effort that good people had put in. But for how long! His w**ds seems to grow faster, and the workers would want to deal with it as soon as possible. But the experienced farmer halts them, asking then to hold on and to allow him to handle it at the required time. Allowing the good seed and the w**d to grow together might sound so stupid a thing, but it is the wisdom of the good farmer, the Lord himself, who does not want to break down fragile humanity without precaution. Should we condone with sin? No, but we must admit the fact of sin, either committed or commitable. Otherwise, we would one day be surprised. Let us know that as far as man is concerned, anything is possible. When the appropriate time comes, the w**d will be gathered and burnt, and the good harvest, the wheat, will be stored accordingly. That is how heaven is made. Heaven is not for those who claim righteousness, but for those who admit their sins and repent. Heaven is thus possible for you and for me. And what a great gift this could be!

Today we celebrate the memorial of the grandparents of Jesus, and this is what has given rise to the celebration of grandparents and the elderly during the coming Sunday. The role of grandparents in the lives of our children today is not what we can take for granted, especially in a society where mothers want to boost the bread winning of the family through a series of jobs. Faced with this phenomenon, Joachim and Anna stand as a model for us, even if we do not have anything recorded about them in the scriptures. The Immaculate Conception and the Incarnation are fruits of their faithfulness to God’s promises. When we look at the energy which or grannies put up in the care of their grandchildren, we just have to thank God for their lives. Sooner, they will not be with us. May the Good Lord bless and reward them with eternal life when their day pops up. But before then, let us not miss to tap out from them any opportunity that would give hope and a sense of living to us.

25/07/2025

25/07/2025

Friday 25 July 2025
16th Week of Ordinary Time Year C
Feast of St. James the Apostle
2 Cor. 4:7-15; Matt. 20:20-28
Fr. Dufe Joseph OFM Cap.
To be called, to become an apostle or a disciple is not easy, but with God’s grace, everything is possible. This is what St. Paul says to the Corinthians in his second letter. Today is the feast of St. James, one of the three who formed Jesus’ inner circle. Although he was so close to Jesus, James still found it difficult to understand him and his logic of the cross. Nevertheless, he was the first apostle to die a martyr’s death for the faith. St. James was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, and Salome, a pious woman who cared for her cousin Jesus. He and his younger brother, John, were cousins of Jesus. They were called disciples soon after Simon Peter and Andrew. Peter, James and John are often mentioned together in Scripture, all three having witnessed the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration and the Agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In general, the Gospels do not present the apostles as perfect persons. They are described as ordinary men from ordinary families but who struggled to accept Jesus’ teaching. Yet they managed to faithfully carry out Jesus’ command to take the gospel to the whole world. We too are not perfect, we often find the teachings of Jesus difficult to understand and difficult to follow. In today’s Gospel episode, we have the mother of James and John interceding on behalf of her children. Jesus had already made it clear that he is forming a new kind of family. Notice that Salome makes the request, but Jesus leaves her aside and continues to address James and John, though members of his biological family, but now new members of his spiritual family, instructing them on what is needed to obtain what their mother is asking for.

“You do not know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup I am about to drink?” They say they know, yes, but only time will tell. They will get those places, but not exactly as they would have wished; it will be through martyrdom. Like James and his friends, in our frailty, we too feel called to bring Jesus to others. As we engage in the journey of faith, in one form or another, the temptation to dominate others is always lurking in our hearts. So much energy is wasted in this quest to dominate others, even within the Church itself. Jesus’ call is truly radical: “It shall not be so among you”, he says. Justifiably so, the other 10 become indignant. How could their brothers make such a request, how could they want to distinguish themselves as privileged? Perhaps they do not remember that Peter has already been appointed leader of the party?

Although James and John were two of the three apostles closest to Jesus, they seemed to have misunderstood his message by asking to receive the highest offices in the future kingdom. They must have listened carefully to Jesus speak of the kingdom as a near reality, a present reality and a future reality. They would like to skip the earthly levels and choose the ticket to the futuristic level. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many, Jesus assures. Unless we perform selfless service here and now, looking at a future place would only be a foolish illusion. We still have to go through tribulations, be crushed, and endure the cross before we get our ticket to the kingdom of heaven. May St. James, protector of pilgrims, show us the way and guide us towards our right places in heaven.

25/07/2025

Thanks for being a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Vernyuy Rosine, Atanga Awambeng, Nini Nah, Fai Elfriede, Bimela Candida Kiyla, Hilda Hibir, Yuven Etienne, Nsai Kinyuy, Kila Virginia, Kelvin Stephen

24/07/2025

With Dufe Joseph Ndzelen – I'm on a streak! I've made it onto their weekly engagement list 11 weeks in a row. 🎉

24/07/2025

Happy follow-versary to my awesome followers. Thanks for all of your support!

Suiyee Likitsem, Wirngo Peter

24/07/2025

Thursday 24 July 2025
16th Week in Ordinary Time Year C
Ex. 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20; Matt. 13:10-17
Fr. Dufe Joseph OFM Cap.
Why do you speak in parables? Isn’t this my question too? Every culture has a distinctive way of passing on some messages in a coded manner, such that people who are not members of the setup would hardly pick the substance of the message until someone from within explains it to them. An example is in the sphere of jokes. Someone who does not understand a joke might take offense at something which was meant to add flavor to life – which often is already bitter enough. At the question of the disciples, Jesus answered: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven”. Bit by bit these men were being fully initiated into the mission of the kingdom of God. The more they will do the will of the Father who is in heaven, the more they will become full members for the kingdom mission.

Even till today, after the explanation of Jesus, some of us still find parables often difficult to understand. There are so many ways to interpret them, of course, especially based on personal experiences. Jesus’ reply, as far as the one of today is concerned, points to his hearers’ attitude: seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes. All the parables of Jesus challenged the people to decide whether they really wanted to know, and so belong, or they just came for curiosity, and would leave when disappointed. And actually, these attitudes did come out each time Jesus performed a miracle – some became more attached to him, and some simply walked away. To us has also been given the opportunity to know Jesus, something so many good people longed for but did not receive.

Some people find faith easy; others find it impossible. But it would be wrong to think that a good God deliberately shuts anyone out from belief. He continued to renewed his presence among his people even in the desert. In today’s gospel, Jesus is emphasizing by contrast how blessed the disciples are because they choose everything that he says. They are not like those who pick and choose what only serves their egoistic agendas. The words of the song “The Boxer” by Paul Simon, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”, witness to the fact that we are highly selective as to what we want to hear and see and understand with our heart. In today’s reading Jesus appeals to us “to look with our eyes and listen with our ears and understand with our heart” so that he might heal our sense of insignificance that so often stands in the way of our belief in the Good News. So let us spend some time with Jesus and his desire to reveal to us “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven”. Let us ask his help to be open to his love and to the immense worth it offers us.

23/07/2025

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎

Fuh Steve, David Oha, Kerian Ayah, Njodzeven Closty, PRODUCTION LIMITED , Tangwa Joyceline, Berinyuysamson, Aunti Elia, Quinny Click, Ivoline Burinyuy, Markdidier Nyuykoge, Mfoome Wong Berinyuy, Tboy Keric, Wirngo Judith, Nsai Kinyuy, Bilkisu Gambo, Jumbam Joseph, Kitiyfo Bernard Nsai, Sheèy Ba'ti Budzee Solomon, Benidicta Kihla, Nazeh Nyiapang, Lukong Baye, Mbuntum Ruth Ngeh Kongbunri, Elvira Yenika, Mvo Zenobia Ndum, Fon Achilles, Banye Donatus, Mdzeka Gwaranko, Fola Pauline, Vendzele Lucy, Nsa Verye Josoeph, Teddy Lemfon, Yuven Etienne, Yovka Joanmary, Taku Gamboa, Sunjo Benedict, Vivian Vebem, Priscilla Ntani, Asheri Mary Kate, Kiawune Leonardo, Wanyu Prisca, Ewane Mary, Kongnyuy Raymond Aki, Fai Elfriede, Njobs Maureen, Awasung Linus, Jude Tanlaka, Fobi Leonard, Ngone Rebeca, Christus Dom

23/07/2025

Wednesday 23 July 2025
16th Week in Ordinary Time Year C
Ex. 16:1-5, 9-15; Matt. 13:1-9
Fr. Dufe Joseph OFM Cap.
We can suppose that Jesus did not set out that morning prepared to tell the parable of a sower who went out to sow. But while looking at the crowd that had gathered around him the inspiration came, and he told them this breathtaking and captivating parable of a certain sower who went out to sow. In the people gathered around him, gazing at them from his boat-pulpit, Jesus saw hearts that represented the various soil types that appear in his parable. To tell a parable like this, he must have spent much time observing, noticing and reflecting on simple events around him – this is what we call contemplation. This day he observed, noticed and reflected on human behavior, and saw that the best way to reach their hearts was to use the events he had observed, noticed and reflected on around him.

Some scholars consider this parable to be at the centre of Jesus’ message. It is the parable of the receptivity of the message of the kingdom of God. It is the parable of the optimism of the kingdom. Despite the difficulties that Jesus was facing, he never gave up. He knew that something was going to come out from his effort. This is the same confidence that we should have in our faith-journey. The seed is small and fragile, and not all seeds fall on good soil. But most of them do, and they are extraordinarily fruitful, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. And we might not even conclude that the seed that does not find good soil is totally damned. There is always room for the word of God in us to regain its growth potential, if and only if the recipient-medium realizes that something has to be done. Otherwise, the seed may die out of our inattention and carelessness. Even when we complain, as did the people of Israel, God still satisfies our needs. He sent them manna from heaven. Today he gives us the Bread of the Eucharist – his own Body and Blood.

“Let anyone with ears listen!” he concludes. Jesus does not doubt here the presence of ears on the heads of the people. The ears he is talking about here are ears of faith, ears that hear beyond what is said, ears that are capable of probing into the meaning a parable. This is the challenge Jesus lays down to us, that we should listen and listen deeply. In our times listening is becoming more difficult, surrounded as we are by so much noise, so many different discordant voices calling for our attention – it is a cacophonic world. In such a world, either we fail to make distinctions, or we risk listening and sticking to the wrong voice – and the wrong voice is always very convincing in its fake logic, which appeals to our feelings more than to our reasoning. Yesterday we said that some people want to talk. But how will they talk when the listener already has so many voices shouting around him! Today, let us pray for an open ear, and an open heart, that will help us to know how to seek and find silence in our daily rhythm. Again, this demands high-voltage patience.

23/07/2025

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard!

Nunyui Daisy-ruth, Zozo Zozo, Lanso Venatius, Yensi Theresia, Yamai Belinda, Kongnso Silvie, Ntumfon Annet, Rose Tashi, Eric Smith, Chantal Berinyuy, Keafon Ngoran, Lemven Solange, Yaah Woo Ruun, Ay Kelechi, Junior Jean Paul, Kelly Kinyuy, Evalyne Robina, Augustine Chii Ngek, Brian Loweh, Dustin Desmond, Gloria Gloribel, Ali Umaru, Tcholoum André , Lukong Estherla, Linus Obidike, Tarta Siyveriuss Kumbo